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Literature on Biodiesel Lify Cycle Assessment
This page lists articles published worldwide in journal, book, magazine or otherwise about Biodiesel Lify Cycle Assessment. Please provide us a feedback feedback if you see any error in this listing or you would like to report and articles that should have been in this section. Your help will make this a great place to find articles about biodiesel feedstock.
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- Design of experiments for global sensitivity analysis in life cycle assessment: The case of biodiesel in Vietnam
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKhang, D. S.; Tan, R. R.; Uy, O. M.; Promentilla, M. A. B.; Tuan, P. D.; Abe, N.; Razon, L. F. 2017. Design of experiments for global sensitivity analysis in life cycle assessment: The case of biodiesel in Vietnam. Resources Conservation and Recycling. 11912-23
Biodiesel has been widely proposed as an alternative to fossil fuels and its environmental impacts have been commonly assessed using life cycle assessment (LCA). However, the results of LCA can be affected by parameter uncertainties. The rigorous treatment of such uncertainties is thus essential to improve decision-making based on the LCA. In this work, the Latin hypercube design of experiments (DOE) approach is proposed for global sensitivity analysis in LCA. In this novel approach, the LCA input parameters are used as the factors for the experimental design. The LCA of biodiesel from different feedstocks, namely, jatropha, waste cooking oil (WCO), and fish oil (FO), under the current conditions in Vietnam was chosen as a test case. The LCA focuses on the global warming potential (GWP), photochemical ozone formation potential (POFP), acidification potential (AP), and eutrophication potential (EP) of the biodiesel system. These impact categories were then combined into an overall environmental impact (OEI) score using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The effect of changes in the LCA model parameters on the OEI was then observed through computational experiments using a Latin hypercube design. From the computational experiments, the input parameters significantly affecting the results of LCA were identified, and a proxy polynomial regression model was derived to enable global sensitivity analysis to be performed. The results show that agricultural yield, oil content of jatropha seed, transesterification yield, total transportation, and biodiesel blending fraction are the factors that have significant effects on the OEI of jatropha biodiesel; biodiesel blend fraction and total transportation are significant in the case of WCO diesel, while the only significant effect factor in FO biodiesel case is biodiesel blend fraction. Biodiesel blend fraction is the most significant parameter for all feedstocks. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. - Effect of geographical location and stochastic weather variation on life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from camelina in the northwestern USA
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationTabatabaie, S. M. H.; Murthy, G. S. 2017. Effect of geographical location and stochastic weather variation on life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from camelina in the northwestern USA. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 22(6) 867-882
Purpose The effect of regional factors on life cycle assessment (LCA) of camelina seed production and camelina methyl ester production was assessed in this study. While general conclusions from LCA studies point to lower environmental impacts of biofuels, it has been shown in many studies that the environmental impacts are dependent on location, production practices, and even local weather variations. - Environmental life cycle assessment of biodiesel produced with palm oil from Colombia
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationCastanheira, E. G.; Freire, F. 2017. Environmental life cycle assessment of biodiesel produced with palm oil from Colombia. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 22(4) 587-600
Purpose Palm biodiesel life cycle studies have been mainly performed for Asia and focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity. The purpose of this article is to present an environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of biodiesel produced in Portugal from palm oil (PO) imported from Colombia, addressing the direct effects of land-use change (LUC), different fertilization schemes, and biogas management options at the extraction mill. - Expanded polystyrene waste application for improving biodiesel environmental performance parameters from life cycle assessment point of view
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationRajaeifar, M. A.; Abdi, R.; Tabatabaei, M. 2017. Expanded polystyrene waste application for improving biodiesel environmental performance parameters from life cycle assessment point of view. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews. 74278-298
The present study was primarily aimed at reviewing recent studies on biodiesel production as well as the application of various biodiesel additives including their life cycle assessment studies. More specifically, major factors affecting engine performance and emission characteristics of diesel engines fueled with biodiesel were highlighted and discussed. Accordingly, when using biodiesel, variations in fuel properties (e.g., feedstock, blend percentage, density, cetane number, viscosity, transesterification route, etc.), engine characteristics, as well as the operating conditions (e.g., load percentage, driving cycles, etc.) could significantly change engine performance and emission properties. Moreover, the application of different additives used for improving the combustion process including antioxidant additives, oxygenated additives, cold flow improver additives, metallic- and non-metallic based additives, water, and polymeric-based additives, was investigated. In the subsequent section, life cycle assessment (LCA) studies conducted on biodiesel and biodiesel additives were explored. Finally, since no study was reported on the LCA of polymeric wastes as fuel additives, the environmental burdens of expanded polystyrene (EPS) dissolution in waste cooking oil (WCO) biodiesel were also scrutinized herein and consequently the best scenario for sustainable EPS-WCO biodiesel consumption was proposed. - LCA studies comparing alkaline and immobilized enzyme catalyst processes for biodiesel production under Brazilian conditions
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationFernandez, I. A. P.; Liu, D. H.; Zhao, J. S. 2017. LCA studies comparing alkaline and immobilized enzyme catalyst processes for biodiesel production under Brazilian conditions. Resources Conservation and Recycling. 119117-127
Brazil is a leader in the production of biodiesel, and some challenges still exist in improving the energy usage and feedstocks alternatives for the transesterification process. In this paper, an industrial scale simulation was conducted to show a comparison of the traditional alkali-catalyzed process using catalysis sodium hydroxide with an enzyme-catalyzed process novel developed by the research team of one of the authors. LCA methodology was used to evaluate the potential multiple effects on the environment in Brazilian scenarios. In this regard, three basic cases were carried out: Case 1, where 1 t of soybean biodiesel was produced from the alkali-catalyzed process; Case 2 and 3, where 1 t of biodiesel, using the enzyme-catalyzed process, was produced from soybean oil and waste cooking oil respectively. The results reveal that considerable contribution can be made to the environment in Case 3 when waste cooking oil (WCO) is considered as a nearly environment-burden-free resource. Additionally, as illustrated in Case 2, not only the feedstock but also the technologic process can generate great influence on the environment when producing biodiesel in a large-scale plant. The efficiency of electric and thermal energy usage should be appropriately considered to diminish these impacts as much as possible. Likewise, chemicals and waste disposal also need to be well managed. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. - Life Cycle Analysis of Greenhouse Gas and PM2.5 Emissions from Restaurant Waste Oil Used for Biodiesel Production in China
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationYang, Y.; Fu, T. C.; Bao, W. Q.; Xie, G. H. 2017. Life Cycle Analysis of Greenhouse Gas and PM2.5 Emissions from Restaurant Waste Oil Used for Biodiesel Production in China. Bioenergy Research. 10(1) 199-207
Waste cooking oil (WCO) can serve as a feedstock for producing biodiesel, which would not only address food security and waste disposal but also has the potential to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and particulate matter of 2.5 mu m or smaller (PM2.5). In this study, we assessed restaurant waste oil (RWO) availability in China and conducted life cycle analysis (LCA) of GHG and PM2.5 emissions of RWO-based biodiesel using the GREET model. The results showed that the amount of RWO in China varies between 0.56 and 1.67 million tons in 2013 and between 0.54 and 1.63 million tons in 2014. Life cycle analysis estimated reduction of GHG and PM2.5 emissions through the use of RWO-based rather than petroleum-based biodiesel of 82 kg CO2-Eq. (90 %) and 0.92 g PM2.5 (46 %) respectively per 100 km driven by busses in 2014 in Shanghai, China. Given the total amount of RWO available in 2014 in China, the potential mitigated annual GHG emission ranges, in China, are 1.51 similar to 4.52 x 10(6) tons of CO2-eq and 16.94 similar to 50.83 tons of PM2.5. - Life cycle analysis of low-temperature hydrothermal treatment pathway to produce biodiesel from microalgae
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPongsurapipat, Y.; Areeprasert, C.; Takahashi, F.; Tokimatsu, K.; Yoshikawa, K. 2017. Life cycle analysis of low-temperature hydrothermal treatment pathway to produce biodiesel from microalgae. Biofuels-Uk. 8(2) 215-223
This study aimed to evaluate the life cycle energy consumption of microalgae-to-biodiesel with low temperature hydrothermal treatment (HTT) as an oil extraction method. The scope covered all stages in the life cycle from microalgae cultivation, microalgae harvesting, HTT, and transesterification. In order to clarify the energy consumption and the material uses, a process flow diagram was determined and a matrix-based computation was used for calculation throughout the process. The net energy ratio (NER) of biodiesel and co-products of the proposed system was equal to 2.27. Comparative discussion of the NER obtained from this study and several microalgae-to-biodiesel systems has been performed. It can be concluded that research and development effort on the HTT process as well as suitable microalgae strain selection should be considered to obtain higher bio-oil yield as raw material for biodiesel production; this could improve energy output of the system and eventually decrease the NER. - Life cycle assessment of microalgae based biodiesel production to evaluate the impact of biomass productivity and energy source
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationTogarcheti, S. C.; Mediboyina, M. K.; Chauhan, V. S.; Mukherji, S.; Ravi, S.; Mudliar, S. N. 2017. Life cycle assessment of microalgae based biodiesel production to evaluate the impact of biomass productivity and energy source. Resources Conservation and Recycling. 122286-294
In the present study the life cycle assessment (LCA) of three scenarios for biodiesel production from Scenedesmus dimorphus, a freshwater microalgae, cultivated in open raceway ponds using primary and secondary data was investigated. The main differences in the scenarios were related to biomass productivity, mode of culture mixing and type of energy source. The process steps included algal cultivation in open raceway ponds, harvesting by chemical flocculation, dewatering by mechanical drying option (MDO)/Spray Drying (SD) followed by extraction, reaction, and purification. Supplementation of the cultivation process with electricity derived from defatted algal biomass waste was also analyzed. The scenarios were evaluated for energy demand and environmental impacts amongst the boundary conditions based on a "cradle-to-gate" inventory. The results revealed that among all the scenarios, cultivation in raceway pond was ascertained to be the most energy intensive process with the mode of culture mixing and biomass productivity being the principal determinants. The impacts were found to be directly linked to energy demand and had an inverse relationship with biomass productivity. The geographic location of the energy sources affected the environmental implications of a given process. The integration of defatted algal biomass waste derived electricity with the cultivation system showed a minor reduction in the overall energy demand. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel production in Thailand: Impacts from modelling choices, co-product utilisation, improvement technologies, and land use change
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPrapaspongsa, T.; Musikavong, C.; Gheewala, S. H. 2017. Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel production in Thailand: Impacts from modelling choices, co-product utilisation, improvement technologies, and land use change. Journal of Cleaner Production. 153(1) 435-447
The palm biodiesel industry has been promoted for climate change mitigation, energy security and sustainability strategies worldwide. International debates on land use change and unintended consequences from market-driven impacts of biofuel (i.e. biodiesel and bioethanol) production have highlighted the need for an assessment which considers multi-modelling approaches as well as up-to-date improvement technologies. This study assessed potential environmental life cycle consequences of palm based biodiesel production in comparison with conventional diesel production. Impacts from modelling choices (consequential and attributional life cycle assessment), co-product utilisation during the palm oil milling and biodiesel conversion stages, recent improvement technologies for treating palm oil mill effluent and oil palm breeding, and direct and indirect land use change were assessed using fifteen scenarios. It was found that the different modelling choices as well as the inclusion of direct and indirect land use change highly affected environmental gains and losses compared with the conventional diesel system. The most important contributor to the environmental benefits was utilisation of co-products. When excluding the use phase (because its value did not vary across the different scenarios; except for climate change), the most important contributor in environmental impacts for terrestrial acidification and marine eutrophication, was emissions from indirect land use change. Increased oil palm yields and improved palm oil mill effluent treatment technologies resulted in overall impact reduction; and should be promoted. Various co-product utilisation pathways have shown different impact reduction potentials. Co-products from palm oil mills should be fully utilised for electricity production, animal feed and oil substitution. Glycerol from biodiesel conversion was suggested to be used for animal nutrition. In conclusion, both modelling choices should be used for supporting policies in different contexts. Policy makers need to be aware of the differences in outcomes and risks of both modelling choices and later on select the specific approach which fits their specific decision context. Co-product utilisation should be optimised in order to increase the total impact reduction. Recommended co-product utilisation pathways, oil palm variety and wastewater treatment technologies can be used for further enhancing the sustainability of palm oil industry. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of palm-derived biodiesel in Taiwan
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationMaharjan, S.; Wang, W. C.; Teah, H. Y. 2017. Life cycle assessment of palm-derived biodiesel in Taiwan. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. 19(4) 959-969
In Taiwan, due to the limited capacity of waste cooking oil, palm oil has been viewed as the potential low-cost imported feedstock for producing biodiesel, in the way of obtaining oil feedstock in Malaysia and producing biodiesel in Taiwan. This study aims to evaluate the cradle-to-grave life cycle environmental performance of palm biodiesel within two different Asian countries, Malaysia and Taiwan. The phases of the life cycle such as direct land-use-change impact, plantation and milling are investigated based on the Malaysia case and those of refining, and fuel production as well as engine combustion is based on Taiwan case. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and energy consumption for the whole life cycle were calculated as -28.29 kg CO2-equiv. and +23.71 MJ/kg of palm-derived biodiesel. We also analyze the impacts of global warming potential (GWP) and the payback time for recovering the GHG emissions when producing and using biodiesel. Various scenarios include (1) clearing rainforest or peat-forest; (2) treating or discharging palm-oil-milling effluent (POME) are further developed to examine the effectiveness of improving the environmental impacts. - Potential of biofuels from algae: Comparison with fossil fuels, ethanol and biodiesel in Europe and Brazil through life cycle assessment (LCA)
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationCarneiro, M. L. N. M.; Pradelle, F.; Braga, S. L.; Gomes, M. S. P.; Martins, A. R. F. A.; Turkovics, F.; Pradelle, R. N. C. 2017. Potential of biofuels from algae: Comparison with fossil fuels, ethanol and biodiesel in Europe and Brazil through life cycle assessment (LCA). Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews. 73632-653
Despite a substantial literature using life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, the extent to which second and third generation biofuels are more sustainable than the first generation remains a subject of debate. Although the existence of limitations due to LCA variability and uncertainty, this paper intends to determine global tendencies based on a statistic and critical interpretation of previously published study results, reviewing 61 recent papers addressing an environmental evaluation of microalgae biofuels. Such information is compared to the same impact indicators for fossil fuels and for ethanol and biodiesel from terrestrial crops in Europe and Brazil. For each case, the system boundaries and the methodological choices were precisely described. The sustainability potential of all biofuels was evaluated by the Global Warming Potential (GWP), the Energy Ratio (ER) and the Land Use (LU), allowing a broad estimation of the biofuels' contribution to climate change mitigation, their net energy efficiency and their competiveness with food production chain. - Sustainability assessment of Ricinus communis biodiesel using LCA Approach
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAmouri, M.; Mohellebi, F.; Zaid, T. A.; Aziza, M. 2017. Sustainability assessment of Ricinus communis biodiesel using LCA Approach. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. 19(3) 749-760
Biofuels are considered as eco-friendly fuels and can readily replace fossil fuels while helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainable rural development. Although Algeria is an oil producer and exporter, the development of renewable energies is a strategic goal for public authorities, which are giving new impetus to this sector to replace the fossil energy resources of which are becoming increasingly scarce. In this context, the life-cycle assessment (LCA) of a second-generation biodiesel derived from Ricinus communis feedstock is undertaken. LCA is a tool that can be used effectively in evaluating various renewable energy sources for their sustainability and can help policy makers to choose the optimal energy source for specific purpose. The life cycle of Castor bean-based biodiesel production includes the stages of cultivation, oil extraction, and biodiesel production. The impact categories studied were global warming, Energy return-on-energy investment (EROEI), human health, and ecosystem. We have used the impact 2002 + evaluation method which is implemented in the SimaProA (c) software package. Moreover, it is the most useful method for identifying and measuring the impact of industrial products on the environment. Results show that among all the production stages, the cultivation process of Ricinus communis and the conversion of oil to biodiesel are the largest contributors to most of environmental impact categories. Life-cycle analysis revealed that the use of castor for biodiesel production could have many advantages like an energy return-on-energy investment (EROEI) of 2.60 and a positive contribution to climate-change reduction as revealed by a positive carbon balance. - Sustainability of renewable fuel infrastructure: a screening LCA case study of anticorrosive graphene oxide epoxy liners in steel tanks for the storage of biodiesel and its blends
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationChilkoor, G.; Upadhyayula, V. K. K.; Gadhamshetty, V.; Koratkar, N.; Tysklind, M. 2017. Sustainability of renewable fuel infrastructure: a screening LCA case study of anticorrosive graphene oxide epoxy liners in steel tanks for the storage of biodiesel and its blends. Environmental Science-Processes & Impacts. 19(2) 141-153
Biodiesel is a widely used fuel that meets the renewable fuel standards developed under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. However, biodiesel is known to pose a series of abiotic and biotic corrosion risks to storage tanks. A typical practice (incumbent system) used to protect the tanks from these risks include (i) coating the interior surface of the tank with a solvent-free epoxy (SFE) liner, and (ii) adding a biocide to the tank. Herein, we present a screening-level life-cycle assessment study to compare the environmental performance of a graphene oxide (GO)-epoxy (GOE) liner with the incumbent system. TRACI was used as an impact assessment tool to model the midpoint environmental impacts in ten categories: global warming potential (GWP, kg CO2 eq.); acidification potential (AP, kg SO2 eq.); potential human health damage impacts due to carcinogens (HH-CP, CTUh) and non-carcinogens (HH-NCP, CTUh); potential respiratory effects (REP, kg PM2.5 eq.); eutrophication potential (EP, kg N eq.); ozone depletion potential (ODP kg CFC-11 eq.); ecotoxicity potential (ETXP, CTUe); smog formation potential (SFP kg O-3 eq.) and fossil fuel depletion potential (FFDP MJ surplus). The equivalent functional unit of the LCA study was designed to protect 30 m(2) of the interior surface (unalloyed steel sheet) of a 10 000 liter biodiesel tank against abiotic and biotic corrosion during its service life of 20 years. Overall, this LCA study highlights the improved environmental performance for the GOE liner compared to the incumbent system, whereby the GOE liner showed 91% lower impacts in ODP impact category, 59% smaller in REP, 62% smaller in AP, 67-69% smaller in GWP and HH-CP, 72-76% smaller in EP, SFP, and FFDP, and 81-83% smaller ETXP and HH-NCP category results. The scenario analysis study revealed that these potential impacts change by less than 15% when the GOE liners are functionalized with silanized-GO nanosheets or GO-reinforced polyvinyl carbazole to improve the antimicrobial properties. The results from an uncertainty analysis indicated that the impacts for the incumbent system were more sensitive to changes in the key modeling parameters compared to that for the GOE liner system. - A life cycle assessment and economic analysis of the Scum-to-Biodiesel technology in wastewater treatment plants
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationMu, D. Y.; Addy, M.; Anderson, E.; Chen, P.; Ruan, R. 2016. A life cycle assessment and economic analysis of the Scum-to-Biodiesel technology in wastewater treatment plants. Bioresource Technology. 20489-97
This study used life cycle assessment and technical economic analysis tools in evaluating a novel Scum-to-Biodiesel technology and compares the technology with scum digestion and combustion processes. The key variables that control environmental and economic performance are identified and discussed. The results show that all impacts examined for the Scum-to-Biodiesel technology are below zero indicating significant environmental benefits could be drawn from it. Of the three technologies examined, the Scum-to-Biodiesel technology has the best environmental performance in fossil fuel depletion, GHG emissions, and eutrophication, whereas combustion has the best performance on acidification. Of all process inputs assessed, process heat, glycerol, and methanol uses had the highest impacts, much more than any other inputs considered. The Scum-to-Biodiesel technology also makes higher revenue than other technologies. The diesel price is a key variable for its economic performance. The research demonstrates the feasibility and benefits in developing Scum-to-Biodiesel technology in wastewater treatment facilities. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emission Studies of Jatropha Biodiesel Pathway by Life Cycle Assessment in India
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKalaivani, K.; Balasubramanian, N. 2016. Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emission Studies of Jatropha Biodiesel Pathway by Life Cycle Assessment in India. Indian Chemical Engineer. 58(3) 255-267
In the present study, life cycle energy consumption, efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Jatropha-based biodiesel was analysed by life cycle analysis method using GREET (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation) model. This study quantitatively explicates the life cycle energy saving and GHG emissions of Jatropha-derived biodiesel. The functional unit was defined as 1 mile distance driven by the vehicle and the fuel blend was about 20%. The results indicated that Jatropha biodiesel production and its usage in India have positive environmental performance at the current technical levels. Well-to-pump energy efficiency of Jatropha biodiesel production was found to be 75%. As compared with that of gasoline fuel, the use of 20% blended Jatropha biodiesel leads to the reduction of GHG emission about 22.3% and brings about energy saving 9%. Further improvement of production technology would reduce emissions and increase the energy saving markedly. - Environmental life cycle assessment for Jatropha biodiesel in Egypt
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationFawzy, M. M.; Romagnoli, F. 2016. Environmental life cycle assessment for Jatropha biodiesel in Egypt. International Scientific Conference - Environmental and Climate Technologies, Conect 2015. 95124-131
The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the environmental performance for the system of Jatropha biodiesel production from cradle to wheel according to the unique Egyptian Jatropha biodiesel model because it depends on waste water which is sewage water and waste land which is desert. This evaluation is performed through a life cycle analysis study which is implemented according to the international standard organization guidelines ISO 14040 and the environmental impacts assessment is executed through SimaPro LCA. The main motivation behind this life cycle analysis is the absence of any environmental life cycle analysis studies for Jatropha biodiesel production in Egypt so such study would be helpful in future Jatropha biodiesel projects in Egypt. Results show that Jatropha biodiesel production in Egypt has many environmental benefits such as combating desertification and fewer impacts compared to fossil diesel which makes Jatropha more than an energy crop. However, there is a need for further social and economic life cycle analysis for Jatropha biodiesel production in Egypt on both small farmers and commercial projects levels. The targeted audiences concerning the results are scientists and stakeholders interested in Jatropha biodiesel production. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. - Environmental Performance of Palm Based Methyl Ester Sulphonates Production Using Life Cycle Approach
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationZolkarnain, N.; Abd Maurad, Z.; Razmah, G.; Hazimah, A. H. 2016. Environmental Performance of Palm Based Methyl Ester Sulphonates Production Using Life Cycle Approach. Journal of Oil Palm Research. 28(1) 104-113
Palm-based methyl ester sulphonates (MES) derived from palm oil through sulphonation process offer an interesting alternative to petroleum-based surfactants. This study was carried out to identify any potential environmental impacts that could be associated with the production of palm-based MES. Data on pilot plant production were obtained from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB)'s MES pilot plant with 20 kg hr(-1) capacity. Life cycle assessment (LCA) performance was based on representative inventory data of MES processes for three years of production. The results were analysed using Eco-indicator 99 methodology operated under SimaPro version 8.0.2 software. The single score results showed that the main impact contributors for MES production at pilot plant scale were from production of methyl ester, steam and methanol. Based on weighted score, the most significant impact categories from this production were fossil fuels, respiratory inorganics and climate change. However, there was no significant impact value on land use category since this study was conducted with best management practices in oil palm plantation in Malaysia. From this study, it can be concluded that the production of MES at pilot plant using the best approach used in the oil palm industry are more sustainable and environmental-friendly. - Ethylic or methylic route to soybean biodiesel? Tracking environmental answers through life cycle assessment
