THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTING THE ICT NETWORK IN ACHIEVING KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN THE RURAL AREAS

Currently in Romania, the information sources available to farmers are limited and belong mostly to the public sector. The knowledge provided is relevant but insufficient in order to meet the needs of the Romanian farmers, especially since they are not oriented towards the market, as the main segment of interest. This paper has the intention to emphasize the need to introduce ICT as the main tool in supporting the decision making process and in resolving the specific issues faced by this sector In analyzing the current situation regarding this matter, in order to propose ways to resolve the problems encountered in achieving knowledge transfer, until now, were addressed issues such as: the evolution of the knowledge transfer concept, development milestones and actions that marked the RDI sector as the main producer of information, the main supporters of the farmers in their information actions (World Bank, IFAD), means, procedures and techniques used for transmitting knowledge (extension; consultancy). But what is most important is making all this resulted information available for the farmers, fact which can only be accomplished, in our opinion, by introducing and implementing ICT in the rural areas. The main method of research is the statistical data analysis of the data regarding the components involved in the knowledge transfer process and the current status of implementation of ICT in the rural areas. Among the expected results are included identifying the main restrictive factors in achieving knowledge transfer in rural and the main implications that implementing ICT would have on farmers\\\' market position. Introducing ICT in the rural area is, in our opinion the best way to transform information, as a research result, into knowledge, becoming this way a real input for the farmer In practice, this will lead to lower production costs, lower prices for inputs, increased revenues by increasing the productionâ€(tm)s prices and, not least, increased level of the European funding resources attracted for supporting investments.knowledge transfer, ICT, sustainable development, rural areas, knowledge society;

INTEGRATION OF SEMI-SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURAL FARMS

Intensive agriculture, industrial type, contributed to environmental degradation and pollution. Thus, on the one hand, makes intensive use of chemicals has led to neglect of duty to maintain the natural fertility of the soil organic matter through proper fattening. On the other hand, organizing specialized industrial environments, high animal breeders, considered the only marketable livestock production, neglecting the production of manure, thus representing a break with the brutal nature of biological circuits Following the experience accumulated over two centuries, mankind has drawn valuable education obligation to safeguard the habitat of nature as a collaborator. In this respect, the main task of our times is to develop appropriate technologies humanist ideal, so that man can become a being as fully integrated into the social and cosmic environment. In the present period as a peasant household current form, is typical of developing countries. It is generated by the result of families who received income from farming and increase farm animalelor.Gospodãria organizational structure is the basic economic and agricultural economy. On the basis of the idea that organic production is the main cause of degradation of the biological quality of products is inadequate human intervention at various structural levels of the biosphere, and the most severe effects on humans resulting from the cumulation of errors relating to soil, plants and animals. Organic farming places emphasis on quality natural products, the quantity and productivity issues as a peripheral level. A balanced rural development policy for the future is not an option but a necessity, especially considering the fact that the issue of agriculture and rural development has important national connotations and is a very complex and timely in Romania Regional development is a concept that aims at stimulating and diversifying economic activities, encouraging private sector investment, helping to reduce unemployment and ultimately lead to improved living standards, according to the regions of the country\'s developmentPeasant household, sustainable development, farms, subsistence, european agriculture

Software System Understanding via Architectural Views Extraction According to Multiple Viewpoints

International audienceChanges and evolution of software systems constantly gener- ate new challenges for the recovery of software systems architectures. A system's architecture, together with its elements and the way they inter- act, constitute valuable assets for understanding the system. We believe that offering multiple architectural views of a given system, using domain and pattern knowledge enhance understanding of the software system as a whole. To correlate different sources of information and existing soft- ware system, different viewpoints are considered. Viewpoints enable one to model such information and guide the extraction algorithms to ex- tract multiple architectural views. We propose a recursive framework, an approach that expresses different kinds of information as viewpoints to guide the extraction process. These multiple viewpoints models al- low considering architectural, conceptual, and structural aspects of the system

Process support for evolving active architectures

