Kretsloppsteknik

In 2015, the term ‘ecotechnology’ was used as one of the themes for a funding call by the joint Baltic Sea research and development programme BONUS. The call defined areas where ecotechnologies could be applied, but did not explicitly define the term itself.  Against this backdrop, researchers including Jennifer McConville from our group decided to systematically review the literature on the use of the term ‘ecotechnology’ to inform the future work of the BONUS RETURN project. Many articles simply use the term as a “buzzword” without offering a definition of the term. However, the review found 49 articles with explicit definitions. These definitions contain a variety of embedded concepts for describing the types of technologies, the benefits and the processes that can be seen as ecotechnologies. We clustered these concepts into a conceptual framework that we feel captures the multiple perspectives represented in the term ecotechnology. Note that several of these concepts may be in conflict with each other. This framework is offered as a starting point for discussion around a possible common vision of ecotechnology, or at a way for authors to be transparent about the concepts embedded in their use of the term. On the basis of this review the author propose the following definition for use in the BONUS RETURN project:                                                                                                                                          ‘‘Eco-technologies are human interventions in socialecological systems in the form of practices and/or biological, physical, and chemical processes designed to minimise harm to the environment and provide services of value to society’’ 

On September 25 at 13:00-16:00 we will have Open [Green] House in our black solider fly research facility at SLU campus Ultuna in Uppsala. We will demonstrate our facility for breeding of BSF flies and our research on different aspects of waste management using the BSF larvae.

During the Open [Green] House, the researchers of the Environmental Engineering group will present ongoing projects.

Last week, Viktoria Wiklicky from our research group participated in the Summer School “Insects as Food and Feed – from producing to consuming” organised by Wageningen University.  The summer school looked at various aspects of the insect food and feed chain, from from genetics to farming, handling/logistics, processing, marketing and consumption. The course was very well received by its participants, many of whom almost bombarded the lecturers with a range of interesting questions!  One highlight was the study visit to Belgium where participants spent a whole day at the Thomas More University of Applied Sciences and the University of Leuven, receiving lectures and a tour through the research facilities, with focus on their ongoing insect projects. 

Our fly larvae team participated in the yearly Matologi event organized by SLU. This year’s exhibition had a focus on waste and climate. Evgheni Ermolaev, Giulio Zorzetto and Panav Gupta presented the Kretsloppsfluga concept being developed by the group and showed the treatment module currently being tested at a pilot plant at Eskilstuna Strängnäs Energi och Miljö AB.

SLU co-organised an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) seminar at the World Water Week together with SIWI, SIANI and Nordea. Annika Nordin was our representative talking about the importance of WASH to limit the spread of AMR. The sub-workshop regarding WASH and AMR was popular, with 20 people attending. The general conclusion was that source separating sanitation may be a way to better control the spread as we contain most of the antibiotics and the pathogens in a concentrated fraction that could be managed in a simpler way compared to if it is diluted with water. Managing the AMR may require that more treatment aspects than pathogen control is considered. However, inactivating the pathogens may result in considerably improved situation compared to current situation.