Life cycle assessment of Crambe abyssinica production for an integrated multi-product biorefinery

For decades, energy and chemical industry markets have been dominated by resources acquired from fossil fuels. The resources are steadily shrinking and access to them is becoming increasingly difficult. Therefore, alternative methods of producing fuels or chemicals from renewable sources are being sought. The crambe (Crambe abyssinica) is an oil plant with a high content of erucic acid, regarded as a feedstock for integrated biorefineries. Production of fuels or chemicals from biomass should be conducted in a sustainable way. Therefore, the aim of the study was to use the life cycle assessment method to determine the impact on the environment of the production of crambe compared to spring rape. The results showed that spring rape affected the environment more strongly in 9 out of 10 impact categories by the CML 2000 baseline method, considering the impact per 1ha. The cultivation of crambe with (Crambe II) and without herbicides (Crambe I) had the greatest impact in the category of terrestrial ecotoxicity. When an impact per 1kg of seeds was considered, it was noted that spring rape had a greater effect only in 1 out of 10 effect categories – human toxicity. The differences were associated with a much lower yield of crambe obtained in the experiment compared to spring rape. In conclusion, the environmental impact of the “weak links” in the crambe production, mineral fertilisation and a low yield, should be minimised.