This work is supported by the EC Framework V project ArchWare (IST-001-32360), and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grants GR/R51872 (Reflective Application Framework for Distributed Architectures) and GR/R67743 (my Grid: Directly Supporting the E-Scientist).Long-lived, architecture-based software. systems are increasingly important. Effective process support for these systems depends upon recognising their compositional nature and the active, role of their architecture in guiding evolutionary development. Current process approaches have difficulty with run-time architecture changes that are not known a priori, and dealing with extant data during system evolution. This paper describes an approach that deals with these issues. It is based on a process-aware architecture description language (ADL), with explicit compose and decompose constructs, and with a hyper-code representation for dealing with extant data and code. An example is given to illustrate the ease-of-use benefits of this approach

D10.3: Description of Internet Science Curriculum

This document presents a proposition for a reference Internet Science curriculum that can be adapted and implemented jointly or in collaboration, by different Universities. The construction of the curriculum represents a challenge and an opportunity for the NoE, as it represents the essence of Internet Science. What are the main aspects to be taught? What is the kernel? These questions are answered by the curriculum. The curriculum is a reference document and a guideline for the different universities wishing to implement it. It has to allow for adaptation to the heterogeneous national and institutional contexts. Nonetheless, our goal is to have the curriculum provide a definitive basis for a universally - recognised degree, considering the related constraints in order to ensure compatibility. In this way, the curriculum presented here is the root of a range of curricula; it may lead to a degree within an existing Departmental course, an autonomous an d dedicated degree or a component of new joint degrees. This document presents the process that lead s to the construction of the curriculum, followed by the main goal, the scientific content and issues related to possible implementation. The version presented here is a preliminary version. This is due to several reasons; most noticeable being that the choice of the implementation schema is currently under study (deliverable due for end of 2014) and it s input might influence the form or content of the curriculum. On the other hand, we will start collecting feedback, which will might as well trigger changes. The curricula in its current form it’s been subject to a communication at WebSci Education Workshop, held in conjunction with the Web Science 2014 Conference, in Bloomington, Indiana, June 2014. We had positive feedback during the conference from the web - science community. The 6 theme balanced structure was particularly appreciated

Central sorting systems in Municipal Solid Waste management

Affaldsteknologier udvikler sig over tid og det samme gør de baggrundssystemer og rammevilkår som affaldssystemer afhænger af. Gennem de sidste, og sandsynligvis også de kommende, årtier vil den politiske udvikling således i væsentlig grad ændre rammerne for optimering af affaldssystemernes indretning.De mest afgørende fremtidige baggrundsbetingelser defineres især af tre politiske områder. For det første af stigende bestræbelser for en bedre styring af samfundets materiale-ressourcer, på vejen med en ’cirkulær økonomi’, herunder forhøjede mål for materialegenvinding. For det andet af en omfattende omlægning af energisystemet til vedvarende energi, motiveret af ønsker om fortsat god fremtidig forsyningssikkerhed såvel som reduceret klimapåvirkning. For det tredje af den affaldspolitiske udvikling selv, herunder forbud mod affaldsdeponering, skatter og afgifter og sidst men ikke mindst af den øgede liberalisering og udvikling af et internationalt marked for affaldshåndtering. Hvad angår materialegenvinding fra kommunalt affald, prioriterer den aktuelle europæiske affaldspolitik kildesortering og separat indsamling. Der er imidlertid væsentlige økonomiske og sociale begrænsninger ved denne tilgang, som kan udgøre et grundlag for innovative løsninger. Inden for rammerne af den sandsynlige udvikling af energisystemet vil den nuværende ensrettede affaldsforbrændingstilgang, som indebærer en ikke-fleksibel, kontinuert energigenvinding, miste sine nuværende klimafordele på længere sigt.Hidtidige metoder og praksis for systemanalyse, især livscyklusvurdering, LCA, repræsenterer og vurderer oftest affaldssektoren i et for forsimplet samspil med sine omgivelser med et minimum af fremtidig interaktion og systemeffekter, i de fleste tilfælde gennem inkonsistente metoder og statisk repræsentation af baggrundssystemerne, og deres utilstrækkelige evne til at afspejle konsekvenserne af beslutninger om implementering af forskellige affaldshåndteringsstrategier er kompromitterende for deres brug i beslutningsstøtte. Der er derfor et behov for videreudvikling af metoder til at modellere effekten af interaktioner med omgivende systemer, herunder en involvering af økonomiske modelleringsmetoder.Dette PhD arbejde har undersøgt den rolle og de implikationer mekanisk forsortering og central sortering kan have som en nøgleteknologi i strategier for optimeret ressource- og energigenvinding og minimering af klimapåvirkningen fraaffaldshåndtering i lyset af fremtidens rammebetingelser. Projektets overordnede mål kan nedbrydes i fem del-mål:1) At gennemgå og udbygge den eksisterende viden om fysisk/mekanisk behandling af kommunalt affald, inklusive forståelsen af det nuværende stade for teknisk udvikling, proces-effektivitet og økonomiske aspekter af sorterings- og separations-systemer 2) Gennem teknisk-økonomisk analyse og materiale- og energiflow modellering at simulere og designe alternative affaldssystemers, som sigter mod øget materialegenvinding og øget fleksibilitet i produktionen af affalds-relateret energi 3) At vurdere egnetheden og konkurrencedygtigheden af affaldssystemer