Life Cycle Assessment of the Gasoline Supply Chain in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan transport sector still depends predominantly on petroleum fuels, mainly diesel and gasoline. Gasoline holds the second highest market share, and with the increasing number of gasoline-fueled vehicles, its proportion in the transport fuel mix is continuously expanding. The main objective of this study is to assess the ecological burden associated with the gasoline supply chain in Sri Lanka by conducting a life cycle assessment from a ‘well-to-tank’ perspective. In the scenario analysis, the environmental impacts of four potential gasoline distribution scenarios were assessed and compared with the existing distribution model. According to the results, the refining process was predominant, contributing more than 50% to climate change, terrestrial acidification, marine and freshwater eutrophication, human toxicity, and water and marine ecotoxicities. Meanwhile, crude oil extraction dominates in its contribution to ozone depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, freshwater ecotoxicity, and fossil depletion. The results of the scenario analysis show a remarkable reduction in the environmental load when rail transport is solely used to transfer gasoline from bulk terminals to regional depots. The reduction is over 65% in most impact categories compared to the existing distribution method, which involves a combination of both road and rail transport. This study identifies the key areas that need to be further analyzed to lower the environmental impacts while also establishing a foundation for conducting comparative environmental assessments of alternative fuel options in the Sri Lankan context.