Life-Cycle Assessment of Algae Biofuels Production

Algae-based biofuels have received considerable interest due to the potential for large volumes of biofuel production on relatively small amounts of lands not suited for food production or other economic development. However, prior to commercial development of a new fuel supply chain, the environmental impacts of each stage of the process need to be modeled and well understood so that large scale production can be achieved in a sustainable manner. Our recent work within the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) research consortium has focused on conducting life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies to investigate some of the potential scenarios envisioned for future algal biofuels production. These studies encompass algae cultivation infrastructure, allocation methodology, LEA usage, nutrient management, and direct land-use change emissions on the overall greenhouse gas emissions profile of algae-based alternative fuels.