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Capability Approach and Inclusion: Developing a Context Sensitive Design for Biobased Value Chains

Asveld, L. (author), Robaey, Zoë Houda (author), Francke, Sara (author), Osseweijer, P. (author)

Biomass such as crops and agricultural waste is increasingly used as the primary resource for products like bioplastics and biofuels. Incorporating the needs, knowledge, skills and values of biomass producers in the design of global value chains – the steps involved in creating any finished product from design to delivery – can contribute to...

journal article 2023

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From wastewater to resource

Petrik, Leslie Felicia (author), Ngo, Huu Hao (author), Varjani, Sunita (author), Xevgenos, Dimitris (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Smol, Marzena (author), Yang, Xuejing (author), Mateo-Sagasta, Javier (author)

Eighty percent of wastewater is left untreated or not reused, exacerbating the water quality challenge, especially in vulnerable communities. This Voices asks: how can we improve wastewater management and convert wastewater into a resource?

journal article 2022

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A techno-economic analysis of membrane-based advanced treatment processes for the reuse of municipal wastewater

Kehrein, P.A. (author), Jafari Eshlaghi, M. (author), Slagt, Marc (author), Cornelissen, Emile (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author)

The objective of this paper is to compare, under Dutch market conditions, the energy consumption and net costs of membrane-based advanced treatment processes for three water reuse types (i.e. potable, industrial, agricultural reuse). The water source is municipal waste-water treatment plant effluent. Results indicate that the application of...

journal article 2021

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The carbon footprint of alternative jet fuels produced in Brazil: exploring different approaches

Silva Capaz, R. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Seabra, Joaquim E.A. (author)

Although the potential of Alternative Jet Fuels (AJF) to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions has been widely reported upon in the literature, there are still discrepancies among the results. These may be due to the different GHG accounting methods, including those used by different Low-Carbon Policies (LCPs). To have a clearer...

journal article 2021

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Incumbents' enabling role in niche-innovation: Power dynamics in a wastewater project

Ampe, K.V.J. (author), Paredis, Erik (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Block, Thomas (author)

More pluralised understandings of incumbencies are often overlooked in transitions research, which may lead to underestimating the enabling roles of incumbents in niche projects. This study explores these roles by applying a power framework to five struggles revolving around a path-breaking decentralised wastewater treatment project in the...

journal article 2021

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OSiD: opening the conceptual design of biobased processes to a context-sensitive sustainability analysis

Palmeros Parada, M.D.M. (author), van der Putten, Wim (author), van der Wielen, L.A.M. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Pashaei Kamali, F. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

Biobased production has been promoted as an alternative to fossil-based production to mitigate climate change. However, emerging concerns over the sustainability of biobased products have shown that tensions can emerge between different objectives and concerns, like emission reduction targets and food security, and that these are dependent on...

journal article 2021

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Power struggles in policy feedback processes: incremental steps towards a circular economy within Dutch wastewater policy

Ampe, K.V.J. (author), Paredis, Erik (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Block, Thomas (author)

Environmental problems are usually not tackled with path-departing policies but rather with incrementally adjusted or unchanged policies. One way to address incremental change is the policy feedback approach, which initially focussed on self-reinforcing feedback and path-dependency. Today, self-undermining feedback is also increasingly being...

journal article 2021

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Exploring resource recovery potentials for the aerobic granular sludge process by mass and energy balances - energy, biopolymer and phosphorous recovery from municipal wastewater

Kehrein, P.A. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

Municipal wastewater cannot any longer be perceived as a waste stream because it contains water, energy, fertilizer and other products that can be recovered with innovative technologies in so called ‘water resource factories’. Therefore a paradigm shift has been proclaimed to design water resource factories in the future that feed into a...

journal article 2020

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Mitigating carbon emissions through sustainable aviation fuels: costs and potential

Silva Capaz, R. (author), Guida, Elisa (author), Seabra, Joaquim E.A. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

In general, the certified pathways for the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are still far from being competitive with fossil kerosene, although they have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the mitigation costs related to SAFs and how they compete with the carbon credits market remain unclear. The...

journal article 2020

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Meta-responsibility in corporate research and innovation: A bioeconomic case study

Sonck, M.M. (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author)

The term "responsibility" embodies many meanings, also in the context of corporate research and innovation (R&I). The approach of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has emerged as a promoter for responsible conduct of innovation but so far lacks a systematic framework for describing, inventorying, and eventually managing different...

journal article 2020

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Human health impacts of aviation biofuel production: Exploring the application of different life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods for biofuel supply chains

