Rajeshwari Chatterjee

Environmental impact of vegetable oil-based bio-diesel by life cycle assessment for sustainable cleaner production

This paper deals with the comparative analysis of environmental impacts of bio-diesel produced from Jatrophacurcas, rapeseed, canola, soybean and palm oil, by applying the life cycle analysis (LCA). The environmental impact categories considered are global warming potential (GWP, carbon dioxide equivalents) and acidification potential (AP, sulphur dioxide equivalent). The results indicate advantages regarding energy resources and greenhouse gases (GHG), while the disadvantages related to acidification, eutrophication and nitrous oxide in case of Jatropha. Data collection was based on both primary survey as well as secondary review from a sample of 75 respondents. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine the significant difference between the populations means, based on data collected from sample means of the respective population.

Quantitative assessment of biodiesel production: A model-based scenarios of sustainable development

The paper discusses the “Clean Production” concept in which anthropogenic activities are compatible with ecosystems and essentially same as that of sustainable development. It is important for the eco-compatible biodiesel manufacturing that the production processes, product cycles, and consumption patterns contribute for human development and fulfils basic needs without degrading and disrupting the ecosystems. A Quantitative Assessment Model is proposed in this study to quantitatively assess the biodiesel production considering the scenarios of environmental, economic, and social aspects. The paper also suggests planning strategy so as to minimize the environmental, economic, and social degradation, and steps for implementing environmentally conscious design and manufacturing procedure.

Value stream mapping based on energy and cost system for biodiesel production

Organisations have to give more attention to customer demands for survival and also for increasing their market shares. But customers’ demands are not stable. The main problem of all organisations is how to cut costs during production process. The solution to this problem is built up with lean-based production systems. Value stream mapping identifies those areas where unwanted productivity is identified and removed. In this paper, negative energy for biodiesel production has been identified. Also the production cost is reduced by removing the unwanted production step. The new method of biodiesel production with double filtration method in place of transesterification method not only reduces production cost but also saves energy. The fuel produced from double filtration method was tested and the result indicated average load consumption is about 47%.

Life cycle assessment of energy performance of biodiesel produced from Jatropha curcas

Jatropha curcas has been widely considered as a potential feedstock for production of biodiesel in several tropical countries. Globally biodiesel is gaining importance because of its environmental advantages. This paper deals with the energy consumption for the biodiesel production from J. curcas. Two plantation models of Jatropha, perennial and annual harvesting and their energy benefits are considered. In perennial plantation, the biodiesel yield is more than the annual harvesting. On the other hand, overall energy output from the annual harvesting system is almost twice than that of perennial system. The energy benefits of Jatropha cultivation on two different types of soil (poor and normal soils) were evaluated with and without irrigation. The energy balance is also calculated on the basis of rainfall and different water level depth. The study estimated the net energy balance and net energy ratio for both the models and found that the energy values were high for both the systems.

Eco-efficiency from cradle to grave design system based on atmospheric conditions in the biodiesel manufacturing sector produced from Jatropha curcas for sustainable cleaner production

Environmental impacts associated with the use of fossil fuels and their potential limitations in supply are driving the development and use of biofuels. A customised framework for eco-efficiency in biodiesel processing sector was considered. The major concepts, definitions, framework assessment, cradle to grave inventory of eco-efficiency are also considered. The paper also gives a brief introduction to the use of indicators, especially environmental performance indicators and eco-efficiency indicators and describes the methodology to be used to assess the environmental impact of biodiesel. The environmental impacts are compared with the major biofuel producing crops like Jatropha, palm, soybean, canola and rapeseed. Different weighting techniques are used to present and evaluate the environmental characteristics of biodiesel produced from Jatropha curcas. With assistance of normalisation values the eco-efficiency was demonstrated