Life cycle assessment, technical and economical analyses of jatropha biodiesel for electricity generation in remote areas of côte d’Ivoire
Résumé
This chapter assesses the environmental and economical performances of Jatropha biodiesel used as fuel by a diesel generator supplying electricity to the Ivorian remote locality of 500 inhabitants. It begins with a presentation of the Ivorian electric context and the Jatropha plant from which biodiesel is produced. Then, it presents the different assumptions adopted and the tools used, namely, the life cycle assessment (LCA), the calculation of the power of the diesel generator, and the calculation of the electricity production cost. By the end of the chapter, the results obtained from the LCA, the calculation of the diesel generator power, and the calculation of the cost of electricity generation from Jatropha biodiesel are presented. Of course, an interpretation of these results is carried out in order to draw the conclusions. The main results obtained at the end of this study are as follows:
•One kilowatt-hour of electricity generation from Jatropha oil is more environmental efficient than the generation of 1 kW h of electricity from conventional diesel. In fact, there is no impact on global warming, no eutrophication, and there is the same impact on nonrenewable energy depletion with the use of conventional diesel.
•The cost of electricity generation from Jatropha oil for an Ivorian village of 500 people (0.1€/kW h) is better than the fixed electricity generation cost from biomass (0.2€/kW h) but on the condition of developing a market for the oil cake.