A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Gasoline Blending with Different Oxygenates in India

Abstract

This paper includes a cradle-to-gate life cycle impact evaluation of gasoline blends in India. The potential environmental impacts of gasoline blends with three major components, i.e., methanol, ethanol, and n-butanol are assessed. The production of methanol from the natural gas reforming process, ethanol from hydrogenation with nitric acid, and n-butanol from the oxo process are considered in the current study. The results show that the gasoline blending with methanol has the lowest impact (11 categories) and is nearly constant from 5 to 15%. For gasoline with ethanol as an additive, the global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, and abiotic depletion potential rise with increasing ethanol addition. Meanwhile, increasing ethanol addition reduces the acidification potential and terrestric ecotoxicity potential impact of gasoline blends. Similarly, gasoline with n-butanol as an additive has higher acidification potential, eutrophication potential, human toxicity potential, terrestric ecotoxicity potential, marine aquatic ecotoxicity potential, and photochemical ozone creation potential compared to methanol and ethanol.

Keywords

• gasoline, methanol, ethanol, n-butanol, life cycle assessment