med central sortering og identificere de fordele og ulemper sådanne systemer har i form af økonomi, klimapåvirkning og ressourcegenvinding sammenlignet med systemer med affaldsforbrænding 4) At afklare og kvantificere, hvor meget ændrede rammevilkår betyder for de relative fordele og ulemper ved central sortering, herunder Danmarks og EU's politik og ambitioner for vedvarende energi og reduktion af klimapåvirkning 5) At identificere og vurdere betydningen af synergi og andre indirekte effekter i baggrundssystemerne, der opstår som konsekvens af beslutninger om affaldshåndteringErkendelserne fra dette PhD arbejde peger på, at fysisk/mekanisk processering og sortering af kommunalt affald har nået et teknisk modent niveau og spiller en afgørende rolle i både sortering og forbehandling til genvinding af kildesorterede genanvendelige materialer såvel som af blandet rest-affald.Central sortering er allerede anvendt med succes flere steder verden over som en effektiv måde at genvinde de forskellige materialegrupper i kommunalt affald, herunder genanvendelige materialer, bionedbrydeligt organisk affald til særskilt biologisk behandling samt en mere energitæt ’refuse derived fuel’, RDF. Fra et ressourceperspektiv er en stærk motivation for central sortering denne tekniks potentiale for at supplere eller helt erstatte kildesortering og separat indsamling af genanvendelige materialer i områder, hvor sådan indsamling er vanskelig, så som tæt bymæssig bebyggelse.Gennem PhD studiet er simuleret og vurderet et stort antal alternative systemer til håndtering af kommunalt affald, herunder mange kombinationer af separat indsamling af mono-fraktioner, blandende fraktioner og restaffald og mange forskellige teknikker til videre behandling af disse fraktioner. Alle scenarier blev desuden vurderet og sammenlignet på baggrund af et stort antal forskellige scenarier for baggrundssystemerne, og i alt blev opstillet og sammenlignet mere end tusind forskellige affaldssystem modeller. Formålet med denne store varietet var at skabe et robust sammenligningsgrundlag og at forstå, hvordan sammenligningen afhænger af antagelser om fremtidige rammevilkår, for herigennem at skabe et ’mønster’ af resultater for alternativernes relative fordele og ulemper mht. materialegenvinding, energieffektivitet og klimapåvirkning.Materialegenvinding: Resultaterne peger på et højt genvindingspotentiale generelt og på, at systemer med central sortering har den højeste materialegenvinding for alle materialekategorier på nær papir og pap. Mht. bio-affald peges på vigtigheden af kontaminering/kvalitet af den fraseparerede bio-fraktion for den videre anvendelse af fraktionen.Energieffektivitet: Studiet viser, at øget materialegenvinding fra separat indsamling eller central sortering – i affaldsoplandet for et forbrændingsanlæg – ikke sker på bekostning af ringere energigenvinding. Tværtimod blev det påvist, at der opnås samme eller højere energigenvinding, når der tages højde for markedsmekanismerne fra det liberaliserede marked for affaldshåndtering i EU. På længere sigt vil systemer, der prioriterer højere materialegenvinding, bevare en større klimafordel, idet de er mindre følsomme for den faldende fordel ved energifortrængning, der følger af udviklingen mod vedvarende energi i energisystemet.Carbon footprint: Evalueringen af carbon footprint baseredes på konsekvens-LCA, og sammenligningen mellem reference-systemet med affaldsforbrænding og alternative strategier for produktion af bio-methan fra bio-affaldet og RDF fra restaffaldet i fremtidens vedvarende energisystem gav en række robuste konklusioner. På kort til mellemlangt sigt falder klimafordelene ved energigenvinding fra affaldet som nævnt proportionalt med, at den fortrængte energi i energisystemet gradvis ændres til vedvarende energi. Affaldssystemets evne til at opretholde en netto klimagevinst er således fundet at afhænge af, hvor godt energigenvindingen fra affaldet kan integreres i den fluktuerende vedvarende energiproduktion. Fleksibiliteten af energigenvindingen fra affaldet og dens evne til at erstatte spidslast el og varme (dvs. de teknologier, der anvendes, når vinden ikke blæser) bliver derfor afgørende for klimagevinsten fra affaldshåndteringen. Sådan spidslast vil på kort til mellemlangt sigt sandsynligvis være baseret på fossile brændsler og på længere sigt på biomasse. I et vedvarende energi system vil det således være karakteren og oprindelsen af den marginale biomasse, der afgør hvor stor klimagevinst, der er fra fleksibel affalds-baseret energi-genvinding.Systemer med central sortering med produktion af et lagerstabilt RDF til brug for fjernvarme til spidslast i vintersæsonen, blev fundet klimamæssigt særligt attraktive og blev fundet at opretholde netto klimagevinster og at være bedre end konventionel affaldsforbrænding under alle baggrundsbetingelser.Specielt for Danmark, men også relevant for andre lande med stor animalsk produktion i landbruget, er der store klimafordele og sandsynligvis også økonomiske fordele ved at anvende kildesorteret bio-affald som co-substrat i landbrugs-biogasanlæg baseret på husdyrgødning. Klimagevinsten opstår ved enten 1) at tilvejebringelsen at et co-substrat muliggør mere biogas på husdyrgødning og derved medfører mindre udledning af klimagasser fra konventionel håndtering af husdyrgødning eller 2) at bio-affaldet erstatter andre co-substrater, mest sandsynligt energiafgrøder, og dermed undgår den klimabelastninger, der er forbundet med disse.Implementeringen af øget materialegenvinding i lande med fuld affaldsbehandlingskapacitet, herunder fuld forbrændingskapacitet, som fx Danmark, kan påvirke et stigende internationalt marked for affaldshåndtering og dermed affaldshåndteringen i andre lande. Når affaldsstrømme kanaliseres væk fra investeringstung, eksisterende infrastruktur med lang restlevetid som affaldsforbrændingsanlæg, fx via separat indsamling eller central