Life cycle assessment (LCA) of Ginkgo Process: A Case Study in the Processing Process

 Ginkgo nuts or fruits are famous for being used as a medical food. They are a great source of antioxidants and are high in amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. After peeling, this epicarp will reveal a light-yellow portion (called ginkgo seed) inside the hard husk that is edible. The peeling process to remove the husk was conducted in Samphanthawong District, Thailand. Large amounts of solid and liquid wastes were generated over 30 tons/month and 9 m³/month, respectively. Manipulating these wastes is a crucial issue for this area. This research studied ginkgo-fruit processing from gate-to-gate including production, modification, and transportation. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to analyze the environmental impacts on the process consisting of cracking, washing, and boiling steps. The Simapro V 8.1 program with the CML 2 baseline 2000 method was used to evaluate impact assessment based on one ton of ginkgo seed. The results found that global warming potentials (15.494314 kg CO₂-eq) had a major impact due to the use of electricity and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) in the cracking and boiling processes. The marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential (9.3829817 kg 1,4-db-eq) was found because there is no wastewater treatment from the washing step. BOD and COD values exceeded the standard wastewater (BOD 865 mg/L and COD 2,104 mg/L) resulting in toxicity for aquatic animals and plants in the sea.​​​​​​​