Heinz Stichnothe

• Dr rer nat.
• Senior Researcher at Thünen Institute

To achieve sustainable development, the transition from a fossil-based economy to a circular economy is essential. The use of renewable energy sources to make the overall carbon foot print more favorable is an important pre-requisite. In this context, it is crucial to valorize all renewable resources through an optimized local integration. One oppo...

Composting is a waste management practice that converts organic waste into a product that can be used safely and beneficially as a bio-fertiliser and soil amendment. Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) from composting are known to cause damage to human health and the environment. The impact of waste management on the environment and wor...

Newly developed and innovative RUN technology aims to recover nutrients from urban wastewater (blackwater) and biowaste (kitchen waste). The development of RUN technology has been supported by the life cycle assessment (LCA) in order to identify hotspots and trade-offs. While the performance of the process at a laboratory scale did not show any env...

Background This study assessed deep tillage (DT) as a climate change mitigation strategy, focusing on its historical implementation in Lower Saxony, Germany. Four sites (Drüber, Salzgitter, Elze, and Essemühle) where DT was applied in the 1960s were investigated, and the CANDY carbon balance (CCB) model was used to simulate soil organic carbon (SOC...

This paper presents an analysis that aimed to quantify the consequences of modelling choices in the life cycle assessment of composting by investigating the influence of composting management practices and the influence of the selected marginal product for substitution. In order to investigate the different influencing factors, a set of 11 scenario...

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of waste treatment processes is often associated with considerable uncertainties. The aim of this study is to estimate the total uncertainty in the modelled composting system and the influence of material and process parameters on the uncertainty. Four composting combinations with fresh (FC) and mature substrate compost...

Purpose Peat extraction rapidly removes carbon from the peatland carbon store and furthermore leads to substantial losses of carbon from the extraction site by stimulating decomposition and erosion. Aim of this study is to evaluate whether the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) approach is suitable for assessing the environmental impacts of whit...

The purpose of the StaPlaRes project was to evaluate two innovative techniques of urea fertiliser application and to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. All GHG emissions, as well as other gaseous emissions, agronomic and environmental variables were collected for three years (2016/2017–2018/2019) at three experimental field sites in Germany....

Retailers and consumers are increasingly requesting information on the carbon footprints of products, including paints. This is putting considerable pressure on suppliers and manufacturers to provide carbon-relevant information. However, estimating the carbon footprint of paints is not a trivial task as it is affected by many parameters including t...

Technical lignin, processes and market development

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as other gaseous emissions and agronomic variables were measured for three years (2011/2012 - 2014/2015) at eight experimental field sites in Germany. All management activities were consistently documented. The database (GHG-DB-Thuenen) stores these multi-variable data sets of gas fluxes (CO2, N2O, CH4 and NH3...

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-021-10138-5

Winter oilseed rape (WOSR) is the major oil crop cultivated in Europe and the most important feedstock for biodiesel. Up to 90% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from biodiesel production can occur during oilseed rape cultivation. Therefore, mitigation strategies are required and need to focus on direct nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emission as one of...

Standardisation and certification for bioenergy and biofuels have been done by other IEA Bioenergy Tasks already, e.g. "Monitoring Sustainability Certification of Bioenergy" by Task 40 in 2013. However, an overview on standardisation of biobased products is still missing. The aim of this report is to gather relevant information about existing stand...

The biorefinery of the 21st century requires commercialization and policy support of current technologies to allow the industry to grow. Companies that attempt to enter the field of renewable raw materials and products must be aware of prices, performance values and volumes available. Such information can speed up new developments. Finding suitable...

Winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L., WOSR) is the major oil crop cultivated in Europe. Rapeseed oil is predominantly used for production of biodiesel. The framework of the European Renewable Energy Directive requires that use of biofuels achieves GHG savings of at least 50% compared to use of fossil fuel starting in 2018. However, N2O field emis...

