Triangle LCA on Piedmont Biofuels

Piedmont Biofuels Life Cycle
Assessment Case-Study
An Impact Assessment for a Pittsboro, NC Biodiesel Producer
Outline
!   Environmental impact of transportation fuels
!   What is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?
!   Piedmont Biofuels
!   Background
!   Methods
!   Results
!   Conclusions
!   Moving forward
Transportation Fuel
!   Transportation GHG
emissions (2010 impact)
!   ~ 27 % of total U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions
!   45% net increase in total
U.S. greenhouse gas
emissions from 1990-2010.
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/basicinfo.htm
Transportation Fuel
!   Conventional petroleum fuel
!   Emits anthropogenic CO2
!   Dependence on foreign oil
U.S. Energy Production and Consumption, 1960-2025
(quadrillion Btu)
140
Consumption
120
36%
100
Net imports
26%
80
Production
60
40
20
History
0
1960
1970
www.iea.gov
1980
Projections
1990
2000
2010
2025
Renewable Fuel Standards
•  Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
• 
Reduce GHG emissions by 138 million metric tons when fully
implemented in 2022
• 
Equivalent of removing 27 million cars off the road
• 
Reduce dependence on fossil fuels
Lifecycle GHG Thresholds Specified in
EISA
(percent reduction from 2005 baseline)
Renewable fuel
20%
Advanced biofuel
50%
Biomass-based diesel
50%
Cellulosic biofuel
60%
Outline
!   Environmental impact of transportation fuels
!   What is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?
!   Piedmont Biofuels
!   Background
!   Methods
!   Results
!   Conclusions
!   Moving forward
Important Aspects of Life Cycle Assessment
Goal and Scope
Definition
Inventory Analysis
Impact Assessment
Interpretation
Defining Goals and Scope
!   Goals
!
!
!
!
!
 
 
 
 
 
Should state the intent of the study
Intended application
Intended use
Intended audience
Should also include reason for the study
!   Scope
!   Define functional unit of product
!   Establish system boundaries for the LCA
!   Determine data collection methods
Important Aspects of Life Cycle Assessment
Goal and Scope
Definition
Inventory Analysis
Impact Assessment
Interpretation
Life Cycle Inventory
Four steps:
1. 
Develop a flow diagram of the processes being evaluated.
2. 
Develop a data collection plan.
3. 
Collect data.
4. 
Evaluate and report results.
LCA Modeling
•  Utilizing openLCA software.
•  System of organizing and evaluating emissions data
•  Thousands of substances in database
•  Many impact assessment methods
•  The only comprehensive open-source LCA software
package
Important Aspects of Life Cycle Assessment
Goal and Scope
Definition
Inventory Analysis
Impact Assessment
Interpretation
Impact Assessment
•  Describes the environmental consequences of the
emissions quantified in the inventory analysis.
•  Why?
•  Simplifies data sets
•  Easier communication of results
•  Improve readability of results
•  Categorizes hundreds of emissions down into 15 or less
impact categories
Classification
From LCI:
Carbon dioxide
GHG Effect
Chlorofluorocarbons
Methane
NOx
Ground Level
Ozone
Acid Rain
VOC
Pollutants
Environmental
Effects
•  Classification sorts pollutants according to the effects they have on the environment
Characterization
Multiplication factor
1kg
1kg
Carbon dioxide
Methane
X1
X 24
1kg CO2 eq
GHG Effect
24 kg CO2 eq
(units of kg
of CO2 eq)
Not all pollutants are created equally
Reference: http://www.epa.gov/RDEE/energy-resources/calculator.html#results
Outline
!   Environmental impact of transportation fuels
!   What is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?
