Fig. 2 Flowchart for obtaining microalgal biodiesel in an integrated scenario. Adapted from
Monari et al. (2016)
Table 2 Bottlenecks of life cycle assessment implementation
Bottlenecks LCA
implementation
Comment
Purpose and scope
Difficulty of delimiting cycles and establishing the inputs and
outputs of process flows
Functional unit
It is very difficult to define equivalent quantities for different
products. The functional unit can be a technical context, such as the
amount of energy use or social functions, such as the mileage
traveled by biodiesel and its different depreciation rates
Allocation
The comparative evaluation between several virtual products that
have different functions. Here, it is important to know whether it is
better to develop a simpler product that produces some weak
pollutants and has fewer functions or if a more complex product is
created with additional functions and additional pollutants
Standardization
methodology
Standardize the means of computing the data. Since there are many
software programs on the market, it is necessary to verify the
veracity of these values stored in the databases
Environmental charges
There is a lack of understanding of impact categories and the
prioritization of these categories
Interpretation
Difficulty of interpretation and comparison with the data reported in
the literature
6 Life Cycle Assessment of Biofuels from Microalgae
149
Monari et al. (2016)
Table 2 Bottlenecks of life cycle assessment implementation
Bottlenecks LCA
implementation
Comment
Purpose and scope
Difficulty of delimiting cycles and establishing the inputs and
outputs of process flows
Functional unit
It is very difficult to define equivalent quantities for different
products. The functional unit can be a technical context, such as the
amount of energy use or social functions, such as the mileage
traveled by biodiesel and its different depreciation rates
Allocation
The comparative evaluation between several virtual products that
have different functions. Here, it is important to know whether it is
better to develop a simpler product that produces some weak
pollutants and has fewer functions or if a more complex product is
created with additional functions and additional pollutants
Standardization
methodology
Standardize the means of computing the data. Since there are many
software programs on the market, it is necessary to verify the
veracity of these values stored in the databases
Environmental charges
There is a lack of understanding of impact categories and the
prioritization of these categories
Interpretation
Difficulty of interpretation and comparison with the data reported in
the literature
6 Life Cycle Assessment of Biofuels from Microalgae
149