Assessment of the energy utilization and carbon dioxide emission reduction potential of the microbial fertilizers. A case study on “farm-to-fork” production chain of Turkish desserts and confections

Energy utilization and carbon dioxide emission during production of some industrially produced desserts and confections are calculated. The results showed the possibility of 9%-90% reduction in the energy utilization and 4%-80% reduction in the carbon dioxide emission if the chemical fertilizers are replaced with their microbial counter parts. Reductions were more influential in the cases where only a small fraction of an agricultural product was edible and the rest was discarded. The greatest reduction in the energy utilization and carbon dioxide emission was observed with the hazelnut ice cream topping, where the shell and water content of the hazelnut were removed during processing. The second highest reduction in energy utilization, 50%, and carbon dioxide emission, 29%, was observed with the hazelnut spread. Baked semolina-dessert revealed 26% reductions in the energy utilization and 18% reduction in the carbon dioxide emission, after replacing the chemical fertilizers with their microbial counterparts.