lca applied to palm oil - cirad formations

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LCA applied to palm oil

Jannick Hoejrup SchmidtDepartment of Development and Planning

Aalborg Universitywww.plan.aau.dk/~jannick/

Malaysian Palm oil

Sète, 2nd March 2010

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Programme

• Goal and scope• System boundaries• Life cycle inventory: critical emissions• LCA-results: palm oil and improvement options

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Vegetable oils: production volume

Most important oils: Palm, soybean (constrained), rapeseed

High growth rate (Biodiesel and increasing food intake)

Significant land use impacts in SE-Asia and S-America

Based on FAOSTAT

Goal and scope

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Purpose:

Environmental assessment of Malaysian palm oil and palm oil at United Plantations Berhad

Identification and assessment of improvement options

Capturing and utilisation of methane from oil mill effluent

Utilisation of biomass (EFB) for electricity generation

Mineral soils versus peat soils

Functional unit

1 tonne of refined palm oil for food purposes at refinery gate

Refined oil; neutralised, bleached and deodorised oil; NBD oil

© United Plantations Berhad

Goal and scope

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Modelling: consequential

Actual affected/marginal suppliers included

Allocation is avoided by system expansion

Data: good data availability

Plantation: Fertiliser, pesticides, fuels, yield profiles, capital goods (United Plantations Berhad)

Oil mill & refinery: Energy balance, stack emissions, methane measurements, capital goods (United Plantations Berhad)

Emissions: Parameterised model based on nutrient balances, emission factors: mainly IPCC methodology reports

LCIA-method

Stepwise v1.1 (www.lca-net.com)

www.plan.aau.dk/~jannick/research


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Palm oil production

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Oil palm plantation

Schmidt (2008), Life cycle assessment of palm oil atUnited Plantations Berhad. United Plantations Berhad

Palm oil mill

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Product system and material flows

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0.129 t PKC

1.000 t NBD PO+PKO 19.2 kg protein102 SFU energy

0.107 t NBD PKO

39.7 kg fodder fat0 kg protein

92 SFU energy

Palm kernel oil mill

Palm oil mill

0.111 t crude PKO

4.651 t FFB

Oil palm plantation

Refinery

Refinery

0.929 t CPO 0.247 t kernels

0.893 t NBD PO

35.5 kg ffa

4.2 kg ffa

Palm oil (PO), Malaysia

Functional unit


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Programme


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System delimitation: land use

Agr. Stage: Land use change – how?

1 ha rapeseed in DK÷ 1 ha barley in DK+ 1.8 ha barley in Canada

5230 kg barley ?

1 ha

DK

System delimitation:land use

Aff

ecte

d ar

ea: t

%A

ffec

ted

yiel

d: s%

Schmidt (2008), System delimitation in agricultural consequential LCA. IntJLCA

Area

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System delimitation: co-products

Oil mill stage: Handling of co-products

Fodder energy

Fodder protein

Fodder: PKC

Palm oil

DisplacesBarley

Soybean meal


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System delimitation: co-products

Marginal land:MY: Grassland/forestCAN: GrasslandBrazil: Savannah/forest

Marginal fodder energy:Barley from Canada

Marginal fodder protein:Soybean meal from Brazil

Marginal vegetable oil:Palm oil from Malaysia/Indonesia

Oil crop

Oil mill

Oil Oil meal

Energy Protein

Barley(Canada) Soy mill

Soy growing(Brazil)

Oil


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System delimitation: co-products, solving the loop

Schmidt (2010), Comparative life cycle assessmentof rapeseed oil and palm oil. IntJLCA

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System delimitation: co-products, solving the loop1 t palm oil

Schmidt (2008), Shift in the marginal supply ofvegetable oil. IntJLCA


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Programme


Emissions inventory: agricultural stage

N-balance: N2O, NH3, N2, NO, NO3-

P-balance: PO4

CO2 from peat

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5) SurplusNO3

-

N2O NH3

P

N2 fixation

Oil palm planting material

Fertilisers

N deposition from atmosphere

EFB

POME

1) Net inputs

Accessible nutrientsfor uptake and losses

4) Harvested FFB

Net inputs

N2 NO

5) Surplus

Net outputs

Bunch ash

N-change in soil matter


Dynamic balance throughout the oil palm life cycle

19Accessible nutrients foruptake and losses

2) Release from decomposition of biomass

Intermediate inputs

Shredded stands from theprevious generation of oil

palms

Pruned fronds

Cover cropIncrease in cover crop

Increase in standing biomass (oil palmexcluding harvested FFB, prunedfronds and spent male flowers)