sortering til øget materialegenvinding, udbydes dennes kapacitet på markedet og affald importeres. Det afføder, at den marginale affaldshåndtering på markedet undgås, og dette er deponi. Sådanne kaskade-effekter er i de fleste tilfælde miljømæssigt fordelagtige. Affaldsimport kan på kort til mellemlangt sigt fungere som en økonomisk favorabel overgang i en gradvis afvikling af affaldsforbrænding, idet importeret affald kan understøtte eksisterende forbrændingsanlæg i deres restlevetid, mens investering i ny kapacitet undlades. Waste treatment technologies develop over time, and so do background conditions on which waste management systems rely. During the last and expectedly also the coming decades, political developments have and will, thus, significantly change the framework conditions for optimizing waste management.The dominating future background conditions have been found to be defined especially by the development within three policy areas. Firstly, by increased efforts to ensure a proper management of material resources, providing stepping stones towards a “circular economy”, including enhanced targets for material recovery and recycling. Secondly, an increased integration of renewable energy in energy systems, motivated by objectives both to ensure energy supply security and to mitigate adverse impacts of global warming. Thirdly, by waste management policies themselves, including regulations like banning landfilling, schemes on taxes, fees and subsidies and last but not least, the liberalization and development of an international market for waste management services.With regard to materials recovery for recycling from municipal solid waste (MSW), current European waste policy prioritizes source separation and separate collection. However, there are noticeable economic and social limitations with this approach, which motivate a search for innovative solutions. Within the likely (and politically targeted) development of background energy production, the current “one size fits all” approach towards waste-to-energy (WtE), through continuous waste incineration, is likely to see its current climate benefits compromised in the long term.Current systems analysis methods and practices and specifically waste LCA models most often represent and evaluate the waste management sector in a much too simplistic interaction with its surroundings, accounting for a minimum of probable future system interactions/effects, many times through inconsistent methods and static representations of background systems. Their insufficiency in taking account of consequences of decisions towards implementation of different waste management strategies can compromise them as decision-supporting tools. As such, there is a need for advances in methodological aspects related to modelling effects/interactions with surrounding systems, including better convergence with economic modelling methods.This PhD work investigated the role and implications of mechanical pre-treatment and central sorting as a key waste management technology for strategies to achieve both resource and energy recovery optimizations and to minimize climate impacts of waste management in the context of future framework conditions. The goal of the work was broken down to five main objectives:1) To review and expand the knowledge base on physical/mechanical treatment of municipal waste streams, including current state in technical development, process efficiency and economic aspects of sorting and separation systems. 2) To design and simulate, through techno-economic analysis and material/energy flow modelling, alternative waste management systems which aim at increased material recovery and flexibility in utilization of waste-derived energy. 3) To evaluate the feasibility of waste management systems based on central sorting and identify the advantages and disadvantages of such systems in terms of economy, climate impacts and resource recovery compared to systems based on direct WtE. 4) To explore and quantify the significance of changing background conditions such as the overall Danish and European policy and ambitions for future renewable energy integration and climate change mitigation and how such changing background conditions influence the feasibility of central sorting compared to alternative systems. 5) To identify and assess the significance of conditional synergies and other indirect effects occurring in background systems as a consequence of waste management decisions.Through the findings of this work, it can be concluded that waste physical/mechanical processing and sorting technology have reached a high level of technical maturity, and play a crucial role both in sorting and preparation for recycling of source-separated recyclable materials, and the processing of mixed/residual MSW streams. The concept of central sorting is already applied successfully in numerous places around the world, as an efficient strategy for “material specific treatment”, meaning to gain access to the various material groups in mixed or residual MSW, such as: (1) recyclable materials, (2) biodegradable organic fractions, for dedicated biological treatment, and (3) high-energy content fractions, for production of waste-derived fuels. From a resource recovery perspective, a strong motivation for residual MSW central sorting is its potential to support, or even be an alternative to, source separation and separate collection for recyclable materials, in areas where such programs are difficult to implement or optimize, such as urban agglomerations.Alternative MSW management systems were simulated and evaluated, comprising numerous combinations of separate collection of mono- and commingled waste fractions as well as mixed residual fractions and comprising a variety of downstream treatment/handling approached to these fractions. All scenarios were, in turn, assessed and compared against a large