(663e) Sustainable Biodiesel Production. A Tool for Assessing and Improving the Sustainability of a Biodiesel Production Process

Biodiesel is a potential low-carbon and sustainable energy source, but the carbon savings and sustainability of biodiesel fuel depend in large part on how the feedstock and the fuel are produced. State, federal, and international renewable fuel policies are increasingly focused on the carbon balance and sustainability of fuels. Renewable fuels are no longer automatically viewed as a solution to global climate change; only those fuels with negative carbon balance and beneficial environmental attributes are regarded as viable tools for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions.

Developing an effective sustainability strategy and implementing the right decision-making tools to improve the sustainability of a renewable fuel while maintaining high productivity and profitability are crucial elements of a successful renewable fuels business.

Sustainability must be viewed in terms of the product's life cycle. Renewable fuel producers who wish to quantify and improve the sustainability of their product should focus not only on the fuel production step, but also on feedstock production and transportation. Feedstock sourcing, logistics, and fuel production all have a large impact on the environmental impacts of renewable fuels.

This paper presents an approach for the development of an effective sustainability strategy for biodiesel companies. The paper outlines a methodology to assess and improve the carbon balance and sustainability of a biodiesel production process based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis techniques. Although the principles highlighted here pertain specifically to biodiesel, the principles can be applied to any chemical industry.

Concretely, the paper presents a methodology to quantify and account for the sustainability of a biodiesel production process across its life cycle (?sustainability accounting?) and use this accounting method to identify and evaluate opportunities for improvement. Pareto plots are used as an evaluation and decision-making tool. Multiple sustainability criteria are taken into account, including GHG emissions, but also depletion of natural resources and ecological impacts to air, soil, water, and biodiversity. The paper presents concrete examples and case studies, including the evaluation of chemical vs. non-chemical treatment systems for cooling towers and boilers, the evaluation of different reaction and catalytic methods, and the assessment of different biodiesel purification systems from a sustainability and LCA perspective.

The paper also provides a review of various state and federal biofuel policies that incorporate LCA as a key program element, such as the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), and the U.K. Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (UK-RTFO), and discusses how obligated parties can use the tool presented in this study to comply with such policies.