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAltamirano, C. A. A.; Yokoyama, L.; de Medeiros, J. L.; Araujo, O. D. F. 2016. Ethylic or methylic route to soybean biodiesel? Tracking environmental answers through life cycle assessment. Applied Energy. 1841246-1263
Biodiesel is a renewable fuel produced by transesterification of triacylglicerides (TAG) contained in vegetable oils and animal fats, to yield alkyl esters (biodiesel) and glycerin. Methanol is the main transesterification agent employed resulting in FAME (fatty acid methyl esters), which is primarily obtained from natural gas reforming (fossil source). Substitution of methanol by ethanol produces FAEE (fatty acid ethyl esters) and has the potential to render biodiesel a fully renewable fuel. Although renewability is a significant driving force for the proposed alcohol replacement, environmental performance of the alternative transesterification is questioned. The answer is herein sought through a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the two production chains. The study tracks CO2 emissions, energy efficiency, water and resources consumption, and environmental impacts (Acidification Potential - AP, Global Warming Potential - GWP, Eutrophication Potential - EP, and Human Toxicity Potential - TP). The boundaries of the biodiesel production chains extend from the extraction of raw-materials to its final use as transportation fuel in buses, applied to the Brazilian scenario. Results show that substitution of the methylic route with the ethylic route does not attribute significant environmental benefits. Furthermore, the ethylic route presents competitive advantages only in the category of GWP, and exhibits inferior performance in the remaining evaluated impact categories. Finally, a greater consumption of water and energy in the ethylic route in comparison with the methylic route is reported. Contrarily to a first judgement, the use of bioethanol as transesterification agent does not enforce sustainability of the biodiesel production chain. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Immobilization of Alcaligenes sp lipase as catalyst for the transesterification of vegetable oils to produce biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSoler, L.; Illanes, A.; Wilson, L. 2016. Immobilization of Alcaligenes sp lipase as catalyst for the transesterification of vegetable oils to produce biodiesel. Catalysis Today. 259177-182
The work refers to the immobilization of the Alcaligenes sp. lipase for its use in the synthesis of biodiesel from canola oil, which has never been reported before. The enzyme was immobilized on different supports: polyethyleneimine, agarose, glutaraldehyde agarose, octyl agarose, glyoxyl agarose, Sepabeads (R) and also by aggregation and crosslinking to produced enzyme aggregates (CLEAs), so to consider different catalyst options for the reaction under study. The lipase biocatalysts were evaluated and compared based on their specific hydrolytic activities, immobilization yields and thermal stabilities under non-reactive and reactive (in the presence of oil and methanol) conditions. The lipase immobilized on Sepabeads (R) Ec-BU and CLEAs were selected to catalyze the methanolysis of canola oil. The synthesis of methyl esters from vegetable oil was performed at 40 degrees C, using oil:methanol molar ratios of 113 and 114, and also using a six-step addition of methanol to the reaction mixture (oil/methanol molar ratio of 116) in order to decrease its inhibitory effect. At oil: methanol molar ratios of 113 and 114 a maximum conversion yield of 70% was obtained after 30 h of reaction; on the other hand, using the six-step addition of methanol the maximum conversion yield obtained was of 80% in only 10 h of reaction, demonstrating that the inhibitory effect of methanol was significantly reduced. The operational stability of the catalysts was assessed in three sequential batches of 10 h each, obtaining a yield decay of 13% and 3,2% for lipase immobilized on Sepabeads (R) Ec-BU and CLEAs respectively, so the latter had a higher operational stability; however, recovery is simpler in the former so both catalyst are competitive for biodiesel production. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier B.V. - Incorporating uncertainty in the life cycle assessment of biodiesel from waste cooking oil addressing different collection systems
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationCaldeira, C.; Queiros, J.; Noshadravan, A.; Freire, F. 2016. Incorporating uncertainty in the life cycle assessment of biodiesel from waste cooking oil addressing different collection systems. Resources Conservation and Recycling. 11283-92
Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) is increasing prominence as a feedstock for biodiesel production due to its potential in reducing costs and environmental impacts of biodiesel when compared with virgin oils. However, several life-cycle studies have reported a wide range of WCO biodiesel impacts, mainly due to the WCO collection stage, which has not been discussed in the literature. The lack of a comprehensive assessment of the collection stage influence on biodiesel overall impacts motivates this article, in which a detailed Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biodiesel produced from WCO addressing different collection systems is presented. An inventory for WCO collection was implemented for different systems in the domestic and the food service industry sectors in Portugal as well as for biodiesel companies. The characterization and incorporation of the variation associated with WCO collection systems, parameter uncertainty and variability, as well as modelling options was performed. A wide range of impacts was calculated. Two factors contribute the most to the variation observed: the WCO collection efficiency and the characteristics of the collection system (e.g. sector, type of collection and population density). Results show that WCO collection cannot be neglected or simplified when assessing the overall environmental performance of biodiesel produced from WCO. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. - Land use change (LUC) analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA) of Brazilian soybean biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationEsteves, V. P. P.; Esteves, E. M. M.; Bungenstab, D. J.; Loebmann, D. G. D. W.; Victoria, D. D.; Vicente, L. E.; Araujo, O. D. F.; Morgado, C. D. V. 2016. Land use change (LUC) analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA) of Brazilian soybean biodiesel. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. 18(6) 1655-1673
Biodiesel is an alternative to tackle global warming, especially for reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions when replacing fossil fuels. However, it can compete for land with food production. Brazil is a global player on soybeans farming and most of the biodiesel produced in the country comes from it. This work proposes a new approach to evaluate its impact, associating land use change (LUC) analysis with life cycle assessment (LCA) in a representative Brazilian soybeans farming zone. LUC assessment used Landsat satellite imagery analysis from the years 1993 and 2013, and intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) guidelines to estimate GHG emissions. LCA was based on field data collection processed with SimaPro(A (R)). Results show that the increment on annual GHG emissions per hectare, derived from the apportioning total emissions for the period studied, was 50.16 kg CO2 eq ha(-1) y(-1). From this increment, 97.1 % come from LUC, being the largest share from converting pastures to soybeans farming (81.2 % of the total emissions). However, in the area, a large share of converted pastures are degraded, acting as source of emissions, not as sink as considered by IPCC. At the same time, practices like no-tillage make soybeans a carbon sink. Therefore, results could change if alternative approaches were to be adopted, being a challenge for future work. Therefore, when considering biodiesel from soybeans, a close regard to local land use dynamics is essential to evaluate impacts. Besides, promoting more efficient use of land already cleared with the goal to avoid deforestation can turn biodiesel into a sustainable renewable energy source. - Life Cycle Analysis of Jatropha Curcas as a Sustainable Biodiesel Feedstock in Argentina
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationBeaver, A.; Castano, A. G.; Diaz, M. S. 2016. Life Cycle Analysis of Jatropha Curcas as a Sustainable Biodiesel Feedstock in Argentina. 2nd International Conference on Biomass (Iconbm 2016). 50433-438
Despite constant changes to the industry in recent years, Argentina remains one of the most important producers of biodiesel in the world. Approximately 90% of the biodiesel produced in Argentina is from soybean, a fact which has raised concern over the fuel's sustainability. For this reason, alternative crops such as Jatropha curcas are being explored. The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impact of Jatropha-based biodiesel for the specific case of Argentina through life cycle assessment (LCA). The processes considered in this study include Jatropha seed cultivation, seed transportation, oil extraction, and transesterification. Two cultivation scenarios are examined in order to explore trade-offs between land use type and agricultural inputs. This study also incorporates land and water use, which are typically omitted from LCA due to complexity and lack of available information. Inventory data for the system were collected and analyzed using the ReCiPe impact assessment method. The results show a 21% reduction of kg CO2 equivalent for the overall Jatropha biodiesel production process when using fertile land with low-input agriculture instead of marginal land use with fertilizer and irrigation. - Life cycle assessment of algae biodiesel and its co-products
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationGnansounou, E.; Raman, J. K. 2016. Life cycle assessment of algae biodiesel and its co-products. Applied Energy. 161300-308
There is a need to explore alternative energy sources to meet the future energy demand in a sustainable way. Algae could be a potential feed stock for biodiesel and other co-products such as animal feed and chemicals. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of such production system has to be assessed before any implementation at commercial scale. In this context, a prospective LCA of algae biorefinery considering selected multi-products (biodiesel, protein and succinic acid) was carried out to estimate the environmental impact compared to a reference system. LCA results revealed less CO2 emissions and land use for biodiesel, protein and succinic acid production system compared to that of only biodiesel and protein production system from algae. The impact reduction was even more when compared with conventional diesel, soy protein and fossil based succinic acid system. A higher carbohydrate composition in algae favors less CO2 emissions and fossil fuel consumption in the algae system compared to that of the reference system. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of biodiesel in Spain: Comparing the environmental sustainability of Spanish production versus Argentinean imports
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationFernandez-Tirado, F.; Parra-Lopez, C.; Romero-Gamez, M. 2016. Life cycle assessment of biodiesel in Spain: Comparing the environmental sustainability of Spanish production versus Argentinean imports. Energy for Sustainable Development. 3336-52
The spread of biofuels has generated controversy at international, national and regional levels due to the environmental, economic and social impacts that its production and consumption can cause. Recently, the Spanish government has been promoting the production of biodiesel in industrial plants located in Spain and other EU countries. These developments are expected to stimulate the cultivation of rapeseed in the EU to the detriment of extra-EU imports of biodiesel mainly based on soybean oil from Argentina, which has been one of the main suppliers of biodiesel in Spain for years. As a result, the environmental impacts produced throughout the life cycle of biodiesel consumed in Spain could be radically affected. In this context, the environmental impacts of biodiesel produced in Spain and Argentina with rapeseed cultivated in Spain and soybean cultivated in Argentina were compared under certain growing conditions using life cycle assessment (LCA). Consequential and attributional approaches were compared under the ReCiPe method to test potential biases. The results showed that the biodiesel produced with Argentinean soybean oil had fewer environmental impacts than biodiesel produced with Spanish rapeseed oil. Seed production (and fertilization) was the process (and sub-process) that generated the greatest environmental burdens, and it is an area in which improvement is necessary in order to increase sustainability, particularly with regard to Spanish rapeseed-based biodiesel. (C) 2016 International Energy Initiative. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of conventional and optimised Jatropha biodiesel fuels
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPortugal-Pereira, J.; Nakatani, J.; Kurisu, K.; Hanaki, K. 2016. Life cycle assessment of conventional and optimised Jatropha biodiesel fuels. Renewable Energy. 86585-593
The environmental benefits and energy savings of the production of Jatropha fuels and operation in a typical LPV in India were examined. A baseline scenario and alternative optimised routes were assessed, considering different pathways of energy recovery from Jatropha coproducts. The following impact categories were assessed: Non-Renewable Energy (NRE) consumption, Global Warming Potential (GWP), Terrestrial Acidification Potential (TAP) and Respiratory Inorganic Effects (RIE). At present, the life cycle impact of Jatropha production and use is competitive with conventional diesel in terms of NRE and GHG emissions; however it results in higher local environmental impacts (RIE and TAP categories). Under optimised farming and processing practices and recovery of Jatropha coproducts either via co-generation, gasification or FT-diesel synthesis routes, Jatropha fuels reduce the impact of NRE, GHG, and RIE. The energy recovery paths to generate surplus electricity through generation and gasification routes show a better performance than FT-diesel synthesis routes in terms of NRE and GWP impacts. Nevertheless, in terms of local air pollution indicators, the FT-diesel synthesis route reveals the lowest emissions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of sunflower cultivation on abandoned mine land for biodiesel production
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationHarris, T. M.; Hottle, T. A.; Soratana, K.; Klane, J.; Landis, A. E. 2016. Life cycle assessment of sunflower cultivation on abandoned mine land for biodiesel production. Journal of Cleaner Production. 112182-195
Producing biofuel feedstock on marginal lands is a viable way to offset fossil fuel production, global warming, and other adverse environmental impacts, while at the same time performing positive ecosystem services by reclaiming unused areas with value producing activities. This research study explored low-input production of sunflower biodiesel feedstock on abandoned mine land (AML) from coal mining refuse treated with bauxite residue (alkaline clay) through the lens of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). - Life cycle assessment of the transesterification double step process for biodiesel production from refined soybean oil in Brazil
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationCarvalho, M.; da Silva, E. S.; Andersen, S. L. F.; Abrahao, R. 2016. Life cycle assessment of the transesterification double step process for biodiesel production from refined soybean oil in Brazil. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 23(11) 11025-11033
Biodiesel has been attracting considerable attention as being a renewable, biodegradable, and nontoxic fuel that can contribute to the solution of some energy issues as it presents potential to help mitigate climate change. The Life Cycle Assessment of biodiesel from soybean oil (transesterification double step process) was carried out herein. A pilot plant was considered, designed to produce 72 L of biodiesel in daily continuous flow, throughout a lifetime of 15 years (8000 annual hours). The materials and equipment utilized in the construction of the plant were considered as well as the energy and substances required for the production of biodiesel. Environmental impact assessment method IPCC 2013 GWP 100a was utilized within the SimaPro software to express the final result in kg CO2-equivalent. The results quantified the CO2 emissions associated with biodiesel production throughout the lifetime of the production plant (15 years), resulting in a total value of 1,441,426.05 kg CO2-eq. (96,095.07 kg CO2-eq. per year), which was equivalent to 4.01 kg CO2-eq. per liter of biodiesel produced. Decrease of environmental loads associated with the production of biodiesel could include improvements on the handling of biomass agriculture and on the technology production of biodiesel. - Monte Carlo analysis of life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission for biodiesel production from trap grease
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationTu, Q. S.; McDonnell, B. E. 2016. Monte Carlo analysis of life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission for biodiesel production from trap grease. Journal of Cleaner Production. 1122674-2683
Trap grease is an environmental burden and its management has been costly and ineffective. Utilizing trap grease as a feedstock for biodiesel has the potential to reduce the cost of waste removal and biofuel production. This study presents a life cycle analysis to evaluate the energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the trap grease-to-biodiesel production process. It was shown that utilizing the solids in the trap grease for anaerobic digestion (AD) was crucial in reducing both energy consumption and GHG emissions. Monte Carlo simulation revealed significant variation in both the life cycle energy consumption and GHG emission, which was caused by the uncertainties within several key variables. The result of the sensitivity analysis indicated that trap grease has the potential to be a more energy efficient and low-GHG-emission feedstock under certain conditions, as compared with the current common feedstocks (e.g. soybean and algae). (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - NMR investigation of commercial carbon black filled vulcanized natural rubber exposed to petrodiesel/biodiesel mixtures
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSilva, L. M. A.; Andrade, F. D.; Filho, E. G. A.; Monteiro, M. R.; de Azevedo, E. R.; Venancio, T. 2016. NMR investigation of commercial carbon black filled vulcanized natural rubber exposed to petrodiesel/biodiesel mixtures. Fuel. 18650-57
The impact of biodiesel on the durability of the engine is a growing concern due to its corrosive characteristics. Nuclear magnetic resonance in the frequency (High Resolution NMR spectroscopy) and time (TD-NMR) domains were complementarily used to understand structural, dynamical and chemical modifications in commercial carbon black filled vulcanized natural rubber (CBVNR) due to contact with petroleum diesel/biodiesel mixtures. The results indicated that in biodiesel rich mixtures, besides the expected swelling effect, the interaction of fuel mixtures with CBVNR promotes the exudation of the filler together with attached polymer chains, which increases the number of defects and induces gaps in the remained network structure. The exudation of carbon black aggregates indicates that searching of fillers/elastomers combinations with higher affinity is an important parameter in the development of materials compatible with biodiesel. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Process simulation and life cycle analysis of biodiesel production
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSajid, Z.; Khan, F.; Zhang, Y. 2016. Process simulation and life cycle analysis of biodiesel production. Renewable Energy. 85945-952
Biodiesel is a renewable and sustainable biofuel. There are various production processes to produce biodiesel from different kinds of raw materials. In this study, the environmental impacts of biodiesel production from non-edible Jatropha oil and waste cooking oil (WCO) were investigated and compared using systematic life cycle assessment. The results show that crops growing and cultivation of non-edible Jatropha curcas lead to higher environmental impacts compared to WCO process. However, biodiesel production process from Jatropha oil has better performance because the WCO process needs to consume variety of chemicals and requires a large amount of energy for the pretreatment of raw WCO and further chemical conversion to biodiesel. Results also indicate that the collection mechanism of WCO has significant contributions towards environmental impacts. In general, biodiesel production from Jatropha oil shows higher impacts for damage categories of climate change, human health and ecosystem quality whereas biodiesel production from WCO has more severe environmental impacts for resource category. The total environmental impact is 74% less in case of using WCO as raw material compared to non-edible Jatropha oil. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - A Comparison of Life Cycle Assessment on Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) and Physic nut (Jatropha curcas Linn.) as Feedstock for Biodiesel Production in Indonesia
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSiregar, K.; Tambunan, A. H.; Irwanto, A. K.; Wirawan, S. S.; Araki, T. 2015. A Comparison of Life Cycle Assessment on Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) and Physic nut (Jatropha curcas Linn.) as Feedstock for Biodiesel Production in Indonesia. New and Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation, the 3rd Indo Ebtke-Conex 2014, Conference and Exhibition Indonesia. 65170-179
The objective of this study was to perform and compare LCA of biodiesel production from crude palm oil and crude Jatropha curcas oil. The system boundary for LCA study from cradle to gate. The produced palm oil biodiesel has higher GWP value than Jatropha curcas biodiesel. Utilization of agrochemical, in form of fertilizer and plant protection, generate significant contribution to environmental impact of biodiesel production i.e. 50.46 % and 33.51 % for palm oil and Jatropha curcas oil, respectively. GWP emission up to five years of plantation is 1 695.36 kg-CO(2)eq./t-BDF and 740.90 kg-CO(2)eq./t-BDF for palm oil and Jatropha curcas, respectively. After production stabilised, CO2 emission of diesel fuel decreases up to 37.83 % and 63.61 % for BDF-CPO and BDF-CJCO, respectively. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). - Environmental impact study by life cycle assessment of the use of alumina nanoparticles as an additive in biodiesel/diesel blends
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationOjeda, K. A.; Herrera, A. P.; Sierra, M. J.; Tamayo, K. 2015. Environmental impact study by life cycle assessment of the use of alumina nanoparticles as an additive in biodiesel/diesel blends. Ingenieria Y Competitividad. 17(1) 133-142
Life cycle assessment (LCA) considers the whole life cycle of a product or process, from the origin of the raw materials up to the final disposition of the wastes. In this work, LCA methodology was applied in the evaluation of the environmental impact that is caused by the use of alumina nanoparticles as an additive in biodiesel/diesel blends, considering the synthesis of the alumina nanoparticles through sol-gel method. SIMAPRO software (CML method) was used to evaluate the potential impacts of each stage of the process. Although the use of the nanoparticles caused a reduction in the emissions of CO2, SO2 and particulate material (PM); an increase in most of the impact categories (acidification, eutrophication and marine eco-toxicity) was observed during combustion. This can be attributed to the increasing emissions of NOx and the toxic effect related to the synthesis of the nanoparticles, when compared to combustion without nano-additive. These results indicated that there is a need to carry further research on the use of nanoadditives in biofuels, to verify the renewability of these alternatives regarding the sustainability of the process. - Growing Algae for Biodiesel on Direct Sunlight or Sugars: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationOrfield, N. D.; Levine, R. B.; Keoleian, G. A.; Miller, S. A.; Savage, P. E. 2015. Growing Algae for Biodiesel on Direct Sunlight or Sugars: A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment. Acs Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 3(3) 386-395
Growing heterotrophic algae in reactors with sugar as the energy and carbon source rather than sunlight and carbon dioxide is an approach being commercialized today. However, the full environmental impacts of this fuel pathway have not been explored. The objective of this analysis was to compare the life cycle impacts of algal biodiesel produced heterotrophically to a phototrophic pathway featuring algae grown in ponds. A third, hybrid approach utilizing algae capable of both phototrophy and heterotrophy was also explored. Sugar beet and sugarcane were examined as feedstocks for the heterotrophic process. The results indicate that a reduction in the global warming potential (GWP) and an improvement in the net energy ratio (NER) for algal biodiesel could be possible for the heterotrophic and hybrid pathways relative to the phototroplaic, but only if reactor cultivation can be performed efficiently and with sugarcane as the feedstock For example, the NER varies from 0.6 to 1.6 for the heterotrophic pathway, depending on reactor performance, compared to 1.3 for the phototrophic pathway. Sugar crops used as feedstocks for heterotrophic cultivation present concerns about land constraints that are less of an issue for the phototrophic pathway. No pathway presented a clear advantage for the water stress impact metric. - Life Cycle Analysis and Production Potential of Camelina Biodiesel in the Pacific Northwest
AbstractFull Article Download CitationDangol, N.; Shrestha, D. S.; Duffield, J. A. 2015. Life Cycle Analysis and Production Potential of Camelina Biodiesel in the Pacific Northwest. Transactions of the ASABE. 58(2) 465-475
Camelina sativa could be a potential feedstock to help meet the U.S. biodiesel production goal of 36 billion gallons by 2022, as set forth by Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This research is focused on assessing the energy balance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of camelina biodiesel production in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the U.S. Field data were collected from a camelina farm in the region, and crushing and transesterification data were measured using facilities at the University of Idaho. It was estimated that use of camelina biodiesel reduces GHG emissions by 69% compared to 2005 baseline diesel. However, camelina biodiesel does not meet the ASTM D6751 specification for oxidative stability without an additive. Camelina has a smaller seed size compared to canola and required 23% more energy for crushing. The net energy ratio for camelina biodiesel was found to be 3.6, and the fossil energy ratio was found to be 4.2. From an agronomic standpoint, camelina can be incorporated into low rainfall areas of the PNW as a rotational crop. Wheat areas of the PNW with annual rainfall of 19 to 38 cm that currently incorporate fallow into their rotations were considered as potential areas for camelina production. There were 846,500 ha (2.1 million acres) of land meeting the criteria in the region that could potentially produce 443.0 million L of biodiesel (117.1 million gal) and 1.2 billion kg of meal per year. This is 12.1% of the approved amount of camelina meal that could be used in livestock feed within the PNW. It was concluded that camelina biodiesel qualifies as an advanced biofuel, and camelina meal has potential to be consumed locally as a feed mix for livestock. - Life cycle analysis on fossil energy ratio of algal biodiesel: effects of nitrogen deficiency and oil extraction technology
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationJian, H.; Jing, Y.; Peidong, Z. 2015. Life cycle analysis on fossil energy ratio of algal biodiesel: effects of nitrogen deficiency and oil extraction technology. ScientificWorldJournal. 2015920968
Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been widely used to analyze various pathways of biofuel preparation from "cradle to grave." Effects of nitrogen supply for algae cultivation and technology of algal oil extraction on life cycle fossil energy ratio of biodiesel are assessed in this study. Life cycle fossil energy ratio of Chlorella vulgaris based biodiesel is improved by growing algae under nitrogen-limited conditions, while the life cycle fossil energy ratio of biodiesel production from Phaeodactylum tricornutum grown with nitrogen deprivation decreases. Compared to extraction of oil from dried algae, extraction of lipid from wet algae with subcritical cosolvents achieves a 43.83% improvement in fossil energy ratio of algal biodiesel when oilcake drying is not considered. The outcome for sensitivity analysis indicates that the algal oil conversion rate and energy content of algae are found to have the greatest effects on the LCA results of algal biodiesel production, followed by utilization ratio of algal residue, energy demand for algae drying, capacity of water mixing, and productivity of algae. - Life cycle assessment of hydrogenated biodiesel production from waste cooking oil using the catalytic cracking and hydrogenation method
