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Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 April 2023) | Viewed by 24240

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sunil Kumar

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Guest Editor

Waste Reprocessing Division (WRD), CSIR- National Engineering Environmental Research Institute, Nagpur 440 020, India
Interests: solid and hazardous waste management; anaerobic digestion; phytoremediation; ecology and environmental engineering; industrial wastewater
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Pooja Sharma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Waste Reprocessing Division (WRD), CSIR- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur 440 020, India
Interests: phytoremediation; bioremediation; metagenomics; waste management; treatment technology; industrial wastewater; metal detoxification

Dr. Deblina Dutta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Waste Reprocessing Division (WRD), CSIR- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur 440 020, India
Interests: metal recovery; carbon sequestration; life cycle assessment; waste management; risk assessment; treatment technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Scope and purpose

The continuous generation of waste from different sources, such as municipal solid waste, E-waste, plastic waste, construction and demolition waste and industrial waste and is highly loaded with different metals pollution parameters. Due to leaching properties of some pollutants, ground water pollution may be caused, affecting the human and environmental health. The use of phytoremediation and bioremediation approaches provides an ecologically sound, efficient, and environment-friendly and cost-effective strategy to the management of waste. The phytoremediation technologies for management play an important role in metals accumulation and pollution reduction. The use of heavy metals accumulation by the native and hyperaccumulators plant species growing on wastewater is the most straightforward strategy for phytoremediation, for which purpose, more than a hundred native plants have been reported to be useful. The analyzed plants investigated during this study presented biochemical factors and antioxidant enzymes which are significantly important for in situ phytoremediations. Therefore, these plants can be recommended for use in mass biotechnological processes to mitigate sites polluted by waste management. Among the different wastes, E-waste has been considered as secondary resources for obtaining metals, plastics, glass and ceramics. For recovering metals from E-waste, different techniques, such as hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, electrometallurgy and the combination of these can be a good approach towards achieving sustainable development. The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together high quality original research and reviews highlighting the significant role of waste management and recycling in terms of environmentally safe disposal. Contributions should focus on the waste treatment techniques and mechanisms, where endless significant contributions can be made and can be of huge interest with respect to future research prospects.

(1) Outline the overall

a.Focus:

Numerous hazardous pollutants and metals are present in solid waste (municipal solid waste, E-waste, plastic waste, construction and demolition waste, etc.) that can directly affect the environment and human health. These pollutants are very hazardous and can generate highly toxic byproducts when disposed in the environment. The conventional methods for treatment and degradation of such kind of pollutants are not effective. To cope with the various problems generated for waste disposal, some processes, such as bioremediation, phytoremediation, and green technologies are usually accepted for achieving sustainable development.

b. Scope and Specific topics:

Academics, researchers, professional engineers and scientists are encouraged to submit their novel, and high quality scientific studies and reviews in terms of the following topics.

Identification and profiling of pollutants from waste;
Degradation of hazardous pollutants using green technology;
Novel technologies for resource recovery from waste;
Application of membrane technology in waste treatment process;
Waste management and its application to achieve circular economy;
Profiling of microbial community during bioremediation of waste management;
Mechanism of phytoremediation for waste detoxification;
Application of life cycle assessment (LCA) in solid waste management;
Role of microorganisms in solid waste management.

c. Purpose

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together high-quality original research and reviews highlighting the significant role of waste management and recycling for safe environmental disposal. Contributions should focus on the waste treatment techniques and mechanisms, where endless significant contributions can be made and can be of huge interest with respect to future research prospects.

(2) Suggest how the issue will usefully supplement (relate to) existing literature.

Innovative advanced treatments techniques for removal and degradation along with resource recovery of metals make a direct and positive impact on economic growth, the environment, and quality of life. Advanced approaches applied for improvement processes and products create several avenues to increasing sustainability. The issue must cover the current state of the art and future challenges in development of multifunctional strategy for energy and environmental applications. Full research papers and review articles are sought for this Special Issue.

