i

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT ON ELECTRICITY GENERATION

FROM PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT

NUR AFIQAH BINTI MOHD KASIM

A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the award of the degree of

Master of Science (Energy Management)

Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

SEPTEMBER 2017

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To my beloved mother and father

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to thank God gracefully for bringing me the strength and

blessing so that I could finish this research successfully. In preparing this thesis, I

was in contact with many people, researchers, academicians, and practitioners. They

have contributed towards my understanding and thoughts. In particular, I wish to

express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my respectful supervisor, Dr Lim

Jeng Shiun for his encouragement, guidance, critics and advice during the progress

of this study.

Not to forget, to all lecturers, staffs, and my fellow coursemates who had

given very great support and motivation throughout this research. Without them, I

may not be able to complete this research successfully. Last but not least, my greatest

gratitude to my beloved family members and friends who are the reasons that keep

me going to complete this study.

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ABSTRACT

Nowadays, the world is dealing with a crisis between the limits of nature and

the ambitions of mankind. The climate change issue that been mentioned globally is

caused by uncontrollable greenhouse gases emissions from anthropogenic activities.

This life cycle assessment study on electricity generation from palm oil mill effluent

is important to measure the impacts from the activities to the environment because

palm oil effluent is harmful to environment due to high BOD and COD content.

Along the process of anaerobic digestion and electricity generation through biogas

CHP, a lot of energy (electricity, heat, steam), raw materials and water been used to

get a complete product. So, these inputs will contribute to the many categories of

environmental impacts. Then, a life cycle assessment is required to perform an

impact assessment for this process. The functional unit is production of 1 MWh of

electricity produced. This study was modeled by using openLCA Software to

develop with addition of Ecoinvent 2.2 Database to reveal the impact of the

processes involves towards environment as well as to compare their impact with

electricity generation from fossil fuel alternatives. From the study done, it proves that

cogenerating electricity from biogas produced by anaerobic digestion by using palm

oil mill effluent can lead to significant reduction in most impacts compared to fossil

fuel alternatives. This study also includes sensitivity analysis of feedstock used and

type of digestate storage.

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ABSTRAK

Pada masa kini, dunia berhadapan dengan krisis antara had alam semulajadi

dan pembangunan dunia. Isu perubahan iklim yang terjadi di seluruh dunia yang

diakibatkan oleh pelepasan gas rumah hijau yang tidak terkawal daripada aktiviti

aktiviti antropogenik. Kajian penilaian kitar hayat mengenai penjanaan elektrik dari

pembuangan sisa kilang minyak sawit adalah penting untuk mengukur kesan aktiviti

yang terlibat terhadap alam sekitar kerana sisa pembuangan minyak kepala sawit

berbahaya kepada alam sekitar disebabkan oleh kandungan BOD dan COD yang

tinggi. Sepanjang proses pencernaan anaerobik dan penjanaan elektrik melalui

biogas, banyak tenaga (elektrik, haba, stim), bahan mentah dan air digunakan

sepanjang proses berjalan. Oleh itu, penggunaain tenaga tenaga ini akan

menyumbang kepada pelbagai kategori kesan alam sekitar. Di dalam kajian ini,

semua model yang dibuat berdasarkan penghasilkan 1 MWh tenaga elektrik yang

dihasilkan. Kajian ini dimodelkan dengan menggunakan OpenLCA dan pangkalan

data Ecoinvent 2.2 untuk mengkaji kesan proses yang terlibat terhadap alam sekitar

serta membandingkan kesannya dengan penjanaan elektrik dari alternatif bahan api

fosil. Kajian yang dilakukan membuktikan bahawa penghasilan elektrik dari biogas

yang dihasilkan oleh pencernaan anaerobik dengan menggunakan sisa buangan

kilang minyak sawit boleh menyebabkan pengurangan yang ketara dalam

kebanyakan kesan berbanding alternatif bahan bakar fosil. Kajian ini juga

merangkumi analisis sensitiviti jenis sisa yang digunakan dan jenis penyimpanan

pencernaan.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE

PAGE

DECLARATION ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF TABLES x

LIST OF FIGURES xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii

1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research Background

1.2 Problem Statement

1.3 Objectives

1.4 Scopes

1.5 Significance of study

1

1

3

3

4

4

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Overview

2.2 Palm Oil Industry in Malaysia

2.3 Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)

2.4 Biogas Production from POME

2.5 Energy Demand in Malaysia

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6

6

9

10

13

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2.6 Electricity Generation from Biogas Captured

