Environmental and Socioeconomic Analysis of Producing Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Summary This study analyzes the potential environmental impacts and socioeconomic benefits of installing a pilot plant for biodiesel production from used cooking oil (UCO) collected from hotels, restaurants, and bars in the Copacabana district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Currently much of this oil is used to produce soaps or simply disposed of directly into the sewage system, contributing to the eutrophication of bodies of water. An analysis is made of the production of biodiesel by the alkaline transesterification of UCO with ethanol using a sodium hydroxide catalyst. In order to analyze the environmental impacts, the ten stages of the life cycle of biodiesel made from UCO are assessed. The environmental impact of producing 1 metric ton of biodiesel is evaluated on the basis of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. In order to assess the economic feasibility of the pilot plant, a cash flow deterministic method was employed to evaluate the investment required. The social performance of the project was assessed using Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators. The environmental analysis showed that ethanol production and fuel combustion are the stages that had the highest environmental impact. The findings of the economic analysis showed that it would be feasible for the Rio de Janeiro city council to implement a pilot plant in the Copacabana district of the city. The results of the social performance analysis indicated that the project would have a positive impact on local job and income generation.

Biodiesel from Waste Cooking Oils in Portugal: Alternative Collection Systems

“…The range of life cycle emissions we calculated (9.5-16.2 g CO 2 eq/MJ) is similar to those from a few studies found in the literature, namely 8.1 g CO 2 eq/MJ Peiró et al [3] and 17.6 g CO 2 eq/MJ Dufour & Iribarren [12]. However, higher emissions were calculated by Thamsiriroj et al [6] (26 g CO 2 eq/MJ) and by Souza et al [4] (33 g CO 2 eq/MJ). For the former study, the higher GHG emissions are mainly due to a higher quantity of methanol (20 % of methanol used in the transesterification compared with 13 % in our study) and a higher emission factor (1.68 against 0.72 kg CO 2 eq/kg).…”

“…Some studies present a collection stage with 0 % contribution, for example, Peiró et al [3] (0 % in a total of 8.1 g CO 2 eq/MJ) and Souza et al [4] (also 0 % in a total of 33 g CO 2 eq/MJ). Other studies show very low contributions, for example: 1 % by Chua et al [5] (0.009 g CO 2 eq/MJ out of a total of 0.9 g CO 2 eq/MJ) and 4 % by Thamsiriroj et al [6] (1 out of a total of 26 g CO 2 eq/MJ).…”

“…For example, Peiró et al [3], analyzing the WCO collection from restaurants, hotels and agro-food industry in Catalonia in Spain, and Souza et al [4], analyzing the WCO collection from bars and restaurants on the University of Rio de Janeiro campus, presented both 0 % of contribution of the collection stage to the overall impacts; Chua et al [5] showed that the WCO collection from restaurants in Singapore represented 1 % of the overall biodiesel impacts and Thamsiriroj et al [6] the WCO collected from restaurants in Ireland calculated a contribution of about 4 %. However, McManus [7] calculated significant GHG emissions for WCO collected from pubs, restaurants and schools in the south west of England.…”

Valorization of Wastes for Biodiesel Production: The Brazilian Case

“…For the worldwide famous city of Rio de Janeiro, a LCA study was performed by Souza et al [27]; they analyzed the potential environmental impacts and socioeconomic benefits of installing a pilot plant for biodiesel production from used cooking oil (UCO) collected from hotels, restaurants, and bars in the Copacabana district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. An analysis was made of the production of biodiesel by the alkaline transesterification of UCO with ethanol using data taken from a pilot plant with a capacity to produce 250 l/batch.…”

Sustainability assessment of the valorization scheme of used cooking oils (UCOs): the case study of Bogotá, Colombia

“…Within this context, numerous life cycle assessment (LCA) studies on different UCO exploitation schemes have been reported in the literature, and they have been mainly focused on the production of UCO-based biodiesel. As life cycle impacts are highly dependent on geographic location, studies have been reported for different countries worldwide including Brazil [12][13][14], Cameroon [15], China [16], Colombia [17], Greece [18], Iran [19], Italy [20][21][22], Japan [23,24], Malaysia [25], Portugal [26][27][28][29], Singapore [30], Spain [11,31,32], Thailand [33], UK [8], USA [34], and Vietnam [35]. Most studies have used first-generation-based biodiesel as a reference system, and in overall terms, they agree that UCO-based biodiesel exhibits a better environmental performance than the reference biodiesel or the fossil diesel.…”