Waste-Based Bioenergy: operationalising Technology Innovation System analysis to go beyond assessments of potential into implementation

• Main Author: Melamu, Rethabile Bonang
• Other Authors: Von Blottnitz, Harro
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2015
• Subjects: Chemical Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13224

Includes bibliographical references. === Clean modern energy and improved waste management are two well-recognised challenges in the global transition to sustainable development. There exist synergistic opportunities in simultaneously tackling the two issues via the generation of bioenergy from suitable waste streams. This potential has been successfully exploited elsewhere in the world; however, South Africa, despite having significant potential, lags behind in the implementation of these technologies and the respective conditions to use them. To understand slowly evolving technology trajectories and how to facilitate the pace of implementation, sustainability transition approaches such as the Technology Innovation System (TIS) framework have been found to be useful. The aim of this thesis is to explore the utility of a TIS approach to investigate how the potential of waste-based bioenergy in South Africa can be unlocked to recover energy from waste using anaerobic digestion technology (EfWviaAD). Going beyond previous TIS studies, this thesis also aims to experiment with aspects of the TIS approach, so as to observe steps towards implementation. Key to the TIS approach is the notion of critical activities and processes around an emerging technology called system functions. Seven of these system functions detailed in Chapter 2 are proposed. These include knowledge development and diffusion, market forming activities, mobilisation of resources etc.