LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF PALM BIODIESEL (part 5)

Journal of Oil Palm Research Vol. 22 December 2010 p. 927-933

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR THE

PRODUCTION AND USE OF PALM BIODIESEL
(part 5)
PUAH CHIEW WEI*; CHOO YUEN MAY* and MA AH NGAN**

ABSTRACT
In Malaysia, the major consumers of energy are the industrial and transport sectors. The demand is expected
to increase steadily in tandem with the growth of the economy. As such, alternative sources of energy need
to be developed, in particular energy from renewable sources, to meet the energy requirements. Fatty acid
methyl esters, commonly known as biodiesel, derived from oils and fats have long been known as a potential
diesel substitute. Biodiesel is suitable to be used neat or blended with petroleum diesel in any proportion in an
unmodified diesel engine. However, the many concerns related to the emissions from the production and use
of biodiesel have been discussed globally. Thus, this life cycle assessment study was conducted to investigate
the environmental impacts from the production and use of palm biodiesel produced using MPOB’s production
technology. The results show that the environmental impact from the production of palm biodiesel is related
to the use of methanol, while the use of palm biodiesel contributes to the impact categories of respiratory
inorganics and acidification/eutrophication. In spite of these, the production and use of palm biodiesel is more
environmental-friendly as compared to petroleum diesel.

Keywords: biodiesel, environment, palm oil, sustainability.

Date received: 4 October 2010; Sent for revision: 14 October 2010; Received in final form: 18 October 2010; Accepted: 20 October 2010.

INTRODUCTION to produce biodiesel. However, commercially

available biodiesel is mainly produced through the
The increase in energy demand worldwide and transesterification process using methanol in the
diminishing fossil fuel reserves have driven the presence of sodium hydroxide. In addition, this is
development of sustainable alternative energy the most economical approach as it requires only
sources to progress at a faster pace to ensure energy a low operating temperature and pressure, yields
security in every part of the world. To date, the are high (>98% direct conversion to methyl ester)
most widely used renewable energy for transport and achieved in a short reaction time. According
is the first generation biofuel, namely biodiesel. to Freedman et al. (1984), the main advantage of
Biodiesel is alkyl esters derived from vegetable an alkaline catalyst over an acid catalyst is the
oils and animal fats. Many pathways are available high conversion under mild conditions in a short
reaction time. However, acid catalysts are suitable
for esterification, especially for feedstocks with
high fatty acids content.
* Malaysian Palm Oil Board, The alternative approach is esterification of
P. O. Box 10620, fatty acids and alcohols in the presence of a solid
50720 Kuala Lumpur, acid catalyst (Choo and Goh, 1987; Choo and
Malaysia.
E-mail: [email protected]
Ong, 1989). Esterification can also be carried out
** 39 Jalan 3, Taman Bukit Cantik, continuously in a counter-current reaction column
43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia. using superheated methanol (Kreutzer, 1984).

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Journal of Oil Palm Research 22 (december 2010)

