Roland Clift

Professor Roland Clift CBE


Emeritus Professor of Environmental Technology
MA, PhD, FREng, FIChemE, FRSA, HonFCIWEM

About

University roles and responsibilities

  • Emeritus - research and p/g supervision

    Research

    Research interests

    Research collaborations

    Publications

    Huimin Yun, Roland Clift, Xiaotao Bi (2020)Environmental and economic assessment of torrefied wood pellets from British Columbia, In: Energy conversion and management208 Elsevier Ltd

    •Torrefied wood pellets have better performances than conventional pellets.•Replacing coal with BC torrefied pellets reduces GHG emissions by at least 85%.•GHG reductions are greatest when BC pellets are used overseas.•The most efficient processing sequence is drying-torrefaction-grinding-pelleting.•In addition to carbon tax, other mechanisms are needed to support pellet industry. With increasing international trade in wood pellets for use as fuel, the carbon footprint over the supply chain is of growing concern. The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) is endowed with clean electricity and rich biomass resources, which are essential for developing a low-carbon wood pellet industry. This work aims to quantify the life cycle Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions of torrefied wood pellets in comparison with conventional pellets, derived from forest residues in BC and transported to replace coal at power plants in Europe, the Asia Pacific region and elsewhere in Canada. The GHG reduction costs in different markets are also quantified. Five possible production configurations are analysed with uncertainties taken into consideration. Torrefied wood pellets are found to have better environmental performance than conventional pellets. The best production process, which follows the sequence drying-torrefaction-grinding-pelletization, can reduce primary energy consumption and carbon footprint by about 30% compared to conventional pellets. Over the life cycle, transportation contributes most GHG emissions (>50%), while electricity use, including sawmilling and pellet production, represents the greatest energy consumption (~50%). Life cycle analysis reveals that GHG emissions from the supply chain offset at most 15% of the savings from using BC torrefied wood pellets to replace coal. GHG reductions are greatest when the pellets are used in overseas markets, especially the Asia Pacific region and the EU, rather than domestic Canadian markets. The current carbon taxation level cannot cover the abatement cost of BC pellets; other mechanisms are still needed to support the sustainable development of the industry.

    Andrea Paulillo, Roland Clift, Jonathan Dodds, Andrew Milliken, Stephen Palethorpe, Paola Lettieri (2020)Radiological impacts in Life Cycle Assessment – Part II: Comparison of methodologies, In: The Science of the total environment708134712pp. 134712-134712 Elsevier B.V

    [Display omitted] •Two methodologies for radiological impacts were proposed in a complementary article.•Here, characterisation factors are compared quantitatively and in detail.•Deviations are meaningful and explainable by the different fate models.•A practical rule for the applications of these methodologies is proposed. In a complementary article, an overarching framework was proposed to include radiological impacts in Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). Two methodologies were derived embodying the framework: the Critical Group Methodology (CGM), adapted from the approach commonly used in Human and Environmental Risk Assessment (HERA), and UCrad, based on the compartment modelling approach commonly used in LCIA. In this paper, characterisation factors obtained by the two methodologies are compared in detail to investigate the consequences of the different approaches to fate modelling and the sensitivity of the characterisation factors to the radionuclides’ half-life. Characterisation factors from the CGM methodology are strongly affected by radioactive decay at low half-life and by dilution at large distances. Conversely, UCrad factors are not affected by dilution and are affected less than CGM by radioactive decay. It is concluded that UCrad is more appropriate than CGM for LCA because it is consistent with the general approach used in LCIA. However, CGM can be used alongside UCrad to make recommendations on the location and scale of specific processes emitting radionuclides.

    Andrea Paulillo, Roland Clift, Jonathan M. Dodds, Andrew Milliken, Stephen J. Palethorpe, Paola Lettieri (2020)Radiological impacts in Life Cycle Assessment. Part I: General framework and two practical methodologies, In: The Science of the total environment708135179pp. 135179-135179 Elsevier B.V

    [Display omitted] •Radiological impacts, especially from nuclear wastes, are often disregarded in LCA.•A novel framework and two methodologies are proposed.•UCrad is based on USEtox and Critical Group Methodology on Risk Assessment.•Characterisation factors are in agreement with Human Health Damages methodology.•Ke step towards incorporating ionising radiation impacts in LCA. To date, impacts of ionising radiations have been largely disregarded in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This omission can be linked to the lack of a standard and comprehensive framework for including the effects of radionuclides alongside other emissions from industrial processes. Drawing on a recent review of Radiological Impact Assessment methodologies for LCA studies, this article proposes an overarching framework for integrating impacts of radionuclides in the Impact Assessment phase of LCA. From this framework, two alternative methodologies have been derived. They differ mainly in the way transport and dispersion of radionuclides in the environment are modelled: UCrad represents the first-of-its-kind compartment-type methodology for radionuclides, whereas the alternative Critical Group Methodology (CGM) has been adapted from standard Risk Assessment practices. Characterisation factors for a range of emitted species have been calculated using both methodologies and compared with those obtained from the Human Health Damages methodology, which is the only approach to radiological impacts yet implemented in LCA. For both UCrad and CGM the results are in general agreement with the Human Health Damages methodology, but UCrad gives factors closer to those obtained by the CGM approach. UCrad represents a major step towards incorporating ionising radiation impacts in LCIA. A subsequent paper will explore quantitatively the main differences between the UCrad and CGM methodologies.

    Andrea Paulillo, Roland Clift, Jonathan Dodds, Andrew Milliken, Stephen Palethorpe, Paola Lettieri (2020)Data supporting UCrad and CGM, two novel methodologies for radiological impacts in Life Cycle Assessment, In: Data in brief28104857pp. 104857-104857 Elsevier Inc

    Radiological impacts are often disregarded in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) due to the lack of a standard and comprehensive framework for including the impacts of radionuclides alongside other emissions from industrial processes. This data article is related to the research articles “Radiological Impacts in Life Cycle Assessment. Part I: General framework and two practical methodologies” [1] and “Radiological Impacts in Life Cycle Assessment. Part II: Comparison of Methodologies” [2], which introduced two practical methodologies for assessing the radiological impacts in LCA; these are UCrad and the Critical Group Methodology (CGM). This article reports the characterisation factors, for routine direct discharges and releases from nuclear waste disposed in a geological disposal facility, obtained from both methodologies. The article also reports the underlying data supporting the methodologies and the analysis carried out in the related research articles.

    Roland Clift, George Martin, Simon Mair (2022)Sustainability and the circular economy, In: Assessing Progress towards Sustainabilitypp. 35-56 Elsevier Inc

    Sustainability is a triad including techno-economic efficiency, compatibility with the ‘Planetary Boundaries’, and equity—enabling a decent quality of life for all. Circular Economy models often focus only on closing material flows in order to increase economic activity or market share. This overlooks the equity dimension. Here we focus on the Performance Economy, which extends the Circular Economy in ways that can enhance equity. The Performance Economy model concentrates on making best use of stocks in the economy, including labour which is a renewable resource. Extending product life through re-use, remanufacturing, and reprocessing and shifting from non-renewable inputs (including energy) to renewable inputs (including labour) can improve resource efficiency and increase the supply of rewarding employment. The Performance Economy requires changes in business practices more than technological innovation, including a different view of the functions of value chains, and can be promoted by different approaches to taxation.

    Haoqi Wang, Siduo Zhang, Xiaotao Bi, Roland Clift (2020)Greenhouse gas emission reduction potential and cost of bioenergy in British Columbia, Canada, In: Energy policy138pp. 1-14 Elsevier Ltd

    The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) provides an informative case study of bioenergy development, because it relies heavily on fossil fuels but has enormous bioenergy potential. We have examined the potential contribution of bioenergy to reducing BC's GHG emissions. The approach of combining life cycle assessment and economic evaluation to prioritize options should be applicable generally. Biomass availability, including forestry resources, agricultural waste and municipal solid waste, is estimated. Through simplified Life Cycle Assessment, GHG reduction potential of biogas, bioethanol, biofuels from hydrothermal liquefaction, and district heating are quantified, along with the associated GHG reduction costs. The analysis shows that existing biomass resources could yield 110–176 PJ per year, reducing GHG emissions by 13.0–15.7%. Bioenergy from waste streams is already cost-effective and should be prioritized in the short term. However, bioenergy from forestry resources, especially conversion to liquid biofuels, is prohibitively expensive, with GHG reduction cost exceeding CAD $300/t CO2-eq. The total extra cost required to achieve full utilization of BC's biomass resources is estimated as 0.8–2.4 billion dollars. To close the cost gaps between bioenergy and fossil fuels, both technological improvement and external cost adjustment through measures like carbon taxation will be needed. •Utilization of available biomass in BC could lead to 15.7% GHG reduction.•Bioenergy from waste streams is already economically competitive.•Bioenergy from forestry resources is not cost-effective at current carbon tax level.•Bioenergy deployment strategy based on GHG reduction cost is recommended.

    Haoqi Wang, Xiaotao Bi, Roland Clift (2021)A case study on integrating anaerobic digestion into agricultural activities in British Columbia: Environmental, economic and policy analysis, In: Environmental pollution (1987)271pp. 116279-116279 Elsevier Ltd

    This paper provides an example of the kind of analysis needed to support better targeted policies to reduce the environmental impacts of agricultural activities, using the specific case of Anaerobic Digestion (AD) to treat animal manure and other agricultural and food wastes in British Columbia (BC). Economic and life cycle environmental performance metrics are estimated to compare integrated and stand-alone systems using the resulting biogas and digestate. Using biogas for heating outperforms purifying it for distribution as renewable natural gas (RNG). However, current policy and energy prices in BC perversely support RNG, making biogas-fired heating systems economically unattractive. The performance of biogas-fired heating system can be improved and their dependence on subsidies reduced by integration with local agricultural activities, exploiting CO2 and digestate as by-products. Biogenic CO2, from combustion of the biogas and from mushroom cultivation, can displace natural gas use in producing CO2-enriched atmospheres to enhance growth rates in greenhouse production. Using digestate as growing media in greenhouses and mushroom cultivation can generate significant revenues but the environmental benefits are nugatory. Co-digestion of food waste can further improve performance by increasing biogas yield. With all extra benefits combined, integrated AD systems can increase both GHG mitigation and revenues by at least 80%. The analysis illustrates the general point that, to avoid perverse outcomes, policy measures must support options based on their actual GHG mitigation benefits, rather than targetting any specific technology. [Display omitted] •Biogas heating has higher GHG mitigation at lower cost than CHP or RNG.•Stand-alone biogas options require financial support from policy measures in BC.•Integrating AD into a broader system achieves further GHG and economic benefits.•Policy measures need to be supported by such systematic analyses. Integration of anaerobic digestion with agricultural activities can further reduce energy and material consumption and achieve substantial environmental and economic benefits from stand-alone biogas options.

    H. Wang, X. Bi, R. Clift (2021)Utilization of forestry waste materials in British Columbia: Options and strategies, In: Renewable & sustainable energy reviews150 Elsevier Ltd

    The Canadian province of British Columbia has large forestry resources and therefore provides an informative example of the potential role of bioenergy in mitigating GHG emissions. Even in biomass-rich British Columbia, forestry resources are only sufficient to meet part of the energy demand. This paper compares different energy conversion routes for forestry waste materials: via hydrothermal liquefaction, thermochemical methanol and bioethanol, renewable natural gas, cogeneration of heat and power, heat-only boilers, and power-only generation. The GHG savings, health impacts, minimum selling prices, and GHG abatement costs for each option are estimated by combining life cycle assessment with a discounted cash flow model. The input-based functional unit of 1 oven-dry tonne biomass provides a better basis for comparing possible uses of finite biomass supply than the commonly-used output-based functional unit of 1 GJ bioenergy. Heat-only boiler for district heating gives the highest GHG reduction of 960 kgCO2-eq per oven-dry tonne feedstock, while power-only generation delivers minimal GHG benefit in British Columbia. Heat-only boiler and cogeneration offer the lowest GHG abatement costs ($50/tCO2-eq); further technology improvement and policy support are needed to offset the cost disadvantage. •Comparison based on 1 ODT biomass identifies the most efficient way to utilize this scarce resource.•Producing energy from forestry waste materials can reduce emissions of GHGs and other pollutants.•Biomass-fired heat boiler gives maximum GHG mitigation per ODT feedstock.•Biomass-fired heat boiler and cogeneration are the most cost-effective in GHG mitigation.•Liquid biofuel options cause lower local health impacts but at higher GHG abatement costs.

    Haoqi Wang, Xiaotao Bi, Roland Clift (2023)Clean energy strategies and pathways to meet British Columbia's decarbonization targets, In: Canadian journal of chemical engineering101(1)pp. 81-96

    Abstract British Columbia (BC) recently released the CleanBC policy framework to promote clean energy and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, CleanBC lacks concrete measures to reverse the growth of energy demand. Although BC has rich biomass and hydroelectric resources, it remains unclear whether these renewable resources will be enough to meet future energy demand. In this work, the potential in BC for increasing production and use of bioenergy, renewable electricity, and low‐carbon hydrogen was assessed, and the most efficient measures were identified. Energy scenarios were constructed to explore BC's future renewable energy demands for meeting GHG mitigation targets. The results show that CleanBC will drastically raise renewable energy demands but fail to achieve the 2030 target without radical demand reduction. Seen as the core strategy in CleanBC, electrification will require at least 60 PJ of additional electricity supply for 2030 and 160 PJ for carbon neutrality in 2050. This implies implementing wind and solar generation in capacities comparable to massive hydroelectric projects. Alternative to electrification is the bioenergy‐centred strategy. Existing waste biomass must be fully exploited; even then, roughly 250 and 460 PJ of additional primary bioenergy will be needed for 2030 and 2050, respectively, well beyond any foreseeable waste supply within BC. Hence, it is essential to utilize all the available biomass and renewable electricity resources and promote a diversified renewable energy portfolio. Hydrogen used as an energy carrier must be produced from natural gas with carbon capture to avoid competition for the limited renewable energy resources.

    Piero Salatino, Roberto Chirone, Roland Clift (2023)Chemical engineering and industrial ecology: Remanufacturing and recycling as process systems, In: Canadian journal of chemical engineering101(1)pp. 283-294

    Abstract Climate change and resource scarcity are just two of the planetary crises that make radical socio‐economic change essential if human society is to be sustainable. Chemical engineering is a skill‐set that can make a unique contribution to the socio‐economic transition, going beyond new technological processes to provide a system‐level understanding of economic activities from the perspective of industrial ecology. This paper provides an example by applying process system analysis to the use, re‐use, remanufacturing, and recycling of material products. Unlike the ‘circular economy’ approach, the analysis starts from the stock of goods and materials in use in the economy and models the flows required to build up, operate, and maintain the stock. Metrics are developed to account for the effect of stock growth on demand for materials. The significance of the analysis is illustrated for four metals whose industrial ecologies are at different levels of maturity: lead, copper, aluminium, and lithium. Extending product life through re‐use and remanufacturing is crucial for resource efficiency, using labour to reduce demand for energy and non‐renewable resources. If end‐of‐life products are processed to recover individual elements, the cost penalties increase rapidly with the decreasing concentration of valuable materials and increasing number of materials in the mixture. Thus, shifting from a linear economy (make−use−dispose) to closed‐loop use of materials involves rethinking product design to reduce the number of materials used. Material substitution to reduce demand for scarce materials needs to look beyond equivalence of function to consider changing patterns of use in the regenerative economy.

    Masayuki Horio, Roland Clift (2023)Chemical engineering for the Anthropocene, In: Canadian journal of chemical engineering101(1)pp. 295-308 Wiley

    The environmental and resource crises that confront human life on earth demand changes to the whole socio-economic metabolic system. The changes will affect all aspects of life, including the practice of chemical engineering. The historical association of the profession with the fossil carbon economy means that the expertise that makes up chemical engineering must be re-examined and repurposed urgently if the discipline is to play a full role in the socio-economic transition. In this article, we review the historical development of chemical engineering to identify its unique features and find ways in which it can change to meet the challenge. A pattern of 30-year cycles in the development of the discipline is revealed, showing the way it has built up by incorporating approaches from other disciplines and also developing a unique set of skills and knowledge. Chemical engineering as taught needs to prepare graduates to operate under the kind of social contract embodied in declarations by professional bodies. We propose ways in which the expertise comprising chemical engineering can be applied in the 'just transition' to a less unsustainable society, including new approaches to plant and process design and also applications 'outside the pipe' to environmental modelling and industrial ecology. The unsustainability crisis results from a history of poor public and private decisions, so examination of the different types of decisions is timely. Specific roles for chemical engineers in deliberative decision processes are identified, including enhanced emphasis on risk and precaution.

    Siduo Zhang, Haoqi Wang, Xiaotao Bi, Roland Clift (2021)Synthesis and assessment of a biogas-centred agricultural eco-industrial park in British Columbia, In: Journal of cleaner production321 Elsevier Ltd

    Symbiotic integration of agricultural activities is widespread but quantitative assessments of the environmental benefits are scarce. To explore the potential benefits of applying the industrial symbiosis approach in agriculture and horticulture, a detailed case study is reported of a potential Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) including three activities: dairy farming, greenhouse cultivation of vegetables, and mushroom growing. These activities are widespread world-wide but, to enable quantitative assessment, the specific EIP studied is located in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC). The activities are linked by anaerobic digestion of dairy manure to produce biogas and digestate. Biogas replaces natural gas to supply heat to the farms and carbon dioxide (CO2) to the greenhouse. Digestate is separated into a liquid fertilizer and a solid substrate; the former replaces chemical fertilizers and the latter can be utilized as cow bedding and growing medium for plants and mushrooms. Mushroom growing emits CO2 which is conventionally ventilated but can be used for stimulating plant growth in the greenhouse. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to quantify the environmental benefits of the EIP compared to conventional independent farms. Non-renewable energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, aquatic acidification, respiratory effects from organic emissions, and human toxicity can be reduced by 50%–90% and aquatic eutrophication and respiratory effects from inorganic emissions can be reduced by more than 10%. Such EIPs can also alleviate nutrient management problems in regions with intensive livestock farming. •An LCA model of EIP linking AD of dairy manure, greenhouse and mushroom operations.•Exchange of by-products enhances energy and material self-sufficiency.•Digestate utilisation within the EIP improves nutrient management.•Reductions of ∼60% achievable in non-renewable energy use and global warming potential.•Reductions of 10%–90% achievable across five other life cycle impact categories.