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationYano, J.; Aoki, T.; Nakamura, K.; Yamada, K.; Sakai, S. 2015. Life cycle assessment of hydrogenated biodiesel production from waste cooking oil using the catalytic cracking and hydrogenation method. Waste Management. 38409-423
There is a worldwide trend towards stricter control of diesel exhaust emissions, however presently, there are technical impediments to the use of FAME (fatty acid methyl esters)-type biodiesel fuel (BDF). Although hydrogenated biodiesel (HBD) is anticipated as a new diesel fuel, the environmental performance of HBD and its utilization system have not been adequately clarified. Especially when waste cooking oil is used as feedstock, not only biofuel production but also the treatment of waste cooking oil is an important function for society. A life cycle assessment (LCA), including uncertainty analysis, was conducted to determine the environmental benefits (global warming, fossil fuel consumption, urban air pollution, and acidification) of HBD produced from waste cooking oil via catalytic cracking and hydrogenation, compared with fossil-derived diesel fuel or FAME-type BDF. Combined functional unit including "treatment of waste cooking oil" and "running diesel vehicle for household waste collection" was established in the context of Kyoto city, Japan. The calculation utilized characterization, damage, and integration factors identified by LIME2, which was based on an endpoint modeling method. The results show that if diesel vehicles that comply with the new Japanese long-term emissions gas standard are commonly used in the future, the benefit of FAME-type BDF will be relatively limited. Furthermore, the scenario that introduced HBD was most effective in reducing total environmental impact, meaning that a shift from FAME-type BDF to HBD would be more beneficial. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life Cycle Assessment of New Oxy-Fuels from Biodiesel-Derived Glycerol
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAsdrubali, F.; Cotana, F.; Rossi, F.; Presciutti, A.; Rotili, A.; Guattari, C. 2015. Life Cycle Assessment of New Oxy-Fuels from Biodiesel-Derived Glycerol. Energies. 8(3) 1628-1643
Biodiesel is obtained by the process of transesterification of vegetable oils and animal fats and crude glycerol is the main by-product of the biodiesel manufacturing chain. As a result glycerol production has rapidly increased in the last decades. This work focuses on the development and the validation of a process to convert biodiesel-derived glycerol into a fuel for internal combustion engines. In order to obtain a higher conversion efficiency it was necessary to convert crude glycerol to tert-butyl ethers by means of an etherification process that was carried out in the laboratory. Then the obtained glycol-ethers mixture (GEM) was blended with a commercial diesel fuel to improve its thermal efficiency. In this paper a life cycle analysis for these GEM/diesel blends was carried out using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, in order to evaluate the environmental impacts of these new oxy-fuels; from GEM production to GEM use as an additive for diesel fuel. The LCA results highlight that the use of these new oxy-fuels in diesel engines can lead to an effective reduction in terms of greenhouse gases emissions throughout the entire life cycle. - Life cycle assessment: heterotrophic cultivation of thraustochytrids for biodiesel production
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationChang, K. J. L.; Rye, L.; Dunstan, G. A.; Grant, T.; Koutoulis, A.; Nichols, P. D.; Blackburn, S. I. 2015. Life cycle assessment: heterotrophic cultivation of thraustochytrids for biodiesel production. Journal of Applied Phycology. 27(2) 639-647
This study provides a life cycle assessment of the energy balance and the potential greenhouse gas impacts of heterotrophic microalgal-derived biodiesel estimated from the upstream biomass production to the downstream emissions from biodiesel combustion. Heterotrophic microalgae can be cultivated using a by-product from biodiesel production such as glycerol as a carbon source. The oils within the algal biomass can then be converted to biodiesel using transesterification or hydroprocessing techniques. This approach may provide a solution to the limited availability of biomass feedstock for production of biorefined transportation fuels. The life cycle assessment of a virtual production facility, modeled on experimental yield data, has demonstrated that cultivation of heterotrophic microalgae for the production of biodiesel is comparable, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage (90 g CO(2)e MJ(-1)), to fossil diesel (85 g CO(2)e MJ(-1)). The life cycle assessment identified that improvement in cultivation conditions, in particular the bioreactor energy inputs and microalgae yield, will be critical in developing a sustainable production system. Our research shows the potential of heterotrophic microalgae to provide Australia's transportation fleet with a secure, environmentally sustainable alternative fuel. - Mass balance and life cycle assessment of biodiesel from microalgae incorporated with nutrient recycling options and technology uncertainties
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationYuan, J. H.; Kendall, A.; Zhang, Y. Z. 2015. Mass balance and life cycle assessment of biodiesel from microalgae incorporated with nutrient recycling options and technology uncertainties. Global Change Biology Bioenergy. 7(6) 1245-1259
This article presents mass balances and a detailed life cycle assessment (LCA) for energy and greenhouse gases (GHGs) of a simulated microalgae biodiesel production system. Key parameters of the system include biomass productivity of 16 and 25gm(-2)day(-1) and lipid content of algae of 40% and 25% for low and normal nitrogen conditions respectively. Based on an oil extraction efficiency from wet biomass of 73.6% and methane yields from anaerobically digested lipid-extracted biomass of 0.31 to 0.34l per gram of volatile solids, the mass balance shows that recycling growth media and recovering nutrients from residual biomass through anaerobic digestion can reduce the total demand for nitrogen by 66% and phosphorus by 90%. Freshwater requirements can be reduced by 89% by recirculating growth media, and carbon requirements reduced by 40% by recycling CO2 from biogas combustion, for normal nitrogen conditions. A variety of technology options for each step of the production process and allocation methods for coproducts used outside the production system are evaluated using LCA. Extensive sensitivity and scenario analysis is also performed to provide better understanding of uncertainty associated with results. The best performing scenario consists of normal nitrogen cultivation conditions, bioflocculation and dissolved air flotation for harvesting, centrifugation for dewatering, wet extraction with hexane, transesterification for biodiesel production, and anaerobic digestion of biomass residual, which generates biogas used in a combined heat and power unit for energy recovery. This combination of technologies and operating conditions results in life cycle energy requirements and GHG emissions of 1.02 MJ and 71g CO2-equivalent per MJ of biodiesel, with cultivation and oil extraction dominating energy use and emissions. Thus, even under optimistic conditions, the near-term performance of this biofuel pathway does not achieve the significant reductions in life cycle GHG emissions hoped for from second-generation biofuel feedstocks. - Reducing the life cycle GHG emissions of microalgal biodiesel through integration with ethanol production system
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationMaranduba, H. L.; Robra, S.; Nascimento, I. A.; da Cruz, R. S.; Rodrigues, L. B.; Neto, J. A. D. 2015. Reducing the life cycle GHG emissions of microalgal biodiesel through integration with ethanol production system. Bioresource Technology. 19421-27
Despite environmental benefits of algal-biofuels, the energy-intensive systems for producing microalgae-feedstock may result in high GHG emissions. Trying to overcome energy-costs, this research analyzed the biodiesel production system via dry-route, based on Chlorella vulgaris cultivated in race-ways, by comparing the GHG-footprints of diverse microalgae-biodiesel scenarios. These involved: the single system of biomass production (C0); the application of pyrolysis on the residual microalgal biomass (cake) from the oil extraction process (C1); the same as C0, with anaerobic cake co-digested with cattle manure (C2); the same conditions as in C1 and C2, by integrating in both cases (respectively C3 and C4), the microalgae cultivation with an autonomous ethanol distillery. The reduction of GHG emissions in scenarios with no such integration (C1 and C2), compared to CO, was insignificant (0.53% and 4.67%, respectively), whereas in the scenarios with integration with ethanol production system, the improvements were 53.57% for C3 and 63.84% for C4. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Biodiesel from microalgae - Life cycle assessment and recommendations for potential improvements
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationCollet, P.; Lardon, L.; Helias, A.; Bricout, S.; Lombaert-Valot, I.; Perrier, B.; Lepine, O.; Steyer, J. P.; Bernard, O. 2014. Biodiesel from microalgae - Life cycle assessment and recommendations for potential improvements. Renewable Energy. 71525-533
Microalgae are considered as one of the potential major source of biofuel for the future. However, their environmental benefit is still unclear and many scientific publications provide contradictory results. Here we perform the Life Cycle Assessment of the production and combustion of 1 MJ of algal methylester. The system under consideration uses standard open raceways under greenhouses. Lipid extraction and transesterification are carried out on a humid paste produced by centrifugation. Our environmental and energetic analysis shows that improving the energy balance is clearly the key priority to make microalgal cultivation sustainable and to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To achieve significant reduction of the GHG emissions, most of the studies of the literature focus on technological breakthroughs, especially at the production step. However, since a large fraction of environmental impacts and especially GHG emissions do not occur directly at the production facility but stem from the production of the electricity required for producing, harvesting and transforming algae, it seems relevant to question the source of electricity as well as algae production technology. We consider a scenario where up to 45% of electricity was produced by a local renewable source and then we compare it to the improvements resulting from technological breakthroughs resulting in higher microalgal productivity or biomass concentration. It turns out that increasing the yield only drastically reduces the climate change for low starting productivity. The climate change is always significantly reduced by the use of local renewable electricity. It is therefore wiser to increase biomass productivity to easily achievable values (10-15 gm(-2) d(-1)), and then radically change improvements pathways by considering the composition of the electricity mix used for example. At least, it must be underlined that the introduction of renewable electricity also affect energetic efficiency, leading to a positive cumulative energy balance due to better energetic ratios. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Biodiesel Production from Waste Vegetable Oils: Combining Process Modelling, Multiobjective Optimization and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationMendoza, L. F. M.; Boix, M.; Azzaro-Pantel, C.; Montastruc, L.; Domenech, S. 2014. Biodiesel Production from Waste Vegetable Oils: Combining Process Modelling, Multiobjective Optimization and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). 24th European Symposium on Computer Aided Process Engineering, Pts a and B. 33235-240
The objective of this work is to propose an integrated and generic framework for eco-design that generalizes, automates and optimizes the evaluation of the environmental criteria at earlier design stage. The approach consists of three main stages. The first two steps correspond to process inventory analysis based on mass and energy balances and impact assessment phases of LCA methodology. The third stage of the methodology is based on the interaction of the previous steps with process simulation for environmental impact assessment and cost estimation through a computational framework. Then, the use of multi-objective optimization with a multicriteria choice decision making allows to select optimal solutions. The methodology is illustrated through the acid-catalyzed biodiesel production process. - Carbon balance impacts of land use changes related to the life cycle of Malaysian palm oil-derived biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationHansen, S. B.; Olsen, S. I.; Ujang, Z. 2014. Carbon balance impacts of land use changes related to the life cycle of Malaysian palm oil-derived biodiesel. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 19(3) 558-566
Purpose The area of oil palm plantations in Malaysia is expanding by approximately 0.14 million hectare per year, and with the increasing demand for palm oil worldwide, there is no sign of the expansions slowing down. This study aims to identify the greenhouse gas emissions associated with land conversion to oil palm, in a life cycle perspective. - Comparison of Biodiesel Production by Conventional and Superheated Methanol Vapor Technologies Using Life Cycle Assessment Method
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationRosmeika; Yuwono, A. S.; Tambunan, A. H. 2014. Comparison of Biodiesel Production by Conventional and Superheated Methanol Vapor Technologies Using Life Cycle Assessment Method. Environmental Engineering Science. 31(3) 107-116
Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that is renewable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. Several different methods of biodiesel production have been studied and proposed by many researchers. However, the environmental impact and energy aspect of the methods need to be evaluated. In this article, a noncatalytic biodiesel production with the superheated methanol vapor (SMV) method was compared with the conventional alkali-catalyzed production method in terms of its environmental performance using a life cycle assessment (LCA) tool. This study used original data from several regions in Indonesia. Given that the plant utilized fossil fuel as an energy source, the assessment shows that the SMV method produces higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and acidification, and consumes more energy than the catalytic method. Utilization of biomass waste as a substitute of fossil fuel can reduce the environmental impact and total energy consumption for both methods. Implementation of a methane capture system in a palm oil mill also had a big influence on the GHG savings of biodiesel production. Implementation of methane capture system in a palm oil mill along with the use of biomass waste as an energy source in the biodiesel plant significantly affected the GHG reduction in the SMV method. Therefore, the SMV method can be made feasible from an environmental and energy point of view by the utilization of biomass waste along its production line. - Consequential LCA of two alternative systems for biodiesel consumption in Spain, considering uncertainty
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationEscobar, N.; Ribal, J.; Clemente, G.; Sanjuan, N. 2014. Consequential LCA of two alternative systems for biodiesel consumption in Spain, considering uncertainty. Journal of Cleaner Production. 7961-73
This study assesses possible biodiesel pathways for the Spanish transport sector, representing the current situation. Life Cycle Assessment was carried out for two scenarios: Scenario 1, where 1 MJ of soybean biodiesel was imported from Argentina, and Scenario 2, where 1 MJ of biodiesel from used cooking oil (UCO) was manufactured in Spain. System expansion was performed to include the marginal products involved and additional functions were considered under a consequential approach. Scenario 1 included the production of palm oil in Malaysia (+25.27 g), as the marginal supplier in the global market. This also implied a decrease in the production of soybean meal in Brazil (-3.44 g). In Scenario 2, interactions in the global oil market led to changes in the opposite direction: the production of palm oil decreases in Malaysia (-2631 g), whereas the production of soybean meal increases in Brazil (+3.58 g). - Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Regionally Produced Beef in the Northwestern Us
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationRoop, D. J.; Shrestha, D. S.; Saul, D. A.; Newman, S. 2014. Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Regionally Produced Beef in the Northwestern Us. Transactions of the Asabe. 57(3) 927-935
This article presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) performed on a regional beef production system. The analysis includes data for a cow-calf operation, six animal feeding operations, and a beef processing operation within the Pacific Northwest region consisting of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana, western Wyoming, northern California, northern Nevada, and southern British Columbia. The objective of this study was to determine the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with beef production on a regional scale in the identified area. This analysis was important for determining the comparative sustainability of beef production methods in the Pacific Northwest. The LCA defined the GHG emissions associated with two separate functional units from two distinct system boundaries. System boundary 1 (SB1) delineates a cradle-to-feedlot-gate analysis of the system and has a functional unit of] kg of live weight (LW) beef production. System boundary 2 (SB2) defines a cradle-to-processing-gate analysis of the system and has a functional unit of] kg of packaged beef These estimates are used as indicators of the environmental burden of the given system in the given region. Total emissions from SB1 and SB2 were found to be 10.40 +/- 0.48 kg CO(2)e kg(-1) LW and 18.75 +/- 0.86 kg CO(2)e kg-1 beef respectively. - Enabling optimization in LCA: from "ad hoc" to "structural" LCA approach-based on a biodiesel well-to-wheel case study
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationHerrmann, I. T.; Lundberg-Jensen, M.; Jorgensen, A.; Stidsen, T.; Spliid, H.; Hauschild, M. 2014. Enabling optimization in LCA: from "ad hoc" to "structural" LCA approach-based on a biodiesel well-to-wheel case study. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 19(1) 194-205
Applied life cycle assessment (LCA) studies often lead to a comparison of rather few alternatives; we call this the "ad hoc LCA approach." This can seem surprising since applied LCAs normally cover countless options for variations and derived potentials for improvements in a product life cycle. In this paper, we will suggest an alternative approach to the ad hoc approach, which more systematically addresses the many possible variations to identify the most promising. We call it the "structural LCA approach." The goals of this paper are (1) to provide basic guidelines for the structural approach, including an easy expansion of the LCA space; (2) to show that the structural LCA approach can be used for different types of optimization in LCA; and (3) to improve the transparency of the LCA work. - Environmental Impact Studies of Biodiesel Production From Jatropha curcas in India by Life Cycle Assessment
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKalaivani, K.; Ravikumar, G.; Balasubramanian, N. 2014. Environmental Impact Studies of Biodiesel Production From Jatropha curcas in India by Life Cycle Assessment. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy. 33(4) 1340-1349
Environmental performance of biodiesel derived from Jatropha curcas seed was studied by life cycle assessment methodology in India. This paper also compares the environmental impact of Jatropha-based biodiesel and its blends (20% and 50%) with diesel fuel. The lifecycle of Jatropha-based biodiesel production includes the stages of cultivation, oil extraction, biodiesel production, and transportation to the fuel station. The functional unit of this study was 1 ton of biodiesel production and the impact categories studied were carcinogens, respiratory organics and inorganics, climate change, radiation, ozone layer depletion, ecotoxicity, acidification/eutrophication, land use, mineral use, and fossil fuels. The results revealed that among all the stages, emission from soil and air caused by cultivation process of Jatropha is the largest contributors to most of environmental impact categories. The categories with greater impacts are carcinogens, ecotoxicity, respiratory inorganics, acidification, eutrophication, and land use with the percentage of 80%, 72%, 71%, 66.7%, and 63%, respectively. Comparison results of biodiesel and its blends with diesel fuel showed that increase of biodiesel blends have minimal effect on the environment. Moreover, lifecycle assessment of biodiesel production has a positive contribution to climate change than the fossil fuel. The results suggest the enhanced usage of this renewable fuel in future with inclusion of further technological improvement in farming practices and production process. (c) 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 33: 1340-1349, 2014 - Evaluation of Vulcanized Elastomeric Composites after Ageing in Biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAmbrosio, J. D.; Raynaud, T.; Monteiro, M. R. 2014. Evaluation of Vulcanized Elastomeric Composites after Ageing in Biodiesel. 20th Brazilian Conference on Materials Science and Engineering. 775-776219-+
The incorporation of biodiesel in the worldwide energetic matrix has an increasing tendency to use in the world. However, there are many technological challenges to consolidate this biofuel as an alternative to fossil fuels. The evaluation of the materials compatibilities used in the automotive industry and biodiesel production chain has been configured as an important area of research in finding appropriate materials that comes into contact with diesel biodiesel/blends. The present work aims to evaluate the physical properties for elastomeric composites prepared with polymeric matrix of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR), natural rubber (NR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). The composites were prepared under controlled conditions of mixing and vulcanization. The elastomeric composites were aged in a blend containing 95 vol% of diesel and 5 vol% of biodiesel (B5 blend). The static total immersion tests were carried out at controlled temperature (50 degrees C) for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days, substituting the B5 blend every 7 days. The results showed that the properties of NBR are less affected than other elastomers. It showed better mechanical performance and less influence on the glass transition temperature, indicating less degradation of this rubber in contact with B5 blend used in immersion tests. - Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from algal bio-crude oils extracted under subcritical water conditions
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPonnusamy, S.; Reddy, H. K.; Muppaneni, T.; Downes, C. M.; Deng, S. G. 2014. Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from algal bio-crude oils extracted under subcritical water conditions. Bioresource Technology. 170454-461
A life cycle assessment study is performed for the energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions in an algal biodiesel production system. Subcritical water (SCW) extraction was applied for extracting bio-crude oil from algae, and conventional transesterification method was used for converting the algal oil to biodiesel. 58 MJ of energy is required to produce 1 kg of biodiesel without any co-products management, of which 36% was spent on cultivation and 56% on lipid extraction. SCW extraction with thermal energy recovery reduces the energy consumption by 3-5 folds when compared to the traditional solvent extraction. It is estimated that 1 kg of algal biodiesel fixes about 0.6 kg of CO2. An optimized case considering the energy credits from co-products could further reduce the total energy demand. The energy demand for producing 1 kg of biodiesel in the optimized case is 28.23 MJ. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of camelina oil derived biodiesel and jet fuel in the Canadian Prairies
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationLi, X.; Mupondwa, E. 2014. Life cycle assessment of camelina oil derived biodiesel and jet fuel in the Canadian Prairies. Science of the Total Environment. 48117-26
This study evaluated the environmental impact of biodiesel and hydroprocessed renewable jet fuel derived from camelina oil in terms of global warming potential, human health, ecosystem quality, and energy resource consumption. The life cycle inventory is based on production activities in the Canadian Prairies and encompasses activities ranging from agricultural production to oil extraction and fuel conversion. The system expansion method is used in this study to avoid allocation and to credit input energy to co-products associated with the products displaced in the market during camelina oil extraction and fuel processing. This is the preferred allocation method for LCA analysis in the context of most renewable and sustainable energy programs. The results show that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1 MJ of camelina derived biodiesel ranged from 7.61 to 24.72 g CO2 equivalent and 3.06 to 31.01 kg CO2/MJ equivalent for camelina HRJ fuel. Non-renewable energy consumption for camelina biodiesel ranged from 0.40 to 0.67 MJ/MJ; HRJ fuel ranged from -0.13 to 0.52 MJ/MJ. Camelina oil as a feedstock for fuel production accounted for the highest contribution to overall environmental performance, demonstrating the importance of reducing environmental burdens during the agricultural production process. Attaining higher seed yield would dramatically lower environmental impacts associated with camelina seed, oil, and fuel production. The lower GHG emissions and energy consumption associated with camelina in comparison with other oilseed derived fuel and petroleum fuel make camelina derived fuel from Canadian Prairies environmentally attractive. Crown Copyright (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. - Life Cycle Assessment of Palm Oil Biodiesel Production in Malaysia
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAshnani, M. H. M.; Johari, A.; Hashim, H.; Hasani, E. 2014. Life Cycle Assessment of Palm Oil Biodiesel Production in Malaysia. 4th Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Pts 1 and 2. 465-4661080-1086
Almost identical properties with petroleum-derived diesel make biodiesel one of the best options of renewable and sustainable fuel supply to the transportation sector. Thanks to plentiful sources of palm oil and reasonable cost, it can be a proper feedstock for biodiesel production in Malaysia. Still, there is a paucity of studies concerning the effects of palm biodiesel on the environment. This paper, therefore, deals with life cycle assessment (LCA) of palm biodiesel to find out and validate the common belief regarding suitability of palm biodiesel as a green and sustainable fuel. The LCA study was conducted through three main stages including agricultural activities, oil milling, and transesterification process of biodiesel production. Palm oil biodiesel production results in the production of 1627.748kgCO2-eq of GHG and energy consumption of 12449.48MJ per ton PME. The results indicate that the most relevant environmental impact of this biofuel system is depletion of fossil resources. - Life cycle assessment on microalgal biodiesel production using a hybrid cultivation system
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAdesanya, V. O.; Cadena, E.; Scott, S. A.; Smith, A. G. 2014. Life cycle assessment on microalgal biodiesel production using a hybrid cultivation system. Bioresource Technology. 163343-355
A life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a putative biodiesel production plant in which the freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris, was grown using an existing system similar to a published commercial-scale hybrid cultivation. The hybrid system couples airlift tubular photobioreactors with raceway ponds in a two-stage process for high biomass growth and lipid accumulation. The results show that microalgal biodiesel production would have a significantly lower environmental impact than fossil-derived diesel. Based on the functional unit of 1 ton of biodiesel produced, the hybrid cultivation system and hypothetical downstream process (base case) would have 42% and 38% savings in global warming potential (GWP) and fossil-energy requirements (FER) when compared to fossil-derived diesel, respectively. Sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the most influential process parameters on the LCA results. The maximum reduction in GWP and FER was observed under mixotrophic growth conditions with savings of 76% and 75% when compared to conventional diesel, respectively. (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle cost of biodiesel production from microalgae in Thailand
