IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v153y2020icp588-600.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Used-cooking-oil biodiesel: Life cycle assessment and comparison with first- and third-generation biofuel

Author

Listed:
  • Foteinis, Spyros
  • Chatzisymeon, Efthalia
  • Litinas, Alexandros
  • Tsoutsos, Theocharis

Abstract

The environmental sustainability of second-generation biodiesel (used-cooking-oil) was examined, at industrial-scale, in Greece. The total carbon and environmental footprint per tonne of biodiesel production was ∼0.55t CO2eq (i.e. ∼14g CO2eq/MJ) and 58.37 Pt, respectively. This is ∼40% lower compared to first-generation biodiesel, an order of magnitude lower than the third-generation (microalgae), since the latter is not a fully-fledged technology yet. A threefold reduction in environmental impacts was observed compared to petrodiesel. Environmental hotspots include energy inputs to drive the process, followed by methanol (CH3OH) and potassium methoxide (CH3KO) consumption. Glycerol (C3H8O3) and potassium sulfate (K2SO4), both process co-products, resulted to avoided environmental burdens. Furthermore, used-cooking-oil valorisation for biodiesel production can address water pollution concerns from its disposal to the sewage system. The total distance and means of transport were found to influence the system’s environmental sustainability. Strong incentives for used-cooking-oil recycling, widespread collection systems, and biodiesel supply chain optimization are still pending in Greece, Europe, and further afield. Given its overall low environmental footprint and capability to be produced at commercial scales, the second-generation biodiesel, which currently represents 15% of the biodiesel market in Greece, could act as a stepping-stone in decarbonizing Europe’s transport sector and improving supply and energy security.