!   Piedmont Biofuels
!   Background
!   Methods
!   Results
!   Conclusions
!   Moving forward
Piedmont Biofuels
!   Production level – 126,803 gallons in
2011 from Waste vegetable oil (WVO)
!   Only in-state (NC) supplier to state
government fleet
!   Co-op that sells at a premium (higher than
fossil-based diesel price)
Stltoday.com
!   Past Studies
!   2008 LCA – Net Energy Ratio (NER)
and Greenhouse Gases (GHG) –
rendered fats feedstock
!   2011 LCA – Focused on alternative
rendered fat markets and impact of
biodiesel production
Treehugger.com
Current Study Goals
!   Calculate Net Energy Ratio (NER) and
Greenhouse Gases (GHG)
!   Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) feedstock
!   Compared to poultry fat feedstock
!   Compare to conventional diesel
!   Help Piedmont identify high impact areas
Biodiesel
!   Compare Piedmont Biofuel to the
Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions,
and Energy Use in Transportation
(GREET) model’s biodiesel scenario
Glycerin
Study Scope
!   ‘Cradle-to-grave’ system boundary
!   Geographic scope:
!   Harvest of soybeans and corn from within the US
!   Collection of WVO from within NC
!   Distribution and use of biodiesel within NC
!   Temporal Scope: Based on 2011 data
!   Technological scope includes:
!   Traditional transesterification process
!   Collection/distribution using diesel tankers fueled with
B100
!   GREET and OpenLCA used for LCA analysis
System Boundary
Cradle-to-grave system boundary of biodiesel production from WVO
Functional Unit: 1 MJ of liquid fuel*
*combusted for transportation in a light-duty passenger vehicle
System Boundary
Cradle-to-grave system boundary of biodiesel production from WVO
Functional Unit: 1 MJ of liquid fuel*
*combusted for transportation in a light-duty passenger vehicle
Study Approach
Four Scenarios Modeled:
1.  Piedmont Biodiesel
2.  Piedmont Biodiesel with 100% of agricultural
burdens included
3.  Biodiesel (GREET)
4.  Conventional Diesel (GREET)
LCI Data from:
!   GREET Model
!   United States Life Cycle Inventory (from NREL)
Impact Assessment:
! openLCA
!   TRACI Impact Assessment Method
Mass and Energy Balance
Life Cycle Inventory
Process Flow Data
Category
Waste Vegetable Oil
Filtered WVO
Biodiesel Produced
Biodiesel Produced
Methanol
Potassium Hydroxide
Sulfuric Acid
Filter Aid
Glycerine
Process Water
Waste-­‐water
Electricity from Grid
Electricity from Solar
Heat from FFA Boiler
Value
529,737
374,316
331,426
62,006,311
67,920
6,898
113
2,150
118,942
117,861
129,180
373,921
n/a
1,636,847
Units
kg/year
kg/year
kg/year
MJ/year
kg/year
kg/year
kg/year
kg/year
kg/year
kg/year
kg/year
kWh
kWh
MJ/year
WVO and Biodiesel Transportation
Diesel Transportation Pittsboro
Carrboro
Raleigh
Burlington
Moncure
Private
Four Oaks Wholesaler*
Biodiesel at Pump (blended)*
WVO to Piedmont Biofuels
Total
* Diesel Transport Used
kg/year Kilometers Tonne*km
37,975
0
0
30,426
26
796
20,279
53
1095
12,665
56
725
10,288
16
168
23,826
0
0
282,535
105
15
282,535
80
12
529,737
40
21,660
1,230,266
377
24,471
LCA Software
Life Cycle Impact Assessment
100
80
GWP (g CO2 eq.) Per MJ Fuel
60
Biodiesel with no Feedstock Burden
Biodiesel with Feedstock Burden
GREET Biodiesel
GREET Diesel
40
20
0
-20
-40
-60
-80
-100
Feedstock
Fuel Production
Vehicle Operation
Net
Life Cycle Impact Assessment
100
80
GWP (g CO2 eq.) Per MJ Fuel
60
Biodiesel with no Feedstock Burden
Biodiesel with Feedstock Burden
GREET Biodiesel
GREET Diesel
40
Biodiesel Biodiesel with 20
No Burden Feedstock Burden GREET Biodiesel GREET Diesel
Process
Feedstock
-­‐75.82
-­‐67.13
-­‐67.13
7.54
0
Fuel Production
3.20
3.20
11.05
11.55
-20
Vehicle Operation
76.37
76.37
76.37
75.49
12.45
20.29
94.58
Net 3.76
-40
Percent reduction over diesel 96%
87%
79%
-­‐
Units
g CO2-­‐eq/MJ
g CO2-­‐eq/MJ
g CO2-­‐eq/MJ
g CO2-­‐eq/MJ
g CO2-­‐eq/MJ
-60
-80
-100
Feedstock
Fuel Production
Vehicle Operation
Net
Renewable Fuel Standards
Lifecycle GHG Thresholds Specified in
EISA
(percent reduction from 2005 baseline)
Renewable fuel
20%
Advanced Advanced iofuel
