Life Cycle Assessment of a novel digestate treatment unit for anaerobic digestate plant: a UK case

Management of digestate co-product produced from anaerobic digestion (AD) has become a challenge due to impacts on the environment. Valorising AD into high-value products is not only considered as a solution to this issue but can also make AD more cost-effective. Project NOMAD (Novel Organic recovery using Mobile ADvanced technology) funded by H2020 is currently developing an innovative solution for valorising digestate. A designed mobile unit combines several digestate treatment technologies, i.e., solid-liquid separation, ultraviolet light and ozone oxidation, and electrodialysis. The valuable nutrients are concentrated from the liquid fraction, and the solid fraction is collected as compost. This study adopts Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to assess environmental impacts of the NOMAD unit incorporated into a UK AD plant, focusing on business-as-usual (BAU) case, NOMAD scenario, and upscaled NOMAD scenario. The BAU case is current management of digestate, where digestate is transported, stored, and applied to farmlands. The NOMAD scenario introduces one unit, capable of addressing digestate 5 ton/day, while the upscaled NOMAD scenario can process all digestate produced from the AD plant. 12 impact categories are selected using ReCiPe 2016. The results show that the upscaled NOMAD scenario can reduce 11%-69% of targeted impacts compared to BAU scenario, with 1%-24% reduction for NOMAD scenario. The NOMAD unit process, either upscaled or one-unit, contributes less than 6% of overall impacts, while AD activities and field application are the main impact contributors. The outcome of these scenarios validates the NOMAD unit for valorisation of digestate from environmental impact perspective

State of the Nation 2018 : Infrastructure Investment

Good infrastructure helps transform our society for the better. However, the way we use and interact with this infrastructure is shifting. We face vastly changing demographics, along with increasing urbanisation and digital transformation. We want projects that are built bigger, better and quicker not to mention more resilient. The UK's strategic infrastructure network is what helps make our country run, and politicians from all parties have acknowledged this. As the UK re-positions itself on the global stage, improving the performance of our networks has never been more important

The Economic Impact of City of Glasgow College, 2012-2020

In 2010, City of Glasgow College was formed through the merger of Central College Glasgow, Glasgow Metropolitan College, and Glasgow College of Nautical Studies. Its formation secured a £228 million investment into state-of-the-art campuses on Cathedral Street (City Campus) and on the banks of the River Clyde (Riverside Campus). These campuses are large enough to accommodate 40,000 students, making it the largest in Europe. Their design is world-leading with the very latest technology and industry-standard facilities. The College offers around 2,000 courses each year, from Creative Industries to STEM. Full-time and part-time courses are provided, along with distance and work-based learning. As a further and higher education institution, the College offers course that span access level through to degree qualifications. But the College does much more than teach. It is a major employer in Glasgow, supporting jobs – both directly and indirectly – across the local community. And by acting as a key anchor institution in Glasgow, it reaches and engages communities, bringing people together to learn, develop and interact. The 16,000 graduates each year, provide local businesses with a ready supply of workers

Life Cycle Assessment of baby leaf spinach: Reduction of waste through interventions in growing treatments and packaging

Food production, distribution and waste impact significantly on the environment, with recognised contributions to GHG emissions and Global Warming Potential (GWP) at each stage of the supply chain. Fresh leaf vegetables, such as salad leaves and spinach, are particularly prone to spoilage and efforts are being made to reduce waste, by increasing shelf-life through growing treatments and packaging choices. This presentation reports on the findings of Life Cycle Assessment studies carried out to support the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funded project ‘Leaf no Waste’ (Grant: 20/FIP/FD/8934). The study looks at the production of baby leaf spinach grown in Ireland and explores changes in the environmental impacts profile (e.g. GWP) for a foliar silicon treatment and two packaging options (i.e. Oriented Polypropylene (OPP) and Polylactide (PLA)). The system boundary of the study includes the field production of spinach, storage, packaging, retail, and waste management options, for the functional unit 1 kg packed baby leaf spinach. 4 scenarios were selected from the experimental data, namely spinach packed in OPP, spinach packed in PLA, silicon treated spinach in OPP, and silicon treated spinach in PLA. Furthermore, waste at 3-day shelf-life and waste at 7-day shelf-life were compared, to evaluate the effects of the treatments, and the resulting environmental impacts based on the LCA . The preliminary results illustrate that the storage and packaging process and retail stage are among the key contributors to GWP due to packaging material production and energy use. Comparison of scenarios under 3-day shelf life shows that spinach with PLA packaging is worse than that with OPP packaging in both base case and silicon treatment scenarios. However, application of silicon product shows potential to benefit the spinach supply chain with PLA packaging, while it has little effect on OPP packaging cases

