Life-cycle energy, GHG and cost comparison of camelina-based biodiesel and biojet fuel

ABSTRACT

Camelina (Camelina sativa) can be used to make biodiesel or biojet fuel. This study compares life-cycle energy, environmental impact and economic performance of making biodiesel versus biojet fuel from camelina oil. The data for camelina field production was obtained from a grower in western Washington, USA. Camelina seeds were crushed, and biodiesel and biojet fuel were produced at the University of Idaho's advanced biofuel research lab. Biodiesel was made via a transesterification reaction, and biojet was made using a technology called hydroprocessed renewable jet fuel. This research found that for a base-case scenario, where transportation and fuel additives were not needed, the ratio of energy in produced biofuel to its life-cycle energy was 3.6 for biodiesel and 1.8 for biojet fuel. Biodiesel reduced life-cycle GHG emissions by 69% compared to conventional diesel. In contrast, camelina biojet reduced GHG emissions by 56.6% compared to jet-A fuel. The cost of ingredients and utilities to make biodiesel was US 75¢/L compared to $2.19/L for biojet fuel taking no credit for byproducts. Considering the potential demand for biodiesel, the price of diesel, and price of jet fuel, it was concluded that biojet fuel is unlikely to compete economically with biodiesel in the foreseeable future.

KEYWORDS:

• LCA
• biofuel
• camelina biodiesel
• HRJ
• biojet economics

Acknowledgements

This work was partially funded by the USDA Hatch fund and a cooperative agreement from the Office of the Chief Economist, USDA.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research has been partially funded by the cooperative research agreement from the USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, under grant number [58-0111-11-003].