Papers by Sigrid Kusch-Brandt
Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy, 2025
Advanced circular economy solutions for biological wastes undoubtedly merit major efforts in rese... more Advanced circular economy solutions for biological wastes undoubtedly merit major efforts in research, development and large-scale deployment. The research landscape in this area is vibrant, and research has a critical role in advancing the state of knowledge regarding high-value conversion of biological wastes, for example through biorefineries. However, there is a notable gap between the solutions favoured by research and their adoption in practice. Innovative circular economy solutions face serious difficulties in making it through the ‘valley of death’ to get to the market. The ‘valley of death’ appears to be particularly long and challenging for bio-based solutions. The advanced use of biological waste as a resource in a value-based circular bioeconomy is not yet where the current state of science and research would allow it to be. There is a need to better understand why the circular economy of biological wastes is lagging behind in practice. Positioned at the interface between research and industry in its analysis, the following offers some observations to explore this context.
Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy, 2024
As a forward-thinking approach, the circularity-oriented, bio-based economy paints a vision of a ... more As a forward-thinking approach, the circularity-oriented, bio-based economy paints a vision of a society whose material system is compatible with the biosphere while enabling prosperity and well-being for human populations today and in future. How can this vision become a reality? For the bioeconomy to indeed be a pathway to a sustainable future, it is important to resist to oversimplified ideas of ‘more biomass use’ or direct substitution of conventional products with bio-based products. Instead, what is needed is progress towards intelligent solutions that make the best possible use of each unit of the conditionally renewable resource biomass, responsibly and effectively deploy bio-based knowledge and transfer biological principles to our technical systems, with the ultimate aim of achieving an industrial metabolism that is compatible with the natural ecosystems. A key resource for a circular bioeconomy is biomass. Biomass is grown locally, and its cultivation and management strongly depend on local and regional contexts, including prevailing agricultural practices, forest management, specific environmental conditions and local responses to climate change. Biomass supply is highly dependent on place-based actors, such as individual farmers and forest owners. This points to the need to deploy the bioeconomy at a regional and local level, and to promote bio-based circularity at spatially close scales. Although there is scope for national and international initiatives to create enabling frameworks for the deployment of the circular bioeconomy, it is most essential to recognize the strong regional dimension in this context. The circular bioeconomy needs to be understood not only but also as a regional task.
Resources, Aug 2, 2019
the new edition of the annually updated Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) compiles the most r... more the new edition of the annually updated Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) compiles the most recent developments and trends in the adoption of renewable energies worldwide and in specific regions, countries and sectors. The report represents a rich resource for reliable and up-to-date information about individual renewable energy sources and their use. The analysis also covers a review of energy policies. Renewable energy policies still strongly concentrate on the power sector, while transport and heating and cooling are given less attention. Most investment in renewable energy today happens in developing and emerging countries, which is a major change to the situation some years ago. The 2019 edition of the GSR report includes a feature on renewable energy in cities, which highlights the importance of prioritising the urban context in order to achieve more sustainable schemes of energy supply and consumption. More than half of the global population today lives in cities, but around two-thirds of energy consumption happens in an urban environment. The GSR 2019 identifies that cities already are among the most active players in the adoption of renewable energies. One interesting finding is that in more than 100 cities worldwide at least 70% of the electricity already comes from renewables. This includes cities in both developed and developing countries.
Industrial Symbiosis
Springer eBooks, 2022
Processes
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a bio-based solution designed to convert organic materials into renew... more Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a bio-based solution designed to convert organic materials into renewable energy and other products, such as soil improver and organic fertiliser [...]
Environment, Development and Sustainability
Recycling of e-waste (waste electrical and electronic equipment) represents an important abatemen... more Recycling of e-waste (waste electrical and electronic equipment) represents an important abatement of pressure on the environment, but recycling rates are still low. This study builds on common environmental economics approaches to identify the main driving forces of the e-waste recycling rate. The environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis was applied in the context of the STIRPAT (stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence and technology) model to analyze data from 30 European countries over the period 2008–2018. Panel quantile regression was conducted to determine the relationship between e-waste recycling rate and economic growth, population, population density, energy intensity, energy efficiency, credit to private sector and e-waste collected. Strong evidence was found that the relationship between economic growth and e-waste recycling rate is an N-shaped curve, i.e., the e-waste recycling rate first increases with economic growth, then decreases in maturing economi...
