Life cycle assessment of biogas digester in small scale tapioca industry

Biogas was mentioned to be the source of sustainable energy, but the digester materials could create environmental footprints within the manufacturing and transportation process. Hence, the sustainability of biogas digester is under questioned. The objective of this research is to analyse the environmental load effects of the biogas digester installation, maintenance and utilization from industrial wastewater of small-scale tapioca industry along with the replacement of fossil fuel as the energy source. Furthermore, this research was conducted by life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. LCA is a support tool to assist the decision-makers to understand and improve the environmental impact of a technology/service. The study started from the beginning of life until the end of the product lifespan (including the construction process, and maintenance). Hence, this study found that the emission from the installation and maintenance of small-scale biogas digester contribute to +18.5 Kt CO2 eq. The biggest contributors of greenhouse gasses (GHG) are geomembrane HDPE and gasoline. On the other hand, the utilisation of biogas to fuel the tapioca drying process and replace fossil fuel (LPG) could significantly reduce the GHG with a total reduction of 296 Kt CO2 eq for one life cycle (15 years).