Difference between revisions of "Europe Sustainability Tour 2012"

Revision as of 13:35, 16 April 2012

Here are some notes (and follow on research) from our trip to Europe in April 2012.

Industrial Symbiosis

Kalundborg Symbiosis Center

Came from our 3 hour meeting with Mette Skovbjerg, Project Manager and Berndt Jespersen on Tuesday - April 10, 2012.

• There is a company in Sweden that is selling greenhouses called Plantagon. Very advanced approach. Hans Hassle, the owner, is very advanced in his thinking.
  • They also have a philosophy for Industrial Symbiosis for urban agriculture.

• The UK has formed the NISP - National Industrial Symbiosis Program (?)
  • They are trying to help get industrial symbiosis' formed....lots on their website
  • They have a website where you can post your waste you want to "sell"
  • They have a facilitation approach to find waste matches

• Please note the "mindset is free!"

• by 2010 100% of Denmark's energy is to be renewable.

• One windmill = 400 mWatts
  • People don't like the way they look
  • Pension funds are funding the projects
  • One of Bern's neighbors funded one.
  • How about Catalaunch and wind
  • Building on land is 1 fraction of cost of building at sea

• Waste of one company = Raw material for the next

• Each interconnect --- symbiotic relationship has:
  • an arms length commercial agreement
    • Agreements are typically 10 - 15 years
  • makes each company better
  • grew organically...no master plan, not a project, not an organization...it's a mindset
    • seems to have been started by bthe engineers working together

• Examples -
  • Fish farming ... uses 9C water from the power plant

• Symbiosis evolution
  • 1.0 pure economics
  • 2.0 Green...clean future together
    • the power plant needs to be green by demand of the pharmacutical company
    • "Can we solve this future better together?" Can get more by working together

• Unit Transferred = Waste Fraction

• Principles
  • 1) Members that fit together can (need) to be different
    • more difficult to combine waste streams of similar companies
    • cluster theories of economics
    • Yale has a great Center for Industrial Ecology; key Professor is Marian Chertow. Summary of Dr. Chertow's research...actually a very good summary of the whole area of Industrial Symbiosis.
  • 2) Focus on continuous waste streams
    • Some are combining waste streams for several "suppliers" to meet the need
  • 3) Each project is economically sustainable on it's own
    • Payback timeframes have moved from 3-5yrs to 1-2 yrs
  • 4) Physical location needs to be close by
  • 5) Mental distance needs to be short

• Pyroneer = gasifier

• Algae innovators ecoduna
  • Out of Austria
  • Have production in Germany with a Swedish power company Vattenfall

• Gypno - gypsum company near a power plant

• Solum
  • Anaerobic Digestion company from Denmark
  • Aikan technology
  • Have compost and gas production together
  • This may be the answer to the water!!! It reuses the water over and over again. Cirulating it.
  • Very low tech...but very innovative in the design

• Heat storage in vertical tanks
  • 125C at top and 50C at the bottom (presurized)
  • Use stratification to help.
  • put input heat in the top...put cold in the bottom
  • could mix if you need some temp in between
  • uses large collendar like filters at the top and bottom to take the input but prevent the mixing

• Value Pyramid (using $/lb)
  • 1) Medicine / Beauty ($/lb)
  • 2) Nutrient
  • 3) Animal Food
  • 4) Energy
  • unit prices go up dramatically
  • first... use output at highest value

• Symbiosis Agreements
  • arms length
  • long-term
  • benefit both
  • have a "market" basis e.g. use 30 day energy rates