Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment of Biomass Pellets Biofuel in Hazara Division, Pakistan

Abstract

A thorough life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to determine whether wood pellets were a viable substitute for non-renewable fuels like oil and gas, especially for heating. To evaluate the properties of wood pellets and their effects on the environment, the study was conducted in the Hazara division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A few factors were investigated, including the carbon and water footprints and the identification of potential growth opportunities in the production of wood pellets. One kilogram of wood pellets served as the analysis reference unit. Raw materials were obtained from sawmills and furniture stores to make the wood pellets. Sawdust, a bio binder, and lubricating oil were used in the production process along with the pelletizer machine. SimaPro 9.2 software was used in the environmental footprint assessment to evaluate several environmental effects, including eutrophication, ozone depletion, abiotic depletion, rusting, human toxicity, and aquatic ecotoxicity. The highest contribution was shown by the wood pellets produced from the softwood sawdust as 149.8558 in marine aquatic ecotoxicity. The study’s findings showed that using lubricating oil during the production of wood pellets significantly affected the overall environmental results. The characterization of wood pellets showed that the Higher heating Values (HHV) resulted from burning wood pellets made from sawdust of Melia azedarach as 24.79 MJ/kg. Softwood mixed species recorded the highest water footprint and damage assessment impact and the highest carbon footprint of 0.186 CO2 e. With a 3.84 × 10−7 DALY (disability-adjusted life years) measurement, softwood mixed species showed the highest contribution to human health damage among the damage categories. In terms of cost, producing one kilogram of wood pellets from softwood mixed species was priced at 22 PKR, the lowest among the assessed species. The highest cost of 26 PKR was associated with producing wood pellets from Parthenium hysterophorus and Diospyros lotus.

Customer perception and market potential of wood pellets biofuel in Swabi, Pakistan

“…Since World War II, the use of pallets has expanded into other industrial applications outside of the military. Today, wooden pallets are used by 93% of material handling companies (Hassan et al, 2023).…”

“…Pellet stoves, which have a better combustion efficiency than traditional heating systems (wood stoves and fireplaces), are used to burn wood pellets. Furthermore, assuming an energy basis, wood pellets have a higher energy density and hence require less storage space than firewood (Hassan et al, 2023). The use of woody biomass for energy purposes has been increasing in recent decades, highlighting the importance of woody resources in sustainable economies .…”

“…For economic reasons, Hassan et al (2023) did not recommend the use of dryers in small-scale pellet production plants. Various studies for pellet production cost distribution have been made…”

“…The wood pellet market is booming in Europe (Sikkema et al, 2011). The EU 2020 policy targets for renewable energy sources and greenhouse gas emissions reduction and the worsening situation of strong energy dependence on oil (Hassan et al, 2023) are among the main drivers. Nowadays, wood pellets are one of the largest internationally traded solid biomass commodities used specifically for energy purposes.…”

“…Pellet production is a combination of sequential steps, including preprocessing, drying, grinding, pelletizing, cooling, screening and bagging. A detailed review is provided elsewhere in the literature (Hassan et al, 2023). Therefore, only a brief description is made herein.…”