IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute
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Material Pinch Analysis - A pilot study on global steel flows
No full textThis report is only available in English
Stakeholder analyasis of incineration tax, raw material tax and weight-based waste fee
No full textDenna rapport är en del av utvärderingen av styrmedel inom forskningsprogrammet Hållbar Avfallshantering. Rapporten presenterar en bild av hur avfallssektorn är uppbyggd och hur det påverkar effekten av olika styrmedel. Den gjorda analysen kompletterar de optimerande modeller som är använda och redovisade inom forskningsprogrammet. Intressentanalysen betonar insikten att styrmedel, för att de ska vara effektiva, behöver ge rätt incitament till rätt intressenter, t.ex. intressenter som har kontroll över det som styrmedlet ska ha tänkt påverkan på. Styrmedel kan ge sådana incitament om de är designade så att de påverkar den tänkta intressenten direkt. Styrmedel kan också skapa påverkan genom att en tredjeparts intressent förmedlar påverkan till den tänkta intressenten. Effekten av sådana indirekta incitament är svårare att förutsäga och det finns en risk att effekten försvagas genom att till exempel större kostnader kan bli följden. I de fall där rätt incitament redan finns kan ett styrmedel vara effektivt genom att det istället eliminerar hinder som är i vägen för den önskade handlingen. This report is only available in English
Mikroskräp i avloppsvatten från tre norska avloppsreningsverk
No full textMicroscopic litter particles in waste water from three waste water treatment plants (WWTPs), VEAS (700 000 population equivalents, pe), Tönsberg (185 000 pe) and Fuglevik (85 000 pe) were studied. Samples were taken by filtration of influent and effluent waste water, and also from the water right before the biological treatment at VEAS. The filters were analysed with stereomicroscopy, and the microlitter particles counted and categorized. To compare particles of different size classes, filters with two different mesh sizes were applied: 300 µm and 20 µm. It should be emphasized that particles that are collected on a 20 µm-filter will of course include also the size of particles that are collected on a particles ?300 µm filter. The analysed particles were divided into two main categories: microplastics and non-synthetic anthropogenic fibres (in the report referred to as non-synthetic fibres ). The latter category included e.g. cotton fibres from clothes. The study was based on a limited amount of data; only two samples were taken from influent and two from effluent water at each WWTP. So caution should be taken when interpreting the results. Still, valuable information on the importance of the WWTPs as gateways for microlitter to the environment has been obtained
Membranfiltrering och fällning för behandling av kommunalt avloppsvatten
No full textMunicipal wastewater treatment is a process to achieve sufficient water quality, which is usually done today using biological treatment. Although the process is optimised it still uses significant resources in its current form. IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute has developed an innovative concept with potential to reduce use of resources, increase biogas production and achieve clean water. The method involves increased pre-precipitation to reduce the organic content as well as the load on the following membrane filtration with ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis, where water is cleaned for higher purity. The produced sludge is digested to produce biogas. The method has been tested at Hammarby Sjöstadsverk by IVL and as a part of a thesis project, performed by Súsanna Berg, KTH. The work was performed as a part of the project “Municipal Wastewater Treatment of Tomorrow- a production facility for utilities” partly financed by Swedish Vinnova. Main results are: Optimised pre-precipitation was able to separate the majority of the organic content and the efficiency is influenced by the choice of precipitation chemicals. The following membrane treatment was able to remove most of the remaining pollutants including nitrogen compounds. Thus it was possible to achieve a high degree of cleaning with this alternative approach. The results show the potential of the investigated method and further options for development of the method
EcoWater - Proceedings of the 1st targeted event – Research links