Biodiesel can also be produced using supercritical Auxiliary

methanol without any catalyst (Saka et al., 1986). Raw materials Energy materials
In addition, methanol is not the only alcohol that
can be used to produce biodiesel. Thus, methyl
ester is not the only ester that can be considered
as biodiesel. Other alcohols, such as ethanol,
butanol and propanol, can also be used. For the Transesterification
transesterification process, sodium hydroxide is
also not the only catalyst that can be used. Other
usable base catalysts include sodium methoxide
and potassium hydroxide. Lipases are also potential
substitutes as the catalyst. Wastewater Palm biodiesel Glycerol
Research and development of palm biodiesel
in Malaysia has been carried out since the early
1980s. The key purpose in the development of
palm biodiesel then was to provide a safety net to Utilization in diesel
engines vehicles
enhance and stabilize palm oil price in the country
in times of over-supply of the commodity. The
Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has developed
a patented technology for the production of palm Air emissions
biodiesel (Choo et al., 1992). The process involves
mild reaction conditions of transesterification to Figure 1.  System boundary for the production and use
convert palm oil into palm biodiesel by methanol in of palm biodiesel.
the presence of a base catalyst. The palm biodiesel
produced has been extensively evaluated through
engine testing and exhaustive field trials with wastewater. Subsequently, palm biodiesel is
positive results, showing that palm biodiesel is transported and used for combustion in diesel
a suitable diesel substitute (Choo et al., 1995). engine vehicles. The exhaust emissions due to the
MPOB’s biodiesel production technology has been use of palm biodiesel in diesel engine vehicles were
commercialized with plants operating in Malaysia, also taken into consideration for this study.
South Korea and Thailand. The biodiesel produced
also meets the international specifications for Functional Unit
biodiesel, such as the EN 14214 and ASTM D6751.
Today, the drivers for biodiesel development, The functional unit for this study was the
besides enhancing commodity prices, are the production and use of 1 MJ palm biodiesel in diesel
provision of energy security, the mitigation of engine vehicles.
global warming and climate change. However,
the many concerns related to emissions from the
production and use of biodiesel have been debated RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
by environmentalists worldwide. In some reports,
biodiesel is described as creating more problems Life Cycle Inventory
instead of solving the existing environment
problems. In view of this development, this article Commercially, the most commonly used
discusses a life cycle assessment (LCA) study feedstock for the biodiesel production is refined,
conducted by MPOB to provide a quantifiable bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm oil. The
measure to evaluate the environmental impacts results of the cradle-to-gate study of LCA, i.e. from
from the production and use of palm biodiesel in the nursery to the production of RBD palm oil have
Malaysia. been discussed in the Parts 1 to 4 articles. Figure
2 shows the detailed process flow chart for the
production of palm biodiesel. The inventory data
METHODOLOGY for the production of palm biodiesel were obtained
from two biodiesel plants using MPOB’s biodiesel
System Boundary production technology through questionnaires.
Subsequently, validation and verification were
Figure 1 shows the system boundary of LCA carried out involving stakeholders from the
for the production and use of palm biodiesel. The biodiesel industry, and in consultation with
production energy, raw materials and auxiliary representatives from the Malaysian Biodiesel
materials were included as the inputs while the Association. However, the processing technology
outputs included the products, by-product and is being continuously optimized and improved.

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 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF PALM BIODIESEL (part 5)

Figure 2.  Process flow chart for the production of palm biodiesel.

In addition, LCA is a site-specific assessment. As TABLE 2.  LIFE CYCLE INVENTORY BASED ON
such, inputs and waste materials may vary from FUNCTIONAL UNIT OF USE OF 1 MJ PALM BIODIESEL
plant to plant, even if they were using the same
Inputs and outputs Unit Amount
production technology. In order to calculate the
inventory data based on the functional unit, the Raw materials
energy values used are shown in Table 1. Thus, RBD palm oil MJ MJbiodiesel-1 1.006
life cycle inventory (LCI) for this study was based Methanol MJ MJbiodiesel-1 0.055
on the functional unit as shown in Table 2. LCI Sodium hydroxide kg MJbiodiesel-1 0.0001
obtained has been carefully evaluated to ensure the Hydrochloric acid kg MJbiodiesel-1 0.0004
reliability of LCA of the present study.
Utilities
Electricity MJ MJbiodiesel-1 0.0022
TABLE 1.  ENERGY VALUE (MJ kg-1) FOR SELECTED Water kg MJbiodiesel-1 0.009
INVENTORY Steam MJ MJbiodiesel-1 0.0144
Instrument air kg MJbiodiesel-1 0.00008
Material Energy value (MJ kg-1)
Products
Palm oil 39.0 Biodiesel MJbiodiesel-1 1.00
Methanol 19.7 Glycerol kg MJbiodiesel-1 0.0030
Palm biodiesel 40.3 Wastewater kg MJbiodiesel-1 0.009

