Gross, Thomas

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Gross, Thomas

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2017 - 201992020 - 20222
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  • Vorschaubild
    Publikation
    Using the Global Trigger Tool in surgical and neurosurgical patients: A feasibility study
    (Public Library of Science, 16.08.2022) Brösterhaus, Mareen; Hammer, Antje; Gruber, Rosalie; Kalina, Steffen; Grau, Stefan; Roeth, Anjali A.; Ashmawy, Hany; Gross, Thomas; Binnebösel, Marcel; Knoefel, Wolfram Trudo; Manser, Tanja [in: PLOS ONE]
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Vorschaubild
    Publikation
    Anaerobic digestion of biowaste in Indian municipalities. Effects on energy, fertilizers, water and the local environment
    (Elsevier, 07/2021) Gross, Thomas; Breitenmoser, Lena; Hugi, Christoph; Wintgens, Thomas [in: Resources, Conservation and Recycling]
    Anaerobic digestion (AD) of biowaste seems promising to provide renewable energy (biogas) and organic fertilizers (digestate) and mitigate environmental pollution in India. Intersectoral analyses of biowaste management in municipalities are needed to reveal benefits and trade-offs of AD at the implementation-level. Therefore, we applied material flow analyses (MFAs) to quantify effects of potential AD treatment of biowaste on energy and fertilizer supply, water consumption and environmental pollution in two villages, two towns and two cities in Maharashtra. Results show that in villages AD of available manure and crop residues can cover over half of the energy consumption for cooking (EC) and reduce firewood dependency. In towns and cities, AD of municipal biowaste is more relevant for organic fertilizer supply and pollution control because digestate can provide up to several times the nutrient requirements for crop production, but can harm ecosystems when discharged to the environment. Hence, in addition to energy from municipal biowaste - which can supply 4-6% of EC - digestate valorisation seems vital but requires appropriate post-treatment, quality control and trust building with farmers. To minimize trade-offs, water-saving options should be considered because 2-20% of current groundwater abstraction in municipalities is required to treat all available biowaste with 'wet' AD systems compared to <3% with 'dry' AD systems. We conclude that biowaste management with AD requires contextualized solutions in the setting of energy, fertilizers and water at the implementation-level to conceive valorization strategies for all AD products, reduce environmental pollution and minimize trade-offs with water resources.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Vorschaubild nicht verfügbar
    Publikation
    Anaerobic digestion of biowastes in India: Opportunities, challenges and research needs
    (Elsevier, 15.04.2019) Breitenmoser, Lena; Gross, Thomas; Huesch, Ragini; Rau, Julius; Hugi, Christoph; Wintgens, Thomas [in: Journal of Environmental Management]
    The quest for improved living conditions in rapidly growing Indian communities puts pressure on natural resources and produces emissions which harm the environment, society and the economy. Current municipal solid waste (MSW) practices are an important example, as most waste remains untreated and is often deposited on unsafe dumpsites or burned on open fires. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an option to treat the large biodegradable fraction ('biowaste'). In rural parts of India, the technology to supply energy from biogas has been promoted for 30 years. Biowaste treatment in urban MSW management and organic fertilizer ('digestate') production for agriculture via AD have more recently gained attention but with limited success so far. Recent environmental policies in waste, energy, agricultural and other sectors have, however, set important cornerstones for a broader diffusion in the coming years. On the basis of peer-reviewed literature and governmental reports, we identify barriers and enabling factors along the AD chain (biowaste to technology to product utilization), and analyse relevant boundary conditions for the new multi-sector policies. We show that AD implementation has repeatedly failed due to unrealistic assumptions on biowaste quantity and quality, underestimation of the complex biowaste supply chain, unsuitable AD designs and overestimation of economic returns from biogas and digestate. Local knowledge and capacities for planning and process control are lacking in many places and resources required for operation and maintenance in the long run have often been ignored. We found that the multi-facetted value propositions of AD - including biowaste treatment, energy and fertilizer products - have only been partially tapped due to the exclusive focus on biogas. The new sector policies provide important enabling factors for change. Decentralized AD plants operating on a few tons biowaste per day from reliable and manageable sources (e.g. fruit and vegetable markets) could be a more promising step forward than large-scale investments which rely on large biowaste volumes from various sources. The parallel development of biowaste management, planning tools for municipalities, standardized digestate monitoring protocols and studies on simple, low-cost optimization measures for methane recovery from a wide range of biowastes and innovative high-solid AD digester designs will be prerequisites for the long-term future of AD projects.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Vorschaubild nicht verfügbar
    Publikation
    Applying the Global Trigger Tool in German hospitals. A pilot in surgery and neurosurgery
    (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2019) Brösterhaus, Mareen; Hammer, Antje; Kalina, Steffen; Grau, Stefan; Roeth, Anjali; Ahsmawy, Hany; Gross, Thomas; Binnebösel, Marcel; Knoefel, Wolfram Trudo; Manser, Tanja [in: Journal of Patient Safety]
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Vorschaubild nicht verfügbar
    Publikation
    Methane potential from municipal biowaste: Insights from six communities in Maharashtra, India
    (Elsevier, 04/2018) Breitenmoser, Lena; Dhar, Hiya; Gross, Thomas; Bakre, Milan; Huesch, Ragini; Hugi, Christoph; Wintgens, Thomas; Kumar, Rakesh; Kumar, Sunil [in: Bioresource Technology]
