Abstract
The aim of this work was to perform life cycle
analyses (LCA) based on detailed process mass and energy
balances for the production of biodiesel from microalgae in
order to compare the conventional transesterification with in
situ transesterification. GaBi software was used to perform the
LCA. The material balances revealed that a slightly lower
biodiesel yield was obtained for in situ transesterification
process (5.06 kg/day) when compared to the conventional one
(5.5 kg/day). GaBi results showed that the global warming
potential (GWP) of the conventional transesterification process
was higher than in situ transesterification by 140 kg CO2
equivalent (per tonne of biodiesel produced). No substantial
difference was noted however, for acidification (4.15 vs. 4.34 kg
SO2 equivalent), eutrophication (0.641 to 0.666 kg PO4-
equivalent) and human toxicity potential (72.3 vs. 77 kg
dichlorobenzene equivalent) between the two processes per kg
of biodiesel produced. The results of the LCA analysis also show
that electricity production was the major contributor for all the
environmental impacts. When both the global warming
potential and biodiesel yield were taken into account, it could be
concluded that biodiesel production via in situ
transesterification was a better option.
analyses (LCA) based on detailed process mass and energy
balances for the production of biodiesel from microalgae in
order to compare the conventional transesterification with in
situ transesterification. GaBi software was used to perform the
LCA. The material balances revealed that a slightly lower
biodiesel yield was obtained for in situ transesterification
process (5.06 kg/day) when compared to the conventional one
(5.5 kg/day). GaBi results showed that the global warming
potential (GWP) of the conventional transesterification process
was higher than in situ transesterification by 140 kg CO2
equivalent (per tonne of biodiesel produced). No substantial
difference was noted however, for acidification (4.15 vs. 4.34 kg
SO2 equivalent), eutrophication (0.641 to 0.666 kg PO4-
equivalent) and human toxicity potential (72.3 vs. 77 kg
dichlorobenzene equivalent) between the two processes per kg
of biodiesel produced. The results of the LCA analysis also show
that electricity production was the major contributor for all the
environmental impacts. When both the global warming
potential and biodiesel yield were taken into account, it could be
concluded that biodiesel production via in situ
transesterification was a better option.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 683 |
| Pages (from-to) | 355-360 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | International Journal of Chemical Engineering and Applications |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 6 Dec 2017 |
Keywords
- Biodiesel, environmental impact, life cycle analysis, microalgae, transesterification
