| Peer-Reviewed

Life Cycle Inventory of a Biodiesel Production Unit

Received: 11 December 2013     Published: 20 January 2014
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Carbon dioxide is one of the main compounds pointed as a cause for climate changes, mainly due to the accelerated use of fossil fuels. In order to measure the consumption of the resources that generate carbon dioxide and verify these compounds emissions, quantitative studies aren’t sufficient, but it is needed a proportion relation with the environmental impact. Life cycle analysis studies are used to establish parameters to this relation, orientating which is the best way to be followed and also estimating, as close as possible to the reality, the degree of impacts that can be caused. This paper studies a biodiesel plant in Brazil, using the model described in ISO’s 14040 group to perform a life cycle inventory. Biodiesel is an alternative renewable fuel to the common diesel. The biodiesel has been considered a “clean” fuel, however its fabrication process involves environmental impacts. Hence, the objective of this study is to address those impacts, from a theoretical biodiesel plant data, and provide background information, in the form a life cycle inventory (LCI), to allow further comparisons between biodiesel production and other fuels. Finally, a full LCI for biodiesel is completed and it is concluded that, qualitatively, the environmental impact generated are similar to other commonly used fuels.

Published in American Journal of Chemical Engineering (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11
Page(s) 1-7
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Environmental Impacts, Life Cycle Inventory, Biodiesel, Biodiesel Production Unit

