Understanding how cities can transform organic waste into a valuable resource is critical to urban sustainability. The capture and recycling of phosphorus (P), and other essential nutrients, from human excreta is particularly important as an alternative organic fertilizer source for agriculture. However, the complex set of socio-environmental factors influencing urban human excreta management is not yet sufficiently integrated into sustainable P research. Here, we synthesize information about the pathways P can take through urban sanitation systems along with barriers and facilitators to P recycling across cities. We examine five case study cities by using a sanitation chains approach: Accra, Ghana; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Beijing, China; Baltimore, USA; and London, England. Our cross-city comparison shows that London and Baltimore recycle a larger percentage of P from human excreta back to agricultural lands than other cities, and that there is a large diversity in socio-environmental factors that affect the patterns of recycling observed across cities. Our research highlights conditions that may be “necessary but not sufficient” for P recycling, including access to capital resources. Path dependencies of large sanitation infrastructure investments in the Global North contrast with rapidly urbanizing cities in the Global South, which present opportunities for alternative sanitation development pathways. Understanding such city-specific social and environmental barriers to P recycling options could help address multiple interacting societal objectives related to sanitation and provide options for satisfying global agricultural nutrient demand.
Globally, urban growth will add 1.5 billion people to cities by 2030, making the difficult task of urban water provisions
even more challenging. In this article, we develop a conceptual framework of urban water provision as composed of three axes:
water availability, water quality, and water delivery. For each axis, we calculate quantitative proxy measures for all cities
with more than 50,000 residents, and then briefly discuss the strategies cities are using in response if they are deficient
on one of the axes. We show that 523 million people are in cities where water availability may be an issue, 890 million people
are in cities where water quality may be an issue, and 1.3 billion people are in cities where water delivery may be an issue.
Tapping into groundwater is a widespread response, regardless of the management challenge, with many cities unsustainably
using this resource. The strategies used by cities deficient on the water delivery axis are different than for cities deficient
on the water quantity or water quality axis, as lack of financial resources pushes cities toward a different and potentially
less effective set of strategies. 相似文献
Activated carbon (AC) amendment is an innovative method for the in situ remediation of contaminated soils. A field-scale AC amendment of either 2% powder or granular AC (PAC and GAC) to a PAH contaminated soil was carried out in Norway. The PAH concentration in drainage water from the field plot was measured with a direct solvent extraction and by deploying polyoxymethylene (POM) passive samplers. In addition, POM samplers were dug directly in the AC amended and unamended soil in order to monitor the reduction in free aqueous PAH concentrations in the soil pore water. The total PAH concentration in the drainage water, measured by direct solvent extraction of the water, was reduced by 14% for the PAC amendment and by 59% for GAC, 12 months after amendment. Measurements carried out with POM showed a reduction of 93% for PAC and 56% for GAC. The free aqueous PAH concentration in soil pore water was reduced 93% and 76%, 17 and 28 months after PAC amendment, compared to 84% and 69% for GAC. PAC, in contrast to GAC, was more effective for reducing freely dissolved concentrations than total dissolved ones. This could tentatively be explained by leaching of microscopic AC particles from PAC. Secondary chemical effects of the AC amendment were monitored by considering concentration changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nutrients. DOC was bound by AC, while the concentrations of nutrients (NO(3), NO(2), NH(4), PO(4), P-total, K, Ca and Mg) were variable and likely affected by external environmental factors. 相似文献
In this study, the influence of alkali (NaOH) treatment on the mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of eco-composites
of short flax fiber/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was investigated. SEM analysis conducted on alkali treated flax fibers showed
that the packed structure of the fibrils was deformed by the removal non-cellulosic materials. The fibrils were separated
from each other and the surface roughness of the alkali treated flax fibers was improved. The mechanical tests indicated that
the modulus of the untreated fiber/PLA composites was higher than that of PLA; on the other hand the modulus of alkali treated
flax fiber/PLA was lower than PLA. Thermal properties of the PLA in the treated flax fiber composites were also affected.
Tg values of treated flax fiber composites were lowered by nearly 10 °C for 10% NaOH treatment and 15 °C for 30% NaOH treatment.
A bimodal melting behavior was observed for treated fiber composites different than both of neat PLA and untreated fiber composites.
Furthermore, wide angle X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the crystalline structure of cellulose of flax fibers changed
from cellulose-I structure to cellulose-II. 相似文献
Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] transgenics overexpressing ATP sulfurylase (APS plants) were shown previously to have higher levels of total thiols, S, and Se. The present study explores the effect of ATP sulfurylase overexpression on tolerance and accumulation of other metals, both oxyanions and cations, reasoning that some anions may react directly with ATP sulfurylase, while other ions may be bound by its thiol end products. The APS transgenics were compared with wild-type plants with respect to tolerance and accumulation of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, W, and Zn, supplied individually in agar medium (seedlings) or in hydroponics (mature plants). At the seedling stage, APS transgenics were more tolerant than wild type to As(III), As(V), Cd, Cu, Hg, and Zn, but less tolerant to Mo and V. The APS seedlings had up to 2.5-fold higher shoot concentrations of As(III), As(V), Hg, Mo, Pb, and V, and somewhat lower Cr levels. Mature APS plants contained up to 2.5-fold higher shoot concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, V, and W than wild type. They also contained 1.5- to 2-fold higher levels of the essential elements Fe, Mo, and S in most of the treatments. Mature APS plants showed no differences in metal tolerance compared with the wild type. Overexpression of ATP sulfurylase may be a promising approach to create plants with enhanced phytoextraction capacity for mixtures of metals. 相似文献