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PROCEEDINGS OF ECOS 2016 - THE 29TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEON
EFFICIENCY, COST, OPTIMIZATION, SIMULATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ENERGY SYSTEMS
JUNE19-23, 2016, PORTOROŽ, SLOVENIA
Energy use and CO2 emissions of the Mexican white maize agroindustry
Sergio Juárez-Hernándeza, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo
b
a Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México,
[email protected] (CA) b Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México,
Abstract:
Social and economic changes in modern societies have favored an integration of primary product sector and industrial processing sector leading to the formation of complex agroindustry systems. In Mexico, maize is the most important cereal for domestic consumption so that maize agroindustry plays a relevant role in social and economic terms. White maize is the dominant maize variety planted in Mexico mainly for direct human consumption. White maize agroindustry demands different types and amounts of energy sources to produce, transport, store, preserve and process the grain into a variety of derived products. The purpose of this paper is to estimate energy use and related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the key sectors of the Mexican white maize agroindustry based on information from the literature. Sectors examined include domestic white maize production, maize transportation, maize storage and preservation, maize processing and tortilla manufacturing. Estimated total energy use of the white maize agroindustry is in region of 123.3-217.3 PJ. Domestic white maize production (58.5-62.8 PJ) and mechanized tortilla manufacturing (31.4-92.9 PJ) are the major energy consumers. Commercial fossil-derived energy inputs such as diesel, synthetic fertilizers, LP gas and electricity are the main energy sources. However, non commercial energy forms (e.g. human and animal work) make a substantial contribution to total energy requirements especially in domestic maize production. Total GHG emissions range from 9.0 to 16.5 million tons CO2eq with mechanized tortilla production (2.3-6-9 million tons CO2eq) and domestic white maize production (3.7-4.5 million tons CO2eq) as the main GHG sources. In general, published information on energy use in the key sectors of the Mexican white maize agroindustry is scarce, out of date, and reports widely dispersed values. Further research is needed to perform more accurate calculations. In particular, domestic maize production, maize transportation and industrial processing should be investigated more in detail.
Keywords:
Maize human consumption, Maize processing, Maize production, Maize tortilla, Mexico.
1. Introduction Social and economic changes in modern societies have favored an integration of primary product
sector and industrial processing sector leading to the formation of complex agroindustry systems. In
general, an agroindustry system articulates industrial inputs production, agricultural production,
primary products conditioning, preservation and industrial processing, transport distribution, and final consumption of processed products [1, 2].
Agroindustry systems are usually tied to strategic primary products. In case of Mexico, maize is the
most important cereal for domestic consumption so that maize agroindustry system plays a relevant
role from social and economic perspectives. In the period 2010-2014, annual average maize grain
planted area was 7.6 million hectares, i.e. around one third of total country’s cropland, and
production amounted to 21.8 million tons (average yield of 3.2 t/ha) representing nearly 20% of the
economic value of total domestic crop production [3]. According to the 2007 National Agriculture
Census [4], there are nearly 2.8 million maize production units spread all along the country
resulting in an average size of 3.0 ha per production unit.
Maize is cultivated in diverse agro-climatic conditions and production scales combining a variety of
farming practices. However, two basic maize production systems can be distinguished: Traditional
production and commercial production [5–7]. Traditional maize production is typically practiced in
small rainfed lands using traditional labor-intensive techniques and low modern agricultural inputs
producing mainly for sefl-consumption (for human and animal use). On the other hand, large
commercial producers use extensive areas in good rainfed and irrigated lands and make intensive
use of mechanization, mineral fertilizers, agrochemicals and improved seeds. In between there is a
numerous group of transition producers that combine practices from both traditional and commercial maize production systems [8].
Despite many maize varieties are cultivated in Mexico, white maize is the most important one.
White maize represents around 94% (7.1 million hectares) and 90% (19.6 million tons) of 2010-
2014 total annual average maize grain planted area and production, respectively [3]. All white
maize production is for domestic consumption with foreign trade representing a marginal share
(around 3%) of total white maize supply. Dominant role of white maize derives from its use to
prepare various food products extensively consumed by Mexican population. According to [9] more than half of total white maize domestic production is for commercial direct human consumption.
White maize for direct human consumption is generally treated by nixtamalization. Nixtamalization
process consists on cooking and steeping maize grains in a lime solution and next cooked maize
grains (called nixtamal) are washed with clean water and grinded to produce a wet paste known as
nixtamal masa (dough) from which several traditional foods and beverages are made [10, 11].
Nixtamalization causes a series of chemical and structural changes on maize grain that improve
maize nutritional features [10].