variety of background system scenarios leading to a total of above a thousand waste management models. The aim was to create a robust platform for evaluating the feasibility of systems including central sorting against other systems, to understand the outcome of comparisons and their dependency on framework conditions and to establish a final ‘pattern’ of comparisons allowing a robust interpretation for decision making with respect to all aspects of feasibility, including aspects of resource recovery, energy efficiency, and climate impacts.Material recovery: The results reveal that very high recycling rates are possible, and that central sorting typically improves recycling rates for all material fractions except paper and cardboard. Further, with regard to the bio-waste fraction, there is an important issue of contamination/quality influencing the subsequent options for applying the bio-fraction.Energy efficiency: It was, further, found that the enhanced material recovery on the short-to-medium term does not happen at the expense of less energy recovery. On the contrary, when revealing the mechanisms of a liberal waste market leading to waste imports, the same or a higher amount of waste-derived energy could be supplied to the background energy system when including increased separate collection or central sorting. In a longer term perspective, systems which prioritized recovery of materials for recycling maintained higher GWP savings and were less vulnerable to the decreasing benefits from replacing energy produced in future background systems.Carbon footprint: The evaluation by carbon footprint (based on consequential LCA methodology), of reference (WtE) and alternative strategies to energy integration of waste derived biomethane and RDF, against different sets of background conditions representing the most probable future development of the Danish energy system, yielded a number of robust conclusions. In short-to-medium term, MSW management would see a decrease in GHG savings, consistent with the diminishing share of fossil fuels in the energy system being displaced by the energy recovered from the waste. The ability to maintain net waste-derived GHG savings from waste energy recovery in a longer term perspective is found to be determined by the ability to integrate waste based energy production in the surrounding energy system. Therefore, the flexibility of waste derived energy supply and its ability to displace peak energy production, based on remaining fossil fuels or increasingly biomass, becomes decisive to the resulting carbon footprint of MSW management. In a fully renewable background energy system, the nature of the marginal source for biomass would determine the magnitude of savings related to flexible waste-derived energy production. Systems based on central sorting, with production of storable RDF for intended utilization in the cold season in district heating networks, were indicated as especially relevant, and consistently attained net GW benefits in all modelled background situations superior to direct WtE. Implementation of strategies for increasing recycling and/or optimization of wastederived energy recovery in countries with self-sufficient waste management systems (such as Denmark) and high degree of WtE, can affect waste management operations in other European countries. Such indirect effects manifest themselves through market mechanisms, and are caused by direct consequences of such strategies on the utilization of existing waste treatment infrastructure, specifically capital-intensive, long-lived WtE infrastructure – i.e. if incineration capacity is released in a given WtE facility due to a separate collection scheme or the establishment of a central sorting facility, such capacity will soon be filled up by waste import. These effects are in most cases environmentally desirable, as a move up the waste hierarchy in a self-sufficient system seems to have the same implication in countries lacking treatment capacity, affecting marginal waste treatment (i.e. leading to reduction of landfilling). Moreover, short-to-medium term waste imports may act as a support mechanism to the gradual change in how waste is managed, from systems relying heavily on continuous WtE to systems prioritizing material recovery and storable waste-derived energy carriers

Central sorting systems in Municipal Solid Waste management

Affaldsteknologier udvikler sig over tid og det samme gør de baggrundssystemer og rammevilkår som affaldssystemer afhænger af. Gennem de sidste, og sandsynligvis også de kommende, årtier vil den politiske udvikling således i væsentlig grad ændre rammerne for optimering af affaldssystemernes indretning.De mest afgørende fremtidige baggrundsbetingelser defineres især af tre politiske områder. For det første af stigende bestræbelser for en bedre styring af samfundets materiale-ressourcer, på vejen med en ’cirkulær økonomi’, herunder forhøjede mål for materialegenvinding. For det andet af en omfattende omlægning af energisystemet til vedvarende energi, motiveret af ønsker om fortsat god fremtidig forsyningssikkerhed såvel som reduceret klimapåvirkning. For det tredje af den affaldspolitiske udvikling selv, herunder forbud mod affaldsdeponering, skatter og afgifter og sidst men ikke mindst af den øgede liberalisering og udvikling af et internationalt marked for affaldshåndtering. Hvad angår materialegenvinding fra kommunalt affald, prioriterer den aktuelle europæiske affaldspolitik kildesortering og separat indsamling. Der er imidlertid væsentlige økonomiske og sociale begrænsninger ved denne tilgang, som kan udgøre et grundlag for innovative løsninger. Inden for rammerne af den sandsynlige udvikling af energisystemet vil den nuværende ensrettede affaldsforbrændingstilgang, som indebærer en ikke-fleksibel, kontinuert energigenvinding, miste sine nuværende klimafordele på længere sigt.Hidtidige metoder og