A systems approach to synergistic utilisation of secondary organic streams
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: Engineering Science
Abstract
Food and plastic wastes from industries and wastewater from food and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants contain significant amount of valuable resources. In the UK, a total of 10 million tonnes of food waste is generated (household: 71%; manufacturing: 17%; hospitality and food service: 9%; retail and wholesale: 3%), with a value of over £17 billion/year, involving 33 TWh of final energy demand and 20 million tonnes CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions. These wastes together with the embedded resources are currently under-utilised and are mostly sent to landfill. This can pose serious environmental hazards and pollution, affecting human health and ecosystems. If these wastes and resources can be recovered into useful products such as chemicals, fuels and energy, this would meet the soaring industrial and consumers' demand in the future. The current technologies and practices in the UK in treating, managing and disposing these organic wastes are not able to cope with the increase in waste generation due to rapid urbanisation. Conventional industrial practices take the resources from finite resources such as fossil fuels, turn them into products that we use for transport fuels, electricity, commodity chemicals, plastic bags, and dispose all the residues to landfill after processing. If these residues can be reused in the same manufacturing plant or sent it to another nearby processing plant, the imbalance in supply and demand of resources in the industry can easily be resolved. A holistic thinking of the needs and constraints in the urban area, industrial systems, waste management systems and ecosystems are crucial in addressing the complex problem effectively. Therefore, the objective of the proposed research is to explore the interaction between urban, ecological and industrial supply and demand, and make use of the relationship to enhance the reuse and recycling of resources. This also calls for technological advancement in industrial and waste management systems to transform wastes into value-added products. This research will look into multiple product generation and using a combination of technologies to achieve higher performances and reduce the unfavourable features as in the existing technologies, with the consideration of the sustainability impacts on economy, environment and society. The approach will streamline the transition from fossil to bio-based economy and transformation of industrial strategies in the UK towards sustainable production and consumption patterns.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Kok Siew Ng (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Farooq D
(2020)
Exploring the feasibility of producing sustainable aviation fuel in the UK using hydrothermal liquefaction technology: A comprehensive techno-economic and environmental assessment
in Cleaner Engineering and Technology
Ng K
(2020)
A systems thinking approach to stimulating and enhancing resource efficiency and circularity in households
in Journal of Cleaner Production
Ng K
(2021)
Techno-economic assessment of a novel integrated system of mechanical-biological treatment and valorisation of residual municipal solid waste into hydrogen: A case study in the UK
in Journal of Cleaner Production
Ng K
(2021)
Global biorenewable development strategies for sustainable aviation fuel production
in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Ng K
(2021)
Evaluating the Techno-economic Potential of an Integrated Material Recovery and Waste-to-Hydrogen System
in Resources, Conservation and Recycling
Ng K
(2019)
Sustainable waste management through synergistic utilisation of commercial and domestic organic waste for efficient resource recovery and valorisation in the UK
in Journal of Cleaner Production
Ng KS
(2020)
Towards Sustainable Chemical Processes
Ng KS
(2020)
Malaysia Versus Waste
Ng KS
(2023)
Development of a system model to predict flows and performance of regional waste management planning: A case study of England.
