Herman Van Langenhove

Renewables-based technology : sustainability assessment

Contributors. Foreword. Series Preface. Preface. List of Abbreviations. Part I: Renewables as a Resource and Sustainability Performance Indicators. 1 The Contribution of Renewables to Society (Goran Berndes). 2 The Potential of Renewables as a Feedstock for Chemistry and Energy (Wilfried G. J. H. M. van Sark, Martin K. Patel, Andre P. C. Faaij and Monique M. Hoogwijk). 3 Sustainability Performance Indicators (Alexei Lapkin). Part II: Relevant Assessment Tools. 4 Life Cycle Inventory Analysis Applied to Renewable Resources (Niels Jungbluth and Rolf Frischknecht). 5 Net Energy Balancing and Fuel-Cycle Analysis (Hosein Shapouri, Michael Wang and James A. Duffield). 6 Life Cycle Assessment as an Environmental Sustainability Tool (Adisa Azapagic). 7 Exergy (Jo Dewulf and Herman Van Langenhove). 8 Material Flow Analysis and the Use of Renewables from a Systems Perspective (Stefan Bringezu). 9 Ecological Footprints and Biocapacity: Essential Elements in Sustainability Assessment (William E. Rees). 10 The Sustainable Process Index (SPI) (Michael Narodoslawsky and Anneliese Niederl). Part III:Case Studies. 11 Assessment of Sustainable Land Use in Producing Biomass (Helmut Haberl and Karl-Heinz Erb). 12 Assessment of the Forest Products Industries (Klaus Richter, Frank Werner and Hans-Jorg Althaus). 13 Assessment of the Energy Production Industry: Modern Options for Producing Secondary Energy Carriers from Biomass (Andre Faaij). 14 Assessment of Biofuels (James A. Duffield, Hosein Shapouri and Michael Wang). 15 Assessment of Organic Waste Treatment (Jan-Olov Sundqvist). 16 Oleochemical and Petrochemical Surfactants: An Overall Assessment (Erwan Saouter, Gert Van Hoof, Mark Stalmans and Alan Brunskill). 17 Assessment of Bio-Based Packaging Materials (Andreas Detzel, Martina Kruger and Axel Ostermayer). 18 Assessment of Biotechnology-Based Chemicals (Peter Saling and Andreas Kicherer). 19 Assessment of Bio-Based Pharmaceuticals: The Cephalexin Case (Alle Bruggink and Peter Nossin). Part IV:Conclusions. 20 Conclusions (Jo Dewulf and Herman Van Langenhove). Index.

Measurement of volatile organic compounds in sediments of the Scheldt estuary and the Southern North Sea.

The concentrations and distribution of 13 priority volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were determined in sediments of the Scheldt estuary and the Belgian continental shelf, using a modified Tekmar LSC 2000 purge-and-trap system coupled to GC-MS. The method allows a sample intake of up to 50 g wet weight and detection limits are between 0.003 ng/g (tetrachloromethane) and 0.16 ng/g (m- and p-xylene). The repeatability (n = 5) varied between 4% (benzene) and 17% (toluene) and the recoveries ranged from 59% (1,1-dichloroethane) to 99% (tetrachloromethane). Because of the nature of the contaminants, special attention was paid to analyte losses and contamination of the samples during storage aboard the research vessel. Spiked sediment samples were prepared in the laboratory and stored aboard under the same conditions as the environmental samples. The recoveries for these samples varied between 94 and 130%, which suggests that storage had no adverse effect on the samples. No detectable VOC concentrations were found for most of the sampling stations. However, in the Antwerp harbour area, significant concentrations of VOCs were found. The sorption behaviour as predicted from laboratory equilibrium partitioning experiments gives an indication of the in situ partitioning behaviour of VOCs. Although VOCs in sediments should, in general, not be regarded as a major problem in the marine environment, high local concentrations may be a cause of concern.