MSc Project on piloting urine drying in Finland

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My name is Caroline Karlsson and I am a Masters student in Environmental and Water Engineering at Uppsala University and SLU. From now until June 2019, l will work on my Master Thesis project at the Department of Energy and Technology at SLU. The project is a technical evaluation of a pilot project concerning urine drying in Tampere, Finland. I will take part in the construction and installation of the urine drying units and while the system is running I will take samples and perform analyses, such as determining the concentrations of potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen in the dried urine. I will also evaluate how well the system is functioning on site, in terms of capacity and energy consumption.

Contact: Björn VinnerĂ„s

Besök frÄn SIDA och SEI för diskussion kring sanitet i katastrofer

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Den 17 januari kom Olle Castell, Caroline GĂ„rdestedt och Malin Denninger frĂ„n Svenska Röda Korset, och Axel Wurtz och Jairo Mosquera frĂ„n Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), pĂ„ besök till Cecilia Lalander och Annika Nordin i kretsloppsteknikgruppen. Det diskuterades olika möjliga tekniker för hantering av exkrement vid katastrofsituationer, frĂ€mst fluglarvskompostering och termofil vĂ„tkompostering (thermophilic aerobic digestion, TAD) avhandlades dĂ„ Cecilia och Annika besitter expertkunskap om dessa behandlingar. Det hanns Ă€ven med ett besök till fluganlĂ€ggningen. Olle Castell och Malin Denninger uppdaterade Cecilia pĂ„ rĂ„dande situation i flyktinglĂ€gren i Cox’s Bazar i Bangladesh. Cecilia tillbringade i januari 2018 en mĂ„nad i lĂ€gren med Svenska Röda Korset för att pĂ„ plats utvĂ€rdera möjliga behandlingsalternativ. Till vĂ„r glĂ€dje fortsĂ€tter samarbetet mellan Svenska Röda Korset och kretsloppsteknikgruppen.

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SIDA and SEI visited us to discuss emergency sanitation

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On the 17th of January, Olle Castell, Caroline GĂ„rdestedt och Malin Denninger from the Swedish Red Cross, and Axel Wurtz and Jairo Mosquera from Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) came to visit Cecilia Lalander and Annika Nordin from the Environmental Engineering group. Several possible treatment technologies for the treatment of faecal sludge in emergency settings were discussed. Fly larvae composting and thermophilic aerobic digestion (TAD) were discussed in detail, as these are treatments that Cecilia and Annika have expert knowledge in. There was also time for a visit to the fly facility. Olle Castell and Malin Denninger updated Cecilia on the current situation in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. In early 2018, Cecilia spent one month in the camps with the Swedish Red Cross with the mission to evaluated possible treatment methods for the treatment of faecal sludge in the camps. We are pleased that the collaboration between the Swedish Red Cross and the Environmental Engineering group continues.

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Ny publikation om avlÀgsnande av per- och polyfluoralkylÀmnen vid avloppsrening pÄ plats

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I denna studie undersökte vi potentialen för biokolfilter som en ersÀttning eller komplement för sandfilter för borttagning av per- och polyfluoroalkylÀmnen frÄn avloppsvatten i avloppsanlÀggningarna pÄ plats. I ett 22-veckors experiment undersöktes koncentrationer, avlÀgsnande och adsorption av nio perfluoroalkylkarboxylater (PFCA: er; C3-11) och tre perfluoroalkansulfonater (PFSA; C4, 6, 8) och en perfluoroktansulfonamid (FOSA; C8) i fyra behandlingar: biokol med aktiv biofilm, biokol med inaktiv biofilm, biokol utan biofilm och sand med aktiv biofilm. Vi fann att biokol utan biofilm uppnÄdde högre borttagningseffektivitet (90-99%) och adsorptionskapacitet (73 -168 ng g-1) för C7-C11 PFCA, C6, C8 PFSA och FOSA, Àn de andra biokol- och sandbehandlingarna. För alla biokolbehandlingar var PFAS med kortare kedja mer motstÄndskraftiga mot borttagning Àn PFAS med lÀngre kedja.

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New Publication on removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in onsite wastewater treatment

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In this study, we investigated the potential of biochar filters as a replacement or complement for sand filters for removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances from wastewater in onsite sewage facilities. In a 22-weeks experiment, concentrations, removal and adsorption of nine perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs; C3- 11) and three perfluoroalkane sulfonates (PFSAs; C4, 6, 8) and one perfluorooctanesulfonamide (FOSA; C8) were investigated in four treatments: biochar with active, biochar with inactive biofilm, biochar without biofilm and sand with active biofilm. We found that biochar with no biofilm achieved higher removal efficiency (90-99%) and the adsorption capacity (73 -168 ng g-1 ) for C7-C11 PFCAs, C6, C8 PFSAs and FOSA, than the other biochar and sand treatments. For all biochar treatments, shorter-chain PFASs were more resistant to removal than longer-chain PFASs.

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TvÄ nya praktikanter för urinsorteringsprojektet

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Den senaste tillökningen i Kretsloppsteknik Àr tvÄ praktikanter, Chinmoy Deb och Anooj Ramanathan, som kommer hela vÀgen frÄn Indien för att arbeta med urinsortering för sin kandidatexamen. Under deras kandidatexamen har bÄde Chinmoy och Anooj forskat pÄ sanitet, arbetat med nÀringsÄtervinning samt borttagning av farmaceutiska rester frÄn mÀnsklig urin. Ett stort intresse för sanitets- och hygienteknologier har tagit dem till vÄr grupp pÄ SLU för en 3-mÄnaders lÄng praktik som började i december. Under praktikperioden kommer de att vara involverade i pÄgÄende projekt relaterade till processmodellering, intensifiering och optimering.

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Two new interns for the urine drying project

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The latest additions to Kretsloppsteknik are two interns, Chinmoy Deb and Anooj Ramanathan, coming all the way from India to work on urine drying for their bachelor’s thesis. During their bachelors program, both Chinmoy and Anooj have been doing research on sanitation, working with nutrient recovery as well as removal of pharmaceutical residues from human urine. A keen interest in sanitation and hygiene technologies brings them to our group at SLU for a 3-months long internship that began in December. Over the course of the internship, they will be involved in ongoing projects related to process modelling, intensification, and optimization.

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Water & Wastewater Speciality in the Journal Frontiers in Environmental Science

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A new section about water and wastewater has been launched as a speciality section in the journal, Frontiers in Environmental Science. Björn VinnerĂ„s together with the co-chief editor, Prof. Paolo Perona and the members of the editorial board welcome contributions to the journal.                                                                                                                                                            We aim at publishing pioneering, high-quality research in key areas of integrated and sustainable water and wastewater resources management. These include, for instance, uses and processes involving surface- and groundwater bodies, engineering techniques with a focus on upstream work, virtual water networks, innovative water and wastewater treatment solutions in humid, semiarid and arid regions, analytical and numerical modelling as well as the use of innovative algorithms devoted to the analysis of big-datasets. For more information see the following blog post: https://blog.frontiersin.org/2018/12/12/making-waves-paolo-perona-and-bjorn-vinneras-lead-new-water-related-section-in-frontiers-in-environmental-science/                  Or directly at the home of the section, available at this link

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