Livestock slurry has been identified as a potential secondary raw material due to its macronutrient composition, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Conversion into a high-quality fertilizer depends on the successful separation and concentration of these essential elements. The current work investigated the liquid fraction of pig slurry with a view to recovering nutrients and utilizing it as a fertilizer. Indicators were used to evaluate the performance of the proposed technological train, situated within the context of a circular economy. In order to enhance the recovery of macronutrients from the slurry, the high solubility of ammonium and potassium species across all pH values motivated a study on phosphate speciation within the pH range of 4 to 8. This study led to the creation of two treatment trains, each tailored for acidic and alkaline conditions. Using a combined process of centrifugation, microfiltration, and forward osmosis within an acidic treatment system, a liquid organic fertilizer was generated, boasting 13% nitrogen, 13% phosphorus pentoxide, and 15% potassium oxide. Centrifugation and membrane contactor stripping were essential components of the alkaline valorisation process that created an organic solid fertilizer (77% N, 80% P2O5, 23% K2O), an ammonium sulphate solution (14% N), and irrigation water. Evaluation of circularity metrics showed that the initial water content was recovered at a rate of 458 percent, whereas less than 50 percent of the contained nutrients were reclaimed—nitrogen (283 percent), phosphorus pentoxide (435 percent), and potassium oxide (466 percent)—during the acidic treatment, producing 6868 grams of fertilizer per kilogram of processed slurry. In the alkaline treatment, 751% of the water was recovered as irrigation water, and 806% nitrogen, 999% phosphorus pentoxide, and 834% potassium oxide were valorized, resulting in a fertilizer yield of 21960 grams per kilogram of treated slurry. Recovery and valorization of nutrients via treatment paths at acidic and alkaline levels yield encouraging outcomes, as the resulting nutrient-rich organic fertilizer, solid soil amendment, and ammonium sulfate solution meet the requirements of the European Regulations for fertilizers, potentially suitable for crop fields.

The continuous expansion of global urbanization has significantly increased the spread of emerging pollutants, encompassing pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and micro- and nano-plastics, within aquatic environments. These contaminants remain a significant concern for aquatic ecosystems, even at low concentrations. For an improved grasp of how CECs impact aquatic ecosystems, it is crucial to determine the concentration of these contaminants present within these systems. Uneven attention to CECs in current monitoring procedures results in a disproportionate focus on certain categories and an absence of data regarding the environmental concentrations of other CEC types. Citizen science offers a potential method for bettering CEC monitoring and establishing their environmental concentrations within the ecosystem. Although citizen participation in monitoring CECs is desirable, it nonetheless brings forth specific difficulties and concerns. This literature review analyzes the range of citizen science and community science projects dedicated to observing diverse CEC populations within freshwater and marine ecosystems. Further, we discern the benefits and drawbacks of employing citizen science to monitor CECs, recommending appropriate sampling and analytical procedures. Our study's findings emphasize an existing difference in the rate of citizen science monitoring across various CEC groups. Evidently, volunteer involvement in microplastic monitoring surpasses the involvement in pharmaceutical, pesticide, and personal care product monitoring programs. Despite these distinctions, the availability of sampling and analytical techniques is not necessarily diminished. Finally, our proposed roadmap furnishes guidelines on the methods to enhance the monitoring of all CEC categories through the utilization of citizen science.

Bio-sulfate reduction technology, employed in mine wastewater treatment, generates sulfur-containing wastewater, a mixture of sulfides (HS⁻ and S²⁻) and metal ions. Wastewater containing sulfur-oxidizing bacteria typically results in the generation of biosulfur, which takes the form of negatively charged hydrocolloidal particles. TNO155 research buy Unfortunately, the recovery of biosulfur and metal resources is problematic using conventional methods. In this investigation, the SBO-AF method was examined to recover the aforementioned resources, aiming to provide a technical guide to effectively manage mine wastewater and heavy metal pollution. The performance characteristics of SBO in biosulfur synthesis and the defining parameters of SBO-AF were evaluated, and a pilot-scale process for recovering resources from wastewater was subsequently developed. The experimental results show that partial sulfide oxidation was obtained with a sulfide loading rate of 508,039 kg/m³d, dissolved oxygen concentrations ranging from 29-35 mg/L, and a temperature of 27-30°C. Co-precipitation of metal hydroxide and biosulfur colloids was observed at pH 10, driven by the synergistic action of precipitation trapping and adsorption-mediated charge neutralization. Treatment of the wastewater resulted in a reduction of manganese, magnesium, and aluminum concentrations, and turbidity from their initial levels of 5393 mg/L, 52297 mg/L, 3420 mg/L, and 505 NTU, respectively, to 049 mg/L, 8065 mg/L, 100 mg/L, and 2333 NTU, respectively. TNO155 research buy Sulfur and metal hydroxides were the primary components of the recovered precipitate. In terms of average content, sulfur was 456%, manganese 295%, magnesium 151%, and aluminum 65%. The study of economic viability, supported by the data presented, reveals the substantial technical and economic advantages of SBO-AF in extracting resources from mine wastewater.

