Sewage sludge and digester gas are used as fuels in various installations including those participating in the European Emissions Trading System (ETS). Monitoring of the emissions from such fuels shall include all carbon dioxide from fossil sources. We analysed the distribution of biogenic and fossil carbon and potential dependencies from available data on the wastewater input characterisation based on a number of samples of sewage sludge (20) and digester gas (14) from a wide variety of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Germany. The biogenic carbon content of the sewage sludge and digester gas samples were determined by analysing the carbon-14 (14C) content using a liquid scintillation counter (LSC) after combustion to CO2. CO2 already present in the digester gas samples was included in the analysis as this CO2 also originates from the degradation of the contents of sewage. Based on the results, we suggest the input to municipal WWTPs should be characterised by the share of sewage from industry compared to total water input expressed as inhabitants equivalent. The results of the study show that if the share of sewage from industry is below 45%, sewage sludge contains about 76% biogenic carbon while the respective digester gas contains about 83% biogenic carbon. The sewage from municipal WWTPs with higher percentages of industrial wastewater (>/= 45 %) can show significantly smaller proportions of biogenic carbon. Biogenic carbon content of about 28% to 71% were determined in sewage sludge from such wastewater plants, while the respective digester gas contained about 11% to 88% biogenic carbon. The origin of the respective carbon content was not investigated. Sources like cleaning agents and detergents and other persistent synthetic substances among others, were considered as contributors to the fossil carbon in the sewage. Wastewater from industries processing chemicals etc. and fossil fuels in particular, are responsible for higher proportions of fossil carbon in the sewage sludge and digester gas. Wastewater from food processing, paper, gastronomy and the hotel sector all show the same proportion of biogenic carbon as domestic sewage. Quelle: Forschungsbericht
Das Projekt "Windenergie fuer die Belueftung eines Klaerwerks in Lemwerder" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm durchgeführt. Objective: Demonstration of the aeration of a sewage plant at Lemwerder -Niedersachsen with wind turbine and/or diesel system. Single bladed wind turbine of Monopteros 20 KW type will provide energy during the windy days to a 11 KW aeration of a sewage system. A diesel system will be connected later in order to create a commercial fully autonomous system. Estimated energy production: 40,000 KWh/year at 5,3 m/s mean windspeed. General Information: A Monopteros single bladed 20 KW type downwind windmill of MBB will be installed to provide energy to the 11 KW aeration system of an existing sewage plant. The operating windspeed range for the windmill is 5 to 18 m/sec. For the selected site, where the annual mean windvelocity is 5,3 m/sec, the annual yield is estimated at 40,000 KWh, while the yearly energy consumption of the aeration system is about 48,000 KWh. Auxiliary energy will be provided by a 15 KW diesel system which will also provide the necessary energy during the windless periods, or the periods when the wind exceeds the cut-out speed. Thus the whole system will become autonomous. The cost of the WEC + diesel system is 90,000 DM with a goal to be reduced to about 65,000 DM. The final cost of the produced energy will be 0,978 DM/KWh while the conventional cost is 0. 25 DM/KWh. It is remarkable that the conventional cost is strongly dependent on the distance of the installation from the grid, as the connecting costs varies from 20 to 100,000 DM. Therefore such an autonomous system could be recommended either for islands with high cost of produced energy or for remote areas. Achievements: Due to operational difficulties of the wind-diesel system the demonstration phase has not been fully completed. The system worked only in principle. During a six months operation period there were problems with the wind turbine, the wind-diesel governer and the diesel generator.
