PROMOTING SUSTAINABILITY IN EMERGING ECONOMIES VIA LIFE CYCLE THINKING Water demand and stress from oil palm-based biodiesel production in Thailand Pariyapat Nilsalab 1,2 & Shabbir H. Gheewala 1,2 & Rattanawan Mungkung 3 & Sylvain R. Perret 4 & Thapat Silalertruksa 1,2 & Sébastien Bonnet 1,2 Received: 19 February 2016 /Accepted: 13 October 2016 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract Purpose The use and production of biofuels have been strongly promoted in Thailand. In order to achieve a 25 % renewable energy target in 2021, feedstock expansion is need- ed to satisfy the increased demand for biofuel production put- ting more pressure on freshwater resources. This is an impor- tant implication of biofuel production which has not yet been taken into consideration. Thus, this study intends to address the impact from freshwater use due to the biodiesel target based on life cycle assessment approach as well as to evaluate suitable areas for expansion of oil palm. Methods The amount of water for growing oil palm through- out its lifespan is estimated based on theoretical crop water requirement, while water demand for producing biodiesel is referred to from literature. Then, the potential impact on fresh- water resources is assessed in terms of water deprivation using the water stress index of Thailand. The Alternative Energy Development Plan for 2012–2021 and areas recommended by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives are referred in this study. Additionally, two scenarios for increasing new plantation in suitable areas are proposed as expansion in a single region or spread over the three regions. Results and discussion The highest water requirement for oil palm-based biodiesel production is found in the central region followed by the eastern and southern (4–9, 5–16, and 4– 19 m 3 L -1 biodiesel, respectively). This is because oil palm plantations in the central region are not yet fully mature. As a result, the ratio of crop water requirement associated to crop productivity will be reduced while the water productivity will be increased yearly in yield. Also, more than 99 % of the total water is required during the cultivation period. To achieve the 2021 biodiesel target with a concern towards the impact from freshwater use by means of low water deprivation, cultivating oil palm is recommended entirely in the eastern and the south- ern parts without expansion to the central region. Conclusions The impact on freshwater resources is an impor- tant implication of biofuel production as most of the water requirement of palm oil biodiesel was for oil palm cultivation. Accounting the water deprivation as one of the criteria on impact from freshwater use will provide useful support for selecting areas having less potential for inducing water stress in a watershed leads to people in these areas being less vul- nerable to water stress. Keywords Biodiesel . Freshwater use . Oil palm . Thailand . Water stress Responsible editor: Pomthong Malakul Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11367-016-1213-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Shabbir H. Gheewala shabbir_g@jgsee.kmutt.ac.th 1 The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King Mongkut’ s University of Technology Thonburi, 126 Prachauthit Rd, Bangmod, Tungkru, Bangkok 10140, Thailand 2 Center of Excellence on Energy Technology and Environment, PERDO, Bangkok, Thailand 3 Centre of Excellence on enVironmental strategy for GREEN business (VGREEN), Department of Environmental Technology and Management, Faculty of Environment, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngamwongwan Rd, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand 4 Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, UMR G-Eau, 34398 Montpellier, France Int J Life Cycle Assess DOI 10.1007/s11367-016-1213-7