Most of the white maize for human consumption is processed into maize tortilla, i.e. a flat, circular-
shaped and baked nixtamalized maize-derived food product commonly consumed to accompany
daily meals. For the period 2004-2006, [12] reports that around 10.1 million tons of white maize
was annually processed into maize tortillas. Further, it has been estimated [12] that the maize
tortilla value chain generates around 1% of gross domestic product.
White maize processing for commercial tortilla production is carried out by two industries: The
traditional nixtamalized maize masa industry and the maize masa flour industry. Traditional
nixtamalized masa industry is predominantly composed of small, family-owned millings called
nixtamal millings that process maize following the traditional nixtamalization process [13]. Nearly
92,000 establishments related to nixtamalized maize milling and tortilla production operate across
the country [14]. On the other hand, maize masa flour industry is a relatively modern industry
concentrated in two major private companies that operate 25 plants with a combined annual
processing capacity of 3.6 million tons of maize masa flour [15, 16]. Currently about 56-66% of
total tortilla production relies on traditional nixtamalized maize masa [15, 16].
Maize tortilla is manufactured in different ways. In rural communities tortilla is regularly
homemade by hand for self-consumption of peasant families whereas in urban locations
mechanized tortilla is the main form of production. Reference [17] reports that between 63,000 and
84,000 tortilla machines might operate in the country, most of which use traditional nixtamalized
masa as raw material.
One distinctive characteristic of the Mexican white maize agroindustry is the combination of
traditional and modern practices in all key sectors from maize production to maize processing. This
particularity affects agroindustry’s energy requirements and associated environmental impacts such
as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, examining the sources and demand of energy along
the white maize agroindustry value chain might provide useful information to promote efficient
energy use as a critical aspect to assure long-term sustainability of this strategic agroindustry
system. The purpose of this paper is to estimate energy use and related GHG emissions of key
sectors of the Mexican white maize agroindustry based on information reported in the literature in
order to figure out a preliminary energy profile of this important agroindustry system. Manuscript is
organized as follows: Section 2 details white maize agroindustry system examined as well as
methodology and sources of information used. Section 3 presents and discusses the results on
energy use and GHG emissions for each of the sectors examined and the agroindustry system as a whole. Finally, Section 4 is devoted to the conclusions.
2. Methodology and data sources White maize agroindustry sectors examined were: domestic maize grain production, maize grain
transportation, maize grain storage and preservation, and maize grain processing (Fig. 1). Energy
use and GHG emissions (in terms of CO2eq) accounted for upstream energy and GHG emissions of the main energy and material inputs associated to each of the sectors analyzed.
In case of white maize domestic production, basic data on planted area, grain production and
consumption were obtained from [3, 9]. Energy use in domestic white maize production was
estimated from data reported for some maize production systems typically practiced in Mexico [18–
21] (Table 1). Note that these works examine maize production in a few locations so that they might
not be fully representative of all the variety of maize production systems within the country.
However, to date available information on energy use in maize production in Mexico is scarce to
enable a more accurate calculation. Energy related to transportation of harvested maize was
excluded from total energy requirements for maize production because maize grain transportation
energy was calculated separately. If not reported, upstream energy and GHG emissions of main
agronomic inputs were calculated based on data from [20–23].
Fig. 1. Boundaries of the Mexican white maize agroindustry system examined.
Consulted authors classified maize production systems according to the main source of traction
used in agricultural field operations (i.e. human labor, draft animals, machinery, and mixed
traction). Consequently, white maize surface shares corresponding to each source of traction was
derived from [24, 25]. Greenhouse gas emissions from white maize production included direct N2O
emissions related to nitrogen fertilizer application. Default emission factor of 0.01 kg N2O-N/kg N
applied was used [26]. Nitrogen content of manure used as organic fertilizer was obtained from [27] and conversion to CO2eq was done using 100-year global warming potentials [28].
Maize transportation comprised grain shipments from fields to commercial storage facilities (WMf-
s) and from the later to large maize grain buyers (WMs-b). Calculations were based on the modal
transportation structure and weighted average traveled distances estimated by [29] for domestic
maize shipments (Table 2). Average energy intensities (MJ/ton-km) of freight transportation modes
were taken from [30]. The amount of WMf-s was calculated as total domestic production less maize
used for self-consumption and for seed whereas the amount of WMs-b was calculated as WMf-s plus initial stock and imports less shrinkage and final stock.
