Abstract
Purpose
Bio-jet fuel derived from energy crops has been promoted by governments around the world through policies such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. The environmental impact and techno-economic analysis of bio-jet fuel are particularly pertinent to China because China is under huge pressure to reduce emissions, endeavouring to meet bio-economic goals.
Methods
An LCA study was conducted on the production of bio-jet fuel from jatropha and castor by estimating the well-to-wake emissions and its economic impact. The functional unit was 1 MJ of bio-jet fuel, and field survey data was used in inventory analysis. A scenario analysis was performed to measure diverse conditions, including the planting conditions, planting regions, allocation methods, and hydrogen sources. A techno-economic analysis that combined the production costs and co-product credits was performed to calculate the minimum bio-jet fuel selling price (MJSP) based on a plant capacity of 2400 metric tonnes of feedstock per day.
Results and discussion
Compared to the environmental impacts to the fossil jet fuel, the use of biofuel would reduce the majority environmental impacts by 36–85%, when a 1:1 displacement of fossil jet fuel is considered, though the human toxicity potential impact was 100% higher. The scenario analysis indicated that (i) planting castor in harsh and unevenly distributed conditions and jatropha in stable or fertile conditions can leverage their respective advantage; (ii) the global warming potential (GWP) from castor planting in the region of north-east China ranges from 34 to 48 g CO2 eq/MJ; (iii) the GWP produced through the steam methane reforming process can be reduced by 16–17%, using advances in technological processes. The MJSP for fuel produced from jatropha and castor under the basic scenario is estimated to be 5.68 and 4.66 CNY/kg, respectively, which falls within the current market price range of 4.5–7.5 CNY/kg.
Conclusions
Bio-jet fuel from jatropha and castor oilseeds offers potential environmental benefits if they can reduce fossil jet fuel on an energy-equivalent basis. However, these benefits are likely to be reduced by the rebound effect of the fuel market. Future research is needed to better understand the magnitude of the rebound effect in China and what policy interventions can be implemented to alleviate it. Scenario analysis demonstrated the feasibility and potential of bio-jet fuel development from multiple perspectives and technological progress are conducive to the realization of environmental protection policies.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bailis R, Baka J (2010) Greenhouse gas emissions and land use change from jatropha curcas-based jet fuel in Brazil. Environ Sci Technol 44(22):8684–8691. https://doi.org/10.1021/es1019178
Bateni H, Karimi K (2016) Biodiesel production from castor plant integrating ethanol production via a biorefinery approach. Chem Eng Res Des 107:4–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2015.08.014
Blanco-Marigorta AM, Suárez-Medina J, Vera-Castellano A (2013) Exergetic analysis of a biodiesel production process from Jatropha curcas. Appl Eng 101:218–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.05.037
Davis SC, House JI, Diaz-Chavez RA, Molnar A, Valin H, Delucia EH (2011) How can land-use modelling tools inform bioenergy policies? Interface Focus 1:212–223. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2010.0023
de Jong S, Antonissen K, Hoefnagels R, Lonza L, Wang M, Faaij A, Junginger M (2017) Life-cycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from renewable jet fuel production. Biotechnol Biofuels 10:64. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-017-0739-7
Dettmer T, Ibbotson S, Ohlschlager G et al (2015) Technical applications of Jatropha oil—environmental effectiveness of renewable resources. Int J Life Cycle Ass 20:1376–1386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-015-0953-0
Efthymiou M, Papatheodorou A (2019) EU emissions trading scheme in aviation: policy analysis and suggestions. J Clean Prod 237:117734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117734
Fuentes A, García C, Hennecke A, Masera O (2018) Life cycle assessment of Jatropha curcas biodiesel production: a case study in Mexico. Clean Technol Envir 20:1721–1733. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-018-1558-7
Han J, Elgowainy A, Cai H, Wang MQ (2013) Life-cycle analysis of bio-based aviation fuels. Bioresour Technol 150:447–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2013.07.153
