The Institute of Environmental Engineering Kaunas University of Technology

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The Institute of Environmental Engineering
Kaunas University of Technology
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The Institute of Environmental Engineering
(APINI) was established in 1991 as an independent
interdisciplinary research institute affiliated
with Kaunas University of Technology, the largest
school of higher education in engineering in
Lithuania.  
APINI staff - is taking part in educational
program at the MSc or PhD level - actively
takes part in international and national
conferences - has published more than 140
publications, including 5 monographs and
scientific reports and 4 Ph.D. Thesis were
defended during the period 1992-2001. Also APINI
is coordinator of BALTEC MSc programme in
Environmental Management and Cleaner Production
for Baltic Countries. In 1995 APINI initiated
and, together with Vytautas Magnus University,
Lithuanian Agricultural University, Klaipeda
University, Vilnius University, the Lithuanian
Energy Institute and Engineering Ecology
Association, started to publish a scientific
quarterly journal Environmental Research,
Engineering and Management in Lithuanian and
English languages.  
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The APINI has 20 employees and its activities
fall into the following main research and service
areas

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•   Water quality modelling and management in
  various hierarchical levels of the river basin
• -   Watershed management development of river
  basin management scenarios, action plans, and
  TMDLs assessment of current water quality
  conditions, analysis of monitoring system in all
  hierarchical levels river water quality (WQ)
  modelling QUAL2EU, WASP, MIKE 11, STREAMPLAN,
  DUFLOW Development of recommendations for
  monitoring system improvement and system of
  standards and regulations in Lithuania.
•  
• Current Projects EU Phare Multi country pilot
  project on protection and management of
  transboundary river basin the Baltic region
  (Venta and Lielupe) Great Lakes Baltic Sea
  Partnership Program on demonstration projects for
  Sesupe and Lielupe river basins management (US
  EPA Reg. No.5 project) Development of trilateral
  cooperation on the watershed at River Nemunas
  (Swedish EPA).
•     Chemicals control
• -  Methodology for classifications, labelling and
  packaging of dangerous chemicals EU and National
  legal basis concerning chemicals control.
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• Current Projects Baltic States training program
  on Classification, Labelling and Packaging of
  Chemicals (BACCON 2.2) Data collection
  strategies on chemicals use in the Baltic States
  (BACCON 2.3) Integrated Chemicals Risk
  management (BACCON 2.4).

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Main Research and Service Areas

•  Environmental impact assessment (EIA),
  Eco-design, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
• -  Raising a general awareness of the importance
  of considering environmental problems on
  different scales, and providing methods for
  assessing the environmental impacts of different
  local activities, as well as different plans and
  programs
• -  Classification of environmental impacts,
  preparation of screening and scooping procedures,
  EIA methods, preparation of EIS, evaluation of
  EIA Strategic Environmental Assessment for
  sustainable development.
• Development of methodology for environmental
  product assessment and implementation of
  eco-design in industrial enterprises
• Environmental laboratory (established at APINI in
  1998) which is equipped with
• - open channels flow meter system with
  automatic water sampler
• - flow meter system for closed pipes. This
  system is used for making mass balances and the
  identification of energy
• losses in heating - cooling systems
• - ultrasonic equipment for leak detection in
  steam, compressed air, and other industrial
  systems.
• Also there is capability to perform following
  measurements
• - chemical component analysis in natural
  surface, waste and process waters
• (TotN, TotP, sulphides, fluorides)
• - NO2, NO3, NH4, PO4, DO, pH, COD, BOD7,
  turbidity, redox potential, conductivity,
  alkalinity
• metals in waste water Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni
• - air velocity, temperature, relative humidity
  determination, surface temperature measurements,
  and
• estimation of energy losses in ventilation
  and air conditioning systems

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Main Research and Service Areas

• Pollution Prevention Centre was founded at APINI
  in April 1994 (8 employees). Main activity areas
• Cleaner Production / Pollution Prevention / Waste
  Minimisation concepts and techniques, their
  development and implementation in Lithuania and
  other CEE and developing countries.
• -  Trainings for companies, representatives of
  governmental and financial institutions CP
  assessment in the company and CP projects
  development, including preparation of CP
  investment project (preparation of a loan
  application on behalf of the applicant, including
  assistance in calculation of costs savings and
  environmental benefits assistance for bank in
  communication with the applicant and preparation
  of loan documentation, project description and
  reporting requirements preparation of project
  progress and completion reports to be presented
  as a part of borrowers disbursement request
  assistance in project monitoring and supervision
  including supervision of procurement and project
  implementation progress as compare to budgets and
  implementation plan as well as project
  objectives.).
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• Current Projects Financing of Cleaner Production
  projects in the Baltic States and western Russia
  Danish Governmental program on Implementation of
  cleaner technology in Lithuanian slaughterhouses
  UNEP program on The Implementation of cleaner
  production financial mechanisms and strategies in
  the development countries. APINI performs
  projects in Zimbabwe, Tanzania (Africa) ,
  Nicaragua, Guatemala (Latin America) and Vietnam
  (Asia).

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Main Research and Service Areas

• Environmental Management Systems and Standards
• -  Theoretical and practical EMS implementation
  in various organisations including requirements
  of ISO 14001 standard and preventative strategy
  
• -   Methodology of preventative EMS
  implementation that enables to achieve most
  efficient layout of EMS and provides increasing
  environmental performance and effective cost
  savings.
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• Current Projects Danish Governmental research
  program Environmental Managemnt system in
  Eastern Europe. APINI performs three projects of
  this program EMS in metal coating industries,
  EMS in electro-mechanical industries, EMS in
  agro-industries Chemical industries and the
  environment Finnish- Lithuanian partnership
  program on EMS implementation in Lithuanian
  company Dirbtinis pluostas.