in Journal of environmental management
| Description | The SYNERGORS project ("A systems approach to synergistic utilisation of secondary organic streams") aims to develop novel systems approaches for promoting resource recovery from secondary organic waste streams including food waste, residual biomass and municipal solid waste. SYNERGORS has striven to provide significant insights into various options for organic waste recovery and valorisation through innovative technological design concepts and rigorous strategic analysis incorporating technical, economic, environmental and social assessments. The project has received support from more than 10 UK and international academic and industrial partners, providing multidisciplinary expertise to address the global challenges in resources and waste management. The outcomes from this project can be adopted in the UK and other countries to improve their policies, technologies and practices in relation to organic waste management. The objectives of the project are well aligned with the UK Industrial Strategy in enhancing resource efficiency while achieving a sustainable industrial growth and a more resilient economy. The SYNERGORS project has led to substantial impacts beyond academia, resulting in 9 academic publications, new experimental studies with Anaero Technology, a number of engagement activities and international visits (including case studies in Malaysia, Brazil and Mexico). Another major impact from this project is the creation of a new international Society of Circular, Regenerative and Sustainable Systems (CRES) which was officially launched at University of Oxford on the 3rd February 2020. CRES is built upon the UK and international networks developed through the SYNERGORS consortium and serves as a knowledge exchange platform to promote systems thinking and circular economy through a collaborative approach, bringing together academia, industry, government and society in order to integrate systems thinking into decision-making. |
| Exploitation Route | Key recommendations from the project: 1. Waste and recycling industries should move away from a treatment-oriented waste management approach and adopt a more transformative and innovative resource recovery approach to achieve a more circular economy. 2. A systems approach to addressing waste management is needed to promote collaboration among different groups of stakeholders (e.g. government, local authorities, waste and recycling industries, commercial sector, public etc.) 3. Resources embedded in organic waste streams should be exploited for value-added products such as chemicals and hydrogen. This requires significant revamp on existing waste treatment facilities. Further research is needed to improve system efficiency and achieve greater cost reduction. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Energy,Environment,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Transport |
| URL | https://eng.ox.ac.uk/synergors/news/ |
| Description | AGILE: Providing rapid evidence-based solutions to the needs of environmental policy-makers. |
| Amount | £9,238,089 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/W004976/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2022 |
| End | 01/2027 |
| Description | Basic Chemicals Working Group under Climate Bonds Initiative |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The working group was made up of 15 international representatives from investors, public entities, research institutes and international policy bodies from around the world to actively discuss and develop criteria and reporting requirements for basic chemicals production asset of which projects must meet to be eligible for inclusion in a Certified Climate Bond and for company's on a credible transition path to issue transition labelled debt. The Criteria contain Mitigation Requirements, Adaptation & Resilience Requirements and Transition Requirements. Bonds and loans linked to these eligible assets and projects will be aligned with the Paris Agreement 1.5 degree Celcius limit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| URL | https://www.climatebonds.net/standard/basic-chemicals |
| Description | British Council Researcher Links Workshop in China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Ng participated in two UK-China Newton Fund Researcher Links Workshop including: (1) "Renewable Energy Systems in Zero Carbon Villages", Lhasa, Tibet, China, 6-9 August 2018; and (2) "Sustainable Systems for CO2 Utilization: From Innovation to Practical Implementation", Beijing, China, 23-26 July 2018. These workshops aim to promote international collaboration in the areas of sustainable development and decarbonisation. These workshop involved a series of discussions and site visiting, attended by 50 participants. Dr Ng has presented "Sustainable industrial system design through carbon dioxide utilisation and polygeneration strategies" and "Sustainable resource management and energy systems design through decarbonised polygeneration strategy" at these workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Expert Meeting 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The expert meeting was organised as part of the impact plans proposed in the fellowship project. The meeting was attended by 14 participants from the academia and industry from the UK, Ireland, Malaysia, Brazil and Mexico. The meeting was aimed to enhance cross-fertilisation of ideas from various disciplines and promote long-term collaboration between the UK and developing countries. The outcome from the meeting was truly promising, with a coherent vision of adopting an innovative and collaborative approach to addressing challenges in waste management. The meeting was highly interactive and insightful, thanks to delegate presentations and discussions from different perspectives. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.eng.ox.ac.uk/news/fellowship-project-aims-to-explore-approaches-to-reducing-organic-wast... |