2.7 Life Cycle Assessment

2.7.1 Introduction

2.7.2 Life Cycle Assessment Methodology

2.7.3 Life Cycle Impact Assesment

2.8 Life Cycle Impact Categories

2.8.1 Global Warming Potential

2.8.2 Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emission

2.8.2 Ozone Depletion Potential

2.8.3 Acidification Potential

2.8.4 Eutrophication Potential

2.8.5 Fossil Depletion

2.8.6 Human Toxicity Potential

2.8.7 Water Depletion / Water Use

2.8.8 Eco Toxicity

2.9 Previous Study on Life Cycle Assesment on

Anaerobic Digestion

2.10 Research Gap

14

15

15

16

19

21

22

22

23

24

24

25

25

26

26

27

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3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Methology Framework

3.2 Goal and Scope Definition

3.2.1 Goal of Study

3.2.2 Scope of Study

3.3 Life Cycle Inventory

3.3.1 Data Collection

3.4 Life Cycle Assessment

3.5 Software and Databases

3.6 Interpretation

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30

32

32

32

34

35

36

36

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4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Life Cycle Impact Assessment Results

4.1.1 Abiotic Depletion Potential

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38

40

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4.1.2 Acidification and Eutrophication

Potential

4.1.3 Global Warming Potential

4.1.4 Human and Eco-Toxicity Potential

4.1.5 Ozone Depletion Potential

4.1.6 Photochemical Oxidant Creation

Potential

4.2 Comparison to Electricity Generation from

Fossil Fuel Alternatives

4.3 Sensitivity Analysis

4.3.1 Alternative Feedstock

4.3.2 Digestate Storage

4.4 Comparison with other studies

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41

41

42

42

43

45

45

46

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5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Conclusion

5.2 Recommendation

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50

51

REFERENCES 52

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LIST OF TABLES

TABLE TITLE

PAGE

2.1 Characteristics of raw POME 9

2.2 The Component of Life Cycle Analysis 18

3.1 Life Cycle Inventory for 1MWh of Electricity

Generated

33

4.1 Environmental Impact Categories, Nomenclature and

Unit Used

38

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LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE TITLE

PAGE

2.1 World oil and fat production in 1990 and 2011 7

2.2 Oil Palm Plantation area in Malaysia 8

2.3 Crude Palm Oil Production in Malaysia 8

2.4 Flow Chart of Flow in Palm Oil Mill for the Biogas Project 12

2.5 Energy demand over the year in Malaysia 13

2.6 Phases of LCA according to ISO 14040:2006 17

2.7 The 15 midpoint categories and four endpoint categories of

IMPACT 2002+

21

2.8 Projetion of carbon dioxide emission in Malaysia from 2010 to

2020

23

3.1 Methodology Framework for LCA process 30

3.2 Project Scope Boundary 32

4.1 Life Cycle Environmental Impacts associated with the

Generation of 1MWh of electricity from Palm Oil Mill Effluent

39

4.2 Contribution Analysis for Biogas Production and Electricity

Generation

42

4.3 Comparison of Impact Assessment for Generating Electricity

from AD-CHP system with natural gas CHP and oil CHP

43

4.4 Effect on different feedstock on the impacts 45

4.5 Effects of digestate storage on the impacts 46

4.6 Comparison with other studies 48

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LIST OF ABBREVIATION

ADP - Abiotic Depletion Potential

AP - Acidification Potential

EP - Eutrophication Potential

FAETP - Freash Water Aquatic Ecotoxicity Potential

GWP - Global Warming Potential

HTP - Human Toxicity Potential

MAETP - Marine Aquatic Eco Toxicity Potential

ODP - Ozone Depletion Potential

POCP - Photochemical Oxidant Creation Potential

TETP - Terresterial Eco Toxicity Potential

DCB - Dichlorobenzene

CFC - Cholorofluorocarbon

LCA - Life Cycle Assessment

LCI - Life Cycle Inventory

LCIA - Life Cycle Impact Assessment

SO2 - Sulphur Dioxide

PO4 - Phosphate

C2H4 - Ethene

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Research Background

In recent years, palm oil industry grown rapidly and keep growing over the

year. Palm oil industry in Malaysia is one of the world’s largest producers and

exporter of crude palm oil and its derivatives products. In 2004, oil palm cultivation

covers more than 3.79 million hectares of land and occupies 11% of the total land

area and more than one third of the total cultivated area in Malaysia. By increasing

the number of production of palm oil every year, the process of converting fresh fruit

bunch (FFB) to crude palm oil (CPO), it concurrently will generate abundant of by-

product such as palm oil mill effluent (POME) , empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm

kernel shell (PKS) and mesocarp fibre. From these by-products, POME is the only

by-product that has not been commercialized re-used by industry although 2.5 – 3.75

tonnes of POME will be generated for every tonne of CPO produced. However, there

is a great potential for renewable energy project using POME since it produce

methane gas which also can produce electricity

POME is still remain untapped and will be threat to the environment if

directly discharged into watercourse. Due to its highly polluting properties with