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Journal of Oil Palm Research 22 (december 2010)

Assumptions study. Excess methanol is recycled and reused in

the process, and therefore methanol recovery and
There are limitations and assumptions used in intermediate tanks are more important to be taken
the present study because palm biodiesel has yet into account. In addition, the catalyst used is in the
to be used commercially as a diesel substitute in range of 2 to 5 kg for every tonne of palm biodiesel
this country; thus, some data on infrastructure and produced; thus, transportation of the catalyst was
facilities are not available for the use of biodiesel. also not taken into consideration.

Co-product allocation. The transesterification Capital goods. The determination of capital goods
process produces biodiesel and glycerol as the was conducted by taking into account the total
co-product (Figure 2). Thus, glycerol which is materials used to construct a 60 000 t biodiesel plant
produced in its crude form is not treated to higher using MPOB’s biodiesel production technology.
purity. In addition, glycerol with different degrees These comprise mainly stainless steel for vessels
of purity has different applications, especially in the and tanks, pumps and agitators as well as pipes.
oleochemicals industry. As such, mass allocation Replacement factors based on annual replacement
was carried out to distribute the environmental requirements were used to indicate the need to
impact due to glycerol as it is not a waste material. replace the equipment based on their shelf-lives.
Biodiesel and glycerol were allocated based on Table 3 shows a breakdown of the materials with
mass at a ratio of 89.3: 10.7. their corresponding replacement factor. All vessels
and tanks for the production of palm biodiesel at
Wastewater. In the biodiesel production process, the processing plant were taken into consideration.
water is mainly used for washing purposes. The A replacement factor of 10% was assigned to these,
wastewater generated is treated and recycled to taking into consideration major vessels and tanks
be reused in the process. In general, the chemical which are constructed with stainless steel are
oxygen demand (COD) is in the range of 15 000 expected to last for more than 10 years.
to 30 000 mg litre-1 while the biochemical oxygen A replacement factor of 5% was allocated to all
demand (BOD) is in the range of 10 000 to 20  000 pumps and agitators, taking into account the higher
mg litre-1. The discharged BOD and COD are 50 mg wear and tear that is expected to occur with these
litre-1 and 100 mg litre-1, respectively. In addition, equipment. The assumption was made that the main
the wastewater generated in the production of 1 MJ material to assemble these pumps and agitators is
of palm biodiesel is 0.009 kg (Table 2). The amount stainless steel. In addition, the total amount of
is relatively small as compared to other stages of stainless steel used in pumps and agitators is
biodiesel production. relatively low as compared to vessels and tanks. It
was estimated that pumps and agitators made up
Transportation. Currently, palm biodiesel is not 20% of the total amount of steel required for vessels
used in the domestic market but is mainly for and tanks. However, the construction materials
export purposes. As such, there is no inventory data are for a plant producing 60 000 t of biodiesel per
available on the transportation of palm biodiesel year, and the contribution due to capital goods was
from the factory to the distribution terminal, and expected to be insignificant when it was translated
subsequently to the diesel kiosk to be used in into the functional unit of the present study. Thus,
diesel engine vehicles. In the present study, the the materials for the construction of the factory
transportation of RBD palm oil to the biodiesel building were not included. They were expected
factory was assumed to be negligible. to be insignificant, taking into account that the
Energy for the transportation of methanol and structure will last for at least 20 years.
the catalyst was also considered to be low and
was not taken into consideration in the present Exhaust emission. The first exhaustive field trial on
the use of palm biodiesel in diesel engine vehicles
was conducted by MPOB from 1986 to 1989. A
TABLE 3.  MATERIALS BREAKDOWN OF BIODIESEL wide range of diesel engines such as stationary
PLANT engines, passenger cars, lorries, tractors, taxis
and vans in Malaysia was included in the study.
Replacement
Item Unit Amount Subsequently, palm biodiesel was evaluated in
factor
bench endurance tests by Mercedes Benz AG,
Vessels and tonne 10% 56.5 Germany. This exhaustive and comprehensive
tanks field trial involved 30 buses covering more than
Pumps and tonne   5% 12.3 10 million kilometres in total (each travelling
agitators more than 300  000 km, the life time of the engine
as recommended by the engine manufacturer).
Pipes tonne   5% 16.7
Results have shown that the exhaust emissions of

