Current and completed research projects
The research conducted by Prof. Geldermann at the and University of Duisburg-Essen, can be summarized under the research areas , , and . Besides funding has been obtained by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) or the European Union.
Filter
In Germany, approx. 26 million t of waste are thermally treated in waste incineration plants for energy recovery and volume reduction. Approx. 5 million t of slag from incineration are produced from the recycling process, from which approx. 0.5 million t of iron and non-ferrous metals are recovered according to the state of the art. Due to problems with the installation of the remaining MV slag (finished slag) as a mineral substitute building material in technical structures, it is mainly used in landfill construction. In the medium term, this should be questioned, as it is foreseeable that the possibility of utilization as a landfill construction material will decrease due to a decreasing number of new landfills to be built. In addition, it must be taken into account that especially the fine fraction of MV slag (< 3mm), which corresponds to an annually accruing quantity of approx. 1.5 million t, contains further metals that can currently only be recovered to a limited extent. Among the economically interesting metals is copper, which is contained in the fine fraction in the order of 0.3 - 0.4% in the MV slag, based on a conservative view. Poor copper ores with copper contents in this order of magnitude are mined from natural deposits worldwide.
The aim of EMSARZEM (Use of MV slag as a raw material for cement production) is to process the fine fraction of MV slag in order to make the metals and minerals it contains available as high-quality secondary raw materials. The recovered minerals calcium oxide and silicon dioxide from finished slag can be used as raw materials in the cement industry, so that natural resources such as sand and limestone can be conserved in certain proportions. Process-related CO2 savings result from the replacement of raw material by MV slag, which does not have to be deacidified and thus does not release CO2.
The Chair of ABWL and Production Management applies the methods of life cycle assessment and techno-economic evaluation of the processing alternatives to be developed by the scientific and industrial project partners. In a life cycle assessment, the potential environmental impacts of the complex system of slag reprocessing, along the entire life cycle, from raw material extraction, through the use phase of the products, to their disposal, are evaluated. Based on the results of the life cycle assessment, well-founded statements can be made as to whether the additional effort in slag reprocessing is ecologically overcompensated by the advantage of secondary use. For future implementation on an industrial scale, it is also important that the increased effort for processing is economically viable through savings in disposal costs, the sale of the metallic fraction and the recycling of the mineral fraction.
The EMSARZEM project is funded by the initiative "Resource Efficient Circular Economy - Construction and Mineral Material Cycles (ReMin)" from 2021 - 2024. The initiative is part of the framework program "Research for Sustainable Development - FONA³" of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research with the aim of enabling future generations to have a future worth living through research and innovation.
In scientific discourse and in research-based teaching, addressing the climate crisis and increasing sustainability are central topics that are addressed, for example, in the courses of industrial engineering, mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, sales engineering and product management, business administration and economics. Decision-oriented, quantitative-predictive or -prescriptive methods (e.g., linear programming, multi-criteria decision support), such as those provided by operations research (OR) in particular, are required to evaluate and design our energy, mobility, and industrial systems. However, teaching these methods to students for concrete application in relevant decision problems is didactically highly demanding. Therefore, the goal of our project is the development, implementation and dissemination of a digital, model- and application-oriented teaching/learning offer in the subject area "Operations Research for Sustainability". In this context, current problems and solution approaches from our research projects on the design of sustainable energy and mobility systems as well as industrial value chains are processed in order to post them on the state portal ORCA.nrw.
In a corporate CO2e footprint, all greenhouse gas emissions of a company are documented at hand of a defined balance sheet limits, in order to summarize and evaluate them by their converting into CO2 equivalents (CO2e). On this basis, cost-efficient reduction measures of greenhouse gas emissions can be identified. Unavoidable CO2e emissions can be offset by investments in high-quality, ecologically and socially meaningful climate protection projects. Final certification guarantees high quality and transparency according to standardised rules. As an energy supply company, Stadtwerke Göttingen has already taken the first steps towards becoming a climate-neutral company in 2013. The baseline study for 2011 and 2012 thus creates the necessary transparency in the value chain and serves as a starting point for reporting in accordance with the German Sustainability Code. Over the years, a monitoring of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with Stadtwerke Göttingen AG over a period of several years allows for tracking the effects of the measures listed and implemented in the baseline study.
The "Program for Rational Use of Energy, Renewable Energies and Energy Saving" (progres.nrw) supports the energy research offensive in NRW. At the Chair of ABWL and Production Management, a mathematical model for the simulation and optimization for the charging of electric vehicles was developed and can now be used and tested in two concrete case studies in NRW.
An increasing number of electric vehicles and the charging of these vehicles have an impact on the total electricity demand. In particular, the placement of the charging infrastructure and its charging power can influence the timing, frequency, and location of vehicle charging, and thus the location and amount of energy retrieved. Therefore, our model maps the relationship between geographic and power charging infrastructure design and power system configuration, providing valuable decision support, especially in the presence of sometimes conflicting interests among decision makers.