Table 1
. Estim
ated
energ
y inputs p
er hecta
re for so
me m
aize p
roductio
n system
s pra
cticed in
Mexico
acco
rdin
g to
vario
us a
uth
ors
S
mall- an
d m
ediu
m-scale m
aize pro
du
ction
L
arge co
mm
ercial pro
ductio
n
Sou
rce of traction
O
nly h
um
an lab
or
Draft an
imals
Mech
anical tractio
n
Mix
ed traction
M
echan
ical traction
Referen
ce [2
1]
[18
, 19
] [2
1]
[18
, 19
] [1
8, 1
9]
[20
] [2
0]
/h
Inpu
t, MJ/h
a
Hu
man
labor
2,4
65.1
2
30
.5
82
5.3
1
78
.9
241.1
259.0
96.1
An
imal lab
or
1
,08
7.4
2
,07
1.1
442.7
718.0
71.4
Seed
s 153.2
2
20
.9/b
15
3.2
2
94
.6/b
294.6
/b 300.0
3,1
77.9
Mach
inery
69.3
/a
17
3.2
/d
1,8
15.0
3,4
07.4
/k
Diesel
1
,10
9.6
/e 577.0
638.0
2,2
16.8
/k
N fertilizer
4
,97
7.1
/c
1,6
40.3
/f 2,1
61.5
/h 1,0
37.8
/i 12,8
04.8
/l
P fertilizer
2
66
.3/c
2
21
.9/f
44.4
/h 256.2
/i 1,3
44.5
/l
K fertilizer
336.1
/l
Man
ure
245.0
Herb
icides
12.0
221.7
Insecticid
es
714.4
Electricity
221.7
Tran
sport (h
arvested
maize)
1
69
.9/g
169.9
/g 41.0
/j
Tran
sport (in
pu
ts, farm w
ork
ers, etc.)
57
7.0
88.8
22.2
Total
2,6
87.5
6
,78
2.3
3
,22
2.8
4
,19
2.2
4,0
20.0
5,3
22.0
24,6
35.0
Maize yield
, kg
-maize/h
a 1,9
44.0
1
,14
5.0
9
41
.0
1,0
60.0
1,2
60.0
882.0
7,5
09.0
En
ergy in
tensity
, MJ/k
g-m
aize 1.3
8
5.9
2
3.4
2
3.9
5
3.1
9
6.0
3
3.2
8
/a Man
ufactu
re of ax
and h
oe.
/b Estim
ated v
alue co
nsid
ering
14
.73
MJ/k
g seed
[21
]. /c A
uth
ors rep
ort that 3
0 k
g o
f min
eral fertilizers is applied
durin
g seed
ing, an
d 2
00 k
g d
urin
g
weed
ing
. Fertilizer ap
plied
durin
g seed
ing, h
ow
ever, typ
e of fertilizer u
sed is n
ot sp
ecified. V
alues w
ere estimated
assum
ing th
at diam
mon
ium
ph
osp
hate is u
sed in
seedin
g an
d th
at
urea is u
sed in
weed
ing in
accord
ance w
ith [2
0]. E
nerg
y con
tent fro
m [2
0]. /d M
anu
facture o
f draft an
imal im
plem
ents. /e In
cludes u
pstream
energ
y calculated
as suggested
in [2
2]. /f
Au
thors rep
ort 2
5 k
g o
f min
eral fertilizer applied
durin
g seed
ing
and
60
kg
durin
g w
eedin
g. S
ee note
/c. /g G
asolin
e fueled
ligh
t truck
. /h A
uth
ors rep
ort 5
kg o
f min
eral fertilizer
app
lied d
urin
g seed
ing an
d 9
0 k
g d
urin
g w
eedin
g. S
ee note /c. /i A
uth
or rep
orts 6
74
MJ/h
a of m
ineral fertilizers u
sed in
seedin
g an
d 6
20 M
J/ha in
secon
d fertilization
. For th
e form
er
diam
mon
ium
ph
osp
hate w
as con
sidered
and fo
r the later u
rea. En
ergy co
nten
t from
[20
]. /j D
iesel for h
arvested
maize an
d ag
ricultu
ral inputs tran
sportatio
n.
/k Estim
ated v
alues.
/l
Estim
ated v
alues b
ased o
n reco
mm
ended
fertilization
dose fo
r maize p
rod
uction
[37
] and en
ergy co
nten
t from
[20
].
