| 1. |
- Akambih Tajam, Joseph, et al.
(författare)
-
SMALL SCALE IN-SITU BIOREMEDIATIONOF DIESEL CONTAMINATED SOIL –SCREENING LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
- 2010
-
Ingår i: ECO-TECH´10, 22-24 November 2010, Kalmar, Sweden. ; , s. 827-835
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Spillage of diesel oil and other petroleum products is a commonly creating need for siteremediation of contaminated soils. In Sweden the most common remediation action isexcavation of the contaminated soil and off site biological treatment by composting.However, a number of small sites spread out in rural areas end up low on priority lists, andwill not be attended to within foreseeable future if ever. For such areas a low cost, easy toapply remediation techniques would be of interest. Enhanced bioremediation of dieselcontaminants in soil by whey addition has been demonstrated in lab scale. Whey is a byproductfrom cheese production. A first pilot remediation trial on an actual site in Gäddede,County of Jämtland, was started the summer of 2010. Using this site as a case study ascreening life cycle assessment model has been set up. The goal of the study was toinvestigate the environmental performance of the whey method, to benchmark the wheymethod toward the excavation and composting practice and to identify environmental hotspots in the whey treatment life cycle. The study aims at establishing if further work shouldbe put into developing the method, or if the environmental performance is such that the wheymethod should be abandoned. It should be noted that even with a slightly worseenvironmental performance compared to other remediation alternatives whey treatment couldstill be of interest, since the small scale sites in rural areas we talk about here otherwise mostoften would not be attended to.Results from the screening life cycle assessment indicate a rather good environmentalperformance of the whey method, partly depending on impact category considered. For thewhey method, impacts from farming activities in the milk production chain allocated to thewhey give significant contributions. Transportation gives important impacts from both thewhey method and the excavation and off site composting, thus logistics should always beconsidered and optimized. The whey on-site treatment could be an interesting alternative forbioremediation especially at sites that would not otherwise be treated, due to small size orremote location.
|
|
| 2. |
- Grönlund, Erik, et al.
(författare)
-
Ekoteknik (Ecotechnics / Ecotehcnology) – 30 Years of Experience in Interdiciplinery Education
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of the 20th International Sustainable Development Research Conference Trondheim 18-20 June 2014. - Trondheim : Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Product Design. - 9788291917344 ; , s. 17-21
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- An important part of a society’s resilience is how prepared it is to cope with the changing conditions during the alpha and omega phases according to resilience theory. Lars Thofelt, an academic from the mid Sweden region, early recognized this need for students to develop skills needed for a societal change, and devoted his life to pedagogy suitable for this. The main outcome of his achievement was the interdisciplinary university program in Ecotechnics/Ecotechnology (Ekoteknik in Swedish), at Mid Sweden University. Ecology, economy and technology in cooperation for sustainable development were the original approach, and still are.Thofelt’s ideas had a main focus of helping students develop their inherent capabilities of solving problems and overcome obstacles. After Thofelt’s 12 years at the program his ideas were carried on by former colleagues and students, and the teaching further developed with a mix of the Thofelt tradition and other experiences brought in by new employees. This paper describes this interdisciplinary teaching approach with special focus on development of resilience capacity in students.It was concluded that 1) a key element to develop resilience skills in students is to push them to a self-propelled learning behavior rather than traditional teaching, 2) not too easily provide the students with answers will develop their problem solving skills, 3) doing-before-reading teaching is more time consuming but seem to give deeper knowledge, 4) interdisciplinary teaching will in the long run benefit from having the interdisciplinary team within the department, rather than as a conglomerate of several departments.
