Category: English

On Thurday, June 28th, we had the honour to show our research activities to a Nigierian delegation, including the Nigeria ambassador to Sweden, H.E. Musa Ilu Mohammed and the Govenour of Borno, H.E. Hon. Kashim Shettima, who were visiting SLU. Björn was presenting our visions for future solid waste management, using fly larvae composting to recycle the food waste and decrease the amount of landfilling. Additionally we visited the fly larvae lab where Victoria and Giulio presented the processes in fly larvae composting and the different stages of the insects. PC: Giulio ZorzettoPC: Emelie Zonabend König

The report “Capacity of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removal” is now published at Havs- och vatten myndigheten website. Capacity of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removal”. In this report, Sahar Dalahmeh, researcher in the environmental technology group, has compiled her projects results on the capacity of impregnated biochar filters and two stage biochar filters for removal of phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewater in small and onsite wastewater systems.

With funding from the Havs- och vattenmyndigheten- Sweden, Sahar Dalahmeh carried out and reported the project “Biochar for small and onsite wastewater treatment”. The project aimed at developing biochar as filter material to improve the treatment of wastewater in small and individual sewers. The project showed that lime and iron impregnation of biochar improved its ability to bind phosphorus, which means that it fits well as filter material in small sewage plants. In order not to saturate the material, impregnated biochar filters  should be used as a separate filter module for phosphorous purification after main purification (where organic matter and ammonium are purified from sewage).

Two-step biochar filter with vertical flow followed by horizontal flow was effective to reduce organic material and had promising performance for total nitrogen reduction. However, the design of the filter system needs to be investigated and optimized.

To read more, please follow the following link. https://www.havochvatten.se/download/18.4c271c50163bf560e38d56e1/1528791738532/rapport-slu-biokol-i-sma-avloppsanlaggningar.pdf

Contact Sahar Dalahmeh

Post published by Prithvi Simha

 

Close to midsummer, Björn Vinnerås was in Delft teaching students from the new MSc program in Sanitation at the UN-IHE. The lectures were in the module of “Sanitation Technology” talking about pathogens and hygienisation technologies. Lectures ended up discussing four case studies on how to manage a recycling sanitation system without spreading any diseases. A really inspiring group of students eager to learn and discuss this topic. They will be a good resource in the future of on-site sanitation and reuse of plant nutrients.

            The new MSc program in Sanitation at UN-IHE, Delft PC: Shirish Singh

The one year meeting was hosted by the wastewater organisation of Helsingborg NSVA, who showed the exiting plans for the new development of central Helsingborg H+ and their visions for sustainable wastewater management in Recolab. The meeting was very fruitful, looking into what was achieved during last year and the planning of the coming year, including trying to fit in field trials of the new wastewater based fertiliser substrates that will be produced in the project. SLU representatives Björn Vinnerås & Annika Nordin.

Solveig Johannesdottir, doctoral candidate in our research group, attended a workshop in Systematic Review Methods in Warszaw 17-18th of May. The workshop was held by Mistra Council for Evidence Based Environmental Management, endorsed by the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence. The workshop was led by Neal Haddaway and Biljana Macura, both at the Stockholm Environment Institute. At the workshop, participants got training in planning, organizing and conducting systematic reviews and systematic maps. This method is used in the BONUS RETURN project, where Solveig is systematically mapping the evidence of resource recovery technologies for wastewater. To learn more about the BONUS RETURN project, visit bonusreturn.com.

Steps of the Systematic Review. Source: Neal Haddaway.

Cecilia Lalander, the researcher leading fly larvae composting research at the Environmental Engineering group, has been interviewed by Anna Froster for the Swedish popular scientific journal Forskning & Framsteg. The article discusses various issues and achievements around the use of black soldier fly larvae to convert waste to value. Among others, the benefits discussed are that of the sanitization effect of the treatment, the reduction of pharmaceuticals as well as contribution of this waste management strategy towards reaching UNs sustainable development goals. Current issues with method implementation, including the EU legal restrictions, are also lifted in the article.

To read the full article follow this link: https://fof.se/tidning/2018/5/artikel/larverna-fixar-biffen

Between 4-20th of May, four members of our fly larvae composting team (Cecilia Lalander, Evgheni Ermolaev, Giulio Zorzetto and Viktoria Wiklicky) left their natural habitat in Sweden (desks and greenhouse) and traded it for a temporary new home a bit further east: China.

Their first stop was Fuyang, a city considered “small” by Chinese standards, located in the northwestern Anhui province. For a week, the fly larvae composting team helped a local pig farmer to set up a soldier fly composting system to manage the waste of around 300 pigs and piglets on-site.

Photo: Viktoria Wiklicky, Evgheni Ermolaev

Despite the tight schedule, the team managed to set up a nursery for the black soldier fly hatchlings and a preliminary system to treat the fresh pig manure.

Photo: Evgheni Ermolaev

Prithvi Simha, Doctoral Candidate in our research group attended a week long course between 14-18 May 2018, in Kaunas, Lithuania. The course was organised by the Nordic Forestry, Veterinary and Agricultural University (NOVA) Network and co-ordinated by Prof. Ulf Emanuelson, SLU. The course tackled several key issues regarding the design of questionnaires, respondent psychology, biases, and statistical tools for dealing with missing data/non-response such as multiple imputations. Course participants at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences campus, Kaunas.                PC: Ulf Emanuelson