iofuel
0% 0% Advanced bbb
iofuel 5 5550%
0% Advanced
biofuel
Biomass-based diesel
50%
Cellulosic biofuel
60%
Energy Independence and Security Act, 2007
Renewable Fuel Standards
Lifecycle GHG Thresholds Specified in
EISA
(percent reduction from 2005 baseline)
Renewable fuel
20%
Advanced biofuel
biofuel 550%
0% Advanced
Biomass-based diesel
50%
Cellulosic biofuel
60%
Energy Independence and Security Act, 2007
Net Energy Ratio (NER)
𝑁𝐸𝑅 = /𝐸𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 + 𝐸𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
𝐸𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
+ 𝐸𝑀𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑙 + 𝐸𝐾𝑂𝐻 + 𝐸𝑊𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 − 𝐸𝐺𝑙𝑦𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑙 A
• 2008 NER: 2.54:1 (NCSU)
• Feedstock – Poultry Fat
• Natural gas heating
• 2011 NER: 7.85:1 (Triangle LCA)
• Feedstock - WVO
• Increased process efficiencies
Conclusions
!   Use of biodiesel from piedmont biofuels
!   Reduces GHG emissions by as much as 96%
!   Decreases fossil fuel use 7.8:1
!   Waste vegetable oil (WVO)
!   Lowest environmental impact
!   Environmental “hot spots”
!   Electricity consumption
!   Energy consumption during conversion
Moving Forward
!   Piedmont Biofuels Process Changes: 2012
!   Solar array
!   Enzymatic conversion
!   How do these changes
impact the
environment?
!   How can Piedmont
Biofuels be the industry
leader in clean biodiesel production?
Moving Forward
!   Piedmont Biofuels Process Changes: 2012
!   Solar array
!   Enzymatic conversion
!   How do these changes
impact the
environment?
!   How can Piedmont
Biofuels be the industry
leader in clean biodiesel production?
Life Cycle Assessment
How Can LCA Help You?
!   Environmental awareness will continue to grow
!   Demand for green products will continue to grow
!   Life Cycle Assessment will can help harness these
new markets
!   Become a leader in sustainability…offer your
customers environmentally friendly products
Want to know more about LCA?
info@trianglelca.com
1-877-525-TLCA
How Can LCA Help You?
!   Environmental awareness will continue to grow
!   Demand for green products will continue to grow
!   Life Cycle Assessment will can help harness these
new markets
!   Become a leader in sustainability…offer your
customers environmentally friendly products
Want to know more about LCA?
info@trianglelca.com
1-877-525-TLCA
Questions?
References
ASTM, (2012) "D6751-11b Standard Specification for Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock (B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels." ASTM D6751.American Society for Testing and
Materials.<http://enterprise.astm.org/filtrexx40.cgi?+REDLINE_PAGES/D6751.htm>.
Bare, Jane C, Gregory A Norris, and David W Pennington. (2003) “TRACI 2.0:The Tool for the Reduction of Chemical and other Environmental Impacts.” Journal of Industrial
Ecology 6.3-4: 49-78.
Daystar, Jesse S., Carter W. Reeb, Ronalds Gonzalez, Trevor Treasure, Richard Venditti, Stephen Kelley and Bob Abt. (2012) “Integrated supply chain, delivered costs and life
cycle assessment of several lignocellulosic supply systems for biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts in the southern U.S.” Biofuels, Biorefinery & Bioresources. In Print.
Del Grosso, S. J., Mosier, A. R., Parton, W. J., & Ojima, D. S. (2005). Daycent model analysis of past and contemporary soil n2o and net greenhouse gas flux for major crops in
the USA. Soil and Tillage Research, 83, 9-24.
Ecoinvent Database. (2012). Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, <http://www.ecoinvent.org/database/>.
GreenDeltaTC (2007) "The OpenLCA Project and Software."Modular Open Source Software for Sustainability Assessment.Web.<http://www.openlca.org/index.html>.
Huo, Hong, Michael Wang, Cary Bloyd, and Vicky Putsche. (2009). "Life-Cycle Assessment of Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Soybean-Derived Biodiesel and
Renewable Fuels." Environmental Science and Technology 43: 750-756.
