Assessing the Carbon Footprint and Cumulative Energy Demand of Biodiesel Produced From Rapeseed Oil in Serbia

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the carbon footprint and energy balance associated with biodiesel production from rapeseed in Serbia, employing the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Data on material and energy consumption were collected for the primary agricultural and industrial entities involved in the biodiesel production chain, with the broader system modeled using information from the ecoinvent life cycle inventory database. Our findings indicate that the carbon footprint of biodiesel (44 g CO_2eq/MJ) is significantly lower than that of fossil diesel (86 g CO_2eq/MJ) when not considering the potential impacts of indirect land-use change (iLUC). However, inclusion of iLUC impacts could result in a higher carbon footprint for biodiesel than fossil diesel. The life-cycle fossil energy inputs for rapeseed biodiesel are estimated at 0.53 MJ per one MJ of biodiesel, while fossil diesel requires approximately 30% more fossil energy than is present in the fuel.