Eco-efficiency improvements in industrial water-service systems: assessing options with stakeholders

The well-known eco-efficiency concept helps to assess the economic value and resource burdens of potential improvements by comparison with the baseline situation. But eco-efficiency assessments have generally focused on a specific site, while neglecting wider effects, e.g. through interactions between water users and wastewater treatment providers. To address the methodological gap, the EcoWater project has developed a method and online tools for meso-level analysis of the entire water-service value chain. This study investigated improvement options in two large manufacturing companies which have significant potential for eco-efficiency gains. They have been considering investment in extra processes which can lower resource burdens from inputs and wastewater, as well as internalising wastewater treatment processes. In developing its methodology, the EcoWater project obtained the necessary information from many agents, involved them in the meso-level assessment and facilitated their discussion on alternative options. Prior discussions with stakeholders stimulated their attendance at a workshop to discuss a comparative eco-efficiency assessment for whole-system improvement. Stakeholders expressed interest in jointly extending the EcoWater method to more options and in discussing investment strategies. In such ways, optimal solutions will depend on stakeholders overcoming fragmentation by sharing responsibility and knowledge

Industry eco-innovation strategies for process upgrading: systemic limits of internalising externalities

Industry has been upgrading its production processes through eco-innovation combining environmental and economic benefits, thus reducing some resource burdens which otherwise lie outside economic accounting. Some companies have shown interest in evaluating investment options for resource burdens and total value-added across a whole-system value chain. Our EC research project developed a method for whole-system assessment of eco-innovation with multi-stakeholder cooperation. In three cases presented here, tensions arise among various aims, resource burdens, system levels, beneficiaries and timescales, thus complicating the concept of eco-innovation as a win-win strategy. Radical eco-innovation would depend on extra functions, value-chain actors and resource usages which can provide greater overall benefits. But such investment faces many systemic obstacles. Eco-innovation remains path-dependent, thus limiting the scope to internalise environmental externalities. The tensions and difficulties cast doubt on an EC strategy emphasising uptake of eco-innovative technologies as the means to decouple economic growth from resource burdens

Process eco-innovation: assessing meso-level eco-efficiency in industrial water-service systems

Eco-innovation combines economic advantage with lower ecological-resource burdens. Eco-innovation has been generally directed at energy input-substitutes, component recycling, etc. Some companies have made investments reducing resource burdens in the production process. This study investigated options for eco-efficiency improvement in two large manufacturing companies, Volvo and Arla Foods. Their impetus for eco-innovation comes from the companies' environmental policies, as well as from external drivers such as future higher costs and resource scarcity. Relative to their respective industrial sector, these companies represent strong prospects for reducing resource burdens in water-service processes, especially from chemical inputs and wastewater. Such eco-innovations involve more complex interactions beyond the production site, so the options warrant a whole-system comparative assessment. The EcoWater project has analysed the entire water-service value chain through meso-level interactions among heterogeneous actors (process-water users, providers and wastewater treatment companies). The project has developed a methodology to obtain the necessary information, to involve stakeholders in the assessment and to facilitate their discussion on alternative options. Each study stimulated internal company discussions on the need and means to evaluate whole-system effects of investment decisions. Inter-organisational cooperation helped to anticipate how meso-level resource efficiency relates to lower burdens in wastewater treatment. The assessment method can be extended to any water-service system. By comparing options, the method can facilitate better decisions improving meso-level resource efficiency. As wider implications, some improvement options may complicate ‘eco-innovation’ as double-eco benefits: win-win for whom, where and what level

Towards closing the nitrogen flow in UK agriculture: An explorative study of integrated food and bioenergy production with increased nitrogen recirculation

Nitrogen is an essential growth factor in nature and for food production. It exists in many forms, including reactive nitrogen compounds available for plant uptake, that can cause environmental impacts in high concentrations. Large amounts of reactive nitrogen in fertilisers are applied to crop areas, and the anthropogenic use of reactive nitrogen has increased manifold during the last century. Nitrogen in harvest residues and animal manure is recycled to crop fields ineffieciently, and the overall flow of nitrogen through agriculture is practically linear, with substantial losses to air and water. Policies regulate some nitrogen practices, but seem not to provide a strong incentive for recycling. A more closed ow of reactive nitrogen within agriculture and the rest of society could reduce the need for nitrogen fertilisers, and also reduce environmental impacts caused by nitrogen leaching, notably eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems. Pressure is also put on agriculture to meet the increased demand for bioenergy. Increased production of cellulosic bioenergy crops can, in this context, have a positive effect on the environmental performance of agriculture, and can in several ways be part of strategies for obtaining a more closed flow of nitrogen in the socio-agricultural system. This thesis develops and models an alternative agricultural system, with increased nitrogen recirculation. Cultivation of cellulosic bioenergy crops are integrated into the food production to provide nitrogen leaching interception. These biomass production systems are combined with nitrogen recycling. Livestock are fed more efficiently than in the current system. Manure is collected and treated through anaerobic digestion for production of biogas and stabilisation of volatile nitrogen. Analyses using a model representation of the alternative agricultural system show that these measures substantially improve the recycling of nitrogen in the system, reduce the losses and decrease the need for chemical fertiliser input. The thesis concludes that implementation of certain bioenergy options that enhance nitrogen recycling can give an important contribution to closing the nitrogen flow in agriculture. A second conclusion is that a systems perspective on nitrogen is essential for implementation of policies promoting an increased nitrogen recycling within the socio-agricultural system

