The Impact of the Food Industry on the Environment

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Table of Contents

Pollution and the Role of Data in Combating It
Data Analysis and Visualization Benefits
An Analysis of the Importance of Data as an Instrument of Pollution Control
Increasing the Level of Greening of Food Enterprises
Conclusion and Future Work
References

Pollution and the Role of Data in Combating It

The food industry is a vital and integral part of the functioning of modern society and the economy. Nevertheless, it is first and foremost a product that produces waste products that pollute the environment. When any products are processed, the oceans and waters suffer first and foremost, and the food industry is no exception. Complicated and toxic chemicals, unsuitable raw materials, and the scale of production negatively affect both the ocean and the air. In addition to recognizing and combating this fact, it is necessary to identify what is the most effective tool for detecting and controlling the level and extent of pollution. Such tools are complex analytical systems, the main advantage of which is that they are updated every second. The fact is that in today’s world and with the real scale of production, information flows change at an extremely high rate, and it is necessary to read it. It is necessary to analyze in more detail the role of data in solving the issue of environmental pollution by the food industry.

Data Analysis and Visualization Benefits

Every organization relies on data analysis to make timely and accurate decisions with regard to problem-solving. It is also essential to do it in real-time for the improvement of behavior and performance of business support systems. This can be done by utilizing data visualization, which is developed and evaluated via task-based approaches. Organizations collect the data by conducting interviews and surveys because they are effective in visualization and, hence detecting critical issues. The study by Mogili & Pallapu (2020). concluded that node-link diagrams or network graphs are effective designs for data visualization and clearly represent the connection among various nodes in the visualization. This is essential for real-time streaming data and can be applied to the evaluation of eco-efficiency within the food industry.

Another study solidified the idea of the effectiveness of data-driven analysis. According to Liu et al. (2021), it is feasible to work on the ecological efficiency of industrial production and advance development plans for sustainability using data-driven evaluation and optimization. The method involves the data gathering and processing of the industrial production systems from the standpoint of energy — the quantity of directly or indirectly used energy for production (Liu et al., 2021). To achieve the quantitative evaluation, an eco-efficiency evaluation model of the industrial production system is built. The relationship between numerous elements and eco-efficiency is investigated, and a date-driven eco-efficiency optimization choice is developed to increase industrial output’s eco-efficiency and production advantages (Liu et al., 2021). In a manufacturing company, the research results identified the potential to reduce resource consumption by 8.3% and waste discharge by 6.7 percent while increasing eco-efficiency by 13.8 percent and increasing production benefit by 8.1 percent (Liu et al., 2021). This fact points to the practicality of data analysis within the field.

An Analysis of the Importance of Data as an Instrument of Pollution Control

The technological processes of different food processing plants differ greatly, which is due to the variety of raw materials to be processed and products to be manufactured. With all the variety of technological processes, equipment, and raw materials, all food production enterprises have common features, which are determined by the processing of organic raw materials, the use of finished products in food, and often without pretreatment. In the enterprises of this industry, due to the use of many different types of raw materials and methods of its processing, almost all types of harmful waste occur.

To begin with, the data serve as a source and a kind of flag for public attention. An important discovery in the process of using the databases was that there were three types of emissions to the atmosphere and water, most of them liquid. This was determined by the percentages obtained when analyzing and interpreting the results of the data obtained (Wildi, 2017). Thanks to analytical work, the danger of emissions has become known (Mogili & Pallapu, 2020). It is this analytical tool that makes it possible to calculate percentages and masses, which are therefore subject to correction and reduction.

The main achievement of using the databases is the timely identification of the detrimental effects of the income on the lungs of citizens and workers. In other words, through analytical work, health hazards have been identified, and work has begun on reducing, preventing, and eliminating them (Komori & Eguchi, 2019, p. 13). In this case, it was thanks to analytics that the public health hazards were identified, and, consequently, the fight against pollution began.

Increasing the Level of Greening of Food Enterprises

It does not require any special knowledge to be convinced that environmental problems exist at food enterprises: it is enough to walk through the enterprise, and the human senses will unmistakably identify the most ecologically unfavorable technological units and operations. Waste and effluents from the food industry and agriculture pose a great ecological hazard. Analysis of agricultural and meat industry waste disposal methods has shown that there are reserves for profitable and safe waste disposal.

