T10 AM LCA and Business Benefits
Tuesday, 15 November 2005: 8:00 AM - 11:40 AM in 341-342

(LAU-1117-801684) Biodiesel in Vermont—the environmental impact and the total cost.

Laurin, Lise^{1, 2}, Norris, Gregory^{2, 3, 4}, Liebert, Gregory⁵, ¹ EarthShift, Eliot, ME, USA² Sylvatica, North Berwick, ME, USA³ Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA⁴ Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA⁵ Vermont's Alternative Energy Corporation, Williston, VT, USA

ABSTRACT- People in the state of Vermont have expressed a desire to maintain their agricultural lands while minimizing their environmental impact, and producing additional revenue stream. One way that these goals might be achieved is with a local biorefinery producing biofuels and biolubricants to be used as substitutes for or additives to petroleum based transportation fuels, lubricants, and heating oils. To determine the feasibility of this project and ensure that it meets the expressed goals, we performed both a Total Cost Assessment (TCA) and a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). These analyses provide the basis for a yes or no decision for construction and operation of a new biorefinery. In addition to the goals of the community, corporate goals include profitability, sustainability, use of economical raw materials, and safe and environmentally sound processes and practices. The venture would use locally produced seed crops, virgin, or waste cooking oils as the feedstock for the biorefinery. A by-product of vegetable oil production by local farmers will be the local production of oil seed meal—currently purchased from out-of-state to feed local dairy cattle. The LCA determined total energy required to plant, grow, harvest and process the feedstock, plus the energy needed for seed oil and biodiesel production was less than the amount of energy locked up in the biodiesel. The gross energy ratio (energy in biodiesel over energy consumed to make it) was determined to be 1.24. All the environmental impacts considered critical to Vermont were significantly less for biodiesel than for conventional diesel. The TCA supported the decision to build the facility, as the risks involved in biodiesel production are relatively low. We analyzed both purchased feedstock and a coop based delivery of feedstock, along with significant price volatility.

Key words: total cost assessment, biodiesel, risk assessment, life cycle assessment