Grohe AG offers various kitchen faucets for the treatment of tap water. The GROHE Blue water system is based on a water filter that improves the taste of tap water and, depending on the model, reduces limescale and adds minerals. In addition, the filtered water can be carbonated and cooled. When the classic faucet lever is pressed, you get tap water as usual. An illuminated LED push button activates the filter and allows you to draw chilled or sparkling water from the faucet. Two separate internal waterways ensure that filtered water does not mix with tap water.
In addition, the GROHE Red system offers the provision of boiling hot water directly from the faucet. Both product solutions are offered for both residential and commercial use.
The extent to which these ways of providing drinking water are advantageous compared to mineral water or hot water by kettle is being investigated in this research project using the LCA assessment tool. A life cycle assessment analyzes and evaluates the potential environmental impacts of a product along its entire life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to the use phase of the products and their disposal.
The aim of this study is to balance all greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of one ton of steel at Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann GmbH (HKM). To this end, the method for preparing a product-related life cycle assessment in accordance with ISO 14067 is used. The Umberto LCA+ life cycle assessment software is used to virtually map all energy and material flows in order to balance the greenhouse gases. When determining all product-related emissions, a distinction is made between direct and indirect emissions. Direct emissions are the greenhouse gases emitted within the system boundary (on the HKM plant premises). Indirect emissions are all greenhouse gases that occur along the entire value chain. Indirect emissions include emissions from the mining and transport of coking coal. When accounting for direct emissions, the facilities of the integrated steel mill (coke plant, sinter plant, blast furnace and steel mill) were modeled in a separate balance area. This is necessary because complex exchange processes take place between the plants mentioned. For example, the coke oven and blast furnace gases are used to provide electrical and thermal energy for efficient energy management. Mapping the exchange processes in the virtual model enables a clear allocation of production emissions to the various plants.
Following the successful certification of the base year, a detailed evaluation of various emission reduction scenarios was carried out. In particular, necessary assumptions and uncertainties of the scenarios were presented transparently and the emission reduction potentials were determined quantitatively.
The research project "SALAM 2: Transboundary Strategies for Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) for Solving the Water Deficit Problem in the Middle East" aims to develop integrated planning tools for sustainable use and adaptation of sustainable water technologies to different climatic, economic and social conditions.
In the medium term, the project is intended to overcome the enormous water deficits and thus contribute to the social and economic development of the "Middle East" region. The involvement of local actors is to ascertain that specific concerns of the region are taken into account and that implementation can take place in daily practice.
In this research project, the Chair of ABWL and Production Management is providing the techno-economic evaluation and multi-criteria decision support for the selection from a wide range of technical alternatives. When evaluating different combinations of water treatment and water transfer options, multiple aspects such as energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, effects on wastewater management and groundwater protection have to be considered. For the simultaneous consideration of several criteria, which are expressed in different units of measurement and are sometimes conflicting with each other, methods of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) are suitable. Due to the long planning horizon of more than 20 years, dynamic changes in both technology development and demand must also be considered. In the techno-economic assessment, the scenario technique is to be applied and combined with other methods, and methodological approaches to cope with uncertainties are to be further developed in a manner appropriate to the problem.
The research project "NEDS - Sustainable Energy Supply" Lower Saxony aims at developing sustainable and technically feasible transition paths to a renewable energy based power supply for Lower Saxony. Sustainability criteria and parameters of target states for the year 2050 will be communicated and analysed at the beginning of the project with a broad spectrum of stakeholders from politics, business, environmental and social associations as well as consumers at a public symposium. From this symposium, sustainability criteria with associated weightings are to be defined and possible parameters of sustainable target scenarios for the year 2050 are to be defined.
Within the framework of the project, an energy supply system is sustainable if the sustainability criteria identified in the project best meet the needs of both today's population and future generations beyond the year 2050. This takes into account the state of Lower Saxony's nature, the use of natural resources as well as socio-economic impacts and social acceptance of possible characteristics of a reliable, technically feasible power supply system.
When creating transition paths to a sustainable target state, technical, social, ecological and economic parameters are to be examined with the aid of appropriate models within the framework of a multi-criteria scenario comparison. In addition, the project focuses on the identification and analysis of the linkages and interactions of the submodels from the four parameter areas. This enables an interdisciplinary project consortium as well as an opening of the project with regard to socially relevant groups and goes far beyond previous technically and economically evaluated investigations of target scenarios.
Upon completion of the project, at least one sustainable transition path to a possible sustainable, electricity-based energy supply system for the year 2050 in Lower Saxony will be identified under the identified criteria.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
The prevention of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to mitigate the expected climate change requires efforts in all sectors of the economy, including the operation of ports and port terminals. Both regulatory requirements and the requirements of other stakeholders are leading to a continuously increasing demand for concepts for sustainable port operations.
