Life Cycle Assessment of a Novel Process for the Production of Synthetic Natural Gas from Empty Fruit Bunches
The production of Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) from residual biomass is an alternative to replace or reduce the consumption of fossil-origin natural gas. In this work, using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, the environmental viability of a novel synthetic natural gas production process from e...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Chemical Engineering Transactions |
| Online Access: | https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/15265 |
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| Summary: | The production of Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) from residual biomass is an alternative to replace or reduce the consumption of fossil-origin natural gas. In this work, using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, the environmental viability of a novel synthetic natural gas production process from empty fruit bunches was evaluated. The LCA is based on the standards of the International Organization for Standardization ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 and systematically covers goal and system definition, life cycle inventory, life cycle impact assessment, and interpretation. A gate-to-gate approach was used, which includes: drying of the empty fruit bunches (EFB), gasification, cleaning of the produced gas, and production of SNG by methanation. The functional unit for impact assessment was 1 kg/h of SNG produced. The LCA shows that the production of SNG has representative impacts in several categories, such as carcinogenic human toxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity, terrestrial ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication and water consumption. The two sub-processes that generate the most environmental impacts are those associated with the production of EFB and peridotite (a novel bed material), but when analyzing the environmental load associated with these materials, it should be taken into account that they are currently considered waste, and even in the case of peridotite, it is even used as filler for tertiary roads. |
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| ISSN: | 2283-9216 |