No full textThe present document is the proceedings of the EcoWater scientific event, which took place as a one-day side event during the AquaConSoil 2013 conference. The two key objectives of the meeting were: 1. Present Ecowater and expose the project to scientific peers, discussing concepts and results so far; 2. Learn from other projects / initiatives to enrich the EcoWater development. The conference was organized in 4 slots, which were kept independent to allow for the audience to attend only selected sessions if desired. This scientific event has been very valuable for the EcoWater project. The project has received substantial input through the presentations of the invited speakers, and by discussing the specificities of the project with them and among the partners. As a result, stronger interactions may be anticipated between all on-going initiatives, including UNEP Resource Efficiency, Eco-Innovera, EmInInn, and the ETV pilot programme. In particular, the European efforts can possibly benefit more from each other’s presence than achieved so far. This report is only available in English
Användning av företagshälsovård i kommuner och landsting
No full textIn Sweden, municipalities and counties are among the largest employers, with more than a million employees out of Sweden 9 million inhabitants. Sweden is divided into 20 county councils which include four regions which are further divided in 290 municipalities. They are self-governing local authorities; municipalities are responsible for matters relating to the inhabitants of the municipality and the main task of the county councils and regions is healthcare. According to the Swedish work environment act, the employer is responsible for occupational health and safety. Employers are required to cooperate with employees and safety representatives about the work environment and occupational health- and safety management (OHSM). If necessary, the employer is required to consult and use support from external resources as occupational health services provider (OHS) (Swedish Work Environment Authority, 2015). The use of OHS as an expert resource in OHSM is hence strategically important for the prevention of work-related ill-health and accidents. In municipalities and counties the services can be provided by an in-house OHS unit or be purchased from a private OHS provider. The purpose of this study was to identify conditions and key factors for successful collaboration and use of OHS providers’ services in municipalities and counties, leading to preventive and proactive OHSM. Our results demonstrate how a good dialogue between employer, employees and OHS is a key factor for establishing effective use of expert knowledge and support. However, our study found only few cases where the OHSM actors – including managers, participating workers and their safety reps – have a significant role in defining the aims and scope of OHS support. One main finding was that OHS were only to a limited extent consulted on preventive issues. OHS was to a larger extent utilized for reactive tasks, such as rehab, and for curative services, as well as for activities that focused on individual health, such as health promotion e.g. non-smoking programs. Hence, OHSM actors had limited access to expert support from OHS to find, investigate and abate work environment risks. Many human resource (HR) departments have been transformed from being administrative support functions into being strategic business partners within the organizations. In our study, HR were in most cases main contract counterpart to OHS, heading the process for procurement and following up costs and delivered services. This means that HR, representing the management, had a major impact on provided support and services and the interaction with OHS. This jeopardizes the independent and neutral role of OHS. It also resulted in managers as well as workers and safety reps perceiving OHS as a HR resource, ant not as a resource for their local OHSM. The HR task in OHSM was in most cases focused on sick leave and rehab. Hence, the utilization of OHS became focused on individual issues as rehabilitation, curative services and wellness activities. Even though our study shows that public organizations have well established formal structures and rather extensive dialogue between managers and workers/safety reps on OHS issues, there is a lack of interaction and dialogue with OHS about work, workplace risks, causes and solutions. As a consequence, access to OHS support in and about preventive OHSM was limited, both for managers and for safety reps and workers. From this follows that OHS also have limited access to the actual workplaces, and to local knowledge, experiences, activities and discussions on health and safety. Utilization of OHS as an expert resource in preventive OHSM is thus restricted and inefficient This report is only available in Swedish
Deposition och avrinning av metaller, svavel och kväve i närheten av Rönnskärsverken från 1986/87 - 2013/14
No full textIVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute has since the mid-1980´s performed surveys of deposition and runoff of sulphur, nitrogen and metals in a spruce forest at Holmsvattnet, about 15-17 km SSW of the RÖNNSKÄR smelter. For the hydrological year 2013/14 the measurements started at a new station in the vicinity of the old measuring station. This report compares the results from the measurement in 2013/14 at Holmsvattnet with previous measurements in the area and with measurements from other nearby stations within Krondroppsnätet (SWETHRO). The aim of these measurements is to quantify the deposition and describe changes in the run-off water chemistry. This report is only available in Swedish