Table 2. Estimated modal shares and weighted average travelled distances in Mexican domestic
maize grain transportation
% of total
maize
shipped
Modal shares,
% of maize shipped
Weighted
average
travelled distance, km
Light
truck
Medium
truck
Heavy
truck Rail Maritime
Maize supplier From maize fields to grain storage facilities
Individual farmers 71.3 49.4 43.7 6.9 19.2
Groups of farmers 8.4 22.4 50.0 26.3 1.3 69.2
Domestic companies 12.6 7.1 42.9 46.9 3.1 448.2
International companies 1.5 16.7 33.3 33.3 16.7 131.6
Associates of warehouse 6.2 56.5 41.3 2.2 24.7
Total 100.0
Maize buyer From storage facilities to maize buyers
Individual farmers 33.7 31.3 42.5 23.5 2.6 95.5
Groups of farmers 7.4 12.5 45.8 39.6 2.1 82.2
Domestic companies 49.1 3.4 29.8 59.2 7.6 190.7
International companies 3.2 5.0 25.0 45.0 25.0 332.3
Exports 3.2 14.3 9.5 76.2 251.0
Associates of warehouse 3.5 92.3 7.7 12.1
Total 100.0
Source: Own calculations based on data from [29]
Operations examined in white maize storage and preservation were grain artificial drying,
mechanical handling, aeration and pesticide production for stored maize. Average energy
requirements for conventional high temperature grain artificial drying were obtained from [31].
Upstream energy and GHG emission for domestic electricity production were approximated based on data reported in [22, 23, 32–35].
Grain artificially dried was assumed to be only white maize produced by large commercial farmers.
Maize grain from peasant producers was excluded because it is normally dried by direct solar
radiation and natural air circulation in the field or in traditional small barns [8, 36]. White maize
production from large commercial farmers was estimated based on the Mexican maize producers
typology suggested by [25] considering that this group of farmers achieves yields greater than 5.0
t/ha. Energy use associated to mechanical transportation, aeration, and pesticide manufacture for
stored maize grain was estimated from specific energy consumption calculated by [22]. The amount
of white maize associated to these operations was assumed to be the volume of grain transported
from fields to storage facilities (WMf-s). The rationale behind this assumption is that according to
[29] most (87.8%) of the total grain storage capacity in Mexico corresponds to large size
warehouses (>5,000 tons of capacity) with basic equipment for mechanical transportation,
conditioning and preservation of grains.
In the white maize processing sector the following activities were considered: traditional
nixtamalized maize masa production, maize masa flour production, and mechanized maize tortilla
manufacturing. Energy and GHG emissions associated to lime production for maize nixtamalization
were also included. The amount of white maize processed by each of these industries was calculated
based on rural and urban daily per capita consumption of maize-derived food products as reported
in [38] with basic data about Mexican population taken from [39]. The volume of white maize
processed by traditional nixtamalized masa and masa flour industries accounted for average grain
processing losses as reported in [40]. Energy use in traditional nixtamalized maize masa production
in typical nixtamalized maize millings was obtained from [41-43], whereas that for maize masa flour production was consulted in [44-46].
Regarding maize tortilla production, it was assumed that total domestic tortilla consumption
estimated as previously corresponded to mechanized tortilla manufacturing. Additionally, all tortilla
consumed by rural population was assumed to be made from traditional nixtamalized maize masa.
Based on [15, 16], it was considered that 60% of commercial tortilla consumed by urban population
was produced from traditional nixtamalized masa and the remaining from maize masa flour. Energy
consumption estimated for most widely used maize tortilla machines models was obtained from [17,
41]. For conversion purposes, the following average transformation coefficients were used: 0.94 kg
maize masa flour/kg maize; 1.75 kg tortilla/kg maize masa flour; 1.70 kg nixtamal maize masa/kg maize; 0.81 kg tortilla/kg nixtamal maize masa [47].
3. Results and discussion
3.1. White maize supply and demand flows
Based on 2012 figures, total white maize supply flow amounted to around 22.2 million tons of
which 20.0 million tons corresponded to domestic production whereas imports represented less than 3% of total supply so the country is virtually self-sufficient in white maize (Table 3).
Table 3. Estimated supply and demand flows of white maize in Mexico
103×tons %
Total supply 22,207.00 100.0
of which:
Domestic production 20,006.00 90.1
Imports 589.00 2.7
Initial stock 1,612.00 7.3
Total demand 20,345.76 100.0
of which:
Exports 493.00 2.4
Commercial human consumption 11,838.46 58.2
of which:
Traditional nixtamalized maize masa production
For consumption as nixtamalized masa 972.60 8.2
For tortilla manufacturing 5,925.56 50.1
Maize masa flour production
For consumption as maize masa flour 975.50 8.2
For tortilla manufacturing 2,449.54 20.7
Consumption as grain 1,515.26 12.8
Self-consumption 4,348.30 21.4
Animal Consumption 2,671.00 13.1
Seed 161.00 0.8
Shrinkage 834.00 4.1
Final stock 1,861.24
Regarding consumption, commercial direct human consumption amounted to nearly 12.0 million
tons of grain. About 60% of total white maize for direct human consumption was processed into
traditional nixtamalized maize masa and 29% into maize masa flour. Approximately 8.4 million
tons of processed white maize was used for tortilla production. White maize consumption as grain
was close to 13% of total volume of grain for human use. Note that this last figure refers only to
urban consumption as grain because rural use as grain was allotted to self-consumption (around 4.3
million tons of grain). However, per capita maize consumption as grain as reported in [38] includes
white maize as well as other varieties of maize so that calculated use as grain might be
overestimated. Animal feed use amounted to about 13% of total white maize domestic consumption
and shrinkage to 4%. Shrinkage percentage seems to be low given that some authors [48] report
shares of up to 25% of total maize grain production probably due to different assumption in the accounting methodology.