    Huimin Yun, Haoqi Wang, Roland Clift, Xiaotao Bi (2022)The role of torrefied wood pellets in the bio-economy: A case study from Western Canada, In: Biomass & bioenergy163 Elsevier Ltd

    This work aims to provide a comprehensive in-depth analysis of the life cycle environmental and economic performance of some key global supply chains for torrefied wood pellets (TWP) used as bulk fuel, including their contribution to the bio-economy of the region where they are produced, and the effects of carbon accounting and carbon tax policies on the TWP trade. TWPs produced in British Columbia (BC), the western-most province of Canada, are taken as a specific example, with the results compared with pellets produced in other Canadian provinces, Southeast US and Vietnam. It is found that BC has comparative advantages in TWP production, benefiting from abundant biomass resources, availability of low-carbon electricity, existence of a well-developed forest product industry, and accessibility to international markets. The suitability of different domestic and overseas markets is assessed. In Canada, there is great potential demand for BC TWPs in the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, BC pellets are not cost-competitive compared with pellets from Vietnam and Southeast US, due to higher production costs arising in part from BC's high carbon tax. However, BC producers have supply advantages over producers in Vietnam and the Southeast US in the province's abundant biomass and clean electricity supply. Transforming production from conventional to torrefied pellets can increase the contribution of the industry to the regional economy. The carbon accounting and carbon tax policies in different countries/regions will impact the TWP trade, and merit further study. •Several key global torrefied wood pellet (TWP) supply chains are compared.•BC has comparative advantages in TWP production compared with other Canadian provinces.•The domestic overseas markets of BC TWPs are identified.•The contributions of TWP to the regional bio-economy are identified.•The effects of carbon accounting and carbon tax policies on TWP trade are discussed.

    Carlos Ferreira, Jose Ribeiro, Roland Clift, Fausto Freire (2019)A Circular Economy Approach to Military Munitions: Valorization of Energetic Material from Ammunition Disposal through Incorporation in Civil Explosives, In: Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland)11(1) Mdpi

    Ammunition that has reached its end of life or become obsolete is considered hazardous waste due to the energetic material content that must be decommissioned. One of the technologies to dispose of ammunition involves the use of incinerators with sophisticated gas treatment systems; however, this disposal process has important limitations in terms of incinerator capacity, energy requirements and high costs. This article assesses the potential primary energy avoided and environmental benefits arising from the valorization of energetic material from military ammunition by incorporating it into civil emulsion explosives, as an alternative to destructive disposal. This approach follows the circular economy principle, as articulated inter alia in BS 8001:2007, by giving a new service to a residue through its incorporation into a new product. A prospective life-cycle model is implemented based on primary data from previous studies on the conventional disposal process and on the production of emulsion explosive. The model applies system expansion to calculate the environmental burdens avoided when energetic material from ammunition is incorporated into civil explosives. The results show that re-using ammunition through valorization of energetic material greatly reduces the environmental impacts in all categories compared to the conventional disposal process. The benefits arise mainly from avoiding the incineration and flue gas treatment processes in ammunition disposal, and displacing production of civil explosive components with the energetic material from ammunition.

    R Clift, RN Malcolm, H Baumann, L Connell, G Rice (2005)Ecolabels and Electric Monks, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology9(3)pp. 4-? MIT Press
    R Clift, JR Grace (1985)Continuous bubbling and slugging, In: Fluidizationpp. 73-132 Academic Press

    Gas-fluidized beds are commonly operated in a regime in which the rising particle-lean regions are dispersed in a 'continuous phase' of fluidized particles. The continuous phase is variously termed the dense, particulate, or emulsion phase, while the rising voids are termed bubbles if their diameter is less than that of the bed itself and slugs if their dimensions approach the diameter D or width of the containing column. Bubbling and slugging have been subjected to more research effort, experimental and theoretical, than any of the other regimes which have been recognized. The more important and useful findings are summarized.

    A Azapagic, R Clift (1995)Life cycle assessment and linear programming environmental optimisation of product system-, In: Computers & Chemical Engineering19, Su0pp. 229-234
    M Nicholas, A Azapagic, R Clift (1998)IPPC and Producer Responsibility- A Possible Way to ’Embed’ Industrial Ecology?, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology24pp. 4-6 MIT Press
    T Jackson, R Clift (1998)Where’s the Profit in lndustrial Ecology?, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology21pp. 3-5 MIT Press
    R Clift (1997)The ECTEL Trials, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology12pp. 3-5 MIT Press
    J Lee, E Keller, L Mila a Canals, H King, R Clift (2013)Agri-food certification schemes: how do they address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, In: Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management Taylor and Francis
    A Castell, R Clift, C France (2004)Extended producer responsibility policy in the european union: A horse or a camel?, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology8(1-2)pp. 4-7
    J Kronenberg, R Clift (2004)Industrial ecology in Poland, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology8(4)pp. 13-17
    SJ Cowell, R Clift (2000)Methodology for assessing soil quantity and quality in life cycle assessment, In: Journal of Cleaner Production8(4)pp. 321-331

    Changes resulting from economic activities in the quantity and quality of soil in a system under analysis are important considerations in a life cycle assessment (LCA) study because they affect the safeguard subjects of resources and future agricultural productivity. In the approach proposed here, soil is treated as an ancillary which may leave the system in a form different from that at entry. Relevant factors describing possible changes in the soil include: soil mass, nutrients, weeds and weed seeds, pathogens, nutrients, salts, pH, organic matter, and soil texture and structure. Many of the factors can be included by modelling the effects of infrequent activities benefitting the crop(s) under analysis. Three additional factors require separate assessment: changes in the mass of soil, its organic matter content, and soil compaction. Taken together, these approaches provide an integrated assessment method capable of accounting for the overall impacts of agricultural production on soil.

    R Clift (2001)Think global; shop local; roll your own, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology5(1)pp. 7-9

    An integrated environmental and economic assessment of land use for food, energy and timber in the UK has been performed using environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and economic Life Cycle Costing (LCC), to explore complementary sustainability aspects of alternative land uses. The environmental assessment includes impacts on climate change, ecosystem services and biodiversity, all of which include soil carbon emissions. The systems explored include all processes from cradle to farm ‘gate’. The crops assessed were wheat and oilseed rape (under both organic and conventional farming systems), Scots Pine, and willow and Miscanthus. Food crops, particularly conventional food crops, are shown to have the highest climate-changing emissions per ha, whereas energy and forestry crops show negative net emissions. To a lesser extent, the same situation applies to impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity, with carbon storage in biomass playing a larger role than carbon in soils. The energy and forestry crops in this study show an overall beneficial environmental impact, in particular due to soil carbon sequestration, making these land uses the lowest contributors to climate change. Combining this with the non-renewable CO2 emissions displaced will mean that energy crops have an even lower impact. Economically, conventional food crops present the highest costs per ha, followed by organic food crops, energy and forestry crops. Integrating the results from LCA and LCC shows that the climate impacts per monetary unit of all land uses are dominated by soil management and, in the case of food production, also by fertilisation. Taxes or incentives such as “carbon charging” will encourage changes in practice in these areas to improve the sustainability of land management, mainly by building up Soil Organic Carbon (SOC).

    CJ Withers, AA West, AN Twigg, RS Courtney, JPK Seville, R Clift (1990)Improvements in the performance of ceramic media for filtration of hot gases, In: Filtration and Separation27(1)

    The filtration of coal derived gases at high temperatures and pressures (HTHP) affords the potential for increased efficiency from advanced power systems such as the British Coal gasification based 'Topping Cycle'. Rigid porous silicon carbide filters are amongst the most successful HTHP filters tested to date but questions about their long term durability remain unanswered. An alternative low density, high porosity fibrous ceramic filter medium has been developed and successfully tested on fuel gas at a filtration velocity of 0.1ms-1 and temperature of 950°C. Materials performance appeared adequate for this duty but longer duration tests will be required to confirm long term durability.

    D Koch, W Cheung, JPK Seville, R Clift (1992)Effects of dust properties on gas cleaning using rigid ceramic filters, In: Filtration and Separation29(4)

    Coupons of rigid ceramic filtration media have been conditioned using fine gasifier char and calcium carbonate dusts and both the cake resistance and the stress needed to detach the cake from the medium have been measured. For gasifier char, cake resistance appears to be independent of face velocity and proportional to areas cake loading, while cake removal stress is approximately independent of loading. For calcium carbonate, broadening the size distribution increases the cake resistance but slightly reduces the cake removal stress. Increases in particle size and cake void fraction decrease both cake resistance and cake removal stress. However, since increase in particle size seems often to be accompanied by decrease in cake void fraction, the range of commonly-observed cake resistivities and removal stresses is narrower than might otherwise be expected. © 1992.

    R Clift (1993)Life cycle assessment and ecolabelling, In: Journal of Cleaner Production1(3-4)pp. 155-159

    Ecolabelling is intended to provide a mechanism for conveying information to consumers on products within broad classes of goods which meet tight standards for environmental impact, and to manufacturers or retailers on targets for reducing environmental impact. Therefore life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to identify the most significant environmental impacts, as a basis for defining a minimum number of simple criteria for award of an ecolabel. This process introduces a number of problems which do not always aruse in other applications of LCA. This paper identifies some of the practical difficulties in carrying LCA through to ecolabel criteria, and summarizes some of the solutions being adopted. Specific areas of concern are definition of the functional unit, definition of 'cradle' and 'grave' in the context of different disposal and recycling practices throughout the European community, sourcing of raw materials, and validation, especially of imported goods. © 1993.

    P Sinclair, S Cowell, R Löfsted, R Clift (2007)A case study in participatory environmental systems assessment with the use of multimedia materials and quantitative LCA, In: Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management9(4)pp. 399-421

    While participation in environmental decision-making is widely recognised and valued in democratic countries as beneficial, its format and scope have not always been the source of agreement. The use of environmental systems assessment (ESA) offers the opportunity for structuring knowledge and decision-making systematically and appropriately to decision makers' concerns, to enable lay publics to participate in development of policy and implementation in public sector initiatives. In order to perform participatory ESA, effective means of involving lay people are required. This paper describes the development and testing of an innovative interactive multimedia package (WOMBLE), written for non-experts to enable them to use the expert tool WISARD, a quantitative life cycle assessment package, to enable involvement in developing and assessing options for management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). It was shown that this combination of tools can reduce the time needed to achieve effective communication, learning and active engagement. © Imperial College Press.

    R Clift, M Filla, L Massimilla (1976)Gas and particle motion in jets in fluidized beds, In: International Journal of Multiphase Flow2(5-6)pp. 549-561

    Entrainment of solid particles by gas jets discharged downwards through slotted nozzles into bubble-free beds of fluidized particles is considered. The gas flow in the jet is calculated for irrotational flow, using a correlation established previously for slot opening as a function of operating variables. The momentum boundary layer thickness and shear stress at the horizontal interface between jet and particles are then calculated by integral boundary layer analysis. The calculated shear stress distributions are consistent with measurements of the momentum of bed particles caused to saltate by the jet, and explain the dependence of particle movement on the various operating variables. The results provide a direct confirmation of a hypothesis due to Owen on the mechanism of saltation. © 1976.

    (2016)Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology, In: Roland Clift, Angela Druckman (eds.), Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology Springer International Publishing

    How can we design more sustainable industrial and urban systems that reduce environmental impacts while supporting a high quality of life for everyone? What progress has been made towards reducing resource use and waste, and what are the prospects for more resilient, material-efficient economies? What are the environmental and social impacts of global supply chains and how can they be measured and improved?

    R Malcolm, R Clift (2002)Barriers to industrial ecology: The strange case of "The Tombesi Bypass", In: Journal of Industrial Ecology6(1)pp. 4-7
    Xiaotao Bi, Roland Clift, Naoko Ellis, Charles Haynes (2023)Preface to the special issue section in memory of John R. Grace, In: Canadian journal of chemical engineering101(1)pp. 78-80 John Wiley & Sons, Inc
    R Kleemann, J Chenoweth, R Clift, S Morse, P Pearce, DP Saroj (2015)Evaluation of local and national effects of recovering phosphorus at wastewater treatment plants: Lessons learned from the UK, In: Resources, Conservation and Recycling

    P recovery from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) as struvite fertiliser is a recognised method of improving P use efficiency and reducing P losses into the environment. The main driver for P recovery from the water industry viewpoint is the reduction in the nuisance of struvite clogging inside pumps and pipes. Struvite recovery leads to an average P recovery rate of 72 ± 7% from centrifuge centrate, with 8.8 ± 0.7% total P and 20.5 ± 3.2% PO4-P removed from the WWTP influent as struvite. This reduces the potential for struvite precipitation, moderates P loads on biological nutrient removal processes and lowers P concentration in the final effluent. Totalling revenue from sale of struvite and operational site savings, P recovery becomes an attractive option for water companies. The implementation of P recovery technologies to produce struvite fertiliser in all UK WWTPs could produce a national P fertiliser source of 7.05 ± 2.01 kt P/year. In addition, sludge produced at WWTPs could be diverted to advanced energy recovery (AER) processes and P recovered from AER residues; up to 21.71 ± 0.95 kt P/year could be recovered in this way in the UK. Combining the two methods of P recovery, UK imports of P fertiliser could be reduced by 36.2 ± 1.1%. P recovery on a large scale has the further benefit of protecting against eutrophication by reducing P emissions to water bodies by 21.7 ± 1.9%. The protection of the environment and reduction in reliance on imported P are major national motivations to legislate P recovery from waste.

    P Michaelis, T Jackson, R Clift (1998)Exergy analysis of the life cycle of steel, In: ENERGY23(3)pp. 213-220 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    S Evangelisti, P Lettieri, R Clift, D Borello (2015)Distributed generation by energy from waste technology: A life cycle perspective, In: PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION93pp. 161-172 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    P Sinclair, B Cohen, Y Hansen, L Basson, R Clift (2015)Stakeholder engagement within the sustainability assessment of bioenergy: Case studies in heat, power and perennial and annual crops from the UK, In: BIOMASS & BIOENERGY73pp. 11-22 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    KC WILSON, R CLIFT, GR ADDIE, J MAFFETT (1990)EFFECT OF BROAD PARTICLE GRADING ON SLURRY STRATIFICATION RATIO AND SCALE-UP, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY61(2)pp. 165-172 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    C Du, C Ugaya, F Freire, L Dias, Roland Clift (2018)Enriching the results of screening social life cycle assessment using content analysis: a case study of sugarcane in Brazil, In: The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment Springer Verlag

    Purpose Screening social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) can be applied to identify the social hotspots associated with a production activity or supply chain. The objective of this paper is to explore how the quality of the results of a screening S-LCA can be improved, illustrated by a case study of sugarcane production in Brazil, an activity which has been criticized for its records on social sustainability due to issues such as poor working conditions for field workers and treatment of migrant workers. Methods Cradle-to-gate production of sugarcane in Brazil has been modeled using input-output analysis. The associated social impacts have been modeled using the framework of the Social Hotspots Database (SHDB), which is one of the first databases providing information on social risks along supply chains. The results from the SHDB were complemented with results from a systematic analysis of relevant literature. Content analysis was applied to 38 publications in English relevant to the social impacts of sugarcane production in Brazil, including peer-reviewed articles, “gray literature,” non-governmental organization reports, and conference presentations. Qualitative data analysis software NVivo 8 was used to facilitate the analysis of the publications. A deductive category system was established based on the subcategories recommended in the UNEP/SETAC social life cycle assessment guidelines. Social impacts were further aggregated and analyzed by social themes and impact categories. Results and discussion The social impacts of the sugarcane life cycle in Brazil arise almost exclusively within the Brazilian sugarcane sector itself. Fifteen social themes are identified as hotspots in the SHDB, and nine of them are also identified by content analysis. Health and safety and labor rights and decent work are the impact categories with the highest risks. Besides negative impacts, content analysis is capable of identifying several positive impacts related to sugarcane production. Due to the use of aggregated country-level data, social impacts of manual and mechanical harvesting of sugarcane cannot be differentiated in SHDB; however, this can be achieved by content analysis. Conclusions SHDB is effective for identifying social impacts at the country level, but the data are inevitably aggregated and only show averages across different technologies and geographical areas; therefore, the database is of limited value in distinguishing between alternative operations and locations. Content analysis can facilitate foreground data collection by differentiating operations and identifying both negative and positive impacts at the level of individual activities. We recommend that S-LCA databases can be integrated with results of content analysis to improve the richness—representativity and specificity—of results from a screening S-LCA, to differentiate between alternative production routes and processes.