Growing demand for palm oil is driven by increasing human population, income growth as well as biodiesel stimulation programs. Covering an area of over ten million ha in Indonesia, palm oil production is also one of the most important sources of crop residues while processing generates large amounts of wastewater. Cultivation and processing of this...

The long-term substitution of fossil resources can only be achieved through a bio-based economy, with biorefineries and bio-based products playing a major role. However, it is important to assess the implications of the transition to a bio-based economy. Life cycle-based sustainability assessment is probably the most suitable approach to quantify i...

This chapter focuses on techno-economic assessments of biobased products from fermentation and fast pyrolysis. We briefly describe underlying methodologies and summarizea number of literature studies dealing with conversion pathways using fermentation and fast pyrolysis. However, data are limited on the techno-economic evaluation of innovative bior...

A wide range of nonfood biomass and conversion technologies can be used for the production of bioenergy and biobased products. The fermentation of lignocellulosic-derived sugars and the thermochemical conversion of biomass (eg, fast pyrolysis) are examples of relevant conversion technologies. The main product of fast pyrolysis is bio-oil, which can...

It is critical to ensure the sustainability of biomass when used for energy, chemicals, and/or materials in the future bioeconomy. This does not only apply to the feedstock, a common focus within traditional bioenergy assessments; it also needs to consider the wider value chain, that is, from feedstock production through end use, including a range...

Facing a shortage of petrochemicals in the long term, biomass is expected to be the main future feedstock for chemicals, including liquid transportation fuels. Currently, biomass is mainly used for food, feed, and material purposes; only a small fraction is used in energy conversion (ie, heating/cooling, power, or transport fuels). The “bioeconomy”...

BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE, OIL PALM RESIDUES AND CO-DIGESTION

Developing the Global Bioeconomy: Technical, Market, and Environmental Lessons from Bioenergy brings together expertise from three IEA-Bioenergy subtasks on pyrolysis, international trade, and biorefineries to review the bioenergy sector and draw useful lessons for the full deployment of the bioeconomy. Despite the vast amount of politically driven...

Biodiesel production in Europe and Germany relies heavily on rapeseed oil. Thus, the biodiesel industry has become the most important outlet for rapeseed oil. In light of the increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) saving requirements at the European level, this situation may change: according to the default values specified in the current legislation, bio...

Feed in tariffs (FiTs) and renewable heat incentives (RHIs) are driving a rapid expansion in anaerobic digestion (AD) coupled with combined heat and power (CHP) plants in the UK. Farm models were combined with consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) to assess the net environmental balance of representative biogas, biofuel and biomass scenarios o...

p>The IEA Bioenergy Task 42 “Biorefining” with its 11 member countries (A, AUS, CA, DK, G, I, IR, J, NL, NZ, USA) has the following definition on biorefining: “Biorefining is the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of bio-based products (food, feed, chemicals, and materials) and bioenergy (biofuels, power and/or heat)”. Wood as a rene...

On-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) of wastes and crops can potentially avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but incurs extensive environmental effects via carbon and nitrogen cycles and substitution of multiple processes within and outside farm system boundaries. Farm models were combined with consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) to assess pla...

The aim of this paper is to evaluate assumptions and data used in calculations related to palm oil produced for biodiesel production relative to the European Renewable Energy Directive (EU-RED). The intent of this paper is not to review all assumptions and data, but rather to evaluate whether the methodology is applied in a consistent way and wheth...

On-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) of wastes and crops can potentially avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but incurs extensive environmental effects via carbon and nitrogen cycles and substitution of multiple processes within and outside farm system boundaries. Farm models were combined with consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) to assess pla...

Gegenstand des Berichts ist die Rolle der UNFCCC-Quellgruppen „Landwirtschaft“ sowie „Land- nutzung, Landnutzungsänderung und Forstwirtschaft“ (land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF) bei der künftigen Reduzierung von THG-Emissionen in Deutschland. In Kapitel 2 werden Stand und Entwicklung der THG-Emissionen dieser Quellgruppen anhand der D...

