The Thai domestic rare earth oxides, including cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium oxides, with the effects of calcination temperatures (500–1000 °C), were utilized as catalysts for twelve Jatropha biodiesel alternatives via an esterification reaction. This study applied life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology from well-to-wheel analysis to assess energy efficiency and the global warming impact with and without land use change. The results of the life cycle analysis showed that the Jatropha biodiesel alternatives using the La₂O₃ catalyst in all conditions (0.89–1.06) were found to be potential fuel substitutes for conventional diesel (0.86) in terms of net energy ratios; however, the results showed that they generated a higher global warming impact. Considering the improvement process of Jatropha biodiesel in the utilization of waste heat recovery, the Jatropha biodiesel reduced the impacts of the net energy ratios and the global warming impact by 22–24% and 34–36%, respectively. The alternative Jatropha biodiesel using the La₂O₃ catalyst with a calcination temperature of 600 °C was shown to be the most environmentally friendly of all the studied fuels; relatively, it had the highest energy ratios of 1.06–1.37 (with and without waste heat recovery) and the lowest total global warming impact of 47.9–70.7 kg CO₂ equivalent (with land use change). The integration of the material and process development by domestic catalysts and the recovery of waste heat would improve the sustainability choices of biofuel production from renewable resources for transportation fuels in Thailand.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks associated with heavy metals in PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ through inhalation exposure among children and adults during both the summer and wet seasons in the Pathum Thani Province, Thailand. PM2.5 and PM10 samples were collected using a Tisch TE-Wilbur sampler, and elemental concentrations were analyzed using Proton-Induced X-Ray Emission (PIXE). Microsoft Excel was employed to determine the statistical values of PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀ concentrations, the concentrations of twelve elements, including Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Zn, Ni, and Cu. The enrichment factor (EF), as well as health risk assessment indicators, including target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI), and carcinogenic risk (CR), were evaluated. The results showed that EF values for Zn, Ni, and Cu ranged from 10 to 100, indicating contributions from anthropogenic sources. Cr exhibited the highest EF values, ranging from 51 to 111, suggesting significant influence from industrial activities and traffic emissions. The mean PM₁₀ concentration (86.0504 µg/m³) during the wet season exceeded the WHO and EU standards but remained below the Thailand standard and the U.S. EPA limit. In contrast, the mean PM₂.₅ concentration (77.5143 µg/m³) during the same period exceeded all referenced standards. The calculated HI values were from 0.0459 to 0.1090 for adults and 0.3285–0.7811 for children. The CR values in PM₂.₅ ranged from 5.0884 × 10⁻⁸ to 7.9544 × 10⁻⁶ for adults and from 5.9364 × 10⁻⁸ to 9.2802 × 10⁻⁶ for children. For PM₁₀, the CR values ranged from 5.1865 × 10⁻⁸ to 1.0412 × 10⁻⁵ for adults and from 6.0509 × 10⁻⁸ to 1.2148 × 10⁻⁵ for children. Although both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were within acceptable limits, higher risk values were observed in children compared to adults. Therefore, targeted and effective air pollution control policies are recommended, with a particular emphasis on protecting children’s health and strengthening evidence-based air quality management strategies.

The Thai domestic rare earth oxides, including cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium oxides with an effect of calcination temperatures (500–1000 ^OC), were utilized as catalysts for twelve alternatives Jatropha biodiesel via esterification reaction. This study applied LCA methodology to analyse energy efficiency and global warming impact. The net energy ratios from well-to-wheel of conventional Jatropha biodiesel using the La₂O₃ catalyst in all condition (0.89−1.02) are found to be potential fuels for substituting conventional diesel (0.86). The global warming impact of the studied conventional Jatropha process from well-to-wheel are 107.8−162.5 kg CO₂ equivalent/1000 MJ, which are greater than that of conventional diesel by 18–44%. The results of process energy and global warming analysis showed the strong consumption of electricity use in hydrolysis reactor for converting triglyceride (Jatropha oil) to fatty acid (oleic acid). The net energy ratio values and global warming impact reduction of Jatropha biodiesel utilizing the waste heat of oleic acid, compared to conventional Jatropha biodiesel are 0.82–1.37 and 33.77–36.36%, respectively. The total global warming impact of Jatropha biodiesel with waste heat recovery including land use change typical abundance land into Jatropha crop was 5–45%, which was lower than that of conventional diesel and 47– 58% reduction relative to conventional Jatropha biodiesel. Jatropha biodiesel using La₂O₃ catalyst with calcination temperature of 600 ^oC showed the most environmental friendly of all studied fuels with relatively highest energy ratios (1.17–1.37) with and without waste heat recovery and lowest total global warming impact (47.9–70.7) as well as with and without land use change. The integration of material and process development by domestic catalysts and recovery waste heat would improve the sustainability choices of biofuels production from renewable resources for transportation fuels in Thailand.

The international trade in organic food has obviously increased potential in the past decade. The present study was conducted to assess and compare the first global warming impact of fluid milk production in Thailand associated to two systems, namely organic and conventional farms, by applying LCA for a case study approach. The assessment was based on a cradle-to-farm gate, with 1 kg of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM) as a functional unit (FU). The environmental impact was evaluated according to International Dairy Federation or biological allocation. The results showed that the global warming values of organic farms (2.366–2.783 kg CO₂ equivalent/kg FPCM) were 47% moderately higher than those of conventional farms (1.253–1.474 kg CO₂ equivalent/kg FPCM). The main contributors to the global warming impact were feed consumption and CH₄ emission, accounting for 33.41% and 33.19%, respectively. The highest global warming impact was found in the stages of lactating cow. Another interesting finding was lack of local organic feed with a relatively high impact on transportation stage. Based on biological allocation, the global warming impact was increased over 12.652–13.107% by the mass allocation method, whereas economic allocation exhibited no effect on the global warming impact. A sensitivity analysis result indicated that the organic farm was economically feasible as an alternative to conventional farm. The substitution of conventional farming with organic farming of 10–50% led to an annual global warming impact in Thailand of 8–30% higher than that of conventional farms.

This study evaluates the environmental sustainability of conventional and organic rice production systems in Nakorn Nayok province, Thailand, focusing on the Khao Dawk Mali 105 variety. Limited studies have evaluated comparative production systems, alternative water management scenarios, and uncertainty in rice life cycle assessment (LCA) under tropical smallholder conditions. A cradle-to-farm gate LCA was conducted under water-sowing continuous flooding (WSF), with 1 kg paddy rice as the functional unit and the ReCiPe 2016 midpoint (H) method. The results showed that organic systems under flooding exhibit higher global warming potential (GWP) than conventional systems, primarily due to methane emissions, which contributed over 83% of the total GWP. The relatively high GWP values compared with previous studies are associated with continuous flooding conditions, methodological assumptions based on IPCC default emission factors, and lower yield in the studied systems. Uncertainty analysis suggests that organic WSF had higher environmental impacts in 8 out of 18 midpoint categories, while sensitivity analysis highlights the importance of water management. Alternative practices, including dry-sowing delayed flooding (DSF) and saturated soil (ST), can reduce the GWP by 39–57% and water consumption by 8–18%, highlighting the importance of water management as an effective strategy for improving environmental sustainability in rice production systems. Sensitivity and multivariate analyses suggest that resource use and water management are key drivers of environmental impacts. Overall, the findings demonstrate that water management and yield are key factors influencing environmental performance in rice production systems and provide insight for improving sustainability under tropical agricultural conditions.