    L Elghali, R Clift, P Sinclair, C Panoutsou, A Bauen (2007)Developing a sustainability framework for the assessment of bioenergy systems, In: ENERGY POLICY35(12)pp. 6075-6083 ELSEVIER SCI LTD
    M ABDELGHANI, JG PETRIE, JPK SEVILLE, R CLIFT, MJ ADAMS (1991)MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF COHESIVE PARTICULATE SOLIDS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY65(1-3)pp. 113-123 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    AC HOFFMANN, A VANSANTEN, RWK ALLEN, R CLIFT (1992)EFFECTS OF GEOMETRY AND SOLID LOADING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF GAS CYCLONES, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY70(1)pp. 83-91 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    R CLIFT, M GHADIRI, AC HOFFMAN (1991)A CRITIQUE OF 2 MODELS FOR CYCLONE PERFORMANCE, In: AICHE JOURNAL37(2)pp. 285-289 AMER INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    L Elghali, SJ Cowell, KG Begg, R Clift (2006)Support for sustainable development policy decisions - A case study from highway maintenance, In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT11pp. 29-39 ECOMED PUBLISHERS
    HT DO, R CLIFT, J GRACE (1972)PARTICLE EJECTION AND ENTRAINMENT FROM FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY6(4)pp. 195-& ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
    A Levasseur, M Brandão, P Lesage, M Margni, D Pennington, R Clift, R Samson (2012)Valuing temporary carbon storage, In: Nature Climate Change2(1)pp. 6-8
    R Clift (2011)Sustainable Consumption and Supportable Investment, In: JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY15(5)pp. 648-650 WILEY-BLACKWELL
    R Clift (2007)Don't bury your head in the nanostuff, In: NANOMEDICINE2(3)pp. 267-270 FUTURE MEDICINE LTD
    S Sim, M Barry, R Clift, SJ Cowell (2007)The relative importance of transport in determining an appropriate sustainability strategy for food sourcing, In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT12(6)pp. 422-431 ECOMED PUBLISHERS
    C Cederberg, UM Persson, K Neovius, S Molander, R Clift (2011)Including Carbon Emissions from Deforestation in the Carbon Footprint of Brazilian Beef, In: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY45(5)pp. 1773-1779 AMER CHEMICAL SOC
    M Brandao, L Mila i Canals, R Clift (2011)Soil organic carbon changes in the cultivation of energy crops: Implications for GHG balances and soil quality for use in LCA, In: BIOMASS & BIOENERGY35(6)pp. 2323-2336 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    I Munoz, LMI Canals, R Clift (2008)Consider a Spherical Man - A Simple Model to Include Human Excretion in Life Cycle Assessment of Food Products, In: JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY12(4)pp. 521-538 WILEY-BLACKWELL
    L Elghali, R Clift, KG Begg, S McLaren (2008)Decision support methodology for complex contexts, In: PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS-ENGINEERING SUSTAINABILITY161(1)pp. 7-22 THOMAS TELFORD PUBLISHING

    Complex decision contexts involving multiple (and often competing) policy objectives are common in both strategic and operational decisions encountered in engineering projects or programmes. The need to consider multiple objectives and to address the concerns of diverse stakeholders raises particular difficulties in applying sustainable development principles to defining and choosing an optimum project, process, product, policy or solution. This paper derives some fundamental characteristics of appropriate support for sustainable development decisions. Using these characteristics, three methodologies, which have been proposed as support tools for making strategic decisions and assessing policy choices for their contributions towards sustainable development, are reviewed critically with reference to their theoretical basis and informed by case studies of engineering applications. Recommendations are made to support best practice and to develop more effective support for such decisions in future.

    R LEGROS, R CLIFT, CA MILLINGTON (1995)DEVELOPMENT OF A MOBILIZATION TECHNIQUE FOR FIBROUS MATERIALS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY85(2)pp. 105-114 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    R Kleemann, Jonathan Chenoweth, Roland Clift, Stephen Morse, P Pearce, Devendra Saroj (2016)Comparison of phosphorus recovery from incinerated sewage sludge ash (ISSA) and pyrolysed sewage sludge char (PSSC), In: Waste Management60pp. 201-210 Elsevier

    This research compares and contrasts the physical and chemical characteristics of incinerator sewage sludge ash (ISSA) and pyrolysis sewage sludge char (PSSC) for the purposes of recovering phosphorus as a P-rich fertiliser. Interest in P recovery from PSSC is likely to increase as pyrolysis is becoming viewed as a more economical method of sewage sludge thermal treatment compared to incineration. The P contents of ISSA and PSSC are 7.2–7.5% and 5.6%, respectively. Relative to the sludge, P concentrations are increased about 8-fold in ISSA, compared to roughly 3-fold in PSSC. Both PSSC and ISSA contain whitlockite, an unusual form of calcium phosphate, with PSSC containing more whitlockite than ISSA. Acid leaching experiments indicate that a liquid/solid ratio of 10 with 30 min contact time is optimal to release PO4-P into leachate for both ISSA and PSSC. The proportion of P extracted from PSSC is higher due to its higher whitlockite content. Heavy metals are less soluble from PSSC because they are more strongly incorporated in the particles. The results suggest there is potential for the development of a process to recover P from PSSC.

    R Geyer, J Davis, J Ley, A Kwan, J He, R Clift, T Jackson, M Sansom (2007)Time-dependent material flow analysis of iron and steel in the UK. Part 1: Production and consumption trends 1970-2000, In: Resources, Conservation and Recycling51(1)pp. 101-117

    This paper presents a detailed account of the supply chain for iron and steel in the UK, using material flow analysis. Due to the lack of a universally agreed methodology of material flow analysis, we include an explanation of the accounting methodology employed in the study. Data for the supply chain has been collected reaching back three decades, enabling analysis of trends in production and consumption of iron and steel over the years. This first part of a series of two papers quantifies the iron and steel flows through the UK economy including the annual amount of iron and steel embodied in all final goods that enter the use phase in the UK. The second part explores the more elusive flows of scrap generation and recycling. In this first paper we show that the UK no longer has the capacity to recycle the scrap it collects and is increasingly relying on foreign economies to do so. We also observe that trade in iron and steel products and ferrous metal containing final goods has increased dramatically over the years, but remained relatively balanced. Today, one-half of UK's iron and steel production is exported, whereas one-half of the iron and steel entering the UK use phase comes from imported final goods. The efficiency with which the UK iron and steel industry transforms iron ore and scrap into iron and steel products has increased substantially. However, there is no significant downward trend in the absolute level of iron and steel use in the UK. Between 1970 and 1981 the annual amount of steel put to use dropped from 16.4 to 10.7 million metric tonnes but climbed back up to 15 million metric tonnes twice since then 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

    R CLIFT (1995)CLEAN TECHNOLOGY - AN INTRODUCTION, In: JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY62(4)pp. 321-326 JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD
    R CLIFT (1995)MASSIMILLA,LEOPOLDO (1930-1993) - OBITUARY, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY82(3)pp. 215-216 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    R Clift, S Lloyd (2008)Nanotechnology: A new organism in the industrial ecosystem?, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology12(3)pp. 259-262
    S Evangelisti, C Tagliaferri, R Clift, P Lettieri, R Taylor, C Chapman (2015)Life cycle assessment of conventional and two-stage advanced energy-from-waste technologies for municipal solid waste treatment, In: JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION100pp. 212-223 ELSEVIER SCI LTD
    C Tagliaferri, S Evangelisti, Roland Clift, P Lettieri (2018)Life cycle assessment of a biomass CHP plant in UK: The Heathrow energy centre case, In: Chemical Engineering Research and Design133pp. 210-221 Elsevier

    Bioenergy has an important role to play in helping the UK meet its carbon target in 2050 and the European Renewable Energy Directive objectives for 2030. There are however uncertainties associated with the use of bioenergy, and whether or how much it contributes to green-house gas emission reductions. In order to help identifying environmental benefits and burdens associated with biomass use for energy production, an attributional life cycle assessment has been carried out of a biomass-fired CHP plant: the Heathrow Airport energy centre. This facility burns woodchips sourced from nearby forests providing 2 MWe of electricity and 8 MWth of thermal energy which delivers heat and cooling to Heathrow Terminal 2 and low temperature hot water to Terminal 5. A hot spot analysis is conducted to identify the process steps with the largest environmental impact, starting from the harvesting of the forest residue to the disposal of the boiler ash. A scenario analysis is performed to compare the impacts of the biomass plant against fossil alternatives and to identify which renewable energy sources, between biomass and MSW, should be prioritised for development and investment. The results show a reduction in GHG emissions from using biomass, with further benefits if the bottom ash is collected and re-used as a soil conditioner for land-farming or forestry. The paper also discusses the treatment of biogenic carbon in the assessment.

    TL Theis, BR Bakshi, R Clift, D Durham, VM Fthenakis, TG Gutowski, JA Isaacs, T Seager, MR Wiesner (2012)A life cycle framework for the investigation of environmentally benign nanoparticles and products (vol 5, pg 312, 2011), In: PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI-RAPID RESEARCH LETTERS6(2)pp. 98-98 WILEY-BLACKWELL
    RC Clift (2004)What a waste!, In: MATERIALS TODAY7(2)pp. 64-64 ELSEVIER SCI LTD
    S Evangelisti, Roland Clift, C Tagliaferri, P Lettieri (2017)A life cycle assessment of distributed energy production from organic waste: Two case studies in Europe, In: Waste Management64pp. 371-385 Elsevier

    By means of the life cycle assessment methodology, the purpose of this study is to assess the environmental impact when biomethane from organic waste produced at residential level is used to supply energy to a group of dwellings in the distributed generation paradigm. Three different Combined Heat and Power systems, such as fuel cells, Stirling engine and micro gas turbine, installed at household level are assessed in two different settings: one in Northern Europe (UK) and one in Southern Europe (Italy). Different operating strategies are investigated for each technology. Moreover, marginal electricity production technologies are analysed to assess their influence on the results. This study has demonstrated that the type of bio-methane fed micro-CHP technology employed has a significantly different environmental impact: fuel cells are the most environmentally friendly solution in every category analysed; Stirling engines, although can supply heat to the largest number of dwellings are the least environmentally friendly technology. However, key factors investigated in the model presented in this paper influence the decision making on the type of technology adopted and the operating strategy to be implemented.

    S Zhang, XT Bi, R Clift (2015)Life cycle analysis of a biogas-centred integrated dairy farm-greenhouse system in British Columbia, In: PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION93pp. 18-30 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R CLIFT (1994)UNTITLED, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY80(1)pp. R5-R5 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    R CLIFT, DHM CLIFT (1981)CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENT OF THE DENSITY OF FLOWING SLURRIES, In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIPHASE FLOW7(5)pp. 555-561 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    S Evangelisti, P Lettieri, D Borello, R Clift (2014)Life cycle assessment of energy from waste via anaerobic digestion: A UK case study., In: Waste Management34(1)pp. 226-237

    Particularly in the UK, there is potential for use of large-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) plants to treat food waste, possibly along with other organic wastes, to produce biogas. This paper presents the results of a life cycle assessment to compare the environmental impacts of AD with energy and organic fertiliser production against two alternative approaches: incineration with energy production by CHP and landfill with electricity production. In particular the paper investigates the dependency of the results on some specific assumptions and key process parameters. The input Life Cycle Inventory data are specific to the Greater London area, UK. Anaerobic digestion emerges as the best treatment option in terms of total CO2 and total SO2 saved, when energy and organic fertiliser substitute non-renewable electricity, heat and inorganic fertiliser. For photochemical ozone and nutrient enrichment potentials, AD is the second option while incineration is shown to be the most environmentally friendly solution. The robustness of the model is investigated with a sensitivity analysis. The most critical assumption concerns the quantity and quality of the energy substituted by the biogas production. Two key issues affect the development and deployment of future anaerobic digestion plants: maximising the electricity produced by the CHP unit fuelled by biogas and to defining the future energy scenario in which the plant will be embedded.

    C Tagliaferri, Roland Clift, P Lettieri, C Chapman (2017)Liquefied natural gas for the UK: a life cycle assessment, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment22(12)pp. 1944-1956 Springer

    Purpose Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to become an important component of the UK’s energy supply because the national hydrocarbon reserves on the continental shelf have started diminishing. However, use of any carbon-based fuel runs counter to mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Hence, a broad environmental assessment to analyse the import of LNG to the UK is required. Methods A cradle to gate life cycle assessment has been carried out of a specific but representative case: LNG imported to the UK fromQatar. The analysis covers the supply chain, from gas extraction through to distribution to the end-user, assuming state-of-the-art facilities and ships. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted on key parameters including the energy requirements of the liquefaction and vaporisation processes, fuel for propulsion, shipping distance, tanker volume and composition of raw gas. Results and discussion All environmental indicators of the CML methodology were analysed. The processes of liquefaction, LNG transport and evaporation determine more than 50% of the cradle to gate global warming potential (GWP). When 1% of the total gas delivered is vented as methane emissions leakage throughout the supply chain, the GWP increases by 15% compared to the GWP of the base scenario. The variation of the GWP increases to 78% compared to the base scenario when 5% of the delivered gas is considered to be lost as vented emissions. For all the scenarios analysed, more than 75% of the total acidification potential (AP) is due to the sweetening of the natural gas before liquefaction. Direct emissions from transport always determine between 25 and 49%of the total eutrophication potential (EP) whereas the operation and maintenance of the sending ports strongly influences the fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity potential (FAETP). Conclusions The study highlights long-distance transport of LNG and natural gas processing, including sweetening, liquefaction and vaporisation, as the key operations that strongly affect the life cycle impacts. Those cannot be considered negligible when the environmental burdens of the LNG supply chain are considered. Furthermore, the effect of possible fugitive methane emissions along the supply chain are critical for the impact of operations such as extraction, liquefaction, storage before transport, transport itself and evaporation.

    R Garcia, F Freire, Roland Clift (2017)Effects on Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Introducing Electric Vehicles into an Electricity System with Large Storage Capacity, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology22(2)pp. 288-299 Wiley

    Under some circumstances, electric vehicles (EVs) can reduce overall environmental impacts by displacing internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and by enabling more intermittent renewable energy sources (RES) by charging with surplus power in periods of low demand. However, the net effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of adding EVs into a national or regional electricity system are complex and, for a system with significant RES, are affected by the presence of storage capacity, such as pumped hydro storage (PHS). This article takes the Portuguese electricity system as a specific example, characterized by relatively high capacities of wind generation and PHS. The interactions between EVs and PHS are explored, using life cycle assessment to compare changes in GHG emissions for different scenarios with a fleet replacement model to describe the introduction of EVs. Where there is sufficient storage capacity to ensure that RES capacity is exploited without curtailment, as in Portugal, any additional demand, such as introduction of EVs, must be met by the next marginal technology. Whether this represents an average increase or decrease in GHG emissions depends on the carbon intensity of the marginal generating technology and on the fuel efficiency of the ICEVs displaced by the EVs, so that detailed analysis is needed for any specific energy system, allowing for future technological improvements. A simple way to represent these trade-offs is proposed as a basis for supporting strategic policies on introduction of EVs.

    D MUSMARRA, M POLETTO, S VACCARO, R CLIFT (1995)DYNAMIC WAVES IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY82(3)pp. 255-268 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    R Clift (1997)Clean technology - The idea and the practice, In: JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY68(4)pp. 347-350 WILEY-BLACKWELL
    C Tagliaferri, Roland Clift, P Lettieri, C Chapman (2016)Shale gas: a life-cycle perspective for UK production, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment22(6)pp. 919-937 Springer Verlag

    Purpose Following the boom of shale gas production in the USA and the decrease in the US gas prices, increasing interest in shale gas is developing in many countries holding shale reserves and exploration is already taking place in some EU countries, including the UK. Any commercial development of shale gas in Europe requires a broad environmental assessment, recognizing the different European conditions and legislations. Methods This study focuses on the UK situation and estimates the environmental impacts of shale gas using lifecycle assessment (LCA); the burdens of shale gas production in the UK are compared with the burdens of the current UK natural gas mix. The main focus is on the analysis of water impacts, but a broad range of other impact categories are also considered. A sensitivity analysis is performed on the most environmentally criticized operations in shale gas production, including flowback disposal and emission control, by considering a range of possible process options. Results and discussion Improper waste water management and direct disposal or spills of waste water to river can lead to high water and human ecotoxicity. Mining of the sand and withdrawal of the water used in fracking fluids determine the main impacts on water use and degradation. However, the water degradation of the conventional natural gas supply to the UK is shown to be even higher than that of shale gas. For the global warming potential (GWP), the handling methods of the emissions associated with the hydraulic fracturing influence the results only when emissions are vented. Finally, the estimated ultimate recovery of the well has the greatest impact on the results as well as the flowback ratio and flowback disposal method. Conclusions This paper provides insights to better understand the future development of shale gas in the UK. Adequate waste water management and emission handling significantly reduce the environmental impacts of shale gas production. Policy makers should consider that shale gas at the same time increases the water consumption and decreases the water degradation when compared with the gas mix supply. Furthermore, the environmental impacts of shale gas should be considered according to the low productivity that force the drilling and exploitation of a high number of wells.

    A Azapagic, R Clift (1999)The application of life cycle assessment to process optimisation, In: COMPUTERS & CHEMICAL ENGINEERING23(10)pp. 1509-1526 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    R CLIFT (1995)PERSONAL COMMENTS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY83(1)pp. R5-R5 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    R CLIFT, C PRITCHAR, R NEDDERMA (1966)EFFECT OF VISCOSITY ON FLOODING CONDITIONS IN WETTED WALL COLUMNS, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE21(1)pp. 87-& PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    Matthew Gear, Jhuma Sadhukhan, Rex Thorpe, Roland Clift, Jonathan Seville, M Keast (2018)A life cycle assessment data analysis toolkit for the design of novel processes - A case study for a thermal cracking process for mixed plastic waste, In: Journal of Cleaner Production180pp. 735-747 Elsevier

    The earlier in the development of a process a design change is made, the lower the cost and the higher the impact on the final performance. This applies equally to environmental and technical performance, but in practice the environmental aspects often receive less attention. To maximise sustainability, it is important to review all of these aspects through each stage, not just after the design. Tools that integrate environmental goals into the design process would enable the design of more environmentally friendly processes at a lower cost. This paper brings together approaches based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) including comparisons of design changes, hotspot analysis, identification of key impact categories, environmental break-even analysis, and decision analysis using ternary diagrams that give detailed guidance for design while not requiring high quality data. The tools include hotspot analysis to reveal which unit operations dominate the impacts and therefore should be the focus of further detailed process development. This approach enables the best variants to be identified so that the basic design can be improved to reduce all significant environmental impacts. The tools are illustrated by a case study on the development of a novel process with several variants: thermal cracking of mixed plastic waste to produce a heavy hydrocarbon product that can displace crude oil, naphtha, or refinery wax or be used as a fuel. The results justified continuing with the development by confirming that the novel process is likely to be a better environmental option than landfill or incineration. The general approach embodied in the toolkit should be applicable in the development of any new process, particularly one producing multiple products.