Within the framework of the SustEnergyPort project (simulation-based evaluation of measures to increase energy sustainability in port operations), a structured, model-based procedure is to be developed and designed in terms of content by which port operations can identify suitable measures to improve their energy efficiency and use of renewable energies. Thus, the project results should help port operators to improve their environmental compatibility as well as their profitability. Consequently, the project makes a central contribution to maintaining the high competitiveness of German ports while continuously reducing CO2 emissions.
In the first project phase, a catalogue of potentially applicable measures for various types of port terminals will be compiled and pre-evaluated. A selection of promising measures to avoid CO2 emissions will then be simulated in a software tool within the framework of a case study in the Port of Hamburg and evaluated both in terms of their energy consumption and ecological balance. In this context, the marketing of flexibility potentials in electricity consumption on the energy markets will also be investigated. The joint economic and ecological evaluation of the measures is carried out with the help of multi-criteria decision support. On this basis, a roadmap for achieving a profitable and environmentally compatible terminal operation is to be designed.
The Chair of Production and Logistics is carrying out the project 'SustEnergyPort' together with the Hamburger Hafen- und Transportberatungsgesellschaft HPC Hamburg Port Consulting GmbH. As associated project partners, experts from the third-largest European terminal operator - Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG - as well as the energy trader Vattenfall Energy Trading GmbH will provide advice.
The aim of the project is the scientific exchange between the Department of Systems
Engineering and Engineering Management of the City University of Hong Kong and the Chair of ABWL and Production Management. Subject of the joint
scientific work is the development of a method for multi-criteria
risk management using the example of rail transport operations. The aim of risk management is to
the avoidance of serious risks on the one hand and the minimization of possible risks on the other.
The risk management process includes risk analysis, risk management, risk management and risk management.
and risk monitoring. At present, mainly qualitative methods are used in risk management.
and scientifically discussed. These methods, however, reach their limits when
there is a lack of meaningful statistical data or non-probabilistic uncertainties and
uncertainties must be taken into account.
Therefore, in this project approaches of "evidential reasoning/belief-rule based
reasoning" can be integrated into the methods of risk management, which allow simultaneous
consideration of quantitative, qualitative, uncertain and incomplete information. This model approach is to be developed and explained using the example of the railway operator.
The overall goal of the Research Training Group GRK 1703 is the development and application of methods to improve resource efficiency in interorganizational networks. The focus is on the efficient use of renewable raw materials in production processes using by-products, such that several products are produced simultaneously. The aim is a cascade use, i.e. the sequential use of the same resource for material and energetic purposes. However, the quantification of the potential advantages and disadvantages of this sequential use of resources along the value chain is methodologically ambitious and has been little studied from the individual company perspective. Thus, our research focuses on sustainability management which requires changes in all sub-areas of the industrial network - operational and inter-company, on an operational, tactical and strategic level, with regard to systems and processes, for raw material suppliers, manufacturers, retailers and customers. We have chosen lignocellulosic materials for further investigation because they are important raw materials for both the manufacturing and the process industries. 28 PhD students from the Faculties of Agricultural Sciences, Forest Sciences, Mathematics and Economics participated in the RTG.
The aim of the EU-project BIOTEAM is to help public and private stakeholders gain better insights on how the bioenergy market works and how private business decisions and EU and national policy instruments (e.g., NREAPs, fiscal instruments, feed-in schemes, land-use/forest management policies, etc.) affect bioenergy pathway competitiveness and sustainability (i.e. environmental, economic and social). The project BIOTEAM investigates how public and private sector stakeholders in six EU countries (Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Latvia and Poland) revise their decisions (e.g. bioenergy policy incentives, choice of biomass feedstock, investment size of bioenergy production plants).
The aim of the research project on behalf of E.ON Avacon and in cooperation with the Energy Research Center Lower Saxony (efzn) is to analyze future developments resulting from the integration of decentralized energy generation and additional loads, such as electromobility in electrical distribution networks. In 32 households in two local networks near Bremen, the effects of the use of electric cars, photovoltaic systems on one's own roof, battery storage in the basement, modern climate technology and smart metering were investigated. Within the framework of cross-sectional research, legal and socio-political issues are to be investigated on the one hand. On the other hand, acceptance research also represents an essential work package. The work of the Chair of Production and Logistics deals, among other things, with the development of business models for innovative system services.
The aim of the project was to compile a corporate carbon footprint for the 2014/15 fiscal year for the transport service provider General Logistics Systems (GLS) Group and for the individual countries in which GLS operates. In addition, CO2e emissions per parcel were calculated for GLS Germany's Think Green Service. Life cycle analyses and corporate carbon footprints can be used to identify potential for ecological improvement and for more efficient use of resources. The analysis of the operational CO2e footprint can provide the necessary transparency in the supply chain in order to identify particularly emissions-intensive activities and thus enable optimisation of the process chains. In addition, they serve as decision support, e.g. in strategic planning, priority setting, product or process development.