3.2 Energy use in domestic white maize production
In 2012, around 7.0 million hectares of white maize were planted nationwide for a total production
of about 20.0 million tons of grain. Based on previous planted area, energy use for domestic white
maize production might range from 58.5 to 62.8 PJ (Table 4). In terms of kilogram of maize
produced, energy use is about 2.9-3.1 MJ/kg maize. Most of energy use is associated to large scale
commercial white maize production due to intensive use of machinery, agrochemicals and synthetic
fertilizers in particular nitrogen fertilizers. Further, it was estimated that synthetic fertilizer and
agrochemical use accounted for around 50% of total energy use in white maize production whereas diesel for farm machinery represented about 12%.
Table 4. Estimated energy inputs in domestic white maize production
Small- and medium-scale producers
Large
commercial
producers Total
Source of traction
Only
human labor
Only draft
animal
Mixed
traction
Mechanical
traction
Mechanical
traction
Planted area, 103×ha 1,343.28 528.96 1,705.19 1,781.75 1,600.79 6,959.98
Total energy use, PJ 3.61 1.70-3.59 6.57-9.01 7.17 39.44 58.48-62.81
Human and animal
energy, PJ 3.31 0.70-1.53 1.17-1.67 0.32 0.27 6.26-6.60
Fertilizers and
agrochemicals, PJ/a
0.00 0.00-2.77 2.28-3.76 3.32 24.69 31.77-33.01
Diesel, PJ 0.00 0.00 1.09-1.14 3.01 3.58 7.68-7.72
Other inputs, PJ/b 0.30 0.12-0.17 0.50-4.02 0.52 10.90 12.40-15.86
/a Includes N, P and K synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides. /b Depending on the source, it might include
seeds, machinery, manure, electricity, and agricultural inputs transportation
Nevertheless, both human and animal work related mainly to peasant white maize production
contributed with 6.3-6.6 PJ of total energy, i.e. a similar range to that estimated for diesel fuel use.
This result suggests that mechanization level of white maize production in Mexico is still somewhat
low. Note that un-mechanized, low-input peasant maize production concentrated almost 27% of
total planted area. However, estimated energy use per kilogram of maize is within the range of
cradle-to-farm gate nonrenewable energy use in high-input, intensive maize production in the USA
(1.44-3.50 MJ/kg maize) [23]. Despite maize production in the USA makes intensive use of
commercial fossil derived agronomic inputs, more favorable agroclimatic conditions for maize
growth contribute to increase yields and thus reduce average energy use per unit mass of maize
produced.
Energy use associated to other inputs such as seeds and farm machinery production amounted to
12.4-15.9 PJ. Only Pimentel and Pimentel [21] and Orozco [20] evaluate indirect energy use in farm
machinery production. Approximately 14% of total energy use in large commercial maize
production reported in [20] might relate to machinery production. For maize production in the USA,
[49] calculates a similar percentage (ca. 17%) for embodied energy in farm machinery. However,
Kim et al. [23] suggest that energy use in capital goods manufacture is uncertain as reliable
information to estimate it is still unavailable.
3.3. Energy use in white maize transportation
Domestic maize grain transportation relies heavily on road transportation. Most of maize is
transported from fields to storage facilities by light and medium trucks with weighted average
travelled distances ranging from around 19 to 450 km. Note that more than 70% of maize grain
shipped proceeds from dispersed individual maize farmers possibly explaining the modal structure
observed. Maize transportation from storage facilities to large grain buyers depends primarily on
medium and heavy trucks, although an important fraction is transported by rail. Major maize grain
buyers seem to be domestic processing companies maize that demand large volumes of grain.
Almost one-third of maize is shipped to individual farmers probably for retail commercialization in
rural locations.