Hill J, Tajibaeva L, Polasky S (2016) Climate consequences of low-carbon fuels: the United States Renewable Fuel Standard. Energy Policy 97:351–353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.07.035
Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha H, Tabatabaei M, Aghbashlo M, Khanali M, Demirbas A (2018) A comprehensive review on the environmental impacts of diesel/biodiesel additives. Energ Convers Manage 174:579–614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2018.08.050
Hou J, Zhang P, Yuan X, Zheng Y (2011) Life cycle assessment of biodiesel from soybean, jatropha and microalgae in China conditions. Renew Sust Energ Rev 15:5081–5091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.048
Iribarren D, Susmozas A, Petrakopoulou F, Dufour J (2014) Environmental and exergetic evaluation of hydrogen production via lignocellulosic biomass gasification. J Clean Prod 69:165–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.01.068
Kalaivani K, Ravikumar G, Balasubramanian N (2014) Environmental impact studies of biodiesel production from Jatropha curcasin India by life cycle assessment. Environ Prog Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1002/ep.11913
Kaufman AS, Meier PJ, Sinistore JC, Reinemann DJ (2010) Applying life-cycle assessment to low carbon fuel standards—how allocation choices influence carbon intensity for renewable transportation fuels. Energ Policy 38:5229–5241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.05.008
Khoshnevisan B, Angelidaki I (2018) Biorefineries: focusing on a closed cycle approach with biogas as the final step. Fundamentals, Process, and Operation. Springer, Biogas, pp 277–303
Khoshnevisan B et al (2018) Life cycle assessment of castor-based biorefinery: a well to wheel LCA. Int J Life Cycle Ass 23:1788–1805. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-017-1383-y
Kumar S, Singh J, Nanoti SM, Garg MO (2012) A comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of Jatropha biodiesel production in India. Bioresource Technol 110:723–729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2012.01.142
Larsson J, Elofsson A, Sterner T, Åkerman J (2019) International and national climate policies for aviation: a review. Clim Policy 19:787–799. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2018.1562871
Liang S, Xu M, Zhang T (2013) Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production in China. Bioresource Technol 129:72–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2012.11.037
Liu G, Yan B, Chen G (2013a) Technical review on jet fuel production. Renew Sust Energ Rev 25:59–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.03.025
Liu H, Huang Y, Yuan H, Yin X, Wu C (2018) Life cycle assessment of biofuels in China: status and challenges. Renew Sust Energ Rev 97:301–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.08.052
Liu L, Zhuang D, Jiang D, Fu J (2013b) Assessment of the biomass energy potentials and environmental benefits of Jatropha curcas L. in Southwest China. Biomass Bioenerg 56:342–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2013.05.030
Mohammadmatin Hanifzadeh M-HS, Nabati Z, Tavakoli O, Feyzizarnagh H (2018) Technical, economic and energy assessment of an alternative strategy for mass production of biomass and lipid from microalgae. J Environ Chem Eng 6:866–873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2018.01.008
NDRC (2016) Notice of the NDRC on issuing the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" for renewable energy development. National Development and Reform Commission. Accessed 10 Dec 2016
Ou X, Zhang X, Chang S, Guo Q (2009) Energy consumption and GHG emissions of six biofuel pathways by LCA in (the) People’s Republic of China. Appl Energ 86:S197–S208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2009.04.045
Plevin R, O’Hare M, Jones A, Torn M, Gibbs H (2010) Greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels’ indirect land use change are uncertain but may be much greater than previously estimated. Environ Sci Technol 44:8015–8021. https://doi.org/10.1021/es101946t
Rajagopal D (2013) The fuel market effects of biofuel policies and implications for regulations based on lifecycle emissions. Environ Res Lett 8(2):024013. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024013
Rajagopal D, Plevin RJ (2013) Implications of market-mediated emissions and uncertainty for biofuel policies. Energy Policy 56:75–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.09.076
Sattanathan R (2013) Production of biodiesel from castor oil with its performance and emission test. Int J Sci Res 4:273–279
