• Hydrothermal carbonization enables TW recycling as fuel and fertilizer; • The greenhouse gas emission was reduced as 793 kg CO 2 eq per ton TW; • The fossil fuels consumption was decreased as 5227 MJ per ton TW via HTC; • The superior environmental impacts of HTC was proved by LCA assessment; • HTC treatment support and optimize risks for minimizing ecological risks. The effective utilization of agricultural residues, such as tobacco waste (TW), has attracted significant research interest. Hence, this work established co-production model for TW reutilization hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) method. Further, the environmental impacts of the HTC for TW recycling were systematically evaluated using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method. Based on analysis, the HTC treatment achieved advantages of non-biological resource depletion (3380.12 MJ), reduction of human toxicity potential (252 kg 1,4-DB eq), diminution of photochemical ozone creation potential (0.67 kg C 2 H 4 eq), mitigation of acidification potential (1.44 kg SO 2 eq), and reduction of eutrophication potential (0.21 kg PO 4 3- eq). Further, the application of HTC resulted in a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (793.09 kg CO 2 eq), and in fossil fuel consumption, decreased with 5277.21 MJ, through the substitution of chemical fertilizers and traditional fuels. Among these, the liquid product (LP) was applied as a liquid fertilizer in crop cultivation, possessing nutrient substitution potential and represents a key link in achieving resource recycling. Compared with convention approach, the processing of each ton of waste reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 64 and 122 kg CO 2 eq, conserves fossil energy by 3723 and 3730 MJ, and reduces human toxicity load by 7560 and 540 kg 1,4-DB eq. This study incorporated LP into environmental impact and resource value analysis, with optimizing process energy efficiency and enhancing byproduct utilization with effective pathways.
Duan et al. (2026) studied this question.