Johannes Lindorfer

Energieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz · Energy Technologies

The rollout of bio-based technologies is key to achieving sustainability goals in the bioeconomy and renewable energy sectors. Evaluating the contribution of the biorefinery value chain to sustainability goals requires the evaluation of environmental, economic, and social aspects. Most current studies use quantitative metrics focused on environment...

In this study, we conducted LCA on the environmental impacts of recycling LDPE films within two system boundaries. System boundary 1 analysed the operations of a recycling company producing recycled LDPE granules. The results were comparable to the literature, yielding 0.44 kg CO2-eq./kg LDPE. Polymer testing revealed that recycled LDPE foil produc...

Recently, the European Commission announced their intention to restrict intentionally added microplastics to reduce the amount emitted by 0.5 million tons per year. Findings on microplastics indicate toxic behavior for biota, yet many mechanisms remain in the dark. Microplastics also pose a challenge in life cycle assessment as methods are actively...

We present a techno-economic assessment of a novel ethylene oxide (EO) production process, which converts carbon dioxide (CO2) and water electrocatalytically to ethylene (C2H4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which are further synthesized into EO. To ensure environmental sustainability, the primary focus was on available CO2 from biogenic sources (bi...

Heat pumps are considered to be a promising technology to mitigate industrial emissions from steam provision. In this work, an existing scale-up framework for generating life-cycle inventory data for residential heat pumps was tested if applicable to large-scale high-temperature heat pumps. The benchmark was experimental data from existing machiner...

Existing high-temperature heat pumps were investigated by means of life cycle assessment with thermal outputs of 0.19, 0.66, 1.2 and 10 MW. Scale up was performed linearly, due to a better fit than other methods presented in the literature. It was shown that the electricity consumed during the usage phase has a greater impact in the majority of dam...

The EU foresees circular economy approaches as a building brick to transform the European industry in a sustainable way. New value chains, utilizing alternative resources, are needed to sustain fundamental industrial sectors. Among these are the steel and fertilizer industries, which are important economic players in Austria. As green hydrogen is a...

Biofuels present a strong potential to support the rapid decarbonization of the mobility sector and substitution for fossil fuels. In the aviation sector, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are currently produced from various feedstocks and conversion pathways to achieve sustainability targets. A new SAF production pathway has been recently developed...

Isobutene (IBN, C4H8) is widely used in industry. Currently, IBN production relies on petrochemical processes. The current work assesses the comparative environmental sustainability of bio‐based IBN production routes based on first‐ and second‐generation sugar compared with fossil IBN by applying the ISO 14044‐based Life Cycle Assessment methodolog...

Citation: Margaritis, N.; Evaggelou, C.; Grammelis, P.; Yiannoulakis, H.; Papageorgiou, P.; Puschnigg, S.; Lindorfer, J. Use of Biomass as Alternative Fuel in Magnesia Sector. Fuels 2022, 3, 642-666. https:// Abstract: The European Union has started a progressive decarbonization pathway with the aim to become carbon neutral by 2050. Energy-intensiv...

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies support future energy and climate transition goals by recycling carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. The use of biogenic CO 2 from renewable sources, is an avenue for the production of fully renewable products. Fossil-based materials can potentially be replaced in the long term while allowing for the u...

With the prevalent need for more circular and carbon-neutral chemicals and fuels such as bio-isobutene (bio-IBN), bioethanol, and syngas, the integration of waste and emission valorisation technologies with biorefinery production is critical for greater resource efficiency and Europe's green transition. To determine the technical feasibility, econo...

Traditional engineering courses at leading universities still frequently focus on specific fields such as the design and building of machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. Ongoing research reveals that present environmental challenges require an interdisciplinary engineering approach, acco...

More wood for technical valorization is to be expected in Europe over the coming years, due to climate change and the bark beetle. To further independence from fossil‐fuel resources a novel approach to the base‐catalyzed depolymerization (BCD) of organosolv lignin into monomers and oligomers, while maximizing yields and minimizing coke formation, w...

Techno-economic assessment of the simultaneous electrocatalytic synthesis of CO2 and water to valuable base chemicals such as Ethylene

Achieving climate neutrality requires a massive transformation of current energy systems. Fossil energy sources must be replaced with renewable ones. Renewable energy sources with reasonable potential such as photovoltaics or wind power provide electricity. However, since chemical energy carriers are essential for various sectors and applications,...