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 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF PALM BIODIESEL (part 5)

TABLE 4.  TAILPIPE EMISSIONS (per km) FOR ULTRA LOW SULPHUR DIESEL (ULSD) BIODIESEL BLENDS USING
PALM OIL

Tailpipe emission (g km-1)

Impact category
ULSD BD2 BD5 BD10 BD20 BD100
Carbon dioxide 692 679 659 626 560 0
Methane 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01
Nitrous oxide 0.016 0.016 0.016 0.016 0.016 0.015
Carbon monoxide 2.81 2.78 2.75 2.69 2.57 1.79
Nitrogen oxides 8.68 8.71 8.76 8.84 8.99 10.33
Non-methanic hydrocarbon 0.72 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71
Particulate matters (PM 10) 283 278 271 260 238 119

the engines were cleaner with less hydrocarbons, namely fossil fuels and respiratory inorganics.
nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon dioxide and sulphur Impact on fossil fuels was due to the use of non-
dioxide (Choo et al., 2005). renewable sources of materials, including methanol
Table 4 shows the tailpipe emissions (per km) which is produced from natural gas and fuel oil for
for the use of ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) as the boiler to generate steam. Impact on respiratory
compared to palm biodiesel blends (Beer et al., inorganics is associated with emissions to the
2007). It is shown that the use of palm biodiesel atmosphere, and therefore was due to emission
contributes to lower emissions of carbon dioxide, from the boiler.
carbon monoxide and particulate matter. However, The use of palm biodiesel contributed
the use of biodiesel increases the emissions of to respiratory inorganics and acidification/
NOx, while there are similar emissions of methane, eutrophication as both impact categories are related
nitrous oxide and non-methanic hydrocarbon as to emissions to atmosphere. Based on the latest
from ULSD. findings reported by Beer et al. (2007), the use
of 100% palm biodiesel contributes to greater
Life Cycle Impact Assessment reductions in emissions of total carbon dioxide,
particulate matter and carbon monoxide (100%,
The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) was 58% and 36%, respectively) (Table 4).
carried out using the SimaPro software, version The effects of acidification/eutrophication were
7.1 with the methodology Eco-indicator 99. The due to a higher emission of NOx from the use of
foreground biodiesel production data based on biodiesel. The presence of the oxygen component in
MPOB’s production technology were obtained biodiesel increases the formation of NOx. Currently,
directly from the commercial biodiesel plants while the use of B5 which is a blend of 5% biodiesel with
the foreground capital goods data were obtained 95% petroleum diesel is being implemented in the
directly from the biodiesel technology provider. country. Thus, the emission from NOx is similar to
However, the background data were obtained that of petroleum diesel (Table 4). In this context,
from the Ecoinvent database under SimaPro. These the adverse effects of acidification/eutrophication
included the production of capital equipment and were not significant due to the use of 5% blends of
various chemicals used in the transesterification palm biodiesel. More importantly, the results show
process. LCIA for the use of 1 MJ of palm biodiesel that the production and use of palm biodiesel did
in diesel engine vehicles was presented in this not contribute significantly towards the impact
study based on two case studies: continued land category on climate change (Figure 3).
use for oil palm plantations with biogas emission at The impact on climate change as contributed by
palm oil mills, and continued land use for oil palm RBD palm oil has been discussed in the Parts 1 to
plantations with biogas capture at palm oil mills. 4 articles. The impact category on climate change
LCIA that was conducted incorporated results from was also reduced with palm oil mills installed
the nursery to the refinery as are presented in the with biogas capture facilities. Figure 4 shows the
Parts 1 to 4 articles. weighted LCIA results for continued land use for
Figure 3 shows the weighted LCIA results for oil palm plantations with biogas capture at palm
continued land use for oil palm plantations with oil mills.
biogas emission at palm oil mills. The processing For biodiesel production, the environmental
step for the conversion of RBD palm oil to palm impacts associated with the production of capital
biodiesel contributed to two impact categories, equipment had been included and found to be

