Christoph Herrmann’s Post

For the price of a coffee per month, you can join the chat around: 🌱 The Environmental Benefits of Graphene: Sustainability in Materials Science Graphene is revolutionizing sustainability in materials science. Its exceptional properties enable significant advancements across various sectors: 🔋 Energy Efficiency: Graphene-based transistors and sensors operate faster with less energy, replacing silicon and copper conductors. ☀️ Renewable Energy: Graphene enhances solar panels and batteries, offering higher efficiency and capacity. 💧 Water Purification: Graphene oxide membranes outperform traditional filters, providing efficient water purification solutions. 🏗️ Construction: Graphene-enhanced concrete reduces material usage and carbon emissions, replacing traditional concrete and steel reinforcements. ♻️ Sustainable Manufacturing: Graphene's eco-friendly production methods reduce environmental impact compared to conventional methods. 🚗 Lightweight Materials: Graphene composites replace metal alloys and traditional polymers, improving fuel efficiency and durability. 🌍 Waste Reduction: Graphene enhances recycled materials, promoting a circular economy. By integrating graphene technologies, we can pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable future. 🌟 https://lnkd.in/gW7WZ-Zi #Sustainability #Graphene #RenewableEnergy #CleanTech #MaterialsScience #Innovation #GreenTech

The inaugural SGT Sustainability Sessions at Cambridge has concluded, the event was conceived by Arun Varshneya and Stuart Hakes during 2023. The aim was to develop a platform for connectivity between academia and industry. The event structure was broken into four distinct zones each offering practical insights of historical, current and future practices. We set out to create an event to rethink the pathway of global glass utilisation, carefully considering method of recovery, processing and utilisation. Carbon management of scope 1 & 3, how it could be a benefit to furnace operators, waste management companies and authorities was explored. It was clear complex material challenges are not understood by authorities when creating legislation, PV Cells being imported to Europe to support the green energy transition having no tangible at scale capacity to process and recover exponential growth in installations and advancements in efficiency. Parenteral packaging being neutralised through incineration a grim reality of Covid. An open, honest and frank set of presentations painted an industry often in denial of complex challenges, yet innovators, industrialists and academia diligently evolving solutions, all considerate of our carbon reduction mission. We look forward to the journey ahead, we have taken the first steps in establishing an unbiased carbon centric platform to ensure all glass is recovered, monetised and repurposed and preventing its loss to landfill. As part of this event I was honoured to give the NL Varshneya memorial lecture on behalf of Arun Varshneya, I set the scene of our industry today, the challenges and possibilities. #societyofglasstechnologies #krysteline #glass #glassrecycling #environment #innovation #ukti #exportchampions #agc #ARUP #ubhgroup #Sisecam #picvisa #tuillemnau #sefpro #fic #leedsuniversity #osengreesreflection #alfreduniversity

A new paper from PhD student Mariana Vilaça has just been published in Transportmetrica B: Transport Dynamics on the very important topic of assessing emerging mobility solutions, such as shared automated vehicles, from a life cycle analysis (LCA) perspective. Shared Automated Electric Vehicles (SAEVs) are poised to revolutionize future transportation. However, potential drawbacks, including increased vehicle usage and the projected shorter vehicle lifespan, introduce critical factors that may impact efficiency and environmental benefits. This research introduces a framework that integrates Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for a behaviour-driven SAEV assessment. The ABM simulates regional SAEV operations, informing the LCA of pre- and post-integration scenarios. Sensitivity analysis on fleet sizes, system performance metrics, and Global Warming Potential (GWP) reference values are performed. Findings demonstrate that SAEVs significantly decrease the fleet size and total travel distance by raising the average travel per vehicle. SAEVs integration yields a 75–86% daily GWP reduction without significantly compromising user experience. Over 30 years, fleet replacement needs due to inadequate fleet sizing raised GWP by 170%. Balancing short and long-term environmental impact requires optimizing fleet size to achieve sustainable and efficient service delivery. Great collaboration with Margarida Coelho from Universidade de Aveiro

'Engineering a Sustainable World', developed in partnership with ITN Business, is now available to watch on the IChemE website, YouTube channel and the ITN Business Hub. Presented by Lukwesa Burak, the programme looks at the role chemical and process engineers are playing in addressing climate change, the importance of collaboration between industry and academia, and why it’s critical to inspire the next generation of engineers. It includes insightful films from the following industry professionals: Ameresco, Chemical Processing Services Ltd (CPS), HancockHamlin Ltd, Mura Technology. Pannonia Bio Zrt., Sulzer and Swansea University. https://brnw.ch/21wF4Cm . . #SustainableWorld #ChemicalEngineering #ClimateChange #IChemE #EngineeringASustainableWorld