IT-for-Green aims to develop suitable environmental management information systems (EMIS) that not only support the demand for legally compliant business, but also have a much more strategic character and offer direct assistance to decision-makers in companies. The following companies are project partners: CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics GmbH & Co. KG, erecon AG, Nordwest-Informationssysteme GmbH & Co. KG and the municipality of Spiekeroog. The tasks of the Chair of Production and Logistics include Green Logistics and sustainable product development, in particular the automated determination of CO2 emission values along the supply chain.
Mathematical programming is often considered as optimization without applications. OptALI aims to motivate research activities in optimization by solving real-world problems and to make optimization models and techniques work in practice. Each of the participating sites (Auckland, Christchurch, Göttingen, Kaiserslautern, TU Denmark) recognized that such a transfer is an important goal for the mutual benefit of researchers and practitioners. In OptALI we join forces and learn from each other to jointly push the boundaries of optimization towards practice. The main achievements of OptALI are: Postgraduate research: 35 young researchers had the opportunity to work on applied optimization abroad and in strong cooperation with other researchers for several months. Together with them we obtained new results on robust optimization, transportation, health care, evacuation, and scheduling which is reflected in numerous papers and conference talks.Teaching: The participating experienced researchers shared nearly 60 lectures to lay the fundamental knowledge in integer programming, multicriteria optimization and robustness.
In this interdisciplinary research network, the chances and risks of bioenergy are investigated in the context of sustainable development. The Chair of Production and Logistics took over two subprojects: Development and evaluation of evaluation criteria for various concepts of energetic biomass use from an ecological, economic, social and technical point of view. The aim of this subproject is to evaluate the impact of different approaches of biomass energy use from the perspectives of ecology, economy, technology and social sciences in the context of sustainable development in order to provide decision support for the selection of biomass use. The biomass concepts to be compared relate to the area of a concrete potential bioenergy village or to a region in a district in Lower Saxony. Modelling and optimisation of the production and distribution system for bioenergy villages For bioenergy villages, more or less efficient and economically profitable solutions have so far been found for the design of the individual plant components for electricity production (e.g. biogas plant, block-type thermal power station) as well as for heat preparation and distribution (e.g. wood chip heating plant, local heating network). The aim of this subproject is to develop an optimising production and distribution model based on site-specific input data to determine the best plant constellation and design according to economic criteria as well as the optimum extent of biomass use.
The aim of the study, on behalf of GROHE AG (Düsseldorf), is to compile a product carbon footprint based on the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the consumption of one litre of drinking water from the Grohe Blue faucet in defined use scenarios. The GROHE BLUE® kitchen tap system converts ordinary tap water into carbonated drinking water by filtering, cooling and adding carbon dioxide to the water. In order to aggregate the values of various greenhouse gases into a single result, all greenhouse gases are converted into CO2 equivalents (CO2-Eq). According to ISO 14067 and PAS 2050:2011 standards, all upstream and downstream processes related to the provision of mineral water must be considered. The data basis for the impact factors is the IPCC report. The CO2 product balance for GROHE BLUE® drinking water was carried out with the Umberto NXT LCA software using ecoinvent data.
REACH is the European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006) concerning the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemical substances. The main objective of this project is to collect and analyze data regarding the abatement costs of chemical emissions based on sample substances. The main focus is on the costs of using alternative substances and techniques (processes and products), taking the cost guidelines of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki into account.
The aim of a EU Twinning project is to support new EU member states and EU candidate countries in adopting EU law and building the necessary administrative capacity. Prof. Geldermann was invited to Ankara as an expert to report on the control of industrial VOC emissions in Germany and the EU.
Biogas can be used for electricity, heat and fuel production as well as for feeding into the natural gas grid, after further processing to natural gas quality. The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) provides economic incentives for the use of biogas. The extent to which the expansion of biogas plants and the use of biogas meet expectations in terms of ecological benefits (e.g. positive greenhouse gas balance) can be investigated using the life cycle assessment. The aim of this project are specific life cycle assessment studies for five biogas plants taking into account the special conditions in typical Lower Saxony regions, namely in the arable farming regions of Southern Lower Saxony and Lüneburg Heath, in a refining region, in a dairy cattle region and in a mixed region.
In this interdisciplinary research network, the chances and risks of bioenergy are investigated in the context of sustainable development. The Chair of Production and Logistics took over two subprojects: Development and evaluation of evaluation criteria for various concepts of energetic biomass use from an ecological, economic, social and technical point of view. The aim of this subproject is to evaluate the impact of different approaches of biomass energy use from the perspectives of ecology, economy, technology and social sciences in the context of sustainable development in order to provide decision support for the selection of biomass use. The biomass concepts to be compared relate to the area of a concrete potential bioenergy village or to a region in a district in Lower Saxony. Modelling and optimisation of the production and distribution system for bioenergy villages For bioenergy villages, more or less efficient and economically profitable solutions have so far been found for the design of the individual plant components for electricity production (e.g. biogas plant, block-type thermal power station) as well as for heat preparation and distribution (e.g. wood chip heating plant, local heating network). The aim of this subproject is to develop an optimising production and distribution model based on site-specific input data to determine the best plant constellation and design according to economic criteria as well as the optimum extent of biomass use.
