"Well to well" life cycle assessment for biodiesel production

A methodology, known as from the well to well, is proposed for the life cycle assessment of biodiesel production. The environmental impacts generated in the biodiesel production from castor oil are evaluated, taking into account that a percentage of the total residues is fixed by the nature due to the different biogeochemical cycles. Data and calculation procedures were collected in order to quantify the most important inputs and outputs of the system studied in a specific Colombian scenario; the biogeochemical cycles were integrated along with the models pertaining to the different phases of the cultivation, the industrial transformation, the use as biofuel and the residual disposal. The categories of impact studied include climate change, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical smog formation, respiratory effects, and non-renewable energy, so it is possible to obtain the environmental profile of the system studied. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 8th World Congress of Chemical Engineering (Montreal, Quebec, Canada 8/23-27/2009).