Hydropower, the world's predominant renewable energy, provides advantages like water retention and adaptability; yet, it also carries substantial environmental impacts. The pursuit of Green Deal targets requires sustainable hydropower to find a delicate balance among electricity generation, its effects on ecosystems, and its societal advantages. Digital, information, communication, and control (DICC) technologies are emerging as an effective mechanism within the European Union (EU) to support the pursuit of a harmonious integration of green and digital transitions, overcoming the inherent trade-offs. Using DICC, this research shows how hydropower can be integrated into Earth's environmental spheres, highlighting the hydrosphere (water resource management, hydropeaking reduction, environmental flows), biosphere (riparian zone improvement, fish habitat, and migration), atmosphere (reduced methane emissions and reservoir evaporation), lithosphere (improved sediment management, reduced seepage), and anthroposphere (mitigating pollution from combined sewer overflows, chemicals, plastics, and microplastics). Examining the Earth spheres previously described, this paper comprehensively investigates the key DICC applications, their case studies, encountered challenges, Technology Readiness Level (TRL), benefits, drawbacks, and their application to energy generation and predictive operations and maintenance (O&M). The European Union's priorities are prominently displayed. Although the paper primarily concentrates on hydropower, the same considerations hold for any artificial barrier, water reservoir, or constructed structure influencing freshwater ecological systems.

The proliferation of cyanobacterial blooms across the globe in recent years is attributable to both global warming and the worsening issue of water eutrophication. The subsequent water quality problems are extensive, with the noticeable odor issue in lakes being a major focus. In the advanced phase of the bloom, the surface sediment became heavily coated with algae, a hidden threat of odor-causing pollution for the lakes. TNO155 research buy Algae are a primary source of cyclocitral, a common odorant that often affects the smell of lakes. Within this study, an annual survey encompassing 13 eutrophic lakes within the Taihu Lake basin was scrutinized to assess the effects of abiotic and biotic elements on -cyclocitral concentrations in the water. The sediment's pore water (pore,cyclocitral) showed a pronounced enrichment of -cyclocitral, exhibiting an average concentration approximately 10,037 times that of the water column. The structural equation modeling analysis indicated that the concentration of -cyclocitral in the water column is directly associated with algal biomass and pore water cyclocitral. Total phosphorus (TP) and temperature (Temp), in turn, influenced algal biomass positively, resulting in enhanced -cyclocitral production in both the water column and pore water. It is significant to observe that an algae concentration of 30 g/L of Chla markedly amplified the effects on pore-cyclocitral, highlighting its substantial role in the regulation of -cyclocitral levels in the water column. A thorough investigation into the effects of algae on odorants and the complex regulatory processes within aquatic ecosystems yielded a significant finding: sediment contributions to -cyclocitral in eutrophic lake waters. This previously unrecognized process is crucial to understanding off-flavor development in lakes and aids in future odor management strategies.

The acknowledgment of coastal tidal wetlands' significance, encompassing their contributions to flood protection and biological conservation, is quite justified. The assessment of mangrove habitat quality relies on the precise and reliable measurement and estimation of topographic data. This study introduces a novel approach to swiftly generate a digital elevation model (DEM) by integrating instantaneous waterline measurements with recorded tidal levels. The deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) made it possible to conduct on-site waterline interpretation analysis. The results demonstrate that image enhancement enhances waterline recognition accuracy, and object-based image analysis exhibits the optimal accuracy.