(619h) Life Cycle Assessment of Renewable Hydrotreated Fuels from Castor

Hydrotreated renewable transportation fuels (HRTF), i.e., green diesel and bio-jet fuel, have become promising options for reduction of fosil fuels consumption and mitigation of climate change [1]. These biofuels have to be produced, however, in a sustainable way. The life-cycle assessment (LCA) have shown to be an useful and accurate tool to evaluate CO₂production and energy and water consumption in the Biojet Fuel Production [2].

LCA allows the evaluation of the environmental impact of the production of hydroprocessed renewable fuel against conventional fuels, the main objective of this alternative is to reduce the environmental impact. The limits and objectives of the LCA were defined in order to measure CO₂emissions during cultivation, transport and industrial production, everything applied at the conditions of Oaxaca State. This research is part of the research to demonstrate that hydrotreated renewable fuels are a real option to substitute conventional hydrocarbon-based fuels in Mexico.

Thus this work evaluates the life cycle assessment of green diesel and bio jet fuel from castor plant, which has a large growth in rural areas along Mexico. The LCA methodology has been used in this work to quantify GHG emissions. No land change has been considered, due the nature of the crop, which is a wild and not eatable plant. The presentation details the methods, assumptions and LCA results for the production of renewable fuels in Oaxaca State. Preliminary results indicate that HRTF are capable of being producedin large scale to supply a significant fraction of energy demand of the country, reducing at the same time the GHG emissions. These results contributed to a favorable carbon footprint result for castor HRTF, yielding savings of greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels.

References

[1] J.Han et al, â??Life-cycle analysis of bio-based aviation fuelsâ?, Bioresource Technology, pp 1-10, 2013

[2] D. B. Agusdinata et al, â??Life Cycle Assessment of Potential Biojet Fuel Production in the United Statesâ?, Enviromental Science & Technology, pp 1-11, 2011.