DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINES

Nowadays sustainability in the design and production of products and machines has taken on particular importance due to the global concern about the environmental impact introduced during their whole life cycle. Reduction in the use of raw materials and components, and the use of more energy efficient processes are not only desirable but also necessary in order to obtain appreciable benefits from both the economic and the sustainability point of view. In this paper the replacing of three agricultural machines (i.e. round baler, wrapper, hay rake) with one innovative combined machine is considered. The aim of the research is the comparative analysis of the environmental impact of the two alternative systems. The study is conducted by the use of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, through which damage to different categories (human health, ecosystem quality, resources) is considered in a “cradle to grave” perspective. Potential improvement actions related to the haymaking procedure, such as biodiesel and bioplastic film adoption, are also proposed and evaluated. Results demonstrate that the replacing of the standalone devices with the combined device involves significant savings in the environmental burden related to the machinery manufacturing and, most of all, to the haymaking process thanks to a more efficient procedure. The benefits caused by the replacing of polyethylene film and conventional diesel fuel with equipollent non-fossil derived substances are finally discussed.