Introduction: In Malaysia, excessive nutrients from livestock waste management systems are currently released to the environment. Particularly, large amounts of manure from intensive pig production areas are being excreted daily and are not being fully utilised. Alternatively, the excess manure can be applied as an organic fertiliser source in neighbouring cropping systems on the small landholdings of the pig farms to improve soil fertility so that its nutrients will be available for crop uptake instead of being discharged into water streams. Thus, there is a need for better tools to analyse the present situation, to evaluate and monitor alternative livestock production systems and manure management scenarios, and to support farmers in the proper management of manure and fertiliser application. Such tools are essential to quantify, and assess nutrient fluxes, manure quality and content, manure storage and application rate to the land as well as its environmental effects. Several computer models of animal waste management systems to assist producers and authorities are now available. However, it is felt that more development is needed to adopt such models to the humid tropics and conditions of Malaysia and other developing countries in the region. Objectives: The aim is to develop a novel model to evaluate nutrient emission scenarios and the impact of livestock waste at the landscape or regional level in humid tropics. The study will link and improve existing models to evaluate emission of N to the atmosphere, and leaching of nutrients to groundwater and surface water. The simulation outputs of the models will be integrated with a GIS spatial analysis to model the distribution of nutrient emission, leaching and appropriate manure application on neighbouring crop lands and as an information and decision support tool for the relevant users.
Nach heutigem Stand des Wissens und der Technik ist die forstliche Rekultivierung von Kiesgruben und Steinbrüchen sehr kosten- und energieaufwendig und dennoch vielfach nicht zufriedenstellend. Die vorliegende, auf mehrere Jahre angelegte Untersuchung befasst sich mit der Vegetationsentwicklung (ungelenkte Sukzession) in für forstliche Pflanzungen vorbereiteten Rekultivierungsflächen, und zwar auf 'rohem und mit Waldoberbodenauflage (mit entsprechendem Diasporenreservoir) behandeltem Rekultivierungssubstrat. Von besonderem Interesse sind hierbei die Gehölze. In zwei Versuchsanlagen (Kiesgrube, Versuchsgelände des Institutes) mit 32 Versuchsparzellen à 2,1 x 2,1 m bzw. 1,5 x 1,5 m werden vier Varianten werden untersucht: Rohboden (Bodengemisch), Auflage von Altwaldoberboden auf Rohboden, beide Varianten jeweils ohne und mit Strohabdeckung. Von April bis Oktober 1999 wurden acht mal Anzahl und Deckung der Arten höherer Pflanzen der Versuchsparzellen aufgenommen sowie der Diasporenregen auf die Versuchsanlage erfaßt. Um die Herkunft der keimenden Pflanzen zu erfassen, wurde neben der Erfassung des Diasporenregens mittels Keimversuchen das Diasporenreservoir der Ausgangssubstrate (Rohboden, Waldoberboden) ermittelt sowie die Flora der unmittelbaren Umgebung erfaßt. Des weiteren werden klimatische Daten einbezogen sowie auf dem Versuchsgelände standörtliche Parameter (Bodenfeuchte in unterschiedlichen Tiefen) gemessen. Es zeigen sich signifikante Unterschiede in der Besiedlungsentwicklung und der Artenzusammensetzung der verschiedenen Varianten. Die Besiedlung erfolgte am raschesten und mit höchsten Deckungsgraden auf Versuchsparzellen mit einer Auflage von Altwaldoberboden. Hier entwickelten sich erst Schlagfluren, im zweiten Jahr breitete sich verstärkt die Brombeere aus. Gehölze treten nur vereinzelt auf. Auf den Rohbodenparzellen siedelten sich erwartungsgemäß Pionier- und Ruderalarten an, die Besiedlung erfolgte gegenüber der Waldbodenvariante jedoch verzögert und nicht so üppig. Die Dynamik auf Parzellen mit Strohauflage wurde im ersten Jahr vor allem von Weizenpflanzen, im zweiten von Ruderalarten bestimmt; Arten der obigen Varianten traten stark verzögert und nur in Einzelexemplaren auf. Für gesicherte erste Prognosen reicht der kurze Untersuchungszeitraum (April bis November 1999) noch nicht aus. Bezüglich der Gehölzentwicklung lassen sich auf einzelnen Rohbodenparzellen Anzeichen für die Entwicklung von Weidengebüschen oder Brombeergestrüppen erkennen. Auf den Parzellen mit Waldbodenauflage wird sich in den nächsten Jahren möglicherweise die Brombeere durchsetzen und andere Pflanzen unterdrücken.