Energy for white maize transportation from fields to storage facilities was estimated at 440.9
MJ/ton-maize whereas that for transport distribution from storage facilities to large maize grain
buyers was 676.3 MJ/ton-maize. Difference on energy use might be explained mainly because
transportation from storage facilities to large maize buyers involves longer distances. Given the
amount of grain shipped in each case (WMf-s=15,497 million tons and WMs-b=15,002 million tons),
total maize grain transportation energy was estimated at 17.0 PJ. Approximately 3.7 PJ related to
transportation by gasoline-fueled light trucks, and 13.3 PJ to diesel-fueled transport modes especially medium trucks (ca. 9.6 PJ) and heavy trucks (ca. 3.7 PJ).
Other authors report different energy use in maize grain transportation. For instance, from data
reported by Masera [19], it can be estimated around 150 MJ/ton-maize for maize transportation
from fields to local barns. Camarena and Salgado [50] calculate about 590 MJ/ton-maize for
shipments of Mexican maize grain imports, and Orozco [20] reports a range from 190 to 1,220
MJ/ton-maize. Similarly, works on the energy balance of maize ethanol production [22, 48, 50–52]
calculate values in the region of 164-575 MJ/ton-maize. These discrepancies arise mainly due to different assumptions on modal structure, travelled distances and energy intensities.
3.4. Energy use in white maize storage and preservation
White maize storage and preservation is calculated to require 2.2-6.8 PJ of energy. Most energy
(2.1-6.7 PJ) corresponded to LP gas and electricity consumption for grain artificial drying
considering that grain moisture content is reduced from 20-30% to 14-15%. As pointed out by Kim
et al. [23], energy use for grain drying is commonly aggregated in total fuel consumption figures
reported for maize production, and hence it is difficult to determine the share of energy that exclusively relates to artificial drying.
Energy for mechanical transportation, aeration and chemical pesticide production associated to
stored maize accounted for less than 0.1 PJ. Marginal energy use in these operations probably explains why most of the authors consulted omit energy needs for maize storage and preservation.
3.5. Energy use in white maize processing
3.5.1. Traditional nixtamalized maize masa production
Around 6.9 million tons of white maize was processed into traditional nixtamalized maize masa
with grain processing losses accounting for about 0.9 million tons. Total nixtamalized masa
production was calculated at nearly 10.1 million tons of which about 8.7 million tons was devoted
to commercial tortilla production.
Energy inputs reported for traditional nixtamalized maize millings vary in the range of 8.6-18.75 L
of LP gas (mean 14.5 L) and 15-106 kWh of electricity (mean 42.1 kWh) per ton of nixtamalized
masa produced [41-43]. Wide range of variation results in part from the diversity of nixtamalization
processes practiced all around the country [43]. Some of the millings examined by Ambriz and
Paredes [42] report higher LP gas use (up to 126 L per ton of nixtamalized masa produced) because
it includes for LP gas use by tortilla machines installed at the millings. In overall terms, thermal
energy represents 52-96% and electricity 4-48% of total energy inputs of typicla nixtamalized
maize masa millings. Consequently, total energy use associated to traditional nixtamalized maize
masa production was calculated at 3.8-15.3 PJ with LP gas derived energy amounting to 2.3-5.0 PJ
and electricity to 1.4-10.2 PJ. Note that large energy contribution associated to electricity is due to
primary energy efficiency calculated for domestic electricity generation (ca. 38.1%).
In traditional nixtamalization process about 8 to 12 kg of lime is added per ton of grain [41, 53–
55]. Therefore, total lime use for nixtamalization of white maize processed into traditional
nixtamalized masa was estimated at 55.2-83.8 thousand tons with an embodied energy ranging from 0.1 to 0.2 PJ, a small share compared to the amount associated to energy carriers used in processing.
3.5.2 Maize masa flour production
It was calculated that around 3.4 million tons of white maize was processed into maize masa flour
reporting grain processing losses of about 0.5 million tons. Total domestic maize masa flour
production reached 2.8 million tons of which approximately 2.0 million tons would have been
processed into tortilla.
Public available information on energy use in maize masa flour industrial production is scarce and
out of date. Per ton of maize masa flour produced, energy inputs reported in [44] consists of 140 L
of diesel and 110 kWh of electricity. Reference [45] estimates 2,446 MJ of thermal energy
(probably from heavy fuel oil) and 107 kWh of electricity, and [46] calculates 2,954 MJ and 190
kWh, respectively. Therefore, energy requirements for producing one ton of maize masa flour range
from 2,446 to 5,101 MJ of thermal energy and from 110 to 190 kWh of electricity. Additionally,
cited authors report that lime requirements for maize nixtamalization vary between 8 and 16 kg per ton of maize masa flour produced.
Total energy use in domestic maize masa flour production was calculated in the region of 10.5-22.5
PJ. Thermal energy from fossil fuels accounted for 7.6-17.4 PJ and electricity use for 2.8-5.0 PJ.