|
|
| 3. |
- Haller, Henrik, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
-
Application of ecological engineering within the framework for strategic sustainable development for design of appropriate soil bioremediation technologies in marginalized regions
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 172, s. 2415-2424
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study explores a systematic strategy to design appropriate bioremediation projects for marginalized regions that have the potential to contribute to sustainable development in that region. Ecological Engineering (EE) is of particular value for the development of appropriate bioremediation technology for such regions but a stricter planning tool than provided by EE itself, is also needed when the goal of the project goes beyond remediation targets. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) applies basic principles for sustainability and includes a stepwise strategic planning mechanism for their application. The inclusion of EE within the FSSD may steer soil bioremediation projects in rural areas in developing countries and sparsely populated regions in industrialized countries towards sustainability. The utility of the approach was tested on two cases of soil pollution in marginalized regions: the Chinandega region in Nicaragua (pesticide polluted agricultural soil) and a former filling station (diesel polluted residual area) in Gäddede, northern Sweden. The study demonstrates how the inclusion of the EE key concepts within the FSSD may increase the utility of EE for strategic sustainable development within the region. No difficulties in terms of conflicting suggestions were found in the proposed integrated approach; the two tools were found to contribute on different aspects to provide support to project management and decision making.
|
|
| 4. |
- Skytt, Torbjörn, et al.
(författare)
-
A strategic tool to find out regional sustainability methodologies helpingindividuals to make long term decisions
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of Global Cleaner Production and Sustainable Consumption, Barcelona Sitges, November 1-4, 2015.
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is a variety of definitions of the concept ‘sustainable’ to be found, and many interestingideas how to measure and evaluate what can be regarded as ‘sustainability’. Meanwhile,whatever the definition is used it must have a strong physical background. There is also acontinuous flow of information and a general awareness about the necessity of taking action,thereby reducing the negative anthropocentric contribution to global warming and ecologicalsystems depletion. A number of visions about (for example) future emission values typically 15-30 years from today are often presented. At the same time there is a continuous political debateabout the balance between individual freedom vs political regulations. The typical individual -standing in the intersection of all this - still seldom gets practical guidelines on how to act in thedaily life to meet future visions. This paper argues that it is necessary to simplify the indicatorsused to evaluate sustainability and at the same time ensure clear instructions of action therebyincreasing the communicability. This is believed to be possible through the application of aholistic approach based upon a detailed mapping, thus making it possible to find out an over-allstrategy and then transform it into specific guidelines for the individual to apply, taking anentrance point in a realistic description of individual everyday life. The regional level is chosenas the most suitable level to work with to keep in touch with the individual level without losingthe strategic possibilities and over-all view when attacking the problem. Without a deep andcommon understanding of the ‘daily life’ in the region, visions and guidelines might show to becounterproductive.For the Swedish region Jämtland, a sparsely populated area with large forests, a lot of hydropower, and one major city (Östersund with about 60.000 inhabitants), some industries and skiresorts (the largest being Åre), the method developed by Nielsen and Jørgensen for the minorisland named Samsø in Denmark has been chosen. By building a model for evaluating thecarbon balance and the work energy balances we are able to focus the strategies and make aguideline for individuals. It seems necessary to accept some usage of fossil fuels also in thefuture but we need to see how this usage can be steered to applications where non-fossilalternatives are less realistic. By working with sectors, built together, we are able to work withsub-models without having to compromise on either lower or higher level of societal activities.Compared to the Samsø case, Jämtland is more complex and also much larger (127.000inhabitants compared to Samsø’s 4.000 and with an area about 20% larger than theNetherlands). The sectors chosen are Industry (Businesses other than those covered in othersectors), Agriculture, Forestry, Tourism, Nature, Public, Private (households), Reindeerherding, Wastes and Energy. The budget of each sector is mapped in terms of carbon and workenergy balances as a sub-model of an over-all model of Jämtland. By finding out the limits(constrains) from simulations carried out on the region it is possible to set for example carbonand energy budgets as basis for personal guidelines for the citizens of the region.The major idea is that most citizens of the region will understand and adapt to such guidelinesto an extent that may induce a change of individual behavioral patterns thus turning the regiontowards sustainability. Jämtland has a specific “culture” which can be used to create proudnessand interest for the sustainability aims. It is important to arrange a platform that serves to shapea fruitful dialogue between all stakeholders – from individual to groups – that will make itpossible to create a common plan for measurements to be implemented, i.e. a concertedgovernance which ensure and guarantee a future of optimal existence for ecosystems as wellas human beings.
|
|
