LCA of biofuels in Thailand using Thai Ecological Scarcity method

Thailand has been promoting biofuel production and consumption to substitute transport fuels in order to utilize domestic resources and contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. This study adopted a Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method using “distance-to-target” approach based on the Swiss Eco Scarcity method. It is developed by using Thailand's current situation of pollutants emissions and natural resources use in line with the three related national policy goals i.e. GHG, primary energy and freshwater resources; the Eco-Factors are 1.6, 0.13 and 1.9 Thai Eco Point (TEP) per kgCO2e, MJ NRE-eq and m3 in respective units. These were used for an LCA comparison between cassava-based ethanol and palm oil-biodiesel with their fossil fuel counterparts on an energy basis. The LCA results indicate both biofuels have lower impacts than the equivalent fossil fuels and the main contributor is GHG emissions from biofuel production. The sensitivity analysis also indicated the given policy related to freshwater and GHG influence the biofuel benefits. Therefore, the strong policy and technical options in energy production are still required for sustainable biofuels following the government intention.