Yet, it should be noted that in the three scenarios presented, such as the generation of biodiesel, microalgae meal, or pigments, the system can be allocated in
three fundamental stages in the collection, centrifugation, and drying process,
which is extremely important for the production of dry biomass. In addition, it is
known that these unit operations are those that require the most power from the
system. Many studies that use the LCA as a tool erroneously determine the NER
with less than 1, rendering the process of obtaining biodiesel by microalgae
impossible.
In this context, in order for the application of the life cycle analysis does not
make the microalgal biofuels process unfeasible, this methodology needs to combat
some implementation bottlenecks. Table 2 lists the major obstacles that must be
overcome before the LCA can be fully utilized as a standard environmental tool.
4 Application of LCA to Biofuels from Microalgae
In the case of microalgae, it is possible to use the LCA tool to apply to the process
in order to define the environmental performance of biofuels. The baseline data to
be quantified were adapted from Monari et al. (2016), where the energy values were
expressed by hours/day and the units of volume and atmospheric emissions
expressed per day.
First step: The aim of the application is to evaluate the energy demand in its
environmental character in order to reveal the feasibility of this process to obtain
microalgal biodiesel. The chosen alternative was to establish a simplified flow
diagram of the process only for the measurement of the inputs and outputs of the
procurement process, not taking into account the demands of materials required to
manufacture the equipment. As a functional unit, 1 cubic meter of bioreactor volume was established, with the operating time of 24 h per day for 330 days per year.
The target audience is to generate the final report, presenting perspectives on the
application in a real scale of the process.
Second step: Data collection implies the quantification of system inputs.
Therefore, it is necessary to fully clarify the energy demands of the equipment
related to the process. Therefore, the equations related to their respective classes are
applied (Box 1).
150
M. C. Deprá et al.
three fundamental stages in the collection, centrifugation, and drying process,
which is extremely important for the production of dry biomass. In addition, it is
known that these unit operations are those that require the most power from the
system. Many studies that use the LCA as a tool erroneously determine the NER
with less than 1, rendering the process of obtaining biodiesel by microalgae
impossible.
In this context, in order for the application of the life cycle analysis does not
make the microalgal biofuels process unfeasible, this methodology needs to combat
some implementation bottlenecks. Table 2 lists the major obstacles that must be
overcome before the LCA can be fully utilized as a standard environmental tool.
4 Application of LCA to Biofuels from Microalgae
In the case of microalgae, it is possible to use the LCA tool to apply to the process
in order to define the environmental performance of biofuels. The baseline data to
be quantified were adapted from Monari et al. (2016), where the energy values were
expressed by hours/day and the units of volume and atmospheric emissions
expressed per day.
First step: The aim of the application is to evaluate the energy demand in its
environmental character in order to reveal the feasibility of this process to obtain
microalgal biodiesel. The chosen alternative was to establish a simplified flow
diagram of the process only for the measurement of the inputs and outputs of the
procurement process, not taking into account the demands of materials required to
manufacture the equipment. As a functional unit, 1 cubic meter of bioreactor volume was established, with the operating time of 24 h per day for 330 days per year.
The target audience is to generate the final report, presenting perspectives on the
application in a real scale of the process.
Second step: Data collection implies the quantification of system inputs.
Therefore, it is necessary to fully clarify the energy demands of the equipment
related to the process. Therefore, the equations related to their respective classes are
applied (Box 1).
150
M. C. Deprá et al.