The adoption of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 91/271/EEC imposes the sewage sludge to be subsequently treated so it is expected by 2005 to increase twofold in comparison whit 1992. However, classical incineration to treat this vast amount of sludge must be no longer accepted from an environmental point of view. In addition, the Sewage Sludge Directive 86/278/EEC regulates the uses and properties of stabilised sludge for being either recycled or disposed. Both directives drive specific actions in two complementary ways. Firstly, a deep knowledge of current sludge treatment, such as mesophilic, thermophilic or autothermophilic processes, must be promoted to solve that problem in the UE ambit, taking in account the particular considerations of each treatment facility. In second place, the development of new processes must be supported to open new alternatives that could valorise that waste.The proposal aims at developing strategies for the disposal and reuse of waste sludge. The scope envisages to develop several processes for reducing both amount and toxicity of sludge, with simultaneous transformation into green energy vectors such as methane or hydrogen. In outline, mesophilic and mainly thermophilic and autothermophilic conditions will be deeply explored as classical alternatives for sludge stabilisation, assuring sanitary conditions of the treated sludge. Also, valuable materials will be obtained from sludge, such as activated carbons, which will be used in conventional adsorption processes and in innovative advanced oxidation processes.The main outcomes expected at the end of the projects are guidelines for technology selection in agreement with the geographic, economic and technical characteristics of the sewage plants, demonstration of the feasibility of new applications for the sewage sludge, manufacturing of activated carbon from sludge sewage as innovative recycling of sludge waste, and a deep understanding of the methods involved. Prime Contractor: Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain.
Waterborne sewage system has proven to be inappropriate to solve sanitation needs in developing countries. Approximately 90 percentt of city sewage in developing countries today is discharged untreated, polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas (Winblad, 1997). With increasing population density and the resultant groundwater pollution, conventional decentralized disposal systems such as latrines and seepage pits are not viable alternatives either. Many cities are short of water and subject to critical environmental degradation (Niemczynowicz, 1996). Conventional sanitation technologies based on flush toilets, sewers, treatment and discharge cannot solve the problems in urban areas anymore. A sustainable sanitation and wastewater management system is urgently needed in order to address these issues. Ecological sanitation (Ecosan) is proposed as an alternative system to solve the following problems: lack of sanitation and water body contamination by pathogens from human waste. Ecosan does not only provide sanitation facilities for the people, but also seeks to protect public health, prevents water pollution and at the same time returns valuable nutrients to the soil so that it also helps to ensure food security and contributes to the objectives of sustainable development. The objective of this research is to search for a sustainable sanitation and human waste management system that is appropriate to be applied in poor income people living in densely populated urban areas in Indonesia. As Ecological Sanitation has not been applied in Indonesia before, this dissertation also aims to investigate its effectiveness and community acceptance in Indonesia. Two other existing systems are also studied as the comparison, which are the conventional septic tank system and the decentralized wastewater system (Dewats). All of these sanitation systems are assessed based on three sustainability criteria: economical, environmental and social.
