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Papers by Michael Narodoslawsky

In recent years a considerable increase in interest in the development of processes based upon re... more In recent years a considerable increase in interest in the development of processes based upon renewable resources has occurred. One reason for this development is the call for more sustainable and environmentally benign production processes and products. Increased utilisation of renewable resources, however, poses new challenges to chemical and process industries. These challenges arise from increased competition for renewable but

Chemical Engineering Transactions

The availability of fossil resources for production of various goods like plastics causes increas... more The availability of fossil resources for production of various goods like plastics causes increasing preoccupation for numerous industrial branches. Not least due to miscellaneous political developments in several petrol exporting countries, the unpredictably fluctuating price of petrol constitutes a factor of immense uncertainty, especially for the highly petrol-dependent polymer industry. Nowadays, switching from fossil to renewable resources as starting materials for polymer production is generally considered as a promising strategy to overcome these problems, especially in combination with industrial waste treatment. In order to make biobased and biodegradable polymers like polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) economically more competitive with common resistant plastics from fossil resources, their production has to be reduced considerably. Inter alia, the selection of suitable renewable resources as carbon feedstock for PHA production is one of the major cost decisive factors in the en...

Sustainable Development and Planning III, 2007

ABSTRACT The Sustainable Process Index (SPI), a member of the ecological footprint family, is an ... more ABSTRACT The Sustainable Process Index (SPI), a member of the ecological footprint family, is an ISO 14000 compatible tool for the evaluation of environmental impacts of processes. It allows the calculation of the relevant ecological pressures of a process including prechain and product usage. The SPI focuses on aspects of environmental sustainability and is aimed at engineers and the factors they can influence most effectively: material and energy flows that processes exchange with their environments. The data of these flows are roughly known early in process development. The corresponding data for natural systems are the sedimentation rate of carbon in oceans, the natural concentrations of substances in soil and water, the exchange rates per area unit of airborne pollutants between forests and air as well as the replenishment rates for soil and water. Most of the natural flow and quality data allow a certain \“regionalization” of the SPI wherever that is needed. For a fast calculation of the SPI a computer program based on MS Excel has been developed. This tool has proven its usefulness in comparing different engineering options in view of their ecological impact. The most recent case studies are the investigation of the ecological and economical feasibility of small-scale ethanol production facilities that use corn or wheat as a raw material and the analysis of alternate usages of (by)products of the European sugar industry. The results of these case studies will be discussed here Keywords: Life Cycle Analysis, environmental impact assessment, sugar production, bio fuels, optimization.

Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, 2007

The paper will explore the ecological impact of sugar industry, using the Sustainable Process Ind... more The paper will explore the ecological impact of sugar industry, using the Sustainable Process Index (SPI). This evaluation reveals weak points in the conventional sugar process, especially in the energy provision. Modification of the process utilising by-products and farm residues can considerably lower the environmental impact of the sugar sector. This is also interesting from the point of view that sugar may be seen as an important starting point for the production of ethanol, a prime contender for clean fuel.

Land Use Policy, 2008

ABSTRACT Ecological footprinting is widely accepted as a tool for awareness raising and environme... more ABSTRACT Ecological footprinting is widely accepted as a tool for awareness raising and environmental education on the one hand, on the other hand some objections are brought up against the original calculation method as it seems to have no policy advising component and that it is not possible to distinguish between different qualities of environmental impacts. In recent years some modifications of the footprint methods have been established that can overcome some of the weaknesses of the original model. They all include guidance for action and some of them consider different qualities of material and energy flows. Therefore, authors of the modifications claim that ecological footprinting is a valuable tool for shaping policies and preparing decisions on different levels. The aim of this article is to discuss the possible contributions of ecological footprinting to decision-making processes on behalf of the following examples: Local and Regional Agenda 21, Strategic Environmental Assessment and Life Cycle Assessment.

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 2012

Conventional polymers are made of crude oil components through chemical polymerization. The aim o... more Conventional polymers are made of crude oil components through chemical polymerization. The aim of the project ANIMPOL is to produce biopolymers by converting lipids into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) in a novel process scheme to reduce dependence on crude oil and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. PHA constitutes a group of biobased and biodegradable polyesters that may substitute fossil-based polymers in a wide range of applications. Waste streams from slaughtering cattle are used as substrate material. Lipids from rendering are used in this process scheme for biodiesel production. Slaughtering waste streams may also be hydrolyzed to achieve higher lipid yield. Biodiesel then is separated into a high-and lowquality fraction. High-quality biodiesel meets requirements for sale as fuel and low quality is used for PHA production as carbon source. Selected offal material is used for acid hydrolysis and serves as a source of organic nitrogen as well as carbon source for PHA-free biomass with high production rate in fermentation process. Nitrogen is a limiting factor to control PHA production during the fermentation process. It is available for bacterial growth from hydrolyzed waste streams as well as added separately as NH 4 OH solution. Selected microbial strains are used to produce PHA from this substrate. The focus of the paper is about an overview of the whole process with the main focus on hydrolysis, to look for the possibility of using offal hydrolysis as an organic nitrogen substitute. The process design is optimized by minimizing waste streams and energy losses through cleaner production. Ecological evaluation of the process design will be done through footprint calculation according to Sustainable Process Index methodology.

Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 2007

... of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd | Biofuels, Bioprod. Bioref. 1:264–26... more ... of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd | Biofuels, Bioprod. Bioref. 1:264–269 (2007); DOI: 10.1002/bbb G Gwehenberger et al. Perspective: Ecology of scale versus economy of scale for bioethanol production Detailed information on the technological features of the ...

Journal of Hazardous Materials, 1996