Implementation of a modular web-based multi-method Tool for the Assessment of Biofuel Sustainability Standards

Abstract

This paper deals with the scope and technical features of a tool that manages the evaluation of the impacts of biofuel production on the environment. It consists out of different modules that calculate a range of different lifecycle-based indicators (for example Greenhouse Gas emissions, hereafter GHG emissions). The data needed for the evaluation process consists of two parts. The first part is provided by the user in a webbased questionnaire. The second part contains LCI material and energy flow data and impact factors from the ecoinvent database and other scientific studies. The LCI data is imported into the database via an XML interface. To ensure easy and worldwide accessibility the tool is implemented as a web-based, database-assisted application. It was developed as combination of multiple modules for the web-content management system Drupal. The evaluation process covers the whole lifecycle of biofuels including cultivation, processing, blending and transportation cycles. These aspects of the lifecycle can be calculated separately, as they are implemented in different modules. For a combination of the modules and total evaluation the user has to provide information about the crop type / feedstock, the country, the climatic circumstances, the used fertilizers, pesticides, energy and material data for further processing to name but a few. Depending on the users choices the emissions and material flows for the given scenario are calculated for each phase. The results of each phase are cumulated, related to reference data and visualized.