Total lime consumption ranged from 22.4 to 44.8 thousand tons with and estimated embodied
energy of 0.04 to 0.08 PJ. Probably because maize masa flour production process is more
standardized, estimated consumption figures show less variation in comparison with those obtained
for nixtamalized masa production. However, data available in the literature might not fully reflect
the current energy performance of maize masa flour industry, for example, in terms of energy
carries used and specific energy consumption.
3.4.3 Commercial maize tortilla production
It was calculated that about 8.4 million tons of white maize was processed into 10.6 million tons of
commercial maize tortilla. Despite tortilla is the main maize-derived food product consumed in
Mexico, updated and reliable statistics on total domestic tortilla production are lacking. The more
reliable source that could be found [57] estimates that in 2013 about 5.0 million tons of maize grain
was used to produce around 7.4 million tons of tortilla, of which 6.0 million tons corresponded to
mechanized tortilla production. However, these calculations are based on minimum consumption
levels of maize-derived food products for Mexican rural and urban population sectors established in
[58] and hence actual consumption of tortilla might be higher.
Electricity and LP gas are the main energy inputs for commercial mechanized tortilla production.
Energy use for most popular tortilla machine models processing traditional nixtamalized masa range
from 93 to 380 L of LP gas (mean 238 L) and 4 to 36 kWh (mean 20 kWh) of electricity per ton of
tortilla produced [17, 41]. Those reported for masa flour-based tortilla machines are in the region of
142-210 L of LP gas (mean 176 L) and 28-35 kWh of electricity (mean 31 kWh). Differences on
energy consumption of tortilla machines are related to various factors such as working principle,
production capacity, and type of raw material used [17] as well as methodology applied to estimate
energy inputs. Reported values suggest that tortilla machines using traditional nixtamalized masa
are more energy intensive than masa flour-based tortilla machines. One possible reason for this is
the substantial proportion of old and improvised nixtamalized masa tortilla machines that operate in
the country [17].
Based on the estimated domestic tortilla production, total energy use in commercial mechanized
tortilla production was calculated at 31.4-92.9 PJ. Nixtamalized masa tortilla machines would
consume 17.4-72.5 PJ and masa flour tortilla machines, 13.9-20.4 PJ. In both cases thermal energy
from LP gas made the largest contribution to total energy use (17.2-70.1 PJ and 13.0-19.2,
respectively). Hernández [17] calculates 42.7-64.7 PJ with about 98% corresponding to thermal
energy from LP gas. However, this estimation does not take into account upstream energy of LP gas and electricity production and considers a domestic tortilla production of around 7.1 million tons.
3.5 Total energy use in the Mexican white maize agroindustry
From previous calculations, energy use of the Mexican white maize agroindustry might range from
123.3 to 217.3 PJ (Fig. 2). Most of energy use corresponded to domestic white maize production
and mechanized maize tortilla production. If only energy associated to diesel, synthetic fertilizers
and agrochemicals is considered, energy use in white maize production would represent 31-32% of
total commercial energy use in crop production sector in Mexico in 2010 (125.6 PJ) [59]. This
percentage seems reasonable given that maize surface covers about one-third of total domestic crop
planted area.
Fig. 2. Estimated minimum and maximum energy use of Mexican white maize agroindustry
Between 8 and 14% of total energy related to domestic white maize grain transportation. Authors
examining maize ethanol production [22, 48, 50–52] estimate that 2-5% of total energy use in the
production system correspond to maize shipping. Further, calculated maize transportation energy
would represent 2.5% of total energy use reported by [60] for the Mexican freight transportation
sector in 2010 (671.6 PJ). Higher transportation energy estimated for white maize transportation results from the large use of light and medium trucks with high energy intensities.
Energy use in traditional nixtamalized masa production and mechanized tortilla production showed
a large range of variation. Difference between maximum and minimum energy consumption is
around three-fold due to wide dispersion of data reported in the literature. Large variations in
reported data might be attributed to the heterogeneity of equipment, operational conditions, and
particularities of production processes of these two key sectors of the Mexican white maize
agroindustry. However, differences in time, location, and estimation methodologies might also affect reported values.