Manure/Litter

The fastest and most efficient way to utilize manure and dung is to burn it to produce heat, steam, and electricity: the final cost of each type of energy is much lower than using traditional fuels. In the case of litter, these figures are doubled. The generated ash is an effective mineral potassium-phosphorus fertilizer, increasing the yield of grain crops by 10-15% (Reif & Horbach, 2018, p. 36). In addition, ash is a cheap component for the production of building materials, including cellular concrete.

Non-food slaughter waste

The use of traditional fodder meat and bone meal has become restricted by veterinary prohibition. And the technology itself is far from being environmentally friendly: the process is accompanied by the formation of liquid effluents and foul-smelling gases that require cleaning. But intensive livestock breeding cannot do without high-protein feed, and the most ecologically sound is extrusion processing of slaughter waste into feed and feed additives. Its advantages are:

high degree of bacterial purity and digestibility of the product;
Low cost of the final product;
No waste and no foul-smelling gas emissions;
Continuity of the process and no need for steam.

The advantages of this technology are due to the peculiarities of extrusion. Plant and animal components undergo rigorous barothermal processing: they are stirred, compressed, ground, heated, boiled, sterilized, and shaped (Moreno & Triguero, 2019). A sharp drop in pressure as the product exits the extruder sterilizes the final product. The extrudate is a sterile and balanced complex feed with a high degree of digestibility.

Treatment of wastewater from food processing plants

Unlike other wastes, treated wastewater from food processing plants cannot be reused in the industrial cycle due to an outright sanitary prohibition. In the absence of preferential loans for treatment equipment, it is difficult to expect that owners will faithfully comply with environmental regulations. But wastewater from the meat industry, unlike domestic wastewater, is heavily polluted, including rapidly rotting organics. Their characteristic features are irregularity of inflow, fluctuation of concentrations during the shift, and high content of fats, proteins, and suspended substances. These features need to be taken into account in the design and creation of local treatment facilities (Toldra, 2018). When sewage is discharged into the reservoir, treatment facilities are complemented with aerobic biological treatment and decontamination. There are a few problems: biology is an energy-intensive and capricious process since live microorganisms are used as a purification tool (Toldra, 2018). Therefore, in order to reduce the load on biology, it is necessary to intensify the preliminary and physical-chemical purification as much as possible. This technique significantly reduces the overall capital and operating costs. Another resource of cost savings is comprehensive automation of VOCs with remote access and the use of modern automatic screw dehydrators. For environmental measures to be implemented in full, state support is needed: it is necessary to turn waste recycling into an economically attractive type of business.

Conclusion and Future Work

It is thanks to analytical work and data as a research tool that the presence of contamination from the food industry has been identified. In addition, hazardous emissions for the body were established, and the main sources of pollution were formulated. All these facts together allow us to conclude about the effectiveness and relevance of the use of databases in the environmental field. In future work, ecologists and engineers have developed possible ways of greening and optimizing industries. Industries need to adhere to these recommendations and develop new ones to reduce atmospheric pollution. One motivation is already the environmental laws of states that impose liability for non-compliance with environmental regulations. Another reason is the high rate of environmental pollution.

References

Komori, O., and Eguchi, S. (2019). Statistical methods for imbalanced data in ecological and biological studies. Springer Japan.

Liu, C., Gao, M., Zhu, G., Zhang, C., Zhang, P., Chen, J., & Cai, W. (2021). Data driven eco-efficiency evaluation and optimization in industrial production. Energy, 224, 120170.

Mogili, A., and Pallapu, M. K. (2020). Evaluating the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Real Time Data Visualization: An Action Research Study. DiVA.

Moreno, A. G., and Triguero, Á. (2019). Research on open-innovation strategies and eco-innovation in agro-food industries. Chartridge Books Oxford.

Reif, C., and Horbach, J. (2018). New developments in eco-innovation research. Springer International Publishing.

Toldra, F. (Ed.). (2018). Advances in food and nutrition research. Elsevier Science.

Wildi, O. (2017). Data analysis in vegetation ecology. CABI.

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