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSawaengsak, W.; Silalertruksa, T.; Bangviwat, A.; Gheewala, S. H. 2014. Life cycle cost of biodiesel production from microalgae in Thailand. Energy for Sustainable Development. 1867-74
Biofuels derived from microalgae are currently gaining attention as alternative fuels, especially for substituting biodiesel. Microalgae can be grown either in open pond systems or in closed photobioreactors. However, the systems require a high initial capital investment for construction of pond and photobioreactor systems. This study aims to evaluate the financial feasibility of two types of large scale microalgae-based biodiesel production assumed to be located in the northern region of Thailand. Four algae-to-biofuels process scenarios were examined: base cases of raceway ponds and photobioreactors including only biodiesel production; and alternative cases for both, including extraction of high value added products, omega-3 fatty acids, in addition to biodiesel. The basis of biodiesel production was 720,000 L per year operated for 15 years. For the base case, the biodiesel production costs for algae produced from raceway ponds and photobioreactors were 68 and 224 Thai Baht/L, respectively, while for the alternative case, they were 191 and 450 Thai Baht/L, respectively. Even though the omega-3 fatty acid production gained higher revenue, the capital cost and operating cost would need to be reduced at least 50% to make the systems profitable. Several improvement options and possible government incentives to achieve this are presented. (C) 2013 International Energy Initiative. Published by Elsevier Inc All rights reserved. - Life Cycle GHG Emissions from Microalgal Biodiesel - A CA-GREET Model
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationWoertz, I. C.; Benemann, J. R.; Du, N.; Unnasch, S.; Mendola, D.; Mitchell, B. G.; Lundquist, T. J. 2014. Life Cycle GHG Emissions from Microalgal Biodiesel - A CA-GREET Model. Environmental Science & Technology. 48(11) 6060-6068
A life cycle assessment (LCA) focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the production of microalgal biodiesel was carried out based on a detailed engineering and economic analysis. This LCA applies the methodology of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (CA LCFS) and uses life cycle inventory (LCI) data for process inputs, based on the California-Modified Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (CA GREET) model. Based on detailed mass and energy balances, calculated GHG emissions from this algal biodiesel system are 70% lower than those of conventional diesel fuel, meeting the minimum 50% GHG reduction requirements under the EPA RFS2 and 60% for the European Union Renewable Energy Directive. This LCA study provides a guide to the research and development objectives that must be achieved to meet both economic and environmental goals for microalgae biodiesel production. - Supercritical transesterification: Impact of different types of alcohol on biodiesel yield and LCA results
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKiss, F. E.; Micic, R. D.; Tomic, M. D.; Nikolic-Djoric, E. B.; Simikic, M. D. 2014. Supercritical transesterification: Impact of different types of alcohol on biodiesel yield and LCA results. Journal of Supercritical Fluids. 8623-32
A series of experiments with transesterification of rapeseed oil in supercritical methanol and supercritical ethanol was carried out in a batch reactor at various reaction temperatures (250-350 degrees C), working pressure (8-12 MPa), reaction time (7, 15 and 30 min), and at a constant 42:1 alcohol to oil molar ratio. The effect of alcohol, temperature, pressure and reaction time on biodiesel yield was investigated using linear multiple regression models. In the observed range, temperature has the highest impact on yields, followed by reaction time and pressure. The relative importance of time and pressure in explaining yields is higher in the case of transesterification in supercritical ethanol. The results of environmental life cycle assessment have revealed that contrary to general belief the usage of ethanol instead of methanol cannot improve the sustainability and renewability of the transesterification process significantly. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. - A meta-analytic review of life cycle assessment and flow analyses studies of palm oil biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationManik, Y.; Halog, A. 2013. A meta-analytic review of life cycle assessment and flow analyses studies of palm oil biodiesel. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. 9(1) 134-141
This work reviews and performs a meta-analysis of the recent life cycle assessment and flow analyses studies palm oil biodiesel. The best available data and information are extracted, summarized, and discussed. Most studies found palm oil biodiesel would produce positive energy balance with an energy ratio between 2.27 and 4.81, and with a net energy production of 112 GJ ha-1y-1. With the exception of a few studies, most conclude that palm oil biodiesel is a net emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG). The origin of oil palm plantation (planted area) is the foremost determinant of GHG emissions and C payback time (CPBT). Converting peatland forest results in GHG emissions up to 60 tons CO2equivalent (eq) ha-1y-1 leading to 420 years of CPBT. In contrast, converting degraded land or grassland for plantation can positively offset the system to become a net sequester of 5 tons CO2eq ha-1y-1. Few studies have discussed cradle-to-grave environmental impacts such as acidification, eutrophication, toxicity, and biodiversity, which open opportunity for further studies. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2013; 9: 134141. (c) 2012 SETAC - Algae biodiesel life cycle assessment using current commercial data
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPassell, H.; Dhaliwal, H.; Reno, M.; Wu, B.; Ben Amotz, A.; Ivry, E.; Gay, M.; Czartoski, T.; Laurin, L.; Ayer, N. 2013. Algae biodiesel life cycle assessment using current commercial data. Journal of Environmental Management. 129103-111
Autotrophic microalgae represent a potential feedstock for transportation fuels, but life cycle assessment (LCA) studies based on laboratory-scale or theoretical data have shown mixed results. We attempt to bridge the gap between laboratory-scale and larger scale biodiesel production by using cultivation and harvesting data from a commercial algae producer with similar to 1000 m(2) production area (the base case), and compare that with a hypothetical scaled up facility of 101,000 m(2) (the future case). Extraction and separation data are from Solution Recovery Services, Inc. Conversion and combustion data are from the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation Model (GREET). The LCA boundaries are defined as "pond-to-wheels". Environmental impacts are quantified as NER (energy in/ energy out), global warming potential, photochemical oxidation potential, water depletion, particulate matter, and total NOx and SOx. The functional unit is 1 MJ of energy produced in a passenger car. Results for the base case and the future case show an NER of 33.4 and 1.37, respectively and GWP of 2.9 and 0.18 kg CO2-equivalent, respectively. In comparison, petroleum diesel and soy diesel show an NER of 0.18 and 0.80, respectively and GWP of 0.12 and 0.025, respectively. A critical feature in this work is the low algal productivity (3 g/m(2)/day) reported by the commercial producer, relative to the much higher productivities (20-30 g/m(2)/day) reported by other sources. Notable results include a sensitivity analysis showing that algae with an oil yield of 0.75 kg oil/kg dry biomass in the future case can bring the NER down to 0.64, more comparable with petroleum diesel and soy biodiesel. An important assumption in this work is that all processes are fully co-located and that no transport of intermediate or final products from processing stage to stage is required. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Comparative life cycle assessment of biodiesel from algae and jatropha: a case study of India
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAjayebi, A.; Gnansounou, E.; Kenthorai Raman, J. 2013. Comparative life cycle assessment of biodiesel from algae and jatropha: a case study of India. Bioresour Technol. 150429-37
Algae and jatropha, two types of promising and unconventional biomass, are investigated in this study for large-scale production of biodiesel. The aim is to evaluate the potential advantages and the magnitude of closeness of life cycle balances between these two biodiesel pathways compared to fossil diesel, by taking into account possible uncertainties. The geographical location of this study is India with a prospect of utilizing available wastelands in southern regions. The results indicate that the environmental performance of algal biodiesel is comparable to that of jatropha biodiesel. Both show significant GHG emission and fossil energy depletion reductions which are in the range of 36-40 and 10-25% respectively compared to fossil diesel in the studied geographic context. - Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel Production from Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) and Rapeseed Oil Obtained under Spanish Conditions
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationDufour, J.; Arsuaga, J.; Moreno, J.; Torrealba, H.; Camacho, J. 2013. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel Production from Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) and Rapeseed Oil Obtained under Spanish Conditions. Energy & Fuels. 27(9) 5280-5286
The high demand of fuels and the problems associated with the resources depletion and environmental effects of its production have motivated the search for alternative sources. An interesting option in Spain is the cultivation of Cynara cardunculus as primary raw material of biodiesel manufacture. In this paper, the environmental feasibility of the value chain form cropping to fuel manufacture is studied for Cynara cardunculus oil (CCB) and compared to rapeseed oil (RSB) through life cycle assessment, according to the ISO Standard 14040 and using the Gabi software v4.3 as calculation tool. The functional unit selected was 1 tonne of biodiesel. The total energy consumption and the energy return on energy investment (EROEI) were calculated from energy balance. The indicators for life cycle assessment corresponding to impact categories in human health, ecosystem quality and resources depletion were estimated by means of Ecoindicator 99 method. Obtained EROEI values (calculated considering only the calorific power of the oil) indicate that the energy balance is more positive for Cynara cardunculus than for rapeseed (EROEI = 1.53 for CCB and 1.20 for RSB). Moreover, biodiesel from cardoon shows lower environmental impacts. - Comparison of Algal Biodiesel Production Pathways Using Life Cycle Assessment Tool
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSingh, A.; Olsen, S. I. 2013. Comparison of Algal Biodiesel Production Pathways Using Life Cycle Assessment Tool. Life Cycle Assessment of Renewable Energy Sources. 145-168
The consideration of algal biomass in biodiesel production increased very rapidly in the last decade. A life cycle assessment (LCA) study is presented to compare six different biodiesel production pathways (three different harvesting techniques, i.e., aluminum as flocculent, lime flocculent, and centrifugation, and two different oil extraction methods, i.e., supercritical CO2 (sCO(2)) and press and co-solvent extraction). The cultivation of Nannochloropsis sp. considered in a flat-panel photobioreactor (FPPBR). These algal biodiesel production systems were compared with the conventional diesel in a EURO 5 passenger car used for transport purpose (functional unit 1 person km (pkm). The algal biodiesel production systems provide lesser impact (22-105 %) in comparison with conventional diesel. Impacts of algal biodiesel on climate change were far better than conventional diesel, but impacts on human health, ecosystem quality, and resources were higher than the conventional diesel. This study recommends more practical data at pilot-scale production plant with maximum utilization of byproducts generated during the production to produce a sustainable algal biodiesel. - Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Locally Produced Beef in the Palouse Region of the Northwestern Us
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationRoop, D. J.; Shrestha, D. S.; Saul, D. A. 2013. Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Locally Produced Beef in the Palouse Region of the Northwestern Us. Transactions of the Asabe. 56(5) 1933-1941
Before 1940, on-farm beef slaughter made up 3% to 5% of annual beef production. Currently, this statistic is below 0.5%. As part of a larger project to develop strategies to increase prosperity for small farms through sustainable livestock production, processing, and marketing, this study presents data and analyses from five small cattle production operations in the Palouse region of the northwestern U.S. Net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were calculated for each of the operations, which each produced 20 to 35 head of cattle annually. Data from the small ranches were analyzed to determine emissions in three main categories: those associated with cattle, feed production, and fuel use. Cattle emissions were calculated according to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. This method provided estimates for emissions from enteric fermentation and manure management. Feed and transportation emissions were estimated using HOLOS whole-farm modeling software and Franklin Associates' U.S. LCI data, respectively. All emissions were normalized over the mass of live weight cattle output from each ranch. The ranches had average total emissions of 13.78 +/- 2.08 kg CO(2)e kg(-1) live weight output. Feed production emissions and fuel use emissions varied more significantly according to ranch practices (having ranges of +/- 66% and +/- 4%, respectively) and were considered on a case-by-case basis. Feed production emissions were between 0.42 and 3.98 kg CO(2)e kg(-1) live weight output. Fuel use emissions were between 0.39 and 1.58 kg CO(2)e kg(-1) live weight output. Overall emissions were consistent with values for all-sized cattle operations in the literature and slightly less than emissions from production systems utilizing concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). - Emergy Analysis and Sustainability Efficiency Analysis of Different Crop-Based Biodiesel in Life Cycle Perspective
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationRen, J. Z.; Manzardo, A.; Mazzi, A.; Fedele, A.; Scipioni, A. 2013. Emergy Analysis and Sustainability Efficiency Analysis of Different Crop-Based Biodiesel in Life Cycle Perspective. Scientific World Journal.
Biodiesel as a promising alternative energy resource has been a hot spot in chemical engineering nowadays, but there is also an argument about the sustainability of biodiesel. In order to analyze the sustainability of biodiesel production systems and select the most sustainable scenario, various kinds of crop-based biodiesel including soybean-, rapeseed-, sunflower-, jatropha- and palm-based biodiesel production options are studied by emergy analysis; soybean-based scenario is recognized as the most sustainable scenario that should be chosen for further study in China. DEA method is used to evaluate the sustainability efficiencies of these options, and the biodiesel production systems based on soybean, sunflower, and palm are considered as DEA efficient, whereas rapeseed- based and jatropha-based scenarios are needed to be improved, and the improved methods have also been specified. - Environmental and life cycle analysis of a biodiesel production line from sunflower in the Province of Siena (Italy)
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSpinelli, D.; Jez, S.; Pogni, R.; Basosi, R. 2013. Environmental and life cycle analysis of a biodiesel production line from sunflower in the Province of Siena (Italy). Energy Policy. 59492-506
The Directive 2009/28/EC established the overall target that 20% of energy consumption should be represented by renewable energy sources by 2020 in each European member state. Furthermore, the Directive sets a mandatory 10% minimum target for biofuels in the transport sector. - Environmental life cycle assessment for rapeseed-derived biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationGonzalez-Garcia, S.; Garcia-Rey, D.; Hospido, A. 2013. Environmental life cycle assessment for rapeseed-derived biodiesel. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 18(1) 61-76
Biofuels have received special research interest, driven by concerns over high fuel prices, security of energy supplies, global climate change as well as the search of opportunities for rural economic development. This work examines the production of biodiesel derived from the transesterification of crude rapeseed oil, one of the most important sources of biodiesel in Europe, paying special attention to the environmental profile-associated to the manufacture life cycle (i.e., cradle-to-gate perspective). - Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel from Palm Oil
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationLee, K. T.; Ofori-Boateng, C. 2013. Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel from Palm Oil. Life Cycle Assessment of Renewable Energy Sources. 95-129
Though the energy balance for the cultivation of oil palm biomass for biodiesel production is positive, current debate has been raised on its environmental sustainability due to the high consumption of fossil fuel, fertilizer, and pesticides. This chapter employs the well-to-wheel variant of life cycle analysis (LCA) to assess the various potential environmental impacts, energy and land use/conversion impacts associated with the production of biodiesel from palm oil. Eleven (11) main impact categories, namely land use, fossil fuel use, climate change, ozone layer depletion potential, minerals/heavy metals, acidification/eutrophication potential, ionizing radiation potential, ecotoxicity potentials, carcinogens, respiratory organics, and respiratory in organics based on Eco-Indicator 99, are analyzed and discussed. Excluding transportation impacts, the oil palm cultivation stage contributed the highest overall environmental impacts (44 % of the total impacts) compared to the other stages. On the other hand, fossil fuel consumption was highest (43 % of total impacts) in the transesterification unit exclusive of all impacts from transportation. - Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production in China
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationLiang, S.; Xu, M.; Zhang, T. Z. 2013. Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production in China. Bioresource Technology. 12972-77
This study aims to evaluate energy, economic, and environmental performances of seven categories of biodiesel feedstocks by using the mixed-unit input-output life cycle assessment method. Various feedstocks have different environmental performances, indicating potential environmental problem-shift. Jatropha seed, castor seed, waste cooking oil, and waste extraction oil are preferred feedstocks for biodiesel production in the short term. Positive net energy yields and positive net economic benefits of biodiesel from these four feedstocks are 2.3-52.0% of their life cycle energy demands and 74.1-448.4% of their economic costs, respectively. Algae are preferred in the long term mainly due to their less arable land demands. Special attention should be paid to potential environmental problems accompanying feedstock choice: freshwater use, ecotoxicity potentials, photochemical oxidation potential, acidification potential and eutrophication potential. Moreover, key processes are identified by sensitivity analysis to direct future technology improvements. Finally, supporting measures are proposed to optimize China's biodiesel development. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of dewatering routes for algae derived biodiesel processes
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationO'Connell, D.; Savelski, M.; Slater, C. S. 2013. Life cycle assessment of dewatering routes for algae derived biodiesel processes. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. 15(4) 567-577
Biodiesel derived from algae is considered as a sustainable fuel, but proper downstream processing is necessary to minimize the environmental footprint of this process. Algae is grown in dilute liquid cultures, and achieving the low water contents required for extraction represents one of the greatest challenges for the production of algae derived biodiesel. An analysis of the life cycle emissions associated with harvesting, dewatering, extraction, reaction, and product purification stages for algae biodiesel were performed. This "base case" found 10,500 kg of total emissions per t of biodiesel with 96 % of those attributed to the spray dryer used for dewatering. Alternative cases were evaluated for various sequences of mechanical and thermal dewatering techniques. The best case, consisted of a disk-stack centrifuge, followed by the chamber filter press, and a heat integrated dryer. This resulted in 875 kg emissions/t of biodiesel, a 91 % reduction from the base case. Significant reductions in life cycle emissions were achieved for all mechanical dewatering alternatives compared to the base case, but further improvements using these existing technologies were limited. Additional improvements will require the development of new techniques for water removal or wet extractions. - Life Cycle Energy and Carbon Footprints of Microalgal Biodiesel Production in Western Australia: A Comparison of Byproducts Utilization Strategies
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationGao, X. P.; Yu, Y.; Wu, H. W. 2013. Life Cycle Energy and Carbon Footprints of Microalgal Biodiesel Production in Western Australia: A Comparison of Byproducts Utilization Strategies. Acs Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 1(11) 1371-1380
This study compares the performances of anaerobic digestion and hydrothermal liquefaction as by-products (defatted microalgae and glycerol) utilization strategies to offset overall life cycle energy and carbon footprints of microalgal biodiesel production in Western Australian (WA). Utilization of byproducts via anaerobic digestion or hydrothermal liquefaction enables the production of electricity and process heat, as well as the recovery of inherent nutrients. As a result, the anaerobic digestion route and hydrothermal liquefaction route substantially reduce life cycle energy inputs for producing 1 MJ biodiesel from 4.3 MJ (without byproducts utilization) to 1.3 and 0.7 MJ, yielding carbon footprints of similar to 80 and similar to 33 g CO2-eq/MJ biodiesel, respectively. The results indicate that hydrothermal liquefaction, which shows better life cycle performance and requires smaller reactor footprint than anaerobic digestion, can be another potential strategy to recover energy embedded in defatted microalgae. It is also evident that while vast coastal areas are available in WA for marine microalgae cultivation, further technological advances are required to realize a truly sustainable biodiesel production from microalgae. Sensitivity analyses suggest that key R&D areas are improvement of microalgae biological properties (e.g., growth rate and lipid content) and innovations in engineering designs (e.g., culture circulation velocity, methane yield during anaerobic digestion, and bio-oil yield during hydrothermal liquefaction). - Life cycle impact assessment of biodiesel using the ReCiPe method
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKis, F. E.; Boskovic, G. C. 2013. Life cycle impact assessment of biodiesel using the ReCiPe method. Hemijska Industrija. 67(4) 601-613
This paper presents the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results of biodiesel produced from rapeseed oil. The functional unit (FU) is defined as 3750 km of distance traveled by a truck fuelled with biodiesel. The reference flow is 1000 kg of biodiesel. The LCIA method used in the study is the ReCiPe method. At midpoint level the ReCiPe method addresses environmental issues within 18 impact categories. Most of these midpoint impact categories are further converted and aggregated into 3 endpoint categories (damage to human health, damage to ecosystem diversity, damage to mineral resource availability). The total impact of biodiesel's life cycle was estimated at 540 Pt/FU. The damage to ecosystem diversity (1.48x10(-4) species.year/FU), the damage to human health (7.48x10(-3) DALY/FU) and the damage to mineral resource availability (8.11x10(3) US$/FU) are responsible for 63, 27 and 10% of the total negative impact in the life cycle of biodiesel, respectively. The results have revealed that only 4 impact categories are responsible for most of the impacts within the specific endpoint categories. These are impacts associated with global warming (3000 kg CO2,ekv./FU), particulate matter formation (12.4 kg PM (ekv.)/FU), agricultural land occupation (6710 m(2)a/FU) and fossil fuel depletion (21168 MJ/FU). Greenhouse gases emitted in the life cycle of biodiesel (mainly N2O and CO2) are responsible for 56% of the damage caused to human health and for 16% of the damage caused to ecosystem diversity. Airborne emissions which contribute to particulate matter formation (NOx, NH3, PM and SO2) are responsible for 43% of the damage caused to human health. Agricultural land occupation is responsible for 82% of the damage caused to the ecosystem diversity. Damage to mineral resource availability is almost entirely related to the depletion of fossil energy sources. The production chain of biodiesel and the combustion of biodiesel are responsible for 69% and 31% of the total impact of biodiesel's life cycle, respectively. The negative impact of the production chain is mainly related to biodiversity loss due to agricultural land occupation (38%) and the life cycle impacts of mineral fertilizers used in the production of rapeseed (47%). The environmental impact of biodiesel can be reduced by increasing the yield of rapeseed with more efficient use of fertilizers and optimization of agro-technical processes. - Potential for optimized production and use of rapeseed biodiesel. Based on a comprehensive real-time LCA case study in Denmark with multiple pathways
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationHerrmann, I. T.; Jorgensen, A.; Bruun, S.; Hauschild, M. Z. 2013. Potential for optimized production and use of rapeseed biodiesel. Based on a comprehensive real-time LCA case study in Denmark with multiple pathways. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 18(2) 418-430
Several factors contribute to the current increased focus on alternative fuels such as biodiesel, including an increasing awareness of the environmental impact of petrochemical (PC) oil products such as PC diesel, the continuously increasing price of PC oil, and the depletion of PC oil. For these reasons, the European Union has enacted a directive requiring each member state to ensure that the share of energy from renewable sources in transport be at least 10 % of the final consumption of energy by 2020 (The European Parliament and the Council 2009). This LCA study assesses the specific environmental impacts from the production and use of biodiesel as it is today (real-time), based on rapeseed oil and different types of alcohols, and using technologies that are currently available or will be available shortly. Different options are evaluated for the environmental improvement of production methods. The modeling of the LCA is based on a specific Danish biodiesel production facility. - Process design accompanying life cycle management and risk analysis as a decision support tool for sustainable biodiesel production
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKralisch, D.; Staffel, C.; Ott, D.; Bensaid, S.; Saracco, G.; Bellantoni, P.; Loeb, P. 2013. Process design accompanying life cycle management and risk analysis as a decision support tool for sustainable biodiesel production. Green Chemistry. 15(2) 463-477
The search for sustainable synthesis pathways for biodiesel generation is still ongoing, although extensive research and development work on this topic has already led to a broad variety of process alternatives, utilizing different feedstocks, alcohols, catalysts and process parameters. Thus, the choice for the most sustainable option is not an easy task, depending on related costs and environmental impacts deriving from up-stream and down-stream processes, but also on safety constraints. The aim of our work presented herein is to demonstrate a decision support procedure for the best suited process design of biodiesel production in front of a pilot plant construction. The development of a novel biodiesel production alternative was accompanied by Life Cycle Management and Risk Analysis in an iterative procedure nearly from the beginning in order to point out favorable process parameter combinations in parallel to experimental optimization. The transesterification of waste oil via supercritical processing in intensifying continuous flow reactors, using the feedstock methanol, was found to be the most favourable option. - Social life cycle assessment of biodiesel production at three levels: a literature review and development needs