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 2022
Previous studies have examined the relationship between total e-waste generation and its determin... more Previous studies have examined the relationship between total e-waste generation and its determinants. However, e-waste categories have not received appropriate attention, and thus important information is missing for policymakers. This paper advances the state of knowledge by studying e-waste categories individually. Statistical data of e-waste in the EU28 + 2 countries over the period 2000–2015 is disaggregated into single categories, namely temperature exchange equipment, screens and monitors, lamps, large equipment, small equipment, and small IT and telecommunication equipment. To examine the main driving forces of e-waste in each category, the STIRPAT model (Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology) and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis are applied, using panel quantile regression as main method and pooled OLS to control robustness of findings. Results show that population, renewable energy consumption, trade openness, and urbaniz...
Agriculture
Achieving high production with limited resources is a major challenge faced by poultry farmers in... more Achieving high production with limited resources is a major challenge faced by poultry farmers in countries with developing economies, such as Pakistan. Optimization of the technical efficiency (TE) of poultry business operations is a promising strategy. A representative sample of 210 poultry farms in the province of Punjab in Pakistan was analyzed for TE. The studied sample comprised 105 layer chicken farms (battery cage system, egg production) and 105 broiler chicken farms (environmental control shed system, meat production). A Cobb–Douglas stochastic frontier production analysis approach with the inefficiency effect model was used to simultaneously estimate TE levels and identify factors that influence efficiency. The results indicated that flock size, labor, feed, and water consumption are positively related to egg production, whereas vaccination was found to be insignificant. For broiler businesses, flock size, feed, and water consumption were positively related to the output, ...
Impact of solid substrate fractions on total methane production in anaerobic digestion
it, 2012
It is difficult to compare the biogas yield of solid substrates from findings in literature becau... more It is difficult to compare the biogas yield of solid substrates from findings in literature because the substrate composition is rarely defined. This complicates not only the calculation of the potential biogas yield of a specific plant, but also the transferability of results to other sites and other countries (including municipal solid waste, source-segregated biowaste, agricultural residues). Based on a case example, an approach to solve this problem is presented and discussed. The studied anaerobic digestion plant is an innovative continuous two-phase two-stage prototype biogas plant operated with a mixture of excreta, straw and oat husks. The dry digestion concept, which is already widely applied to treat municipal solid waste, has demonstrated to also be suitable for this substrate type. Data obtained by this approach with looking at the individual fractions are potentially transferable to other sites. However, in substrate mixtures several factors may enhance both total methane yield and biogas production kinetics compared to digestion of single fractions.
Websites Informing the Citizen in Germany About the Local Recycling Centre: A Survey Under a Circular Economy Perspective
Sustainability, 2018
Due to the ever-growing demand for natural resources, wastewater is being considered an alternati... more Due to the ever-growing demand for natural resources, wastewater is being considered an alternative source of water and potentially other resources. Using Qatar as an example, this study assesses the resources embodied in wastewater and paves the way to combine wastewater treatment with advanced resource recovery (water, energy, nitrogen, phosphorous, added value products) which can turn wastewater management from a major cost into a source of profit. In this sense, wastewater is no longer seen as a problem in need of a solution, rather it is part of the solution to challenges that societies are facing today. Based on estimated quantities of generated urban wastewater and its average composition, mass flow analysis is implemented to explore the maximum availability of major wastewater constituents (solids, organic compounds, nutrients, chloride, alkalinity, sulfide). An assessment analysis reveals that, in Qatar, more than 290,000 metric tons total solids, 77,000 metric tons organic...
Cross-country evidence on Environmental Kuznets Curve in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment for 174 Countries
Sustainable Production and Consumption
There is an urgent need to address interlinked sustainability issues in a world challenged by ine... more There is an urgent need to address interlinked sustainability issues in a world challenged by inequality, finite resources and unprecedented changes across Earth’s systems. As Future Earth Fellows, based on our collective expertise in a diverse range of sustainability issues, here we identify a specific need to recognise and respond appropriately to the nexus between human health and wellbeing, urbanisation, and ecosystem services (the ‘WUE nexus’). This nexus is a priority area for research, policy and practice. In particular, it provides a useful pathway to meet the challenges of successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this brief, we present the following policy recommendations: 1. By emphasising urban-rural linkages, foster an integrated approach to ensure food security, food safety, and health promotion; 2. Secure resilient livelihoods for all, in particular for vulnerable groups; and 3. Integrate co-production of knowledge in science for decisi...