    K Mayers, R Peagam, C France, L Basson, R Clift (2011)Redesigning the Camel The European WEEE Directive, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology15(1)pp. 4-8
    R LEGROS, CA MILLINGTON, R CLIFT (1994)DRYING OF TOBACCO PARTICLES IN A MOBILIZED BED, In: DRYING TECHNOLOGY12(3)pp. 517-543 MARCEL DEKKER INC
    R CLIFT (1992)ON THE FORMULATION OF HYDRODYNAMIC STABILITY-CRITERIA IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY72(3)pp. 199-199 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    J GRACE, L KROCHMAL, R CLIFT, EJ FARKAS (1971)EXPANSION OF LIQUIDS AND FLUIDISED BEDS IN SLUG FLOW, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE26(5)pp. 617-& PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    J Davis, R Geyer, J Ley, J He, R Clift, A Kwan, A Sansom, T Jackson (2007)Time-dependent material flow analysis of iron and steel in the UK Part 2. Scrap generation and recycling, In: RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING51(1)pp. 118-140 ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
    R Clift, A Doig, G Finnveden (2000)The application of Life Cycle Assessment to Integrated Solid Waste Management - Part 1 - Methodology, In: PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION78(B4)pp. 279-287 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    N Arena, Esat Alpay, Norman Kirkby, Jacquetta Lee, R Clift (2017)An on demand chilling system: Activated carbon based desorptive cooling, In: Journal of Cleaner Production176pp. 937-945 Elsevier

    Every year in Europe refrigerant gases with a greenhouse-warming equivalent of more than 30 Mt CO2 are emitted from retail refrigerators. Furthermore, the effective efficiency of such refrigerators is far below that achievable under ideal (e.g. optimal-load; minimum access) operation. In this work the design of an alternative on-demand cooling unit is presented. The unit is based on the cooling effect provided by desorption of carbon dioxide previously adsorbed onto a bed of graphite-bonded activated carbon: in this paper, a case study of a self-chilling beverage can is used to demonstrate the technology. The high compaction of the activated carbon, and the presence of graphite, enhances the heat transfer properties of the adsorbent, thus enhancing the efficiency of cooling. Furthermore, potential exists for the use of activated carbon and CO2 from waste sources. This paper provides an overview of the design basis and environmental advantages of the unit, and experimental and simulation studies on the thermal dynamics of the cooling process. Particular attention is given to the effective thermal conductivity of the activated carbon bed. The results indicate that adequate on-demand cooling can be achieved within a portable unit. However, scope exists for enhancing the heat transfer within the cooling chamber through design and bed composition alterations. Recommendations for improved unit design are presented.

    N Weston, R Clift, P Holmes, L Basson, N White (2011)Streamlined Life Cycle Approaches for Use at Oil Refineries and Other Large Industrial Facilities, In: Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research50(3)pp. 1624-1636

    Sustainable development requires decision making to incorporate multiple criteria, including environmental impacts based upon life cycle thinking. Within the oil industry, the application of life cycle approaches has tended to focus upon policy and corporate level, strategic decisions with concerns over the resource, and time demands precluding their application at the tactical/refinery level. Following a review of streamlined life cycle approaches, the authors have addressed these concerns by outlining a new approach that is tailored to suit decisions at the tactical level in oil refineries and is accessible to process engineers. Using a real problem at an oil refinery as a case study, this approach has been developed in greater depth and the application of life cycle thinking has been shown to aid the generation of alternatives and to provide the decision maker with valuable insights that can be considered alongside social and economic criteria. It is anticipated that this approach could facilitate the uptake of life cycle thinking at oil refineries, with potential applications at other large industrial facilities.

    R CLIFT (1993)FORMATION OF UNITED-STATES PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY FORUM, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY74(2)pp. R9-R9 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    R CLIFT, J GRACE (1971)BUBBLE COALESCENCE IN FLUIDIZED BEDS - COMPARISON OF 2 THEORIES, In: AICHE JOURNAL17(1)pp. 252-& AMER INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    N Weston, R Clift, L Basson, A Pouton, N White (2008)Assessment of cleaner process options: A case study from petroleum refining, In: CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING86(3)pp. 302-315 WILEY-BLACKWELL
    S Shiels, D Garner, R Clift (2002)Using life-cycle assessment to inform the nuclear debate, In: NUCLEAR ENERGY-JOURNAL OF THE BRITISH NUCLEAR ENERGY SOCIETY41(6)pp. 375-381 BRITISH NUCLEAR ENERGY SOC
    S Vermeylen, G Martin, R Clift (2008)Intellectual Property Rights Systems and the Assemblage of Local Knowledge Systems, In: International Journal of Cultural Property1502pp. 201-221
    S Zhang, XT Bi, R Clift (2013)A Life Cycle Assessment of integrated dairy farm-greenhouse systems in British Columbia., In: Bioresource Technology150pp. 496-505

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the anticipated environmental benefits from integrating a dairy farm and a greenhouse; the integration is based on anaerobic digestion of manures to produce biogas energy, biogenic CO2, and digested slurry. A full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been conducted on six modeled cases applicable in British Columbia, to evaluate non-renewable energy consumption, climate change, acidification, eutrophication, respiratory effects and human toxicity. Compared to conventional practice, an integrated system has the potential to nearly halve eutrophication and respiratory effects caused by inorganic emissions and to reduce non-renewable energy consumption, climate change, and acidification by 65-90%, while respiratory effects caused by organic emissions become negative as co-products substitute for other materials. Co-digestion of other livestock manures, greenhouse plant waste, or food and food processing waste with dairy manure can further improve the performance of the integrated system.

    G Martin, Roland Clift, Ian Christie (2016)Urban Cultivation and Its Contributions to Sustainability: Nibbles of Food but Oodles of Social Capital, In: Sustainability8(5)409 MDPI

    The contemporary interest in urban cultivation in the global North as a component of sustainable food production warrants assessment of both its quantitative and qualitative roles. This exploratory study weighs the nutritional, ecological, and social sustainability contributions of urban agriculture by examining three cases—a community garden in the core of New York, a community farm on the edge of London, and an agricultural park on the periphery of San Francisco. Our field analysis of these sites, confirmed by generic estimates, shows very low food outputs relative to the populations of their catchment areas; the great share of urban food will continue to come from multiple foodsheds beyond urban peripheries, often far beyond. Cultivation is a more appropriate designation than agriculture for urban food growing because its sustainability benefits are more social than agronomic or ecological. A major potential benefit lies in enhancing the ecological knowledge of urbanites, including an appreciation of the role that organic food may play in promoting both sustainability and health. This study illustrates how benefits differ according to local conditions, including population density and demographics, operational scale, soil quality, and access to labor and consumers. Recognizing the real benefits, including the promotion of sustainable diets, could enable urban food growing to be developed as a component of regional foodsheds to improve the sustainability and resilience of food supply, and to further the process of public co-production of new forms of urban conviviality and wellbeing.

    R Clift, R Malcolm, H Baumann, L Connell, G Rice (2005)Eco-labels and Electric Monks, In: JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY9(3)pp. 4-7 M I T PRESS
    E Wright, A Azapagic, G Stevens, W Mellor, R Clift (2005)Improving recyclability by design: a case study of fibre optic cable, In: RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING44(1)pp. 37-50 ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
    D Koch, J Seville, R Clift (1996)Dust cake detachment from gas filters, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY86(1)pp. 21-29 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    MAJ GODFREY, P KWASOWSKI, R CLIFT, V MARKS (1993)ASSESSMENT OF THE SUITABILITY OF COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE SPA AFFINITY SOLID-PHASES FOR THE PURIFICATION OF MURINE MONOCLONAL-ANTIBODIES AT PROCESS SCALE, In: JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS160(1)pp. 97-105 ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
    W Mellor, E Wright, R Clift, A Azapagic, G Stevens (2002)A mathematical model and decision-support framework for material recovery, recycling and cascaded use, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE57(22-23)PII S0009-pp. 4697-4713 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    KC Wilson, R Clift, A Sellgren (2002)Operating points for pipelines carrying concentrated heterogeneous slurries, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY123(1)PII S0032-pp. 19-24 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
    J GRACE, R CLIFT (1974)2-PHASE THEORY OF FLUIDIZATION, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE29(2)pp. 327-334 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    U Arena, ML Mastellone, F Perugini, R Clift (2004)Environmental assessment of paper waste management options by means of LCA methodology, In: INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH43(18)pp. 5702-5714 AMER CHEMICAL SOC
    A GARCIA, J GRACE, R CLIFT (1973)BEHAVIOR OF GAS BUBBLES IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: AICHE JOURNAL19(2)pp. 369-370 AMER INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    W Duo, NF Kirkby, JPK Seville, R Clift (1997)Patchy cleaning of rigid gas filters .1. A probabilistic model, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE52(1)pp. 141-151 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    JPK SEVILLE, R CLIFT (1984)THE EFFECT OF THIN LIQUID LAYERS ON FLUIDIZATION CHARACTERISTICS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY37(JAN-)pp. 117-129 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    B CARTER, M GHADIRI, R CLIFT, AW JURY (1987)THE BEHAVIOR OF LARGE JETSAM PARTICLES IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY52(3)pp. 263-266 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    KR YUREGIR, M GHADIRI, R CLIFT (1986)OBSERVATIONS ON IMPACT ATTRITION OF ANTIGRANULOCYTES SOLIDS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY49(1)pp. 53-57 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    R Clift (2000)Special topic issue - Sustainable development, In: PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION78(B4)pp. 235-235 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    W DUO, NF KIRKBY, JPK SEVILLE, R CLIFT (1995)ALTERATION WITH REACTION PROGRESS OF THE RATE-LIMITING STEP FOR SOLID-GAS REACTIONS OF CA-COMPOUNDS WITH HCL, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE50(13)pp. 2017-2027 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    J GRACE, R CLIFT (1979)DEPENDENCE OF SLUG RISE VELOCITY ON TUBE REYNOLDS-NUMBER IN VERTICAL GAS-LIQUID FLOW, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE34(11)pp. 1348-1350 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    R CLIFT, J GRACE, ME WEBER (1976)STABILITY OF BUBBLES IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY FUNDAMENTALS15(1)pp. 87-87 AMER CHEMICAL SOC
    N Arena, P Sinclair, J Lee, R Clift (2016)Life cycle engineering of production, use and recovery of self-chilling beverage cans, In: Journal of Cleaner Production

    The chill-on-demand system is a new technology designed to provide cooled products on demand, thereby avoiding chilled storage. It uses the cooling effect provided by endothermic desorption of carbon dioxide previously adsorbed onto a bed of activated carbon and has the potential to be applied to any type of product that needs to be cold at the point of consumption. The principles of life cycle engineering have been utilized to evaluate the overall environmental performance of one possible application of this technology: a self-chilling beverage can, with a steel outer can to contain the beverage and an inner aluminium can to contain the adsorbent. An attributional life cycle assessment has been undertaken considering all the life cycle stages of a self-chilling can: manufacture of each part of the beverage container, its utilization, collection of the used can, and management of the waste by reuse, recycling and landfilling. Activated carbon production is included in detail, to assess its contribution to the overall life cycle. The results are compared with those for conventional aluminium and steel beverage cans stored in two types of retail chiller: a single door refrigerator and a large open-front cooler. A sensitivity analysis explores alternative scenarios for activated carbon production and for recovery of the can components post-use for reuse or recycling. The results highlight the importance of using activated carbon produced from biomass by a process with efficient use of low-carbon electrical energy, energy recovery from waste streams and appropriate air pollution control, and of achieving high rates of recovery, re-use and recycling of the cans after use. The results suggest limited markets into which the product might be introduced, particularly where it would displace inefficient chilled storage in an electricity system with a high proportion of coal-fired generation.

    R CLIFT, JPK SEVILLE, SC MOORE, C CHAVARIE (1987)COMMENTS ON BUOYANCY IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE42(1)pp. 191-194 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    Erica Russell, Jacquetta Lee, Roland Clift (2018)Can the SDGs Provide a Basis for Supply Chain Decisions in the Construction Sector?, In: Sustainability10(3)629 MDPI

    The Construction sector is characterised by complex supply networks delivering unique end products over short time scales. Sustainability has increased in importance but continues to be difficult to implement in this sector; thus, new approaches and practices are needed. This paper reports an empirical investigation into the value of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Sustainable Consumption and Production (SDG12), when used as a framework for action by organisations to drive change towards sustainability in global supply networks. Through inductive research, two different and contrasting approaches to improving the sustainability of supply networks have been revealed. One approach focuses on the “bottom up” ethical approach typified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of timber products, and the other on “top-down” regulations exemplified by the UK Modern Slavery Act. In an industry noted for complex supply networks and characterised by adversarial relationships, the findings suggest that, in the long term, promoting shared values aligned with transparent, third-party monitoring will be more effective than imposing standards through legislation and regulation in supporting sustainable consumption and production.

    Roland Clift, S Sim, H King, Jonathan Chenoweth, Ian Christie, J Clavreul, C Mueller, L Posthuma, A-M Boulay, R Chaplin-Kramer, J Chatterton, F DeClerck, Angela Druckman, Christopher France, A Franco, D Gerten, M Goedkoop, MZ Hauschild, MAJ Huijbregts, T Koellner, EF Lambin, Jacquetta Lee, Simon Mair, S Marshall, MS McLachlan, L Milà i Canals, C Mitchell, E Price, J Rockström, James Suckling, Richard Murphy (2017)The Challenges of Applying Planetary Boundaries as a Basis for Strategic Decision-Making in Companies with Global Supply Chains, In: Sustainability9(2) MDPI

    The Planetary Boundaries (PB) framework represents a significant advance in specifying the ecological constraints on human development. However, to enable decision-makers in business and public policy to respect these constraints in strategic planning, the PB framework needs to be developed to generate practical tools. With this objective in mind, we analyse the recent literature and highlight three major scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the PB approach in decision-making: first, identification of thresholds or boundaries with associated metrics for different geographical scales; second, the need to frame approaches to allocate fair shares in the ‘safe operating space’ bounded by the PBs across the value chain and; third, the need for international bodies to co-ordinate the implementation of the measures needed to respect the Planetary Boundaries. For the first two of these challenges, we consider how they might be addressed for four PBs: climate change, freshwater use, biosphere integrity and chemical pollution and other novel entities. Four key opportunities are identified: (1) development of a common system of metrics that can be applied consistently at and across different scales; (2) setting ‘distance from boundary’ measures that can be applied at different scales; (3) development of global, preferably open-source, databases and models; and (4) advancing understanding of the interactions between the different PBs. Addressing the scientific and technical challenges in operationalizing the planetary boundaries needs be complemented with progress in addressing the equity and ethical issues in allocating the safe operating space between companies and sectors.

    L Mila i Canals, J Chenoweth, A Chapagain, S Orr, A Anton, R Clift (2009)Assessing freshwater use impacts in LCA: Part I-inventory modelling and characterisation factors for the main impact pathways, In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT14(1)pp. 28-42 SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
    KR YUREGIR, M GHADIRI, R CLIFT (1987)IMPACT ATTRITION OF SODIUM-CHLORIDE CRYSTALS, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE42(4)pp. 843-853 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    L Mila i Canals, A Chapagain, S Orr, J Chenoweth, A Anton, R Clift (2010)Assessing freshwater use impacts in LCA, part 2: case study of broccoli production in the UK and Spain, In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT15(6)pp. 598-607 SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
    R Clift, L Basson, D Cobbledick (2009)Accounting for carbon, In: TCE-THE CHEM ENG(819)pp. 35-37 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    J COURY, KV THAMBIMUTHU, R CLIFT (1987)CAPTURE AND REBOUND OF DUST IN GRANULAR BED GAS FILTERS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY50(3)pp. 253-265 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA
    R CLIFT, J GRACE (1972)MECHANISM OF BUBBLE BREAK-UP IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE27(12)pp. 2309-& PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    N Arena, J Lee, R Clift (2016)Life Cycle Assessment of activated carbon production from coconut shells, In: Journal of Cleaner Production125pp. 68-77 Elsevier

    Activated carbons have excellent performance in a number of process applications. In particular, they appear to have the most favourable characteristics for adsorption processes, thanks to their high porosity and large surface area. However, a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impacts of their manufacturing chain is still lacking. This study evaluates these impacts taking the specific case of activated carbon produced from coconut shells in Indonesia, which is the major coconut producer county. Coconut shells as raw materials are utilized for activated carbon production due to their abundant supply, high density and purity, and because they seem to have a clear environmental advantage over coal-based carbons, particularly in terms of acidification potential, non-renewable energy demand and carbon footprint. Life Cycle Assessment and process analysis are used to quantify all the environmental interactions over the stages of the life cycle of an activated carbon manufacturing chain, in terms of inputs of energy and natural resources and of outputs of emissions to the different environmental compartments. Estimates for the environmental burdens over the life cycle have been obtained by developing mass and energy balances for each of the process units in the production chain. The results indicate the operations with the greatest effects on the environmental performance of activated carbon production and hence where improvements are necessary. In particular, using electrical energy produced from renewable sources, such as biomass, would reduce the contributions to human toxicity (by up to 60%) and global warming (by up to 80%). Moreover, when the material is transported for processing in a country with a low-carbon electricity system, the potential human toxicity and global warming impacts can be reduced by as much as 90% and 60% respectively.

