Sedimentation devices have been widely implemented to remove suspended solids and attached pollutants from stormwater before entering surface waters. The treatment performance of these best management practices (BMPs) on fine particles is rarely investigated in a standardized way. To overcome this information gap a reliable and standardized testing procedure is formulated.Four devices have been tested on their suspended sediments removal efficiency at different discharges and particle sizes, using the newly developed standardized full scale test method. The observed removal rates of the facilities with a storage volume in the order of 1.5 m3 and settling surface around 1 m2 drop to low removal efficiencies at flow rates of 10 l/s or more. For small sized sediments (up to 63 μm) the removal efficiency is below 50%. The results of the experiments can be used to improve both the design and the dimensions of stormwater treatment devices.
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In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of bioretention systems installed worldwide. However, there has only been limited research on the long-term effectiveness of these sustainable urban drainage system devices. This paper presents the results of a series of controlled field experiments investigating the pollutant removal efficiency of three bio-filtration system that have been in service for over five years in the Sunshine Coast in Australia. The results of this study suggest that the long-term pollution removal performance of these systems may not be as effective as previously thought and further research is needed.
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Energy efficiency has gained a lot of prominence in recent debates on urban sustainability and housing policy due to its potential consequences for climate change. At the local, national and also international level, there are numerous initiatives to promote energy savings and the use of renewable energy to reduce the environmental burden. There is a lot of literature on energy saving and other forms of energy efficiency in housing. However, how to bring this forward in the management of individual housing organisations is not often internationally explored. An international research project has been carried out to find the answers on management questions of housing organisations regarding energy efficiency. Eleven countries have been included in this study: Germany, the United Kingdom (more specifically: England), France, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Canada. The state of the art of energy efficiency in the housing management of non-profit housing organisations and the embedding of energy efficiency to improve the quality and performance of housing in management practices have been investigated, with a focus on how policy ambitions about energy efficiency are brought forward in investment decisions at the estate level. This paper presents the conclusions of the research
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Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a major public health concern worldwide. The problem has been reported mainly in southern Asia and, especially, in Bangladesh. Slow-sand filters (SSF) augmented with iron were proven to be a simple, low-cost and decentralized technique for the treatment of arsenic-contaminated sources. In this research, three pilot-scale SSF (flowrate 6 L·h−1) were tested regarding their capability of removing arsenic from groundwater in conditions similar to those found in countries like Bangladesh (70 µg As(III) L−1, 26 °C). From the three, two filters were prepared with mixed media, i.e., sand mixed with corrosive iron matter (CIM filter) and iron-coated sand (ICS filter), and a third conventional SSF was used as a reference. The results obtained showed that the CIM filter could remove arsenic below the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline concentration of 10 µg·L−1, even for inlet concentrations above 150 µg·L−1. After 230 days of continuous operation the arsenic concentration in the effluent started increasing, indicating depletion or saturation of the CIM layer. The effluent arsenic concentration, however, never exceeded the Bangladeshi standard of 50 µg·L−1 throughout the whole duration of the experiments.
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This paper analyzes connectivity and efficiency of a SME network across two industries. These characteristics are likely to be different for networks of various industries. The concept of 'small worlds' is used to judge overall network efficiency. The actual network can be classified as one in which a small world is present. Visualization of the results shows a single core group in the network. It was found that non-profit as well as science actors were overrepresented in the core of the field.
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Constructed wetlands are one type of Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) that have been used for decades in The Netherlands. They provide stormwater conveyance and improve stormwater quality. European regulations for water quality dictate lower and lower concentrations for an array of dissolved pollutants. The increase in the required removal efficiency for these systems imposed in the Netherlands requires a better understanding of thecharacteristics of stormwater and the functioning of constructed wetlands as SUDs. This paper presents a brief overview of 5 different constructed wetlands from the Netherlands that have been implemented at least more than 10 years ago. Their efficiency and functioning is reviewed and a new method of assessment is described.
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Thermal disinfection is probably the oldest water treatment method ever used. Similarly to other disinfection processes, it targets the inactivation of pathogenic (micro)organisms present in water, wastewater and other media. In this work, a pilot-scale continuous-flow thermal disinfection system was investigated using highly contaminated hospital wastewater as influent without any pre-treatment step for turbidity removal. The results proved that the tested system can be used with influent turbidity as high as 100 NTU and still provide up to log 8 microbial inactivation. Further results have shown energy consumption comparable to other commercially available thermal disinfection systems and relatively low influence on the investigated physical–chemical parameters.
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SummaryConstructed wetlands have been used for decades on industrial areas to treat stormwater. European regulations and local ambitions for water quality dictate lower emissions before the water is discharged to the drainage system, surface water or infiltrated to ground water. The increase in the required removal efficiency requires a better understanding of the characteristics of pollutants and cost-effective performance of constructed wetlands. In this chapter detailed characteristics of stormwater from (industrial) areas is given together with monitored removal efficiencies and the cost of constructed wetlands. Some case studies with constructed wetlands are selected and reviewed in this chapter which can be regarded as Best Management Practices (BMPs). In most cases the constructed wetlands are not monitored in detail but perceived to be effective. Long-term performance, however, remains an issue. New monitoring techniques such as underwater drones and full scale testing can be applied to get new insights on optimizing the hydraulic capacity and removal efficiency of wetlands. Last but not least: international knowledge exchange on constructed wetlands and new monitoring techniques can be promoted by interactive online tools.
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This paper describes some explorations on the concept of disassemblability as an important circularity indicator for products because of its severe impact on reuse value. Although usefulness of the concept for determining disassembly strategies and for improving circular product design clearly shows in earlier studies, the link with Industry 4.0 (I4.0)-related process innovation is still underexposed. For further technical development of the field of remanufacturing, research is needed on tools & training for operators, diagnostics, disassembly/repair instructions and forms of operator support. This includes the use of IoT and cobots in remanufacturing lines for automatic disassembly, sorting and recognition methods; providing guidance for operators and reduction of change-over times. A prototype for a disassembly work cell for a mobile phone has been developed together with researchers and students. This includes the removal of screws by means of a cobot using both vision & the available info in the product’s Bill-Of-Materials, the removal of covers, opening of snap fits and replacement of modules. This prototyping demonstrates that it is relatively easy to automate disassembly operations for an undamaged product, that has been designed with repairability in mind and for which product data and models are available. Process innovations like robotisation influence the disassemblability in a positive way, but current indicators like a Disassembly Index (DI) can’t reflect this properly. This study therefore concludes with suggestions for an evaluation of disassemblability by looking at the interaction between product, process and resources in a coherent way.
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We are now faced with numerous examples of the use of the word ‘open’ in the context of education. There are open schools, open universities, open participatory learning infrastructures (OPLI), open courseware (OCW), massive open online courses (MOOCs), open educational resources (OER), open educational practices (OEP) and so on (see, e.g., Atkins, Brown, & Hammond, 2007; Schuwer, van Genuchten, & Hatton, 2015). What these terms at face value seem to share is their reference to the removal of barriers to the access of education. Open universities have relaxed entrance requirements, open courseware and MOOCs allow for free access to courses, as do open educational resources and open educational practices at the levels of materials and practices, respectively, although the kinds of barriers removed and the extent to which they are removed differ widely (Mulder & Jansen, 2015). However, there is more to openness than this prima facie characterization in terms of the removal of barriers reveals. A brief overview of some existing definitions of openness in education can help to make this evident.
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