Panel speaker:

University based research to develop cutting edge green solution for industry
How academia and industry can come together.

Link 1
http://ecochemex.com/eight-world-renowned-green-chemistry-institutions-makingan-impact-in-sustainability/
Description
List of Universities making breakthrough research on green solutions to industry

Topic 1: Sewage Treatment (as effluent treatment plants both biological and
chemical are becoming quite popular in the country)
Link 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment
Activated sludge[edit]
The development of secondary treatments to sewage in the early twentieth century led to
arguably the single most significant improvement in public health and the environment during
the course of the century, the invention of the 'activated sludge' process for the treatment of
sewage.

The Davyhulme Sewage Works Laboratory, where the activated sludgeprocess was developed
in the early 20th century.

In 1912, Dr. Gilbert Fowler, a scientist at the University of Manchester, observed experiments
being conducted at the Lawrence Experiment Station atMassachusetts involving the aeration of
sewage in a bottle that had been coated with algae. Fowler's engineering colleagues, Edward
Ardern and William Lockett,[14] who were conducting research for the Manchester Corporation
Rivers Department at Davyhulme Sewage Works,[15] experimented on treating sewage in
a draw-and-fill reactor, which produced a highly treated effluent. They aerated the waste-water
continuously for about a month and were able to achieve a complete nitrification of the sample
material. Believing that the sludge had been activated (in a similar manner to activated carbon)
the process was named activated sludge.
Their results were published in their seminal 1914 paper, and the first full-scale continuous-flow
system was installed at Worcester two years later. In the aftermath of the First World War the
new treatment method spread rapidly, especially to the USA, Denmark, Germany and Canada.
By the late 1930s, the activated sludge treatment was the predominant process used around the
world.[16]
Summary: Dr. Gilbert Fowler of the University of Manchester, along with his
engineering collegues, Edward Arderm and William Lockett (who were conducting
research for the Manchester Corporations Rivers Department) came up with the
process activated sludge. Their results were published in 1914 and the new
treatment method spread rapidly in the aftermath of the First World War, especially
in the USA, Denmark, Germany and Canada. By 1930s It was the predominant
process used around the world. Activated sludge is a process for
treating sewage and industrial wastewaters using air and a biological floc composed of bacteria
and protozoa (link for definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_sludge)
Link 3 ( a biological treatment process that uses a single reactorsaving space, energy,
and costs. )
http://www.asce.org/CEMagazine/Article.aspx?id=25769809665#.UxC7Y_mSyqk
Summary
A Dutch waste water treatment plant (WWTP) first implemented the first full scale
municipal application process known as Nereda. The Nereda process was firstly
discovered by researchers at the Delft University of Technology during the
1990s, and was turned into a commercially available technology by a public-private
partnership that included the university, the engineering consulting firm DHV,
(Amersfoort, Netherlands), five local water agencies, or district water boards, and
the Foundation of Applied Water Research (also from Amersfoot, Netherlands).
Nereda process offers the prospect of a smaller facility footprint, lower capital and operation
costs, and decreased energy and chemical demands.
Note: Nereda is now patented and used by Aquatech Maxcon (Water treatment company). They
have mentioned in their website that Nereda was developed at the Delft University, but I dont
know if the company still has a research partnership with the University. ( source:

http://www.aquatecmaxcon.com.au/technologies/sewage-treatment/nereda-aerobic-granularbiomass)
Link 3 (List of waste water treatment research by Delft University of Technology)
http://www.rexresearch.com/dekreuk/dekreuk.htm
Note: Delft has a partnership with the DHV engineering bureau.
List of inventions by University Research (the link includes small description of each study):

Ammonia containing Waste Water Treatment (1998)

LOOSDRECHT MARINUS CORNELIS MA (NL); JETTEN MICHAEL SILVESTER MARIA
(NL)
Applicant: UNIV DELFT TECH (NL)

Biological Treatment of Wastewater (1999)

Authors: HEIJNEN JOSEPH JOHANNES (NL); VAN LOOSDRECHT MARINUS
CORNELI (NL)
Applicant: GRONTMIJ ADVIES & TECHNIEK BV (NL)
Biological Treatment of Wastewater (2001)
Authors: HEIJNEN JOSEPH JOHANNES (NL); VAN LOOSDRECHT MARINUS
CORNELI (NL)
Applicant: GRONTMIJ ADVIES & TECHNIEK BV (US)