Objective: New process route for lightweight, unbreakable and economically feasible solar panels on the basis of amorphous silicon. Results: From a number of canditates enamel-coated steel sheet as substrate and an organic barrier as protective layer was chosen as an alternative to the dual glass panels. Criteria were vacuum compatibility, surface rougness and insulating properties. This concept requires that the production order of the thin film solar cell is reversed into back electrode, active stack, front transparent electrode. Inverted processes and low temperature processes were investigated in parallel. Protection against damage due to permeating water was reduced with an improved organic barrier coating. Also, less vulnerable back electrode materials were studied. Fluorine doped tin oxide, tin-doped indiumoxide and aluminium-doped zinc oxide were studied. However, the best and most economical results were optained with ITO. For monolithic integration mechanical masking and laser scribing were investigated. Mechanical masking failed due to the uneveness of the enamel surface. Laser scribing is possible due to the diminished power need with each consecutive layer. Some concepts for better light capture (texturing, optical coatings) were investigated. Based on the inverted process route small scale and full scale panels were manufactured and tested. Ultimately, the full scale failed due to the built-up of stress which caused delamination and could not sufficiently be reduced. The panel costs of the new route proved very similar to the existing product, but required an additional investment in vacuum deposition equipment. Surprisingly, ITO with recycling proved to be the most cost effective transparent electrode material.
Im Forschungsvorhaben wurde die Situation der Entsorgung der Papierreststoffe in Rheinland-Pfalz untersucht. Hierbei wurde festgestellt, dass Papierreststoffe auf Grund unterschiedlichster Anfallorte sehr heterogen zusammengesetzt sind. Menge und Beschaffenheit der Papierreststoffe eines Unternehmens sind abhängig von der erzeugten Papiersorte, den Einsatzstoffen (Primär- oder Sekundärrohstoffe) und den Verfahren der Abwasserreinigung. Problematisch für die weitere Behandlung der Reststoffe sind die häufig anzutreffenden Mischungen aus Fraktionen mit unterschiedlichen Schadstoffgehalten. Das heute in der Bundesrepublik noch vorherrschende Entsorgungsverfahren für die Reststoffe, die Ablagerung auf Deponien, wird in absehbarer Zukunft ohne Vorbehandlung nicht mehr zulässig sein. Daher gewinnen die stoffliche und die energetische Verwertung an Bedeutung. Vor diesem Hintergrund wurden Untersuchungen zur stofflichen Verwertung von rheinland-pfälzischen Papierreststoffen durchgeführt, wobei besonders die Vergärung und die Kompostierung betrachtet wurden. Die Versuchsergebnisse lassen den Schluß zu, dass für einige der in Rheinland-Pfalz anfallenden Papierreststoffe, die im Vergleich zu den Grenzwerten der Klärschlamm-Verordnung niedrige Schadstoffgehalte aufweisen, sowohl die Kompostierung als auch die Vergärung mögliche Verwertungsverfahren darstellen. Zur Aufstellung eines Entsorgungskonzeptes für Papierreststoffe in Rheinland-Pfalz fand eine Datenaufnahme durch eine Befragung der Unternehmen und Genehmigungsbehörden statt. Es wurden Herstellungsverfahren, Ausgangsstoffe, Reststoffmengen und -beschaffenheit sowie gegenwärtige und geplante Entsorgungswege erfasst. Die Entsorgung der Papierreststoffe ist zukünftig nur im Rahmen eines schlüssigen Entsorgungskonzeptes möglich. Als wichtiger Baustein für ein solches Konzept wurde ein Güteklassenmodell entwickelt, das von Güteklasse 1 (Reststoff gut geeignet für die landwirtschaftliche Verwertung) bis zur Güteklasse 5 (nicht geeignet für die stoffliche Verwertung) reicht. Grundlegendes Kriterium für die Einstufung der Reststoffe ist der Gehalt an Schadstoffen, gemessen an den Richtwerten der Bundesgütegemeinschaft Kompost e.V. und den Grenzwerten der Klärschlamm-VO.
The overall aim of Predict-IV is to develop strategies to improve the assessment of drug safety in the early stage of development and late discovery phase, by an intelligent combination of non animal-based test systems, cell biology, mechanistic toxicology and in-silico modelling, in a rapid and cost effective manner. A better prediction of the safety of an investigational compound in early development will be delivered. Margins-of-safety will be deduced and the data generated by the proposed approach may also identify early biomarkers of human toxicity for pharmaceuticals. The results obtained in Predict-IV will enable pharmaceutical companies to create a tailored testing strategy for early drug safety. The project will integrate new developments to improve and optimize cell culture models for toxicity testing and to characterize the dynamics and kinetics of cellular responses to toxic effects in vitro. The target organs most frequently affected by drug toxicity will be taken into account, namely liver and kidney. Moreover, predictive models for neurotoxicty are scarce and will be developed. For each target organ the most appropriate cell model will be used. The approach will be evaluated using a panel of drugs with well described toxicities and kinetics in animals and partly also in humans.