Dr. Sunil Kumar
Dr. Pooja Sharma
Dr. Deblina Dutta
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

microbial treatment technology
emerging pollutants
metals detoxification
biotechnological approaches
management and reuse
resource recovery
value added products

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3540 KiB

Open AccessArticle

COVID-19 and Households Waste in Hispanic America: An Assessment of Trends

by Walter Leal Filho, Amanda Lange Salvia, Javier Sierra, Carly A. Fletcher, Craig E. Banks, Luis Velazquez, Rosley Anholon, Izabela Simon Rampasso, Claudia Maclean, Jelena Barbir and Samara Neiva

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16552; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142416552 - 09 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1788

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many social and economic problems in Hispanic America, a region with fragile health and economic systems and many inequalities. The pandemic has negatively influenced various aspects of life and led to changes in various habits and behaviours, including consumption. However, the extent to which the pandemic has influenced households, and waste production, in particular, is not well known. In this context, this paper reports on a study aimed at identifying changes in waste production across households under the special conditions created by the pandemic in Hispanic America. The majority of the respondents stated that their level of satisfaction with waste management policies in their countries did not change much during the pandemic. Only a few stated that they were more satisfied than before. Overall, the results suggest that, like previous crises, the COVID-19 outbreak may generate changes regarding household consumption and waste management in Hispanic America. At the same time, these findings stress the need to improve waste management practices. Some measures that may be adopted to allow Hispanic American countries to better cope with increases in waste production in times of pandemics are listed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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15 pages, 3175 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Treatment of Sugarcane Vinasse Using Heterogeneous Photocatalysis with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

by Jacqueline Roberta Tamashiro, Iara Souza Lima, Fábio Friol Guedes de Paiva, Lucas Henrique Pereira Silva, Daniela Vanessa Moris de Oliveira, Oswaldo Baffa and Angela Kinoshita

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16052; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142316052 - 01 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1316

Abstract

Vinasse is the main by-product of the ethanol industry; for each liter of ethanol, 13 to 18 L of vinasse is generated. Vinasse is composed of 93% water and 7% organic and inorganic solids and has an acidic pH and a high concentration of macro- and micronutrients used by plants, which is the reason for its widespread application in soil fertigation. However, over time, excessive direct discharge of vinasse into the soil causes damage, such as salinization and groundwater contamination. In this study, we used heterogeneous photocatalysis with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) to reduce chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and as an antimicrobial treatment. ZnO-NPs were synthesized by the precipitation of zinc sulfate heptahydrate and sodium hydroxide, resulting in nanoparticles with a size of 21.6 ± 0.3 nm and an energy bandgap of 2.6 eV. Microscopic examinations revealed that Saccharomyces cerevisiae microorganisms are present in vinasse and that the minimum inhibitory concentration for the ZnO-NPs is 1.56 g/L. Photocatalysis with 40 mg/L of ZnO-NPs for 4 h of exposure to sunlight resulted in COD and BOD reduction efficacies of 17.1% and 71.7%, respectively. This study demonstrates the viability of using ZnO-NPs in vinasse treatment, contributing to sustainable applications and reducing the environmental impacts of fertigation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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13 pages, 4389 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biodegradation of Cyanide by a New Isolated Aerococcus viridans and Optimization of Degradation Conditions by Response Surface Methodology

by Wenjin Jiang, Yang Lu, Zezhong Feng, Haixiao Yu, Ping Ma, Jinqi Zhu, Yingnan Wang and Jinfu Sun

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15560; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142315560 - 23 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1564

Abstract

Microbial treatment of cyanide pollution is an effective, economical, and environmentally friendly method compared with physical or chemical approaches. A cyanide-degrading bacterium was isolated from electroplating sludge and identified as Aerococcus viridans (termed A. viridans T1) through an analysis of the biochemical reaction and 16 S rDNA gene sequence. A. viridans T1 showed a maximum resistance to 550 mg L⁻¹ CN⁻. The effect of pH and temperature on cyanide degradation and bacterial growth was evaluated. The highest cyanide removal efficiency and bacterial growth occurred at pH 8 and pH7, respectively. The optimum temperature for cyanide degradation and bacterial growth was 34