Driven by the growing numbers of intensified pig farms around cities in China, there are problems of nutrient surplus and shortage of arable land for utilising the manure. Hence, sustainable livestock systems with effective manure management are needed. The objective of this study is to compare the existing manure treatment of a typical pig farm in...

This paper presents the life cycle impacts of recycling PVC window frames. Both post-industrial and post-consumer waste are considered to produce white and non-white chips and powder. The results suggest that significant savings of environmental impacts can be achieved by using PVC from recycled waste frames compared to virgin PVC resin. Recycling...

Gegenstand des Berichts ist die Rolle der UNFCCC-Quellgruppen „Landwirtschaft“ sowie „Landnutzung, Landnutzungsänderung und Forstwirtschaft“ (land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF) bei der künftigen Reduzierung von THG-Emissionen in Deutschland. In Kapitel 2 werden Stand und Entwicklung der THG-Emissionen dieser Quellgruppen anhand der Dat...

Biorefineries are assumed to become important material and energy users of biomass. Greenhouse gas mitigation, resource efficient and sustainable biomass utilization as well as positive economic effects along the value chains are drivers for biorefinery concepts but these potential benefits have to be achieved and proven. In doing so, economic and...

Purpose The UK carbonated drinks sector was worth £8 billion in 2010 and is growing at an annual rate of 4.9 %. In an attempt to provide a better understanding of the environmental impacts of this sector, this paper presents, for the first time, the full life cycle impacts of carbonated soft drinks manufactured and consumed in the UK. Two functiona...

There is an increasing need for life cycle data for bio‐based products, which becomes particularly evident with the recent drive for greenhouse gas reporting and carbon footprinting studies. Meeting this need is challenging given that many bio‐products have not yet been studied by life cycle assessment (LCA), and those that have are specific and li...

In 2009 approx. 40 Mt of palm oil were produced globally. Growing demand for palm oil is driven by an increasing human population as well as subsidies for biodiesel and is likely to increase further in coming years. The production of 1 t crude palm oil requires 5 t of fresh fruit bunches (FFB). On average processing of 1 t FFB in palm oil mills gen...

For the production of one tonne of palm oil 5 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches are necessary. During processing in the oil mill 1.15 t empty fruit bunches and 3.25 m 3 of waste water with high organic pollution (COD tot 50,000 mg/L) accrue. Usually the waste water is treated in anaerobic ponds before precipitation to the recipient. From the ponds the...

Background, aim, and scope: The aim of this study has been to estimate the carbon footprint of bread produced and consumed in the UK. Sliced white and wholemeal bread has been considered for these purposes and the functional unit is defined as "one loaf of sliced bread (800 g) consumed at home". The influence on the carbon footprint of several para...

IntroductionEnvironmental IssuesEconomic IssuesSocial and Ethical IssuesCase StudiesConclusions AcknowledgementsReferences and Further Reading

Biofuels have a potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from transport because the biomass used in their production is considered carbon neutral. This is the main reason for a growing interest in biofuels. However, there are certain aspects, particularly of the first-generation biofuels, which may render them unsustainable, including the incre...

Background, aim, and scopeGlobally, 45 million metric tonnes of palm oil has been produced in 2009. The production of 1t crude palm oil requires 5t of fresh fruit bunches (FFB). On average, processing of 1t FFB in palm oil mills generates 230kg empty fruit bunches (EFB) and 650kg palm oil mill effluent (POME) as residues. These residues cause consi...

This paper considers two alternative feedstocks for bioethanol production, both derived from household waste—Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and Biodegradable Municipal Waste (BMW). Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been carried out to estimate the GHG emissions from bioethanol using these two feedstocks. An integrated waste management system has been cons...

Engineers and scientists face the difficulty to properly influence the modern world due to lack of communication skills and capacity of the mass media. However, chemical engineers have a skill set which can significantly and rapidly inform public debate and maybe even influence political decision-making. The Italian physicist Enrico Fermi was also...

