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A Concept of Smart Agro-photovoltaic Tunnels
No full textThe paper is a review of chosen reports on the integration of photovoltaics and agrotechnics and also presents the concept of an agro-photovoltaic foil tunnel module. The concept of an agro-photovoltaic module assumes the possibility of integrating the modules into the intelligent agro-photovoltaic fields. The proposed solution combines the cultivation in a foil tunnel with a photovoltaic farm. The paper reviews electronic solutions to control ambient parameters particularly those influencing the rate of photosynthesis in foil tunnels. The article also presents an analysis of energy and water balance of the module in 4 different climatic zones. The climate zones include locations in Poland, Spain, Algeria, and Colombia. The module’s water requirements include drip irrigation and fogging systems. Water is assumed to be obtained from rainfall, desalination, non-conventional (treated, desalinated) resources, groundwater, and sub-artesian wells. The module’s energy needs include electricity consumption for pumping freshwater, desalination and water treatment, irrigation and fertilization, additional lighting and heating of plants, folding and unfolding of foil covers, and energy consumption related to control. The article also presents an analysis of crop shading by solar panels and its impact on the selected crop. The functionality of the presented solution was assessed for tomato cultivation in the four selected areas. A foil tunnel of the total area 240 m2 was considered. 60 m2 of the tunnel was covered by the PV panels. Results of the analysis show that the most energetically effective agro-photovoltaic cultivation of tomatoes appears to be in the Saharan region of Africa where 16 MWh annual energy surplus has been obtained. Slightly less effective seem to be cultivations in Spain (Cartagena) and Colombia (Cali) with the approximately 15.5 MWh/a. The least effective agro-photovoltaic cultivation of tomatoes proved to be in Poland where the energy surplus reached 8.5 MWh/a. However, economic return from the cultivation strongly depends on local energy and tomato prices. The system of smart tunnels proposed by the authors combines photovoltaics with controlled protection of crops against unfavorable and extreme climatic conditions. In addition, the system allows plants to be grown with the maximum possible number of days with natural growing conditions, i.e. with uncovered tunnels, with natural bio-fertilization and with natural sunlight
Presence of pharmaceutical contaminants of emerging concerns in two rivers of western Cuba and their relationship with the extracellular enzymatic activity of microbial communities
No full textIn recent years, the concern derived from the presence of emerging contaminants in the environment and the possible effects on the One Health trilogy has increased. This study determined the concentration of pharmaceutical contaminants of emerging concern and their relationship with the extracellular enzymatic activity of microbial communities from two rivers in western Cuba. Two sampling stations were analyzed; one in the Almendares River (urban) and the other in the San Juan River (rural), taking into account the pollution sources that arrive at these stations and previous physicochemical characterizations. Extracellular protease, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, lipase, and catalase activities in water and sediments were determined and correlated with contaminants of emerging concern determined by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. This study evidenced the presence of different pharmaceutical contaminants found in the categories of antihypertensives, stimulants, anti-inflammatories, and antibiotics in both rivers. Concentrations of contaminants of emerging concern were greater in the Almendares River compared to the San Juan River. In addition, through the canonical redundancy analysis, the influence of these contaminants on the extracellular enzymatic activities of microbial communities was documented, where in most cases they inhibit protease, phosphatase, and lipase activities and enhance catalase activity in response to oxidative stress. The present investigation constitutes the first report in Cuba of the presence of pharmaceutical contaminants of emerging concern and one of the few works that exist in the Latin American region
Initial concept and embodiment to develop modular constructed wetland: A unique and promising solution to sustainability transitions in water management
No full textConstructed Wetlands (CWs) were widely used as nature-based solution to effectively remove contaminants from wastewater, while offering benefits for ecological value and landscape services. However, one limited factor for practical applications of CW technology is the conventional construction style, which is a laborious and complex civil engineering. As such, an idea of modular CW (MCW) was proposed and embodiment was made for different scales of treatment wetland projects. This paper introduces the MCW concept and the efforts made to realize it. MCW is a revolutionary approach in wastewater treatment that combines efficiency, adaptability, and environmental sustainability. MCW represents a paradigm shift from traditional CWs, offering a pre-fabricated, modular solution that simplifies the complexities of civil engineering in wastewater management. These prefabricated modular structures, assembled off-site and installed on-site, provide a streamlined, flexible, and user-friendly alternative to conventional CWs. The innovative design of MCWs incorporates advanced substrates and technologies, integrating enhanced processes such as intermittent aeration, tidal flow, and circulating reflux. This novel approach significantly improves pollutant removal efficiency, reduces land usage, and addresses clogging issues through rapid module replacement. The paper comprehensively delved into the structural, substrate, plant, and operational aspects of MCWs. It highlights the environmental and economic benefits of MCWs, emphasizing their role as a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly solution for wastewater treatment. The study concludes by underscoring the potential of MCWs in spearheading new research and development in sustainable wastewater management, marking a new generation in CW systems
Developing modular constructed treatment wetland: the idea, the strategy and the reality
