This year’s annual meeting of the Water Research School, of which many members of the kretsloppsteknik research group are part of, was hosted by LuleĂ„Â Tekniska Universitet (LTU) between 7-8 February. Solveig Johannesdottir, Jennifer McConville and Prithvi Simha from our group made it to LuleĂ„ for the 2-day event. On the first day, they got to hear about LTU’s current research on urban drainage & stormwater management, VR platforms for visualisation, and the effects of shifting the city centre in Kiruna & GĂ€llivare on urban water and sanitation. Day 2 started with two interesting lectures – the first where Prof. Lennart Elfgren shared his views on ‘how to do a PhD and feel good about it’; the second where Prof. Javier Martin-Torres talked about discovering transcient water on Mars. 
 Water Research School group picture at GrÄsjÀlören. PC: Salar H. Afshar
De fick möjlighet att lÀra sig den nya flugan: kurs i modulbaserad fluglarvsbehandling
VÄr endagskurs i modulbaserad fluglarvsbehandlingsystem Àr i hög efterfrÄgan. Efter det första kurstillfÀllet i december 2017, anordnades kursen igen den 14 mars 2018 med 8 deltagare frÄn olika svenska företag och universitet.
PÄ morgonen gav Cecilia Lalander och Evgheni Ermolaev en introduktion till det modulbaserade systemkonceptet utvecklat pÄ SLU och möjligheterna till avfallshantering med hjÀlp av den amerikanska vapenflugan och detaljer om bÄde flygodlings- och avfallshanteringsmodulerna presenterades.
Building blocks of modular BSF treatment are put together in a course
Our one-day-course in modular fly larva treatment is in high demand. After the first course opportunity in December 2017, the course was organized again on 14 March 2018, with eight participants from different Swedish companies and universities.
In the morning Cecilia Lalander and Evgheni Ermolaev gave an in-depth introduction to the concept of a modular system developed at SLU and presented the possibilities on waste management with the black soldier fly larvae. Details on both the fly rearing and waste treatment modules were presented.
Research-Policy Interaction for Sustainable Development
Prithvi Simha, PhD student at the Kretsloppsteknik group attended a course on research-policy interaction at the Gothenburg Centre for Sustainable Development (GMV). The course was given as part of the ‘Water Research School‘ for PhD students in Sweden, of which several candidates from our group are part of. The course involved creating a research-to-policy plan related to Prithvi’s PhD research on urine dehydration, understanding models for stakoholder interaction and learning to effectively communicate with policymakers. Course participants also got to hear from Johan Kuylenstierna, former CEO of Stockholm Environmental Institute, on his personal experiences of science-policy interaction. 
Course participants from the Water Research School; PC –Â Linda Kanders
Molecular Methods course in Finland
Jenna Senecal attended a course on Molecular Methods for Detection of Food- and Waterborne Pathogens in Helsinki, Finland (04.03.2018-08.03.2018). The course was taught and attended by top researchers  from the Nordic countries. She learned about the latest available technologies for DNA extraction and analyses being used for detecting pathogenic strains of viruses, bacteria and parasites.
Group Photo with PCR
SPANS project work in Uganda
There is a lot going in the SPANS project in Uganda right now.
We have started demonstration units of nutrient-recovery treatment technologies for fecal sludge at the Luibgi wastewater treatment plant in Kampala. Two MSc students from LuleÄ University of Technology are currently operating demonstration units for treatment with lime and urea.  The students are collecting and analyzing samples to determine if the technologies are functioning properly with regard to reduction of public and environmental health risks. They are also doing interviews with workers at the wastewater treatment plant and other stakeholders to understand the levels of acceptance and feasibility of implementing such technologies within the existing management structures. Soon two students from Makerere University will be starting a demonstration unit with Black Soldier Fly composting at the wastewater treatment plant.
Sanitation Round Table meeting in Nairobi, Kenya
SLU and IAS (International Aid services) jointly hosted a round table meeting on the 25th of January in Nairobi, Kenya. Different stakeholders such as local politicians, NGOs and researchers took part in the meeting, to discuss how to jointly solve the sanitation situation in Africa’s largest urban slum, Nairobi’s Kibera.
Participants of the round table meeting. PC: Sheila Gatumu
Course in modular fly larvae treatment: rearing and composting
Foto: Evgheni Ermolaev
Date: 14/3-2018, 9 â 16
Location: Campus Ultuna (BiosfÀren och FlugvÀxthuset), Uppsala
Price: 5000 SEK/person
Under this one-day course the course delegates will be presented with a general introduction to fly larvae treatment, including both the fly rearing and composting steps. We will present the theory behind the different steps of the module based fly larvae treatment and practical exercises on handling of larvae, pupae and flies. The course will be given in English.
Kurs i modulbaserad fluglarvsbehandling: fluglarvskompostering och flugodling
Foto: Evgheni Ermolaev
Datum: 14/3-2018, 9 â 16
Plats: Ultuna campus (BiosfÀren och FlugvÀxthuset), Uppsala
Pris: 5000 kr/person
Under denna endagsutbildning ger vi dig som deltagare en övergripande introduktion till fluglarvskompostering och flugodling. Vi gÄr igenom teorin i de olika stegen i modulbaserad fluglarvskompostering och dÀrtill hörande storskalig flugodling följt av praktiska övningar i hantering av larver, puppor och flugor. Kursen kommer till stora delar att vara pÄ engelska. Vid internationellt deltagande kommer hela kursen att hÄllas pÄ engelska.
Kandidatpresentation: VÀxthusgasutslÀpp frÄn fluglarvskompostering
Foto: Viktoria Wiklicky
Frida Erlöv kommer att hÄlla sin kandidatpresentation om vÀxthusgasutslÀpp frÄn fluglarvskompostering 22 Februari kl 14 i Ekoln. HÄkan Jönsson Àr examinator.
Referat
Fluglarvskompostering med den Amerikanska vapenflugan (Hermetia illucens) har visat sig vara en effektiv behandlingsmetod som genererar flera produkter av vÀrde, sÄsom djurfoder och organiskt gödningsmedel eller biobrÀnslen. Behandling med larver av den Amerikanska vapenflugan har dÀrmed potentialen att bidra till en miljömÀssigt positiv och ekonomiskt lönsam Ätervinning av de biologiska restprodukter som finns i vÄrt samhÀlle. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vÀxthusgasutslÀpp frÄn fluglarvskompostering samt jÀmföra dessa med aerob termofil kompostering. Detta för att i senare studier kunna bedöma den totala miljöpÄverkan av fluglarvskompostering. För att uppnÄ detta mÀttes gasutslÀpp frÄn tre olika fluglarvskomposteringsbehandlingar: en med endast fluglarver och tvÄ dÀr det Àven tillsattes nedbrytande fluglarvsspecifika bakterier utöver sjÀlva fluglarverna. Utöver gasutslÀpp mÀttes Àven olika parametrar i materialet (pH, skrymdensitet, kompostmognad, vattenhalt, glödförlust och total kvÀve) för att kunna jÀmföra de olika behandlingarna och för att fÄ en ökad förstÄelse för de processer som Àgt rum.