Environmental impact assessment of bio-hydrogenated diesel from hydrogen and co-product of palm oil industry

Bio-hydrogenated diesel (BHD) is a second generation biofuel that can be produced from vegetable oil and hydrogen via hydroprocessing. BHD is considered as one of alternative and renewable energy. This work presents evaluation of environmental impacts of BHD produced from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) compared to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Greenhouse gas emission, energy consumption, and overall environmental impacts are assessed. System boundary is from palm oil cultivation to BHD production. The functional unit is defined as 1 kg of fuel produced at the plant. The results indicate that energy consumption of BHD-PFAD is 1.18 times higher than that of BHD-FAME, while giving GHG emission 13.56 times lower than that of BHD-FAME. The results of overall environmental impacts indicated that BHD-PFAD was 3.58 greater than that of BHD-FAME. (c) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study compared the environmental impacts of bio-hydrogenated diesel (BHD) produced from palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The results showed that energy consumption of BHD-PFAD was 1.18 times higher than that of BHD-FAME, while GHG emission was 13.56 times lower. The overall environmental impacts of BHD-PFAD were also 3.58 times greater than that of BHD-FAME.