No full textLos humedales construidos modulares (MCWs) surgen como una solución eficaz y sostenible para el tratamiento de aguas residuales, superando las limitaciones de los humedales construidos tradicionales mediante la adaptabilidad, escalabilidad y eficiencia en costos. Este enfoque innovador integra tecnologías avanzadas, como sustratos ligeros y tecnologías electroquímicas microbianas, optimizando la eliminación de contaminantes y ofreciendo una mayor viabilidad operativa y de construcción. La tesis detalla el desarrollo de MCWs, desde la conceptualización hasta la implementación a escala real, demostrando su potencial en el tratamiento eficiente de aguas residuales con énfasis en la mejora de la remoción de materia orgánica y fósforo, y sugiere que su aplicación práctica podría significar un avance importante para enfrentar los desafíos globales del tratamiento de agua, combinando principios ecológicos con innovación ingenieril
General Principles of Ecological Risk Assessment: Protecting Ecosystems in the Third Millennium
No full textSoil amendments and water management to improve attenuation and recovery of wastewater originated nutrients through a vegetation filter
No full textUsing a Bayesian network model to predict effects of pesticides on aquatic community endpoints in a rice field – A southern European case study
No full textBayesian network (BN) models are increasingly used as tools to support probabilistic environmental risk assessments (ERAs), because they can better account for uncertainty compared with the simpler approaches commonly used in traditional ERA. We used BNs as metamodels to link various sources of information in a probabilistic framework, to predict the risk of pesticides to aquatic communities under given scenarios. The research focused on rice fields surrounding the Albufera Natural Park (Valencia, Spain), and considered three selected pesticides: acetamiprid (an insecticide), 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA; a herbicide), and azoxystrobin (a fungicide). The developed BN linked the inputs and outputs of two pesticide models: a process-based exposure model (Rice Water Quality [RICEWQ]), and a probabilistic effects model (Predicts the Ecological Risk of Pesticides [PERPEST]) using case-based reasoning with data from microcosm and mesocosm experiments. The model characterized risk at three levels in a hierarchy: biological endpoints (e.g., molluscs, zooplankton, insects, etc.), endpoint groups (plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, and community processes), and community. The pesticide risk to a biological endpoint was characterized as the probability of an effect for a given pesticide concentration interval. The risk to an endpoint group was calculated as the joint probability of effect on any of the endpoints in the group. Likewise, community-level risk was calculated as the joint probability of any of the endpoint groups being affected. This approach enabled comparison of risk to endpoint groups across different pesticide types. For example, in a scenario for the year 2050, the predicted risk of the insecticide to the community (40% probability of effect) was dominated by the risk to invertebrates (36% risk). In contrast, herbicide-related risk to the community (63%) resulted from risk to both plants (35%) and invertebrates (38%); the latter might represent (in the present study) indirect effects of toxicity through the food chain. This novel approach combines the quantification of spatial variability of exposure with probabilistic risk prediction for different components of aquatic ecosystems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:182–196. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC
Developing a novel lightweight substrate for constructed treatment wetland: The idea and the reality
No full textThe cost-effective and environmentally friendly substrates play an important role in functioning constructed wetlands (CWs). This study innovatively composes aluminum sludge and polyurethane under the action of a catalyst to develop a novel lightweight substrate (Al-NLS), which is expected to be used as a main substrate in CWs. The driving force of it lies in reducing construction costs of CWs in practice, while offering a flexible and considerably efficient substrate in CW. The bulk density of the resultant Al-NLS was apparently reduced by about 80 % compared with common substrate of gravel. The static adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption behavior of Al-NLS on phosphorus (P) was in accordance with Langmuir isotherm (with maximum P adsorption capacity of 1.12 mg/g,) and quasi-second-order kinetic models. The use of Al-NLS as a single stage wetland substrate to treat real domestic wastewater has favorable removal efficiencies of COD (65.9–74.3 %), TP (86.9–98.6 %), NH4+-N (61.1–52.2 %) and TN (35.4–45.6 %). The mechanisms of P removal onto Al-NLS were examined by various physiochemical characterizations of Al-NLS and raw alum sludge, which revealed that P adsorption was via forming Hydroxy-Al by ion exchange. In addition, high throughput sequencing analysis revealed that Al-NLS had positive impact on the richness and diversity of microbial community for pollutants removal, while the abundance of key functional bacteria such as proteobacteria and bacteroidota was higher in the longer retention time of CW (HRT = 2 days). These results indicated that Al-NLS could be used as a new alternative substrate in CWs technology
Study of the influence of nanoscale porosity on the microbial electroactivity between expanded graphite electrodes and Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilms
No full textExpanded graphite (EG) electrodes gather several advantages for their utilization
in microbial electrochemical technologies (MET). Unfortunately, the
low microbial electroactivity makes them non-practical for implementing them
as electrodes. The objective of this work is to explore the enhancement of
microbial electroactivity of expanded graphite (commercial PV15) through
the generation of nanopores by CO2 treatment. The changes in properties
were thoroughly analysed by TG, XRD, Raman, XPS, gas adsorption, SEM
and AFM, as well as microbial electroactivity in the presence of Geobacter
sulfurreducens. Nanopores remarkably enhance the microbially derived electrical
current (60-fold increase). Given the inaccessibility of micron-sized bacteria
to these nanopores, it is suggested that the electric charge exchanged
by electroactive microorganisms might be greatly affected by the capability
of the electrode to compensate these charges through ion adsorption. The
increased microbial current density produced on activated PV15 opens the
possibility of using such materials as promising electrodes in MET