    Anaerobic digestion (AD) of biowaste can generate biogas with methane (CH4) as energy source and contribute to sustainable municipal solid waste management in India. Characteristic municipal biowastes sampled seasonally from household, fruit and vegetable market and agricultural waste collection points in villages, towns and cities in Maharashtra were analysed to assess the potential as substrate for AD. The mean biochemical methane potential (BMP, at 37 °C) across seasons and community sizes was between 200-260, 175-240 and 101-286 NLCH4 kgvs-1 for household, market and agricultural biowaste, respectively. CH4 yields were comparable in villages, towns and cities. Seasonal variations in CH4 yields were observed for market and agricultural biowaste with highest values during pre-monsoon season. Results underpin that municipal biowaste is a suitable substrate for AD in India. However, low purity of available biowaste resulted in lower CH4 yields compared to recent studies using source-segregated biowaste.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Vorschaubild nicht verfügbar
    Publikation
    Modular Pico-hydropower System for Remote Himalayan Villages
    (Springer, 01/2018) Zahnd, Alex; Stambaugh, Mark; Jackson, Derek; Gross, Thomas; Hugi, Christoph; Sturdivant, Rick; Yeh, James; Sharma, Subodh; Sajigh, Ali [in: Transition Towards 100% Renewable Energy]
    Remote, high-altitude villages in the Nepalese Himalayas belong to the poorest and most underdeveloped communities in Nepal, with many still years/decades away from access to electricity. It is common that first-time electrification of these villages is through a 15–50 kW micro-hydropower (MHP) system, subsidized by the Nepal government. The majority of the so far installed MHP systems in the region are however within 3–12 months after they have been commissioned either inoperable due to premature equipment breakage, inappropriate operation, and absent maintenance or do not provide the expected power output. No mechanism is put in place to build an operating and maintenance fund, further putting the longevity of the system at risk. The “dreams” of villagers, promised by such development projects, remain unfulfilled and most often shattered. This paper describes a modular pico-hydropower (PHP) system (1–5 kW) being pursued in the village of Moharigaun in the Jumla district of Nepal whose capacity can be expanded as the village’s power demand, population, and ability to operate and maintain the system grow. This modular PHP system provides reliability through redundancy and the elimination of some of the more maintenance-prone components. The turbine water and electricity delivery infrastructure are buried to protect them from the elements and potential mischief. Most importantly, a prepayment system with remote disconnect capability ensures households pay into an operations and maintenance fund. The whole village community is actively involved in each step of the project (planning, implementation stages, and training), so they will develop a strong ownership for their PHP system. Further, local people, chosen by the community, will be trained to properly operate, administer, and maintain the PHP system.
    04A - Beitrag Sammelband
  • Vorschaubild nicht verfügbar
    Publikation
    Potential of biogas production to reduce firewood consumption in remote high-elevation Himalayan communities in Nepal
    (EDP Sciences, 25.08.2017) Gross, Thomas; Zahnd, Alex; Adhikari, Suman; Kaphre, Abhishek; Sharma, Subodh; Baral, Bivek; Kumar, Sunil; Hugi, Christoph [in: Renew. Energy Environ. Sustain]
    Remote communities in the Nepalese mountains above 2500 m a.s.l. belong to the most precarious in the world. Inhabitants struggle for the minimum in terms of safe drinking water, food and sanitation. Reliable, affordable and clean energy for cooking, room heating and warm water for personal hygiene is often lacking and dependency on firewood very high. The remoteness and unlikeliness of electric grid connection in the coming decades make a diversified energy supply from renewable local resources crucial. Small-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) of organic substrates has been used for long in rural areas of developing countries to produce biogas as energy source and recover residue as organic fertilizer. AD is challenging at high elevations due to year around lower ambient temperatures and lower annual biomass production per area compared to lowlands. Nevertheless, examples of operational household AD exist even above 3000 m a.s.l. in the Andes. Here we compare firewood consumption with biogas potential from organic substrates in a community with 39 households at 3150 m a.s.l. in Jumla District, Nepal. In five households with varying numbers of members and animals kept, mean firewood use and its energy content per capita (cap) and day (d) were 2.1 kg or ca. 25 MJ in spring and 2.3 kg or ca. 28 MJ in winter. Easily available substrates include cow, sheep and horse dung from overnight shelters and human excrements from pit latrines, amounting on average to 1.7 kg wet weight (kgww) cap−1 d−1 in spring and 2.2 kgww cap−1 d−1 in winter. Adjusted to normal conditions (Nm3 at 0 °C, 1013.15 hPa), these substrates yielded on average 0.08 Nm3 cap−1 d−1 biogas in spring and 0.12 Nm3 cap−1 d−1 in winter (35–60% methane content) in biochemical methane potential (BMPs) tests at 36 °C. This could provide up to 60% of basic cooking needs on average and up to 75% in a “typical” household in terms of members and animals kept. Of the overall thermal energy needs including also room heating ca. 10–20% could be covered, substituting 0.1–0.4 (mean: 0.2) kg firewood cap−1 d−1. If only animal dung and human excrements are considered, no competition for resources arises as residues can still be used as organic fertilizer. This study supports the design and introduction of planned pilot digesters integrated into on-going community development including pit latrines for substrate availability, greenhouses as possible way of thermal insulation, and planned pico-hydropower plants to use excess electricity during the night for digester heating.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Vorschaubild nicht verfügbar
    Publikation
    06 - Präsentation
  • Vorschaubild nicht verfügbar
    Publikation
    Estimation of biogas potential in Indian communities using a Geographic Information System combined with Material Flow Analysis
    (2017) Gross, Thomas; Breitenmoser, Lena; Dhar, Hiya; Kumar, Sunil; Hugi, Christoph; Wintgens, Thomas
    06 - Präsentation
  • Vorschaubild nicht verfügbar
    Publikation
    Waste-to-Energy Options in Municipal Solid Waste Management A Guide for Decision Makers in Developing and Emerging Countries
    (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), 2017) Mutz, Dieter; Hengevoss, Dirk; Hugi, Christoph; Gross, Thomas
    05 - Forschungs- oder Arbeitsbericht