Das Projekt "Passive Nutzung von Solarenergie in einer Gruppe von fuenf Reihenhaeusern" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Domosolar AG durchgeführt. Objective: Demonstration of innovative construction of 5 row houses, opened to the South with protection to the North, heat recovery system for shower and kitchen water and application of air floor heating systems, which should reduce energy consumption compared to a conventional house by 60 per cent. The calculated annual load for space heating is approx. 8400 kWh/year. General Information: The five row houses are opened to the South, protected by plantation to the West and by an earth dam to the North. The houses have a total volume of 510 m3 and a total heated area of approx. 120 m2. The space heating demand is calculated to be 8400 kWh/year against 27500 kWh/year of a conventionally built house. This is achieved by improved insulation, direct solar gain, sun space and a heat recovery from sewage water. The middle house - South is used as an office building with four people. The use of air heating systems in the floor and a heat recovery system from warm sewage water deriving from the kitchen and bathroom is innovative for individual row houses. Solar energy is used by an attached sun space, active solar system for DHW (Domestic Hot Water) and solar air collectors with heat storage system. In order to optimise air heating systems for further applications five different systems will be built: 1. Conventional air heating (system Brink) incorporating a sun space for air-warming up, 2. Like 1, but the sun space is replaced by solar air collectors; 3. Like 2, but with a short term heat storage system, 4. Air warming-up by conventional gas fired heat generator or air collectors and room heating by a special floor heating system ; heat storage system, 5. Like 4, but with a sun space instead of air collectors. Variants 1 to 3 are operated as open systems, the warm air is transported directly into the rooms and then sent back in the warming-up system. Variants 4 and 5 use the combination of an air heating with floor heating system (a so-called air floor heating system). These two variants include also sun boilers for DHW. In the 3 first variants DHW is produced by a gas fired boiler. Achievements: The energy consumption show that the houses at the end of the terrace have a higher energy load than the middle ones, this was expected. The highest consumption is in corner house east in January (= 100 per cent) against the house used as an office (72 per cent).
Das Projekt "Verbessrung des SPA 'Rieselfelder Muenster'" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Biologische Station Rieselfelder Münster durchgeführt. The idea is to close the currently easily accessible core area to visitors. Simply banishing the inhabitants of Muenster city from one of their favourite recreation spots is however impossible unless this is balanced by a compensatory measure. Therefore, the project will develop an adjoining 150 ha site, which will permit pedestrians, cyclists and birdwatchers to observe the core area and its avifauna from a respectful distance, and simultaneously bring about an expansion of the wetlands available to the birds. As a result, the Rieselfelder SPA will almost double in size and link up to two nearby nature reserves. The site to be developed, currently arable land, is donated by the City of Muenster; LIFE will fund the investment in the works needed to transform it. These include the establishment of a 22 ha lake with nesting islets, several expanses of shallow water whose levels will be allowed to fluctuate and 40 ha of humid meadows and marsh, to be grazed by an Auerochs herd. To round off, visitor infrastructure (paths, observation platforms) which is as unobtrusive as possible, will of course be built. That humans not only destroy natural habitats, but also, perhaps with very different intentions, occasionally create some, is illustrated by the saga of the Rieselfelder Muenster. It begins in 1901, when a chessboard of hectare-sized dyked and drained basins was laid out to receive sewage water from the city of Muenster. As this water flowed through the basins, it was purified by microbial metabolism and percolation through the subsoil. As time passed, waterfowl and waders discovered the eutrophic waters of this biological treatment system and, given the lack of alternatives in this intensively farmed region, it became an important inland staging area for migrating birds. However, in 1975 a mechanical treatment plant was opened and the Rieselfelder were henceforth irrigated with the clean water emitted by this plant. The 233 ha site was designated SPA, but simultaneously became a tourist attraction and favorite spot for walks. That is its paradox: before 1975 the site was left to the birds on account of its overpowering stench of sewage, but now, thanks to the wastewater treatment plant which eliminated the smells, visitors (up to a thousand a day) have become a serious source of disturbance for the nesting and resting birds. Urgent action is required.
Das Projekt "Einsatz simultaner katalytischer Oxidation zur Minderung vov CSB/COD in Abwasser" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Zimmermann durchgeführt. Currently, there is a lot of waste coming from different sources that must be treated in CPT-plants (chemical-physical treatment). The main problem for these plants is the wide assortment of waste. Even if the waste comes from only one supplier it is often composed of different types of waste in small volumes. Today no technology exists which can reduce the organic pollution in waste to be treated in CPT-plants. The main idea in this project is to treat waste with waste under conditions of electrolysis. The primary issue in this project is the engineering and the development of an additional module for waste treatment plants to reduce the organic content of waste (decrease of the COD-level) by oxidation with chromatic waste as a catalyst under the conditions of electrolysis. This technology will treat the filtrate of CPT-plants and aqueous waste. This would result in a reduction of organic compounds in sewage, a prevention of critical substances in waste waters such as complex building compounds, and a decrease in the use of chemicals.
