Responsible science, engineering and education for water resource recovery and circularity

Weissbrodt, David G.; Winkler, Mari K.H.; Wells, George F.

doi:10.1039/d0ew00402b

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 95 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The successful implementation of the European Green Deal must also be carried out through educational system reforms to ensure that all are equipped to meet the challenges of the future, including in those related to labour market. Therefore, 'tailored educational curricula' [4] must contain key competencies and skills needed to support a green economy. Socially and environmentally responsible behaviours may be further reinforced by impermanent education (such as through workplace retraining).…”

Section: Environmental Education Materials Related To Nbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Nature-Based Solutions Can Contribute to Enhance Circularity in Cities

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental education in different disciplines puts an accent on acquiring specialised knowledge and, while this remains essential, fostering knowledge alone, without links to real life, personal experiences, competencies, and values, is insufficient. Nature-based solutions (NBS) have the potential to be used as an educational framework that requires critical system thinking, a crucial component of truly democratic active citizenship, and raises awareness about global environmental, social, and economic issues. On the basis of NBS-related environmental education materials, we present in this chapter selected case studies that describe education for three main stakeholder groups. Concerning pupils and students, these are examples for schools and higher education, as well as pilot installations from Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Portugal, Turkey, and Germany. Different forms of facilities or organisations are included to demonstrate the possibilities of NBS-related education for practitioners. The offers for the general public comprise a mobile exhibition/demonstration unit, a social project and an animation video. Additionally, existing online platforms for knowledge sharing are summarised. The NBS concept has potential to assist the transition from current conventional education paradigms towards to a more critical systemic thinking to foster environmental citizenship as a base for environmental, social-economic, political, economic, and cultural changes on local, national, and global scales.

show abstract

Section: Environmental Education Materials Related To Nbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Nature-Based Solutions Can Contribute to Enhance Circularity in Cities

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Among them, CE education in universities is expected and has been considered one of the most pivotal factors to realize the transition toward the CE model (Bugallo-Rodriguez & Vega-Marcote, 2020). CE specialty education and general education in universities have been a broad concern for researchers, involving the establishment of talent training mode (Cui et al, 2018;Weissbrodt et al, 2020), construction and evaluation of the CE curriculum system (Kirchherr & Piscicelli, 2019;Nunes et al, 2018;Rodriguez-Chueca et al, 2020), and CE education in specific fields (Kopnina, 2019;Rokicki et al, 2020). Moreover, China has incorporated the construction of a CE major and the cultivation of CE professional talent in universities in the national overall development strategy in recent years, which have led to some achievements (Qu et al, 2020).…”

Section: Transformative Learning Theory and University Ce Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transition Towards a Circular Economy: The Role of University Assets in the Implementation of a New Model

Шевченко

Saidani

et al. 2021

Detritus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Public awareness and relevant consumer behaviors are crucial in accelerating the transition to a circular economy (CE) model. This paper focused on exploring university activities for changing awareness and behaviors according to the principles of its new circular model to foster sustainable development. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review provides a holistic perspective on university CE-related activities in the implementation of the CE. The review revealed that the construction of a theoretical framework in universities with asset-based development is conducive to promoting the CE model through transformative learning. In light of recent academic insights into CE education, a theoretical framework for CE-related university activities was developed based on attributes of CE-related university assets, such as non-profit status, technology innovation, education, propagation, and efficient use of resources. We also introduce into scientific use the term CE-related university assets and provide a classification of these CE-related assets. The present findings contribute to a deeper understanding of universities’ CE-related resources and assets to improve public awareness and behaviors, as well as to train and inspire the leaders (including engineers, managers, designers, etc.) of tomorrow, required for further implementing the CE model.

show abstract

“…The wastewater engineering sector faces new challenges for an integrated management of water, energy, and chemical resources in the circular economy (van Loosdrecht and Brdjanovic, 2014; Weissbrodt et al, 2020b). Granular sludge sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) (Giesen et al, 2012; Winkler and van Loosdrecht, 2022) made breakthrough to intensify the biological nutrient removal (BNR) from wastewater.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production of extracellular polymeric substances in granular sludge under selection forAccumulibacterandCompetibacter

Guimarães

Gubser

Lin

et al. 2023

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Granular sludge intensifies the removal of nutrients from wastewater. Granules structured by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) can be recovered as biomaterial. Links between microbial selection and EPS formation during granulation need to get uncovered. We inoculated anaerobic-aerobic sequencing batch reactors with either flocs or granules to study the relationships between microbial selection, bioaggregation, exopolymer formation, and EPS composition. Selection for slow-growing organisms like the model polyphosphate-accumulating organism "Candidatus Accumulibacter" (max. 83% vs. amplicon sequencing read counts) and glycogen-accumulating organism "Ca. Competibacter" (max. 45%) sustained granulation. Gel-forming exopolymers were produced as high as above 40% of the volatile solids of the biomass by stepwise increase of the organic loading rate (0.3 to 2.0 g CODAc d-1 LR-1). Confocal laser scanning microscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, and HPAE-PAD chromatography revealed the complex and dynamic chemical compositions of the structural EPS in relation to microbial population shifts along reactor regimes. The analysis of 20 representative genomes of "Ca. Accumulibacter" and "Ca. Competibacter" recovered from public databases revealed their functional potential to produce EPS among other representative wastewater microorganisms. The more than 40 functional gene categories annotated highlight the complexity of EPS metabolic networks from monomers processing to assembly, export, and epimerizations. The combination of ecological engineering principles and systems microbiology will help unravel and direct the production of EPS from wastewater, valorizing residual granular sludge into beneficial biomaterials for the circular economy.

show abstract

Responsible science, engineering and education for water resource recovery and circularity

Abstract:
Integration of resource recovery and circular economy concepts in higher education will stimulate responsible innovation in the water sector for an ecologically-balanced society.

Cited by 19 publications

References 95 publications

How Nature-Based Solutions Can Contribute to Enhance Circularity in Cities

How Nature-Based Solutions Can Contribute to Enhance Circularity in Cities

Transition Towards a Circular Economy: The Role of University Assets in the Implementation of a New Model

Production of extracellular polymeric substances in granular sludge under selection forAccumulibacterandCompetibacter

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Responsible science, engineering and education for water resource recovery and circularity

Abstract: Integration of resource recovery and circular economy concepts in higher education will stimulate responsible innovation in the water sector for an ecologically-balanced society.

Cited by 19 publications

References 95 publications

How Nature-Based Solutions Can Contribute to Enhance Circularity in Cities

How Nature-Based Solutions Can Contribute to Enhance Circularity in Cities

Transition Towards a Circular Economy: The Role of University Assets in the Implementation of a New Model

Production of extracellular polymeric substances in granular sludge under selection forAccumulibacterandCompetibacter

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Abstract:
Integration of resource recovery and circular economy concepts in higher education will stimulate responsible innovation in the water sector for an ecologically-balanced society.