JEAN DOCTORAL THESIS IN INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY - BAPTISTE STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2018 THOMAS Insights on the sustainability of a Swedish seaweed industry seaweed Swedish a of sustainability the on Insights Insights on the sustainability of a Swedish seaweed industry JEAN-BAPTISTE THOMAS ISBN 978-91-7729-819-9 TRITA-ABE-DLT-1817 KTH KTH KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY www.kth.se SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT 2018 "PTECDUT(QP(UDA( TVTU7EP78EHEU`(QB(7(( 1XA@ETD(TA7XAA@(( EP@VTUS`( #'9)2"12(2!(&1( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ! ! 1614(!6$!5%5! HS!%SCYWXVH@Q!!BTQTFb:! 5XTBPGTQR:!5aDCDS!@AB( ( ! ! B@CDRHB! HWWDVX@XHTS!aGHBG:!aHXG!CYD!UDVRHWWHTS!TE!XGD!'6$!4Tb@Q!%SWXHXYXD!TE!6DBGSTQTFb:!HW! WYARHXXDC!ETV!UYAQHB!CDEDSWD!ETV!XGD! DFVDD!TE! 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You collect and admire us, we amuse leisure hours; ‘Then call us not weeds, we are Ocean’s gay flowers.’ (Unknown, early 19th Century) ! ! ( ( ii ( iii 9GPQXHA@CAIAPUT( This thesis was carried out both at the Division of Industrial Ecology and the Division of Water and Environmental Engineering, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Sciences and Engineering (SEED) at The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm between 2014 and 2018, as a part of the Seafarm project funded by the Swedish Research Council Formas (Grant number 2013-92). I would also like to acknowledge the divisions of Industrial Ecology and Water and Environmental Engineering for their financial contributions during my time at KTH. More than a year before my doctoral journey officially started, in the summer of 2012, my heart became set on exploring the potential of seaweed during a casual chat over a beer with my extraordinary main supervisor, Fredrik Gröndahl. Over the years he has surprised me time-and-again with his vision, compassion and generosity while guiding me through my doctoral education. My deepest gratitude goes out to you, Fredrik. I would have never come near to finishing my thesis were it not also for my two other pillars of sustainability: my co-supervisors, Maria Malmström and José Potting. Your strategic roles in helping develop my research and myself, and the patience you have shown me, cannot be overstated; my sincerest gratitude goes out to the both of you. Monica Olsson and Karin Orve, I would also like to thank you, particularly, for your everything you have done for me and since my arrival in Sweden back in August 2011. I would also like to thank my friends and colleagues, old and new, Industrial Ecology, SEED and across KTH - Joseph, Mauricio, Linus, Filipe, Rajib, Daniel, Oleksii, Kateryna, Olena, Jagdeep, Emma, Elias, Hanna, Martin, Sanna, Olga, Kosta, Rafael, Miguel, Cecilia, Nils, Björn and many more besides - for your guidance, positivity, encouragement and camaraderie over the years. Special thanks are also due to the co-authors of the six papers and to the colleagues from the Seafarm project, for your constructive ideas and collaborative spirit. My thanks also to the anonymous reviewers of these papers and to the internal reviewer at KTH, Tove Malmqvist. I am also grateful to my old friends from the Sustainable Technology program, who have been like family to me these past years. I am both proud to have had the privilege of learning by your sides and truly thankful for your enduring friendships. Thank you all, my dear friends in the UK, particularly the QPM, to whom I owe so much. My love and thanks also go out to my family abroad and here in Sweden, especially to Monica and Erik for your support these past few years. iv I would have never had the courage nor the means to follow my dreams were it not for the unconditional, loving support of my parents Blandine and Scott, and of my big brother Blaise. To my heart stone, Maria, and to our Lily, born April 2nd 2018, thank you for giving such meaning to my life. Jean-Baptiste Thomas Stockholm, May 2018 ( ( v 8TUS79U( Cultivated seaweed biomass is increasingly perceived as having tremendous potential as a multi-value, environmentally friendly and renewable biomass. Momentum is gathering along the Atlantic coast of Europe and across the world to capitalize on the potential of a more global seaweed industry. In Sweden, these developments have largely been sparked by the Seafarm project and it’s holistic biorefinery approach, which draws on key expertise from five Swedish Universities to lay the foundations for a future seaweed industry. As a part of the project, this thesis principally aimed to effectively assess the sustainability of ongoing developments, most notably through the lenses of