References
[1] R. Brecha, "Ten Reasons to Take Peak Oil Seriously," Sustainability, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 664–694, Feb. 2013.
[2] M. A. Oehlschlaeger, "Prospects for Biofuels: A Review," J. Therm. Sci. Eng. Appl., vol. 5, no. 2, p. 021006, May 2013.
[3] S. Liu, H. Jia, B. Yin, Z. Xu, and T. Guan, "Investigation on Combustion Characteristics of Direct Injection Nature Inhale Diesel Engine Fuelled with Biodiesel," 2009 AsiaPacific Power Energy Eng. Conf., vol. 2, pp. 38–41, 2010.
[4] A. Holma, K. Koponen, R. Antikainen, L. Lardon, P. Leskinen, and P. Roux, "Current limits of life cycle assessment framework in evaluating environmental sustainability – case of two evolving biofuel technologies," J. Clean. Prod., vol. 54, pp. 215–228, Sep. 2013.
[5] A. N. Haddad, K. Condeixa, M. Sedrez, A. C. J. Evangelista, and D. T. Boer, "Quality Indicators for Life Cycle Inventory: Real Cases Exploratory Application," Appl. Mech. Mater., vol. 431, pp. 350–355, Oct. 2013.
[6] G. Sonnemann, B. Vigon, C. Broadbent, M. A. Curran, M. Finkbeiner, R. Frischknecht, A. Inaba, A. Schanssema, M. Stevenson, C. M. L. Ugaya, H. Wang, M.-A. Wolf, and S. Valdivia, "Process on ‘global guidance for LCA databases’," Int. J. Life Cycle Assess., vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 95–97, Dec. 2010.
[7] ISO, ISO 14040 International Standard. Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework. Geneva, Switzerland.: International Organisation for Standardization, 2006.
[8] ISO, ISO 14044 - Environmental Management: Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Impact Assessment. Geneva, Switzerland.: International Organisation for Standardization, 2006.
[9] D. Tapasvi, D. Wiesenborn, and C. Gustafson, "Process model for biodiesel production from various feedstocks.," Trans. ASAE, 2005.
[10] R. A. B. Costa, "ESTUDO DAS EFICIÊNCIAS DE OPERAÇÃO E CONSUMO DE ENEGRIA EM PLANTAS DE BIODIESEL," 2009.
[11] R. A. B. Costa, "ESTUDO DAS EFICIÊNCIAS DE OPERAÇÃO E CONSUMO DE," 2009.
[12] M. Hajbabaei, K. C. Johnson, R. A. Okamoto, A. Mitchell, M. Pullman, and T. D. Durbin, "Evaluation of the impacts of biodiesel and second generation biofuels on NO(x) emissions for CARB diesel fuels.," Environ. Sci. Technol., vol. 46, no. 16, pp. 9163–73, Aug. 2012.
[13] A. Demirbas, "Relationships derived from physical properties of vegetable oil and biodiesel fuels," Fuel, vol. 87, no. 8–9, pp. 1743–1748, Jul. 2008.
[14] O. Ortiz, F. Castells, and G. Sonnemann, "Sustainability in the construction industry: A review of recent developments based on LCA," Constr. Build. Mater., vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 28–39, Jan. 2009.
[15] V. Cappuyns, "LCA based evaluation of site remediation: Opportunities and limitations," Chim. Oggi/Chemistry Today, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 18–21, 2013.
[16] G. Finnveden, P. Eldh, and J. Johansson, "Weighting in LCA based on ecotaxes: Development of a mid-point method and experiences from case studies," Int. J. Life Cycle Assess., vol. 11, no. SPEC. ISS. 1, pp. 81–88, 2006.
[17] G. Guest, R. M. Bright, F. Cherubini, and A. H. Strømman, "Consistent quantification of climate impacts due to biogenic carbon storage across a range of bio-product systems," Environ. Impact Assess. Rev., vol. 43, pp. 21–30, Nov. 2013.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Priscilla Sieira, Erick B.F. Galante, Wilma A. Gonzales, Assed Haddad. (2014). Life Cycle Inventory of a Biodiesel Production Unit. American Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Priscilla Sieira; Erick B.F. Galante; Wilma A. Gonzales; Assed Haddad. Life Cycle Inventory of a Biodiesel Production Unit. Am. J. Chem. Eng. 2014, 2(1), 1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Priscilla Sieira, Erick B.F. Galante, Wilma A. Gonzales, Assed Haddad. Life Cycle Inventory of a Biodiesel Production Unit. Am J Chem Eng. 2014;2(1):1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11,
      author = {Priscilla Sieira and Erick B.F. Galante and Wilma A. Gonzales and Assed Haddad},
      title = {Life Cycle Inventory of a Biodiesel Production Unit},
      journal = {American Journal of Chemical Engineering},
      volume = {2},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-7},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajche.20140201.11},
      abstract = {Carbon dioxide is one of the main compounds pointed as a cause for climate changes, mainly due to the accelerated use of fossil fuels. In order to measure the consumption of the resources that generate carbon dioxide and verify these compounds emissions, quantitative studies aren’t sufficient, but it is needed a proportion relation with the environmental impact. Life cycle analysis studies are used to establish parameters to this relation, orientating which is the best way to be followed and also estimating, as close as possible to the reality, the degree of impacts that can be caused. This paper studies a biodiesel plant in Brazil, using the model described in ISO’s 14040 group to perform a life cycle inventory. Biodiesel is an alternative renewable fuel to the common diesel. The biodiesel has been considered a “clean” fuel, however its fabrication process involves environmental impacts. Hence, the objective of this study is to address those impacts, from a theoretical biodiesel plant data, and provide background information, in the form a life cycle inventory (LCI), to allow further comparisons between biodiesel production and other fuels. Finally, a full LCI for biodiesel is completed and it is concluded that, qualitatively, the environmental impact generated are similar to other commonly used fuels.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Life Cycle Inventory of a Biodiesel Production Unit
    AU  - Priscilla Sieira
    AU  - Erick B.F. Galante
    AU  - Wilma A. Gonzales
    AU  - Assed Haddad
    Y1  - 2014/01/20
    PY  - 2014
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11
    T2  - American Journal of Chemical Engineering
    JF  - American Journal of Chemical Engineering
    JO  - American Journal of Chemical Engineering
    SP  - 1
    EP  - 7
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8613
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajche.20140201.11
    AB  - Carbon dioxide is one of the main compounds pointed as a cause for climate changes, mainly due to the accelerated use of fossil fuels. In order to measure the consumption of the resources that generate carbon dioxide and verify these compounds emissions, quantitative studies aren’t sufficient, but it is needed a proportion relation with the environmental impact. Life cycle analysis studies are used to establish parameters to this relation, orientating which is the best way to be followed and also estimating, as close as possible to the reality, the degree of impacts that can be caused. This paper studies a biodiesel plant in Brazil, using the model described in ISO’s 14040 group to perform a life cycle inventory. Biodiesel is an alternative renewable fuel to the common diesel. The biodiesel has been considered a “clean” fuel, however its fabrication process involves environmental impacts. Hence, the objective of this study is to address those impacts, from a theoretical biodiesel plant data, and provide background information, in the form a life cycle inventory (LCI), to allow further comparisons between biodiesel production and other fuels. Finally, a full LCI for biodiesel is completed and it is concluded that, qualitatively, the environmental impact generated are similar to other commonly used fuels.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • IME, Dept of Chemical Engineering, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  • IME, Dept of Chemical Engineering, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  • IME, Dept of Chemical Engineering, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  • UFRJ, Dept of Civil Engineering, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  • Sections