In the doctoral program "Biodiversity and Society - Social Dimensions of Protection and Use of Biological Diversity", which was organized by the Göttingen Graduate School of Social Sciences (GGG), about twenty doctoral students from various scientific disciplines (including pedagogy, sociology, law, economics, philosophy and political science) were conducting research. In business and economics, indicators for estimating the potential impact of transport on biodiversity are examined. The aim is to analyse the cause-and-effect relationships between business activities and impacts on the local and global environment.
Chemical leasing is an innovative business model in which the classic quantity-related payment (€/t) for chemicals is replaced by a benefit-oriented payment (e.g. €/m² cleaned area). This converts chemical consumption for the chemical manufacturer from a revenue factor to a cost factor. This also creates an economic interest for the chemical manufacturer to reduce the consumption of chemical products by the user through process optimization. As a result, there will be intensified cooperation between chemical manufacturers and users. This can result in economic advantages for both partners and in particular - through reduced chemical consumption - to resource conservation, reduction of environmental pollution, energy savings and avoidance/reduction of risks from the use of chemicals. In the Federal Environment Agency's research project, quality criteria were developed on the basis of eight initiated and accompanied pilot projects, which are intended to help ensure a high level of the business model with regard to environmental and health aspects.
The increased competition from other countries requires a stronger differentiation of the products of the German mechanical engineering industry. High cost pressure, declining margins and extended product responsibility have an impact on the entire service life of complex products, machines and plants. This increases the importance of considering the costs resulting from the investment throughout the entire life cycle when making procurement decisions. In addition to procurement costs, costs for maintenance, repair and unscheduled plant shutdowns are decisive for the long-term profitability of investment goods. The Life Cycle Costing (LCC) concept was developed to systematically take these cost factors into account in investment decisions. In a comparative life cycle cost calculation, all costs incurred during the entire life cycle from acquisition to disposal are included. In order to elaborate the special features of the design of these concepts from the point of view of a machine manufacturer, various life cycle cost contracts are presented first. Particular attention is paid to incentive systems and testing mechanisms that allow a fair distribution of the expenses and yields associated with the concept. Subsequently, opportunities and difficulties will be demonstrated and explained using the example of LCC contracts for machine tools used in automotive manufacturing.
In 2008, Lower Saxony was the first federal state to appoint a government commission on climate protection. Its task is to support the state government in developing a climate protection concept for Lower Saxony. Against this background, the Energy Research Centre of Lower Saxony (EFZN) was commissioned to identify possible courses of action for the federal state of Lower Saxony. The starting point was the study "Costs and potentials of the avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions in Germany", which was carried out by McKinsey on behalf of "BDI initiativ - Wirtschaft für Klimaschutz" in 2007. The EFZN study is based on known data and measures to avoid greenhouse gas emissions with regard to Lower Saxony's potential and summarises CO2 emissions and energy consumption in the fields of renewable energies and combined heat and power generation, buildings, trade, commerce and services, transport and agriculture. This provides the first indications of cost-effective starting points for a state-wide climate protection programme.
The aim of the project was to explore and identify relevant topics concerning the need for further scientific training in the economy of southern Lower Saxony and to develop selected offers. The Chair of Production and Logistics contributed its expertise in the logistics sector.
The Integrated Project EURANOS, through the commitment of fifty operational emergency management organisations, 'stakeholder groups" and competent RTD institutes of many European countries, develops a fully interactive framework for initiating and promoting practical improvements of emergency management and rehabilitation strategies in Europe. The project has the following objectives: (A) creating better communication links between those responsible for nuclear and radiological emergency management in European countries with the perspective of fast notifications, information exchange and interaction through more direct channels; (B) providing better coherence and transparency in decision processes on local, national and border crossing interventions as one input to improving public understanding and acceptance of off-site measures; (C) supporting decisions on effective and timely emergency actions and countermeasures in case of nuclear or radiological emergencies by access to reliable, consistent and comprehensive information, and in this way mitigating radiological and economic consequences; (D) developing a coherent framework for the sustainable rehabilitation of living conditions in contaminated areas by implementing integrated and decentralised approaches involving key stakeholders and the public. The research team lead by Jutta Geldermann contributed its expertise in multi-criteria decision support.
In this research project, a method for integrated process design for cross-company plant planning in dynamic material flow networks is being developed and applied to case studies in Chile and China. To this end, existing approaches in industrial engineering (in particular operations research) and process engineering (energy optimisation and plant design) are being further developed. First, dynamic technology adaptation with the help of BAT (best available techniques) and then dynamic capacity planning are investigated. Based on this the pinch analysis and its further development to an integrated process design will be analyzed and adapted for the optimization of material flow networks. The simultaneous use of energy, water and solvents as target parameters in process optimization poses a multi-criteria process design problem. The expected overlaps of the identified solutions will be ranked with the help of Operations Research.