    M GHADIRI, CM MARTIN, JEP MORGAN, R CLIFT (1992)AN ELECTROMECHANICAL VALVE FOR SOLIDS, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY73(1)pp. 21-35 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    J Geldermann, H Schollenberger, O Rentz, G Huppes, L van Oers, C France, B Nebel, R Clift, A Lipkova, S Saetta, U Desideri, T May (2007)An integrated scenario analysis for the metal coating sector in Europe, In: TECHNOLOGICAL FORECASTING AND SOCIAL CHANGE74(8)pp. 1482-1507 ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
    R Clift, C France (2006)Extended Producer Responsibility in the EU - A visible march of folly, In: JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY10(4)pp. 5-7 M I T PRESS
    R CLIFT (1991)POWDER TECHNOLOGY, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY65(1-3)pp. R9-R9 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    PA SADD, JA LAMB, R CLIFT (1992)THE EFFECT OF SURFACTANTS ON HEAT AND MASS-TRANSFER TO WATER DROPS IN AIR, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE47(17-18)pp. 4415-4424 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    R CLIFT, S RAFAILIDIS (1993)INTERPARTICLE STRESS, FLUID PRESSURE, AND BUBBLE MOTION IN GAS-FLUIDIZED BEDS, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE48(9)pp. 1575-1582 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    RT Mungkung, HAU de Haes, R Clift (2006)Potentials and limitations of life cycle assessment in setting ecolabelling criteria: A case study of Thai shrimp aquaculture product, In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT11(1)pp. 55-59 ECOMED PUBLISHERS
    M HORIO, R CLIFT (1992)A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY - CLUSTERS AND AGGLOMERATES, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY70(3)pp. 196-196 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA

    Improving economic competitiveness is the key for sustainable development of the wood pellet industry. To support this development, we have carried out a comprehensive techno-economic evaluation of five possible process configurations for production of conventional (CWP) and torrefied (TWP) wood pellets in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC), based on process simulation with multi-scale models involved as illustrated in the graphical abstract. A novel heat integration strategy is proposed for the TWP production process to avoid the use of N2 and achieve auto-thermal operation. In comparison with CWPs, producing TWPs in the operating sequence drying, torrefaction, grinding, pelletization can reduce production costs by about 10% and reduce delivered costs to both domestic and overseas markets by about 20%. It is essential that the TWP plant is located in a region with abundant and low-cost feedstock, low electricity price, low labor cost, and efficient distribution logistics. Due to the low capital cost contribution (10%), torrefaction could be implemented by either building a new plant or upgrading an existing conventional pellet plant. The market analysis reveals that the future market for TWPs from BC is expected to lie outside Canada, in the Asia Pacific region, and Europe, unless significant domestic policy measures are introduced to promote Canadian use of TWPs. •Torrefied wood pellets (TWP) costs 20% less than conventional pellets over supply chains.•BC pellets are expected to lie outside Canada, especially in the Asia Pacific region.•The best pathway to produce TWPs is drying- > torrefaction > grinding- > pelletization.•TWPs can be produced auto-thermally without N2 and catalyst.•The critical production costs for TWPs are raw material, electricity, and labor.

    R Clift, A Druckman (2015)Introduction: The Industrial Ecology Paradigm, In: R Clift, A Druckman (eds.), Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology Springer
    R Clift, A Druckman (2015)Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology Springer

    How can we design more sustainable industrial and urban systems that reduce environmental impacts while supporting a high quality of life for everyone? What progress has been made towards reducing resource use and waste, and what are the prospects for more resilient, material-efficient economies? What are the environmental and social impacts of global supply chains and how can they be measured and improved?Such questions are at the heart of the emerging discipline of industrial ecology, covered in Taking Stock of Industrial Ecology.

    R Clift, KC Wilson, GR Addie, MR Carstens (1982)MECHANISTICALLY-BASED METHOD FOR SCALING PIPELINE TESTS FOR SETTLING SLURRIES., In: Hydrotransportpp. 91-101
    R Clift, JB Agnew, RC Darton, KWA Guy, G Lefroy (2003)Commentary on the Visions, In: R Darton, DG Wood, RGH Prince (eds.), Chemical Engineering: Visions of the Worldpp. 117-125 Elsevier Science

    This book presents six visionary essays on the past, present and future of the chemical and process industries, together with a critical commentary.

    R CLIFT, J GRACE, V SOLLAZZO (1974)CONTINUOUS SLUG FLOW IN VERTICAL TUBES, In: JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME96(3)pp. 371-376 ASME-AMER SOC MECHANICAL ENG
    R CLIFT (1994)UNTITLED - REPLY, In: PROCESS ENGINEERING75(6)pp. 17-17 MILLER FREEMAN TECHNICAL LTD

    Results obtained previously by other research workers are used to show that the stress which must be imposed on a dust cake in order to detach it is independent of cake loading and that this stress level is consistent with the stress required to detach the cake by mechanically-induced acceleration. See also abstract 1988/559.

    R Clift, W Mellor, E Williams, G Stevens, A Azapagic (2001)Utility Based Framework for Material and Process Selection in the Integrated Chain Management of Polymers, In: Journal of Environmental Management and Health12(3)pp. 277-285
    R Clift (1993)Formation of US particle technology forum, In: Powder Technology74(2)
    R CLIFT, L CHEUNG, J GRACE, TH DO (1972)GAS AND SOLIDS MOTION AROUND DEFORMED AND INTERACTING BUBBLES IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS51(JAN11)pp. 187-& CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
    W DUO, JPK SEVILL, NF KIRKBY, R CLIFT (1994)FORMATION OF PRODUCT LAYERS IN SOLID-GAS REACTIONS FOR REMOVAL OF ACID GASES, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE49(24A)pp. 4429-4442
    R Clift, FJ Dennison, A Azapagic, J Colbourne (1999)Assessing management options for sludge disposal by applying the environmental tool life cycle assessment, In: IChemE Environmental Protection Bulletin59pp. 10-18
    R Clift (2007)Sustainable fuel or folly?, In: Freight Transport Review15pp. 24-25
    R CLIFT, J GRACE (1970)BUBBLE INTERACTION IN FLUIDIZED BEDS66(105)pp. 14-27

    In order to analyze the motion of interacting bubbles in a fluidized bed, it is postulated that the velocity of a bubble may be approximated by adding to its rise velocity in isolation the velocity which the continuous phase would have at the position of the nose if the bubble were absent. This principle is applied to the coalescence of two bubbles on a common vertical line and found to agree quantitatively with experimental measurements obtained both by the authors and by other workers.

    R Clift, B Hoskins (2005)Energy and climate change mission possible, In: TCE(770)pp. 21-25 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    M Wright, D Allen, R Clift, H Sas (1997)Measuring Corporate Environmental Performance : The ICI Environmental Burden System, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology1(4)pp. 117-127

    The Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) group has developed a method, called the "environmental burden system," to rank the potential environmental impacts of its emissions and wastes. The method uses potency factors to characterize the potential environmental impacts of wastes and emissions in ten major impact categories. When compared to the more traditional approach of reporting the total mass of emissions and wastes, the environmental burden approach provides a more meaningful picture of the potential impact of emissions; it helps identify the most harmful wastes and emissions; it provides the public with a better understanding of the potential impact of company operations; and it helps communicate the effectiveness of waste and emission reduction programs.

    R Clift, M Ghadiri, KV Thambimuthu (1981)Filtration of gases in fluidised beds.

    This review concentrates of the fundamental processes occurring in fluidized filters especially when concerned with the removal of gases by filtration. (from paper)

    AHJ Tate, JPK Seville, A Singh, R Clift (1986)On-line non-sampling determination of the size and concentration of particles entrained in a gas., In: IN: GAS CLEANING AT HIGH TEMPERATURE SYMP., (GUILDFORD, U.K.: SEP. 16-18, 1986), RUGBY, U.K., INST. CHEM. ENGRS, 1986, PAPER(99 ))

    A new approach is proposed for direct measurement of the aerodynamic diameter of particles entrained in a gas. A probe, which can be a pitot static tube, is inserted into the flow. The velocity of each particle approaching the stagnation point is measured, for example by laser Doppler anemometry using a single optical fibre within the probe. The particle size distribution and concentration can be built up from a succession of single particle measurements. The instrument could be used to measure the efficiency of gas cleaning equipment, or to detect surges in particle size or concentration.

    J COURY, JA RAPER, D GUANG, R CLIFT (1991)MEASUREMENT OF ELECTROSTATIC CHARGE ON GAS-BORNE PARTICLES AND THE EFFECT OF CHARGES ON FABRIC FILTRATION, In: PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION69(B2)pp. 97-106 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R Clift, L Wright (2000)Relationships Between Environmental Impacts and Added Value Along the Supply Chain, In: Technological Forecasting and Social Change65(3)pp. 281-295
    A Hart, R Clift, S Riddlestone, J Buntin (2005)Use of life cycle assessment to develop industrial ecologies - A case study - Graphics paper, In: PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION83(B4)pp. 359-363
    R Clift, R Frischknecht, G Huppes, A-M Tillman, B Weidema (1999)Inventory Enhancement: a summary of the results of the working group on inventory enhancement, In: SETAC-Europe News10(3)pp. 14-20
    A Hospido, L Mila i Canals, S McLaren, M Truninger, G Edwards-Jones, R Clift (2009)The role of seasonality in lettuce consumption: a case study of environmental and social aspects, In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT14(5)pp. 381-391
    JPK Seville, W Cheung, R Clift (1989)Patchy-cleaning interpretation of dust cake release from non-woven fabrics, In: Filtration and Separation26(3)

    In reverse-flow cleaning of cakes deposited on porous filters, the pressure drop induced across the cake at the point of its detachment is the cleaning stress, ie the tensile stress which must be applied to overcome adhesion of the cake to the medium or the cohesion of the cake itself. A thicker cake requires a smaller pressure gradient for removal and therefore less cleaning gas flow and less pressure drop through the medium itself. Provided that true surface filtration occurs, the cleaning stress should be independent of cake areal mass. J. Sievert and F. Loeffler's data for a singed polyester needlefelt suggests that this is indeed so, and that the cleaning stresses induced by reverse-flow cleaning are close to those required if the filter is cleaned by mechanically-induced acceleration.

    R Clift (1993)Pollution & Waste Management 1 : Cradle to Grave Analysis, In: Science in Parliament50(3)pp. 29-32
    R Clift, F Freire, E Williams, A Azapagic, G Stevens, W Mellor (2002)Life Cycle Activity Analysis: A Case Study of Plastic Panels, In: SAO Thore (eds.), Technology Commercializationpp. 323-352 Springer

    The heart of the book is a detailing of the analytical methods-with special, but not exclusive emphasis on DEA methods-for evaluating and ranking the most promising R & D and technical innovation being developed.

    A Azapagic, R Clift (1999)Life cycle assessment and multiobjective optimisation, In: Journal of Cleaner Production7(2)pp. 135-143

    Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to identify and quantify the environmental performance of a process or a product from "cradle to grave". Its main potential in environmental decision-making lies in providing a quantitative basis for assessing potential improvements in environmental performance of a system throughout the life cycle. This paper introduces the use of multiobjective system optimisation in LCA as a tool for identifying and evaluating the best possible options for environmental management of the product system. A life cycle of a system is optimised on a number of environmental objective functions, defined in terms of the usual LCA burden or impact categories, and a range of environmental optima is found on the Pareto or non-inferior surface. As a result, possibilities for improving the environmental performance of the system are identified. Since system improvements cannot be carried out on the basis of environmental LCA only, it is also shown in this paper that the compromise between environmental and economic performance can be found on the non-inferior surface. The value of multi objective optimisation in system analysis lies in providing a set of alternative options for system improvements rather than a single prescriptive solution, thus enabling the choice of the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) and Best Available Technique Not Entailing Excessive Cost (BATNEEC). This approach is illustrated by application to a real case study of a system producing five borate products. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

    R Clift (2004)Metrics for supply chain sustainability, In: SK Sikdar, P Glavic, R Jain (eds.), TECHNOLOGICAL CHOICES FOR SUSTAINABILITYpp. 239-253
    R Clift (2001)Clean Technology and Industrial Ecology, In: RM Harrison (eds.), Pollution - Causes, Effects and Controlpp. 411-444

    The book has been widely adopted for teaching purposes at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.

    R Clift (1990)Introduction, In: Powder Technology60(1)
    R Clift, HA Udo de Haes, JF Bensahel, CR Fussler, R Griesshammer, Jensen AA (1994)Guidelines for the Application of Life Cycle Assessment in the EU Ecolabelling Programme
    R Clift, J Allwood (2011)Rethinking the economy, In: Chemical Engineer(837)pp. 30-31

    The industrial energy efficiency in the UK is improved through a government backed closed-loop economy model, which focuses on reducing flows of materials through the economy. In this direction, it is shown that elementary material balances can yield reductions in energy use, outweighing potential savings from improving the energy efficiency of industrial processes. Extending product life represents a reversal of current trends, it requires behavioral change even more than changes in technology or product design. The current approach, in the UK and various other places, is to tax labor rather than use of non-renewable resources, representing economic pressure in diametrically the wrong direction. Closed-loop material use along with industrial symbiosis - co-locating or connecting industries so that a waste or co-product from one becomes an input to another.

    R Clift, E Eagles, AB Gilmore, JDDN Sarangi, W Wehrmeyer, VSG Murray (2001)Acute Chemical Incidents Involving Fuel: Developing Best Practice Guidance, In: Public Health Medicine(3)
    R Clift (1994)Preface, In: Powder Technology78(2)pp. 107-?
    R CLIFT, J GRACE (1972)COALESCENCE OF BUBBLE CHAINS IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: TRANSACTIONS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS AND THE CHEMICAL ENGINEER50(4)pp. 364-& INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R Clift (1993)Burn or Recycle? An Example of Life Cycle Analysis, In: Competitive Edge(3)pp. 14-15
    R Clift (2007)Time to leave the process sandpit, In: TCE(793)pp. 21-22 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R. Clift, H. Baumann, R. J. Murphy, W. R. Stahel (2019)Managing plastics: uses, losses and disposal, In: Law, Environment and Development Journal15 Law, Environment and Development Centre of SOAS University of London

    It has long been recognised that plastic objects released into the environment have harmful impacts on wildlife. Public realisation that plastic pollution is a major global environmental problem is more recent and has been sudden, sparked by publication of an analysis of the flows of polluting plastics into the environment and the accumulated stocks of polluting waste, particularly in the oceans.1 This contribution aims first to provide an introduction to the history and uses of plastics in the economy and, secondly, to set out the routes by which plastics leak from the economy into the environment in order to inform development of possible strategies to alleviate the problem of plastic pollution.

    A Levasseur, M Brandao, P Lesage, M Margni, D Pennington, R Clift, R Samson (2012)COMMENTARY: Valuing temporary carbon storage, In: NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE2(1)pp. 6-8 NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
    M ABDELGHANI, JG PETRIE, JPK SEVILLE, R CLIFT, MJ ADAMS (1990)MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF POWDER COMPACTS - A NEW EXPERIMENTAL-TECHNIQUE TO INVESTIGATE SCALING EFFECTS IN FRACTURE, In: 2 WORLD CONGRESS : PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY, PTS 1-5pp. A116-A123
    W DUO, JPK SEVILLE, NG KIRKBY, R CLIFT (1995)PATCHY CLEANING OF FILTER CAKES AND ITS INFLUENCE ON DRY SCRUBBING OF ACID GASES - A SIMULATION, In: 1995 ICHEME RESEARCH EVENT - FIRST EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR YOUNG RESEARCHERS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLS 1 AND 2pp. 547-549
    R Clift (2006)Wind worries, In: TCE(779)pp. 74-74 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    M O'Brien, A Doig, R Clift (1996)Social and environmental life cycle assessment (SELCA): Approach and methodological development, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment1(4)pp. 231-237

    Social and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (SELCA) is an analytical tool for profiling and evaluating the interaction between the social and technological systems within the life cycle of given service. Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA) and Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) are undertaken with their own objectives using independent methodologies. Integrating the outcomes of the two assessments provides more comprehensive and insightful descriptions of the potential impacts of a life cycle, including the key social factors through which the life cycle is sustained and modified. The SELCA approach is outlined using the examples of two fuel cycles of coal and waste in energy-generation. There are some methodological issues in combining ELCA and SLCA which we highlight in order to encourage further work on the integration of environmental and social processes in LCA.

    R Clift (2000)Engineering for Sustainable Development, In: Imperial College Engineer28pp. 16-18
    R Clift, K Burningham, R Lofstedt (1995)Environmental Perspectives and Environmental Assessment, In: Y Guerrier (eds.), Values and the environment: A Social Science Perspectivepp. 19-31 Wiley

    This book examines the multitude of ways in which we value the environment from a social science perspective.

    M Ghadiri, JPK Seville, R Clift (1985)A high-temperature agglomerating filter., In: IN: POWTECH '85 PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY, (BIRMINGHAM, U.K.: MAR. 5-7, 1985), RUGBY, U.K., INST. CHEM. ENGRS., 1985, PAPER 7(41 ))

    The development of the fluidized bed as a continuously renewable gas filter was reviewed with special reference to work in which the performance was enhanced by addition of a liquid retention aid. Preliminary experiments designed to show the potential of the device for hot gas cleaning in combined cycle power generation were briefly described. (A)

    JB Agnew, R Clift, RC Darton, KWA Guy, G Lefroy (2003)Commentary on the visions, In: RC Darton, RGH Prince, DG Wood (eds.), CHEMICAL ENGINEERING: VISIONS OF THE WORLDpp. 117-125
    R Clift, M O'Brien, A Doig (2017)Social and Environmental Life Cycle Assessment
    FJ Dennison, A Azapagic, R Clift, JS Colbourne (1998)Assessing management options for wastewater treatment works in the context of life cycle assessment, In: WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY38(11)pp. 23-30
    A Azapagic, R Clift (1999)Life cycle assessment as a tool for improving process performance: A case study on boron products, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment4(3)pp. 133-142

    This paper explores the use of LCA as a tool for process environmental management, thereby moving the focus from product to process oriented analysis. The emphasis is on Improvement Assessment in which the 'hot spots' in the system are targeted for maximum environmental improvements. In this context, it is useful to use multiobjective optimisation which renders valuation unnecessary. The approach is illustrated by the case study of the system processing boron ores to make five different products. The results of Inventory Analysis and Impact Assessment are presented and discussed. In Improvement Assessment, a number of improvement options are identified and evaluated, using system optimisation. It is shown that the site environmental performance can be improved over current operation by an average of 20% over the whole life cycle. Thus the study demonstrates that the optimisation approach to environmental process management may assist in identifying optimal ways to operate a process or plant from 'cradle to grave'. This may help the process industries not only to comply with legislation but also provide a framework for taking a more proactive approach to environmental management leading to more sustainable industrial operations and practices.

