Life cycle inventory of electricity production from biomass power plant system using life cycle assessment in Aceh Province, Indonesia

Biomass is important material sources as bioenergy for many purposes. Empty fruit bunch (EFB) is one of the rests of biomass from palm oil production that is underutilized in Aceh Province, Indonesia. In the previous research gasification technology was implemented in converting EFB biomass to be electricity using a gasification system. An environmental load of this electricity production needs to be evaluated using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. LCA is a well-known method and quantitative approach to evaluate the environmental impact of the product. LCA process consists of goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory (LCI), impact assessment (IA), and interpretation. LCI is the most time consuming and important activity in the LCA calculation. Therefore, we proposed the life cycle inventory analysis of electricity production from EFB biomass using a gasification system. The result of this study was the developed data inventory of electricity production from EFB biomass using a gasification system. The total amount of 17 process units both in the EFB biomass production and electricity production in the gasification system including the distribution process to the user. The gas engine was the major process that contributed to the high global warming potential impact from electricity production. Multiple scenarios can be used to support decision-makers to evaluate the best scenario of the process.