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationMacombe, C.; Leskinen, P.; Feschet, P.; Antikainen, R. 2013. Social life cycle assessment of biodiesel production at three levels: a literature review and development needs. Journal of Cleaner Production. 52205-216
Assessment of social impacts of products and services has gained increasing interest in society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool developed to estimate the impacts of products and services from cradle to grave. Traditionally LCA has focused on environmental impacts, but recently approaches for social life cycle assessment (SLCA) have also been developed. Most of them fairly address social performances of business, but the aim of this paper is to analyse the possibilities and development needs in the complementary approach, which is the evaluation of social impacts in LCA. We review the field in general and take a closer look at the empirical case of biodiesel production, which is a timely topic globally in view of the climate change mitigation objectives. The analysis is carried out at three levels - company, regional, and state level. Despite active development in the field of SLCA, we conclude that in many cases it is not yet possible to carry out a comprehensive SLCA. Finally, we outline lines of research that would further improve the methodological and empirical basis of SLCA at various levels of decision-making. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Social life cycle assessment of palm oil biodiesel: a case study in Jambi Province of Indonesia
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationManik, Y.; Leahy, J.; Halog, A. 2013. Social life cycle assessment of palm oil biodiesel: a case study in Jambi Province of Indonesia. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 18(7) 1386-1392
This study aims to investigate the social implications of palm oil biodiesel via a case study using a life cycle assessment framework. - A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of Jatropha biodiesel production in India
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKumar, S.; Singh, J.; Nanoti, S. M.; Garg, M. O. 2012. A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of Jatropha biodiesel production in India. Bioresource Technology. 110723-729
A life cycle approach was adopted for energy, green house gas (GHG) emissions and renewability assessment for production of 1 ton of Jatropha biodiesel. Allocation and displacement approaches were applied for life cycle inventory, process energy and process GHG emission attribution to co-products. The results of process energy and GHG emission analyses revealed that the amount of process energy consumption and GHG emission in the individual stages of the life cycle assessment (LCA) were a strong function of co-product handling and irrigation. The GHG emission reduction with respect to petroleum diesel for generating 1 GJ energy varied from 40% to 107% and NER values from 1.4 to 8.0 depending upon the methodology used for energy and emission distribution between product and co-products as well as irrigation applied. However, GHG emission reduction values of 54 and 40 and NER (net energy ratio) values of 1.7 and 1.4 for irrigated and rain-fed scenarios, respectively indicate the eco-friendly nature and renewability of biodiesel even in the worst scenario where total life cycle inventory (LCI), process energy and GHG emission were allocated to biodiesel only. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - A life cycle assessment comparison between centralized and decentralized biodiesel production from raw sunflower oil and waste cooking oils
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationIglesias, L.; Laca, A.; Herrero, M.; Diaz, M. 2012. A life cycle assessment comparison between centralized and decentralized biodiesel production from raw sunflower oil and waste cooking oils. Journal of Cleaner Production. 37162-171
In this study, a comparative Life Cycle Assessment has been performed with the aim of finding out how the environmental impact derived from biodiesel production (using raw sunflower oil or waste cooking oils) could be affected by the degree of decentralization of the production (number of production plants in a given territory). The decentralized production of biodiesel has been proposed for several reasons, such as the possibility of small scale production, the fact that there is no need to use high technology or make large investments, and because small plants do not need highly specialized technical staff. Thus, hypothetical territories (considering scenarios in which the production and area were theoretically modified), as well as real territories, have been analyzed to determine which environmental indicators were most affected. Results showed that the optimum degree of centralization was different for each analyzed case. In general, in small territories centralized production was more suitable for the environment, decentralization being more advisable as the territory increased in area. For each of the cases analyzed, an optimum number of plants, which minimized the environmental impacts, was found. This work illustrates the importance of considering the number of industrial plants in the production design, not only from an economic aspect but also from an environmental point of view. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. - A life cycle assessment comparison of rapeseed biodiesel and conventional diesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationStow, M.; McManus, M. C.; Bannister, C. 2012. A life cycle assessment comparison of rapeseed biodiesel and conventional diesel. Sustainable Vehicle Technologies: Driving the Green Agenda. 23-33
Biodiesel is often considered to improve energy security and reduce the impact of fuel on climate change. However there are concerns about the impact of biodiesel when its life cycle is considered. The potential impact of using biodiesel rather than conventional diesel was investigated using a life cycle assessment (LCA) of rapeseed biodiesel. Biodiesel leads to reduced fossil fuel use and is likely to reduce the impact of transport on climate change. However it was found that the impact of biodiesel towards other categories, i.e. land use and respiratory inorganics, was greater than petroleum diesel. Therefore biodiesel production should be carefully managed to mitigate its impact on the environment. - A life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from winter rape grown in Southern Europe
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationGasol, C. M.; Salvia, J.; Serra, J.; Anton, A.; Sevigne, E.; Rieradevall, J.; Gabarrell, X. 2012. A life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from winter rape grown in Southern Europe. Biomass & Bioenergy. 4071-81
This paper analyses the viability of Brassica napus as an energy crop cultivated for producing biodiesel in southern Europe. The proposed methodology assessment combines physical variables such as grain production and agroclimate conditions with environmental analysis (LCA) in order to determine the Mediterranean agroclimates areas that could be cultivated for non-food purposes. The results obtained in a local production and distribution scenario (25 km) demonstrate that the biodiesel systems analysed have a better energy balance than diesel. Biodiesel obtained a net energy benefit of 16.25 MJ kg (1) of biodiesel or 35.10 MJ kg(-1) of biodiesel when the avoided impacts from coproducts (glycerine and rapemeal) are considered in comparison with conventional diesel. In terms of environmental performance, the biodiesel system also has less impact compared with diesel in three categories Abiotic Depletion (AD), Photochemical Oxidation (PO) and Global Warming Potential (GWP). The estimated impact reduction in the GWP category when is compared with diesel reached a minimum of 1.76 kg CO2 eq. per kg of biodiesel when emissions of the use phase are included. - Bioethanol and Biodiesel as Alternative Transportation Fuels in China: Current Status, Future Potentials, and Life Cycle Analysis
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationYan, X. Y. 2012. Bioethanol and Biodiesel as Alternative Transportation Fuels in China: Current Status, Future Potentials, and Life Cycle Analysis. Energy Sources Part a-Recovery Utilization and Environmental Effects. 34(12) 1067-1075
China's road transport sector is expected to be a major factor affecting national and global oil availability and prices, and is a major contributor to China's greenhouse gas emission increase and urban air pollution. Reasons for bioethanol and biodiesel to be considered as promising alternatives to conventional transportation fuels in China include energy security and environmental concerns. The present article analyzes the current status and future potential of bioethanol and biodiesel development in China, as well as the energy demand and emissions for different feedstock options from a life cycle perspective. - Comparative LCA of the use of biodiesel, diesel and gasoline for transportation
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationNanaki, E. A.; Koroneos, C. J. 2012. Comparative LCA of the use of biodiesel, diesel and gasoline for transportation. Journal of Cleaner Production. 20(1) 14-19
The energy fuels used for in the Greek transport sector are made up of gasoline consumed by automobiles, diesel oil consumed by taxis, trucks, maritime transport and railroads, and jet fuel used in the aircrafts. All these fuels are hydrocarbons that emit great amounts of CO(2) which has a major impact in the global warming phenomenon. The issues relating to climate change, the soaring energy prices, and the uncertainty of future oil supplies, have created a strong interest in alternative transportation fuels. During the past decade biofuels in the form of blended gasoline and biodiesel have begun to find place in energy economy. The Greek car market shows a remarkably low rate in the penetration of biodiesel compared to the average European Union market. This work compares the environmental impacts of the use of gasoline, diesel and biodiesel in Greece using as a tool for the comparison the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The environmental impacts taken into consideration include: organic respiratory effects, inorganic respiratory effects, fossil fuels, acidification - eutrophication, greenhouse effect, ecotoxicity and carginogenic effects. From the environmental point of view, biodiesel appears attractive since its use results in significant reductions of GHG emissions in comparison to gasoline and diesel. It also has lower well-to-wheel emissions of methane. However, the use of biodiesel as transportation fuel increases emissions of PM10, nitrous oxide, nitrogen oxides (NO(x)) as well as nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous; the latter are the main agents for eutrophication. - Comparison of Life Cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of natural gas, biodiesel and diesel buses of the Madrid transportation system
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSanchez, J. A. G.; Martinez, J. M. L.; Martin, J. L.; Holgado, M. N. F. 2012. Comparison of Life Cycle energy consumption and GHG emissions of natural gas, biodiesel and diesel buses of the Madrid transportation system. Energy. 47(1) 174-198
This paper presents a comparative study on the use of three after-treatment technologies: i) EGR + DPF, ii) SCR + Urea and iii) 3-way catalyst when implemented in urban buses, to determinate the energy requirements, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), direct Land Use Change (dLUC), abiotic depletion of fossil energy by means of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). - Greenhouse gas reductions through enhanced use of residues in the life cycle of Malaysian palm oil derived biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationHansen, S. B.; Olsen, S. I.; Ujang, Z. 2012. Greenhouse gas reductions through enhanced use of residues in the life cycle of Malaysian palm oil derived biodiesel. Bioresource Technology. 104358-366
This study identifies the potential greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, which can be achieved by optimizing the use of residues in the life cycle of palm oil derived biodiesel. This is done through compilation of data on existing and prospective treatment technologies as well as practical experiments on methane potentials from empty fruit bunches. Methane capture from the anaerobic digestion of palm oil mill effluent was found to result in the highest GHG reductions. Among the solid residues, energy extraction from shells was found to constitute the biggest GHG savings per ton of residue, whereas energy extraction from empty fruit bunches was found to be the most significant in the biodiesel production life cycle. All the studied waste treatment technologies performed significantly better than the conventional practices and with dedicated efforts of optimized use in the palm oil industry, the production of palm oil derived biodiesel can be almost carbon neutral. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Integrating LCA and Thermodynamic Analysis for-Sustainability Assessment of Algal Biofuels: Comparison of Renewable Diesel vs. Biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationBorkowski, M. G.; Zaimes, G. G.; Khanna, V. 2012. Integrating LCA and Thermodynamic Analysis for-Sustainability Assessment of Algal Biofuels: Comparison of Renewable Diesel vs. Biodiesel. 2012 Ieee International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (Issst).
Advanced biofuels are attracting intense interest from government, industry and researchers as potential substitutes for petroleum gasoline and diesel transportation fuels. Microalgae's advantages as a biofuel feedstock are due particularly to their rapid growth rates and high lipid content. Several life cycle analysis (LCA) studies have been conducted on the production of biodiesel, however less attention has been paid to algae-derived green diesel (renewable diesel II), a promising alternative fuel product. Renewable diesel's advocates suggest that it has superior energy density, shelf stability and can function as a drop-in replacement for petroleum diesel due to their similar chemical composition and fuel properties. Fewer studies have attempted to quantify the sustainability of algae-derived renewable diesel, though renewable diesel options are examined in the current GREET model. This study conducts a well-to-pump LCA focusing on this Renewable Diesel II (RD2) upgrade pathway and comparing it with the corresponding pathway from algal biomass to biodiesel. Particular attention is paid to primary energy use and fossil energy ratio (FER), greenhouse gas emissions, and an initial investigation of thermodynamic metrics. While hydrotreating is less than half as energy intensive a fuel upgrade process as transesterification, the overall life-cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are found to be nearly equal for renewable diesel and biodiesel. The complete biofuel production process is only found to be net energy positive for scenarios with reduced burdens from both CO2 sourcing and biomass drying. - LCA studies for alkaline and enzyme catalyzed biodiesel production from palm oil
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationRavindra, Pogaku; Saralan, Subash; Abdulla, Rahmath 2012. LCA studies for alkaline and enzyme catalyzed biodiesel production from palm oil. Advances in Biological Chemistry. Vol.02No.0412
- Life cycle assessment (LCA) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from microalgae biodiesel production
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationWoertz, I.; Du, N.; Rhodes, J.; Mendola, D.; Mitchell, G.; Lundquist, T.; Benemann, J. 2012. Life cycle assessment (LCA) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from microalgae biodiesel production. Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society. 243
- Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from free fatty acid-rich wastes
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationDufour, J.; Iribarren, D. 2012. Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from free fatty acid-rich wastes. Renewable Energy. 38(1) 155-162
Environmental analyses of energy systems usually lack a comprehensive perspective that takes into account their life cycle and a set of relevant impact categories. The present study tries to fulfil this need in the field of biofuel production from free fatty acid-rich wastes, therefore providing a life cycle assessment of four biodiesel production systems including esterification-transesterification of waste vegetable oils (used cooking oil) and animal fats (beef tallow, poultry fat), and in situ transesterification of sewage sludges. Reference inventory data for these systems were gathered from a literature review. Thereafter, environmental characterization values were computed for a selection of impact categories: global warming, acidification, eutrophication, ozone layer depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, and cumulative non-renewable energy demand. A comparison among the environmental profiles of these second generation biodiesel alternatives and those of first generation rapeseed and soybean biodiesel fuels and conventional low-sulphur diesel was also performed through a well-to-wheels analysis. Thus, biodiesel from waste vegetable oils potentially entailed the most favourable environmental performance. Nevertheless, actions aimed at minimizing thermal and electric energy demands are encouraged as they would lead to relevant environmental improvements. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel Production from Microalgae in Thailand: Energy Efficiency and Global Warming Impact Reduction
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationWibul, P.; Malakul, P.; Pavasant, P.; Kangvansaichol, K.; Papong, S. 2012. Life Cycle Assessment of Biodiesel Production from Microalgae in Thailand: Energy Efficiency and Global Warming Impact Reduction. Pres 2012: 15th International Conference on Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction. 291183-1188
In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) technique based on ISO 14040 series was performed to evaluate biodiesel production from freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus armatus in terms of energy efficiency (Net Energy Ratio or NER) and environmental impact (Global Warming Potential or GWP). The system boundary covered the entire life cycle of microalgae-based biodiesel, which was divided into four distinct steps: cultivation, harvesting, oil extraction, and transesterification. Based on a functional unit of 1 MJ biodiesel, NER was found to be 0.34 and 0.19 for mass allocation and energy allocation, respectively. This energy deficit (NER< 1) for both allocation methods was due to the high energy input required to culture microalgae. However, CO2 uptake in biomass agriculture leads to better performance in global warming potential (GWP) when compared to conventional diesel and biodiesel produced from rapeseed and soybean. This is a result of the cultivation process in which microalgae can fix up to 25 % of net greenhouse gas emissions (kg CO2 equivalent). Sensitivity analysis showed that increasing in biomass concentration can improve not only net energy ratio (NER) but also global warming potential (GWP). - Life cycle assessment of energy performance of biodiesel produced from Jatropha curcas
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationChatterjee, R.; Sharma, V.; Kumar, S. 2012. Life cycle assessment of energy performance of biodiesel produced from Jatropha curcas. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy. 4(5)
Jatropha curcas has been widely considered as a potential feedstock for production of biodiesel in several tropical countries. Globally biodiesel is gaining importance because of its environmental advantages. This paper deals with the energy consumption for the biodiesel production from J. curcas. Two plantation models of Jatropha, perennial and annual harvesting and their energy benefits are considered. In perennial plantation, the biodiesel yield is more than the annual harvesting. On the other hand, overall energy output from the annual harvesting system is almost twice than that of perennial system. The energy benefits of Jatropha cultivation on two different types of soil (poor and normal soils) were evaluated with and without irrigation. The energy balance is also calculated on the basis of rainfall and different water level depth. The study estimated the net energy balance and net energy ratio for both the models and found that the energy values were high for both the systems. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4754156] - Life cycle assessment of sugarcane ethanol and palm oil biodiesel joint production
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSouza, S. P.; de Avila, M. T.; Pacca, S. 2012. Life cycle assessment of sugarcane ethanol and palm oil biodiesel joint production. Biomass & Bioenergy. 4470-79
Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) and palm tree (Elaeis guianeensis) are crops with high biofuel yields, 7.6 m(3) ha (1) y(-)1 of ethanol and 4 Mg ha(-1) y(-1) of oil, respectively. The joint production of these crops enhances the sustainability of ethanol. The objective of this work was comparing a traditional sugarcane ethanol production system (TSES) with a joint production system (JSEB), in which ethanol and biodiesel are produced at the same biorefinery but only ethanol is traded. The comparison is based on ISO 14.040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006, and appropriate indicators. Production systems in Cerrado (typical savannah), Cerradao (woody savannah) and pastureland ecosystems were considered. Energy and carbon balances, and land use change impacts were evaluated. The joint system includes 100% substitution of biodiesel for diesel, which is all consumed in different cropping stages. Data were collected by direct field observation methods, and questionnaires applied to Brazilian facilities. Three sugarcane mills situated in Sao Paulo State and one palm oil refinery located in Para State were surveyed. The information was supplemented by secondary sources. Results demonstrated that fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions decreased, whereas energy efficiency increased when JSEB was compared to TSES. In comparison with TSES, the energy balance of JSEB was 1.7 greater. In addition, JSEB released 23% fewer GHG emissions than TSES. The ecosystem carbon payback time for Cerrado, Cerradao, and Degraded Grassland of JSEB was respectively 4, 7.7 and -7.6 years. These are typical land use types of the Brazilian Cerrado region for which JSEB was conceived. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life Cycle Assessment: a preliminary study for second-generation biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAlberti, F.; Zanoli, R. 2012. Life Cycle Assessment: a preliminary study for second-generation biodiesel. New Medit. 11(4) 19-22
Second-generation biomass production might be an opportunity for organic farmers to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to advance economic development and a way to diversify risk. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework for estimating second-generation biodiesel impact assessment has been defined. Theory and principles of method, process flow diagram structuring and questionnaire for data collection have been analyzed. LCA study reliability depends strongly on data of good quality. It is essential that data collected are specific and of primary origin (collected directly on the field) in order to have a reconstruction of the system as objective as possible. The questionnaire contains all inputs and outputs processes and sub-processes. The flow diagram defines the spatial, temporal and production chain limits of the process. - Life cycle cost and sensitivity analysis of palm biodiesel production
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationOng, H. C.; Mahlia, T. M. I.; Masjuki, H. H.; Honnery, D. 2012. Life cycle cost and sensitivity analysis of palm biodiesel production. Fuel. 98131-139
Increased biodiesel production is being proposed as one solution to the need to ease the impact of increased demand for crude oil and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Despite this, biodiesel has yet to reach its full commercial potential, especially in the developing countries. Besides technical barriers, there are several nontechnical limiting factors which impede the development of biodiesel such as feedstock price, production cost, fossil fuel price and taxation policy. This study assesses these by undertaking a techno-economic and sensitivity analysis of biodiesel production in Malaysia, the second largest producer of crude palm oil feedstock. It was found that the life cycle cost for a 50 ktons palm biodiesel production plant with an operating period of 20 years is $665 million, yielding a payback period of 3.52 years. The largest share is the feedstock cost which accounts for 79% of total production cost. Sensitivity analysis results indicate that the variation in feedstock price will significantly affect the life cycle cost for biodiesel production. One of the most important findings of this study is that biodiesel price is compatible with diesel fuel when a fiscal incentive and subsidy policy are implemented. For instance, biodiesel price with subsidies of $0.10/l and $0.18/l is compatible and lower than fossil diesel price at crude palm oil price of $1.05/kg or below. As a conclusion, further research on technical as well as nontechnical limitations for biodiesel production is needed before biodiesel can be fully utilized. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle sustainability assessment of second generation biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationJeswani, H. K.; Azapagic, A. 2012. Life cycle sustainability assessment of second generation biodiesel. Advances in Biodiesel Production: Processes and Technologies. (39) 13-31
Second generation biodiesel could contribute to significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from transport because the biofeedstock used for their production is considered to be carbon neutral. This chapter examines the life cycle sustainability of second generation biodiesel derived from different feedstocks and produced in different production systems, including integrated biorefineries. The environmental sustainability aspects considered include water use, global warming, acidification, eutrophication and loss of biodiversity. The socio-economic impacts are also reviewed, including feedstock and capital costs, value added through production of by-products as well as the social acceptability of biofuels. The future viability of biodiesel is also discussed. - Reassessment of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Soybean Biodiesel
AbstractFull Article Download CitationPradhan, A.; Shrestha, D. S.; Van Gerpen, J.; McAloon, A.; Yee, W.; Haas, M.; Duffield, J. A. 2012. Reassessment of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Soybean Biodiesel. Transactions of the Asabe. 55(6) 2257-2264
This study updates the life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for soybean biodiesel with revised system boundaries and the inclusion of indirect land use change using the most current set of agricultural data. The updated results showed that life cycle GHG emission from biodiesel use was reduced by 81.2% compared to 2005 baseline diesel. When the impacts of lime application and soil N2O emissions were excluded for more direct comparison with prior results published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the reduction was 85.4%. This is a significant improvement over the 78.5% GHG reduction reported in the NREL study. Agricultural lime accounted for 50.6% of GHG from all agricultural inputs. Soil N2O accounted for 18.0% of total agricultural emissions. The improvement in overall GHG reduction was primarily due to lower agricultural energy usage and improved soybean crushing facilities. This study found that soybean meal and oil price data from the past ten years had a significant positive correlation (R-2 = 0.73); hence, it is argued that soybean meal and oil are both responsible for indirect land use change from increased soybean demand It is concluded that when there is a strong price correlation among co-products, system boundary expansion without a proper co-product allocation for indirect land use change produces erroneous results. When the emissions associated with predicted indirect land use change were allocated and incorporated using U.S. EPA model data, the GHG reduction for biodiesel was 76.4% lower than 2005 baseline diesel. - Regional life cycle assessment of soybean derived biodiesel for transportation fleets
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationXue, X. B.; Collinge, W. O.; Shrake, S. O.; Bilec, M. M.; Landis, A. E. 2012. Regional life cycle assessment of soybean derived biodiesel for transportation fleets. Energy Policy. 48295-303
Although the life cycle environmental impacts of biofuels have been recently reported, studies that focus on specific regions and use real fleet data for the use phase are still lacking. In Pennsylvania, the Penn Security Fuels Initiative required 2% biodiesel (B2), effective on January 1, 2010, with higher blending levels required in the future if production thresholds are met. This study quantifies the environmental impacts of biodiesel blends to meet increasing regional biodiesel demand. A process life cycle model was developed using data collected from collaboration with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. For PennDOT, both in-state and out-of-state production scenarios were analyzed to estimate the possible environmental impacts of biodiesel blends. The results show that fertilizer usage in the agricultural phase, soy oil extraction and refining, feedstock and fuel transportation, and fuel combustion in the use phase are main contributors to biodiesel's life cycle environmental impacts for all blends. Comparing biodiesels with ultra low sulfur diesel, significant environmental tradeoffs exist between global warming potential and eutrophication. For Pennsylvania, an in-state farming and processing preference has the lowest environmental impacts for B5. However, the limited area of farmlands in Pennsylvania may not satisfy the state's biodiesel needs with higher blending levels. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - The life cycle assessment of biodiesel from palm oil ("dende") in the Amazon