Wang, Z. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

The life cycle human health (HH) impacts related to aviation biofuels have been understood in a limited way. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods for assessing HH are often associated with a high level of uncertainty and a low level of consensus. As a result, it remains challenging to perform a robust assessment of HH impacts with a...

journal article 2020

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Integrating Value Considerations in the Decision Making for the Design of Biorefineries

Palmeros Parada, M.D.M. (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

Biobased production has been promoted as a sustainable alternative to fossil resources. However, controversies over its impact on sustainability highlight societal concerns, value tensions and uncertainties that have not been taken into account during its development. In this work, the consideration of stakeholders’ values in a biorefinery...

journal article 2020

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The SPPD-WRF framework: A novel and holistic methodology for strategical planning and process design of water resource factories

Kehrein, P.A. (author), van Loosdrecht, Mark C.M. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author), Dewulf, Jo (author)

This paper guides decision making in more sustainable urban water management practices that feed into a circular economy by presenting a novel framework for conceptually designing and strategically planning wastewater treatment processes from a resource recovery perspective. Municipal wastewater cannot any longer be perceived as waste stream...

journal article 2020

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The role of participation in the responsible innovation framework for biofuels projects: Can it be assessed?

Marques Postal, Andreia (author), Solidario de Souza Benatti, G. (author), Palmeros Parada, M.D.M. (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Da Silveira, José Maria F.J. (author)

The growth in biofuels’ investment brings with it concerns about the social and environmental impacts of the sector. Several tools and frameworks have been used to address these concerns, including the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework. This paper analyzes whether this framework can be applied in contexts where local culture...

journal article 2020

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Unit exergy cost and specific CO₂ emissions of the electricity generation in the Netherlands

Silva Ortiz, P. (author), Flórez-Orrego, Daniel (author), de Oliveira Junior, Silvio (author), Maciel Filho, Rubens (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

Exergy and environmental analyses have been developed to determine the performance of the electricity generation in the Dutch mix. A comparative assessment of diverse technological routes, including fossil and renewable energy resources consumption, is carried out in terms of the exergy costs and specific CO₂ emissions. Hence, an...

journal article 2020

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Environmental trade-offs of renewable jet fuels in Brazil: Beyond the carbon footprint

Silva Capaz, R. (author), Magalhaes de Medeiros, E. (author), Falco, Daniela G. (author), Seabra, Joaquim E.A. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

The use of renewable jet fuels (RJFs) is an option for meeting the greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction targets of the aviation sector. Therefore, most of the studies have focused on climate change indicators, but other environmental impacts have been disregarded. In this paper, an attributional life cycle assessment is performed for ten RJF...

journal article 2020

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Socioeconomic effects of aviation biofuel production in Brazil: A scenarios-based Input-Output analysis

Wang, Z. (author), Pashaei Kamali, F. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

Derived from renewable feedstocks, aviation biofuel is generally perceived as inherently sustainable. However, its production involves a wide range of sectors and interacts with different actors in society. It is therefore important to understand and evaluate not only the environmental impacts of that process, but also its socioeconomic...

journal article 2019

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A transition in the Dutch wastewater system? The struggle between discourses and with lock-ins

Ampe, K.V.J. (author), Paredis, Erik (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Block, Thomas (author)

Recently, calls have increased for a paradigm shift or transition towards resource recovery and a circular economy in the Dutch wastewater system. However, we have observed diverging interpretations on the nature of the transition. This reflects the political environment of sustainability transitions: political struggle emerges over the...

journal article 2019

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Setting the design space of biorefineries through sustainability values, a practical approach

Palmeros Parada, M.D.M. (author), Asveld, L. (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), Posada Duque, J.A. (author)

Sustainable development has become an outstanding aspiration in our society. However, the meaning of sustainability and how it should be operationalized is a complex issue that depends on subjective beliefs and values. To advance toward sustainable biobased production, we present an approach to delimit the design space of biorefineries by...

journal article 2018

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The role of bioenergy in a climate-changing world

Souza, Glaucia Mendes (author), Ballester, Maria Victoria R. (author), de Brito Cruz, Carlos Henrique (author), Chum, Helena (author), Dale, Bruce (author), Dale, Virginia H. (author), Fernandes, Erick C.M. (author), Foust, Tom (author), Karp, Angela (author), Lynd, Lee (author), Osseweijer, P. (author), van der Wielen, L.A.M. (author)

Bioenergy has been under intense scrutiny over the last ten years with significant research efforts in many countries taking place to define and measure sustainable practices. We describe here the main challenges and policy issues and provide policy recommendations for scaling up sustainable bioenergy approaches globally. The 2016 Intended...

journal article 2017