| Description | Research visit to promote circular economy in Malaysia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The visit aims to strengthen collaborations with Malaysia and promote a circular economy approach to municipal solid waste management. Dr Kok Siew Ng (Oxford) along with Dr Eleni Iacovidou (Brunel University London) spent two weeks in Malaysia meeting with key stakeholders from government, academia, industry and NGOs to gain a better understanding of the country's waste management system and propose recommendations for addressing the multiple issues faced by the waste management sector. During their trip the researchers met the Head of Department of Chemical Engineering at UPM University and visited the Sustainable Process Engineering Research Centre (SPERC), a newly established research centre at UPM pioneering the application of a systems approach in designing and integrating new industrial and waste valorisation technologies and processes. The researchers also had the opportunity to meet the VC of Penang Green Council, YB Phee Boon Poh, who has introduced various initiatives including the banning of polystyrene packaging and introducing a partial ban on single-use plastic bags, and has further plans to promote alternative options for municipal solid waste management. At Malaysia's National Solid Waste Management Department (JPSPN), the Deputy Director General (Technical) of JPSPN provided the team with invaluable insights into the various issues and challenges relevant to municipal solid waste management in Malaysia, such as the importing of contaminated plastic waste. During a visit to the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) the researchers discussed illegal dumping of waste, landfill sites and imports of plastic waste with the Deputy CEO (Technical) and his team. SWCorp plan to promote initiatives aimed at increasing awareness of waste segregation at source, deposit return schemes and incentivising recycling. Other activities include: - Touring the food waste recycling facility at Petaling Jaya, which processes around 500kg of food waste per day by means of anaerobic digestion producing biogas and fertiliser. - Visiting Penang Hill, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the area, which generates a significant amount of waste. Wastewater recovery facilities are being introduced at the site and there are plans to develop a more sustainable solid waste management system. - Taking part in a knowledge exchange session at the Higher Education Youth Association (HEYA), a Malaysian NGO providing training to graduates, which focused on exchanging ideas on environmental sustainability and ways of improving the quality of research and teaching in higher education. The discussion was highly interactive and the group has managed to generate several key takeaways. HEYA is considering including sustainability in the education policies they are preparing for the Ministry of Higher Education. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://eng.ox.ac.uk/news/uk-researchers-promote-circular-economy-during-visit-to-malaysia/ |
| Description | Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) workshop on "Frontiers of Engineering for Development: From feeding people to nourishing people |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The event took place in Madagascar from 27-29 November 2019, was made up of three multidisciplinary (agricultural revolution, healthy diet, food loss and waste) and interactive workshop-style sessions that explored the overall theme of 'From feeding people to nourishing people'. The event was attended by 50 people around the world with great interest in promoting collaboration in addressing food problems in Madagascar. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.raeng.org.uk/global/sustainable-development/frontiers/about-the-frontiers-symposia/upcom... |
| Description | Society Launch Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A new international Society of Circular, Regenerative and Sustainable Systems (CRES) was officially launched at University of Oxford on 3rd February 2020, hosted at Thatcher Business Education Centre, Saïd Business School. This global initiative is founded and led by Dr Kok Siew Ng from the Department of Engineering Science together with an interdisciplinary team formed by a group of passionate academic researchers and industry practitioners. CRES is built upon the UK and international network from the SYNERGORS consortium which is funded by UKRI/NERC through the Industrial Innovation Fellowship programme. CRES has been established as a knowledge exchange platform to promote systems thinking and circular economy through a collaborative approach. CRES's vision is to create a supporting environment for cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral activities that promote the development and implementation of innovative ideas to address complex global issues, using a systems approach. CRES has the mission of bringing together academia, industry, government and society in order to integrate systems thinking into decision-making. 25 representatives from the UK, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand, Brazil and the Netherlands were invited to the launch event of the society to enable joint cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral discussions, aiming to initiate conversation among different stakeholders to address global complex issues. A series of keynote seminars provided insights into a systems thinking approach, followed by a breakout session in the afternoon to understand how CRES could help address various challenges in sustainable development; what are the broad gaps in knowledge and expertise regarding circular, regenerative and sustainable systems; and to what extent systems thinking has been embedded in academic engineering degrees and in decision-making in industry, government and society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://eng.ox.ac.uk/news/cres-launch/ |