Research of the carbon footprint calculation and evaluation method based on the pattern microalgae for biodiesel production

Microalgae biomass energy is an environmentally friendly and sustainable renewable energy source. Accelerating its development can address energy scarcity, improve the environment, and achieve carbon sequestration and emission reduction goals. However, research on calculating carbon footprints for biomass energy production is deficient. Existing evaluation methods fail to allocate emission responsibilities and inadequately assessed the low-carbon production potential of biomass energy. This study presents a comprehensive method for calculating and evaluating carbon footprints, enabling direct estimation of product carbon emissions and analysis of the potential for low-carbon production in various industries. This method aimed to calculate the carbon footprint of microalgae biodiesel production and evaluate it using specific evaluation parameters. The results demonstrated that the carbon footprint of microalgae biodiesel is −2995.37 kg CO2/ton. The calculated microalgae biodiesel production exhibits a significant negative carbon emission, accurately depicting the carbon footprint of the entire biodiesel production process. Based on these carbon footprint results and evaluation parameters, improvements were made to the biodiesel production process, and its development prospects were explored. The novel approach presented to calculate and assess carbon footprints in energy production can provide valuable theoretical insights and technical support to promote low-carbon development and carbon reduction in the energy industry.