Method of Treating Ammonia Comprising Waste Water (2002)

Authors: VAN LOOSDRECHT MARINUS CORNELI (NL); JETTEN MICHAEL
SILVESTER MARIA

Method for Acquiring Grain shaped Growth of a Microorganism in a Reactor (2003)

Authors: HEIJNEN JOSEPH JOHANNES (NL); VAN LOOSDRECHT MARINUS
CORNELI (NL)
Applicant: UNIV DELFT TECH (NL)
Method for the Treatment of Waste Water with Sludge Granules (2006)
Authors: VAN LOOSDRECHT MARINUS C (NL); KREUK MERLE K D (NL)
Applicant: STICHTING VOOR DE TECH (NL)

Link 4 (Securing the Environment: Potentiality of Green Brick in Bangladesh

from the BUP journal) (BUP: Bangladesh University of Professionals)
http://www.bup.edu.bd/journal/79-89.pdf
Summary
The paper investigates the air pollution caused by Traditional Brick manufacturing. The
paper then discusses and promotes the possibility of using Vertical Shaft Brick Kiln (VSBK) and
Hybrid Hoffman Kiln (HHK). According to the paper, VSBK are being successfully used in

Vietnam, Nepal and India, wheras HHK is being used in the metro cities of Dhaka and
Chittagong. The paper also elaborates on the UNDPs plans for implementation of Green Brick
technology. The UNDP expects to set up at least 16 HHK by 2015 due to its energy efficiency,
cost effectiveness and creating employment opportunities for local people. The paper compares
the costs involved with Green Bricks with Traditional Bricks. The table below provides a short
summary.
Set up cost of Brick field
Price (per piece)
Coal requirement for 100,000
bricks

Green Brick
7 to 10 crore taka
Tk. 6
7.8- 8 tons

Traditional Brick
1 crore taka
Tk. 5.50 to tk. 5.8
23 tons

The initial costs of Green Bricks are justified in the paper due to

Automated process (low labor cost involved as it takes only 40 to 50 workers for a
monthly production of 40,000 bricks)
Available Government loans with a payback period of 5 years
Increasing demand (Economies of large scale production)
Earning through Carbon Credit ( 2 crore of taka are received annually from the
developed countries)

The paper also elaborates how producers should make use of the International Carbon
credit market (like China and India are doing) and collect economic incentives for achieving
reductions in the emissions of pollutants. The analysis suggested that, any green brick kiln
producing 50,000 bricks daily need maximum 60 labors. Bangladesh can achieve Tk.
200,000 for five years' production of grin brick for reducing carbon emission. By dropping the
use of coal it can also reduce dependency on other countries Securing the Environment:
Potentiality of Green Brick in Bangladesh for importing coal from them. As green brick
ensures whole year productivity rather than seasonal productivity it can easily cope with
increasing demands of bricks in Bangladesh.

Research efforts that later become industrial practices

Research efforts that compare different industrial processes to shed light on
which process is more cleaner or cost effective

Contributions of MIT research on sustainable energy at efficient prices

Link 5 (article on Research efforts by University of Buffalo)
http://www.buffalo.edu/sustainability/research/the-impact-of-our-research.html
Summary:
The Research accomplishments are listed below:

Dr. Rabideau and a team of researchers and industry professionals had

worked on an innovative nuclear waste cleanup project, which got them
the Ground Water Remediation Award
Solar power: Research by Vladmir Mitin, School of Engineering and Applied
Sciences, and his fellow researchers have shown that embedding charged
quantum dots into photovoltaic cells improves the electrical output by
allowing the cells to harvest infrared light and increases the lifetime f
photoelectrons. The technology has the potential to increase solar cell
efficiency up to 45 %.

