Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen?

Nachhaltige Entwicklung erfordert einen neuen gesellschaftlichen Konsens über Werte in Bezug auf das praktische Umgehen mit der Mitwelt. Die Anwendung dieser Werte auf den Bereich der Raumentwicklung macht klar, dass kosme­tische Verbesserungen des bestehenden Systems nicht ausreichen, um nachhal­tige Entwicklung zu erreichen. Diese erfordert eine grundlegende Neustruktu­rierung der Aushandlung raumwirksamer Problemstellungen

LCA of PHA Production – Identifying the Ecological Potential of Bio-plastic

A major reason for the call to increasingly switch towards polymers based on renewable resources is their presumed advantage regarding ecological performance compared to fossil competitors. Usually, this argument is based on the assumption that products based on renewable sources hold an inherent ecological advantage over products derived from other sources, in particular fossil sources. This claim however must be substantiated by looking into the ecological impacts accrued by the production of a material along the whole life cycle, from the raw material generation to the provision of the final product. Only thorough life cycle assessments (LCA) can provide solid, comprehensive and quantifiable information about the ecological performance of products, and thus answer the question of any superiority of bio-polymers regarding their environmental impacts. The paper will review the ongoing discourse about environmental performance of PHA in literature. It will also analyse the most important factors that decide about the ecological performance of PHA derived from different raw materials as well as the potential for improvement that is still available for PHA production

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT AS A METHOD FOR EVALUATION DIFFERENT AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Ecological footprint could be a tool for evaluating impacts of different agricultural production systems (PS). Based on more years field experiments producing vegetables and field crops cological footprint of conventional (CON), integrated (INT), organic (ORG) and biodynamic (BD) farming systems in Maribor and CON, INT and ORG in Dolenci was calculated and interpreted using the SPIonExcel tool. Results showed a markedly lower ecological footprint of ORG and BD systems compared to CON and INT which are not significantlly different. Identified were possibilities for reducing ecological footprint – for CON and INT by reducing mineral fertilizers and pesticide inputs; for ORG and BD by changing fuels and reducing maschinery use

Optimal Renewable Energy Systems for Regions

Most sources for renewable energy can be deduced from solar radiation as the main natural income of society. Contrary to conventional fossil and radioactive energy resources that are mined or pumped out from central point sources, solar energy is a de-central resource that requires area for its conversion to useful products and services. This requires a new technological as well as logistical concept for energy systems where regions play a key role as providers of energy and goods. The contribution will provide the conceptual framework for renewable energy system generation on a regional level, taking into account the responsibility of regions to provide goods and services to the larger society and to support urban centres. It will show how optimal resource-technology-demand networks may be constructed, using process network synthesis approaches and how the ecological efficiency of such regional systems can be measured. Application of these methods to real life case studies (in particular the region of Mühlviertel in Austria) will on the one hand prove the versatility of the methods presented and on the other hand will provide insight into the scope of necessary change if society moves towards a low carbon sustainable energy system

ERP hoch 3: Energieraumplanung entlang von ÖV-Achsen

Im Rahmen des national geförderten Forschungsprojekt „ERP_hoch3“ wird der Themenschwerpunkt Energieraumplanung in drei Fokusebenen betrachtet, untersucht und simuliert. Während „ERP“ für Energieraum-planung steht, steht die „3“ für drei verschiedene Raumbezüge – Stadtquartiere, öffentliche Verkehrsachsen und interkommunale Flächenpotenziale erneuerbarer Energien (Region). ERP_hoch3 ist ein zweijähriges Grundlagenforschungsprojekt, gefördert vom österreichischen Klimafonds. Das Forschungsteam besteht aus 14 Expertinnen und Experten der Fachbereiche für Regionalplanung und für örtliche Raumplanung (TU Wien, Department für Raumplanung) und der Institute für Städtebau und Prozess- und Partikeltechnik (TU Graz)