3) Uptake: Changes in stored nutrients

Intermediate outputs

Increase in biomass(fronds)

Increase in biomass(spent male flowers)

Spent male flowers

N2O-N (IPCC 2000)

NH3-N (DK model)

NO-N (FAO and IFA)

N2-N (DK model)

NO3- -N (the rest)

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

year

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Yie

ld re

lativ

e to

ave

rage

yie

ld

Yield - mineralYield - peat

2½ yearimmature

20½ yearmature

Schmidt (2008), Life cycleassessment of palm oil at UnitedPlantations Berhad. UnitedPlantations Berhad

Dynamic balance throughout the oil palm life cycle

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Standing biomass: 4.31 t/ha y

Oldstandingbiomass:

47.45 t/ha yRelease from decomposition offelled palms, t/ha y

Uptake: biomass in standingstock (not harvested), t/ha y

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2322212019

Release minus uptake, t/ha y 43.14 43.14 -4.31 -4.31 -4.31 -4.31 -4.31 -4.31 -4.31 -4.31 -4.31 0Sum

Release (t/ha y)

Standing biomass of:- trunk- fronds- male flowers

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2322212019

Fronds: 10.7 t/ha y

8.032.68 2.68

8.03 Pruned fronds: 10.7 t/ha yRelease from decomposition ofpruned fronds, t/ha y

Uptake: biomass in fronds tobe pruned, t/ha y

Release minus uptake, t/ha y 8.03 2.68 -4.01 -5.35 -1.34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sum

Release (t/ha y)


CO2 from cultivation of peat

IPCC (2003) 5.0 t CO2/ha yr (3.0-14.0): drained managed tropical forests

73 t CO2/ha yr (7.3-139): cropland

Henson (2004) 27.5 t CO2/ha yr: oil palm

Reijnders and Huijbregts (2006) 37-55 t CO2/ha yr: oil palm

Hooijer et al. (2006) 54-90 t CO2/ha yr: oil palm, level depends on drainage depth

21Schmidt (2008), Life cycle assessment of palm oil atUnited Plantations Berhad. United Plantations Berhad

Emissions inventory: palm oil mill stage

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CH4Particles





Methane from palm oil mill effluent

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Stack emissions from palm oil mills

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Programme


Overview of differences between aver Malaysia and United Plantations

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Weighted results: Malaysian palm oil

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Based on: Schmidt (2008), Life cycle assessment of palm oil atUnited Plantations Berhad. United Plantations Berhad

Process contribution: characterised results

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N2O: 38%CO2: 32%CH4: 30%Other: <1%

Particles: 75%NH3: 12%NOx: 11%Other: <2%


Improvement options: GHG-emissions

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Based on: Schmidt (2008), Life cycle assessmentof palm oil at United Plantations Berhad.United Plantations Berhad

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Mineral soil UP: 13.4% peatMY: 9.5% peat

Peat soil

Combination of improvement options: GHG-emissions

Index 100 Index 65Index 41Index 35Index 18


Improvement options: Respiratory inorganics

31Based on: Schmidt (2008), Life cycle assessment of palm oil atUnited Plantations Berhad. United Plantations Berhad

Land transformation: GHG-emissions

32Assumption: Transformation supports cultivation in 100 years


Land transformation: GHG-emissions

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2.453.18

0.731.13


Concluding remarks

Most significant impacts: GHG, land use, respiratory inorganics

Most significant improvement potentials Avoid cultivation of peat

Capture and utilise methane from POME

Increase yields by good management (replanting, fertiliser, integrated pest management) and good planting material

Potential to reduce GHG emissions with factor 3-5!

34© United Plantations Berhad

Allocation – impossible processes are created

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Milk Meat Milk Meat

Allocation

Unallocated milking cow (per 100 DM feed)

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9.3 Milk 2.2 Meat

100 DM feed

2.0 CH4

28.3 C in CO2

23.2 Manure

35.0 respiratory water

Milk: 77% of turnoverMeat: 23% of turnover

outputs = 100

Allocated milking cow (economic allocation: milk 77%)

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9.3 Milk 2.2 Meat

77 DM feed

1.5 CH4

21.8 C in CO2

17.9 Manure

27.0 respiratory water

Milk: 77% of turnoverMeat: 23% of turnover

outputs = 77.5

Functional unit = palm oil + palm kernel oil

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0.893 t veg. oil for food

Palm oil system

0.107 t PKO

Uses: substitutable market segment

Special fat market segment1 t veg. Oilfor food

Marginal suppliers

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Marginal suppliers: Area or yield

lca applied to palm oil - cirad formations

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