Andema - Decarbonization becomes measurable

Decarbonization is a key measure in the fight against climate change. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are primarily caused by the use of fossil fuels. Depending on the type of process and its operating conditions, various measures are available to industry to achieve this. To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of decarbonization measures, it is necessary to take into account their often complex effects—both in production and in supply and disposal processes—and to quantify the respective emissions.

At Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, a research project conducted as part of the federal model project “Unternehmen Revier” developed a methodology that makes it possible to determine the greenhouse gas emissions of the production process under investigation as accurately as possible. Based on the current state of the process, potential technical measures to reduce emissions are identified. The process is then modeled from an energy perspective, both in its current state and with the selected measures implemented. The simulation results serve as the basis for the subsequent environmental analysis, in which greenhouse gas emissions are calculated. The results are compared with one another and provided to the company as a basis for decision-making. The methodology described was implemented in the digital analysis tool “Andema” (Analysis of Decarbonization Measures).

There are plans to further develop the tool for various industrial processes and other environmental impacts. The tool is intended to be used by Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and, in the future, by external engineering service providers as well, to support small and medium-sized regional companies in decarbonizing their production processes.

This article first appeared in issue 20 of Lausitz Magazin and has been published here with the kind permission of the publisher, zwei helden GmbH.