The environmental perspective on biomass co-firing operations at coal-fired power plants in the Banten region, Indonesia: a life cycle approach

The Indonesian government is implementing the national biomass co-firing program to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in power plants on a significant scale in a short time. Unfortunately, the environmental impacts of this program, under actual conditions, have not yet been thoroughly assessed and evaluated. This study involved collaborating with a coal-fired power plant (CFPP) operator in Banten to study actual conditions using life cycle assessment analysis with a cradle-to-gate system. The product category rules were used to determine the environmental impact category. Operational data was used from two coal-fired power plant units, each operating coal-firing and sawdust co-firing with a co-firing ratio (CR) of 11.80%. The results of comparing both units revealed a reduction in the impact of global warming potential by − 19.83%, acidification potential by − 27.67%, eutrophication potential by − 10.85%, photochemical ozone formation potential by − 28.73%, abiotic depletion potential (ADP) fossil by − 7.35%, water scarcity by − 3.05%. However, there were increases in ADP elements by 69.66%, ozone depletion potential (ODP) by 36.30%, and land use (LU) by 1926.74%. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to analyze the environmental impact of increasing the CR from 11.80 to 20.0%, where the study results showed the highest increase in LU. A scenario analysis was employed to estimate the environmental impact of fuels, where the results were sequential as follows: coal, rice husk pellets, sawdust, and woodchips co-firing, with values of 1.23, 1.03, 0.99, and 0.98 kg-CO 2 -eq, respectively. Based on the actual conditions, this study's results provide insight into the environmental impact of biomass co-firing operations. It is expected that the results will be used as a reference for developing a strategy to maintain the sustainability of this program for the long term.