Sustainability analysis of Palm oil vs. Jatropha

Ibude, Ikechukwu, Hasan, Reaz, Fargani, Haitem, Ozoemena, Matthew and Cheung, Wai Ming (2014) Sustainability analysis of Palm oil vs. Jatropha. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Manufacturing Research. Southampton Solent University, UK, pp. 265-270. ISBN 978-0-9926958-4-2

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Abstract

Biofuels have attracted special interest in the past decade driven by concerns over security of energy and global climate change but at the same time created controversy over various social and ethical matters. Compared with bio-diesels derived from food stocks such as corn or maize, Oil Palm and Jatropha curcas show greater promise and are apparently a better compromise between food and energy security. As such, various governments and large companies have taken initiatives in promoting this type of bio-fuel. In this paper, a Life Cycle Assessment is carried out on the above two bio-fuels using published data which shows that cultivation phase contributes very significantly to the Green House Gas emissions. Detailed analysis further reveals that considerable ethical and social issues are embedded within the cultivation phase and hence a broader approach should be taken in carrying out sustainability assessment.

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