^{\circ}

C. In addition, the carbon source and nitrogen source for cyanide degradation were optimized. The optimal carbon source and nitrogen source were glycerol and peptone, respectively. The cyanide degradation experiment indicated that A. viridans T1 was able to remove 84.1% of free cyanide at an initial concentration of 200 mg L⁻¹ CN⁻ within 72 h and 86.7% of free cyanide at an initial concentration of 150 mg L⁻¹ CN⁻ within 56 h. To improve the cyanide-degrading efficiency of A. viridans T1, eight process variables were further optimized using a response surface methodology. Three significant variables (soybean meal, corn flour, and L-cysteine) were identified using a Plackett–Burman design, and the variable levels were optimized using a central composite design. The optimal values of soybean meal, corn flour, and L-cysteine were 1.11%, 1.5%, and 1.2%, respectively. Under these optimal conditions, the confirmatory experiments showed that the actual degradation rate was 97.3%, which was similar to the predicted degradation rate of 98.87%. Its strong resistance to cyanide and cyanide-degrading activity may allow A. viridans T1 to be a candidate for the bioremediation of cyanide-contaminated environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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15 pages, 3159 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Recycling Strategies for New Energy Vehicle Waste Power Batteries Based on Consumer Responsibility Awareness

by Jiajing Fan, Hao Teng and Yibo Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10016; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141610016 - 12 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1857

Abstract

Due to the limited service life of new energy vehicle power batteries, a large number of waste power batteries are facing “retirement”, so it will soon be important to effectively improve the recycling and reprocessing of waste power batteries. Consumer environmental protection responsibility awareness affects the recycling of waste power batteries directly. Therefore, under the two recycling modes of new energy vehicle manufacturers and third-party recycling enterprises, this study analyzes the impact of consumer environmental protection responsibility awareness on the recycling price of waste power batteries and profit in the supply chain. The influence of factors such as recycling income, recycling input cost, and black-market recycling prices on consumer awareness of responsibility is also analyzed. Through theoretical research, it was found that: Under the model that third-party recycling enterprises are responsible for recycling, it can obtain better overall supply chain benefits; consumer environmental protection responsibility awareness and recycling benefits are positively correlated with supply chain benefits overall; and recycling benefits have a certain role in promoting consumer awareness of responsibility, while the increase in informal recycling prices inhibits consumer awareness of responsibility. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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18 pages, 4583 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Impact Evaluation of University Integrated Waste Management System in India Using Life Cycle Analysis

by Amit Kumar Jaglan, Venkata Ravi Sankar Cheela, Mansi Vinaik and Brajesh Dubey

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8361; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14148361 - 08 Jul 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3332

Abstract

Decarbonization of university campuses by integrating scientific waste approaches and circular economy principles is the need-of-the-hour. Universities, the maximum energetic corporations and places for clinical studies and social activities, have a duty to assemble low-carbon campuses and play a vital function in lowering CO₂ emissions. An environmental life cycle assessment was conducted to compare proposed municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment systems with the existing system in the residential university campus (RUC) in Kharagpur, West Bengal (India). The results show the existing MSW disposal practice in RUC (baseline scenario has the highest GWP (1388 kg CO₂ eq), which can potentially be reduced by adopting integrated waste management system with source segregation as represented in futuristic scenarios (S2—50% sorting) and (S3—90% sorting)). Compared to S1, GHG emission was reduced by 50.9% in S2 and by 86.5% in S3. Adopting anaerobic digestion and engineered landfill without energy recovery offsets the environmental emissions and contributes to significant environmental benefits in terms of ecological footprints. Capital goods play a pivotal role in mitigation the environmental emissions. The shift towards S2 and S3 requires infrastructure for waste collection and sorting will contribute to reduction of associated environmental costs in the long-term. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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23 pages, 5939 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Forecasting Daytime Ground-Level Ozone Concentration in Urbanized Areas of Malaysia Using Predictive Models

by NurIzzah M. Hashim, Norazian Mohamed Noor, Ahmad Zia Ul-Saufie, Andrei Victor Sandu, Petrica Vizureanu, György Deák and Marwan Kheimi

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7936; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14137936 - 29 Jun 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1647