This analysis estimates the technically available potentials of renewable gases from anaerobic conversion and biomass gasification of organic waste materials, as well as power-to-gas (H2 and synthetic natural gas based on renewable electricity) for Austria, as well as their approximate energy production costs. Furthermore, it outlines a theoretical...

Life Cycle Assessment of decarbonization options: A case study of CCU and electrochemical production of chemicals

The European Union is planning a new program to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. In this context, the Icelandic government plans to ban new registrations of fossil fuel cars after 2030 as one of the strategies to make Iceland a carbon-neutral country by 2040. Upgraded biogas can be directly used in vehicles with CNG engines, reducing CO2 emissio...

Um die Pariser Klimaziele für 2050 zu erreichen, werden neben klassischen, siliziumbasierten Technologien auch neuartige „Emerging Photovoltaics“ (EPVs) zum Einsatz kommen, die flexible, ultradünne und vor allem leichte Photovoltaik (PV)-Module ermöglichen. Hier eröffnen innovative Werkstoffe und Materialien, sogenannte „Advanced Materials“, neue A...

Um die ökologische Nachhaltigkeit von „Ad? vanced Materials“ (AdMs) in innovativen So? larzelltechnologien (Emerging Photovoltaics, EPVs) abschätzen zu können, ist die Betrach? tung des gesamten Lebenszyklus notwendig. Lebenszyklus?Analysen (Life Cycle Analysis, LCAs) können jene Materialien in einem Pro? dukt identifizieren, die in Relation zu and...

The steel industry is one of the most important industry sectors, but also one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters. The process gases produced in an integrated steel plant, blast furnace gas (BFG), basic oxygen furnace gas (BOFG) and coke oven gas (COG), are due to high shares of inert gas (N2) in large part energy poor but also providing a pote...

Thermal energy storage (TES) can play a key role in increasing primary energy efficiency in the industrial sector. Differences in location-specific conditions lead to differences in TES requirements across companies and to a lack of techno-economic knowhow regarding standardized implementation. This study provides a techno-economic overview of pote...

Background Due to climate change and the rising world population, sustainable energy and fertilizer production faces many challenges. The utilization of organic waste fractions is one possible solution for promoting sustainability. Organic waste fractions have a high potential for biomethane production, which could positively contribute to the curr...

This study investigates the theoretical potential and limitations of green carbon dioxide sources for technical valorisation approaches. The emission of greenhouse gases, especially CO2, must be rigorously reduced in order to achieve the European and global climate objectives. As CO2 is an increasingly valuable resource for industries and new disru...

Poster about CO2 and renewable power spatial analysis for CCU in Europe. Study conducted within the H2020 CO2EXIDE project.

Ziel des vorliegenden Papiers ist eine Zusammenstellung der für Österreich bzw. österreichische Stakeholder relevanten Fahrpläne, Szenarien und Studien, welchen im Rahmens des Themas Elektrifizierung der Industrie Beachtung zu schenken ist.

Als Basis für die gemeinsame Arbeit des österreichischen Konsortiums im IEA IETS Annex 19 „Elektrifizierung der Industrie“ und als Orientierung für die österreichischen Stakeholder erfolgt die Ausarbeitung eines thematischen Fundaments, in dem die Elektrifizierung der Industrie in ihrer gesamten Breite (Power-to-Heat, direkter Stromeinsatz, Speiche...

Since the European Union's target a domestic greenhouse gas emission reduction of 80% till 2050, as compared to the value of 1990 (European Commission, 2011), there has been an increasing interest in greening large industrial processes. Thus, gas greening and alternative emission reduction processes are gaining importance. In this study, a gas gree...

Alternative drivetrains and advanced fuels are considered as promising methods for providing sustainable mobility. To understand the overall environmental impact of passenger vehicles on global warming potential (GWP) and primary energy demand (PED), a life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for currently popular sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and...

The idea of biorefining in general is considered a promising concept for the processing of biomass into a spectrum of bio-based products and bioenergy. It is seen as one of the enabling technologies of the circular economy, closing loops of streams and aiming at the valorisation of multiple outputs. Due to its complexity and diversity there is a de...

