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Biodiesel production in a semiarid environment: a life cycle assessment approach.
Environ Sci Technol. 2011 Apr 01; 45(7):3069-74.ES

Abstract

While the use of biodiesel appears to be a promising alternative to petroleum fuel, the replacement of fossil fuel by biofuel may not bring about the intended climate cooling because of the increased soil N2O emissions due to N-fertilizer applications. Using a life cycle assessment approach, we assessed the influence of soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions on the life cycle global warming potential of the production and combustion of biodiesel from canola oil produced in a semiarid climate. Utilizing locally measured soil N2O emissions, rather than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default values, decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the production and combustion of 1 GJ biodiesel from 63 to 37 carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e)/GJ. GHG were 1.1 to 2.1 times lower than those from petroleum or petroleum-based diesel depending on which soil N2O emission factors were included in the analysis. The advantages of utilizing biodiesel rapidly declined when blended with petroleum diesel. Mitigation strategies that decrease emissions from the production and application of N fertilizers may further decrease the life cycle GHG emissions in the production and combustion of biodiesel.

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Publisher Full Text (DOI)

Authors+Show Affiliations

Biswas WK
Centre of Excellence in Cleaner Production, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6845, Australia. w.biswas@curtin.edu.au
Barton L
No affiliation info available
Carter D
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AgricultureAir PollutantsAir PollutionBiofuelsCarbon FootprintClimateConservation of Natural ResourcesFertilizersNitrogen Dioxide

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

21381655

Citation

Biswas, Wahidul K., et al. "Biodiesel Production in a Semiarid Environment: a Life Cycle Assessment Approach." Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 45, no. 7, 2011, pp. 3069-74.
Biswas WK, Barton L, Carter D. Biodiesel production in a semiarid environment: a life cycle assessment approach. Environ Sci Technol. 2011;45(7):3069-74.
Biswas, W. K., Barton, L., & Carter, D. (2011). Biodiesel production in a semiarid environment: a life cycle assessment approach. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(7), 3069-74. https://doi.org/10.1021/es1031807
Biswas WK, Barton L, Carter D. Biodiesel Production in a Semiarid Environment: a Life Cycle Assessment Approach. Environ Sci Technol. 2011 Apr 1;45(7):3069-74. PubMed PMID: 21381655.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Biodiesel production in a semiarid environment: a life cycle assessment approach. AU - Biswas,Wahidul K, AU - Barton,Louise, AU - Carter,Daniel, Y1 - 2011/03/07/ PY - 2011/3/9/entrez PY - 2011/3/9/pubmed PY - 2011/6/15/medline SP - 3069 EP - 74 JF - Environmental science & technology JO - Environ Sci Technol VL - 45 IS - 7 N2 - While the use of biodiesel appears to be a promising alternative to petroleum fuel, the replacement of fossil fuel by biofuel may not bring about the intended climate cooling because of the increased soil N2O emissions due to N-fertilizer applications. Using a life cycle assessment approach, we assessed the influence of soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions on the life cycle global warming potential of the production and combustion of biodiesel from canola oil produced in a semiarid climate. Utilizing locally measured soil N2O emissions, rather than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default values, decreased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the production and combustion of 1 GJ biodiesel from 63 to 37 carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e)/GJ. GHG were 1.1 to 2.1 times lower than those from petroleum or petroleum-based diesel depending on which soil N2O emission factors were included in the analysis. The advantages of utilizing biodiesel rapidly declined when blended with petroleum diesel. Mitigation strategies that decrease emissions from the production and application of N fertilizers may further decrease the life cycle GHG emissions in the production and combustion of biodiesel. SN - 1520-5851 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/21381655/Biodiesel_production_in_a_semiarid_environment:_a_life_cycle_assessment_approach_ L2 - https://doi.org/10.1021/es1031807 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -