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3Abstract of a lecture that was held on the annual congress of AESOP (Association of European Schools of Planning) in 2014.
DOCUMENT
Are we at the eve of a transformation in our economic system? “Yes”, according to several visionary scientists and policymakers. They predict the rise of an economy that is based on biological materials, the so-called bio-based economy. The key challenge is that due to several socio-economic developments, the world is expected to consume vastly more resources than today. The total demand for energy is projected to almost double in the next century. Increased scarcity will be accompanied by a constant struggle for supply to meet demand. Sometimes successful, sometimes less so, but always with rising and highly volatile prices as a consequence. New forms of feedstock, bio-based feedstock, will be embraced. This lecture describes some of the hurdles and challenges that the transition to the bio-based economy faces. It also describes the impact this transition will (need to) have on chemical engineering education. Finally, an first area of research focus is defined: bio aromatics. Ad de Kok studied Chemical Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He joined Dow Benelux in Terneuzen in 1977, where he held several positions in R&D and Technology Management in Polymers, Chemicals and Hydrocarbons in Europe, USA and the Pacific. During his career at Dow he earned a Master’s and Doctorate degree in Business Administration. In 2012 he retired from Dow Chemical and joined Research Centre Mainport Innovation at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, where he assumed responsibility for the Renewable Resources in Process Industry area as part of the Innovation in Process Industry cluster.
DOCUMENT
This report is a deliverable of the ESTRAC “Case Studies Regional Energy
Transition” project, commissioned and funded by the research institute Energy
Systems Transition Centre (ESTRAC). ESTRAC is a joint initiative of knowledge
and research institutes in the Netherlands – including TNO, ECN (since April 2018
part of TNO), University of Groningen, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, the
New Energy Coalition (NEC) and, more recently, PBL – as well as associated
partners including Gasunie, Gasterra, EBN and NAM. In addition to funding from
the ESTRAC partners, the Case Studies Regional Energy Transition project has
benefitted from funding by the Green Deal program of the Dutch government.
DOCUMENT
Bio-based and circular building materials and techniques can play an important role in the transition toward a more sustainable construction sector. This study focuses on the Northern Netherlands and explores those competencies (in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitude) required by construction workers to meet the
challenges of material transition. The perspectives on this topic of construction companies, vocational education institutions, and local networking initiatives have been collected and analyzed by using the thematic analysis method. The results indicate that the limited knowledge availability, combined with the restricted experimentation possibilities, shape the current experiences, as well as the positioning of these stakeholders, regarding the desired competencies of construction workers. It is found that mainly attitudinal aspects of the construction workers need to receive particular attention and prioritization. To achieve that, the results highlight the importance of knowledge exchange and awareness-raising initiatives, as well as the development of a flexible, regional, and comprehensive learning environment.