Michael Mandl (tbw research) We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of James J. Leahy (University of Limerick) for proof reading. Whilst the information in this publication is derived from reliable sources, and reasonable care has been taken in its compilation, IEA Bioenergy The idea of biorefining in general is considered a promising concept f...

https://nachhaltigwirtschaften.at/de/sdz/projekte/urban-mining.php

In this study, the biorefinery process for generating amino acids (AA) from grass silage is analyzed ecologically. Life‐cycle assessment is conducted in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. A kilogram of amino acid is selected as a functional unit. The system boundary is drawn around silage production and includes both agricultural and conversi...

This chapter is about the potential production volumes of sustainably produced, bio-based methane (CH4) from anaerobic digestion, and synthetic natural gas. It refers to power-to-gas processes. Though based on the ground reality in Austria, the insights and learnings are useful for other countries too. The chapter starts with a characterization of...

Thermochemical energy storage provides opportunities for pressure-less and low-loss seasonal storage at high energy densities. For that purpose, appropriate storage concepts are drafted and examined in technical, ecological and economic terms, considering suitable materials, energy sources, and charge and discharge reactor concepts. The results ill...

Sensitive storage systems as currently in focus of demonstration projects in common district heating (DH) grids for the seasonal storage of excess heat show high space requirements, investment costs and heat losses. As an alternative, the usage of thermochemical storage (TCS) materials seems reasonable in certain scopes. By the use of reversible ch...

This Deliverable report has been compiled with the project OPTISOCHEM: This project has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) under grant agreement No 744330. The Deliverable report is also avaialbe at: http://www.optisochem.eu/

Um die Ziele hinsichtlich Energieeffizienz, Senkung des CO2-Ausstoßes und Steigerung des Anteils von Erneuerbaren zu erreichen, kommt Wärmenetzen eine zentrale Rolle zu, besonders da etwa die Hälfte des Endenergiebedarfs in der EU als thermische Energie anfällt. Energieangebot und Wärmenachfrage stimmen oft zeitlich und örtlich nicht überein, wodur...

The objective of this paper is to evaluate a combined bioethanol and biomethane production from wheat straw applying process network synthesis for maximised energy yield per ton lignocellulosic biomass input. Experimental results in combination with literature data were implemented in process synthesis software for energy optimisation. Wheat straw...

Chitinous material was extracted from brown crab (Cancer pagarus) shell waste using traditional chemical methods as well as microbial fermentation for life cycle analysis (LCA) and to compare differences in recovery levels and quality. Chemical extraction used 1 mol l–1 hydrochloric acid for demineralization and 1 mol l–1 sodium hydroxide for depro...

The intermittent nature of wind and solar power requires long-term energy storage options such as power-to-gas. This technology utilizes (surplus) electricity from renewable power sources to produce hydrogen in an electrolyzer. The produced hydrogen can be either directly utilized as an energy carrier or combined with CO2 and further converted to m...

The demand of biomass for energy production purposes will further increase over the next years. According to estimates up to year 2020 there will be a gap in biomass demand and supply which probably only can be met with imports. Forestry will be the most important biomass feedstock followed by agricultural biomass for energy production purposes. Fo...

Purpose Power-to-gas technology enables storage of surplus electricity from fluctuating renewable sources such as wind power or photovoltaics, by generating hydrogen (H2) via water electrolysis, with optional methane (CH4) synthesis from carbon dioxide (CO2) and H2; the advantage of the latter is that CH4 can be fed into existing gas infrastructure...

This paper deals with the application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology for process design, and presents the initial findings of this analysis qualitatively. The work identifies a need for a methodological development of Life Cycle Process Design (LCPD). This is underpinned by a broad literature review. The literature review shows that the...

Die Technologie Power-to-Gas kann durch Umwandlung von Strom in Wasserstoff bzw. in weiterer Folge auch in synthetisches Methan elektrische Energie aus fluktuierenden Erneuerbaren wie Windkraft und Photovoltaik speichern. In diesem Artikel werden wesentliche Ergebnisse aus der ökonomischen und ökologischen Technologiebewertung von Power-to-Gas vorg...