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationQueiroz, A. G.; Franca, L.; Ponte, M. X. 2012. The life cycle assessment of biodiesel from palm oil ("dende") in the Amazon. Biomass & Bioenergy. 3650-59
This paper aims to present the energy balance of biodiesel production from palm oil in the Amazon. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is made for the three phases of the production of biodiesel from palm: agriculture, oil production and biodiesel production. For each phase is considered the energy inputs and materials, and energy production of the product and co-products. The analyzed data on agricultural production and oil were collected in two Amazon companies DENTAUA and AGROPALMA. Regarding biodiesel production data concerning the amount of oil, ethanol, biodiesel, glycerol were obtained from the transesterification reaction considering 98% yield. The results show the energetic costs at each stage of biodiesel production. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. - Uncertainty propagation in life cycle assessment of biodiesel versus diesel: Global warming and non-renewable energy
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationHong, J. L. 2012. Uncertainty propagation in life cycle assessment of biodiesel versus diesel: Global warming and non-renewable energy. Bioresource Technology. 1133-7
Uncertainty information is essential for the proper use of life cycle assessment and environmental assessments in decision making. To investigate the uncertainties of biodiesel and determine the level of confidence in the assertion that biodiesel is more environmentally friendly than diesel, an explicit analytical approach based on the Taylor series expansion for lognormal distribution was applied in the present study. A biodiesel case study demonstrates the probability that biodiesel has a lower global warming and non-renewable energy score than diesel, that is 92.3% and 93.1%, respectively. The results indicate the level of confidence in the assertion that biodiesel is more environmentally friendly than diesel based on the global warming and non-renewable energy scores. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Benchmarking the Environmental Performance of the Jatropha Biodiesel System through a Generic Life Cycle Assessment
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAlmeida, J.; Achten, W. M. J.; Duarte, M. P.; Mendes, B.; Muys, B. 2011. Benchmarking the Environmental Performance of the Jatropha Biodiesel System through a Generic Life Cycle Assessment. Environmental Science & Technology. 45(12) 5447-5453
In addition to available country or site-specific life cycle studies on Jatropha biodiesel we present a generic, location-independent life cycle assessment and provide a general but in-depth analysis of the environmental performance of Jatropha biodiesel for transportation. Additionally, we assess the influence of changes in byproduct use and production chain. In our assessments, we went beyond the impact on energy requirement and global warming by including impacts on ozone layer and terrestrial acidification and eutrophication. The basic Jatropha biodiesel system consumes eight times less nonrenewable energy than conventional diesel and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 51%. This result coincides with the lower limit of the range of reduction percentages available in literature for this system and for other liquid biofuels. The impact on the ozone layer is also lower than that provoked by fossil diesel, although eutrophication and acidification increase eight times. This study investigates the general impact trends of the Jatropha system, although not considering land-use change. The results are useful as a benchmark against which other biodiesel systems can be evaluated, to calculate repayment times for land-use change induced carbon loss or as guideline with default values for assessing the environmental performance of specific variants of the system. - Biodiesel Production in a Semiarid Environment: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationBiswas, W. K.; Barton, L.; Carter, D. 2011. Biodiesel Production in a Semiarid Environment: A Life Cycle Assessment Approach. Environmental Science & Technology. 45(7) 3069-3074
While the use of biodiesel appears to be a promising alternative to petroleum fuel, the replacement of fossil fuel by biofuel may not bring about the intended climate cooling because of the increased soil N2O emissions due to N-fertilizer applications. Using a life cycle assessment approach, we assessed the influence of soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions on the life cycle global warming potential of the production and combustion of biodiesel from canola oil produced in a semiarid climate. Utilizing locally measured soil N2O emissions, rather than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default values, decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the production and combustion of 1 GJ biodiesel from 63 to 37 carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e)/GJ. GHG were 1.1 to 2.1 times lower than those from petroleum or petroleum-based diesel depending on which soil N2O emission factors were included in the analysis. The advantages of utilizing biodiesel rapidly declined when blended with petroleum diesel. Mitigation strategies that decrease emissions from the production and application of N fertilizers may further decrease the life cycle GHG emissions in the production and combustion of biodiesel. - Combinatorial Life Cycle Assessment to Inform Process Design of Industrial Production of Algal Biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationBrentner, L. B.; Eckelman, M. J.; Zimmerman, J. B. 2011. Combinatorial Life Cycle Assessment to Inform Process Design of Industrial Production of Algal Biodiesel. Environmental Science & Technology. 45(16) 7060-7067
The use of algae as a feedstock for biodiesel production is a rapidly growing industry, in the United States and globally. A life cycle assessment (LCA) is presented that compares various methods, either proposed or under development, for algal biodiesel to inform the most promising pathways for sustainable full-scale production. For this analysis, the system is divided into five distinct process steps: (1) microalgae cultivation, (2) harvesting and/or dewatering, (3) lipid extraction, (4) conversion (transesterification) into biodiesel, and (5) byproduct management. A number of technology options are considered for each process step and various technology combinations are assessed for their life cycle environmental impacts. The optimal option for each process step is selected yielding a best case scenario, comprised of a flat panel enclosed photobioreactor and direct transesterification of algal cells with supercritical methanol. For a functional unit of 10 GJ biodiesel, the best case production system yields a cumulative energy demand savings of more than 65 GJ, reduces water consumption by 585 m(3) and decreases greenhouse gas emissions by 86% compared to a base case scenario typical of early industrial practices, highlighting the importance of technological innovation in algae processing and providing guidance on promising production pathways. - Identification of 'Carbon Hot-Spots' and Quantification of GHG Intensities in the Biodiesel Supply Chain Using Hybrid LCA and Structural Path Analysis
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAcquaye, A. A.; Wiedmann, T.; Feng, K. S.; Crawford, R. H.; Barrett, J.; Kuylenstierna, J.; Duffy, A. P.; Koh, S. C. L.; McQueen-Mason, S. 2011. Identification of 'Carbon Hot-Spots' and Quantification of GHG Intensities in the Biodiesel Supply Chain Using Hybrid LCA and Structural Path Analysis. Environmental Science & Technology. 45(6) 2471-2478
It is expected that biodiesel production in the EU will remain the dominant contributor as part of a 10% minimum binding target for biofuel in transportation fuel by 2020 within the 20% renewable energy target in the overall EU energy mix. Life cycle assessments (LCA) of biodiesel to evaluate its environmental impacts have however questionable, mainly because of the adoption of a traditional process analysis approach resulting in system boundary truncation and because of issues regarding the impacts of land use change and N(2)O emissions from fertilizer application. In this Study, a hybrid LCA methodology is used to evaluate the life cycle CO(2) equivalent emissions of rape methyl ester (RME) biodiesel. The methodology uses input-output analysis to estimate upstream indirect emissions in Order to complement traditional process LCA in a hybrid framework. It was estimated that traditional LCA accounted for 2.7 kg CO(2)-eq.per kg of RME or 36.6% of total life cycle emissions of the RME supply chin. Further to the inclusion of upstream indirect impacts in the LCA system (which accounted for 23% of the total life cycle emissions), emissions due to direct land change (6%) and indirect land use change (16.5%) and N(2)O emissions from fertilizer applications (17.9%) were also calculated. Structural path analysis is used to decompose upstream indirect emissions paths of the biodiesel supply chain in order to identify, quantify, and rank high carbon emissions paths or hot spots' in the biodiesel supply chain. It was shown, for instance, that inputs from the Other Chemical Products' sector (identified as phosphoric acid, H(3)PO(4)) into the biOdiesel production process represented the highest carbon emission path (or hot-spot) with 5.35% of total upstream indirect emissions of the RME biodiesel supply chain. - Implications of land use change on the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from palm biodiesel production in Thailand
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSiangjaeo, S.; Gheewala, S. H.; Unnanon, K.; Chidthaisong, A. 2011. Implications of land use change on the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from palm biodiesel production in Thailand. Energy for Sustainable Development. 15(1) 1-7
The study evaluates the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of biodiesel production through three chosen land use change scenarios in Thailand: rubber plantation to oil palm plantation in Krabi, cassava plantation to oil palm plantation in Chonburi, and abandoned land to oil palm plantation in Pathumthani. The carbon stock changes were estimated based on the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and combined with the life cycle GHG emissions from palm oil and biodiesel production in Thailand. For 1 million liters of biodiesel production per day, the Krabi, Chonburi and Pathumthani cases resulted in -709 Mg CO(2)-eq/day, -748 Mg CO(2)-eq/day and -600 Mg CO(2)-eq/day, respectively. The Pathumthani case showed the lowest negative GHG balance even with least fertilization partly because of larger transportation distances while the Chonburi case was the highest despite low yield as it would require more land to grow oil palm for the same amount of biodiesel, resulting in more soil carbon being sequestered. However, the land use change scenarios chosen for this study all show a negative GHG balance which means that biodiesel helps reduce GHG in the atmosphere. (C) 2011 International Energy Initiative. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. - Life cycle analysis of biodiesel production
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationVaranda, M. G.; Pinto, G.; Martins, F. 2011. Life cycle analysis of biodiesel production. Fuel Processing Technology. 92(5) 1087-1094
Biodiesel has attracted considerable attention as a renewable, biodegradable, and nontoxic fuel and can contribute to solving the energy problems, significantly reducing the emission of gases which cause global warming. - Life cycle assessment of biodiesel from soybean, jatropha and microalgae in China conditions
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationHou, J.; Zhang, P. D.; Yuan, X. Z.; Zheng, Y. H. 2011. Life cycle assessment of biodiesel from soybean, jatropha and microalgae in China conditions. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews. 15(9) 5081-5091
Increasing demand for transport fuels has driven China to attach great importance to biodiesel development. To evaluate the environmental impacts caused by producing and driving with biodiesel made from soybean, jatropha, and microalgae under China conditions, the LCA methodology is used and the assessment results are compared with fossil diesel. The solar energy and CO(2) uptake in biomass agriculture and reduction of dependency on fossil fuels lead to a better performance on abiotic depletion potential (ADP), global warming potential (GWP), and ozone depletion potential (ODP) in the life cycle of biodiesel compared to fossil diesel. Except for ADP, GWP and ODP, producing and driving with biodiesel does not offer benefits in the other environmental impact categories including eutrophication, acidification, photochemical oxidation, and toxicity. Jatropha and microalgae are more competitive biodiesel feedstock compared to soybean in terms of all impacts. By using global normalization references and weighting method based on ecotaxes, the LCA single score for the assessed 10 mid-point impact categories of soybean, jatropha, and microalgae based biodiesel is 54, 37.2 and 3.67 times of that of fossil diesel, respectively. Improvement of biomass agriculture management, development of biodiesel production technologies, bettering energy structure and promoting energy efficiency in China are the key measures to lower environmental impacts in the life cycle of biodiesel in the future. Various sensitivity analyses have also been applied, which show that, choice of allocation method, transport distance, uncertainty in jatropha and microalgae yield and oil content, and recycling rate of harvest water of microalgae have significant influence on the life cycle environmental performance of biodiesel. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from jatropha
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKaewcharoensombat, U.; Prommetta, K.; Srinophakun, T. 2011. Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from jatropha. Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. 42(3) 454-462
In this article, process design alternatives in biodiesel production process is investigated from an environment impacts point of view. Jatropha in Thailand was assumed as the raw material for the evaluated process. Process alternatives using two different catalysts, i.e. sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide, were design and compared in terms of environmental impact and optimum operation. Estimation of process inventories was performed using Aspen Plus (R) simulation software, while the environmental impacts were evaluated by Eco-indicator 99 in SimaPro 7. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to estimate environmental impacts in three categories: human health, ecosystem quality, and resource depletion. The results show that the process using sodium hydroxide has greater environmental impacts on human health and the ecosystem; however, resource depletion is lower. (C) 2010 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from microalgae in ponds
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationCampbell, P. K.; Beer, T.; Batten, D. 2011. Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from microalgae in ponds. Bioresource Technology. 102(1) 50-56
This paper analyses the potential environmental impacts and economic viability of producing biodiesel from microalgae grown in ponds. A comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study of a notional production system designed for Australian conditions was conducted to compare biodiesel production from algae (with three different scenarios for carbon dioxide supplementation and two different production rates) with canola and ULS (ultra-low sulfur) diesel. Comparisons of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions (g CO(2)-e/t km) and costs (not subset of/t km) are given. Algae GHG emissions (-27.6 to 18.2) compare very favourably with canola (35.9) and ULS diesel (81.2). Costs are not so favourable, with algae ranging from 2.2 to 4.8, compared with canola (4.2) and ULS diesel (3.8). This highlights the need for a high production rate to make algal biodiesel economically attractive. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production using alkali, soluble and immobilized enzyme catalyst processes
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationRaman, J. K.; Ting, V. F. W.; Pogaku, R. 2011. Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production using alkali, soluble and immobilized enzyme catalyst processes. Biomass & Bioenergy. 35(10) 4221-4229
This study deals with the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of three different catalytic processes for biodiesel production. In the LCA study, a "cradle to gate" approach was adopted to estimate the environmental impact of different catalytic processes such as immobilized, soluble biocatalyst and alkali catalyst. The results revealed that, biodiesel production using immobilized biocatalyst has less environmental impact compared to alkali and soluble biocatalyst. The environmental impact of the immobilized biocatalyst depends on the reusability factor. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of small-scale high-input Jatropha biodiesel production in India
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPandey, K. K.; Pragya, N.; Sahoo, P. K. 2011. Life cycle assessment of small-scale high-input Jatropha biodiesel production in India. Applied Energy. 88(12) 4831-4839
In the current scenario of depleting energy resources, increasing food insecurity and global warming, Jatropha has emerged as a promising energy crop for India. The aim of this study is to examine the life cycle energy balance for Jatropha biodiesel production and greenhouse gas emissions from post-energy use and end combustion of biodiesel, over a period of 5 years. It's a case specific study for a small scale, high input Jatropha biodiesel system. Most of the existing studies have considered low input Jatropha biodiesel system and have used NEB (Net energy balance i.e. difference of energy output and energy input) and NER (Net energy ratio i.e. ratio of energy output to energy input) as indicators for estimating the viability of the systems. Although, many of them have shown these indicators to be positive, yet the values are very less. The results of this study, when compared with two previous studies of Jatropha, show that the values for these indicators can be increased to a much greater extent, if we use a high input Jatropha biodiesel system. Further, when compared to a study done on palm oil and Coconut oil, it was found even if the NEB and NER of biodiesel from Jatropha were lesser in comparison to those of Palm oil and Coconut oil, yet, when energy content of the co-products were also considered, Jatropha had the highest value for both the indicators in comparison to the rest two. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle energy and CO2 analysis of microalgae-to-biodiesel: Preliminary results and comparisons
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKhoo, H. H.; Sharratt, P. N.; Das, P.; Balasubramanian, R. K.; Naraharisetti, P. K.; Shaik, S. 2011. Life cycle energy and CO2 analysis of microalgae-to-biodiesel: Preliminary results and comparisons. Bioresource Technology. 102(10) 5800-5807
Despite claims that microalgal biofuels are environmentally friendlier alternatives to conventional fuels, debate surrounding its ecological benefits or drawbacks still exists. LCA is used to analyze various biofuel production technologies from 'cradle to gate'. Energy and CO2 balances are carried out for a hypothetical integrated PBR-raceway microalgae-to-biodiesel production in Singapore. Based on a functional unit of 1 MJ biofuel, the total energy demands are 4.44 MJ with 13% from biomass production, 85% from lipid extraction, and 2% from biodiesel production. Sensitivity analysis was carried out for adjustments in energy requirements, percentage lipid contents, and lower/higher heating product value. An 'Optimistic Case' was projected with estimates of: 45% lipid content; reduced energy needs for lipid extraction (1.3 MJ per MJ biodiesel); and heating value of biodiesel (42 MJ/kg). The life cycle energy requirements dropped significantly by about 60%. The results are compared with other published case studies from other countries. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle energy and greenhouse gas analysis for algae-derived biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationShirvani, T.; Yan, X. Y.; Inderwildi, O. R.; Edwards, P. P.; King, D. A. 2011. Life cycle energy and greenhouse gas analysis for algae-derived biodiesel. Energy & Environmental Science. 4(10) 3773-3778
The search for alternative fuels to alleviate our dependency on fossil-based transport fuels is driven by depleting conventional oil resources and looming climate change induced by anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Through a lifecycle approach, we evaluate whether algal biodiesel production can be a viable fuel source once the energy and carbon intensity of the process is managed accordingly. Currently, algae biodiesel production is 2.5 times as energy intensive as conventional diesel and nearly equivalent to the high fuel-cycle energy use of oil shale diesel. Biodiesel from advanced biomass can realise its inherent environmental advantages of GHG emissions reduction once every step of the production chain is fully optimized and decarbonised. This includes smart co-product utilization, decarbonisation of the electricity and heat grids as well as indirect energy requirements for fertilizer, transport and building material. Only if all these factors are taken into account is the cost of heat and electricity reduced, and GHG emissions fully mitigated. - Parallel production of biodiesel and bioethanol in palm-oil-based biorefineries: life cycle assessment on the energy and greenhouse gases emissions
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationLim, S.; Lee, K. T. 2011. Parallel production of biodiesel and bioethanol in palm-oil-based biorefineries: life cycle assessment on the energy and greenhouse gases emissions. Biofuels Bioproducts & Biorefining-Biofpr. 5(2) 132-150
The main objective of this life cycle assessment (LCA) study is to determine the environmental consequences of the inclusion of second-generation biofuels (bioethanol from palm oil biomass) toward current palm oil biodiesel production through a 'seed-to-wheel' LCA analysis. Their energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission indicators are evaluated with consequential approach for system delimitation. Although all scenarios provide positive environmental impact, it is found that the inclusion of bioethanol production in the current palm oil processing will decrease the net energy ratio (NER) and net carbon emission ratio (NCER) values by 27.5% and 66.6%, respectively. Moreover, carbon emission savings (CES) value is also found to decrease by a total of 21.9%. This indicates that a higher amount of energy input and GHG emissions is actually required for the bioethanol processing than the amount of energy it will produce and the GHG from fossil fuels it will displace. The sensitivity analysis performed on the yields of bioethanol shows that the minimum conversion threshold should be larger than 60% in order to have a higher energy and GHG emission ratio than current palm oil biodiesel processing. Sensitivity analysis on direct land use change and waste-water treatment is also carried out which discourages the expansion of palm oil plantation to primary forest (including peatland) and emphasizes the need for a biogas harvesting system. (C) 2011 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd - The impact of the life cycle analysis methodology on whether biodiesel produced from residues can meet the EU sustainability criteria for biofuel facilities constructed after 2017
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationThamsiriroj, T.; Murphy, J. D. 2011. The impact of the life cycle analysis methodology on whether biodiesel produced from residues can meet the EU sustainability criteria for biofuel facilities constructed after 2017. Renewable Energy. 36(1) 50-63
This paper considers biodiesel production from residues; tallow and used cooking oil (UCO). The tallow system is more complex involving two processes. The first process is rendering in which tallow (animal fat) and Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) are produced from the slaughter of cattle. MBM is assumed as a thermal energy source for cement manufacture and thus is not used for biodiesel production. The second process is biodiesel production from tallow. Three methodologies are employed to examine sustainability of the biodiesel. The no allocation approach assigns all the parasitic demands to the tallow; thus all energies required to make both MBM and tallow are associated with the tallow biodiesel. The resulting energy balance is negative. The substitution approach allocates the energy in MBM (used to produce cement) to tallow biodiesel. This results in the net energy being greater than the gross energy. The allocation by energy content method divides the parasitic demands of the rendering process between tallow and MBM by energy content. The parasitic demands of the biodiesel process are divided by energy content of the biodiesel, glycerol and K-fertiliser. For tallow biodiesel this yielded a net energy value of 38.6% of gross energy. The same method generated a net energy value of 67% for UCO biodiesel. More importantly the recommended method (allocation by energy content) generated a value of 54% greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings for tallow and a value of 69% for UCO. Plants commencing after 2017, need to have a 60% GHG emission savings, to be considered sustainable. Thus a facility treating both feedstocks would need to treat a maximum of 60% tallow to be considered sustainable after 2017. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Comparison of allocation approaches in soybean biodiesel life cycle assessment
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationMorais, S.; Martins, A. A.; Mata, T. M. 2010. Comparison of allocation approaches in soybean biodiesel life cycle assessment. Journal of the Energy Institute. 83(1) 48-55
This work shows the influence of using different allocation approaches when modelling the inventory analysis in a soybean biodiesel life cycle assessment (LCA). Results obtained using mass, energy and economic based allocations are compared, focusing on the following aspects: normalised potential environmental impact (PEI) categories, total PEI and relative contributions to the total PEI from each life cycle stage and environmental impact category. Similar results are obtained either using economic and energy based allocations. However, different results are obtained when mass based allocation is used when compared with the other two. This study also illustrates that using different allocation approaches in biodiesel LCA may influence the final conclusions, especially in comparative assertions, emphasising the need to perform a sensitivity analysis in the LCA interpretation step. - Energy Life Cycle Assessment for the Production of Biodiesel from Rendered Lipids in the United States
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationLopez, D. E.; Mullins, J. C.; Bruce, D. A. 2010. Energy Life Cycle Assessment for the Production of Biodiesel from Rendered Lipids in the United States. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 49(5) 2419-2432
The energy life cycle assessment for the production of biodiesel from rendered lipids in the United States is presented in this study. Three different scenarios were found eligible for analysis: (1) conversion to biodiesel, (II) rendering and conversion, and (III) farming, rendering, and conversion. The amounts of energy required in farming, meat processing, and baseline conversion to biodiesel were reviewed front the literature. The thermal energy and electricity Used in rendering were surveyed front the U.S. rendering industry. For animal fats, scenario III resulted in a net energy ratio (NER, ratio of energy outputs to energy inputs) much lower than I. In contrast, the NERs for scenarios I and If were both found to be > 1. For scenario I, the NER was found to be >3.6, larger than the value typically reported for soybean oil (SBO) biodiesel. As for the waste SBO grease, the NER Was found to be > 1 for both applicable scenarios (I and II). To a limited extent, sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate changes in assumptions with respect to the type of fuels employed in the generation of thermal energy as well as the method for biodiesel production. - Energy life cycle assessment of a biofuel production system
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationShrestha, D. S.; Pradhan, A. 2010. Energy life cycle assessment of a biofuel production system. Bioenergy and Biofuels from Biowastes and Biomass.
