Life Cycle Based GHG Emissions from Algae Based Bioenergy with a Special Emphasis on Climate Change Indicators and Their Uses in Dynamic LCA: A Review

Abstract

Life cycle-based analysis is a key to understand these biofuels’ climate benefits. This manuscript provides a state-of-the-art review of current biofuel production, primarily through algae-based routes. Standalone biofuel production has an unfavorable environmental and energy footprint. Therefore, industrial symbiosis is required to reduce the environmental impacts of biofuel. The availability of waste heat, CO2, renewable energy, and colocation of other industries, especially renewable energy and dairy firms, have been demonstrated beneficial for producing biofuel through the algal route. Dynamic life cycle assessment (DLCA) issues were discussed in detail. DLCA is one of the highlighted areas of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) paradigm that can improve the applicability of climate change indicators used in the LCA. Various climate change indicators, global warming potential (GWP), global temperature change (GTP), and climate tipping point (CTP) were discussed in detail. Special emphasis was given to waste-based bioenergy production and its LCA as this route provided the lowest GHG emissions compared to the other bioenergy production pathways (e.g., from energy crops, using lignocellulosic biomass, etc.). The use of LCA results and modification of life cycle inventory (e.g., modification in the form of the regional energy mix, dynamic Life Cycle Inventory (LCI), etc.) was another highlight of this study. Such modifications need to be incorporated if one wants to improve the applicability of LCA results for net zero target analysis.