Life Cycle Assessment of Palm Oil Biodiesel Production in Malaysia

Abstract

Almost identical properties with petroleum-derived diesel make biodiesel one of the best options of renewable and sustainable fuel supply to the transportation sector. Thanks to plentiful sources of palm oil and reasonable cost, it can be a proper feedstock for biodiesel production in Malaysia. Still, there is a paucity of studies concerning the effects of palm biodiesel on the environment. This paper, therefore, deals with life cycle assessment (LCA) of palm biodiesel to find out and validate the common belief regarding suitability of palm biodiesel as a green and sustainable fuel. The LCA study was conducted through three main stages including agricultural activities, oil milling, and transesterification process of biodiesel production. Palm oil biodiesel production results in the production of 1627.748kgCO2-eq of GHG and energy consumption of 12449.48MJ per ton PME. The results indicate that the most relevant environmental impact of this biofuel system is depletion of fossil resources.