Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions in power generation using palm kernel shell

Although the Japanese feed-in tariff was introduced to expand renewable energy, leading to the expansion of palm kernel shell (PKS) use, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction effect is evaluated using the limited life-cycle of PKS, focusing on processes after PKS generation point. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the life-cycle GHG emissions of power generation using PKS. We targeted two PKS-firing power plants as these are the first two instances of the use of PKS in power plants in Japan. A system boundary was established to cover palm plantation management in Indonesia and Malaysia, as both power plants import PKS from these countries. The GHG emissions were derived from land-use change, palm plantation, oil extraction, PKS transportation, and power plants. Six scenarios were examined for the emissions based on the type of land-use change and the existence of biogas capture in oil extraction. CO2 emissions from PKS combustion were also calculated by assuming that carbon...