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Journal of Oil Palm Research 22 (december 2010)

28
26
24
22
20
18
16
Pt

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Carcinogens Resp. Resp. Climate Radiation Ozone layer Ecotoxicity Acidification/ Land use Minerals Fossil fuels
organics inorganics change eutrophication
Biodiesel – revised oil palm and emission (Oct 2010) Water, completely softened, at plant/RER U
Methanol, at plant/GLO U (biodiesel) RPO Sept 2010 (OP to OP, without biogas capture, with capital) reviewer
NaOH ETH U X5CrNI18 (304)
Electricity Malaysia Steam on Site A

Figure 3.  Weighted life cycle impact assessment of cradle to grave for production and use of palm biodiesel based on
continued land use for oil palm plantations with biogas emission at palm oil mills.

28
26
24
22
20
18
16
mPt

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Carcinogens Resp. Resp. Climate Radiation Ozone layer Ecotoxicity Acidification/ Land use Minerals Fossil fuels
organics inorganics change eutrophication
Biodiesel – revised oil palm and emission (Oct 2010) Water, completely softened, at plant/RER U
Methanol, at plant/GLO U (biodiesel) RPO Sept 2010 (OP to OP, without biogas capture, with capital) reviewer
NaOH ETH U X5CrNI18 (304)
Electricity Malaysia Steam on Site A

Figure 4.  Weighted life cycle impact assessment of cradle to grave for production and use of palm biodiesel based on
continued land use for oil palm plantations with biogas capture at palm oil mills.

insignificant. However, the impact due to the lower emissions as compared to petroleum diesel.
construction of the factory building was excluded The greater reductions in emissions shown in a
based on results from earlier studies which indicate more recent study are mainly due to the
that their contribution is small. In addition, land advancement in technological development in
occupation by the biodiesel factory have been diesel engine manufacture. Based on the LCIA
excluded in this study. results, it was found that the production of palm
The use phase of biodiesel was the major biodiesel using MPOB’s technology does not
contributor towards the impact on respiratory contribute significantly towards to overall life
inorganics and acidification/eutrophication. The cycle while the use of palm biodiesel is more
exhaust emissions based on published data show environmental-friendly as compared to petroleum
that the use of palm biodiesel contributes towards diesel in terms of emissions.

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 LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT FOR THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF PALM BIODIESEL (part 5)

CONCLUSION CHOO, Y M; MA, A N and YUSOF, B (1995).

Production and evaluation of palm oil methyl esters
LCIA of this study shows that the environmental as diesel substitute, Elaeis Special Issue: 5-25.
impact from the production of palm biodiesel is
related to the use of methanol, while the use of CHOO, Y M; ONG, S H; CHEAH, K Y and ABU
palm biodiesel contributes to the impact categories BAKAR, S N (1992). Production of alkyl esters from
of respiratory inorganics and acidification/ oils and fats. Australian patent No. AU 626014.
eutrophication. In spite of these, the production
and use of palm biodiesel is more environmental- CHOO, Y M; MA, A N; CHEAH, K Y; RUSNANI, A
friendly as compared to petroleum diesel. M; YAP, A K C; LAU, H L N; CHENG, S F; YUNG,
C L; PUAH, C W; NG, M H and YUSOF, B (2005).
Palm diesel: green and renewable fuel from palm
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