    R CLIFT (1971)FORMATION OF GAS CLOUDS IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING49(6)pp. 876-& CANADIAN SOC CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
    M GHADIRI, R CLIFT (1980)JET PENETRATION INTO A FLUIDIZED-BED AT HIGH-TEMPERATURE, In: INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY FUNDAMENTALS19(4)pp. 440-440 AMER CHEMICAL SOC
    SV RAFAILIDIS, R CLIFT, EJ ADDIS (1991)STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF BUBBLE FORMATION AT THE DISTRIBUTOR ON FLUIDIZED-BED BEHAVIOR, In: AW WEIMER (eds.), ADVANCES IN FLUIDIZED SYSTEMS87pp. 47-57 AMER INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R Clift, FJ Dennison, A Azapagic, CRI Clayton (1999)Life cycle assessment: comparing strategic options for the mains infrastructure, In: Water Science and Technology39(10-11)pp. 315-319
    A Azapagic, R Clift (1999)Allocation of environmental burdens in multiple-function systems, In: Journal of Cleaner Production7(2)pp. 101-119

    Allocation of environmental burdens is a recognised methodological problem in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). It is the process of assigning to each of the functions of a multiple-function system only those environmental burdens and impacts that each function generates. It is argued in this paper that allocation is an artifact of applying LCA to individual products rather than to the whole productive system. To solve this problem, a new "marginal allocation" approach is proposed, based on whole system modelling. Marginal allocation is applicable when marginal changes about some defined state of the product system are to be considered and when the functional outputs can be varied independently. The specific approach developed here is based on representing the system by a model in the Linear Programming (LP) format. The allocation coefficients are equivalent to the marginal values calculated at the solution of the LP model. Marginal values represent a realistic description of the causal relationships between burdens and functional outputs and thus reflect the behaviour of the system. Changes in the system behaviour can also be modelled by LP. The approach is illustrated on three simple examples of multiple-function systems: combined waste treatment, co-production and recycling. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

    R CLIFT (1992)PROFLIGATE ENVIRONMENTALISM, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEER-LONDON(513)pp. 3-3 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    K Burningham, J Barnett, A Carr, R Clift, W Wehrmeyer (2007)Industrial constructions of publics and public knowledge: a qualitative investigation of practice in the UK chemicals industry, In: Public Understanding of Science16(1)pp. 23-43

    While the rhetoric of public engagement is increasingly commonplace within industry, there has been little research that examines how lay knowledge is conceptualized and whether it is really used within companies. Using the chemicals sector as an example, this paper explores how companies conceive of publics and "public knowledge," and how this relates to modes of engagement/communication with them. Drawing on qualitative empirical research in four companies, we demonstrate that the public for industry are primarily conceived as "consumers" and "neighbours," having concerns that should be allayed rather than as groups with knowledge meriting engagement. We conclude by highlighting the dissonance between current advocacy of engagement and the discourses and practices prevalent within industry, and highlight the need for more realistic strategies for industry/public engagement.

    R Clift, A Azapagic (1999)The application of Life Cycle Assessment to process selection, design and operation, In: SK Sikdar, U Diwekar (eds.), TOOLS AND METHODS FOR POLLUTION PREVENTION62pp. 69-84
    MJ Nicholas, R Clift, A Azapagic, FC Walker, DE Porter (2000)Determination of 'best available techniques' for integrated pollution prevention and control: A life cycle approach, In: Process Safety and Environmental Protection78(3)pp. 193-203

    The EC Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC), now to be implemented in the UK under the Pollution Prevention and Control Act (1999), will widen the range of issues to be considered by enforcing authorities when determining the Best Available Techniques (BAT) for an installation. IPPC requires integrated control of emissions to air, water and land, the efficient use of energy and raw materials and the avoidance or reduction of impacts caused by disposal of wastes. This paper demonstrates that adopting a life cycle approach for the assessment of candidate techniques can fulfil these new requirements when choosing BAT. The glass manufacturing industry is used as a case study to show that the methodology can be used to assess both primary (in-process) and secondary (end-of-pipe) techniques for pollution prevention and control. General conclusions are drawn regarding the use of life cycle approaches to support the assessment of BAT, limitations in the current methodology and the requirements for future research. © Institution of Chemical Engineers.

    R CLIFT, JR GRACE, ME WEBER (1974)STABILITY OF BUBBLES IN FLUIDIZED BEDS., In: IND.ENGNG.CHEM.FUNDAM.13(1)

    A LINEARIZED STABILITY ANALYSIS OF THE UPPER SURFACE OF A BUBBLE IN A FLUIDIZED BED LEADS TO PREDICTIONS OF INITIAL GROWTH RATES AND MOST SENSITIVE WAVELENGTHS FOR DISTURBANCES OF THE INTERFACE.IT IS SHOWN THAT THE DEGREE OF INSTABILITY IS PRIMARILY A FUNCTION OF THE EFFECTIVE KINEMATIC VISCOSITY OF THE DENSE PHASE, WHILE THE INTERSTITIAL FLUID VELOCITY HAS A COMPARATIVELY MINOR INFLUENCE.THE RESULTS ARE CONSISTENT WITH AVAILABLE EVIDENCE ON THE INCIDENCE OF BUBBLE SPLITTING IN FLUIDIZED SYSTEMS.(A)

    R Clift, SJ Cowell, SB Hogan (1997)Positioning and Applications of LCA, In: HA Udo de Haes, N Wrisberg (eds.), Life Cycle Assessment: State of the Art and Research Prioritiespp. 33-57
    B SolbergJohansen, R Clift, A Jeapes (1997)Environmental life cycle assessment of the nuclear fuel cycle, In: 1997 JUBILEE RESEARCH EVENT, VOLS 1 AND 2pp. 137-140
    R Clift (2004)How many lives?, In: MATERIALS WORLD12(7)pp. 23-24 I O M COMMUNICATIONS LTD INST MATERIALS
    LA SCANDRETT, R CLIFT (1984)THE THERMODYNAMICS OF ALKALI REMOVAL FROM COAL-DERIVED GASES, In: JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF ENERGY57(433)pp. 391-397 INST ENERGY

    Recent vapour pressure measurements and calculations of thermodynamic equilibrium conditions suggest that, in gases obtained by pressurised coal combustion, only a few percent of the sodium and potassium should remain as vapour phase chlorides. The bulk of the alkalis are predicted to form sulphate, condensed onto entrained fly ash or present as an aerosol. Filtration of the condensed sulphates may suffice to reduce alkalis to levels acceptable to a gas turbine. Alumino-silicate materials appear to be potential filter media, because collected aerosol should be retained by reaction with the filter medium.

    R Clift (2004)Sustainability - Game or reality?, In: PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION82(B5)pp. 381-382 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    SJ Cowell, R Clift (1997)Impact assessment for LCAs involving agricultural production, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment2(2)pp. 99-103

    LCA has been developed primarily for industrial production systems. Application to agricultural systems requires systematic application of existing methodology and new methodological developments. Conventional approaches can obscure potential options for improving the environmental performance of systems involving agricultural production due to use of restricted system boundaries, incomplete assessment of impacts, and exclusion of ancillaries from the analysis. For use of nutrients such as phosphorus, it is proposed that Impact Assessment should be based on the quantity dispersed after use rather than on the input to the productive system. Eventually, the impacts associated with depletion should be based on technological or thermodynamic assessment of concentration for reuse, but this approach requires further theoretical development.

    R Clift, A Azapagic (1999)The Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Process Selection, Design and Operation, In: SK Sikdar, U Diwekar, UM Diwekar (eds.), Tools and Methods for Pollution Preventionpp. 69-84 Springer

    This is the first compilation of methods, tools and models that can be used to design products and manufacturing processes that prevent pollution from occurring in the first place, rather than treating the wastes after they are formed.

    R Clift, G Earl, T Moilanen (1998)Reducing the Uncertainty in Environmental Investments: Integrating stakeholder values into corporate decisions, In: M Bennett, P James (eds.), The Green Bottom Line: Environmental Management Accounting - Current Practice and Future Trendspp. 236-257 Greenleaf Publications

    This volume brings together research and best practice case studies on the topic of environmental accounting for management.

    H Henein, RIL Guthrie, R Clift (1974)CONTACTING PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ALUMINIUM AND FERRO-ALLOY.pp. 29-43

    Water model experiments are described in which spheres of various diameters and specific gravities were dropped from typical industrial heights into water. Maximum penetration distances, trajectories and retention times were measured and compared with theoretical predictions based on transient fluid flow. The relative importance of steady drag, added mass and history forces were demonstrated. Results indicate that immersion times are extremely short ( similar 1 second) for aluminum additions and low density ferro-alloys. High density ferro-alloys remain immersed considerably longer and penetrate much deeper.

    R Clift (2006)Reactions: Wind worries, In: Chemical Engineer(779)pp. 74-?

    George Plester's letter on the problem of intermittency in electrical supply from wind has been overstated. The generation and distribution system is designed to cope with rapid unpredictable changes in demand, so it can cope with slower and predictable changes in supply from one particular source. With regards to geographical averaging, the variations in output are damped on a UK-wide scale. It is a mistake to see any energy source in isolation from others in the system. For example, CHP plant can provide a spinning reserve with the power output variable to back-up variable souces like wind. The overall conclusion should look at the whole ssytem and how individual components fit into it.

    R CLIFT (1994)ACTION AND PRO-ACTION, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEER-LONDON(574)pp. S3-S3 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R Clift (1996)Life Cycle Assessment and its application to process design and waste management, In: 1996 ICHEME RESEARCH EVENT - SECOND EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR YOUNG RESEARCHERS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLS 1 AND 2pp. 3-5
    SJR SIMONS, JPK SEVILLE, R CLIFT, WB GILBOY, ME HOSSEINIASHRAFI (1993)APPLICATION OF GAMMA-RAY TOMOGRAPHY TO GAS-FLUIDIZED AND SPOUTED BEDS, In: MS Beck, E Campogrande, M Morris, RA Williams, RC Waterfall (eds.), TOMOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES FOR PROCESS DESIGN AND OPERATIONpp. 227-238

    The approach developed by Nguyen et al. (1975) for predicting bubble behaviour in beds of Geldart's (1973) Group B particles has been modified to enable application to beds of larger scale. The model predicts that the size and spatial distribution of bubbles at any level above the distibutor is dependent on the bed depth above that level. Davidson and Harrison's (1963) expression for bubble rise velocity in freely-bubbling beds fortuitously gives a good estimate for the overall mean velocity of interacting and coalescing bubbles.

    R CLIFT, WH GAUVIN (1971)MOTION OF ENTRAINED PARTICLES IN GAS STREAMS, In: CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING49(4)pp. 439-& CANADIAN SOC CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
    M Ghadiri, JPK Seville, R Clift (1986)The use of fluidised beds to filter gases at high temperatures., In: IN: GAS CLEANING AT HIGH TEMPERATURE SYMP., (GUILDFORD, U.K.: SEP. 16-18, 1986), RUGBY, U.K., INST. CHEM. ENGRS, 1986, PAPER(99 ))

    The filtration efficiency of a shallow fluidized bed of silica sand has been measured at 800DEGREESC and 1000DEGREESC for redispersed fly ash from a fluidized combustor and char fines from the NCB fluidized gasifier. Efficiency is much higher for fly ash, because of better retention due to stronger adhesion forces, but the filtration of both dusts is limited by retention on the surface of the collector. Retention can be enhanced by addition of a liquid retention aid to the collector, or by operating under conditions where the dust is sufficiently soft to experience better adhesion. For fly ash complete retention is achieved by operating the filter at 1000DEGREESC, near the sintering point of the ash. For gasifier fines retention is improved substantially by using heavy fuel oil as a retention aid, but further development is needed to improve efficiency towards the theoretical limit of collection.

    W DUO, JPK SEVILL, NF KIRKBY, R CLIFT (1995)FORMATION OF PRODUCT LAYERS IN SOLID-GAS REACTIONS FOR REMOVAL OF ACID GASES (VOL 49, PG 4429, 1994), In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE50(11)pp. 1849-1849 PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
    R Clift, A Audsley, S Alber, S Cowell, P Crettaz, G Gaillard, J Hausheer, O Jolliet, R Kleijn, B Mortensen, D Pearce, E Roger, H Teulon, B Weidema, H van Zeijts (1997)Harmonisation of Environmental Life Cycle Assessment for Agriculture, In: Silsoe Research Institute
    J Barnett, A Carr, R Clift (2006)Going Public: Risk, Trust and Public Understandings of Nanotechnology, In: G&MM Hunt (eds.), Nanotechnology & Society: Ethics, Law & Policy' Earthscan
    JPK Seville, U Tüzün, R Clift (1997)Processing of Particulate Solids Springer

    This book has been written to meet their needs.

    KM Jorgensen, A Azapagic, R Clift, SO Ericson, R Lofstedt (1997)Life cycle assessment of a circulating fluidised bed combustion process utilising forest residues as a fuel, In: 1997 JUBILEE RESEARCH EVENT, VOLS 1 AND 2pp. 53-56
    MJ Nicholas, R Clift, A Azapagic, FC Walker, DE Porter (2000)Determination of 'best available techniques' for integrated pollution prevention and control: A life cycle approach, In: PROCESS SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION78(B3)pp. 193-203
    MP Subzwari, R Clift, DL Pyle (1978)BUBBLING BEHAVIOUR OF FLUIDIZED BEDS AT ELEVATED PRESSURES.pp. 50-54

    The behaviour of cracking catalyst with mean size 60 mu m fluidized by air at pressure from 1 to 7 bars was observed by cinephotography in a two-dimensional column. A series of runs was performed with constant gas superficial velocity. The size and number of bubbles passing through the bed decreased markedly as the pressure was increased, the change being most marked around 4 bars. The decrease in bubble flow rate was accompanied by an increase in the void fraction of the particulate phase. The dominant mechanism of bubble splitting at all pressures was by division from the roof, and the maximum stable bubble size decreased with increasing pressure.

    R Clift, S Perdan, A Azapagic (2000)Teaching sustainable development to engineering students, In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education1(3)pp. 267-279
    JR Grace, JE Johnsson, R Clift, TH Nyugen (1976)Prediction of bubble distributions in freely-bubbling three-dimensional fluidized beds., In: IN: FLUIDIZATION TECHNOLOGY, PROC. INT. FLUIDIZATION CONF., (PACIFIC GROVE, U.S.A.: JUN.15-20, 1975), KEAIRNS, D.L. (ED.).1 , Wapp. 205-214

    The authors present a mechanistic approach in which the motion and coalescence of all bubbles in the bed are calculated to give full information on the temporal and spatial distributions of bubbles. (from paper)

    R Clift (1994)Action and Pro-Action, In: The Chemical Engineer: the essential magazine for the chemical and process industries574
    R Clift, A Azapagic, C Duff (2004)Waste Water Management: Identifying Sustainable Processes, In: A Azapagic, S Perdan (eds.), Sustainable Development in Practice: Case Studies for Engineers and Scientistspp. 60-88 Wiley

    Taking a life cycle approach to addressing economic, environmental and social issues, the book presents a series of new practical case studies drawn from a range of sectors, including mining, energy, food, buildings, transport, waste, and ...

    R Clift, P Sinclair, F Johnsson (2006)Windows of Opportunity, In: Parliamentary Monitor (section Energy)141(July/A)pp. 47-47
    A AZAPAGIC, R CLIFT (1995)WHOLE SYSTEM MODELLING AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT, In: 1995 ICHEME RESEARCH EVENT - FIRST EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR YOUNG RESEARCHERS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLS 1 AND 2pp. 429-431
    E DAAE, R CLIFT (1994)A LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF PAPER USE AND RECYCLING, In: 1994 ICHEME RESEARCH EVENT, VOLS 1 AND 2pp. 305-307
    R Clift, T Ransome (2002)The Supply, Use and Waste Management of Domestic Clothes Washing: A CHAINET Case Study, In: N Wrisberg, HAUD Haes (eds.), Analytical Tools for Environmental Design and Management in a Systems Perspectivepp. 205-230 Springer

    The aim of this book is to link demand and supply ofenvironmental information in the field of Life Cycle Management.

    R Clift (1995)The Concept of Cleaner Technology, In: Clean Technology1(5)
    Y DOGANOGLU, V JOG, KV THAMBIMUTHU, R CLIFT (1978)REMOVAL OF FINE PARTICULATES FROM GASES IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: TRANSACTIONS OF THE INSTITUTION OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS56(4)pp. 239-248 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    L Hunton-Clarke, W Wehrmeyer, R Clift, P McKeown, H King (2002)Employee participation in environmental initiatives: Facilitating more environmentally conscious decision-making in innovation, In: Greener Management International(40)pp. 45-56

    In recent years society as a whole has become more aware and concerned about environmental issues. In light of increasingly stringent legislation and the more critical eyes of external stakeholders, companies have come to realise the heightened need for their actions to be seen as environmentally responsible. The innovation process provides companies with an excellent opportunity to influence the environmental impacts associated with their products. However, merely providing product developers with new processes and a toolbox of available ecodesign tools is rarely sufficient to facilitate more environmentally conscious decision-making in innovation. This paper proposes that employee participation within the development of new initiatives will aid the implementation of those initiatives. It highlights the first results from a study undertaken at Unilever seeking to initiate employee participation within initiatives for environmentally conscious innovation by ascertaining the attitudes of employees involved in the product innovation process regarding environmental responsibility and its integration into innovation.

