Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Energy used and emissions produced in transportation vary by the type of food product
(i.e., shelf stable, fresh refrigerated, or frozen), method of transportation (i.e., sea freight, river
vessel, train, truck, or plane), size of the transporting vehicle (e.g., pickup truck versus a semi-
trailer truck), and distance. From largest to smallest mass of cargo transported, vehicles can be
sorted into ocean ships, inland barges, trains, large planes (e.g., Boeing 747-400), large trucks,
midsize plane (e.g., Airbus 320), and small trucks.
Cargo planes are the most energy-intensive transportation method, followed by trucks, rail,
inland water, and maritime cargo. However, planes are fast and relatively versatile, and trucks
are moderately fast and have the advantage of being highly flexible and unspecialized. Bulky
dry materials, such as grains, are inexpensively transported by barges or maritime vessels; but
vessels ultimately depend on trucks or trains to transport the goods from the point of produc-
tion to the port of loading.
Refrigerated transport is used to transport perishable products that need handling at cold
temperatures, in either a chilled or frozen state. Besides the fuel spent by the transportation
vehicle, refrigeration equipment requires significant amounts of energy. In addition, refriger-
ated transportation is prone to refrigerant leakage, which has a high global warming potential.
Considering the lack of alternative to fossil fuels in the near future, the only action to
minimize the impact of transportation is to become more efficient in energy utilization by
technical, operational, and logistical improvements.
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