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
Capacity of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removal
The report âCapacity of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removalâ is now published at Havs- och vatten myndigheten website. Capacity of Biochar Filters for Onsite Wastewater Treatment: Phosphorus and Nitrogen Removalâ. 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
Teaching at the UN-IHE
Close to midsummer, Björn VinnerĂ„s was in Delft teaching students from the new MSc program in Sanitation at the UN-IHE. The lectures were in the module of âSanitation Technologyâ 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
One year meeting of the EU-program Run4Life in Helsingborg
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 VinnerÄs & Annika Nordin.
EttÄrsmöte för EU-programmet Run4Life i Helsingborg
VÀrdarna för ettÄrsmötet var Helsingborgs VA-organisation NSVA, som bland annat presenterade de spÀnnande planerna för explateringen av det nya omrÄdet H+ i centrala Helsingborg, inklusive visionerna för ett uthÄlligare avloppssystem med Recolab. Det var ett givande möte med tillbakablickar pÄ projektets första Är samt planeringen av kommande Är nÀr vi bland annat skall förbereda odlingsförsök med de olika avloppsbaserade gödselmedlen som produceras inom projektet. SLU representanter Björn VinnerÄs & Annika Nordin.
New publication on the drying of ion-exchanged human urine
In a recent study published in Water Research, members of the Kretsloppsteknik group investigated the possibility of alkalising human urine by anion-exchange and dehydrating urine into a dry fertiliser powder.Fresh urine was passed through an ion-exchanger, stabilised by alkalisation (pH >10), added to an alkaline media (wood ash/alkalised biochar) and dehydrated
Simha, P., Senecal, J., Nordin, A., Lalander, C., VinnerĂ„s, B., 2018. Alkaline dehydration of anionâexchanged human urine: Volume reduction, nutrient recovery and process optimisation, Water Research. In Press. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.06.001.
BONUS RETURN annual meeting and regional learning event in Helsinki
Doktorand Solveig Johannesdottir och forskare Jennifer McConville deltog i det Ă„rliga mötet för projektet BONUS RETURN I Helsingfors 28-29 maj. De tvĂ„ interna dagarna avslutades med en dag för externa deltagare för kunskapsutbyte och diskussioner kring cirkulĂ€r ekonomi den 30e maj. Dagen startades med en presentation om RETURN projektet, följt av presentationer av Akko Karlsson (Kalmar Regional Council), Marcus Svedberg (Senior advisor, Stockholm Sustainable Finance Centre), Eija Hagelberg (Project Director, JĂRKI project, Baltic Sea Action Group) och Marc Klaus (Director, Race For The Baltic). DĂ€refter hölls en paneldiskussion kring Ă€mnet âHur kan vi möjliggöra cirkulĂ€ra innovationer för att starta hĂ„llbara förĂ€ndringar i Ăstersjöregionen?â. Under eftermiddagen fick deltagarna sedan delta i diskussioner i mindre grupper kring Ă€mnena risker och fördelar med cirkulĂ€r ekonomi, sociala dimensioner, hur entreprenörskap kan pĂ„verka omstĂ€llningen till cirkulĂ€r ekonomi och nĂ€tverk för cirkulĂ€ra innovationer. För mer information om projektet, se bonusreturn.com och kolla in #bonusreturn pĂ„ Twitter.The BONUS RETURN partners in Helsinki, the 28th of May. PC: SEIÂ
Workshop on Systematic Review Methods
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.
Bryts lÀkemedelsrester i avloppsslam ned under lagring?
Hur mycket lÀkemedelsrester bryts ned i slam under lagring undersöks i projektet Reduktion av lÀkemedel och andra organiska miljöföroreningar under lagring/efterbehandling av avloppsslam. Ett storskaligt lagringsförsök med ca 430 ton slam fördelade pÄ 6 olika varianter pÄ slamlagring startade under tisdagen och onsdagen 29-30/5 pÄ HovgÄrdens avfallsanlÀggning i Uppsala samarbete mellan Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet SLU, Svenska Miljöinstitutet IVL och Uppsala Vatten och Avfall AB.
 Different conditions for sludge storage: thermophilic compacted sludge for open storage (left), mesophilic compacted sludge for open storage (middle)and mesophilic compacted sludge for covered storage (right). PC: Sahar Dalahmeh
Our fly larvae composting research is featured in a Swedish journal âForskning & Framstegâ
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