Abstract

Ground-level ozone (O₃) is one of the most significant forms of air pollution around the world due to its ability to cause adverse effects on human health and environment. Understanding the variation and association of O₃ level with its precursors and weather parameters is important for developing precise forecasting models that are needed for mitigation planning and early warning purposes. In this study, hourly air pollution data (O₃, CO, NO₂, PM₁₀, NmHC, SO₂) and weather parameters (relative humidity, temperature, UVB, wind speed and wind direction) covering a ten year period (2003–2012) in the selected urban areas in Malaysia were analyzed. The main aim of this research was to model O₃ level in the band of greatest solar radiation with its precursors and meteorology parameters using the proposed predictive models. Six predictive models were developed which are Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Feed-Forward Neural Network (FFANN), Radial Basis Function (RBFANN), and the three modified models, namely Principal Component Regression (PCR), PCA-FFANN, and PCA-RBFANN. The performances of the models were evaluated using four performance measures, i.e., Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Index of Agreement (IA), and Coefficient of Determination (R²). Surface O₃ level was best described using linear regression model (MLR) with the smallest calculated error (MAE = 6.06; RMSE = 7.77) and the highest value of IA and R² (0.85 and 0.91 respectively). The non-linear models (FFANN and RBFANN) fitted the observed O₃ level well, but were slightly less accurate compared to MLR. Nonetheless, all the unmodified models (MLR, ANN, and RBF) outperformed the modified-version models (PCR, PCA-FFANN, and PCA-RBFANN). Verification of the best model (MLR) was done using air pollutant data in 2018. The MLR model fitted the dataset of 2018 very well in predicting the daily O₃ level in the specified selected areas with the range of R² values of 0.85 to 0.95. These indicate that MLR can be used as one of the reliable methods to predict daytime O₃ level in Malaysia. Thus, it can be used as a predictive tool by the authority to forecast high ozone concentration in providing early warning to the population. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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21 pages, 3038 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of the Co-Application of Eucalyptus Wood Biochar and Chemical Fertilizer for the Remediation of Multimetal (Cr, Zn, Ni, and Co) Contaminated Soil

by Subhash Chandra, Isha Medha, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Kumar Raja Vanapalli and Biswajit Samal

Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7266; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14127266 - 14 Jun 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2167

Abstract

Contamination of soil with heavy metals is a worldwide problem, which causes heavy metals to release into the environment. Remediation of such contaminated soil is essential to protect the environment. The aims of this study are: first, to compare the effect of biochar and the joint application of biochar with fertilizer for the phytoremediation of heavy metals-contaminated soil using Acacia auriculiformis; second, to study the effect of the application rate of biochar in improving the physicochemical properties of the soil. The soil samples were collected from an active coal mine dump and assessed for their physicochemical properties and heavy metals toxicity. Initial results indicated that the soil has poor physicochemical properties and was contaminated with the presence of heavy metals such as Zn, Ni, Cu, Cr, and Co. Later, the heavy metals-contaminated soil was mixed with the 400 and 600 °C biochar, as well as the respective biochar–fertilizer combination in varying mixing ratios from 0.5 to 5% (w/w) and subjected to a pot-culture study. The results showed that the application of both varieties of biochar in combination with fertilizer substantially improved the physicochemical properties and reduced the heavy metals toxicity in the soil. The biochar and fertilizer joint application also substantially improved the soil physiochemical properties by increasing the application rate of both varieties of biochar from 0.5 to 5%. The soil fertility index (SFI) of the biochar and biochar–fertilizer amended soil increased by 49.46 and 52.22%, respectively. The plant’s physiological analysis results indicated a substantial increase in the plant’s shoot and root biomass through the application of biochar and biochar–fertilizer compared to the control. On the other hand, it significantly reduced the heavy metals accumulation and, hence, the secretion of proline and glutathione hormones in the plant cells. Therefore, it can be concluded that the joint application of biochar with the application rate varying between 2.5 to 5% (w/w) with the fertilizer significantly improved the physicochemical properties of the soil and reduced the heavy metals toxicity compared to the controlled study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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24 pages, 8540 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Case Study of Municipal Waste and Its Reliance on Reverse Logistics in European Countries

by Olga Lingaitienė, Aurelija Burinskienė and Vida Davidavičienė

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1809; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14031809 - 05 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2697

Abstract

The authors have examined municipal waste, its components and their integration with reverse logistics processes. Background: The theoretical part begins with a definition of municipal waste. Later, the integration between municipal waste and reverse logistics is provided, including presentation of the hierarchy of qualitative methods and models. Methods: The authors constructed a correlation matrix and applied a dynamic regression model to identify that the level of municipal waste impacts recycling of biowaste which demands reverse logistics. Results: The authors provided a dynamic regression model which could be applied for forecasting the size of recycled municipal waste into biowaste indicated in European Union countries. Conclusions: The variety of components in municipal waste prevents the increase of the recycling rates and has to be changed to ones that have higher recycling rates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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13 pages, 1822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Environmental Factors and System Structure on Bioretention Evaporation Efficiency

by Jingming Qian, Dafang Fu, Tong Zhou, Rajendra Prasad Singh and Shujiang Miao

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1286; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14031286 - 24 Jan 2022

