• Energy Research
• Open Source close
• Embargo close
• 12. Responsible consumption close
• AT close
• IT close
• PL close

In industrialized countries, large amounts of mineral wastes are produced. They are re-used in various ways, particularly in road and earth constructions, substituting primary resources such as gravel. However, they may also contain pollutants, such as heavy metals, which may be leached to the groundwater. The toxic impacts of these emissions are so far often neglected within Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of products or waste treatment services and thus, potentially large environmental impacts are currently missed. This study aims at closing this gap by assessing the ecotoxic impacts of heavy metal leaching from industrial mineral wastes in road and earth constructions. The flows of metals such as Sb, As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, V and Zn originating from three typical constructions to the environment are quantified, their fate in the environment is assessed and potential ecotoxic effects evaluated. For our reference country, Germany, the industrial wastes that are applied as Granular Secondary Construction Material (GSCM) carry more than 45,000 t of diverse heavy metals per year. Depending on the material quality and construction type applied, up to 150 t of heavy metals may leach to the environment within the first 100 years after construction. Heavy metal retardation in subsoil can potentially reduce the fate to groundwater by up to 100%. One major challenge of integrating leaching from constructions into macro-scale LCA frameworks is the high variability in micro-scale technical and geographical factors, such as material qualities, construction types and soil types. In our work, we consider a broad range of parameter values in the modeling of leaching and fate. This allows distinguishing between the impacts of various road constructions, as well as sites with different soil properties. The findings of this study promote the quantitative consideration of environmental impacts of long-term leaching in Life Cycle Assessment, complementing site-specific risk assessment, for the design of waste management strategies, particularly in the construction sector.

Fossil fuel substitution with biomass is one of the measures to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This paper estimates the cost-effectiveness of raising industrial steam and producing materials (i.e. chemicals, polymers) from biomass. We quantify their long-term global potentials in terms of energy saving, CO2 emission reduction, cost and resource availability. Technically, biomass can replace all fossil fuels used for the production of materials and for generating low and medium temperature steam. Cost-effective opportunities exist for steam production from biomass residues and by substitution of high value petrochemicals which would together require more than 20 exajoules (EJ) of biomass worldwide in addition to baseline by 2030. Potentials could double in 2050 and reach 38-45 EJ (25% of the total industrial energy use), with most demand in Asia, other developing countries and economies in transition. The economic potential of using biomass as chemical feedstock is nearly as high as for steam production, indicating its importance. The exploitation of these potentials depends on energy prices and industry's access to biomass supply. Given the increasing competition for biomass from several economic sectors, more resource efficient materials need to be developed while steam production is already attractive due to its high effectiveness for reducing CO2 emissions per unit of biomass.

AbstractSustainable biorefineries have a critical role to play in our common future. The need to provide more goods using renewable resources, combined with advances in science and technology, has provided a receptive environment for biorefinery systems development. Biorefineries offer the promise of using fewer non‐renewable resources, reducing CO2 emissions, creating new employment, and spurring innovation using clean and efficient technologies. Lessons are being learned from the establishment of first‐generation biofuel operations. The factors that are key to answering the question of biorefinery sustainability include: the type of feedstock, the conversion technologies and their respective conversion and energy efficiencies, the types of products (including coproducts) that are manufactured, and what products are substituted by the bioproducts. The BIOPOL review of eight existing biorefineries indicates that new efficient biorefineries can revitalize existing industries and promote regional development, especially in the R&D area. Establishment can be facilitated if existing facilities are used, if there is at least one product which is immediately marketable, and if supportive policies are in place. Economic, environmental, and social dimensions need to be evaluated in an integrated sustainability assessment. Sustainability principles, criteria, and indicators are emerging for bioenergy, biofuels, and bioproducts. Practical assessment methodologies, including data systems, are critical for both sustainable design and to assure consumers, investors, and governments that they are doing the ‘right thing’ by purchasing a certain bioproduct. If designed using lifecycle thinking, biorefineries can be profitable, socially responsible, and produce goods with less environmental impact than conventional products … and potentially even be restorative!. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Abstract The study presents recent developments in the Turkish power market and introduces an Analytic Hierarchy Process model to evaluate and compare the relative overall attractiveness of power plant options for Turkey. The developed model incorporates technical characteristics, resource availability, socio-economic, environmental, cost, political, legal and organisational aspects, for evaluating and prioritising power plant types (biomass, coal, geothermal, hydro, natural gas, nuclear, petroleum, solar and wind). The study incorporates perspectives of different experts that represent various stakeholders of the Turkish power sector. The study reveals that supply reliability, investment costs and contribution to national economy are perceived as most important factors, whereas waste disposal and decommissioning costs are perceived as least important factors. Considering the overall weights, the most attractive power plant types for the Turkish power market are coal, hydro and natural gas power plants. The study indicates that Turkey should drastically decrease the installed capacity share of traditionally dominant power plants (to 58% from 89% in 2016) and fossil fuel power plants (to 40% from 56% in 2016), and increase the share of renewable power plants (to 52% from 44% in 2016), indigenous resource based power plants (to 67% from 56% in 2016) and nuclear power plants.

The Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation is an organic-rich (black) mudrock that is widely considered to be a potential shale gas reservoir in the southern Sichuan Basin (the Yangtze plate) in Southwest China. A case study is presented to characterise the shale gas reservoir using a workflow to evaluate its characteristics. A typical characterisation of a gas shale reservoir was determined using basset sample analysis (geochemical, petrographical, mineralogical, and petrophysical) through a series of tests. The results show that the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale reservoir is characterised by organic geochemistry and mineralogical, petrophysical and gas adsorption. Analysis of the data demonstrates that the reservoir properties of the rock in this region are rich and that the bottom group of the Longmaxi Formation has the greatest potential for gas production due to higher thermal maturity, total organic carbon (TOC) enrichment, better porosity and improved fracture potential. These results will provide a basis for further evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of the Longmaxi Formation shale in the Sichuan Basin and for identifying areas with exploration potential.

Recently, the international trade of various bioenergy commodities has grown rapidly, yet this growth is also hampered by some barriers. The aim of this paper is to obtain an overview of what market actors currently perceive as major opportunities and barriers for the development of international bioenergy trade. The work focuses on three bioenergy commodities: bioethanol, biodiesel and wood pellets. Data were collected through an internet-based questionnaire. The majority of the 141 respondents had an industrial background. Geographically, two-thirds were from (mainly Western) Europe, with other minor contributions from all other continents. Results show that import tariffs and the implementation of sustainability certification systems are perceived as (potentially) major barriers for the trade of bioethanol and biodiesel, while logistics are seen mainly as an obstacle for wood pellets. Development of technical standards was deemed more as an opportunity than a barrier for all commodities. Most important drivers were high fossil fuel prices and climate change mitigation policies. Concluding, to overcome some of the barriers, specific actions will be required by market parties and policy makers. Import tariffs for biofuels could be reduced or abolished, linked to multinational trade agreements and harmonization (including provisions on technical standards and sustainability requirements).

With the assistance of the LEAP (long-range energy alternatives planning) energy modeling tool, this study explores the energy efficiency and CO2 emission reduction potential of the iron and steel industry in Turkey. With a share of 35%, the steel and iron industry is considered as the most energy-consuming sector in Turkey. The study explores that the energy intensity rate can be lowered by 13%, 38% and 51% in SEI (slow-speed energy efficiency improvement), AEI (accelerating energy efficiency improvement) and CPT (cleaner production and technology scenario) scenarios, respectively. Particularly the projected aggregated energy savings of the scenarios CPT and AES are very promising with saving rates of 33.7% and 23% respectively. Compared to baseline scenarios, energy efficiency improvements correspond to economic potential of 0.1 billion dollars for SEI, 1.25 dollars for AEI and 1.8 billion dollars for CPT scenarios annually. Concerning GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, in 2030 the iron and steel industry in Turkey is estimated to produce 34.9 MtCO2 in BAU (business-as-usual scenario), 32.5 MtCO2 in SEI, 24.6 MtCO2 in AEI and 14.5 MtCO2 in CPT a scenario which corresponds to savings of 9%–39%. The study reveals that energy consumption and GHG emissions of the iron and steel industry can be lowered significantly if the necessary measures are implemented. It is expected that this study will fill knowledge gaps pertaining to energy efficiency potential in Turkish energy intensive industries and help stakeholders in energy intensive industries to realize the potential for energy efficiency and GHG mitigation.

In 2010, China was responsible for 45% of global steel production, while consuming 15.8EJ of final energy and emitting 1344Mt CO2eq, 8.4Mt of PM (particulate matter) emissions, and 5.3Mt of SO2 emissions. In this paper we analyse the co-benefits of implementing energy efficiency measures that jointly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, in comparison to applying only air pollution control (end-of-pipe technology). For this purpose we construct ECSC (energy conservation supply curves) that contain potentials and costs of energy efficiency measures and implement these in the GAINS (greenhouse gas and air pollution interactions and synergies) model. Findings show that the technical energy saving potential for the Chinese iron and steel industry for 2030 is around 5.7EJ. This is equivalent to 28% of reference energy use in 2030. The emissions mitigation of GHGs (greenhouse gases) and air pollutants in BAEEM_S3 scenario would be reduce 27% CO2eq, 3% of PM, and 22% of SO2, compared to the BL scenario in 2030. Investments and cost savings were calculated for different scenarios, showing that energy efficiency investments will result in significant reductions in air pollution control costs. Hence, Energy efficiency measures should be integrated in air quality policy in China.