Assessing biodiesel production using palm kernel shell-derived sulfonated magnetic biochar from the life cycle assessment perspective

Climate change awareness has encouraged further research towards non-fossil production and consumption. Among non-fossils, biodiesel is one of the attractive alternatives to petroleum diesel. Despite the favorable properties of biodiesel, it is still faced with serious challenges regarding feedstock and catalyst used. In line with that, using waste-oriented oils and catalysts is a promising approach to ensure sustainable biodiesel production. Nevertheless, the environmental sustainability of such platforms must be carefully assessed before commercialization. The current study assesses the environmental sustainability of biodiesel production using palm kernel shell-derived sulfonated magnetic biochar through the life cycle assessment approach. Based on the results, biodiesel synthesis from waste cooking oil by palm kernel shell-derived sulfonated magnetic biochar causes 5.86E-04 DALY, 1.29E-06 species.yr, and 9.52E+01 USD2013 per tonne of biodiesel damage to human health, ecosystems, and resources categories. Transesterification and purification steps are responsible for approximately 76%, 76%, and 90% of these damages, respectively. Based on the weighted results, the total environmental impact of waste cooking oil biodiesel produced by palm kernel shell-derived sulfonated magnetic biochar stands at 1.08E+01 Pt per tonne of biodiesel, with the damage to human health category being more pronounced than the other damage categories. Generally, substituting palm oil biodiesel and diesel with waste cooking oil biodiesel produced by the developed catalyst could lead to an 89% and 55% decrease in total weighted impacts. Overall, the catalyst developed in this study could be a favorable alternative to homogeneous catalysts used in biodiesel production, causing much discounted environmental burdens.