Climate change, environmental pollution and increasing prices for raw materials are major drivers for a more sustainable production and use of materials and energy resources. However, production chains in today’s globalized economy are complex and the optimisation of single process steps does not necessarily lead to the most sustainable state for the whole chain. Consequently, there is a huge demand for sustainability assessment methods as a sound basis for decision support and policy making (BAFU-strategy, var. EU-Directives). The Life Cycle Assessment & Modelling group (LCAM) at the Swiss Institute for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) develops life-cycle based methods for sustainable resource management and assesses the environmental and social induced by production, use, recycling and disposal of resources.
Speaker Profile
Simon Gmuender studied at ETH Zürich, with a Master of environmental science with emphasis on Physics and Anthroposphere.
He has conducted on-site study of the environmental Impact of Jatopha used for rural electrification and transportation in India, and life cycle assessment for 6 month. He was also involved in the capacity building of an Indian NGO in life cycle thinking.
JatrophaWorld 2008 Hamburg Speaker
Day 1 – Monday, October 20
16:15 GREEN HOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF JATROPHA BASED BIODIESEL
Overview of Presentation
The objective of this study is to evaluate the environmental impact of the entire production chain of Jatropha based biodiesel. Therefore an “ecological life cycle analysis” (LCA) is done, comparing biodiesel with fossil diesel. Further the net-benefit of using Jatropha diesel for transportation is compared with the net-benefit of using Jatropha oil for rural electrification. The results show that the replacement of fossil fuels with biofuels leads to a reduction of green house gas emissions, but on the other hand, the total environmental impact increases. This caused higher eurtophication, acidification and land-use effects. Such environmental impacts can be reduced if Jatropha is cultivated extensively in hedges, rather than as intensive monocultures, even though the yields are slightly smaller. Out of an ecological perspective the extensive and small-scale Jatropha cultivation used in rural electrification systems is therefore preferable to large-scale biodiesel production.
JATROPHAWORLD 2008 is a showcase of all the latest trends and shifts occurring in the Jatropha value chain, bringing together on a single platform, the best expertise to discuss and analyze the present and future dynamics of Jatropha from a technological and socio-economic angle. To find more about JatrophaWorld in Hamburg from October 20 to 21, 2008, please visit http://www.futureenergyevents.com/jatropha/.