    A Azapagic, R Clift, SJ Cowell, J Lamb (1996)Environmental management of product system - Application of multiobjective linear programming to life cycle assessment, In: 1996 ICHEME RESEARCH EVENT - SECOND EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR YOUNG RESEARCHERS IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING, VOLS 1 AND 2pp. 558-560
    R CLIFT (1978)Bubbles, In: Drops and Particles Academic Press
    R Clift, N Morris (2002)Engineering with a human face, In: Engineering Management Journal12(5)pp. 226-230
    A Azapagic, R Clift, 輝 高橋 (1997)海外文献抄訳シリ-ズ-109-生産システムの環境最適化--ライフサイクルアセスメントと線形計画法, In: Material flow38(7)pp. 105-108 流通研究社
    R Clift, JG Petrie (1995)Life Cycle Assessment, In: Mining and Environment Research Network Research Bulletin and Newsletter7pp. 9-11
    JPK Seville, R Clift, CJ Withers, W Keidel (1989)Rigid ceramic media for filtering hot gases., In: FILTR. & SEP.26(4 , Ju)

    A new generation of gas filter media is becoming available, based on rigidly bonded ceramic granules or fibres, and suitable for high temperature duty. This papers outlines the main considerations in selecting and applying such a medium. Pressure drop through a 'virgin' medium is readily predictable from simple tests at ambient conditions. Behaviour on 'conditioning' over many cycles of filtration and cleaning can be determined by a simple 'coupon test', which shows the range of filter velocities which can be used and the cleaning action needed. Low density media have some advantages, and this paper concentrates on one such medium which has been found to have good performance: Cerafil 12H10, formed as a bonded mat of synthetic ceramic fibres. It is currently supplied as cylindrical candles, but other geometries are under development. Experience in using Cerafil to filter gases generated by a pyrolytic incinerator treating contaminated soil is outlined.

    N MACCUAIG, JPK SEVILLE, WB GILBOY, R CLIFT (1985)APPLICATION OF GAMMA-RAY TOMOGRAPHY TO GAS-FLUIDIZED BEDS, In: APPLIED OPTICS24(23)pp. 4083-4085 OPTICAL SOC AMER
    R Clift (2002)The Hydrogen Saga: Why the Energy Future could be in Iceland, In: Town and Country Planning(Decemb)pp. 315-317
    A Azapagic, R Clift (1998)Linear programming as a tool in life cycle assessment, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment3(6)pp. 305-316

    Linear Programming (LP) is a powerful mathematical technique that can be used as a tool in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In the Inventory and Impact Assessment phases, in addition to calculating the environmental impacts and burdens, it can be used for solving the problem of allocation in multiple- output systems. In the Improvement Assessment phase, it provides a systematic approach to identifying possibilities for system improvements by optimising the system on different environmental objective functions, defined as burdens or impacts. Ultimately, if the environmental impacts are aggregated to a single environmental impact function in the Valuation phase, LP optimisation can identify the overall environmental optimum of the system. However, the aggregation of impacts is not necessary: the system can be optimised on different environmental burdens or impacts simultaneously by using Multiobjective LP. As a result, a range of environmental optima is found offering a number of alternative options for system improvements and enabling the choice of the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO). If, in addition, economic and social criteria are introduced in the model, LP can be used to identify the best compromise solution in a system with conflicting objectives. This approach is illustrated by a real case study of the borate products system.

    R Clift, CA Mitchell, AL Carew (2004)The Role of the Professional Engineer and Scientist in Sustainable Development, In: A Azapagic, S Perdan (eds.), Sustainable Development in Practice: Case Studies for Engineers and Scientistspp. 29-55 Wiley

    Taking a life cycle approach to addressing economic, environmental and social issues, the book presents a series of new practical case studies drawn from a range of sectors, including mining, energy, food, buildings, transport, waste, and ...

    K Morris, RWK Allen, R Clift (1987)Adhesion of cakes to filter media

    Experimental measurements were made of the fraction of cake removed from a polyester needled filter fabric as a function of the force exerted by an impulse tester designed to simulate the conditions experienced in a pulse-jet filter.

    R Clift, JR Grace, V Sollazzo (1974)CONTINUOUS SLUG FLOW IN VERTICAL TUBES., In: Journal of Heat Transfer96 Ser(3)pp. 371-376

    Paper No. 74-HT-EE.

    EJ Addis, W Bagshaw, BA Napier, EA Rogers, S Rafailidis, R Clift (1991)Experimental study of bubble formation and flow in coal-fired fluidised bed combustors, In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Fluidized Bed Combustion2pp. 763-770

    The British Coal Corporation and the University of Surrey, England, are collaborating to develop a model to describe the bubbling behaviour of a fluidised bed combustor. The model is based on the Clift and Grace model of bubble interaction and coalescence, but is being extended to incorporate the effect of heat transfer tubes in the bed. As in any such model, a necessary boundary condition is the size, frequency and sequence of bubbles forming at the distributor. Relatively little data on bubble formation is reported in the literature, especially under conditions such as those obtaining in a combustor where a cold gas stream enters a hot bed. This paper reports an experimental investigation of bubble formation in a 0.3m square atmospheric pressure coal-fired combustor. The distributor comprised nine vertical 'standpipes', ie capped tubes with horizontal radial holes. A 150mm diameter silica window was mounted in the bed wall to enable high-speed video tape recording of the formation of bubbles at one of the standpipes. Transient gas flow and pressure in three of the standpipes were measured and related to bubble formation. The work was undertaken to provide some elucidation of the mechanisms of bubble formation from standpipe distributors and also some of the information necessary for algorithms to simulate the air distributor in the model.

    L HAILU, F PLAKA, R CLIFT, JF DAVIDSON (1993)MEASUREMENT OF GAS-FLOW THROUGH A 2-DIMENSIONAL BUBBLE IN A FLUIDIZED-BED, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN71(A4)pp. 382-389 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    LMI Canals, R Clift, L Basson, Y Hansen, M Brandao (2006)Expert workshop on land use impacts in life cycle assessment (LCA), In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT11(5)pp. 363-368 ECOMED PUBLISHERS
    J TUOT, R CLIFT (1972)HEAT-EXCHANGE IN FLUIDIZED-BED, In: CHIMIE AND INDUSTRIE GENIE CHIMIQUE105(15)pp. C51-&
    R Clift (1995)The New Industrial Ecology, In: JE Castle, MJ Kelly (eds.), Advanced materials in the marketplacepp. 129-143 Woodhead Pub Ltd
    R Clift, A Davey, G Earl (1999)Driving Environmental Strategy with Stakeholder Preferences - A Case Study of the University of Surrey, In: WL Filho (eds.), Sustainability and university life: Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainabilitypp. 47-66 Peter Lang Pub Inc
    R Geyer, T Jackson, R Clift (2002)Economic and environmental comparison between recycling and reuse of structural steel sections, In: M Sansom (eds.), STEEL IN SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION: IISI WORLD CONFERENCE 2002, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGSpp. 13-18
    AHJ PATERSON, R CLIFT (1987)LIQUID HOLDUP MEASUREMENTS IN TURBULENT BED CONTACTORS BY A TRACER TECHNIQUE, In: CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING65(1)pp. 10-17 CANADIAN SOC CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
    C Pritchard, D Martin, R Clift, M Seaman (2005)So what does "sustainable" mean then?, In: TCE(772)pp. 38-38 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R CLIFT (1987)THE FUTURE TEACHING AND EMPLOYMENT OF CHEMICAL-ENGINEERS, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEER-LONDON(443)pp. 45-48 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    JE JOHNSSON, R CLIFT, JR GRACE (1974)PREDICTION OF BUBBLE DISTRIBUTIONS IN FREELY-BUBBLING TWO-DIMENSIONAL FLUIDIZED BEDS., In: MULTI-PHASE FLOW SYSTEMS, I.CHEM.E.SYMP.SERIES 381 , PA

    THE MODEL PROPOSED BY CLIFT AND GRACE TO DESCRIBE THE MOTION OF INTERACTING BUBBLES IN A FLUIDIZED BED IS EXTENDED TO APPLY TO FREELY-BUBBLING BEDS.THE MODELR REQUIRES AS A BOUNDARY CONDITION THE SIZE, POSITION AND FREQUENCY OF BUBBLES AT SOME LOW REFERENCE LEVEL IN THE BED.THE MOTION AND COALESCENCE OF BUBBLES IN THE BED IS THEN CALCULATED TO GIVE PREDICTIONS OF BUBBLE FREQUENCY, SIZE AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS AT ANY HEIGHT ABOVE THE REFERENCE LEVEL.IT IS SHOWN THAT THE PREDICTIONS AGREE CLOSELY WITH MEASUREMENTS OF THESE PARAMETERS IN TWO-DIMENSIONAL BEDS EVEN THOUGH THE MODEL REQUIRES NO FITTED PARAMETERS.(A)

    R Clift (1998)Engineering for the environment: The new model engineer and her role, In: Process Safety and Environmental Protection76(2)pp. 151-160

    Although 'Sustainable Development' is invoked in current political and environmental debates, the concept has eluded precise definition. In general terms, 'sustainability' means working within three sets of constraints: techno-economic, environmental and social. Traditionally, engineering has been concerned with techno-economic issues. Explicit recognition of environmental and social issues has led to the way of thinking called Clean Technology, and to the use of more holistic analytical tools including Life Cycle Assessment. Howeover, it is argued here that a paradigm shift is needed in the way engineering skills and knowledge are used, as inputs to deliberative processes which go beyond techno-economic decisions. The need for this new paradigm is illustrated by the waste management sector, which is increasingly seen as needing the skills of the 'New Model' chemical engineer. © Institution of Chemical Engineers.

    R Clift, AJ Longley (1994)Introduction to Clean Technology, In: RC Kirkwood, AJ Longley (eds.), Clean Technology and the Environmentpp. 174-198 Springer

    This important book describes the concept of `clean technology' as an approach for protecting the environment by preventing the pollution at source, minimising waste and reducing energy use.

    A novel spouted bed was developed, suitable for the processing of large light particles subject to substantial cohesion or interparticle attraction. The bed is caused to spin about a vertical axis by the addition of gas through jets at the wall. A torque balance on the bed enables the minimum gas flow rate for rotation to be estimated. (A)

    K BEYZAVI, S HAMPTON, P KWASOWSKI, S FICKLING, V MARKS, R CLIFT (1987)COMPARISON OF HORSERADISH-PEROXIDASE AND ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE-LABELED ANTIBODIES IN ENZYME IMMUNOASSAYS, In: ANNALS OF CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTRY24pp. 145-152 ROYAL SOC MEDICINE SERVICES LTD
    S Jamieson, R Hilbron, G Rice, R Clift, W Wehrmeyer (2004)A practical approach to implementing CSR in the electronics industry: Global supply chain management focusing on corporate social responsibility, In: H Reichl, H Griese, H Potter (eds.), Electronics Goes Green 2004 (Plus): Driving Forces for Future Electronics, Proceedingspp. 591-596
    R Clift, A Azapagic, S Cowell, A Doig, S Hogan, B Solberg-Johansen (1996)Allocation in Life Cycle Inventory Analysis, In: Report for Groupe des Sages, DGXI Brussels
    R Clift, N Morgan, G Smith (2000)Pipe dreams, In: Chemistry in Britain36(4)pp. 36-41
    M GHADIRI, JPK SEVILLE, R CLIFT (1993)FLUIDIZED-BED FILTRATION OF GASES AT HIGH-TEMPERATURES, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN71(A4)pp. 371-381 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    J GRACE, R CLIFT (1974)COALESCENCE OF BUBBLE PAIRS IN A 3-DIMENSIONAL FLUIDIZED-BED, In: CANADIAN JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING52(3)pp. 417-419 CANADIAN SOC CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
    N Wrisberg, R Clift (1999)Industrial ecology in Europe: The CHAINET concerted action, In: Journal of Industrial Ecology3(4)pp. 8-9
    R Clift (2012)Risk Management and Regulation in an Emerging Technology, In: G Hunt, M Mehta (eds.), Nanotechnology: Risk, Ethics and Lawpp. 140-153 Routledge

    Geoffrey Hunt first developed an interest in nanotechnology in late 2002 when planning a visit to Japan to discuss the ethical implications of technological futures, and he put forward a tentative overview of nanotechnological possibilities in a ...

    N Wrisberg, HAUD Haes, R Clift, U Triebswetter, P Eder (2002)Analytical tools for environmental design and management in a systems perspective Kluwer Academic Publishers

    The aim of this book is to link demand and supply of environmental information in the field of Life Cycle Management.

    R CLIFT, WH GAUVIN (1971)MOTION OF PARTICLES IN TURBULENT GAS STREAMS, In: BRITISH CHEMICAL ENGINEERING16(2-3)pp. 229-&
    A Azapagic, R Clift (1999)Allocation of environmental burdens in co-product systems: Product- related burdens (Part 1), In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment4(6)pp. 357-369

    This paper uses an industrial case study of a boron system producing five co-products to examine different allocation methods recommended by ISO 14041 and compare them with the allocation methods most commonly used by LCA practitioners. In particular, allocation by physical causality is discussed. The paper illustrates how the use of whole system modelling can help to identify the correct type of causality for allocation. The case examined here concerns marginal changes of product-related parameters in the system, in this case represented by the output of boron co-products. The analysis shows that in some cases it can be correct to allocate the burdens on the basis of a simple physical quantity, such as mass, as long as the allocation parameter is based on physical causation and is not chosen arbitrarily. In whole system modelling, the correct causality is identified by the model itself, so that the possibility of allocation by an arbitrary parameter is avoided. However, as for system disaggregation and expansion, allocation through mathematical modelling may only be possible if detailed data for the system are available.

    R CLIFT, M GHADIRI (1986)HIGH-TEMPERATURE HEROICS, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEER-LONDON(427)pp. 13-13 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R Clift, HA Udo de Haes, JF Bensahel, CR Fussler, R Griesshammer, AA Jensen (1995)Research Needs in Life Cycle Assessment for the EU Ecolabelling Programme, final report of the second phase, Groupe de Sages, In: Commission of the European Union
    R Clift (1983)FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES IN GAS FILTRATION., In: Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. Mechanical engineeringME8(4)pp. 181-191

    Some fundamental problems, arising in the filtration of gases by fixed beds of granular collector, are reviewed. Capture of gas-borne particles by the collector normally occurs mainly by the processes of Brownian diffusion, inertial impaction and electrophoretic migration. Diffusional and electrophoretic capture are controlled by processes occurring close to the surface of the collector, and theoretical models are reasonably successful in predicting capture rates. Theoretical estimates for inertial impaction are much less reliable, and reasons for this are discussed. Retention of a particle by the collector is governed by a balance between particle kinetic energy and adhesion energy; trajectory calculations can be used to estimate conditions under which a captured particle is retained by the collector.

    R Clift (2001)Combined Heat and Power: Affordable Warmth and District Heating, In: Greener GovernmentNovembpp. 22-22
    R Clift, Y Mulugetta (2007)A plea for common sense (and biomass), In: TCE(796)pp. 24-26 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    TEC Staff, S Hodgson, SJ Cowell, R Clift (1997)Manager's Introduction to Product Design and the Environment
    N Wrisberg, HA De Udo Haes, R Clift, R Frischknecht, L Grisel, P Hofstetter, AA Jensen, LG Lindfors, F Schmidt-Bleek, H Stiller (1997)European network for strategic life-cycle assessment research and development: A strategic research programme for life cycle assessment, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment2(2)pp. 71-72
    A Azapagic, R Clift (1999)Erratum: Linear programming as a tool in life cycle assessment (International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 3:6 (308)), In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment4(2)pp. 116-?
    A Dowling, R Clift, N Grobert, D Hutton, R Oliver, O O'Neill, J Pethica, N Pidgeon, J Porritt, J Ryan, A Seaton, S Tendler, M Welland, R Whatmore (2003)Nanotechnology under the microscope, In: NANOTECHNOLOGY14(9) IOP PUBLISHING LTD
    R Clift (1996)Powder technology and particle science, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY88(3)pp. 335-339

    The difficulties in predicting the frictional energy gradient for pipeline flow of settling slurries are well known. Whenever possible, it is desirable to carry out tests on a representative sample of the material to be conveyed, and scale the results to other pipe sizes. This paper presents a mechanistic approach to scaling tests results, based on the physical processes of solid trnapsort identified in the work of Newitt, Shook and Wilson. A basic distinction is drawn between solids conveyed in pseudo-homogeneous suspension, and solids stratified at higher concentration in the lower part of the pipe. The suspended and non-suspended solids are assumed to contribute independently to the friction gradient, in a fashion characterised by material constants which depend on the slurry under consideration. The proportion of solids conveyed as stratified load is taken to vary with mixture velocity in the general manner proposed by Wilson. The tests were designed to determine the material constants which describe the variation of pressure drop with mixture velocity in heterogeneous flow. The approach is illustrated by results obtained for three settling slurries of foundry sand, masonry sand and crusted granite, in horizontal pipes of diameter 0.20 m and 0.44 m (8 inch and 18 inch nominal). In each case, the validity of the scaling method is demonstrated. (A)

    SV RAFAILIDIS, R CLIFT (1990)MODELING IN PARALLEL WITH TRANSPUTERS OF BUBBLE FLOWS IN FLUIDIZED-BEDS, In: RA ADEY (eds.), PARALLEL PROCESSING IN ENGINEERING APPLICATIONSpp. 43-54
    J Barnett, A Carr, R Clift (2006)Going public: Risk, trust and public understandings of nanotechnology, In: G Hunt, MD Mehta (eds.), Nanotechnology: Risk, Ethics and Lawpp. 196-212
    R Clift, FJ Dennison, A Azapagic, J Colbourne (1998)Assessing management options for wastewater treatment works in the context of life cycle assessment, In: Water Science and Technology38(11)pp. 22-30
    J Davis, R Geyer, R Clift, T Jackson, A Azapagic (2002)A time series material flow analysis of the UK steel sector, In: M Sansom (eds.), STEEL IN SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION: IISI WORLD CONFERENCE 2002, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGSpp. 267-272
    R Clift (2006)Risk management and regulation in an emerging technology, In: G Hunt, MD Mehta (eds.), Nanotechnology: Risk, Ethics and Lawpp. 140-153
    G Rice, R Clift, R Burns (1997)LCA software review: Comparison of currently available European LCA software, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment2(1)pp. 53-59

    Twelve of the main European LCA software packages currently available are examined with the aim of establishing which are the most appropriate for LCAs on industrial processes. The packages performances are assessed in terms of Volume of Data Windows™ environment Network Capabilities Impact Assessment Graphical representation of the inventory results Sensitivity analysis Units Cost User Support Flow Diagrams Burdens allocation Transparency of data Input & output parameters Demo version Quality of data The review concludes with a Specification Table which summarises the facilities available on each software package. The general conclusion from this study is that for industrially based LCAs, there are four packages which may offer advantages over the rest. These are The Boustead Model, The Ecobilan Group's TEAM™, PEMS 3.0 and SimaPro 3.1.

