Title: Environmental impact of vegetable oil-based bio-diesel by life cycle assessment for sustainable cleaner production

Authors: Rajeshwari Chatterjee; Vinay Sharma; Samrat Mukherjee; Surender Kumar

Addresses: Department of HMCT, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi-835215, India ' Department of Production Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi-835215, India ' Department of Applied Physics, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi-835215, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, GLA University, Mathura, India

Abstract: This paper deals with the comparative analysis of environmental impacts of bio-diesel produced from Jatrophacurcas, rapeseed, canola, soybean and palm oil, by applying the life cycle analysis (LCA). The environmental impact categories considered are global warming potential (GWP, carbon dioxide equivalents) and acidification potential (AP, sulphur dioxide equivalent). The results indicate advantages regarding energy resources and greenhouse gases (GHG), while the disadvantages related to acidification, eutrophication and nitrous oxide in case of Jatropha. Data collection was based on both primary survey as well as secondary review from a sample of 75 respondents. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine the significant difference between the populations means, based on data collected from sample means of the respective population.

Keywords: biodiesel production; life cycle analysis; LCA; Jatropha; rapeseed; canola; soybean; palm oil; environmental impact assessment; EIA; analysis of variance; ANOVA; vegetable oil; sustainable cleaner production; biofuels; global warming; carbon dioxide; CO2; sulphur dioxide; SO2; greenhouse gases; GHG emissions; acidification; eutrophication; nitrous oxide; NOx; sustainability; sustainable development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETP.2015.069087

International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy, 2015 Vol.11 No.1, pp.13 - 35

Received: 20 Dec 2013
Accepted: 20 Nov 2014

Published online: 27 Apr 2015 *

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