2011 International Conference on Alternative Energy in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies
- 145 -
Life Cycle Assessment and Economic Analysis
of a Small-Scale Biomass Gasified Power Plant
P. Nutongkaew*, J. Waewsak*, C. Kongruang** and S. Tirawanichakul***
*Solar and Wind Energy Research Unit, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Thaksin University, (
Thailand
)
**Southern Economy Research Unit, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Thaksin University, (
Thailand
)
**Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, (
Thailand
)
Abstract--
At present, the environmental impact from
electricity generation sector is a subject to great debate. It
should be assessed from an environmental life cycle
perspective. This study includes three phases of life cycle,
i.e., material, transportation to power plant, briquette
production, and electricity production. Life cycle inventory
data for each phase was used to calculate the environmental
impact. SimaPro 7.2 software is used to analyze and
estimate environmental impact. Results represented a
measure of impact in units of Point per kilo watt hours (Pt
per kWh). Result showed that the total impact of the
biomass gasified power plant in life cycle perspective was
9.9
u
10
-4
Pt/kWh and the briquette production phase
contributed the highest impact of 57.73%, while the
electricity production and material transportation
contributed the impact of 41.80% and 0.47%, respectively.
The total cost of biomass gasified power plant without
externalities is about 3.37 Baht/kWh. The operation cost
accounts for 65.47% of the total cost.
Index Terms
- Greenhouse Gases, Life Cycle Assessment,
Biomass Gasification, Power Plant, Economic Analysis
I. N
OMENCLATURE
LCA: Life Cycle Impact Assessment
EDIP: Environmental Design of Industrial Products
GW: Global Warming
100 years
OD:
Ozone Depletion
OF(V): Ozone Formation Vegetation
OF(H): Ozone Formation Human
Ac:
Acidification
TE:
Terrestrial Eutrophication
EP(N): Aquatic Eutrophication Nitrogen
EP(P): Aquatic Eutrophication Phosphorous
HTA:
Human Toxicity Air
HTW:
Human Toxicity Water
HTS: Human Toxicity Soil
EWC: Ecotoxicity Water Chronic
EWA:
Ecotoxicity Water Acute
ESC: Ecotoxicity Soil Chronic
HW:
Hazardous Waste
S/A:
Slags/Ashes
BW:
Bulk Waste
RW:
Radioactive Waste
II.
I
NTRODUCTION
Biomass is an important renewable energy source in
Thailand. It provides basic energy requirement for
industries, agro processing, food processing, etc. Biomass
is still the cheapest fuel available and it will be the major
alternative to commercial energy resource in the future. It
is primary energy needs of the country. Fuelwood and
charcoal are predominantly used for residential cooking
while fuelwood and agricultural residues such as bagasse
and rice husk are important energy sources for rural
industries and nowadays become a crucial sources for
power generation.
TABLE
I
A
REA AND YIELD OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN
T
HAILAND
(Unit
:
1,000 acre
/
1,000 ton
)
Type
2549/50
2550/51
Area
(acre)
Yield
(acre/ton)
Area
(acre)
Yield
(acre/ton)
Sugar Cane
2,526
25,746
2,635
29,400
Rice
27,044
11,856
26,780
11,960
Corn
2,388
1,441
2,607
1,700
Palm Oil
1,065
2,645
1,149
3,706
Cassava
2,935
10,766
2,959
10,062
Pineapple
239
922
232
911
Rubber
Wood
4,376
2,280
4,548
1,266
Source: Office of Agricultural Economic 2007/2008 [1]
A. Energy Potential of Biomass Residue in Thailand
The total production of biomass-based renewable
energy in 2010 was 821 PJ, an increase of 17% over in
2005,
as shown in Table 2.
TABLE
II
T
OTAL
B
IOMASS
E
NERGY
P
OTENTIAL
Type
Potential (PJ)
1997
2005
2010
Agricultural Residues
479
558
620
Animal Manure
13.0
13.0
13.0
Residential Cooking
-
35.2
58.0
Industrial Sector
-
0.5
1.1
Fuel Substitution
-
60.7
94.3
Municipal Solid Waste
19.0
20.6
21.3
Industrial Waste Water
7.8
7.8
7.8
Black Liquor
4.6
4.6
4.6
Palm Oil Mill Effluent
1.3
1.3
1.3
Total
524.7
701.7
821.4
Source: Boonrod et al. (2005). [2]