Suggested Citation

  • Foteinis, Spyros & Chatzisymeon, Efthalia & Litinas, Alexandros & Tsoutsos, Theocharis, 2020. "Used-cooking-oil biodiesel: Life cycle assessment and comparison with first- and third-generation biofuel," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 588-600.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:153:y:2020:i:c:p:588-600
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2020.02.022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148120302081
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2020.02.022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tsoutsos, T.D. & Tournaki, S. & Paraíba, O. & Kaminaris, S.D., 2016. "The Used Cooking Oil-to-biodiesel chain in Europe assessment of best practices and environmental performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 74-83.
    2. César, Aldara da Silva & Werderits, Dayana Elizabeth & de Oliveira Saraiva, Gabriela Leal & Guabiroba, Ricardo César da Silva, 2017. "The potential of waste cooking oil as supply for the Brazilian biodiesel chain," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 246-253.
    3. Racar, Marko & Faraguna, Fabio & Glasovac, Zoran & Jukić, Ante, 2020. "Experimental modeling and optimization of biodiesel production from waste cooking oil and ethanol using N,N′,N″-tris(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-guanidine as catalyst," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 2374-2379.
    4. Mandolesi de Araújo, Carlos Daniel & de Andrade, Claudia Cristina & de Souza e Silva, Erika & Dupas, Francisco Antonio, 2013. "Biodiesel production from used cooking oil: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 445-452.
    5. Hajjari, Masoumeh & Tabatabaei, Meisam & Aghbashlo, Mortaza & Ghanavati, Hossein, 2017. "A review on the prospects of sustainable biodiesel production: A global scenario with an emphasis on waste-oil biodiesel utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 445-464.
    6. Emilio Font de Mora & César Torres & Antonio Valero, 2015. "Thermoeconomic Analysis of Biodiesel Production from Used Cooking Oils," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-15, May.
    7. Vadery, Vinu & Cherikkallinmel, Sudha Kochiyil & Ramakrishnan, Resmi M. & Sugunan, Sankaran & Narayanan, Binitha N., 2019. "Green production of biodiesel over waste borosilicate glass derived catalyst and the process up-gradation in pilot scale," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1042-1053.
    8. Aboelazayem, Omar & Gadalla, Mamdouh & Saha, Basudeb, 2018. "Valorisation of high acid value waste cooking oil into biodiesel using supercritical methanolysis: Experimental assessment and statistical optimisation on typical Egyptian feedstock," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 408-420.
    9. Talens Peiró, L. & Lombardi, L. & Villalba Méndez, G. & Gabarrell i Durany, X., 2010. "Life cycle assessment (LCA) and exergetic life cycle assessment (ELCA) of the production of biodiesel from used cooking oil (UCO)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 889-893.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nurulfarah Adilah Rosmahadi & Wai-Hong Leong & Hemamalini Rawindran & Yeek-Chia Ho & Mardawani Mohamad & Noraini A. Ghani & Mohammed J. K. Bashir & Anwar Usman & Man-Kee Lam & Jun-Wei Lim, 2021. "Assuaging Microalgal Harvesting Woes via Attached Growth: A Critical Review to Produce Sustainable Microalgal Feedstock," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-24, October.
    2. Serqueira, Dalyelli S. & Pereira, Jian F.S. & Squissato, André L. & Rodrigues, Mônica A. & Lima, Renata C. & Faria, Anízio M. & Richter, Eduardo M. & Munoz, Rodrigo A.A., 2021. "Oxidative stability and corrosivity of biodiesel produced from residual cooking oil exposed to copper and carbon steel under simulated storage conditions: Dual effect of antioxidants," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1485-1495.
    3. Long, Feng & Liu, Weiguo & Jiang, Xia & Zhai, Qiaolong & Cao, Xincheng & Jiang, Jianchun & Xu, Junming, 2021. "State-of-the-art technologies for biofuel production from triglycerides: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    4. Isler-Kaya, Asli & Karaosmanoglu, Filiz, 2022. "Life cycle assessment of safflower and sugar beet molasses-based biofuels," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 1127-1138.
    5. Binhweel, Fozy & Pyar, Hassan & Senusi, Wardah & Shaah, Marwan Abdulhakim & Hossain, Md Sohrab & Ahmad, Mardiana Idayu, 2023. "Utilization of marine ulva lactuca seaweed and freshwater azolla filiculoides macroalgae feedstocks toward biodiesel production: Kinetics, thermodynamics, and optimization studies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 717-730.
    6. Norouzian Baghani, Abbas & Sadjadi, Sodeh & Yaghmaeian, Kamyar & Hossein Mahvi, Amir & Yunesian, Masud & Nabizadeh, Ramin, 2022. "Solid alcohol biofuel based on waste cooking oil: Preparation, properties, micromorphology, heating value optimization and its application as candle wax," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 617-630.
    7. Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha, Homa & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Kalogirou, Soteris A. & Gupta, Vijai Kumar & Park, Young-Kwon & Fallahi, Alireza & Sulaiman, Alawi & Ranjbari, Meisam & Rahnama, Hassan & Aghbashl, 2022. "Environmental life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from waste cooking oil: A systematic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    8. Kodgire, Pravin & Sharma, Anvita & Kachhwaha, Surendra Singh, 2023. "Optimization and kinetics of biodiesel production of Ricinus communis oil and used cottonseed cooking oil employing synchronised ‘ultrasound + microwave’ and heterogeneous CaO catalyst," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 320-332.
