The Mediating Role of Radical Innovation in the Relationship Between Knowledge Management and Competitive Advantage in Sudanese Manufacturing Firms

Major shifts in the global energy scene since 2015 toward a low carbon economy such as adoption of solar and biomass are only adding the power capacity instead of replacing the large scale power of the coal. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) specifically on carbon intensity assessment was performed to evaluate the potential of minimising the carbon emissions related to coal fuel. The assessment was carried out by calculating the carbon intensity (kg of CO2 per kWh of energy consumed) of biochar from literatures and were compared with coal for three boundary conditions, i.e. feedstock production, logistic used to deliver feedstock to power plant and the feedstock’s stationary combustion. The carbon emission of feedstock production for empty fruit bunch (EFB) biochar in pyrolysis plant used was 0.046 kg CO2-equiv. kg−1 EFB yr−1 meanwhile the carbon emission emitted from coal extraction and mining was 0.116 kg methane Million BTU−1 coal yr−1. The carbon emission for logistic was calculated for a scenario of 14,000 metric tons (MT) of dry feedstock (coal) shipped from the departure port, Samarinda port, Kalimantan, Indonesia to the receiver port, Jimah coal power plant, Malaysia, with carbon emissions of 10 g CO2/MT/km distance. The carbon emission generated from feedstock combustion used was taken from a study on bioenergy crop, Miscanthus with carbon intensity of 113 kg CO2/MWh. The CO2 emission of sub-bituminous coal combustion was referred to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default emission factors of 1,676 kg CO2/ton. The LCA on three boundary conditions have suggested that biochar has big impact on environmental benefits when considering coal substitution with biochar as to minimize the lifecycle carbon footprint in which a noteworthy saving of 62.1% of carbon intensity can be achieved when biochar is replaced with coal as solid fuel in power plants.