viability, environmental life cycle perspectives and potential of a future Swedish seaweed industry. A strategy for assessing sustainability was thus developed with effectiveness in mind and anchored in a broad range of issues highlighted as knowledge gaps by stakeholders; a series of six studies resulted therefrom. Each study contributes insights regarding very specific aspects of the sustainability of a seaweed industry: on the viability of kelp biofuel, threats to viability in the form of potential public aversion to seaweed aquaculture, life cycle perspectives on the cultivation and preservation of seaweed biomass, on the scale and spatial potential of the industry on the West Coast, and finally, on the economic potential of this future industry. This collection of insights contributes six strategic pieces to the vast and dynamic puzzle that is the sustainability of a burgeoning seaweed industry. Together they paint a picture of a viable Swedish seaweed industry with promising potential to contribute positively to key sustainability challenges of the coming decades. ( vi ( vii 17II7PB7UUPEPC( Biomassa från marint odlade makroalger (kelp eller tång) ses alltmer som en hållbar råvara med stora möjligheter och med flera olika värden. Längst Europas nordliga Atlantkust har ett flertal stora algodlingsprojekt startat under de senaste åren. I Sverige har ett projekt som bygger på odling av sockertång kopplat till ett integrerat bioraffinaderi samlat kompetens från flera olika universitet, regioner och företag i det 5 åriga strategiska projekt för en biobaserad ekonomi ”Seafarm”. Projektet har ett holistiskt angreppssätt och bygger på nyckelkompetenser från fem olika svenska universitet vilket ger en bred kunskapsbas för en framtida svensk tångindustri. Den här avhandlingen syftar till att bedöma hållbarheten i den pågående utvecklingen av tångindustrin och en kommande svensk tångindustri, framför allt vad gäller genomförbarhet, potential och miljöaspekter genom ett livscykelperspektiv. Med effektivitet som mål och med hänsyn till de brister och luckor i kunskap som identifierats av olika inblandade aktörer anlades ett brett angreppsätt för bedömning av hållbarhet av tångproduktionen, vilket resulterade i de sex olika studier som den här avhandlingen bygger på. Varje studie bidrar med insikter om specifika aspekter om hållbarheten av tångindustrin: om potentialen av kelp som biobränsle, risk för motstånd mot utveckling av tångbruk till havs på grund av allmänhetens motvilja, livscykelperspektiv på odling och förvaring av tångbiomassa, potentiell area längs den svenska västkusten för tångbruk till havs på en industriell skala och slutligen den ekonomiska potentialen i en framtida industrin. De olika studierna bidrar till sex olika strategiska delar till det stora och dynamiska pusslet som ett hållbarhetsperspektiv på en växande tångindustri innebär. Tillsammans ger de olika delarna en bild av en livskraftig svensk tångindustri med stor potential att bidra positivt till viktiga hållbarhetsutmaningar under de kommande årtiondena. viii ( ix %ETU(QB(7RRAP@A@(R7RAST(( I.! Pechsiri, J.S., Thomas, J-B. E., Risén, E., Sodré Ribeiro, M., Malmström, M.E., Nylund, G.M., Jansson, A., Welander, U., Pavia, H., Gröndahl, F., 2017. Energy performance and greenhouse gas emissions of kelp cultivation for biogas and fertiliser recovery in Sweden. Science of the Total Environment, 573, 347-355. I took part in the research design, data collection, modelling and analysis, and made an important contribution to writing the article. II.! Thomas, J-B.E., Nordström, J., Risén, E., Malmström, M.E., Gröndahl, F., 2017. The perceptions of aquaculture on the Swedish West Coast. Ambio. I developed the research idea, designed and managed the survey and contributed to the analysis. I was also responsible for writing the article and its publication. III.!Van Oirschot, R., Thomas, J-B.E., Gröndahl, F., Fortuin, K.P.J., Brandenburg, W., Potting, J., 2017. Explorative environmental life cycle assessment for system design of seaweed cultivation and drying. Algal Research, 27, 43-54. I contributed to the revision of the model, which was originally produced as a part of a master thesis, as well as to the analysis and writing the article. I was also responsible for the article’s publication. IV.! Thomas, J-B.E., Sodré Ribeiro, M., Potting, J., Cervin, G., Nylund, G.M., Visch, W., Olsson, J., Albers, E., Undeland, I., Pavia, H., Gröndahl, F., Dry, ensile or freeze? A comparative environmental life cycle analysis of kelp cultivation and preservation. Manuscript to be submitted. I developed the research idea, coordinated data collection, completed the modelling and analysis, and I was responsible for writing and publishing the article.