    9. Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha, Homa & Tan, Yie Hua & Kansedo, Jibrail & Mubarak, N.M. & Liew, Rock Keey & Yek, Peter Nai Yuh & Aghbashlo, Mortaza & Ng, Hui Suan & Chong, William Woei Fong & Lam, Su Shiung & , 2023. "Assessing biodiesel production using palm kernel shell-derived sulfonated magnetic biochar from the life cycle assessment perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    10. Galusnyak, Stefan Cristian & Petrescu, Letitia & Cormos, Calin-Cristian, 2022. "Classical vs. reactive distillation technologies for biodiesel production: An environmental comparison using LCA methodology," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 289-299.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tsoutsos, T.D. & Tournaki, S. & Paraíba, O. & Kaminaris, S.D., 2016. "The Used Cooking Oil-to-biodiesel chain in Europe assessment of best practices and environmental performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 74-83.
    2. Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha, Homa & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Kalogirou, Soteris A. & Gupta, Vijai Kumar & Park, Young-Kwon & Fallahi, Alireza & Sulaiman, Alawi & Ranjbari, Meisam & Rahnama, Hassan & Aghbashl, 2022. "Environmental life cycle assessment of biodiesel production from waste cooking oil: A systematic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    3. Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali & Abdi, Reza & Tabatabaei, Meisam, 2017. "Expanded polystyrene waste application for improving biodiesel environmental performance parameters from life cycle assessment point of view," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 278-298.
    4. Zhao, Yuanhao & Wang, Changbo & Zhang, Lixiao & Chang, Yuan & Hao, Yan, 2021. "Converting waste cooking oil to biodiesel in China: Environmental impacts and economic feasibility," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    5. Khounani, Zahra & Hosseinzadeh-Bandbafha, Homa & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Sulaiman, Alawi & Goli, Sayed Amir Hossein & Tavassoli-Kafrani, Elham & Ghaffari, Akram & Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali & Kim, Ki-Hyun, 2020. "Unlocking the potential of walnut husk extract in the production of waste cooking oil-based biodiesel," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    6. Li, Xin & Luo, Xingyi & Jin, Yangbin & Li, Jinyan & Zhang, Hongdan & Zhang, Aiping & Xie, Jun, 2018. "Heterogeneous sulfur-free hydrodeoxygenation catalysts for selectively upgrading the renewable bio-oils to second generation biofuels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3762-3797.
    7. Maranduba, Henrique Leonardo & Robra, Sabine & Nascimento, Iracema Andrade & da Cruz, Rosenira Serpa & Rodrigues, Luciano Brito & Almeida Neto, José Adolfo de, 2016. "Improving the energy balance of microalgae biodiesel: Synergy with an autonomous sugarcane ethanol distillery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P1), pages 888-895.
    8. Thushari, Indika & Babel, Sandhya & Samart, Chanatip, 2019. "Biodiesel production in an autoclave reactor using waste palm oil and coconut coir husk derived catalyst," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 125-134.
    9. Costa, Marina Weyl & Oliveira, Amir A.M., 2022. "Social life cycle assessment of feedstocks for biodiesel production in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    10. Kanjaikaew, Utaiwan & Tongurai, Chakrit & Chongkhong, Sininart & Prasertsit, Kulchanat, 2018. "Two-step esterification of palm fatty acid distillate in ethyl ester production: Optimization and sensitivity analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 336-344.
    11. Yesilyurt, Murat Kadir, 2019. "The effects of the fuel injection pressure on the performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with waste cooking oil biodiesel-diesel blends," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 649-666.
    12. Iriarte, Alfredo & Rieradevall, Joan & Gabarrell, Xavier, 2012. "Transition towards a more environmentally sustainable biodiesel in South America: The case of Chile," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 263-273.
    13. Mansir, Nasar & Teo, Siow Hwa & Rashid, Umer & Saiman, Mohd Izham & Tan, Yen Ping & Alsultan, G. Abdulkareem & Taufiq-Yap, Yun Hin, 2018. "Modified waste egg shell derived bifunctional catalyst for biodiesel production from high FFA waste cooking oil. A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3645-3655.
    14. Mohammed Kamil & Fatima M. Almarashda, 2023. "Economic Viability and Engine Performance Evaluation of Biodiesel Derived from Desert Palm Date Seeds," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-22, February.
    15. José Hidalgo-Crespo & César I. Alvarez-Mendoza & Manuel Soto & Jorge Luis Amaya-Rivas, 2022. "Towards a Circular Economy Development for Household Used Cooking Oil in Guayaquil: Quantification, Characterization, Modeling, and Geographical Mapping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, August.
    16. Ambat, Indu & Srivastava, Varsha & Sillanpää, Mika, 2018. "Recent advancement in biodiesel production methodologies using various feedstock: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 356-369.
    17. Asmat Ullah Khan & Lizhen Huang, 2023. "Toward Zero Emission Construction: A Comparative Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Diesel, Hybrid, and Electric Excavators," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-18, August.
    18. Huang, Chang & Hou, Hongjuan & Yu, Gang & Zhang, Le & Hu, Eric, 2020. "Energy solutions for producing shale oil: Characteristics of energy demand and economic analysis of energy supply options," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    19. Suiuay, Chokchai & Laloon, Kittipong & Katekaew, Somporn & Senawong, Kritsadang & Noisuwan, Phakamat & Sudajan, Somposh, 2020. "Effect of gasoline-like fuel obtained from hard-resin of Yang (Dipterocarpus alatus) on single cylinder gasoline engine performance and exhaust emissions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 634-645.
    20. Cao, Yan & Doustgani, Amir & Salehi, Abozar & Nemati, Mohammad & Ghasemi, Amir & Koohshekan, Omid, 2020. "The economic evaluation of establishing a plant for producing biodiesel from edible oil wastes in oil-rich countries: Case study Iran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:153:y:2020:i:c:p:588-600. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.