Aufgrund des Kostendruckes werden Produktentwicklungszyklen immer kürzer, sodass eine Verifikation der geforderten Lebensdauer von über 20 Jahren nur mittels zuverlässiger, beschleunigter Tests gelingen kann. Die Entwicklung von speziell auf die CIS-Dünnschichttechnik zugeschnittener Schnelltests, die aus der Halbleiterindustrie adaptiert werden, ist das zentrale Thema des RECIS-II-Projektes. Es soll die guten Einzelergebnisse für Temperatur- und Lichtbelastungen, die im Vorgängerprojekt erzielt wurden, mit einer erweiterten Statistik untermauern und die Belastungsszenarien erweitern. Projektpartner sind das Institut für angewandte Forschung (Hochschule Ulm), die Manz CIGS Technology GmbH und das Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW).
The proposed regulation concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH) requires demonstration of the safe manufacture of chemicals and their safe use throughout the supply chain. There is therefore a strong need to strengthen and advance human and environmental risk assessment knowledge and practices with regard to chemicals, in accord with the precautionary principle. The goal of the project OSIRIS is to develop integrated testing strategies (ITS) fit for REACH that enable to significantly increase the use of non-testing information for regulatory decision making, and thus minimise the need for animal testing. To this end, operational procedures will be developed, tested and disseminated that guide a transparent and scientifically sound evaluation of chemical substances in a risk-driven, context-specific and substance-tailored (RCS) manner. The envisaged decision theory framework includes alternative methods such as chemical and biological read-across, in vitro results, in vivo information on analogues, qualitative and quantitative structure-activity relationships, thresholds of toxicological concern and exposure-based waiving, and takes into account cost-benefit analyses as well as societal risk perception. It is based on the new REACH paradigm to move away from extensive standard testing to a more intelligent, substance-tailored approach. The work will be organised in five interlinked research pillars (chemical domain, biological domain, exposure, integration strategies and tools, case studies), with a particular focus on more complex, long-term and high-cost endpoints. Case studies will demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the new ITS methodologies, and provide guidance in concrete form. To ensure optimal uptake of the results obtained in this project, end-users in industry and regulatory authorities will be closely involved in monitoring and in providing specific technical contributions to this project.
Fragile arid and semi-arid ecosystems are in urgent need of integrated conservation approaches that can contribute significantly to prevent and reduce the widespread on-going land degradation and desertification processes, such as erosion, flooding, overgrazing, drought, and salinization. The DESIRE project will establish promising alternative land use and management conservation strategies based on a close participation of scientists with stakeholder groups in the degradation and desertification hotspots around the world. This integrative participatory approach ensures both the acceptability and feasibility of conservation techniques, and a sound scientific basis for the effectiveness at various scales. DESIRE employs a bottom up approach such as is favoured by the UNCCD: i) degradation and desertification hotspots and stakeholder groups will be identified in all countries surrounding the Mediterranean, and in 6 external nations facing similar environmental problems, ii) desertification indicator sets will be defined in a participatory approach and a harmonized information system will be constructed to organize socio-economic and geoinformation data and tools for active dissemination; iii) new and existing conservation strategies will be defined with the stakeholder communities; iv) these strategies will be implemented in the field, and monitored and modeled to quantify their effectiveness at various scales; v) the results will be extrapolated using both the indicator sets, geoinformation data, and integrated modeling systems combining socio-economic and environmental aspects; vi) finally the results will be translated to a series of practical guidelines for good agricultural practices and environmental management, which will be disseminated to practitioners, agricultural extensionists, governmental authorities, policy makers, NGOs, land users, land owners, and local communities. Prime Contractor: Alterra B.V.; Wageningen; Netherlands.
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