Das Projekt "Intelligent Assessment of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment (iPiE)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Bayer Pharma AG durchgeführt. Minute amounts of the active ingredients in medicines get into the environment in a variety of ways. However, we still know little about what happens to medicines after release into the environment and what effect they have on wildlife. Although measures are in place to limit the environmental impact of new medicines, more research is needed in this important area. The iPiE projects goal is to develop a framework that will provide methodologies to prioritise new and existing medicinal compounds for a comprehensive environmental risk assessment. As such it will support and inform regulatory activities designed to assess and reduce the environmental impact of medicines. The active ingredients in medicines (known as the active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API) can be released into the environment in a variety of ways. The most common route is via the sewage system, when patients excrete them. APIs can also escape into the environment when people dispose of medicines incorrectly, and during the manufacturing process. APIs are, by definition, biologically active, and although their concentration in the environment is generally extremely low, there are concerns about the effect of these chemicals on wildlife and ecosystems in general. Since 2006, new medicines have had to undergo an environmental risk assessment before they are approved for use. However, current testing strategies need to be optimised to accurately predict harmful impacts on wildlife. Furthermore, there are over 3 000 APIs that were already in use before the new rules came into force, and just a small number of these have been subjected to environmental impact testing. As testing all of these will be a mammoth task, guidance is needed to help identify which of these legacy APIs are most likely to pose a risk to the environment and so should be prioritised for testing. (abridged text)
Das Projekt "Teilprojekt 2" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung GmbH - UFZ, Department Monitoring- und Erkundungstechnologien durchgeführt. Das übergeordnete Ziel ist es, die Häufigkeit bzw. das Volumen von Überlaufereignissen aus Mischwasser-Kanalisationen zu verringern. Durch die intelligente Vernetzung und Koordination der kommunalen Abwasserströme mittels Internet of Things und Methoden der Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) sowie unter Berücksichtigung von regionalen Niederschlags-Vorhersagen soll der Eintrag von ungeklärtem Abwasser aus der Kanalisation ins Fließgewässer verringert und gleichzeitig hohe Investitionskosten für alternativ nötige Retentionsräume umgangen werden. Im Kurzprojekt wird zunächst ein Netzwerk aus Partnern im Untersuchungsgebiet 'AZV Breisgauer Bucht' aufgebaut, das Potential überschlägig abgeschätzt und ein Konzept für ein Folgeprojekt erarbeitet.
Das Projekt "Teilprojekt 1" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Grimm Water Solutions UG (haftungsbeschränkt) durchgeführt. Übergeordnetes Ziel (Big Picture) ist die Reduzierung von ungeklärten Abwasserüberläufen aus Mischwasserkanalisationen in Fließgewässer und das Erreichen der UN-Nachhaltigkeitsziele, insbesondere SDG6 (Sauberes Wasser und Sanitäreinrichtungen), SDG9 (Industrie, Innovation und Infrastruktur), sowie SDG11 (Nachhaltige Städte und Gemeinden). i-SEWER trägt zur Umsetzung des Aktionsplans 'Natürlich.Digital.Nachhaltig' bei und bildet die Brücke zwischen Umwelttechnik und Digitalisierung. Angestrebt wird eine KI-basierte Softwarelösung, welche in komplexen Systemen wie dem Abwassernetzwerk rationale Entscheidungen treffen und Stoffströme in Echtzeit autonom koordinieren kann. Im Rahmen des Kurzprojektes soll dafür zunächst ein wissenschaftlich fundiertes Konzept entwickelt werden, wie das kommunale Abwassermanagement am Beispiel der Stadt Freiburg i.Br. durch Methoden der künstlichen Intelligenz und digitaler Vernetzung (LoRaWAN und IoT) verbessert, sowie Abwasserüberläufe signifikant reduziert werden können. Das Projektpotential soll anhand einer Überschlagsrechnung (Berücksichtigung aller verfügbarer Rückhaltekapazitäten) bestätigt und durch einen Prototyp in Form eines konzeptionellen Digitalen Zwillings verdeutlicht werden. Diesem Digitalen Zwilling werden historische Abfluss- und Überlaufereignisse, sowie eine regionale Niederschlags-Vorhersage zugrunde gelegt. Um die praktische Umsetzung zu garantieren, sollen geeignete Partner gefunden und ein skalierbares digitales Geschäftsmodell entwickelt werden, was dem spezifischen Ziel 1e der nationalen KI-Strategie der Bundesregierung entspricht.
