| Concerns about climate change and domestic energy security have resurged interest in biodiesel. A number of LCAs of biofuels have been published over the last decade, however none have focused on biodiesel fuel production pathways. In this thesis, biodiesel pathways are compared with respect to life cycle energy use, GHG emissions and land use. Jatropha curcas is a promising feedstock that could be commercially cultivated on non-arable lands in Mexico and perhaps in parts of the southern U.S. Despite such promise, the life cycle environmental performance of Jatropha biodiesel (JBD) have not been assessed for North America. This thesis models the cultivation of J. curcas in Mexico and the conversion into biodiesel for use in the light-duty vehicle fleet in the U.S. When compared to low sulphur diesel and soybean biodiesel, the LCA of JBD shows 54% and 24% lower GHG emissions, respectively, when utilized in a light-duty vehicle. |