Dataset for article - Effect of Pasteurisation on Methane Yield from Food Waste and other Substrates in AD
This dataset supports the publication: AUTHORS: Yue Zhang, Sigrid Kusch-Brandt, Sonia Heaven and ... more This dataset supports the publication: AUTHORS: Yue Zhang, Sigrid Kusch-Brandt, Sonia Heaven and Charles J. Banks TITLE: Effect of Pasteurisation on Methane Yield from Food Waste and other Substrates in Anaerobic Digestion JOURNAL: Processes DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8111351
Dataset for 'Estimating the Generation of Garden Waste in England and the Differences between Rural and Urban Areas
Survey data for 'Estimating the Generation of Garden Waste in England and the Differences bet... more Survey data for 'Estimating the Generation of Garden Waste in England and the Differences between Rural and Urban Areas' Eades et al. 2020 DOI:10.3390/resources9010008
If valorisation strategies are implemented, horse manure is a valuable resource to be used as org... more If valorisation strategies are implemented, horse manure is a valuable resource to be used as organic soil amendment and for renewable energy generation. Huge amounts of equine residues are generated in the EU and elsewhere, most of which are currently considered as waste to be disposed of, which places an additional burden on the sector. Under a SWOT analysis perspective it becomes evident that one of the key challenges lies in the fact that horse manure varies widely with view to generated quantities and contents due to utilisation of different bedding materials and different management practices. This study further aims to evaluate the challenges related to valorisation of horse manure and to identify the most promising options. Anaerobic digestion and thermal treatment are currently the two key options that hold potential for more widespread implementation of bioenergy generation in practice. Keywordshorse manure; horse dung; equine residues; bioenergy
Cogeneration power plants simultaneously generate power and usable heat in a single, integrated s... more Cogeneration power plants simultaneously generate power and usable heat in a single, integrated system, which achieves a degree of overall efficiency that is much greater compared to electricity production alone. This makes better use of energy conversion and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Combined heat and power production is already relatively common in Europe while it is less common, for example, in the USA. There is great potential for further implementation throughout Europe and worldwide, including in the industrial sector. Major challenges are the short potential distances for the transport of heat and the fact that consumers’ heat demands vary in quantity, mainly due to seasonal effects, and in quality as different applications require different temperature levels. Cleaner production schemes offer suitable frameworks to foster uptake of combined heat and power production by industry, in particular by small and medium sized enterprises.
There is an urgent need to address interlinked sustainability issues in a world challenged by ine... more There is an urgent need to address interlinked sustainability issues in a world challenged by inequality, finite resources and unprecedented changes across Earth’s systems. As Future Earth Fellows, based on our collective expertise in a diverse range of sustainability issues, here we identify a specific need to recognise and respond appropriately to the nexus between human health and wellbeing, urbanisation, and ecosystem services (the ‘WUE nexus’). This nexus is a priority area for research, policy and practice. In particular, it provides a useful pathway to meet the challenges of successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this brief, we present the following policy recommendations: 1. By emphasising urban-rural linkages, foster an integrated approach to ensure food security, food safety, and health promotion; 2. Secure resilient livelihoods for all, in particular for vulnerable groups; and 3. Integrate co-production of knowledge in science for decisi...
Through this assessment, the authors and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) secretar... more Through this assessment, the authors and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) secretariat are providing an objective evaluation and analysis of the pan-European environment designed to support environmental decision-making at multiple scales. In this assessment, the judgement of experts is applied to existing knowledge to provide scientifically credible answers to policy-relevant questions. These questions include, but are not limited to the following: • What is happening to the environment in the pan-European region and why? • What are the consequences for the environment and the human population in the pan-European region? • What is being done and how effective is it? • What are the prospects for the environment in the future? • What actions could be taken to achieve a more sustainable future?
Resources, 2019
While it is well known that particle size reduction impacts the performance of bioprocessing such... more While it is well known that particle size reduction impacts the performance of bioprocessing such as anaerobic digestion or composting, there is a relative lack of knowledge about particle size distribution (PSD) in pre-treated organic material, i.e., the distribution of particles across different size ranges. PSD in municipal solid waste (MSW) pre-treated for bioprocessing in mechanical–biological treatment (MBT) was researched. In the first part of this study, the PSD in pre-treated waste at two full-scale MBT plants in the UK was determined. The main part of the study consisted of experimental trials to reduce particle sizes in MSW destined for bioprocessing and to explore the obtained PSD patterns. Shredders and a macerating grinder were used. For shear shredders, a jaw opening of 20 mm was found favourable for effective reduction of particle sizes, while a smaller jaw opening rather compressed the wet organic waste into balls. Setting the shredder jaw opening to 20 mm does not ...
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Papers by Sigrid Kusch-Brandt