DOCUMENT
Avans University of Applied Sciences is redrafting its courses and curricula in view of sustainability. For chemical engineering in particular that implies a focus on 'green' and bio-based processes, products and energy. Avans is situated in the Southwest region of the Netherlands and specifically in that region much development occurs towards 'a bio-based economy'. There is much agriculture based business, small and large companies, important chemical industry and it is situated between major industrial and chemical industry centers and leading international ports. Chemical companies see many opportunities in bio-based products and processes. Connecting the chemical and agrofood sector will lead to unexpected new innovation opportunities. Biomass has quite other characteristics than oil and gas, in composition, availability, and offers new options with respect to compounds that can be derived from it. So there is a strong need to develop and introduce novel processes, products and production routes based on biomass resources. It requires other technologies and equipment, another approach and another mindset than those chemical engineers are being taught at present. Process design, modeling, and optimization will have to be adapted to the new circumstances. Chemical engineering in its basic knowledge won't be different but in practice students will need other and extra knowledge and therefore get other cases to study in projects. That transition will be gradually but it starts now. The bio-based economy already asks for new approaches in education, in particular in chemical engineering. Already now we observe an increasing need for personnel with knowledge of biobased issues on site and for a more bio-based oriented chemical engineering curriculum. To acquire that new knowledge and to observe what is needed by industries involved in that bio-based economy Avans University of Applied Sciences is actively participating in projects with local companies, other universities and research institutes. For this paper we have taken the international (Interreg) cooperation project 'Energy Conversion Parks' (ECP) in which we partake as example how such projects can and must contribute when developing a 'bio-based chemical engineering curriculum'. Besides attention for the specific types of equipment, processes and compounds involved, it shows that crucial knowledge also concerns the complexity of energetic optimization and the need for economic synergy when using different biomass streams and conversion technologies. Aspects involved are also bio-refinery, bio-cascading (implying use of all biomass components for products with the highest possible value) and optimizing input and output for seasonal variations in availability and demand. It shows the need for special mathematical models to calculate mass and energy balances for integrated bio-based installations, as well as the economical profitability of the different possible combination of biomass inputs and conversion techniques. The cooperation with industrial partners shows which the important technologies and knowledge for the bio-based oriented chemical engineer are. Students work on cases derived from the projects. The research results increase the knowledge we can teach. Representatives of the various project partners, from industry and research institutes, contribute with lectures based on practice information. In this manner it is possible to develop curricula that are useful for industry and society as a whole and at the same time attractive for the much needed new students.
DOCUMENT
Following the signature of the Paris Climate Agreement, governments developed policy to limit the anticipated warming of the climate. For the construction industry, this mostly involves economic use of raw materials and reducing power consumption in the production and use of buildings. In order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, a different perspective on the economic model arose: the circular economy as a counterpart to the current linear economy. Legislation and regulations follow up on this development, but only recently so. A lot has been put into motion. In this white paper, we set out the developments in legislation and regulations for a circular construction industry. One of the developments is a greater role for renewable materials and products in that future economy. This white paper answers various questions: • What legislation and regulations are important to scale up circular, bio-based construction? • What lessons can be drawn from the difference in approach between the countries involved? • How much of a barrier does legislation and regulation really pose? • How flexible is legislation and regulation in view of function change? • How much room does legislation and regulation offer for stimulating circular, bio-based construction
DOCUMENT
In the housing market enormous challenges exist for the retrofitting of existing housing in combination with the ambition to realize new environmentally friendly and affordable dwellings. Bio-based building materials offer the possibility to use renewable resources in building and construction. The efficient use of bio-based building materials is desirable due to several potential advantages related to environmental and economic aspects e.g. CO2 fixation and additional value. The potential biodegradability of biomaterials however demands also in-novative solutions to avoid e.g. the use of environmental harmful substances. It is essential to use balanced technological solutions, which consider aspects like service life or technical per-formance as well as environmental aspects. Circular economy and biodiversity also play an im-portant role in these concepts and potential production chains. Other questions arise considering the interaction with other large biomass users e.g. food production. What will be the impact if we use more bio-based building materials with regard to biodiversity and resource availability? Does this create opportunities or risks for the increasing use of bio-based building materials or does intelligent use of biomass in building materials offer the possibility to apply still unused (bio) resources and use them as a carbon sink? Potential routes of intelligent usage of biomass as well as potential risks and disadvantages are highlighted and discussed in relation to resource efficiency and decoupling concept(s).
DOCUMENT
This paper describes prototypes for transition pathways towards inclusive, sustainable development for seven regions in five European Countries. The approach for developing transition pathways was based on three theoretical building blocks. First, the ABCD-Roadmap that outlines the various steps to be developed in the design process of the transition pathway, secondly, the Socio-Ecological-System framework was used to describe the current situation and analyze the interactions within the system and lastly, the X-curve model provided guidance in categorizing activities and policies that should be adapted, developed new or stopped. The international team showed how transition pathways for sustainable development can be developed in different contexts and scale levels, all over Europe. The resulting advice can be helpful to professionals active in regional development, on municipal, provincial, national, or European level.
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