3.6 Greenhouse gas emissions of the Mexican white maize agroindustry
Total GHG emissions of the Mexican white maize agroindustry ranged from 9.0 to 16.5 million
tons of CO2eq (Fig.3). Domestic white maize production and mechanized tortilla production appear
to be the major sources of GHG emissions. Domestic white maize production would generate about
3.7-4.5 million ton CO2eq that represent less than 10% of total GHG emissions associated to crop
production in Mexico (ca. 46.7 million tons CO2eq) reported by [61]. Direct N2O emission related
to N fertilizer use (1.6-2.0 million tons CO2eq) comprised about 44% of total GHG emissions from
white maize production. Kim et al. [23] report a similar percentage (48-64%) related to GHG
emissions of maize production in the USA. Most synthetic N fertilizer is used in intensive
commercial white maize production system which is similar to that typically practice in industrialized countries.
Fig. 3. Estimated minimum and maximum GHG emissions of Mexican white maize agroindustry
On a per kilogram basis, GHG emissions from white maize production resulted in 0.19-0.23 kg
CO2eq/kg maize. Orozco [20] reports 0.11 kg CO2eq/kg maize and 0.13 kg CO2/kg maize for
traditional and intensive maize production. Note that estimations of Orozco [20] refer only to maize production related to a rural community in the state of Michoacán, Mexico.
Regarding white maize storage and preservation, grain artificial drying was by far the main source
of GHG emissions (0.17-0.51 million tons CO2eq) due to large use of LP gas for thermal energy
production. About 1.6 million tons CO2eq related to white maize domestic transportation that
represents 9-17% of total GHG emissions of the agroindustry system. Considering the amount of
white maize shipped, it results around 0.05 kg CO2eq/kg maize transported. Orozco [20] estimates
0.08 kg CO2eq/kg maize due to different assumptions on modal structure and transportation energy intensities.
White maize processing would emit between 3.5 and 9.9 million tons CO2eq primarily due to
mechanized tortilla production (2.3-6.9 million tons CO2eq). Combustion of LP gas for thermal
energy used in tortilla baking appeared to be the main source of GHG emissions concentrating
around 97% of total GHG emissions of mechanized tortilla production. Considering estimated total
mechanized tortilla production, average GHG emissions resulted in 0.22-0.66 kg CO2eq/kg tortilla
produced. Mechanized tortilla production using maize masa flour would generate lower GHG
emissions (0.30-0.43 kg CO2eq/kg tortilla) than production using traditional nixtamalized masa
(0.18-0.77 kg CO2eq/kg tortilla) due to low energy intensities reported for masa flour-based tortilla
machines. For mechanized tortilla production using traditional nixtamalized masa, [20] calculates 0.9 kgCO2eq/kg tortilla that is close to upper limit estimated.
Approximately 0.9-1.9 million tons CO2eq were calculated to industrial production of maize masa
flour due to the use of fossil fuels with high carbon content, e.g. heavy fuel oil. However, as data
used for calculations date from between 1950’s and 1990’s, currently the maize masa flour industry
might use low-carbon energy sources, for instance natural gas. Further, according to [61] the food
processing, beverage, and tobacco industries in Mexico all emit about 2.4 million tons of CO2eq.
Therefore, actual GHG emissions of maize masa flour production are likely to be lower than
estimated.
4. Conclusions Energy use and CO2 emissions of the Mexican white maize agroindustry were estimated based on
data reported in the literature. Agroindustry’s sectors examined comprise domestic white maize
production, white maize domestic transportation, white maize storage and preservation, and white
maize processing, including mechanized maize tortilla production.
The Mexican white maize agroindustry is a complex system that demands different types and
amounts of energy to produce, transport, store, preserve and process the grain into a variety of
products primarily for human consumption. Commercial fossil-derived energy inputs such as diesel,
synthetic fertilizers, LP gas and electricity are the main energy sources along the entire value chain
of white maize. However, non commercial energy forms like human and animal work make an
important contribution to meet energy requirements in particular in domestic maize production.
Dependence on fossil energy affects the environmental performance of the Mexican white maize
agroindustry. Substantial amounts of GHG emissions are produced due to the use of fossil energy-
derived inputs primarily involved in white maize production and commercial processing.
Nevertheless, information available in the literature is in general scarce, out of date, and reports
widely dispersed values so that there is nearly a 2-fold difference between total minimum and
maximum energy use and GHG emissions estimated figures. These results highlight the need for
further research to enable more accurate and complete calculations on energy use and GHG
emissions. In particular, domestic maize production, transportation and industrial processing should be investigated more in detail to uncover current trends in energy use and GHG emissions.
White maize agroindustry plays a critical role in food production and supply for a large group of the
Mexican population. Energy consumption and GHG emissions are decisive aspects for long-term
sustainability of this agroindustry. A reliable evaluation of these two indicators calls for additional
research to obtain more complete, precise, and updated data specific for the Mexican context.
Acknowledgements First author acknowledges the support given by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología
(CONACyT) through the National Scholarship Program for Postgraduate Studies.
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