The aim of the project was to support the decision-making process for a concept development for the implementation of innovative coating technologies for an automotive manufacturer. The Karlsruhe research team provided its knowledge on current scientific developments in the area of multi-criteria decision support, its experience in conducting moderated workshops and its technical competence, especially in the area of paint application and BAT identification
With the implementation of the Solvents Emissions Directive (Directive 1999/13/EC), which aims to reduce the direct and indirect effects of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the environment, several industrial sectors need to act. In particular, many companies are required to introduce environmental management plans, known as solvent management plans. In this EU project, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been selected for pilot studies in the participating countries. The results obtained and the knowledge gained can be transferred to other companies in the same industrial sector. To this end, production processes in the following sectors were examined: Coating of different types of surfaces, surface degreasing, shoe production, car repair, chemical cleaning and production of coating products.
Edukalibre is a project aimed at the promotion of information and communications technology in education. Its main goal is to explore new ways of producing educational materials, based in the practices and procedures observed in the libre (free, open source) software development community. Some of the key aspects being explored are collaborative development, the interaction with users, and the use of version control systems for documentation, in the context of the educational communities. In the end, the tools and procedures for the creation of educational materials are proposed. Edukalibre is the international project including the partners from universities and educational institutions of Spain, Portugal, Germany, UK, Switherland and Czech Republic. The research team lead by Jutta Geldermann contributed its knowledge in University teaching of Production Management and developed prototypes in an early version of Moodle, a free and open-source learning management system written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License.
Coherent analysis and evaluation of complex decision problems necessarily involve the weighing of multiple sources of uncertainty, highly conflicting objectives, time-evolving and multi-faceted preferences, and the integration of opinions and desires of disparate stakeholder groups. Our overall objective is to develop Bayesian methodologies and computational tools for the rational, inclusive, analytic support of such decisions. Their development, we believe, will do much to enable true mechanisms of e-democracy.
Our intention is to draw on the modern methods of decision analysis and group decision support, deployed over the WWW, in order to involve the public in decisions that affect them. More than electronic referenda, our vision sees stakeholders helping to shape options, sharing perspectives, discussing and evaluating pros and cons, facing up to uncertainty and moving towards a balanced conclusion.
The assessment of industrial techniques and investments under environmental, technical and economic criteria requires coherent evaluation. Especially in much environmental decision making there is a need to address many complex interacting issues: highly conflicting criteria; multiple sources of uncertainty; many stakeholder groups with a variety of complex, time evolving and multi-faceted preferences and beliefs; difficulties of communication between the decision makers, stakeholders, experts and other interested parties.
In this project, we discuss formal methods for multi-criteria decision support, interactive graphical presentation and artificial intelligence based explanation systems together with the pervasive access to the Internet now offer ways in which decision theory can be used for integrated technique assessment, encouraging constructive discussion and debate between the many parties to the process of decision making.
The research team led by Dr. Jutta Geldermann coordinates this thematic network of the EU with 14 project partners. The aim of ISACOAT is the experience exchange between research institutions, paint manufacturers and coatings industry with regard to possible perspectives and future scenarios for the metal coating sector. With the implementation of the EU Solvents Directive, solvent emissions must be reduced for many industrial paint applications. However, the use of substitute paint products requires the modification of the whole plant and process technology - the entire organization and structure of the industry will change. Therefore, the EU project ISACOAT examines actual examples from the following sectors: vehicle series coating, car refinishing, coating of agricultural and other machinery, small parts (contract coating) and construction, among others by means of life cycle assessments. In an integrated scenario analysis, four conceivable development possibilities for the industry are conceived and analysed. Since the various actors in the sector are involved, the project's findings are not limited to individual companies, but take into account the value chain and the entire life cycle of the products. The project results are made available to politicians and industry to support them in decisions on (environmental) policy measures, investments or the initiation of research and development activities.
EVATECH, Information Requirements and Countermeasure Evaluation Techniques in Nuclear Emergency Management, was a research project in the fifth Framework Programme of the EU, aiming for the enhancement of the quality and coherence of the response to nuclear and radiological emergencies in Europe. The objective of EVATECH was to improve the decision support methods, models and processes in ways that take into account the expectations and needs of different stakeholders participating in decision making to protect members of the public and workers in a nuclear emergency situation. The project had ten partners from seven European countries.
