title: Environmental impact of mushroom compost production.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This research analyses the environmental impact of the creation of Agaricus bisporus compost packages. The composting process is the intermediate stage of the mushroom production process, subsequent to the mycelium cultivation stage and prior to the fruiting bodies cultivation stage.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A full life cycle assessment model of the Agaricus bisporus composting process has been developed through the identification and analysis of the inputs-outputs and energy consumption of the activities involved in the production process. The study has been developed based on data collected from a plant during a 1 year campaign, thereby obtaining accurate information used to analyse the environmental impact of the process.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A global analysis of the main stages of the process shows that the process that has the greatest impact in most categories is the compost batch preparation process. This is due to an increased consumption of energy resources by the machinery that mixes the raw materials to create the batch. At the composting process inside the tunnel stage, the activity that has the greatest impact in almost all categories studied is the initial stage of composting. This is due to higher energy consumption during the process compared to the other stages. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of la Rioja, Edificio Departamental - C/San José de Calasanz 31, 26004, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leiva
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of la Rioja, Edificio Departamental, C/San José de Calasanz 31, 26004, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan-Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Saenz-Díez
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of la Rioja, Edificio Departamental - C/San José de Calasanz 31, 26004, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of la Rioja, Edificio Departamental, C/San José de Calasanz 31, 26004, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jiménez
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of la Rioja, Edificio Departamental, C/San José de Calasanz 31, 26004, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7351-5342
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blanco
mesh_terms: D000364:Agaricus / Q000254:growth & development*; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: Agaricus bisporus; CML methodology; compost production; cradle-to-gate study; environmental impact; life cycle assessment