Experimentell utpovning av tekniker för avskiljning av flytslam (surfcleaner) i Henriksdals reningsverk
No full textOlika flytande föroreningar påverkar hanteringen av det vatten de befinner sig i. I avloppsreningsverk är det framförallt flytslam som uppstår under olika processförhållanden som innebär problem i driften av de berörda processerna till exempel genom igensättningar och därmed reducerat kapacitet i olika reningssteg. Förutom drifttekniska problem och ökade kostnader för omhändertagandet medför ytföroreningarna även en arbetsmiljöbelastning då föroreningarna vanligtvis behöver tas om hand av driftpersonal i en icke-optimal miljö. Andra vattenrelaterade processer som t.ex. ytvattenreservoarer som används för dricksvattenproduktion och vattentorn för distribution kan också påverkas av ytföroreningar. Under 2013-2015 har Surfcleaner, en teknik utvecklat för framförallt oljesanering, testats och vidareutvecklats för att uppnå en resurseffektiv hantering av flytslamproblematiken. Det långsiktiga syftet är att minska driftstörningar, underhållsbehov, och samtidigt att skapa förutsättningar för att ta till vara slammet som en resurs. Stockholm Vatten AB och IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet AB har tillsammans med miljöteknikföretaget Inovacor använt sig av både Henriksdal och Bromma reningsverk för att pröva, anpassa och utvärdera tekniken genom användning av befintliga modeller och en ny specifikt framtagen prototyp för flytslam. Tekniken baseras på en separation av slammet från vattenfasen och förutsättning finns därför att kunna tillföra det separerade slammet till den vanliga slambehandlingen (anaerob stabilisering) och därmed tillnyttogöra det som en resurs. Även om olika försvårande omständigheter som t.ex. flytslammets oförutsägbara uppkomst har försvårat testerna så har SurfCleanern, som tekniken kallas, visat sig vara effektiv i att ta upp och separera flytslam. Under projektets gång har även olika andra problem identifierats och alternativa lösningar förslagits och testats i mindre skala. Trots lovande resultat med SurfCleanern framstår en tillämpning i dagens processutformning inte som det mest resurseffektivaste alternativet. Istället föreslås ett annat tekniskt hjälpmedel för att förebygga driftproblem orsakat av flytslam.Various floating contaminants can affect the handling of water. In wastewater treatment plants, floating sludge that has its origin in various process conditions is often a problem. It implies disturbances in the operation of processes as, e.g., by clogging sand filters and thus reducing the capacity of the various purification steps. In addition to operating and technical problems and increased costs of maintenance, floating contaminants also imply other difficulties, as they usually need to be taken care of by the operating staff in a non-optimal environment. In other water processes, e.g. surface water reservoirs used for drinking water production and water distribution may also be affected by surface contaminants. During 2013-2015, a technique developed especially for oil spill remediation was tested and further developed to achieve a resource efficient management of floating sludge problems. The long-term aim was to reduce downtime, maintenance needs, while facilitating for the usage of the sludge as a resource. Stockholm Water Company (Stockholm Vatten AB) and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, together with the technology company Inovacor used both Henriksdal and Bromma sewage treatment plants to test, adapt and evaluate the technology through the use of existing devices and a new specifically developed prototype for floating sludge. The technology is based on a separation of the sludge from the water phase. Therefore, it would enable transfer of the separated sludge to the usual sludge treatment (anaerobic stabilization). Although various aggravating circumstances such as the floating sludge’s unpredictable occurrence has complicated the tests, SurfCleanern, as the technology is called, proved to be efficient in taking up and separating the floating sludge. During the project, various other problems were identified and alternative solutions suggested and tested on a smaller scale. Despite promising results with SurfCleanern, an application in today's process design appears not to be the most resource-efficient option. This is mostly due to how the basin setup and flow-profile in basins look like. Instead, another technical solution based on wave-generation is proposed to prevent operational problems caused by the floating sludge. This report is only available in Swedish