Vehicle refinishing is obliged to introduce product-integrated reduction measures in the form of solvent-reduced paint systems. Their application influences the work processes, so that modifications are necessary. In this project, initiated by the Working Coating of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), studies of one week duration were carried out in 28 body shops across Europe, franchised by Audi, BMW, Ford, Opel, Porsche and Volkswagen (VW). The objective of the project was the design of a software-based tool capable of calculating the time requirements for vehicle refinishing depending on the degree of damage. For this purpose the scope of work as well as the corresponding time and material needs have to be depicted while also taking into consideration waterborne paints. In addition, the differences between the body shops, with respect to work procedure and equipment, were to be highlighted. In addition to the analysis and identification of improvement potentials of the workflow in the refinishing industry, recommendations for the practical implementation of the proposed measures are given.
The Gothenburg Protocol of the UN/ECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) and the NEC Directive (Directive on National Emission Ceilings for Certain Atmospheric Pollutants 2001/81/EC) have obliged Germany to comply with emission limits for VOCs (volatile organic compounds). VOC emissions also originate from the handling and transport of mineral oil products, whereby the combination of the emission-relevant factors "quantity handled", "technology used" and "vapour pressure" results in possible reduction potentials for petrol as the most important mineral oil product. Therefore, the aim of the research project was to quantify the current VOC emissions associated with tank-wagons and to develop appropriate measures to avoid and reduce emissions. The internal cleaning of tank wagons should also be included.
The VOC Directive (1999/13/EC) regulates, among other things, the use of solvents in vehicle refinishing. As a consequence, new requirements apply to all vehicle refinishing companies in Germany. Accordingly, paint shops must be constructed and operated in such a way that certain emission limits are not exceeded. Otherwise, a so-called reduction plan is required with which an emission reduction of at least the same amount as if these requirements were met must be achieved. Furthermore, compliance with the VOC limit values must be verified at least once a year by a solvent balance. The aim of this project, commissioned by the state of Baden-Württemberg, is to provide assistance for the optimal implementation of the requirements in the form of a computer program and a practical guideline for the preparation of a solvent balance.
The reduction of emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) has been an important objective of EU environmental policy, especially since the Council Directive 1999/13/EC on the limitation of emissions of volatile organic compounds due to the use of organic solvents in certain activities and installations. These actions were mainly focusing on production processes and their emissions. Products containing VOC have not yet been a major objective of EU regulation. In the field of products, so far only the decorative paint sector and products for the vehicle-refinishing sector have been analysed. Against this background it is an important aim of this project to collect data and information by meetings and interviews with associations and individual companies and by literature and internet investigation, in order to give an overview to all relevant product groups containing VOC. Since substitution of VOC is possible for quite a lot of products, it is another important aim of the project to identify priorities and to demonstrate the corresponding reduction potentials based on technical feasibility and market demand. Following basic data, forecasts to 2010 and costs of abatement are given, being a necessary information for decision making.
The UN/ECE Gothenburg Protocol, signed by Austria in December 1999, sets national emission ceilings for several air pollutants, including NOx and anthropogenic VOCs. At EU level, the "Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on emission ceilings for certain atmospheric pollutants" (NEC Directive) contains national emission ceilings for the 15 EU Member States as well as the obligation to present plans to ensure compliance with the emission ceilings by 2010 at the latest. Emissions of the two air pollutants have decreased continuously in recent years. Further reductions are expected in the future, but not to the extent necessary to comply with the emission ceilings under the Protocol and the EU Directive.
Against this background, an important objective of this project is to develop an action plan for the reduction of NOx and VOC for the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (BMLFUW). This plan must ensure that the emission ceilings for Austria specified in the Gothenburg Protocol and in the planned NEC Directive will not be exceeded in 2010, taking into account feasibility and effectiveness.
Complex decisions often exceed the so-called "common sense" of the decision makers, because too many aspects and information have to be considered simultaneously. In addition to classic applications, for example in political committees, supervisory boards of large companies, etc., the problem of decision-making in teams increasingly affects medium-sized companies as well.
Various systems have already emerged on the market for congresses and similar events in order to conduct a wide variety of question modes in a defined environment, such as grouping, voting, evaluation, Pro&Contra, opinion polls and learning success monitoring, ranking, shoot-out, portfolio as well as strength and weakness analysis. In this research and development project, the primary goal is to devise a mobile system that will enable a heterogeneous and not necessarily spatially concentrated decision-making team in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) to take complex decisions efficiently, objectively and completely homogenised in a team, taking into account many different criteria.
The IPPC Directive 96/61/EC on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control requires EU Member States to contribute to the exchange of information on best available techniques (BAT). In addition to the energy industry, production and processing of metals, the mineral processing industry, the chemical industry and waste treatment, the list of other industrial sectors also includes solvent-relevant surface treatment plants.
In this research project, the national state of the art for the integrated prevention and reduction of environmental pollution in surface treatment using organic solvents for the application of paints and adhesives in Germany was determined.
In order to describe the environmentally relevant input and output streams, the technical processes and procedures currently in use are comprehensively analysed. The process steps of pre-treatment, coating and post-treatment are identified on the basis of the throughput of the workpieces or surfaces in one or more typical plants and the associated mass and energy flows are described. In addition, technical options for the prevention and reduction of environmental pollution, if available, are characterized.