Call for Book Chapters: Deadline January 2024   Sustainable Development Goals Towards Environmental Toxicity and Green Chemistry   In our day-to-day life, several natural or manmade toxicants are responsible for causing a number of health issues and challenging sustainable environments. Also, several chemical, biological, and physical pollutants severely threaten planet Earth's life forms. In the current scenario, the utilization of green and sustainable bioresources is highly demanding. Therefore, this book series will cover following topic to achieve the sustainable goals-   •      Sustainable development goals: Historical perspectives •      Environmental pollutants identification, profiling, and removal from the environment •      Recovery of energy or nutrients from natural resources, biomass, and solid wastes •      Development and application of sustainable materials toward greener energy •      Technology for waste materials Recycling •      Reductions in food loss and waste  •      Sustainable cellulose films as packaging (coating) materials to reduce plastic use •      The chemical, biological, and physical treatment recovery and reuse of organic wastes. •      Conversion of smart nanomaterials to achieve sustainable goals Guest Editors- Prof. Chander Prakash Dean, Division of Research and Development, NMIMS, Mumbai. Email: [email protected] Dr. Kavindra Kesari Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland & Email: [email protected]   Dr. Arvind Negi Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Email: [email protected] #sustainable materials #greenerfuture #energy #technology #wastewatertreatment #materialsscience #recycling #foodloss #wastemanagement  #sustainableenergy #cellulosefilms #packaging #coatingsmaterials #plasticwaste #chemicalengineering #biologicalsciences and #physicaltreatmentrecovery, #reuseoforganicwastes #Conversion #smartnanomaterials  

As #NetZeroWeek continues, we are marking the occasion by showcasing some of the innovative companies we’ve been working with which are developing groundbreaking solutions to environmental issues. Companies such as Albotherm, which has raised investment through Oxford Innovation Finance and is based in Future Space in Bristol, which is managed by Oxford Innovation Space. Using polymer chemistry that can switch between opaque and transparent, Albotherm has developed a low carbon cooling coating for glass surfaces. The reversible coating provides shade in high temperatures and allows sunlight through in lower temperatures. Its innovative technology has a significant impact as a net zero approach to temperature regulation, with the potential to replace energy intensive cooling systems. Read about Albotherm here: https://lnkd.in/d9BJZQTS #innovators #greentech #climateaction #businesssupport #SMEs #supportingSMEs #investinthefuture #greenagenda #climatechange #carbonreduction #environment #ChampioningSMEs #Science #technology #localauthorities

Kassel Institute for #Sustainability - who is it? In week four, we present Stefan Lechtenböhmer. Prof. Dr. Lechtenböhmer was appointed to the professorship for Sustainable Technology Design at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Kassel in September 2023 and is one of the core professorships of the Kassel Institute. Sustainable Technology Design: What exactly are you researching in your field? We focus on solutions for the #transformation of industrial and energy systems towards climate neutrality and a circular economy. Our expertise lies in the basic materials industries such as steel, cement and petrochemicals. We develop solutions to make these industries climate-neutral, resource-efficient and circular. In particular, we focus on the interactions between industrial transformation and the development of a renewable energy system. What inspired you to work scientifically in this field? The transformation of primary industries is one of the most pressing global problems: Industries such as steel, petrochemicals and cement convert natural resources into raw materials - an extremely energy-intensive process that is directly responsible for 20 percent of global energy-related CO2 #emissions in these three industries alone. When we started working intensively with the industry a good 10 years ago, there was virtually no #research on this important topic. We have done important pioneering work here. What moments do you particularly enjoy in your scientific work? In my academic work, I particularly enjoy meeting highly interesting and committed people - as colleagues, as students and as cooperation partners in companies and institutions. [...] What characterizes sustainability research at the Kassel Institute for Sustainability? The University of Kassel has long been a hot spot for many sustainability research topics. The Kassel Institute for Sustainability aims to network this high level of expertise even more intensively, make it more visible and more effective. The Kassel Institute's concept as a strong university center deliberately aims to radiate out into the entire university and, in particular, to network across faculties. In this way, we link the entire breadth of the university's teaching and research topics. The first sign of this integration is the future sustainability degree courses, which will offer students from all departments the opportunity to acquire sustainability knowledge and skills. With this consistent concept, the University of Kassel is, in my view, an absolute pioneer when it comes to activating the high level of expertise in science for the management of the Great Transformation. Find the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/eUcDFifG

It is a great honour for me to be giving the prestigious NL Varshneya memorial lecture at Cambridge University at the Society of Glass Technologies annual conference next week. I will be presenting an alternative view for sustainability within the glass industry, focusing on increasing high quality cullet recovery for the Remelt industry by utilisation of low quality fines into sustainable products. We will review how the industry could utilise this lost CO2 within its strategy for carbon reduction. We will welcome esteemed presenters from around the world, each offering an insight to each of their sectors, the schedule being formatted to consider historical methods, what innovations and strategies are being deployed currently and how academia will support the innovation required to focus our decarbonisation pathway. The two day sustainability sessions will culminate with a panel discussion of industrial experts, innovators and academics. #SGT #Societyofglasstechnologies #exportchampions #UKTI #krysteline #glass #glassrecycling #recycling #environment #carbon #carbonreduction #implosion

📢 #Sustainability & Circularity NOW: the new #OpenAccess Thieme #chemistry journal. The first interdisciplinary journal with an explicit focus on the importance of circularity for future synthetic and manufacturing developments, it aims to contribute towards the United Nations #SustainableDevelopmentGoals. Directly addressing goals 7 – Affordable and Clean #Energy, 11 - #Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12- Responsible Consumption and Production, and 13 - #Climate Action, by including studies on recovery of building blocks from waste, improvement of existing #recycling technologies, clean energy, and much more, as well as life cycle assessment studies and case studies to foster public and policy debate. Learn more: https://brnw.ch/21wGJ5S #Thieme #Chemistry #SDG #OA Thieme Chemistry