praksis for systemanalyse, især livscyklusvurdering, LCA, repræsenterer og vurderer oftest affaldssektoren i et for forsimplet samspil med sine omgivelser med et minimum af fremtidig interaktion og systemeffekter, i de fleste tilfælde gennem inkonsistente metoder og statisk repræsentation af baggrundssystemerne, og deres utilstrækkelige evne til at afspejle konsekvenserne af beslutninger om implementering af forskellige affaldshåndteringsstrategier er kompromitterende for deres brug i beslutningsstøtte. Der er derfor et behov for videreudvikling af metoder til at modellere effekten af interaktioner med omgivende systemer, herunder en involvering af økonomiske modelleringsmetoder.Dette PhD arbejde har undersøgt den rolle og de implikationer mekanisk forsortering og central sortering kan have som en nøgleteknologi i strategier for optimeret ressource- og energigenvinding og minimering af klimapåvirkningen fraaffaldshåndtering i lyset af fremtidens rammebetingelser. Projektets overordnede mål kan nedbrydes i fem del-mål:1) At gennemgå og udbygge den eksisterende viden om fysisk/mekanisk behandling af kommunalt affald, inklusive forståelsen af det nuværende stade for teknisk udvikling, proces-effektivitet og økonomiske aspekter af sorterings- og separations-systemer 2) Gennem teknisk-økonomisk analyse og materiale- og energiflow modellering at simulere og designe alternative affaldssystemers, som sigter mod øget materialegenvinding og øget fleksibilitet i produktionen af affalds-relateret energi 3) At vurdere egnetheden og konkurrencedygtigheden af affaldssystemer med central sortering og identificere de fordele og ulemper sådanne systemer har i form af økonomi, klimapåvirkning og ressourcegenvinding sammenlignet med systemer med affaldsforbrænding 4) At afklare og kvantificere, hvor meget ændrede rammevilkår betyder for de relative fordele og ulemper ved central sortering, herunder Danmarks og EU's politik og ambitioner for vedvarende energi og reduktion af klimapåvirkning 5) At identificere og vurdere betydningen af synergi og andre indirekte effekter i baggrundssystemerne, der opstår som konsekvens af beslutninger om affaldshåndteringErkendelserne fra dette PhD arbejde peger på, at fysisk/mekanisk processering og sortering af kommunalt affald har nået et teknisk modent niveau og spiller en afgørende rolle i både sortering og forbehandling til genvinding af kildesorterede genanvendelige materialer såvel som af blandet rest-affald.Central sortering er allerede anvendt med succes flere steder verden over som en effektiv måde at genvinde de forskellige materialegrupper i kommunalt affald, herunder genanvendelige materialer, bionedbrydeligt organisk affald til særskilt biologisk behandling samt en mere energitæt ’refuse derived fuel’, RDF. Fra et ressourceperspektiv er en stærk motivation for central sortering denne tekniks potentiale for at supplere eller helt erstatte kildesortering og separat indsamling af genanvendelige materialer i områder, hvor sådan indsamling er vanskelig, så som tæt bymæssig bebyggelse.Gennem PhD studiet er simuleret og vurderet et stort antal alternative systemer til håndtering af kommunalt affald, herunder mange kombinationer af separat indsamling af mono-fraktioner, blandende fraktioner og restaffald og mange forskellige teknikker til videre behandling af disse fraktioner. Alle scenarier blev desuden vurderet og sammenlignet på baggrund af et stort antal forskellige scenarier for baggrundssystemerne, og i alt blev opstillet og sammenlignet mere end tusind forskellige affaldssystem modeller. Formålet med denne store varietet var at skabe et robust sammenligningsgrundlag og at forstå, hvordan sammenligningen afhænger af antagelser om fremtidige rammevilkår, for herigennem at skabe et ’mønster’ af resultater for alternativernes relative fordele og ulemper mht. materialegenvinding, energieffektivitet og klimapåvirkning.Materialegenvinding: Resultaterne peger på et højt genvindingspotentiale generelt og på, at systemer med central sortering har den højeste materialegenvinding for alle materialekategorier på nær papir og pap. Mht. bio-affald peges på vigtigheden af kontaminering/kvalitet af den fraseparerede bio-fraktion for den videre anvendelse af fraktionen.Energieffektivitet: Studiet viser, at øget materialegenvinding fra separat indsamling eller central sortering – i affaldsoplandet for et forbrændingsanlæg – ikke sker på bekostning af ringere energigenvinding. Tværtimod blev det påvist, at der opnås samme eller højere energigenvinding, når der tages højde for markedsmekanismerne fra det liberaliserede marked for affaldshåndtering i EU. På længere sigt vil systemer, der prioriterer højere materialegenvinding, bevare en større klimafordel, idet de er mindre følsomme for den faldende fordel ved energifortrængning, der følger af udviklingen mod vedvarende energi i energisystemet.Carbon footprint: Evalueringen af carbon footprint baseredes på konsekvens-LCA, og sammenligningen mellem reference-systemet med affaldsforbrænding og alternative strategier for produktion af bio-methan fra bio-affaldet og RDF fra restaffaldet i fremtidens vedvarende energisystem gav en række robuste konklusioner. På kort til mellemlangt sigt falder klimafordelene ved energigenvinding fra affaldet som nævnt proportionalt med, at den fortrængte energi i energisystemet gradvis ændres til vedvarende energi. Affaldssystemets evne til at opretholde en netto klimagevinst er således fundet at afhænge af, hvor godt energigenvindingen fra affaldet kan integreres i den fluktuerende vedvarende energiproduktion. Fleksibiliteten af energigenvindingen fra affaldet og dens evne til at erstatte spidslast el og varme (dvs. de teknologier, der anvendes, når vinden ikke blæser) bliver derfor afgørende for klimagevinsten fra affaldshåndteringen. Sådan spidslast vil på kort til mellemlangt sigt sandsynligvis være baseret på fossile brændsler og på