Viewed by 1458

Abstract

Bioretention is an important low impact technology that has prominent stormwater detention and purification capacity. Current study focused on analyzing the impact of environmental factors and system structure on bioretention evaporation efficiency. In operational phase, the moisture content in bioretention packing changes constantly, directly affecting the stagnation efficiency of the bioretention. Therefore, it is very important to study the evaporation efficiency of the bioretention for objective evaluation of hydrologic effects. In this study, an artificial climate chamber was used to investigate the effect of environmental factors and bioretention structure on the evaporation efficiency of bioretention. The evaporation capacity of bioretention was analyzed under different temperature and relative humidity conditions in a laboratory-scale artificial climate chamber. The result showed that evaporation rate at the initial stage was close to the maximum evaporation capacity under an environmentally controlled rapid decrease. Results revealed that after 15 h, the evaporation rate decreased more than 60%, and the evaporation rate decreased rapidly at the higher temperature, whereas the evaporation rate in the third stage was low and stable. It was about 1 mm/d (0.82~1.1 mm/d) and formed a dry soil layer. The results revealed that cumulative evaporation of the bioretention with a submerged zone was notably higher than that without the submerged zone, and the cumulative evaporation after 50 h was 16.48% higher. In the second stage of evaporation, the decreasing amplitude of the evaporation capacity of bioretention with the submerged zone was also relatively slow. Moisture content in upper layers in bioretention packing was recharged from the bottom submerged zone by capillary action and water vapor diffusion. These research findings can be used to evaluate the hydrologic effect of bioretention and can also be used to guide its design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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16 pages, 5408 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“Nature-like” Cryoimmobilization of Phototrophic Microorganisms: New Opportunities for Their Long-Term Storage and Sustainable Use

by Olga Senko, Nikolay Stepanov, Olga Maslova and Elena Efremenko

Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 661; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14020661 - 07 Jan 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1560

Abstract

It was found that immobilization of cells in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) cryogel can be successfully applied for concurrent cryoimmobilization, cryoconservation and long-term storage of the cells of various phototrophic microorganisms (green and red microalgae, diatoms and cyanobacteria). For the first time, it was shown for 12 different immobilized microalgal cells that they can be stored frozen for at least 18 months while retaining a high level of viability (90%), and can further be used as an inoculum upon defrosting for cell-free biomass accumulation. Application of cryoimmobilized Chlorella vulgaris cells as inocula allowed the loading of a high concentration of the microalgal cells into the media for free biomass accumulation, thus increasing the rate of the process. It was shown that as minimum of 5 cycles of reuse of the same immobilized cells as inocula for cell accumulation could be realized when various real wastewater samples were applied as media for simultaneous microalgae cultivation and water purification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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14 pages, 747 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Technological Developments in Data Analytics for Sensor-Based and Robot Sorting Plants Based on Maturity Levels to Improve Austrian Waste Sorting Plants

by Karl Friedrich, Theresa Fritz, Gerald Koinig, Roland Pomberger and Daniel Vollprecht

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9472; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13169472 - 23 Aug 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1919

Abstract

Sensor-based and robot sorting are key technologies in the extended value chain of many products such as packaging waste (glass, plastics) or building materials since these processes are significant contributors in reaching the EU recycling goals. Hence, technological developments and possibilities to improve these processes concerning data analytics are evaluated with an interview-based survey. The requirements to apply data analytics in sensor-based sorting are separated into different sections, i.e., data scope or consistency. The interviewed companies are divided into four categories: sorting machine manufacturers, sorting robot manufacturers, recycling plant operators, and sensor technology companies. This paper aims to give novel insights into the degree of implementation of data analytics in the Austrian waste management sector. As a result, maturity models are set up for these sections and evaluated for each of the interview partner categories. Interviewees expressed concerns regarding the implementation such as a perceived loss of control and, subsequently, a supposed inability to intervene. Nevertheless, further comments by the interviewees on the state of the waste management sector conveyed that data analytics in their processes would also be a significant step forward to achieve the European recycling goals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Waste Treatment and Environmental Sustainability: Current Trends, Challenges and Management Strategies)

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