Environmental impacts of the biodiesel production chain of cotton seed in Bahia, Brazil

Current research identified potential environmental impacts in the biodiesel production from cotton seed in Bahia, Brazil, when the phases agriculture, processing (ginning), crude cotton seed oil extraction, oil refinement and transesterification of refined oil are taken into account. The use of biodiesel, featuring 7% in diesel blending, is mandatory in Brazil. The life cycle assessment was employed with SimaPro 8.1.1, Professional, Ecoinvent 3.1 database and CML baseline method developed by Center of Environmental Science of Leiden University, for four impact categories. The functional unit was 1000 kg de biodiesel. Allocation method was the mass value in which the heaviest product had the biggest load. Monte Carlo method was used to estimate uncertainty analysis. Results demonstrated 5.0 × 10⁻³ kg Sb-eq. for the abiotic depletion potential; 1475 kg CO₂-eq. for global warming potential; 17.5 kg SO₂-eq. for acidification potential; and 10 kg PO₄ ³⁻-eq. for eutrophication potential. Agriculture was the phase with a significant participation on the environmental impact capacities in all the categories analyzed, especially due to the application of fertilizers and pesticides.