Research papers on Green Financing by University of

California (mainly relating to market mechanisms and
market failure of real estate mortgage loan markets)
Link 6 (Research on Green Buildings by Researchers of Maastricht University,
Netherlands and University of California, Berkley, CA)
http://cbey.yale.edu/uploads/Environmental%20Economics%20Seminar/EKQ
%20082010%20JMQ%20(2).pdf
Summary
Research on climate change suggests that small improvements in the
sustainability of buildings can have large effects on greenhouse gas emissions
and on energy efficiency in the economy. The Research compares the rent and asset
value of Green Buildings compared to conventional office buildings in the US. The
paper concludes that the recent downturn in property markets have not significantly
degraded the financial performance of the green buildings. The green buildings
have rents and asset prices that are significantly higher than those documented for
conventional office space, while controlling specifically for differences in hedonic
attributes and location using propensity score weights. Further analysis had been
conducted on the sample of certified buildings (green), findings were that attributes
associated with greater thermal efficiency and sustainability contributes to the
increase in rents and asset values.
Link 7
http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6z4010mf#page-1 University of California
Energy Efficiency Retrofits for U.S. Housing : Removing the Bottlenecks
Summary
The paper evaluates the evidence that significant improvements in the energy
efficiency of existing U.S. housing are feasible, both technologically and financially.
It compares the relatively optimistic positions takne in McKinsey (2009), EPRI
(2009), and Harcourt, Brown, and Carey (2011) versus the less optimistic appraisal

in Allcott and Greenstone (2012). The paper also identifies two bottlenecks that can
hamper energy saving investments for the residential sector. One being imperfect
information and the other being credit market failure. Computer based tools
however can be used for rating relative efficiencies of a home or assess the
productivity of alternative energy saving investments have a great potential to
resolve informational imperfections. The paper states that green homes should
stand for sufficient collateral for such loans and thus low interest (due to lower risk
premium) should be charged. However, the institutions may not accept such houses
as sufficient collateral.
Link 8
http://escholarship.org/uc/item/5b92f0q0#page-2 University of California
Integrating Energy Efficiency into the Real estate industry
Summary
The commercial real estate sector accounts for over a quarter of the energy
consumption in the US. The paper examines how characteristics of the commercial
real estate industry and structural attributes of US cities affect the goals of
improving energy efficiency and sustainability of buildings, and improving pollution
and emission levels in the US cities. The data is used from COSTAR, Building Owners
and Managers Association, Department of Energy and Transportation and the EPA to
examine factors underlying energy efficiency improvements. The findings show that
places with stronger economies, as measured by GDP, consistently appear to have
greater likelihood of encouraging energy efficient and LEED investments in
commercial buildings. Such buildings were also more likely to be taller and of class
A or B. The Interviews indicated that the culture of the metropolitan area are also of
importance. However, the initial measures of sustainability used in this analysis
gave ambiguous results. Additional work to define representative measures of
sustainability would be needed to determine whether metropolitan areas culture of
sustainability will encourage greater investment in energy efficiency improvements.
Link 9
http://escholarship.org/uc/item/96f7d55q#page-1
Market Mechanisms for Green Financing in Real Estate
Summary
US buildings consume almost 39% of the total US energy consumption, making real
estate the largest consuming sector by a considerable margin. Within the real
estate sector, the share of total energy used is almost equally split between
residential and commercial. This paper investigates the market mechanisms for
financing Green real estate investments. Building owners must be able to identify

energy efficient investments that meet at least a minimal standard of profitability.

That is to say, it must provide a non negative NPV or pass a standard IRR. In this
paper NPV is estimated at the owners true opportunity cost of capital. For many
real estate investments this would equal the interest rate that is applied in financing
the investment. Frictions in the lending market raise the discount rate and lower the
NPV computations, thus limiting the set of feasible investments and acting as a
deterrent to those investments with the longest payoff structures.
The paper investigates these loan market frictions to energy efficient investments
and suggests proposals to eliminate them. The findings of the paper suggest US
buildings appear to be inefficient compared to the available technology and the
efficiency of European Structures. Government building codes, disclosure
requirements, and fiscal subsidies have been the primary instruments used to
stimulate these investments in both the US and Europe. The paper focuses on
market failures, namely the absence of energy efficiency as an input to the
underwriting decision for mortgage loans on commercial properties. In principal,
rising and volatile energy pricing is an important source of mortgage defaults and
should be considered in the underwriting process. The paper proposes the use of a
EES (energy efficient score) and an EVS (energy volatility score) to account rather
than just looking at loan to value and debt service coverage ratio. The method for
scoring is developed in this paper. Furthermore, the paper uses a Monte Carlo
methodology to provide measures of both expected values and range of variability.
The results indicate that energy price volatility is a significant source of potential
commercial mortgage default.