Scheelhaase J, Maertens S, Grimme W, Jung M (2018) EU ETS versus CORSIA — a critical assessment of two approaches to limit air transport’s CO 2 emissions by market-based measures. J Air Transp Manag 67:55–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2017.11.007
Somorin TO, Kolios AJ (2017) Prospects of deployment of Jatropha biodiesel-fired plants in Nigeria’s power sector. Energy 135:726–739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.06.152
Stratton RW, Wong HM, Hileman JI (2011) Quantifying variability in life cycle greenhouse gas inventories of alternative middle distillate transportation fuels. Environ Sci Technol 45:4637–4644. https://doi.org/10.1021/es102597f
Sun X, Liu J, Hong J et al (2016) Life cycle assessment of Chinese radial passenger vehicle tire. Int J Life Cycle Ass 21:1749–1758. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-016-1139-0
Susmozas A, Iribarren D, Dufour J (2013) Life-cycle performance of indirect biomass gasification as a green alternative to steam methane reforming for hydrogen production. Int J of Hydrogen Energ 38:9961–9972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.06.012
Tabatabaie SMH, Murthy GS (2016) Effect of geographical location and stochastic weather variation on life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from camelina in the northwestern USA. Int J Life Cycle Ass 22:867–882. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-016-1191-9
Tabatabaie SMH, Tahami H, Murthy GS (2018) A regional life cycle assessment and economic analysis of camelina biodiesel production in the Pacific Northwestern US. J Clean Prod 172:2389–2400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.11.172
Tian H, Li J, Yan M, Tong YW, Wang C-H, Wang X (2019) Organic waste to biohydrogen: a critical review from technological development and environmental impact analysis perspective. Appl Energy 256:113961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113961
Uusitalo V , Sanni Väisänen, Havukainen J et al (2014) Carbon footprint of renewable diesel from palm oil, jatropha oil and rapeseed oil[J]. Renew Energy 69(3):103–113.
Valente OS, da Silva MJ, Pasa VMD, Belchior CRP, Sodré JR (2010) Fuel consumption and emissions from a diesel power generator fuelled with castor oil and soybean biodiesel. Fuel 89:3637–3642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2010.07.041
Wei H, Liu W, Chen X, Yang Q, Li J, Chen H (2019) Renewable bio-jet fuel production for aviation: a review. Fuel 254:115599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.06.007
Wicke B, Verweij P, van Meijl H, van Vuuren DP, Faaij APC (2014) Indirect land use change: review of existing models and strategies for mitigation. Biofuels 3:87–100. https://doi.org/10.4155/bfs.11.154
Wong A, Zhang H, Kumar A (2016) Life cycle assessment of renewable diesel production from lignocellulosic biomass. Int J Life Cycle Ass 21:1404–1424. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-016-1107-8
Xinhuanet (2018) The first China Soil Acidification Response Summit was held in Guizhou Province. Xinhuanet. Accessed 10 May 2018
Yang H, Zhou Y, Liu J (2009) Land and water requirements of biofuel and implications for food ly and the environment in China. Energ Policy 37:1876–1885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.01.035
Yang Y, Tilman D (2020) Soil and root carbon storage is key to climate benefits of bioenergy crops. Biofuel Res J 7(2):1143–1148. https://doi.org/10.18331/BRJ2020.7.2.2
Zemanek D, Champagne P, Mabee W (2020) Review of life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions assessments of hydroprocessed renewable fuel (HEFA) from oilseeds. Biofuels. Bioprod Bioref 14:935–949. https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.2125
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. U1462206), NSFC-UKRI_EPSRC (51861165201), the China National Petroleum Corporation, and the Tsinghua University Tutor Research Fund for supporting this study. Give special thanks to the editor and reviewers, Dr. Jinping Tian and Dr Khoshnevisan Benyamin for their valuable contribution in improving the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Communicated by Yi Yang.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, H., Zhang, C., Tian, H. et al. Environmental and techno-economic analyses of bio-jet fuel produced from jatropha and castor oilseeds in China. Int J Life Cycle Assess 26, 1071–1084 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-021-01914-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-021-01914-0