In the last few years, the supplier industry has developed various low-emission materials and technologies according to the state of the art for the small and medium-sized enterprises involved in the refinishing of passenger cars and commercial vehicles. To date, more than 50% of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) were emitted in solvent applications, with paint processing accounting for the largest share. The aim of the project is to increase the acceptance of the use of water-based paints and other low solvent/free auxiliaries by developing a practical guideline for the different applications of water-based paints and low solvent/free auxiliaries. This manual is intended to provide specific assistance for car refinishing companies in Baden-Württemberg. A particular focus of the project is the dissemination of knowledge and findings on the use of water-based paints through the organisation and implementation of workshops for the companies concerned.
A aim of this project is the development of a practice-oriented tool for the efficient organization of the operational material and energy flows for enterprises within the range of the industrial and job coating. In close co-operation with a selected painting enterprise, the Stoz GmbH in rotting castle, by internal optimization of the material and energy input as well as by product and technology innovations, reduction potentials from environmental and economic point of view are identified. At the same time, the requirements of the EU Eco-Audit Regulation and ISO 14000 series are fulfilled. The results are illustrated in a practice-oriented guideline, in order to identify in the future also in other enterprises of the industrial and job coating further emission reduction and savings potentials.
VOC (volatile organic compounds) are emitted inter alia by a variety of solvent using activities, such as coating, surface degreasing, dry cleaning, etc., which are regularly carried out in small enterprises. The operators of such installations are often unaware of possible emission reduction measures. Moreover, the Directive 1999/13/EC of the European Union lays down emission limit values for twenty different categories of installations using solvents. These limit values are determined depending on the applied production process and the installation capacity. Therefore, companies are obliged to take measures in the near future to reduce emissions.
In comparison to larger companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are generally not very well informed about the measures which could help them to reduce their emissions, because of their limited personal size and cash flow. Therefore, the objective of this EU project is to create an information exchange forum based on internet which provides high quality, focused information for all users affected by the Solvent Directive. In close cooperation with the industry and the EU, generic guidance is provided which is applicable to all sectors encompassed by the Directive, allowing all alternative methods of meeting emission limits to be clearly represented. Special emphasis is put on advice geared towards practical help for the operator including case studies.
At the German-French Institute for Environmental Research (DFIU/IFARE) of the University of Karlsruhe, the mass and energy flow model IMPROVE (Individual computer aided mass and energy flow model for the vehicle refinishing sector) was developed for the more efficient management of operational mass and energy flows in car refinishing. The comprehensive research report describes practice-oriented instruments for vehicle paint shops to improve the efficiency of their material and energy flows in order to identify cost and emission reduction potentials and to meet the requirements of new environmental legislation.
The main objective of developing a methodology for assessing BAT (Best Available Techniques according to IPCC Directive 96/61/EC concerning Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) is a site-independent, sectoral determination of BAT at EU level. Thereby an integrated consideration of the impact of the techniques on the environment as a whole and in particular on the environmental media air, water and soil as well as the efficiency of energy use is to be ensured. In accordance with the requirements of the IPPC Directive, the evaluation must, among others, observe the internationally relevant environmental quality standards and should be supplemented by locally particularly relevant parameters for certain installations without abandoning the principle of site-independent assessment. In a second step, the methodology should be supplemented by appropriate specifications to enable the meaningful local application of BAT.
The proposed integrated assessment method for the identification of BAT at EU level corresponds to the structure of a life cycle assessment (LCA) due to its organisation into first screening, material and energy balance, impact assessment and multi-criteria decision support. The expert discussion, which can take place at EU level, e.g. within the framework of the work of the "Technical Working Groups", is an integral part of the method. The aim of the method is to direct the discussion towards the central questions of technology selection. Once the BAT determination is obvious, the procedure can be completed at each of the four evaluation steps.
A comprehensive evaluation of investment projects includes not only the consideration of technical and economic criteria, but also the resultant environmental impact. Therefore, a multi-criteria decision support system is developed and its application shown in a case study from the iron and steel industry. Various scenarios for process-integrated environmental protection are used as a basis for decision-making. These scenarios are simulated in terms of process technology and their material and energy balances are compiled. For multi-criteria decision support the outranking method PROMETHEE is applied and refined due to the extended preference term and the flexibly adaptable algorithm. Thus, a fuzzified PROMETHEE algorithm for the evaluation of fuzzy criteria and weightings by means of L-R fuzzy intervals is presented and applied in order to achieve the most extensive utilization of the available knowledge from the process simulations of innovative environmental protection techniques. Furthermore, a graphical sensitivity analysis for the outranking method PROMETHEE is newly developed. A graphical evaluation of the multi-criteria analysis offers a ranking of the investigated environmental protection measures, indicates further information needs and serves as a basis for final discussions among experts.