Eine neue Herausforderung der letzten Jahre, die durch die Forcierung der erneuerbaren Energieträger in der Stromproduktion in Mitteleuropa entstanden ist, ist der steigende Anteil zeitlich volatiler Erzeugung insbesondere durch die steigende Produktion von elektrischer Energie aus Wind- und Sonnenenergie. Eine Möglichkeit zur Langzeitspeicherung...

This article presents the analysis of economic, technical and ecological aspects of alternative gaseous fuel production from renewable excess electricity. Besides improvements in energy efficiency, renewable fuels will be required for the reduction of overall greenhouse gas emissions in the transport and mobility sector. The ‘power-to-gas’ technolo...

Der überwiegende Einsatz fossiler Kraftstoffe wie Benzin oder Diesel im Mobilitätssektor führt zu hohen Treibhausgas- und Luftschadstoffemissionen und erfordert die Entwicklung alternativer Kraftstoffe. Gleichzeitig werden erneuerbare Energiequellen mit fluktuierend anfallender Stromerzeugung immer bedeutender und mit deren Zuwachs steigt der Energ...

The present study analyses the cost structure and ecological performance of biomethane production and feed-in from organic wastes and manure in a site-specific approach for Upper Austria. The theoretically available quantities of biowaste and manure can feed representative biogas plant capacities resulting in relatively high biomethane full costs i...

Biogas is a product of the anaerobic digestion of solid organic biomaterials. Resulting gaseous mixture contains mostly methane and carbon dioxide and also traces of various compounds. In this book, the authors present topical research in the study of the production, consumption and applications of biogas. Topics include the effects of microwave ir...

In der Entwicklungsphase eines Produktes oder eines Prozesses werden eine Vielzahl an Entscheidungen getroffen, welche Auswirkungen auf die Umweltperformance haben. Signifikante Umweltverbesserungen können daher vor allem dann erreicht werden, wenn ökologische Wirkungen über strategische In-strumente zur nachhaltigen Entwicklung wie beispielsweise...

Cellulose, neben Hemicellulose und Lignin ein Hauptbestandteil von biogenen Rest- und Rohstoffen wie z. B. Getreidestroh oder Holz, ist nach hydrolytischer Spaltung in monomere Zucker zu Basischemikalien wie Ethanol vergärbar. Zur Beschleunigung einer möglichen enzymatischen Hydrolyse ist eine effektive Vorbehandlung dieser Rohstoffe erforderlich....

Biotreibstoffe der zweiten Generation wie aus Lignocelluloserohstoffen hergestelltes Bioethanol stehen als Option gegen zunehmende Treibhausgasemissionen im Verkehrssektor hoch im Kurs. Zur Entwicklung eines wettbewerbsfähigen Herstellungsverfahrens wurden Versuche zur thermisch-mechanischen Vorbehandlung (Steam Explosion), Cellulaseproduktion auf...

Biotreibstoffe der zweiten Generation wie aus Lignocelluloserohstoffen hergestelltes Bio-ethanol stehen als Option gegen zunehmende Treibhausgasemissionen im Verkehrssektor hoch im Kurs. Zur Entwicklung eines wettbewerbsfähigen Herstellungsverfahrens wurden Versuche zur thermisch-mechanischen Vorbehandlung (Steam Explosion), Cellulasepro-duktion au...

Biodiesel is predominantly produced from vegetable oils were insufficient quantities are available. Therefore the issue of finding alternative feedstock, such as animal fats, is essential for proving the ability of biodiesel to meet the energy needs of the future. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the potential of animal fats like tallow and la...

Kontext Der Übergang zu einer weniger CO 2-intensiven, unabhängigen und die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung nicht negativ beeinflussenden Energie-und Rohstoffversorgung ist eine entscheidende Zukunftsaufgabe. Wir haben heute die Möglichkeit bereits eine große Bandbreite an Produkten des industriellen und täglichen Bedarfs durch die stoffliche und energ...

Lignocellulosic biomass is seen as a potential feedstock for energy recovery. In particular, it is because it avoids the food versus fuel dilemma. Much research has been conducted in the energy recovery from wheat straw. Wheat straw is one of the highest amounts of biomass residues left after harvesting and therefore will be easily available. The l...