    R CLIFT (1993)SPECIALIZATION MUST BE THE FUTURE, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEER-LONDON(538)pp. 4-4 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    B Solberg-Johansen, R Clift, A Jeapes (1997)Irradiating the environment: Radiological impacts in life cycle assessment, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment2(1)pp. 16-19

    One of the main shortcomings of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) when applied to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, is that there is currently no recognised procedure to deal with radionuclide emissions in the Impact Assessment stage. A framework which considers both human and environmental impacts is required and a methodology which is compatible with the other impact assessment approaches in LCA must be developed. It is important that the discussion is not only restricted to concepts, but that a working methodology is developed which can be readily applied by LCA practitioners. A provisional method is available for assessing radiological impacts on human health, but no consideration has been given to potential effects on the environment. A methodology is proposed in this paper which assesses irradiation of the environment using Environmental Increments (EI) as the quality standard. This approach is based on the same principles as for the Ecotoxicity classification group, and it represents a working methodology which can be continuously improved as knowledge in the area increases.

    R Clift, M Ghadri, KV Thambimuthu (1981)Filtration of gases in fluidised beds., In: IN: PROGRESS IN FILTRATION AND SEPARATION, R.J. WAKEMAN (ED.)2 , Ampp. 75-123

    The following review concentrates on the fundamental processes occurring in fluidised filters. Section II gives a brief summary of filtration in fixed granular beds, to define terms and concepts used in analysis of fluidised filtration. Attention is restricted to 'stationary' filtration, in which the collection medium is the granular material itself, without discussing 'non-stationary' effects caused by structural changes resulting from dust accumulation within the filter. Section III sets out an analysis of filtration in a fluidised bed, derived from conventional models of filtration in fixed beds and reaction in fluidised beds. The interpretation of available experimental results in terms of this model is summarised in Section IV. Section V reviews two variations which have been proposed on a simple configuration of: electrofluidised filters, and rotating fluidised beds. Actual and potential applications of the technique are discussed very briefly in Section VI. (from paper)

    KV Thambimuthu, BKC Tan, R Clift (1980)MECHANISMS OF STEADY FILTRATION OF GASES IN PACKED BEDS., In: Institution of Chemical Engineers Symposium Series(59)

    Correlations for the efficiency of removal of dust from a gas by Brownian diffusion, inertial deposition, gravitational settling, and direct interception in a fixed bed of spherical granular collector particles are applied to predicting the performance of a packed bed filter. The results clarify the difference between filtration of sub-micron particles and particles larger than 1 mu m. Filter efficiency is shown to be dependent on operating temperature, with pressure exerting a much weaker effect.

    R Clift (1995)Greenpeace life cycle appeal, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEER-LONDON(600)pp. 3-3 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R CLIFT (1993)AN OCCAMIST REVIEW OF FLUIDIZED-BED MODELING, In: AW Weimer, JC Chen, LS Fan, WC Yang (eds.), FLUID-PARTICLE PROCESSES: FUNDAMENTALS AND APPLICATIONS89(296)pp. 1-17
    J Lee, E Keller, R Clift, L Mila a Canals, H King (2014)Footprinting Farms, a comparison of three GHG calculators, In: Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management
    AC Hoffmann, A van Santen, R Clift, RWK Allen (1987)PERFORMANCE OF GAS CYCLONES AT VARYING SOLID LOADINGS., In: American Institute of Chemical Engineers, National Meeting

    The influence of dust loading and gas inlet/outlet dimensions on the performance of four industrial scale (0. 45 m diameter) cyclones has been investigated. All experiments were performed under ambient conditions at an inlet velocity of 15 m/s over a loading range of 0. 5 - 130g solid/m**3 air. Measurements of the pressure drop, gravimetric efficiency and grade-efficiency were made. Strong variations in both pressure drop and separation performance with geometry and solid loading were found. These variations are well described by existing predictive relations. The results are analysed to further elucidate the nature of the observed trends.

    R CLIFT (1991)THE ANALYSIS OF PRESSURE-FLUCTUATIONS IN A 2-DIMENSIONAL FLUIDIZED-BED - CLOSURE, In: POWDER TECHNOLOGY68(3)pp. 290-291 ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA LAUSANNE
    JPK Seville, R Clift, CJ Withers, W Keidel (1989)Rigid ceramic media for filtering hot gases, In: Filtration and Separation26(4)pp. 265-271

    A new generation of gas filter media is becoming available, based on rigidly bonded ceramic granules or fibres, and suitable for high-temperature duty. This paper outlines the main considerations in selecting and applying such a medium. Pressure drop through a 'virgin' medium is readily predictable from simple tests at ambient conditions. Behaviour on 'conditioning' over many cycles of filtration and cleaning can be determined by a simple 'coupon test', which shows the range of filter velocities which can be used and the cleaning action needed. Low-density media have some advantages, and this paper concentrates on one such medium which has been found to have good performance: Cerafil 12H10, formed as a bonded mat of synthetic ceramic fibres. It is currently supplied as cylindrical candles, but other geometries are under development. Experience in using Cerafil to filter gases generated by a pyrolytic incinerator treating contaminated soil is outlined.

    R Clift (2005)Precaution and sustainability, In: TCE(764)pp. 20-22 INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R Clift, SJ Cowell, SB Hodgson (1998)Teamworking for Environmental Excellence in a University Context, In: J Moxen, PA Strachan (eds.), Managing green teams: Concepts and Casespp. 131-144 Greenleaf Pubns
    R Clift, J Sprent, P Ekins (2008)Climate Change: The Need to Alter our Patterns of Energy Generation and Use, In: CA Galbraith (eds.), Energy and the Natural Heritagepp. 5-16 Scottish Natural Heritage
    KC Wilson, GR Addie, R Clift (1992)Slurry transport using centrifugal pumps

    Topics covered in 'Slurry Transport using Centrifugal Pumps' include a review of fluid and particle mechanics, the principles of slurry flow, force-balance analysis of particle motion and deposition, heterogeneous slurry flow in horizontal pipes, vertical and inclined slurry flow, non-Newtonian slurry flow, the performance and testing of centrifual pumps, the effects of solids on pump performance, wear in pumps and pipelines, components of slurry systems, system design and operability and practical experience with slurry systems. (A.P.)

    G Biswas, R Clift, G Davis, J Ehrenfeld, R Förster, O Jolliet, I Knoepfel, U Luterbacher, D Russell, D Hunkeler (1998)Identification, categorization and life cycle validation, In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment3(4)pp. 184-190

    Indicators which reflect environmental, economic, health and safety issues, have been categorized as microecometrics and macroecometrics. The former, generally flow based measures, have been developed for local, firm- wide or product based assessments. Microecometrics include materials intensity, energy consumption and emissions data, often from life cycle perspectives. They are, generally, intensive and are scaled with respect to unit of production, GDP or per capita, though other normalization factors have been proposed. In contrast macroecometrics tend to be extensive and represent global conditions such as temperatures and environmental concentrations. Ecometrics are subjective and reflect the dominant value of the individual, family unit, stakeholder group or firm. As such overaggregating or reducing the number of ecometrics for given applications, such as the rating of investments or access to credit, presents potential conflicts. Furthermore, while eco-indicators used for internal corporate reporting should not, necessarily, be validated, those microecometrics which involve external reporting, or multiple stakeholders, are arbitrary if not derived from, or based on, comprehensive life cycle approaches. This paper summarizes ECOMETRICS'98, a workshop held in Lausanne, Switzerland in January 19-20, 1998. It discusses ecometric needs of various users including consumers, designers, private sector decision makers as well as politicians and policy makers. A discussion regarding appropriate microecometrics for industrial sectors including chemical, pharmaceutical, insurance, finance, electronics, manufacturing and consumer products is also summarized.

    R Clift, S Cowell, A Doig (2017)A Case Study in Allocation vs. System Extension
    R CLIFT (1991)A critique of two models for cyclone performance, In: AlChE J.37pp. 285-289
    R Clift (2012)Integrated waste management: environmental assessment and planning, In: Ambiente Rischio Comunicazione(2)pp. 74-89
    K Morris, RWK Allen, R Clift (1987)ADHESION OF CAKES TO FILTER MEDIA., In: Filtration and Separation24(1)pp. 41-45

    To model the behaviour of a fabric filter it is essential to be able to predict the amount of cake removed as a result of the force applied to the filter medium by a cleaning pulse. Experimental measurements have been made of the fraction of cake removed as a function of the force exerted by an impulse tester designed to simulate the conditions experienced in a pulse jet filter. These experiments have shown that the force required to remove a given quantity of cake depends upon the areal cake density. The nature of this dependence has been predicted from theoretical consideration of the role of adhesion and cohesion forces, assuming that the cake breaks away in spalls of a regular shape and uniform size.

    To diagnose the processes causing metal wastage from immersed surfaces in fluidized beds, a miniaturized probe was developed for simultaneous measurement of the transient normal and tangential components of particle velocity and stress against a surface. In a two-dimensional bed, high shear stresses are generated by oblique impact of particles in bubble wakes. The associated particle velocities correspond closely with estimates from video records, and are consistent with current understanding of particle motion in fluidized beds. Taken together, the results suggest that metal wastage results from a combination of impact and abrasion. (A)

    A Azapagic, R Clift (2000)Allocation of environmental burdens in co-product systems: Process and product-related burdens (Part 2), In: International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment5(1)pp. 31-36

    ISO 14041 requires that allocation by physical causality must reflect the quantitative changes in product outputs or functions and will not necessarily be in proportion to simple physical measure such as mass. This paper examines the instances where physical causality can be represented by mass. However, it also goes further than ISO to demonstrate that the type of causality in the system is not necessarily always the same and can change depending on the way the system is operated. Whole system modelling and the marginal allocation approach are used to identify the correct type of causality for different operating states of the system and the corresponding changes in the environmental burdens. This is generally not possible with the other allocation methods, also examined in this paper. Both process- and product-related burdens are considered and the approach is illustrated by a reference to an existing system producing five boron co-products.

    R Clift (2012)Going Public: Risk, Trust and Public Understanding of Nanotechnologies, In: G Hunt, M Mehta (eds.), Nanotechnology: Risk, Ethics and Lawpp. 196-212 Routledge

    Geoffrey Hunt first developed an interest in nanotechnology in late 2002 when planning a visit to Japan to discuss the ethical implications of technological futures, and he put forward a tentative overview of nanotechnological possibilities in a ...

    R Clift (1998)A role for tribology in life cycle design, In: D Dowson, CM Taylor, THC Childs, G Dalmaz, Y Berthier, L Flamand, JM Georges, AA Lubrecht (eds.), TRIBOLOGY FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION34pp. 3-9
    JF Davidson, R Clift, D Harrison (1985)Fluidization Academic Press, London
    R Clift (1999)SETAC Working Groups 1993-1998 Brussels, Belgium, In: SETAC-Europe News10(2)
    R Clift (2005)Bioenergy and its potential in the UK, In: UK Power1pp. 49-51
    FJ Dennison, A Azapagic, R Clift, JS Colbourne (1999)Life Cycle Assessment: Comparing strategic options for the mains infrastructure - Part I, In: WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY39(10-11)pp. 315-319
    E Wright, A Azapagic, W Mellor, R Clift, G Stevens (2003)Improving recyclability by design - a fibre optic cable case study, In: B Hon (eds.), DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 2003pp. 247-256
    R Clift, H Shaw (2012)An Industrial Ecology Approach to the Use of Phosphorus, In: Proceedia Engineering46pp. 39-44

    Phosphorus is an abundant resource, even though the most economically attractive reserves are geographically concentrated, so that whether and when production will peak are highly uncertain. However, analysis of the global use of phosphorus primarily in agriculture (including animal husbandry), reveals an exceptionally “leaky” supply chain: losses, including leaching from soils and animal excreta, amount to some 90% of the inputs. The potential for innovation to improve the efficiency of phosphorus use is therefore enormous, going beyond recovery of phosphorus from waste water to reducing the losses from the whole use system. Drivers to improve the system efficacy include the concerns over distribution and possibly security of supply and also the environmental impacts of phosphorus emissions. Future production, use and price of phosphorus therefore depend as much on changes in food consumption and agricultural practices as on changes in mining and processing.

    R Clift (1995)Disposable Assets - if you care for the environment don't recycle newsprint, In: Times Higher Eductaion Supplementpp. 18-?
    R Clift (2003)Metrics for supply chain sustainability, In: Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy5pp. 240-247 Springer Berlin / Heidelberg
    FJ Dennison, D Sindall, A Azapagic, R Clift, JS Colbourne (1999)Assessing sludge disposal options using LCA, In: Environmental Protection Bulletin(59)pp. 10-18

    To achieve sustainability in the global economy requires all organisations to operate in ways which are equitable and socially acceptable, technological viable, economically affordable and with minimum impact to the environment. Worldwide, and in particular in the UK, the sustainability of the oil refining industry has come under increasing scrutiny in an environment with high energy demand and stringent regulations. The oil refining sector processes large amounts of raw materials and produces substantial quantities of waste which need to be treated, mostly at facilities away from the refinery site. Waste management represents a challenge to the industry not only because of the impacts to the environment but also due to high treatment costs. This thesis describes research carried out to investigate and address some of the problems related to sustainability, in particular the management of raw materials and waste, based on the Valero Refinery, Pembroke, Wales as a specific example. The starting point of this research was a review of general theory, legislation and practice for measuring, monitoring and managing raw materials consumption and waste production. This was followed by an analysis of specific waste management practices at the Valero Refinery which showed that individual process units can do much to improve their performance by increased monitoring and control. Following the identification, classification and quantification of refinery waste over 2007-2013, it was observed that although variable, the annual amount of total waste produced has shown an increasing trend from about 21 kt to 24 kt with a peak of 29 kt in 2011. Similarly, the total annual costs of waste treatment have increased from about £2.0 M to £5.0 M. From this trend it was identified that hazardous waste was the largest (about 75 % w/w) and costliest (about 70 % of total) waste to treat, composed mainly of fluoridic caustic (about 85 %) but with significant contributions from phenolic caustic and oily sludge. Finally, a novel application of material flow analysis (MFA) methodology was developed to detect points where value could be recovered and waste reduced during a refinery-wide turnaround for maintenance and project purposes. The MFA revealed that waste management practices, in particular collection, segregation and temporary storage of some wastes, can be improved to avoid environmental contamination, landfilling and transportation within and outside the Refinery boundaries. It also evidenced opportunities to investigate alternative treatment methods, especially for used catalysts.

    R CLIFT (1983)AN OCCAMIST VIEW OF FLUIDIZED-BED REACTOR MODELING, In: CHEMICAL ENGINEER-LONDON(388)pp. 29-& INST CHEMICAL ENGINEERS
    R Clift (2006)Sustainable development and its implications for chemical engineering, In: Chemical Engineering Science61(13)pp. 4179-4187
    JPK Seville, W Cheung, R Clift (2017)A patchy-cleaning interpretation of dust cake release from non-woven fabrics., In: FILTR. & SEP.26(3 , Ma)

    Sievert and Loeffler have recently presented data on the cleaning behaviour of a range of non-woven fabrics when subjected both to reverse gas flow and to mechanically induced acceleration. In common with other workers in the field they suggest that, for reverse flow, cleaning is easier if the deposited cake mass is greater; i.e. the pressure drop required across the filter in order to release the cake, and the reverse gas flowrate through it, are both reduced for thicker cakes. In this short paper Sievert and Loeffler's results show that the stress which must be imposed on the cake in order to detach it, is independent of cake loading and that this level is consistent with the stress required to detach the cake by mechanically induced acceleration.

    W DUO, NF KIRKBY, JPK SEVILLE, R CLIFT (1993)MODELING OF DRY SCRUBBING OF ACID GASES IN FILTER CAKES, In: ME Wacks (eds.), 1993 INCINERATION CONFERENCE: PROCEEDINGSpp. 207-212
    R Clift (2003)An introduction to life cycle assessment, In: IB Revija (Ljubliana)XXXVII(4)pp. 70-79
    R Clift, G Earl (1999)Environmental Performance: What is it worth?, In: M Charter, MJ Polonsky (eds.), Greener marketingpp. 255-274
    R Clift, A Azapagic, C Duff (2004)Integrated Prevention and Control of Air Pollution: The Case of Nitrogen Oxides, In: A Azapagic, S Perdan (eds.), Sustainable Development in Practice: Case Studies for Engineers and Scientistspp. 85-117 Wiley

    Taking a life cycle approach to addressing economic, environmental and social issues, the book presents a series of new practical case studies drawn from a range of sectors, including mining, energy, food, buildings, transport, waste, and ...

    R Clift (2004)Metrics for Supply Chain Sustainability, In: SK Sikdar, P Glavič, R Jain (eds.), Technological Choices for Sustainabilitypp. 239-253 Springer Verlag

    The objective of the book is to critically evaluate current scientific work on defining the issue of sustainability and on measuring progress towards a sustainable state.

    J Tuot, R Clift (1975)Titanium Carbide Production in Electrothermic Fluidized Bed., In: Int Round Table on Study and Appl of Transp Phenom in Therm Plasmas, Conf Proc, Odeillo, Fr, Sep 12-16 1975

    New method of production from TiO//2 and graphite in various reactor types is described in equation form.