længere sigt på biomasse. I et vedvarende energi system vil det således være karakteren og oprindelsen af den marginale biomasse, der afgør hvor stor klimagevinst, der er fra fleksibel affalds-baseret energi-genvinding.Systemer med central sortering med produktion af et lagerstabilt RDF til brug for fjernvarme til spidslast i vintersæsonen, blev fundet klimamæssigt særligt attraktive og blev fundet at opretholde netto klimagevinster og at være bedre end konventionel affaldsforbrænding under alle baggrundsbetingelser.Specielt for Danmark, men også relevant for andre lande med stor animalsk produktion i landbruget, er der store klimafordele og sandsynligvis også økonomiske fordele ved at anvende kildesorteret bio-affald som co-substrat i landbrugs-biogasanlæg baseret på husdyrgødning. Klimagevinsten opstår ved enten 1) at tilvejebringelsen at et co-substrat muliggør mere biogas på husdyrgødning og derved medfører mindre udledning af klimagasser fra konventionel håndtering af husdyrgødning eller 2) at bio-affaldet erstatter andre co-substrater, mest sandsynligt energiafgrøder, og dermed undgår den klimabelastninger, der er forbundet med disse.Implementeringen af øget materialegenvinding i lande med fuld affaldsbehandlingskapacitet, herunder fuld forbrændingskapacitet, som fx Danmark, kan påvirke et stigende internationalt marked for affaldshåndtering og dermed affaldshåndteringen i andre lande. Når affaldsstrømme kanaliseres væk fra investeringstung, eksisterende infrastruktur med lang restlevetid som affaldsforbrændingsanlæg, fx via separat indsamling eller central sortering til øget materialegenvinding, udbydes dennes kapacitet på markedet og affald importeres. Det afføder, at den marginale affaldshåndtering på markedet undgås, og dette er deponi. Sådanne kaskade-effekter er i de fleste tilfælde miljømæssigt fordelagtige. Affaldsimport kan på kort til mellemlangt sigt fungere som en økonomisk favorabel overgang i en gradvis afvikling af affaldsforbrænding, idet importeret affald kan understøtte eksisterende forbrændingsanlæg i deres restlevetid, mens investering i ny kapacitet undlades. Waste treatment technologies develop over time, and so do background conditions on which waste management systems rely. During the last and expectedly also the coming decades, political developments have and will, thus, significantly change the framework conditions for optimizing waste management.The dominating future background conditions have been found to be defined especially by the development within three policy areas. Firstly, by increased efforts to ensure a proper management of material resources, providing stepping stones towards a “circular economy”, including enhanced targets for material recovery and recycling. Secondly, an increased integration of renewable energy in energy systems, motivated by objectives both to ensure energy supply security and to mitigate adverse impacts of global warming. Thirdly, by waste management policies themselves, including regulations like banning landfilling, schemes on taxes, fees and subsidies and last but not least, the liberalization and development of an international market for waste management services.With regard to materials recovery for recycling from municipal solid waste (MSW), current European waste policy prioritizes source separation and separate collection. However, there are noticeable economic and social limitations with this approach, which motivate a search for innovative solutions. Within the likely (and politically targeted) development of background energy production, the current “one size fits all” approach towards waste-to-energy (WtE), through continuous waste incineration, is likely to see its current climate benefits compromised in the long term.Current systems analysis methods and practices and specifically waste LCA models most often represent and evaluate the waste management sector in a much too simplistic interaction with its surroundings, accounting for a minimum of probable future system interactions/effects, many times through inconsistent methods and static representations of background systems. Their insufficiency in taking account of consequences of decisions towards implementation of different waste management strategies can compromise them as decision-supporting tools. As such, there is a need for advances in methodological aspects related to modelling effects/interactions with surrounding systems, including better convergence with economic modelling methods.This PhD work investigated the role and implications of mechanical pre-treatment and central sorting as a key waste management technology for strategies to achieve both resource and energy recovery optimizations and to minimize climate impacts of waste management in the context of future framework conditions. The goal of the work was broken down to five main objectives:1) To review and expand the knowledge base on physical/mechanical treatment of municipal waste streams, including current state in technical development, process efficiency and economic aspects of sorting and separation systems. 2) To design and simulate, through techno-economic analysis and material/energy flow modelling, alternative waste management systems which aim at increased material recovery and flexibility in utilization of waste-derived energy. 3) To evaluate the feasibility of waste management systems based on central sorting and identify the advantages and disadvantages of such systems in terms of economy, climate impacts and resource recovery compared to systems based on direct WtE. 4) To explore and quantify the significance of changing background conditions such as the overall Danish and European policy and ambitions for future renewable energy integration and climate change mitigation and how such changing background conditions influence the feasibility of central sorting compared to alternative systems. 