Scottish Business Monitor : Q4 2021

This report summarises the key results from our latest Fraser of Allander (FAI) Scottish Business Monitor, published in partnership with Addleshaw Goddard. The survey sampled over 400 firms in December and January from across the Scottish economy. The survey examined business sentiment in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the outlook and expectations through the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022. Our survey results show that business sentiment remained positive in the fourth quarter of 2021, with all core indicators except export activity remaining optimistic for the entirety of 2021

Scottish Business Monitor : 2021 Q2

This report summarises the key results from our latest Fraser of Allander (FAI) Scottish Business Monitor, published in partnership with Addleshaw Goddard. As restrictions continue to ease and the economy re-opens in Scotland, the Scottish Business Monitor survey published today (27th July 2021) highlights that business sentiment has continued to improve since the first quarter of 2021

The Aluminium Industry in the UK

The aluminium industry is a vital part of the UK manufacturing sector. The strategic importance of this lightweight and highly recyclable metal looks set to increase as the UK economy moves towards more sustainable and circular models of production and consumption. For the purposes of statistics, industries are defined using Standard Industrial Classification codes (SIC). Aluminium production, which is classified under SIC 24.42, can be considered as the narrowest definition of the aluminium industry. SIC 24.42 includes the production of aluminium but does not include the many manufactured aluminium products. This report departs from that narrow definition and considers the ‘wider aluminium industry’, which we define to be the production of aluminium e.g., rods, bars, and pipes but also aluminium products such as casks, drums, cans, boxes, prefabricated buildings, doors, windows, and wheels which do not fall under the narrow definition of aluminium production

Brexit and the Sectors of the Scottish Economy - Update

Leaving the European Union (EU) will represent the most significant change to the Scottish economy in a generation. It will impact the way we trade and it will alter patterns of investment and the supply of workers. By no longer being tied to EU rules, future economic, social and environmental policy may look quite different. Many of the impacts are hard to assess. A great many will be relatively subtle but long-lasting. As with any change, there will be winners and losers. The risks and opportunities could look quite different for individual sectors and companies. Back in November 2017, we undertook analysis for the GMB Union which was – at the time – the first detailed analysis of the potential sectors of the Scottish economy that could be exposed to a changing economic relationship between the UK and the EU. This report provides a short update of this work. It summaries the economic links between Scotland and the EU, and provides background information on the links between Scotland and the EU by sector. It also aims to facilitate a discussion amongst stakeholders and to offer insights on where we recommend businesses and trade unions focus their thinking in the months ahead

Scottish Business Monitor : 2020 Q1

The survey was conducted over the period 1st – 8th April 2020. We engaged with almost 500 businesses from across the Scottish economy, in both different industries and parts of the country. The results provide an important indicator of activity within the Scottish business community, and their reflections upon the current crisis. We are clearly in unprecedented times. The public health crisis has hit the global economy and caused huge disruption. The immediate priority is of course, our health. Shutting down all but essential aspects of our economy is the correct policy response, not just from a health perspective but also an economic one. Investing in our public health is a long-term investment in the health of our economy. Our survey picks-up the scale of the shutdown. It is extraordinary, with the lowest forecast for future activity amongst businesses that we have seen since the survey was first launched nearly 22 years ago. Of course, this means that many – indeed the vast majority of – businesses are finding conditions hugely challenging. Our survey shows that – The number of firms seeing an increase in their volume of business during Q1 2020 fell to its lowest level since Q1 2009. The outlook for the next six months is even more stark, as would be expected, with the outlook being the most negative since the survey began in 1998. When asked how long businesses could survive under current levels of trading, of those who responded to this question, 54% said less than three months while a further 32% said they could survive for four to six months. More than 95% of businesses who expressed interest in applying believe the ‘Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ being put in place has the potential to be very effective/effective in supporting their survival. Of course, there remain ongoing debates about how easy it is to access such support, and as with any new scheme – particularly one thrown together quickly – there will be operational challenges. This is something that we will pick-up in future publications of the responses from our businesses in future Business Monitor releases. But on balance, we find that businesses are – in principle – supportive of the key schemes announced by the government

Understanding Economic Shocks Using the FAI HEM Model for Northern Ireland

The impact of businesses extends to more than just the products they create and the turnover they generate. Businesses have complex supply chains that stretch across the whole of Northern Ireland’s economy and beyond. When businesses face sharp falls in demand, these complex supply chains make it difficult to understand the true impact on output and employment across Northern Ireland. However, three types of models are well suited to understanding supply chain shocks, each useful in different circumstances. This report looks at one of these – the Fraser of Allander Institute Hypothetical Extraction Method Model for Northern Ireland (or FAI HEM for Northern Ireland)