Life cycle assessment on a 500 MW oil-fired power plant in Sudan

Abstract

In this study, the methodology of life cycle assessment was used to assess the environmental impacts of a 500MW oil-fired power plant in Sudan. Ecoinvent database along with primary data obtained from the Sudanese Thermal Power Generating Company Ltd (STPGC) were utilized. Life cycle analysis was conducted with the aid of OpenLCA software and the ReCiPe method was employed. Results revealed that the environmental impact is dominated by climate change with a value of 1.07992 kg 2-eq followed by the fossil fuel depletion category, which is equal to 0.39320 kg oil-eq. Furthermore, the third most pronounced category is human toxicity with a value of 0.08983 kg 1,4-DCB-eq followed by ionizing radiation category with a value of 0.07341 kg U235-eq. Additionally, in regard to the endpoint level, it was found that 46% of the overall life cycle impact damages the resources, 36% affects human health and 18% contributes to ecosystem quality damage. Moreover, the operation phase and oil upstream processes were found to be the most burdensome on the environment. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the primary influential factors on environmental impacts, it was evidently clear that plant efficiency is the most dominant parameter affecting the results.