- Environmental and LCA analysis of a biodiesel production line from sunflower in the province of siena (Italy)
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSpinelli, D.; Jez, S.; Pogni, R.; Basosi, R. 2010. Environmental and LCA analysis of a biodiesel production line from sunflower in the province of siena (Italy). Journal of Biotechnology. 150S171-S172
- Life cycle analysis of algae biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSander, K.; Murthy, G. S. 2010. Life cycle analysis of algae biodiesel. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 15(7) 704-714
Algae biomass has great promise as a sustainable alternative to conventional transportation fuels. In this study, a well-to-pump life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to investigate the overall sustainability and net energy balance of an algal biodiesel process. The goal of this LCA was to provide baseline information for the algae biodiesel process. - Life cycle assessment (LCA) and exergetic life cycle assessment (ELCA) of the production of biodiesel from used cooking oil (UCO)
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPeiro, L. T.; Lombardi, L.; Mendez, G. V.; Durany, X. G. I. 2010. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and exergetic life cycle assessment (ELCA) of the production of biodiesel from used cooking oil (UCO). Energy. 35(2) 889-893
The paper assesses the life cycle of biodiesel from used cooking oil (UCO). Such life cycle involves 4 stages: 1) collection, 2) pre-treatment, 3) delivery and 4) transesterification of UCO. Generally, UCO is collected from restaurants, food industries and recycling centres by authorised companies. Then, UCO is pre-treated to remove solid particles and water to increase its quality. After that, it is charged in cistern trucks and delivered to the biodiesel facility to be then transesterified with methanol to biodiesel. - Life cycle assessment comparing the use of Jatropha biodiesel in the Indian road and rail sectors
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationNational Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.) 2010. Life cycle assessment comparing the use of Jatropha biodiesel in the Indian road and rail sectors. Nrel/Tp 6a2-47462.
- Life Cycle Assessment for biodiesel production under Greek climate conditions
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationTsoutsos, T.; Kouloumpis, V.; Zafiris, T.; Foteinis, S. 2010. Life Cycle Assessment for biodiesel production under Greek climate conditions. Journal of Cleaner Production. 18(4) 328-335
The aim of this paper is to understand and to model the environmental performance of biodiesel produced by various Greek raw materials under current conditions. Three energy crops (rapeseed, sunflower and soybean) have been studied, with regard to their levels of biodiesel productivity. Throughout the entire process, current Greek climatic conditions and cultivation parameters have been taken into account. At the stage of assessment, we conclude that the environmental impacts per crop area indicate that soybean has the lowest environmental impacts. However, by assessing the results per quantity of produced biodiesel, the crop with the minimum environmental impacts is sunflower. This paper shows that environmental benefits from biodiesel have better results, compared to conventional diesel, thus leading to the conclusion that it is feasible to succeed improved environmental performance. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life Cycle Assessment for Joint Production of Biodiesel and Bioethanol from African Palm
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationMartinez, D.; Acevedo, P.; Kafarov, V. 2010. Life Cycle Assessment for Joint Production of Biodiesel and Bioethanol from African Palm. Pres 2010: 13th International Conference on Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction. 211309-1314
In this paper LCA is applied to a biodiesel production process from African palm using lignocellulosic ethanol as a reagent in the transesterification reaction which is obtained from residues with high contents of cellulose resulting from the oil extraction stage. The LCA was evaluated through the biodiesel production chain starting with the land adaption stage, oil extraction, ethanol production from residual lignocellulosic biomass, transesterification of palm oil and ending with the distribution and use of the biofuel. This study was developed for Sabana de Torres (Santander - Colombia) region. The biodiesel plant was simulated by Aspen Hysys 2006.5; besides a parallel process was simulated to produce bioethanol from residual palm biomass. The last process is carried out in four steps: pretreatment of biomass, hydrolysis, fermentation and alcohol separation. The LCA was developed using SIMAPRO 7.1 software and database ECOINVENT with which the environmental profile of the system was elaborated evaluating different impact categories such as climate change (CCI), acidification (AI), eutrophication (EI), photochemical smog formation (POI), respiratory effects (REI) and non-renewable energy (NRE), among others. According to the environmental profiles obtained, the stage of distribution and use of the B10 blend (10% biodiesel) has the greatest influence in the output impact categories and the input impact category. The methodology was applied following the procedures established in the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards of 2006. This study was supported by the State Department of Science, Technology & Innovation (COLCIENCIAS), Projects CT 475-2007 and CT 272-2008. and the Ibero-American Program on Science and Technology for Development (CYTED) project 306RTO279 "New technologies for biofuels production" UNESCO codes 330303, 332205, 530603, 330999. - LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF PALM BIODIESEL (Part 5)
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationWei, P. C.; May, C. Y.; Ngan, M. A. 2010. LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF PALM BIODIESEL (Part 5). Journal of Oil Palm Research. 22927-933
In Malaysia, the major consumers of energy are the industrial and transport sectors. The demand is expected to increase steadily in tandem with the growth of the economy. As such, alternative sources of energy need to be developed, in particular energy from renewable sources, to meet the energy requirements. Fatty acid methyl esters, commonly known as biodiesel, derived from oils and fats have long been known as a potential diesel substitute. Biodiesel is suitable to be used neat or blended with petroleum diesel in any proportion in an unmodified diesel engine. However, the many concerns related to the emissions from the production and use of biodiesel have been discussed globally. Thus, this life cycle assessment study was conducted to investigate the environmental impacts from the production and use of palm biodiesel produced using MPOB's production technology. The results show that the environmental impact from the production of palm biodiesel is related to the use of methanol, while the use of palm biodiesel contributes to the impact categories of respiratory inorganics and acidification/eutrophication. In spite of these, the production and use of palm biodiesel is more environmental-friendly as compared to petroleum diesel. - Life Cycle Assessment of a Palm Oil System with Simultaneous Production of Biodiesel and Cooking Oil in Cameroon
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAchten, W. M. J.; Vandenbempt, P.; Almeida, J.; Mathijs, E.; Muys, B. 2010. Life Cycle Assessment of a Palm Oil System with Simultaneous Production of Biodiesel and Cooking Oil in Cameroon. Environmental Science & Technology. 44(12) 4809-4815
The use of palm oil as a biofuel has been heavily debated for its land-use conflict with nature and its competition with food production, being the number one cooking oil worldwide. In that context, we present a life cycle assessment of a palm oil production process yielding both biodiesel and cooking oil, incorporating the land-use impact and evaluating the effect of treating the palm oil mill effluent (POME) prior to disposal. The results show that the nonrenewable energy requirement, global warming potential (GWP; exclusive land-use change), and acidification potential are lower than those of the fossil alternative. However, the system triggers an increase in eutrophication potential (EP) compared to the fossil fuel reference. This system shows less energy requirement, global warming and acidification reduction, and less eutrophication increase compared to the reference than the same system converting all palm oil into biodiesel (no cooking oil production). The land occupation of palm oil triggers ecosystem quality (Ea) loss of 30-45% compared to the potential natural vegetation. Furthermore, such land-use change triggers a carbon debt neutralizing the GWP reduction for 45-53 years. The POME treatment scenarios reveal a trade-off between GWP and EP. - Life cycle assessment of a palm oil system with simultaneous production of biodiesel and cooking oil in Cameroon
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAchten, W. M.; Vandenbempt, P.; Almeida, J.; Mathijs, E.; Muys, B. 2010. Life cycle assessment of a palm oil system with simultaneous production of biodiesel and cooking oil in Cameroon. Environ Sci Technol. 44(12) 4809-15
The use of palm oil as a biofuel has been heavily debated for its land-use conflict with nature and its competition with food production, being the number one cooking oil worldwide. In that context, we present a life cycle assessment of a palm oil production process yielding both biodiesel and cooking oil, incorporating the land-use impact and evaluating the effect of treating the palm oil mill effluent (POME) prior to disposal. The results show that the nonrenewable energy requirement, global warming potential (GWP; exclusive land-use change), and acidification potential are lower than those of the fossil alternative. However, the system triggers an increase in eutrophication potential (EP) compared to the fossil fuel reference. This system shows less energy requirement, global warming and acidification reduction, and less eutrophication increase compared to the reference than the same system converting all palm oil into biodiesel (no cooking oil production). The land occupation of palm oil triggers ecosystem quality (EQ) loss of 30-45% compared to the potential natural vegetation. Furthermore, such land-use change triggers a carbon debt neutralizing the GWP reduction for 45-53 years. The POME treatment scenarios reveal a trade-off between GWP and EP. - Life cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from beef production in western Canada: A case study
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationBeauchemin, Karen A.; Henry Janzen, H.; Little, Shannan M.; McAllister, Tim A.; McGinn, Sean M. 2010. Life cycle assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from beef production in western Canada: A case study. Agricultural Systems. 103(6) 371-379
A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to estimate whole-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from beef production in western Canada. The aim was to determine the relative contributions of the cow–calf and feedlot components to these emissions, and to examine the proportion of whole-farm emissions attributable to enteric methane (CH4). The simulated farm consisted of a beef production operation comprised of 120 cows, four bulls, and their progeny, with the progeny fattened in a feedlot. The farm also included cropland and native prairie pasture for grazing to supply the feed for the animals. The LCA was conducted over 8 years to fully account for the lifetime GHG emissions from the cows, bulls and progeny, as well as the beef marketed from cull cows, cull bulls, and progeny raised for market. The emissions were estimated using Holos, a whole-farm model developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Holos is an empirical model, with a yearly time-step, based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change methodology, modified for Canadian conditions and farm scale. The model considers all significant CH4, N2O, and CO2 emissions and removals on the farm, as well as emissions from manufacture of inputs (fertilizer, herbicides) and off-farm emissions of N2O derived from nitrogen applied on the farm. The LCA estimated the GHG intensity of beef production in this system at 22 kg CO2 equivalent (kg carcass)−1. Enteric CH4 was the largest contributing source of GHG accounting for 63% of total emissions. Nitrous oxide from soil and manure accounted for a further 27% of the total emissions, while CH4 emissions from manure and CO2 energy emissions were minor contributors. Within the beef production cycle, the cow–calf system accounted for about 80% of total GHG emissions and the feedlot system for only 20%. About 84% of enteric CH4 was from the cow–calf herd, mostly from mature cows. It follows that mitigation practices to reduce GHG emissions from beef production should focus on reducing enteric CH4 production from mature beef cows. However, mitigation approaches must also recognize that the cow–calf production system also has many ancillary environmental benefits, allowing use of grazing and forage lands that can preserve soil carbon reserves and provide other ecosystems services - Life cycle assessment of Jatropha biodiesel as transportation fuel in rural India
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAchten, W. M. J.; Almeida, J.; Fobelets, V.; Bolle, E.; Mathijs, E.; Singh, V. P.; Tewari, D. N.; Verchot, L. V.; Muys, B. 2010. Life cycle assessment of Jatropha biodiesel as transportation fuel in rural India. Applied Energy. 87(12) 3652-3660
Since 2003 India has been actively promoting the cultivation of Jatropha on unproductive and degraded lands (wastelands) for the production of biodiesel suitable as transportation fuel. In this paper the life cycle energy balance, global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential and land use impact on ecosystem quality is evaluated for a small scale, low-input Jatropha biodiesel system established on wasteland in rural India. In addition to the life cycle assessment of the case at hand, the environmental performance of the same system expanded with a biogas installation digesting seed cake was quantified. The environmental impacts were compared to the life cycle impacts of a fossil fuel reference system delivering the same amount of products and functions as the Jatropha biodiesel system under research. The results show that the production and use of Jatropha biodiesel triggers an 82% decrease in non-renewable energy requirement (Net Energy Ratio, NER = 1.85) and a 55% reduction in global warming potential (GWP) compared to the reference fossil-fuel based system. However, there is an increase in acidification (49%) and eutrophication (430%) from the Jatropha system relative to the reference case. Although adding biogas production to the system boosts the energy efficiency of the system (NER = 3.40), the GWP reduction would not increase (51%) due to additional CH(4) emissions. For the land use impact, Jatropha improved the structural ecosystem quality when planted on wasteland, but reduced the functional ecosystem quality. Fertilizer application (mainly N) is an important contributor to most negative impact categories. Optimizing fertilization, agronomic practices and genetics are the major system improvement options. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life Cycle Assessment of Rapeseed Biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationLi, N.; Guo, Y. 2010. Life Cycle Assessment of Rapeseed Biodiesel. 25th World Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition Proceedings, Vols 1 & 2. 1473-1476
Based on life cycle assessment methodology, production cost and CO2 emission estimation of rapeseed biodiesel industry were conducted. Results of the assessment indicate that the total amount of absorbed CO2 during the whole life cycle of rapeseed biodiesel is much larger than that has been emitted and rapeseed biodiesel is really an environment-friendly energy source. However, cost of rapeseed biodiesel production is relatively high, and the production is profitable only if the price of diesel reaches to 7.8yuan/liter. - Life Cycle Assessment of Soybean Biodiesel and Lpg as Automotive Fuels in Portugal
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationMorais, S.; Mata, T. M.; Ferreira, E. 2010. Life Cycle Assessment of Soybean Biodiesel and Lpg as Automotive Fuels in Portugal. Cisap4: 4th International Conference on Safety & Environment in Process Industry. 19267-272
This study aims to compare soy methyl esters (biodiesel) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as automotive fuels in Portugal using LCA. The potential environmental impacts (PEI) associated with their life cycles are compared for twelve impact categories. As a general conclusion biodiesel has a lower total PEI than LPG. Nonetheless biodiesel shows higher values of some individual impact categories such as acidification photo-oxidant formation, terrestrial eutrophication, and land use. This study results can be used to support decision making and recommendations about the environmentally preferable fuel to be used in Portugal, which should be complemented with economic and societal considerations. - Life cycle emissions and energy study of biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil and diesel in Singapore
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationChua, C. B. H.; Lee, H. M.; Low, J. S. C. 2010. Life cycle emissions and energy study of biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil and diesel in Singapore. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 15(4) 417-423
Biodiesel derived from Waste Cooking Oil (WCO) is considered highly environmentally sustainable since WCO is a waste product from domestic and commercial cooking processes and then recycled to a transportation fuel in Singapore. In addition, it avoids the conversion of land use for crop production. This is a strong advantage for Singapore which has relatively smaller land space than other countries. The import of virgin oil as feedstock into Singapore is also avoided. Therefore, the more appropriate feedstock to produce biodiesel in Singapore context is WCO. According to the National Environment Agency, diesel vehicles in Singapore contribute 50% of the total particulate matter smaller than 2.5 mu m (PM(0.25)) emissions to air ambient. Hence, the aim of this life cycle assessment study was to compare the environmental performances of biodiesel derived from WCO and low sulphur diesel in terms of global warming potential, life cycle energy efficiency (LCEE) and fossil energy ratio (FER) using the life cycle inventory. The results of this study would serve as a reference for energy policy makers and environmental agencies. - Life cycle energy efficiency and potentials of biodiesel production from palm oil in Thailand
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPapong, S.; Chom-In, T.; Noksa-nga, S.; Malakul, P. 2010. Life cycle energy efficiency and potentials of biodiesel production from palm oil in Thailand. Energy Policy. 38(1) 226-233
Biodiesel production from palm oil has been considered one of the most promising renewable resources for transportation fuel in Thailand. The objective of this study was to analyze the energy performance and potential of the palm oil methyl ester (PME) production in Thailand. The PME system was divided into four stages: the oil palm plantation, transportation, crude palm oil (CPO) production, and transesterification into biodiesel. The results showed that the highest fossil-based energy consumption was in the transesterification process, followed by the plantation, transportation, and CPO production. - Potential and life cycle assessment of biodiesel production in China
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationGuo, R.; Hanaki, K. 2010. Potential and life cycle assessment of biodiesel production in China. Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy. 2(3)
Potential biodiesel production was evaluated by assuming that waste and cutover forestlands and burnt site areas, equivalent to 5.94% of China's land area, were used to cultivate the most suitable energy crop in each province of China. Jatropha, Xanthoceras, Pistacia, and Swida were the candidate energy crops in that order of priority based on yield and oil content. The crop was assigned by comparing crop climatic requirements and the meteorological statistics of each province and choosing the best match. Potential production for all of China was estimated to be 57.6 x 10(6) tons/yr on the basis of seed yields and biodiesel conversion factors. A logistics scenario was created for the transportation of crops and biodiesel, and a life cycle analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and costs were evaluated for the cultivation, refinement, and transportation stages using local data on energy sources and costs. The production of biodiesel with and without waste biomass utilization creates emissions of 0.95 and 1.31 t CO(2eq)/t biodiesel, respectively, as compared to 2.08 t CO(2eq)/t fossil diesel. Fertilizer use in the cultivation stage accounts for 61% and 44% of GHG emissions with and without waste biomass utilization, respectively. The use of waste biomass and proper use of fertilizers are essential in reducing GHG emissions and enhancing the advantages of using biodiesel. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3449298] - Simulation and life cycle assessment of process design alternatives for biodiesel production from waste vegetable oils
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationMorais, S.; Mata, T. M.; Martins, A. A.; Pinto, G. A.; Costa, C. A. V. 2010. Simulation and life cycle assessment of process design alternatives for biodiesel production from waste vegetable oils. Journal of Cleaner Production. 18(13) 1251-1259
This study uses the process simulator ASPEN Plus (R) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to compare three process design alternatives for biodiesel production from waste vegetable oils that are: the conventional alkali-catalyzed process including a free fatty acids (FFAs) pre-treatment, the acid-catalyzed process, and the supercritical methanol process using propane as co-solvent. Results show that the supercritical methanol process using propane as co-solvent is the most environmentally favorable alternative. Its smaller steam consumption in comparison with the other process design alternatives leads to a lower contribution to the potential environmental impacts (PEI's). The acid-catalyzed process generally shows the highest PEI's, in particular due to the high energy requirements associated with methanol recovery operations. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - A Technoeconomic and Environmental Life Cycle Comparison of Green Diesel to Biodiesel and Syndiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKalnes, T. N.; Koers, K. P.; Marker, T.; Shonnard, D. R. 2009. A Technoeconomic and Environmental Life Cycle Comparison of Green Diesel to Biodiesel and Syndiesel. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy. 28(1) 111-120
Green diesel, a renewable diesel fuel produced via the UOP/Eni Ecofining (TM) process, has the same fuel quality attributes as syndiesel but, over its life cycle, consumes less fossil fuel and generates less green-house gas emissions than. petroleum, diesel. From an investment standpoint, The production, of green diesel is competitive with biodiesel. Moderately sized units consistent with current large biodiesel production can be economical, especialy when integrated into an existing petroleum refinery. (C) 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 28: 111-120 2009 - Algaculture as a Feedstock Source for Biodiesel Fuel - a Life Cycle Analysis
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationCurtiss, P. S.; Kreider, J. F. 2009. Algaculture as a Feedstock Source for Biodiesel Fuel - a Life Cycle Analysis. Es2009: Proceedings of the Asme 3rd International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Vol 1. 171-179
This research investigates algae as a feedstock for producing liquid fuels for the light vehicle sector. It is in the interest of national economic security to investigate alternative sources of transportation energy before the extraction of existing supplies becomes prohibitively expensive. Biofuels are one such alternative liquid fuel supply. The research used the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) approach for evaluating the production of biodiesel fuel from algae as a feedstock, including processes for growing algae in conventional and accelerated processes in bioreactors. An energy return on investment and comparison with conventional fuels (gasoline, diesel fuel) on an LCA basis and on a resource consumption basis (e.g., land, water, feedstock) is also presented. - Energy Life Cycle Assessment of Soybean Biodiesel
AbstractFull Article Download CitationPradhan, A.; Shrestha, D. S.; McAloon, A. J.; Yee, W. C.; Haas, M. J.; Duffield, J.; Shapouri, H. 2009. Energy Life Cycle Assessment of Soybean Biodiesel. . 845
- Global environmental consequences of increased biodiesel consumption in Switzerland: consequential life cycle assessment
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationReinhard, J.; Zah, R. 2009. Global environmental consequences of increased biodiesel consumption in Switzerland: consequential life cycle assessment. Journal of Cleaner Production. 17S46-S56
This study assesses the direct and indirect environmental impacts to be expected if Switzerland should replace one percent of its current diesel consumption with imports of A) soybean methyl ester (SME) from Brazil, or B) palm methyl ester (PME) from Malaysia. In order to take into account possible future consequences, what-if scenarios were developed and assessed by means of a consequential LCA. In contrast to attributional LCA, the consequential approach uses system enlargement to include the marginal products affected by a change of the physical flows in the central life cycle. This means that the LCA considers all inputs and outputs which are linked to biodiesel production and that the product system is subsequently expanded to include the marginal products affected. Both future systems are assessed in comparison with the environmental scores of the fossil equivalent to biodiesel, i.e. diesel low in sulphur. The environmental burdens are measured by means of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), land occupation and various non-aggregated and aggregated environmental impact indicators. - Immobilization of the Alcaligenes spp. lipase to catalyze the transesterification of fatty acids to produce biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationLorena, S.; Wilson, L.; Andres, I. 2009. Immobilization of the Alcaligenes spp. lipase to catalyze the transesterification of fatty acids to produce biodiesel. New Biotechnology. 25S125-S125
- LCA studies comparing biodiesel synthesized by conventional and supercritical methanol methods
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKiwjaroun, C.; Tubtimdee, C.; Piumsomboon, P. 2009. LCA studies comparing biodiesel synthesized by conventional and supercritical methanol methods. Journal of Cleaner Production. 17(2) 143-153
Biodiesel is one of the candidates for alternative fuels since it is renewable, sustainable and produced from domestic or non-food crop resources with less detrimental environmental impact. There are several different approaches to the production process. In this paper a new production method, the supercritical methanol process, was investigated and its environmental performance was compared with the conventional alkali-catalyzed process using LCA as a tool. The supercritical process is technically a simpler production process and offers the advantages of higher yields and the production of less environmentally damaging wastes. However, it still generates a significantly higher environmental load since the methanol recovery unit requires a large amount of energy. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life Cycle Analysis of Soybean Biodiesel Production
AbstractFull Article Download CitationAnup, Pradhan; Dev Sagar, Shrestha 2009. Life Cycle Analysis of Soybean Biodiesel Production. 2009 Reno, Nevada, June 21 - June 24, 2009.