5) To identify and assess the significance of conditional synergies and other indirect effects occurring in background systems as a consequence of waste management decisions.Through the findings of this work, it can be concluded that waste physical/mechanical processing and sorting technology have reached a high level of technical maturity, and play a crucial role both in sorting and preparation for recycling of source-separated recyclable materials, and the processing of mixed/residual MSW streams. The concept of central sorting is already applied successfully in numerous places around the world, as an efficient strategy for “material specific treatment”, meaning to gain access to the various material groups in mixed or residual MSW, such as: (1) recyclable materials, (2) biodegradable organic fractions, for dedicated biological treatment, and (3) high-energy content fractions, for production of waste-derived fuels. From a resource recovery perspective, a strong motivation for residual MSW central sorting is its potential to support, or even be an alternative to, source separation and separate collection for recyclable materials, in areas where such programs are difficult to implement or optimize, such as urban agglomerations.Alternative MSW management systems were simulated and evaluated, comprising numerous combinations of separate collection of mono- and commingled waste fractions as well as mixed residual fractions and comprising a variety of downstream treatment/handling approached to these fractions. All scenarios were, in turn, assessed and compared against a large variety of background system scenarios leading to a total of above a thousand waste management models. The aim was to create a robust platform for evaluating the feasibility of systems including central sorting against other systems, to understand the outcome of comparisons and their dependency on framework conditions and to establish a final ‘pattern’ of comparisons allowing a robust interpretation for decision making with respect to all aspects of feasibility, including aspects of resource recovery, energy efficiency, and climate impacts.Material recovery: The results reveal that very high recycling rates are possible, and that central sorting typically improves recycling rates for all material fractions except paper and cardboard. Further, with regard to the bio-waste fraction, there is an important issue of contamination/quality influencing the subsequent options for applying the bio-fraction.Energy efficiency: It was, further, found that the enhanced material recovery on the short-to-medium term does not happen at the expense of less energy recovery. On the contrary, when revealing the mechanisms of a liberal waste market leading to waste imports, the same or a higher amount of waste-derived energy could be supplied to the background energy system when including increased separate collection or central sorting. In a longer term perspective, systems which prioritized recovery of materials for recycling maintained higher GWP savings and were less vulnerable to the decreasing benefits from replacing energy produced in future background systems.Carbon footprint: The evaluation by carbon footprint (based on consequential LCA methodology), of reference (WtE) and alternative strategies to energy integration of waste derived biomethane and RDF, against different sets of background conditions representing the most probable future development of the Danish energy system, yielded a number of robust conclusions. In short-to-medium term, MSW management would see a decrease in GHG savings, consistent with the diminishing share of fossil fuels in the energy system being displaced by the energy recovered from the waste. The ability to maintain net waste-derived GHG savings from waste energy recovery in a longer term perspective is found to be determined by the ability to integrate waste based energy production in the surrounding energy system. Therefore, the flexibility of waste derived energy supply and its ability to displace peak energy production, based on remaining fossil fuels or increasingly biomass, becomes decisive to the resulting carbon footprint of MSW management. In a fully renewable background energy system, the nature of the marginal source for biomass would determine the magnitude of savings related to flexible waste-derived energy production. Systems based on central sorting, with production of storable RDF for intended utilization in the cold season in district heating networks, were indicated as especially relevant, and consistently attained net GW benefits in all modelled background situations superior to direct WtE. Implementation of strategies for increasing recycling and/or optimization of wastederived energy recovery in countries with self-sufficient waste management systems (such as Denmark) and high degree of WtE, can affect waste management operations in other European countries. Such indirect effects manifest themselves through market mechanisms, and are caused by direct consequences of such strategies on the utilization of existing waste treatment infrastructure, specifically capital-intensive, long-lived WtE infrastructure – i.e. if incineration capacity is released in a given WtE facility due to a separate collection scheme or the establishment of a central sorting facility, such capacity will soon be filled up by waste import. These effects are in most cases environmentally desirable, as a move up the waste hierarchy in a self-sufficient system seems to have the same implication in countries lacking treatment capacity, affecting marginal waste treatment (i.e. leading to reduction of landfilling). Moreover, short-to-medium term waste imports may act as a support mechanism to the gradual change in how waste is managed, from systems relying heavily on continuous WtE to systems prioritizing material recovery and storable waste-derived energy carriers