Das Projekt "Nutrient fluxes and production efficiency in urban and periurban crops of Faisalabad, Pakistan" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Kassel, Fachgruppe Boden- und Pflanzenbauwissenschaften, Institut für Nutzpflanzenkunde, Fachgebiet Ökologischer Pflanzenbau und Agrarökosystemforschung in den Tropen und Subtropen durchgeführt. Faisalabad, a mega city in Pakistan is surrounded by agricultural land on which farmers grow vegetables for market, meeting the nutritional needs of an urban population of more than two million people. Although the use of nutrient rich sewage water along with chemical fertilizer increases agricultural production, leaching and gaseous losses of such substances also pollute the environment, contaminating the atmosphere and ground water. This project aims to analyse the infrastructure of the existing horticultural community in urban and periurban agriculture (UPA) regarding the socioeconomic and production potential of vegetable farming, with the addition of nutrient loss quantification through different means. A baseline survey will be conducted to collect data on socioeconomic activities and production practices. On the basis of the survey analysis, field trials will assess inputs and outputs of the agricultural system in terms of their production efficiencies. Plants, soil, irrigation water, animal manure, dust and rain will be analysed for N, P, K, and C content. A mobile closed chamber system connected to an INNOVA will be used to study vertical nutrient fluxes, analysing gaseous emissions. Leaching will be estimated using a self-integrating accumulator. Horizontal fluxes will be quantified after biomass measurement of the yields of all cultivated crops at harvest time, quantitatively (dry weight), and qualitatively (C, N, P, and K content). Nutrient use and production efficiencies will be assessed for leaching, gaseous losses and biomass removal from the field. The project intends to help develop a more sustainable strategy for the use of on farm available resources.
Das Projekt "Spectroscopy using optical fibres in the marine environment" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Technische Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Physik, Optisches Institut durchgeführt. General Information/Introduction: The EC has a firm commitment to monitor and maintain the health of our oceans, manifested in programmes like GOOS, HDP, MAST etc. Man made sewage brought into the sea by rivers and treatment plants is subject to rapid changes in the marine environment. These changes make it difficult to assess the processes governing the pollutants and their impact on the affected regions. Current State of the Art. Conventional sampling in estuaries and coastal regions delivers accurate and comprehensive data for a series of measurement points. However, the known strong variations in concentrations, and other inherent problems render sampling methods unsuitable for the collection of the required data. What is needed for this purpose are in-situ methods. Objective and Innovative Aspects. This project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of using fiber optical probes in the marine environment for in-situ measuring purposes. The measurement principles are based on well known spectroscopic methods like fluorescence, absorption, scattering and refraction. However they use innovative fiber optical chemical sensors where optic fibers deliver radiation to and from the sample and also form the sensor itself. Developments in fiber optical chemical sensors are tremendous. In addition, key components and technologies like laser diodes, CCDs and fiber technology are thus far developed to allow for this ambitious Description of Instrument. The device will consist of four fiber optical sensors (opt odes) linked to a core optical instrument for spectroscopic analysis. Laser diode sources and detector will be under-water with only the control unit and data processing on board. For the demonstration stage the following currently relevant analytes will be monitored; Heavy metals: Cu, Pb and Zn, chlorinated hydrocarbons: tri- and tetrachloroethylene and aromatic hydrocarbons: PAH Main Steps of Work Programme. Laboratory Development of Optodes - higher than Construction of Core Optical Instrument - Construction of Marinised Optodes - higher than Tests under Controlled Field Conditions - Field Tests of Buoy at Referenced Site - higher than Profiling Tests with Tow-body Results expected - in-situ measuring device for pollutants in effluent streams, sewage outlets and estuaries - rapid all optical system totally non-intrusive technology - modular design with envisaged future developments of additional analyte monitoring and possible long-term unmanned operation.