Life Cycle Analysis of Soybean Biodiesel Production Life Cycle Analysis of Soybean Biodiesel Production Developing renewable fuels, such as biodiesel, is desirable because they are derived from sustainable sources of energy, whereas petroleum fuels come from a finite resource that is rapidly being depleted. However, the production of renewable fuels generally involves a significant amout of fossil energy. The renewability of biofuel is largely a factor of the amount of fossil energy used for its production, hence it is essential to estimate the amount of fossil energy used over the entire life cycle of the biodiesel production. The comprehensive Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of soybean biodiesel production was conducted by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 1998. Because of increasing changes in land use and production process, the LCA conducted few years ago is no longer representative of current practices. This research updated the Energy Life Cycle Analysis (ELCA) of the NREL model and estimated the Fossil Energy Ratio (FER) to be 4.56 based on data from 2002 soybean production in the United States. This is a significant improvement (43%) over the 1998 NREL study that reported a FER of 3.2. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects soybean yield to increase annually by 0.4 to 0.5 bushel/acre through the year 2017. For every one bushel increase in soybean yield, FER increases by about 0.45 percent. Holding all other variables constant, the FER of soybean biodiesel is estimated to reach 4.69 in the year 2015 when soybean yield is projected to increase to 45.3 bushels per acre. The FER will continue to improve overtime with increasing trend of soybean yield and improvement in the energy efficiency of the crushing and biodiesel plants. In addition to ELCA, four commonly referenced models were compared for the GHG emission savings. The analysis revealed that the most significant factors in altering the results in GHG emissions were differences in data citations, system boundaries, and coproduct allocations. - Life cycle assessment for the production of biodiesel: A case study in Malaysia for palm oil versus jatropha oil
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationLam, M. K.; Lee, K. T.; Mohamed, A. R. 2009. Life cycle assessment for the production of biodiesel: A case study in Malaysia for palm oil versus jatropha oil. Biofuels Bioproducts & Biorefining-Biofpr. 3(6) 601-612
One of the most promising forms of renewable energy is biodiesel produced from vegetable oils, such as rapeseed, soybean and palm oil. Malaysia, being the world's second-largest producer of palm oil, therefore begins to align herself as the potential world producer of palm biodiesel apart from exporting palm oil as feedstock for the food and oleochemical industries. However, due to the recent food versus fuel debate, Malaysian palm oil has received a lot of negative attention especially from non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The sustainability of palm biodiesel production and environmental issues are constantly being questioned. Many quarters have even claimed that the use of non-edible oils, such as Jatropha curcas L., should be promoted rather than palm oil for biodiesel production. Therefore, this study aims to compare and validate the production of biodiesel from palm and jatropha using the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. The assessment encompasses the cultivation of the crop, the oil extraction stage and finally, the biodiesel production stage. We found that to produce 1 tonne of jatropha biodiesel, the land area requirement is 118% higher than to produce 1 tonne of palm biodiesel. The energy output-to-input ratio for palm biodiesel is 2.27, slightly higher than jatropha biodiesel at 1.92. Furthermore, CO(2) sequestration for the whole life cycle chain of palm biodiesel is 20 times higher than jatropha biodiesel. All these results show the superiority and sustainability of palm oil as a feedstock for biodiesel production (C) Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons. Ltd - Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel: Revealing facts and benefits for sustainability
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationYee, K. F.; Tan, K. T.; Abdullah, A. Z.; Lee, K. T. 2009. Life cycle assessment of palm biodiesel: Revealing facts and benefits for sustainability. Applied Energy. 86S189-S196
Similarity between the properties of biodiesel and petroleum-derived diesel has made the former one of the most promising alternatives to a renewable and sustainable fuel for the transportation sector. In Malaysia, palm oil can be a suitable feedstock for the production of biodiesel due to its abundant availability and low production cost. However, not many assessments have been carried out regarding the impacts of palm biodiesel on the environment. Hence, in this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for palm biodiesel in order to investigate and validate the popular belief that palm biodiesel is a green and sustainable fuel. The LCA study was divided into three main stages, namely agricultural activities, oil milling and transesterification process for the production of biodiesel. For each stage, the energy balance and green house gas assessments were presented and discussed. These are important data for the techno-economical and environmental feasibility evaluation of palm biodiesel. The results obtained for palm biodiesel were then compared with rapeseed biodiesel. From this study, it was found that the utilization of palm biodiesel would generate an energy yield ratio of 3.53 (output energy/input energy), indicating a net positive energy generated and ensuring its sustainability. The energy ratio for palm biodiesel was found to be more than double that of rapeseed biodiesel which was estimated to be only 1.44, thereby indicating that palm oil would be a more sustainable feedstock for biodiesel production as compared to rapeseed oil. Moreover, combustion of palm biodiesel was found to be more environment-friendly than petroleum-derived-diesel as a significant 38% reduction Of CO(2) emission can be achieved per liter combusted. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle assessment of soybean-based biodiesel in Argentina for export
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPanichelli, L.; Dauriat, A.; Gnansounou, E. 2009. Life cycle assessment of soybean-based biodiesel in Argentina for export. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 14(2) 144-159
Regional specificities are a key factor when analyzing the environmental impact of a biofuel pathway through a life cycle assessment (LCA). Due to different energy mixes, transport distances, agricultural practices and land use changes, results can significantly vary from one country to another. The Republic of Argentina is the first exporter of soybean oil and meal and the third largest soybean producer in the world, and therefore, soybean-based biodiesel production is expected to significantly increase in the near future, mostly for exportation. Moreover, Argentinean biodiesel producers will need to evaluate the environmental performances of their product in order to comply with sustainability criteria being developed. However, because of regional specificities, the environmental performances of this biofuel pathway can be expected to be different from those obtained for other countries and feedstocks previously studied. This work aims at analyzing the environmental impact of soybean-based biodiesel production in Argentina for export. The relevant impact categories account for the primary non-renewable energy consumption (CED), the global warming potential (GWP), the eutrophication potential (EP), the acidification potential (AP), the terrestrial ecotoxicity (TE), the aquatic ecotoxicity (AE), the human toxicity (HT) and land use competition (LU). The paper tackles the feedstock and country specificities in biodiesel production by comparing the results of soybean-based biodiesel in Argentina with other reference cases. Emphasis is put on explaining the factors that contribute most to the final results and the regional specificities that lead to different results for each biodiesel pathway. - Life cycle assessment of the use of Jatropha biodiesel in Indian locomotives
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationWhitaker, Michael; Heath, Garvin; National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.) 2009. Life cycle assessment of the use of Jatropha biodiesel in Indian locomotives. Technical report NREL/TP-6A2-44428.
- Life Cycle Inventory Energy Consumption and Emissions for Biodiesel versus Petroleum Diesel Fueled Construction Vehicles
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPang, S. H.; Frey, H. C.; Rasdorf, W. J. 2009. Life Cycle Inventory Energy Consumption and Emissions for Biodiesel versus Petroleum Diesel Fueled Construction Vehicles. Environmental Science & Technology. 43(16) 6398-6405
Substitution of soy-based biodiesel fuels for petroleum diesel will alter life cycle emissions for construction vehicles. A life cycle inventory was used to estimate fuel cycle energy consumption and emissions of selected pollutants and greenhouse gases, Real-world measurements using a portable emission measurement system (PEMS) were made for five backhoes, four front-end loaders, and six motor graders on both fuels from which fuel consumption and tailpipe emission factors of CO, HC, NOx, and PM were estimated. Life cycle fossil energy reductions are estimated at 9% for B20 and 42% for B100 versus petroleum diesel based on the current national energy mix. Fuel cycle emissions will contribute a larger share of total life cycle emissions as new engines enter the in-use fleet, The average differences in life cycle emissions for 820 versus diesel are: 3.5% higher for NOx; 11.8% lower for PM, 1.6% higher for HC, and 4.1% lower for CO. Local urban tailpipe emissions are estimated to be 24% lower for HC, 20% lower for CO, 17% lower for PM, and 0.9% lower for NOx. Thus, there are environmental trade-offs such as for rural vs urban areas, The key sources of uncertainty in the B20 LCI are vehicle emission factors. - The energy balance in the Palm Oil-Derived Methyl Ester (PME) life cycle for the cases in Brazil and Colombia
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationAngarita, E. E. Y.; Lora, E. E. S.; da Costa, R. E.; Torres, E. A. 2009. The energy balance in the Palm Oil-Derived Methyl Ester (PME) life cycle for the cases in Brazil and Colombia. Renewable Energy. 34(12) 2905-2913
The use of biodiesel produced from the transesterification of vegetable oils with methanol and ethanol is currently seen as an interesting alternative to fossil fuels. The output/input energy relation in the biodiesel production life cycle can be an important indicator of the techno-economic and environmental feasibility evaluation of production of biodiesel from different oleaginous plants. Due to increasing environmental concerns about the emissions from fuel-derived atmospheric pollutants, alternative sources of energy have been receiving greater attention. This work does not look to carry out a complete life cycle assessment (LCA) but rather just to focus on the energy balance in the Palm Oil-Derived Methyl Ester (PME) life cycle, taking into account practices in Brazil and Colombia. This work will show the differences between the results attained for the two cases. The output/input energy relation for the evaluated case studies ranged from 3.8 to 5.7, with an average value of 4.8. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Biogenic greenhouse gas emissions linked to the life cycles of biodiesel derived from European rapeseed and Brazilian soybeans
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationReijnders, L.; Huijbregts, M. A. J. 2008. Biogenic greenhouse gas emissions linked to the life cycles of biodiesel derived from European rapeseed and Brazilian soybeans. Journal of Cleaner Production. 16(18) 1943-1948
Biogenic emissions of carbonaceous greenhouse gases and N2O turn out to be important determinants of life cycle emissions of greenhouse gases linked to the life cycle of biodiesel from European rapeseed and Brazilian soybeans. For biodiesel from European rapeseed and for biodiesel from Brazilian soybeans grown for up to 25 years with no tillage on arable soil for which tropical rainforest or Cerrado (savannah) have been cleared, the life cycle emissions of greenhouse gases are estimated to be worse than for conventional diesel. Improving agricultural practices should be an important focus for cleaner production of biodiesel. These may include increasing soil carbon stocks by, e.g., conservation tillage and return of harvest residues and improving N-efficiency by precision agriculture and/or improved irrigation practices. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Comparative life cycle assessment of two biofuels ethanol from sugar beet and rapeseed methyl ester
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationHalleux, H.; Lassaux, S.; Renzoni, R.; Germain, A. 2008. Comparative life cycle assessment of two biofuels ethanol from sugar beet and rapeseed methyl ester. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 13(3) 184-190
Background, Aims and Scope. To all Member States, the European Union has imposed a minimum percentage of 2% of biofuels in the fuels consumed for road transport since 2005. This percentage is expected to reach 5.75% in 2010, and probably 10% in 2020. In this context, investments are made everywhere in Europe in local productions of biofuels. In Belgium, ethanol from sugar beet and rapeseed methyl ester (RME) ate generally supposed to be two of the more valuable possibilities. As these industries are growing, it is important to evaluate the environmental impacts of these productions and to highlight the main sources of these impacts using Life Cycle Assessment methodology. This evaluation will also lead to propositions of improvements of the environmental performances. A comparison with the impacts of the related fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) should also be conducted. Even if these fuels are different and used in different types of engines, it is important to determine which one offers the best environmental performances, as both require arable land, which is the limiting parameter in biofuel production. - Life cycle energy, environment and economic assessment of soybean-based biodiesel as an alternative automotive fuel in China
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationHu, Z. Y.; Tana, P. Q.; Yan, X. Y.; Lou, D. M. 2008. Life cycle energy, environment and economic assessment of soybean-based biodiesel as an alternative automotive fuel in China. Energy. 33(11) 1654-1658
Life cycle energy, environment and economic assessment for conventional diesel (CD) and soybean-based biodiesel (SB) in China was carried out in this paper. The results of the assessment have shown that compared with CD, SB has similar source-to-tank (StT) total energy consumption, 76% lower StT fossil energy consumption, 79% higher source-to-wheel (StW) nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, 31%, 44%, 36%, 29%, and 67% lower StW hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), sulfur oxides (SOx), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, respectively. SB is thus considered to be much more renewable and cleaner than CD. However, the retail price of SB at gas stations would be about 86% higher than that of CD without government subsidy according to the cost assessment and China had to import large amount of soybean to meet the demand in recent years. Therefore, although SB is one of the most promising clean and alternative fuels, currently it is not a good choice for China. It is strategically important for China to diversify the feedstock for biodiesel and to consider other kinds of alternative fuels to substitute CD. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Biodiesel: A feedstock quandary - Life cycle costs will affect feedstock selection for renewable fuels
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSaraf, S.; Thomas, B. 2007. Biodiesel: A feedstock quandary - Life cycle costs will affect feedstock selection for renewable fuels. Hydrocarbon Processing. 86(9) 131-+
- Life cycle environmental benefits of biodiesel production and use in Spain
AbstractSearch Article Download Citationde la Rua, C.; Lechon, Y.; Cabal, H.; Lago, C.; Izquierdo, L.; Saez, R. 2007. Life cycle environmental benefits of biodiesel production and use in Spain. Highway and Urban Environment. 1213-+
The Spanish Ministry of Environment has launched forth into a project related to the evaluation of the environmental impacts of biodiesel production in Spain, in order to support its biofuels promotion policies. The objective of this project is to evaluate the environmental impacts of four different fuels composed by biodiesel from several crude vegetable oils and waste vegetable oils in comparison to diesel EN-590 along their whole life cycle, and to identify the opportunities to reduce the environmental impacts. Biodiesel is produced from sunflower oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, and palm oil, and also from waste vegetable oils. The transformation technology is that currently used in the Spanish biodiesel plants. - An Update on Life Cycle Study of Soybean Oil Biodiesel Production
AbstractFull Article Download CitationAnup, Pradhan; Dev Sagar, Shrestha 2006. An Update on Life Cycle Study of Soybean Oil Biodiesel Production. 2006 ASAE Annual Meeting.
An Update on Life Cycle Study of Soybean Oil Biodiesel Production An Update on Life Cycle Study of Soybean Oil Biodiesel Production The life cycle analysis of soybean oil biodiesel production was performed to estimate the net fossil energy balance of soybean oil biodiesel. The energy inputs were found to be less than the energy contained in the biodiesel. The net energy return of biodiesel was found to be in the range of 2.64 to 2.78 using the NREL energy allocation approach. The addition of labor, farm machinery and soybean transportation energy to this approach didn’t show much difference. Pimentel and Patzek energy allocation approach gave the net energy return in the range of 0.85:1 to 0.88:1. However, allocating energy as in NREL study, this method yielded in the net energy return above five folds (5.69 to 5.93), thus giving an energy gain that is even higher than the 3.2 value from the NREL report. The energy allocation approach plays the crucial role in the variation of the net energy return. The net gain in the energy from soybean oil biodiesel showed the effective use of fossil energy resources. This confirms the renewable nature of soybean oil biodiesel. - Ecological evaluation of processes based on by-products or waste from agriculture: Life cycle assessment of biodiesel from tallow and used vegetable oil
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationNiederl, A.; Narodoslawsky, M. 2006. Ecological evaluation of processes based on by-products or waste from agriculture: Life cycle assessment of biodiesel from tallow and used vegetable oil. Feedstocks for the Future: Renewables for the Production of Chemicals and Materials. 921239-252
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an increasingly important evaluation tool for decision making and stakeholder discussion New methodological aspects arising with the application of LCA on products from renewable resources that are by-products or waste of other processes are reflected on the basis of a LCA of biodiesel from tallow (TME) and used vegetable oil (UVO) Two different impact assessment methods (Sustainable Process Index SPI and CML-method) show largely concordant results The SPI gives 'a bigger picture" of the environmental impacts and will be helpful in decision making Depending on the setting of system boundaries the ecological footprint (SPI) is between -1,2 to 4,8 m(2)a/MJ for UVO, between 0,85 to 8,3 m(2)a/MJ for TME compared to 26,1 m(2)a/MJ for fossil diesel. - Life cycle assessment of various cropping systems utilized for producing biofuels: Bioethanol and biodiesel
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationKim, S.; Dale, B. E. 2005. Life cycle assessment of various cropping systems utilized for producing biofuels: Bioethanol and biodiesel. Biomass & Bioenergy. 29(6) 426-439
A life cycle assessment of different cropping systems emphasizing corn and soybean production was performed, assuming that biomass from the cropping systems is utilized for producing biofuels (i.e., ethanol and biodiesel). The functional unit is defined as 1 ha of arable land producing biomass for biofuels to compare the environmental performance of the different cropping systems. The external functions are allocated by introducing alternative product systems (the system expansion allocation approach). Nonrenewable energy consumption, global warming impact, acidification and eutrophication are considered as potential environmental impacts and estimated by characterization factors given by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-TRACI). The benefits of corn stover removal are (1) lower nitrogen related environmental burdens from the soil, (2) higher ethanol production rate per unit arable land, and (3) energy recovery from lignin-rich fermentation residues, while the disadvantages of corn stover removal are a lower accumulation rate of soil organic carbon and higher fuel consumption in harvesting corn stover. Planting winter cover crops can compensate for some disadvantages (i.e., soil organic carbon levels and soil erosion) of removing corn stover. Cover crops also permit more corn stover to be harvested. Thus, utilization of corn stover and winter cover crops can improve the eco-efficiency of the cropping systems. When biomass from the cropping systems is utilized for biofuel production, all the cropping systems studied here offer environmental benefits in terms of nonrenewable energy consumption and global warming impact. Therefore utilizing biomass for biofuels would save nonrenewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gases. However, unless additional measures such as planting cover crops were taken, utilization of biomass for biofuels would also tend to increase acidification and eutrophication, primarily because large nitrogen (and phosphorus)-related environmental burdens are released from the soil during cultivation. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - A limited LCA comparing large- and small-scale production of rape methyl ester (RME) under Swedish conditions
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationBernesson, S.; Nilsson, D.; Hansson, P. A. 2004. A limited LCA comparing large- and small-scale production of rape methyl ester (RME) under Swedish conditions. Biomass & Bioenergy. 26(6) 545-559
Production of rape methyl ester (RME) can be carried out with different systems solutions, in which the choice of system is usually related to the scale of the production. The purpose of this study was to analyse whether the use of a small-scale RME production system reduced the environmental load in comparison to a medium- and a large-scale system. To fulfil this purpose, a limited LCA, including air-emissions and energy requirements, was carried out for the three plant sizes. For small plants and physical allocation, the global warming potential was 40.3 g CO2-eq/MJ(fuel), the acidification potential 236 mg SO2-eq/MJ(fuel), the eutrophication potential 39.1 Mg PO43--eq/MJ(fuel), the photochemical oxidant creation potential 3.29 Mg C2H4-eq/MJ(fuel), and the energy requirement 295 kJ/MJ(fuel). It was shown that the differences in environmental impact and energy requirement between small-, medium- and large-scale systems were small or even negligible. The higher oil extraction efficiency and the more efficient use of machinery and buildings in the large-scale system were, to a certain degree, outweighed by the longer transport distances. The dominating production step was the cultivation, in which production of fertilisers, soil emissions and tractive power made major contributions to the environmental load. The results were, however, largely dependent on the method used for allocation of the environmental burden between the RME and the by-products meal and glycerine. This indicates that when different biofuels or production strategies are to be compared, it is important that the results are calculated with the same allocation strategies and system limitations. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. - Life cycle inventory of biodiesel and petroleum diesel for use in an urban bus : final report, May 1998
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSheehan, John; National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.) 1998. Life cycle inventory of biodiesel and petroleum diesel for use in an urban bus : final report, May 1998. . xxiv, 286 p.
- Life Cycle Inventory of Biodiesel and Petroleum Diesel for Use in an Urban Bus A Joint Study
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationSheehan, J.; Camobreco, V.; Duffield, J.; Graboski, M.; Shapouri, H. 1998. Life Cycle Inventory of Biodiesel and Petroleum Diesel for Use in an Urban Bus A Joint Study. . 286-286
- Ecological assessment of rapeseed methyl ester comparison with the mineral fuel (life cycle analysis)
AbstractSearch Article Download CitationPoitrat, E. 1995. Ecological assessment of rapeseed methyl ester comparison with the mineral fuel (life cycle analysis). Biomass for Energy, Environment, Agriculture and Industry, Vols 1-3. 1081-1093