Christopher Oberschelp

Last Name

Oberschelp

First Name

Christopher

ORCID

0000-0002-8411-5504

Organisational unit

03732 - Hellweg, Stefanie / Hellweg, Stefanie

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Publications1 - 10 of 18

Mapping GHG emissions and prospects for renewable energy in the chemical industry
Bauer, Fredric; Tilsted, Joachim P; Pfister, Stephan; et al. (2023)
Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering
Chemicals is the industrial sector with the highest energy demand, using a substantial share of global fossil energy and emitting increasing amounts of greenhouse gasses following rapid growth over the past 25 years. Emissions associated with energy used have increased with growth in coal dependent regions but are also commonly underestimated in regions with higher shares of renewable energy. Renewable energy is key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions yet remains niche when considering corporate targets and initiatives aiming at emission reductions, which instead favour incremental energy efficiency improvements. These findings point to a risk for continued lock-in to fossil energy in the industry.
Net-zero transition of the global chemical industry with CO2-feedstock by 2050: feasible yet challenging
Huo, Jing; Wang, Zhanyun; Oberschelp, Christopher; et al. (2023)
Green Chemistry
Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) have been projected by the power and industrial sectors to play a vital role towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. In this study, we aim to explore the feasibility of a global chemical industry that fully relies on CO2 as its carbon source in 2050. We project the global annual CO2 demand as chemical feedstock to be 2.2-3.1 gigatonnes (Gt), well within the possible range of supply (5.2-13.9 Gt) from the power, cement, steel, and kraft pulp sectors. Hence, feedstock availability is not a constraint factor for the transition towards a fully CO2-based chemical industry on the global basis, with the exception of few regions that could face local supply shortages, such as the Middle East. We further conduct life cycle assessment to examine the environmental benefits on climate change and the trade-offs of particulate matter-related health impacts induced by carbon capture. We conclude that CO2 captured from solid biomass-fired power plants and kraft pulp mills in Europe would have the least environmental and health impacts, and that India and China should prioritize low-impact regional electricity supply before a large-scale deployment of CCUS. Finally, two bottom-up case studies of China and the Middle East illustrate how the total regional environmental and health impacts from carbon capture can be minimized by optimizing its supply sources and transport, requiring cross-sectoral cooperation and early planning of infrastructure. Overall, capture and utilization of unabatable industrial waste CO2 as chemical feedstock can be a feasible way for the net-zero transition of the industry, while concerted efforts are yet needed to build up the carbon-capture-and-utilization value chain around the world.
Global site-specific health impacts of fossil energy, steel mills, oil refineries and cement plants
Oberschelp, Christopher; Pfister, Stephan; Hellweg, Stefanie (2023)
Scientific Reports
Climate change and particulate matter air pollution present major threats to human well-being by causing impacts on human health. Both are connected to key air pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO 2), primary fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO 2), nitrogen oxides (NO x) and ammonia (NH 3), which are primarily emitted from energy-intensive industrial sectors. We present the first study to consistently link a broad range of emission measurements for these substances with site-specific technical data, emission models, and atmospheric fate and effect models to quantify health impacts caused by nearly all global fossil power plants, steel mills, oil refineries and cement plants. The resulting health impact patterns differ substantially from far less detailed earlier studies due to the high resolution of included data, highlighting in particular the key role of emission abatement at individual coal-consuming industrial sites in densely populated areas of Asia (Northern and North-Eastern India, Java in Indonesia, Eastern China), Western Europe (Germany, Belgium, Netherlands) as well as in the US. Of greatest health concern are the high SO 2 emissions in India, which stand out due to missing flue gas treatment and cause a particularly high share of local health impacts despite a limited number of emission sites. At the same time, the massive infrastructure and export capacity build-up in China in recent years is taking a substantial toll on regional and global health and requires more stringent regulation than in the rest of the world due to unfavorable environmental conditions and high population densities. The current phase-out of highly emitting industries in Europe is found not to have started with sites having the greatest health impacts. Our detailed site-specific emission and impact inventory is able to highlight more effective alternatives and to track future progress.