Achieving sustainability requires balancing economic, environmental and social aspects. The awareness of and interest in sustainability are growing but the main questions still remains unanswered: what economic and industrial activities could be considered sustainable and how could progress towards sustainability be measured? This paper looks into...

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a useful tool for estimating carbon footprints of the food supply chains. This is illustrated in this paper on the case study of Christmas meal. The results show that the 'hot spots' in the system are the production and distribution of the meal ingredients, causing 86% of the carbon footprint; preparation and consumpt...

This chapter discusses a system-oriented perspective to the way of assessing contaminated sediment treatment chains to complement the parceled site-specific environmental information that is considered along with economic and social criteria in decision-making procedures. Environmental evaluation methods—such as risk assessment (RA) of the potentia...

Wastewater from wash down of boat hulls contains typically Cu, Zn and organometallic biocides, e.g. tributyltin (TBT). In some cases this wastewater is led directly into the marine system. In the present paper, a cheap flocculation method (iron flocculants) for removal of Cu and Zn from the wastewater is investigated and the method was shown succes...

-Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Frstner on his 65th birthdayBackground, Aims and Scope Sediments in harbours and nearby shipyards demonstrate widespread contamination with tributyltin (TBT). Therefore, reuse and relocation of dredged material from these locations are prohibited. Even if the International Marine Organization (IMO) convention concerni...

Since at least three decades tributyltin had been commonly used in paint formulations to protect ship hulls and submersed surfaces from fouling. This has resulted in negative and Technology, effects to the marine environment due to its high toxicity towards non‐target organisms and to its accumulation in sediments, especially near point sources of...

In contaminated sediments butyltin compounds and PAH can be diminished by means of an electrochemical treatment. The butyltin concentrations of the fine fraction (particle size < 20 μm) of a mechanical separation unit were reduced from 350 μg/kg to < 10 μg/kg for tetrabutyltin (TeBT), from 2600 μg/kg to < 30 μg/kg for tributyltin (TBT), 380 μg/kg t...

A hydrometallurgical circuit process combining the leaching of metals with the electrolytic regeneration of the mass separating agent is an option to effectively treat heavy metal contaminated solids. This process aims towards a dosed loop utilisation of the extractant by its regeneration and recycling, enabling the use of high cost extractants and...

Preliminary experiments have shown that dibutyl and tributyltin can be decomposed by the electrochemical treatment of sediment. Two different process pathways have been described and compared. A slurry electrolysis of the suspended sediment seemed to be more efficient than column leaching followed by electrolysis. Tributyltin was destroyed under ox...

Heavy metal contamination of soils is still an unsolved problem although metals are associated with human life and have been used for thousands of years. Mining activities in particular have led to the spreading of large amounts of heavy metals in the environment. In many industrial processes (e.g., in the plating industry, accumulator production,...

Heavy metals can be recovered from highly contaminated soil hydrometallurgically using a combination of leaching and leachate regeneration. For identifying the best leaching conditions a systematic method is presented. It consists of a set of speciation techniques which are (1) an instrumental method, XAFS, (2) an operational method, sequential ext...

The application of a dc electric field to fine-grained soil evokes two electrokinetic transport mechanisms: an electrolytic migration of ionic species and an electroosmotic water flow.

Zusammenfassung Zur Herstellung einer Tonne Palmöl werden etwa 5 t Fruchtstände benötigt. Bei der Verarbeitung in der Mühle fallen daraus etwa 1,15 t leere Fruchtstände und 3,25 m³ organisch hoch belastetes Abwasser an (CSB tot : 50.000 mg/L). Üblicherweise wird das Abwasser vor der Einleitung in den Vorfluter in anaeroben Teichen behan-delt, wobei...

Indonesia has recently become the world largest palm oil producer. It has produced approx. 21 million tonnes in 2009 (USDA 2010). Increasing global demand for palm oil -partly driven by subsidies for biodiesel -is mainly covered by increasing production in Indonesia and is likely to increase in coming years. The production of 1 million t crude palm...