A Social life cycle assessment of Urban Wastewater Treatment Systems with Resources Recovery: A Case Study of the WATER MINING Project in Portugal

Global water-related impacts are in constant aggravation due to climate change, increased water demand, intensive human activities, and deterioration of the quality of water bodies.<br/>Under this paradigm, humanity must adapt and implement measures to ensure both the quality of water bodies and the sustainable management of resources. <br/>As a...

Assessing the Social Performance and Social Risks of Wastewater Treatment Systems Through Social Life Cycle Assessment: A Case Study of the WATER MINING Project in Spain

Water scarcity problems will continue to exacerbate in many parts of the world, urging society to mitigate or adapt. Consequently, unconventional water resources, such as municipal wastewater, are becoming more relevant. This thesis aims to measure and evaluate the social impacts of wastewater treatment (WWT) systems potentially stemming from...

Inclusive carbon neutral pathways – Assessing the role of two renewable energy supply chains between Africa and the EU in greening their respective energy mix

The European Union has set itself the target of becoming climate neutral by 2050 through a series of policies affecting industries such as the energy sector. This sector will be subject to considerable change with renewable energies set to replace fossil fuels. However, the EU will not be able to solely rely on its domestic production of...

Plant + Boom = Boat + Vroom: A comparative technoeconomic and environmental assessment of marine biofuel production in Brazil and Scandinavia using residual lignocellulosic biomass and thermochemical conversion technologies

This thesis compares the performance of hypothetical biorefineries in Brazil and Scandinavia that produce biofuel for use in large marine vessels using one of three thermochemical technologies—hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), fast pyrolysis with hydrodeoxygenation (FP), and gasification with Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (GFT)—and one of ten...

Future trends for biojet fuel and biosuccinic acid production in São Paulo state, Brazil: An agent-based modelling and simulation approach to explore institutional barriers and opportunities

Within the context of growing concerns about oil supply security and greenhouse gas emissions, both the aviation and petrochemical sector are exploring alternative feedstocks for the production of jet fuel and chemicals, respectively. In that light, research into bio-based jet fuels (biojet fuel) and bio-based chemicals has been accelerating in...

The integration of environmental and social sustainability impacts of the biojet fuel product system within the life cycle assessment framework

The Master's programme Industrial Ecology is jointly organised by Leiden University and Delft University of Technology - Biojet fuel is developed as a potentially more sustainable alternative to existing petroleum based jet fuels. To establish the environmental and social sustainability of the biojet fuel product system, the full life cycle of...

Sustainability criteria and the bio-based materials sector in the Netherlands

Fossil fuels will run out in the foreseeable future. Out entire economic system is build upon fossil fuels and building up another base for this economic system is challenging. The only alternative for making materials that normally are derived from fossil fuels is the Bio-Based Economy. Materials in this way get made from biomass, such as sugar...