Is lithium from geothermal brines the sustainable solution for Li-ion batteries?
Schenker, Vanessa; Bayer, Peter; Oberschelp, Christopher; et al. (2024)
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
The rising demand for Li, paramount for energy storage, necessitates expanded supply. As the supply is concentrated in a few countries, this poses supply chain risks for Li-ion battery makers. To diversify suppliers, alternative Li ore deposits such as geothermal brines are being explored. However, Li extraction from geothermal brines is challenging due to the unique chemistry and elevated temperatures. Since Li-extraction from geothermal brines is in its infancy, data availability and quality are still poor, hampering life cycle assessments. Hence, this study provides a parametrized life cycle inventory model of Li carbonate production from geothermal brines. The model accounts for site-specific environmental conditions and technological features. Life cycle impacts at the Salton Sea in the US (1686 cases) and the Upper Rhine Graben in Germany (1982 cases) are quantified. The high case numbers are chosen to mitigate the high uncertainties in input parameters. Specifically, the brine chemistry, adsorption yield, drilling required and energy inputs are varied. Climate change impacts of selected cases vary within 18–59 kg CO2eq/kg Li carbonate at the Salton Sea and within 5.3–46 kg CO2eq/kg Li carbonate at the Upper Rhine Graben, compared to 2.1–11 kg CO2eq/kg Li carbonate in existing ecoinvent data sets. The wide range of potential impacts underscore the necessity of early-stage assessments of the technologies. In case of high drilling demand and use of fossil energy, climate change impacts of Li-ion batteries using Li carbonate from geothermal brines can increase by 30–41 % compared to literature values.
Environmental impacts of an advanced oxidation process as tertiary treatment in a wastewater treatment plant
Arzate, S.; Pfister, Stephan; Oberschelp, Christopher; et al. (2019)
Science of The Total Environment
Metals for low-carbon technologies: Environmental impacts and relation to planetary boundaries
Schenker, Vanessa; Kulionis, Viktoras; Oberschelp, Christopher; et al. (2022)
Journal of Cleaner Production
Low-carbon technologies are needed to mitigate the impacts of climate change but require large amounts of metals, whose mining and processing cause a broad range of other environmental impacts. These require sound assessment to prevent burden-shifting. One assessment approach for that is the Planetary Boundary framework which acts as a guidance system for maintaining the stability of the Earth. This framework is still under development and has so far only been applied in a few several sectors, not including the metal sector. The environmental challenges of the metal sectors are unique, the adaptation potentials of existing work have not been investigated and the specific data and methodology gaps are unclear. Hence, this paper reviews the current knowledge as well as the open research gaps of the critical planetary boundaries (including for example climate change, biodiversity integrity, freshwater use) related to the metals required for low-carbon technologies. To complement that perspective, life cycle assessments stress the relevance of fine particulate matter formation as well as toxicity impacts, with the related planetary boundaries (atmospheric aerosol loading and introduction of novel entities) being the least developed ones. The interplay of different scales of planetary boundaries like on regional or global level will need further assessment. Finally, we consolidate our findings to formulate the research objectives that will complete the mapping of the metal sector onto the Planetary Boundary framework.
The greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and heat emissions of global steam-electric power production: a generating unit level analysis and database
Raptis, Catherine E.; Oberschelp, Christopher; Pfister, S. (2020)
Environmental Research Letters
Steam-electric power dominates global electricity production. Mitigating its environmental burdens relies on quantifying them globally, on a high resolution. Here, with an unprecedented combination of detail and coverage, the Rankine cycle was individually modelled for >21 000 geocoded steam-electric generating units globally. Accounting for different cooling systems and fuels enabled the calculation of three major environmental stressors on a generating unit level. Geographical, chronological, and technological patterns are examined, as are trade-offs and improvement scenarios. Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions from young (>2000) Chinese coal-fuelled generating units are equal to the sum of GHG emissions from all steam-electric power plants of all ages in the U.S. and Europe, and occupy 5% of all GHG emissions from the entire global economy. Twenty-four per cent of freshwater consumed from steam-electric power originates from nuclear power units from the 1970s/1980s, mainly in the U.S. and Europe. One per cent of steam-electric generating units is responsible for 50% of global heat emissions to freshwater. The median carbon intensity of Indian coal-fired units (>= 50 MW) is 7%-16% higher than that in any other region globally. As concerns GHGs, technology-related efficiency differences (Rankine cycle, cooling system) play a small role compared to the fuel, which dominates the carbon intensity (GHGs/GJ el.). With the highest shares of cogeneration, 1 GJ electricity from tower-cooled coal units in Russia consumes on average 8%-49% less freshwater compared to respective units globally. There is a small margin for improvement based on alternative steam-electric technologies: retiring inefficient units and replacing their demand by ramping up more efficient ones with the same fuel, within the same country results in, respectively, similar to 1%, 6%, and 11% fewer GHG emissions, freshwater consumption, and heat emissions globally. The full environmental benefits of completely retiring old units (<1970) consist of 9% fewer GHG emissions, 7% less freshwater consumed, and 18% fewer thermal emissions globally.
Regionalized life cycle assessment of present and future lithium production for Li-ion batteries
Schenker, Vanessa; Oberschelp, Christopher; Pfister, Stephan (2022)
Resources, Conservation and Recycling
While many different lithium carbonate production routes have been developed, existing life cycle assessments (LCA) of lithium carbonate production from brines are mainly based on a single brine operation site. Hence, current life cycle inventories do not capture the variability of brine sites and misestimate life cycle impacts. This study presents a systematic approach for LCA of existing and future lithium carbonate production from brines, which can furthermore be applied to geothermal brines or seawater. It has been used to model life cycle inventories of three existing and two upcoming brine operations in Argentina, Chile, and China, and is combined with regionalized life cycle impact assessment. Impacts on climate change, particulate matter human health impacts, and water scarcity from lithium carbonate production differ substantially among sites. Existing life cycle inventories for lithium-ion battery production underestimate climate change impacts by up to 19% compared to one from our study.
Global emission hotspots of coal power generation
Oberschelp, Christopher; Pfister, Stephan; Raptis, Catherine; et al. (2019)
Nature Sustainability
Coal power generation is a primary cause of greenhouse gas (GHG) and toxic airborne emissions globally. We present a uniquely comprehensive inventory of CO2, methane, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury emissions for 7,861 coal-generating units including their supply chains. Total GHG and toxic substance emissions are largest from China, the United States, India, Germany and Russia (together >64% per pollutant). Overall supply chain contributions are below 19%, but exceed 75% for individual units and pollutants. Methane emissions from underground coal mining offset Chinese coal power plant efficiency advantages in comparison to India. Health impacts, as quantified by regionalized life cycle assessment, are highest in India and parts of eastern and southeastern Europe due to lack of modern flue gas treatment, and in China due to widespread coal power generation. Deployment of state-of-the-art flue gas treatment, driven by local emission limits, can mitigate health impacts in India and parts of Europe while it is already largely used in China and the United States. Phase-out of the 10% most polluting coal power plants (by capacity) would reduce coal power GHG emissions by 16% or human health impacts by 64%, respectively.
Growing environmental footprint of plastics driven by coal combustion
Cabernard, Livia; Pfister, Stephan; Oberschelp, Christopher; et al. (2022)
Nature Sustainability
Research on the environmental impacts from the global value chain of plastics has typically focused on the disposal phase, considered most harmful to the environment and human health. However, the production of plastics is also responsible for substantial environmental, health and socioeconomic impacts. We show that the carbon and particulate-matter-related health footprint of plastics has doubled since 1995, due mainly to growth in plastics production in coal-based economies. Coal-based emissions have quadrupled since 1995, causing almost half of the plastics-related carbon and particulate-matter-related health footprint in 2015. Plastics-related carbon footprints of China’s transportation, Indonesia’s electronics industry and India’s construction sector have increased more than 50-fold since 1995. In 2015, plastics caused 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, 6% of global coal electricity is used for plastics production. The European Union and the United States have increasingly consumed plastics produced in coal-based economies. In 2015, 85% of the workforce required for plastics consumed by the European Union and the United States was employed abroad, but 80% of the related value added was generated domestically. As high-income regions have outsourced the energy-intensive steps of plastics production to coal-based economies, renewable energy investments throughout the plastics value chain are critical for sustainable production and consumption of plastics.

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Christopher Oberschelp

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