2

average value of 25 000 mg/L biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and 50 000 mg/L

chemical oxygen demand (COD), the most cost effective technology is anaerobic

treatment. By the end of anaerobic digestion, the end product that will form is

basically methane and carbon dioxide. The utilization of biogas captured from

POME becomes recent interest as the increasing price of natural gas and fossil fuel.

The biogas captured from POME can be utilized as one of energy sources with

upgrading them either to be electricity generation, vehicle fuel, heating, cooking gas

or it can be distributed on the natural-gas grid.

With increasing of energy demand every year, utilization of biogas as

electricity is relevant to replace the fossil-fuel based sources since Malaysia is the

world leader in the production and supply of crude palm oil. It leads to the plantation

of more palm oil trees, consequently processing more palm oil fresh fruit bunches

and thus more palm oil waste which also called palm oil mill effluent, mesocarp and

palm kernel shell. However, the process of capturing biogas and utilize it to generate

electricity still will give some amount of environmental emission. There is several

ways to determine it and one of the method is by using life cycle assessment.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is currently the most common method of

designing environmental friendly products and technologies and evaluating their

impact on the environment (Mirjana et. al, 2013). This method governed by the

international series of ISO 14000 standards, which also the reason why it is widely

used in relation to other methods of designing for the environment. LCA helps to

realize the extent of the impact of their products, processes, and other activities on

the environment. The goal of LCA is not only to provide an answer to the question of

how serious the harmful effect is, but also to enable strategic planning of future

activities.

3

1.2 Problem Statement

Malaysia is one of the largest exporter and producer of crude palm oil and its

derivatives. This industry is involving in 3 major sector which is agriculture

(plantation), transport and industry (milling). It causes high environmental challenge

to deal with along the process of CPO production. Production of CPO creates

abundance of POME which will gives threat to environment if flow to waterways

due to its high BOD and COD. One of the solutions to prevent POME produced from

continuously harm environment is by utilizing it to be alternative sources of energy

due to high organic compound exist in the POME. Since the energy need in Malaysia

is relatively high and expected to increase from years to years and the existing fossil

fuel is keep depleted, abundance POME produced can be feedstock to produce

electricity in order to cater the energy demand that keep rising.

Although biogas captured is utilized as one of the energy sources such as

electricity, it still has its own impact to environment. By adopting self regulated

environmental tools such as ISO 14000, Life Cycle Assessment is one of the ways

that can be done to monitor and deal with the environmental impact along the

process run. This study will propose to conduct life cycle analysis on the electricity

generationfrom biogas produced by anaerobic digestion as it is one of the way to

monitor the impact exist towards environment along the process done.

1.3 Objective

The objective of this study is to conduct life cycle assessment on the

electricity generation from palm oil mill effluent with several aims;

4

a. To evaluate the life cycle environmental impact of biogas utilization from

palm oil mill effluent to generate electricity.

b. To compare the impact of the electricity generation from biogas system with

electricity generation from fossil – fuel based alternatives.

1.4 Scope

The scope of this study includes;

a. Data Collection on every single stage involved in generating electricity from

biogas based on scope boundary.

b. Performing Life Cycle Assessment on utilization of biogas to be converted to

electricity by using openLCA software.

c. Comparing the environmental factor of electricity generation from POME

with the conventional source.

1.5 Significance of Study

Process of POME generation starting from plantation of palm oil,

transportation and milling might gives significant impact towards environment as

well as process of converting biogas produced as energy sources. By this study with

scope limited for electricity generation from palm oil mill effluent, it is important to

do life cycle within the scope chosen due to following reason.

5

a. To reveal the actual impact for each activity occur along the process of

generate electricity from biogas of palm oil mill effluent

b. Increase awareness that every activity done may harm environment with

certain magnitude for each activities.

c. To identify the most highly impact of generate electricity from different

sources.

52

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