IPCC, (2007) "Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and in Radiative Forcing."IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4).Online, 2007.129-234. Inter-governmental Panel on
Climate Change.Web.<http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter2.pdf>.
Jørgensen, Andreas, Paul Bikker, and Ivan T. Herrmann. (2005) “Assessing the greenhouse gas emissions from poultry fat biodiesel.” Journal of Cleaner Production 24: 85-91.
Kim, S. and B.E. Dale, (2005) “Life cycle assessment of various cropping systems utilized for producing biofuels: Bioethanol and biodiesel.” Biomass and Bioenergy, 29(6): p.
426-439.
Knothe, Gerhard. "Dependence of Biodiesel Fuel Properties on the Structure of Fatty Acid Alkyl Esters. (2005) "Fuel Processing Technology 86: 1059-1070. Web.<http://
ddr.nal.usda.gov/dspace/bitstream/10113/272/1/IND43921508.pdf>.
Lardon, L., Helias, A., Sialve, B., Steyer, J.-, & Bernard, O. (2009). Life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from microalgae. Environmental Science & Technology, 43(17),
6475-6481. Retrieved from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es900705j
Lopez, Dora E, Joseph C Mullins, and David A Bruce. (2010). “Energy Life Cycle Assessment for the Production of Biodiesel from Rendered Lipids in the United States.”
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 49: 2419-2432.
Microsoft. (2010). Microsoft Excel Software. Redmond, Washington: Microsoft.
Mu, Dongyan, Thomas Seager, P S. Rao, and Fu Zhao. (2010). "Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production: Biochemical versus Thermochemical
Conversion." Environmental Management 46: 565-578.
National Renewable Energy Labs (2012), “United States Life Cycle Inventory”, downloaded database.
National Biodiesel Accreditation Program (2012) BQ 9000. Biodiesel Quality Management System. http://www.bq-9000.org/
ORNL, "Bioenergy Conversion Factors."(2012) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, <https://bioenergy.ornl.gov/papers/misc/energy_conv.html>.
Piedmont Biofuels Industrial, LLC. (2012) BQ 9000 Accreditation. website: http://www.biofuels/coop/fuels/bq-9000
Terry, S.D., A. Hobbs, Rachel Burton and M. Flickinger. (2009). “Energy Balance for Piedmont Biofuels in the Production of Biodiesel Using Rendered Chicken Fat for 2008.”
White Paper: 1-8.
US EPA."Renwable Fuels Standard."Fuels And Fuel Additives. United State Environmental Protection Agency, 22 Mar. 2012. Web.<http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/
renewablefuels/>.
"US Life Cycle Inventory. (2012) " National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Web. <http://www.nrel.gov/lci/>.
Wang, M. (2001). Development and use of GREET 1.6 fuel-cycle model for transportation fuels and vehicle technologies, Argonne National Lab., IL (US).
Wang, Michael. (1999) "The Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) Model Version 1.5." Center for Transportation Research,
Argonne National Laboratory, <http://www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/264.pdf>.
Triangle Life Cycle Assessment
Mission: Create product value through
preserving the environment
Directors
!   Jesse Daystar
!   Chemical engineer, Paper and Pulp Engineer, M.S. Forest
Biomaterials, Ph.D. candidate Forest Biomaterials
!   Steven Pires
!   B.S. Environmental Technology, M.S. Forest Biomaterials
!   Carter Reeb
!   B.S. Environmental Technology, Ph.D. candidate Forest
Biomaterials
!   Grant Culbertson
!   B.S. Chemical Engineering, B.S. Paper and Pulp
Engineering
Leveraging Academic Talent
!   Dr. Richard Venditti
!   Expert in LCA and paper recycling
!   Dr. Hassan Jameel
!   Expert in biofuels production
!   Expert in paper pulping processes
!   Dr. Ronalds Gonzales
!   Expert financial in modeling and analysis
!   Dr. Robert Bruck
!   Renowned environmental scientist and leader in
environmental conservation
!   Trevor Trevor (Ph.D. candidate)
!   Process modeling expert
Partners
Services
!   Greenhouse gas analysis
!   Energy analysis
!   Environmental product declarations
!   Life cycle assessment education
!   LCA software training
!   Sustainability initiatives
!   Green marketing support
What are your impacts?
Find out with Triangle Life Cycle Assessment…
Phone: 1-877-525-TLCA
Email: info@trainglelca.com
Online: www.trianglelca.com