Förutsättningar för en hållbar kollektivtrafik på vatten i Stockholmsregionen

Kollektivtrafik på vatten är en fråga som diskuterats under många år i Stockholm, utan att för den skull leda till något genomförande av en storskalig sådan. Inom ramen för projektet har förutsättningarna för en hållbar kollektivtrafik utretts. I denna rapport redogörs för de intervjuer som genomförts med sakägare kring kollektivtrafik på vatten. Respondenterna har svarat på vad vi behöver uppnå för att trafiken ska bli hållbar ur alla tre hållbarhets-dimensioner, samt vilka hinder som har gjort att vi inte är där idag. De punkter där flest respondenter varit eniga under intervjuerna är för det första att man anser att det saknats politisk vilja för att få till stånd en hållbar kollektivtrafik på vatten. Orsaken till detta är i huvudsak att man från politiskt håll inte trott att den har verklig kapacitetshöjande effekt för kollektivtrafiksystemet i stort. För det andra menar man att ett nytt och modernt tonnage som uppfyller dagens krav inom miljöhänsyn, tillgänglighet och effektivitet måste tas i bruk för att kunna göra det konkurrenskraftigt. För det tredje pekar många på att breda överenskommelser måste komma till stånd mellan politiska partier samt mellan kommuner och landsting, men att ingen hittills tagit ledningen för detta

Integration of bioenergy systems into UK agriculture-New options for management of nitrogen flows

The large flow of reactive nitrogen (N) through agriculture causes negative environmental impacts, pointing to a need for changes in agricultural practices. At the same time, agriculture is expected to provide biomass to support the increasing demand from the UK bioenergy sector. A high-level aggregated model of the agricultural system in the UK was developed, which maintains the existing level of food and livestock production and at the same time increases N recirculation. Integrating three different bioenergy sub-systems into the agricultural system was an essential component of the model development. Cellulosic bioenergy crops were located in the landscape as vegetation filters to intercept and capture N and thereby reduce N leaching. Efficient collection and digestion of manure produced organic N fertiliser and biogas. Efficient forage production for cattle allowed further cultivation of bioenergy plants. Five implementation scenarios were developed to clarify the contribution of these bioenergy sub-systems to improved N management. The results point to a significant potential for improving the productive use of reactive N and for decreasing N losses to water and air. The interception and recirculation of N presently leaching from arable fields is assessed as the most important option. It is also important to increase recirculation of N in manure and in bioenergy system by-flows. Besides mitigating the environmental impacts of agriculture these measures reduce the requirements for newly synthesised N fertilisers. A systems perspective on N, agriculture, and bioenergy systems facilitates N recirculation and promotes effective N use, reducing the need for additional N inputs

Utvärdering av förändrad demontering och återvinning av uttjänta fordon i Sverige

Det övergripande målet i denna förstudie har varit att undersöka om demonteringen och återvinningen av uttjänta fordon kan förändras så att både lönsamheten för aktörer i återvinningskedjan och återvinningsgraden ökar jämfört med idag - med sikte på 95 procent återvinningsgrad år 2015. Med utgångspunkt från en nulägesbeskrivning av hur återvinningen av bilar går till i Sverige och utomlands samt baserat på materialinnehållet i bilar har ett antal förbättringsområden och åtgärder identifierats. Slutsatserna kan sammanfattas i följande: Lönsamheten för ingående aktörer kan öka när det gäller ökad demontering av kopparrika delar. Dock påverkas återvinningsgraden i en liten utsträckning. Det är svårt att nå en lönsamhet för ökad demontering av plast med rådande betalningsmodeller och marknadspriser på återvunnen plast. En utökad demontering av plast ökar dock återvinningsgraden för bilar. Maskinell demontering minskar tiden och kostnaderna jämfört med manuell demontering. En återvinningsgrad på 95 procent kan erhållas genom utökad demontering av plast eller genom återvinning av genererade avfallsrester (fluff)

WEBAP - Vågdriven syrepump för Östersjön

Projektets huvudsakliga syfte har varit att utveckla och testa en metod för syresättning av djupvatten i Östersjön genom nedpumpning av syrerikt ytvatten med hjälp av vågdrivna syrepumpar. Inom projektet har två olika pilotanläggningar tagits fram, byggts och varit i drift mellan 2010 och 2013. En vågdriven pump (WEBAP I) testades under 2 år i Hanöbukten utanför Simrishamn och en elektrisk pump (WEBAP II) placerades i Kanholmsfjärden i Stockholms skärgård. Förutom tester for att undersöka den vågdrivna pumpens effektivitet och framtida utformning så har även effekterna av syresättning på omgivande vattens syre- och fosforkoncentrationer studerats under projektet. Med hjälp av modeller studerades uppskalning av tekniken samt beräkningar av åtgärdens klimatavtryck (carbon footprint) med hjälp av förenklad livscykelanalysmetodik (LCA). Projektet har tagit fram olika tekniska alternativ av syrepumpar för olika behov. Den vågdrivna syrepumpen använder sig direkt av vågorna som energi- och syreresurs vilket har flera fördelar, bland annat en enkel och robust konstruktion samt lokalt tillförd energi genom att vågor nyttjas. Den eldrivna pumpen är en nyutveckling som möjliggör att pumpning kan drivas av vind- och solenergi eftersom effektförbrukningen i pumpen är låg. De två testade systemen visade sig kunna pumpa ner stora mängder ytvatten, men ytterligare förbättringar och utveckling krävs för långsiktigt störningsfri funktion. Rapporten ger en del förslag till sådan utveckling.