Comparative life cycle assessment of biodiesel from algae and jatropha: A case study of India

•Algae could be an alternative source for biodiesel due to Indian meteorological and geographical conditions.•The environmental performance of algae and jatropha biodiesel could be superior to fossil diesel.•Seed yields have a significant impact on the environmental performance of jatropha biodiesel production.•Efficient utilization of co-products is essential for algae biodiesel production. Algae and jatropha, two types of promising and unconventional biomass, are investigated in this study for large-scale production of biodiesel. The aim is to evaluate the potential advantages and the magnitude of closeness of life cycle balances between these two biodiesel pathways compared to fossil diesel, by taking into account possible uncertainties. The geographical location of this study is India with a prospect of utilizing available wastelands in southern regions. The results indicate that the environmental performance of algal biodiesel is comparable to that of jatropha biodiesel. Both show significant GHG emission and fossil energy depletion reductions which are in the range of 36–40 and 10–25% respectively compared to fossil diesel in the studied geographic context.