Recovery of phosphorus from waste water profiting from biological nitrogen treatment: Upstream, concomitant or downstream precipitation alternatives

Mined phosphate rock is the largest source of phosphorus (P) for use in agriculture and agro-industry, but it also is a finite resource irregularly distributed around the world. Alternatively, waste water is a renewable source of P, available at the local scale. In waste water treatment, biological nitrogen (N) removal is applied according to a wide range of variants targeting the abatement of the ammonium content. Ammonium oxidation to nitrate can also be considered to mitigate ammonia emission, while enabling N recovery. This review focuses on the analysis of alternatives for coupling biological N treatment and phosphate precipitation when treating waste water in view of producing P-rich materials easily usable as fertilisers. Phosphate precipitation can be applied before (upstream configuration), together with (concomitant configuration), and after (downstream configuration) N treatment; i.e., chemically induced as a conditioning pre-treatment, biologically induced inside the reactor, and chemically induced as a refining post-treatment. Characteristics of the recovered products differ significantly depending on the case studied. Currently, precipitated phosphate salts are not typified in the European fertiliser regulation, and this fact limits marketability. Nonetheless, this topic is in progress. The potential requirements to be complied by these materials to be covered by the regulation are overviewed. The insights given will help in identifying enhanced integrated approaches for waste water treatment, pointing out significant needs for subsequent agronomic valorisation of the recovered phosphate salts, according to the paradigms of the circular economy, sustainability, and environmental protection.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Testfall Erwachsenenbildner: Perspektiven einer web-basierten Validierung

Web-basierte Lerntechnologien bieten die Möglichkeit, Validierung von Kompetenzen mit geringerem Ressourceneinsatz durchzuführen, und erleichtern das Nachweis- und Zertifikatsmanagement. Ein solches web-basiertes Lerninstrument für Lehrende in der Erwachsenenbildung wird im Projekt EULE entwickelt. In mehr als 25 Lernfeldern, für die Lernangebote hinterlegt sind, bietet EULE eine bedarfsorientierte Bearbeitung von Lernmodulen. Dabei wird eine Identifizierung, Dokumentierung und Bewertung von Kompetenzständen ermöglicht und zu weitergehendem Lernen angeregt

(Self-)Professionalization of adult educators at a distance. Insights into page impressions and topic selection at wb-web in “corona year” 2020

Das Portal wb-web und der darin eingebundene EULE Lernbereich sollen Lehrende in der Erwachsenen- und Weiterbildung durch (Selbst-)Professionalisierungsangebote beim Kompetenzaufbau unterstützen. Haben Erwachsenenbildner*innen diese digitalen Angebote im Zuge des ersten coronabedingten Lockdowns im Jahr 2020 verstärkt genutzt, um ihre erwachsenenpädagogischen Handlungskompetenzen selbstgesteuert zu erweitern? Die statistische Analyse der Autor*innen legt nahe, dass dem so ist. So haben in der Zeit des ersten Lockdowns mehr Personen als im Vergleichszeitraum 2019 auf das Portal wb-web sowie den EULE Lernbereich zugegriffen. Noch stärker als bisher waren dabei Themen rund um die digitale Gestaltung von Lehr-/Lernsettings von Interesse. Dies verdeutlicht, dass es seitens der Nutzenden verstärkte Bedarfe an digitalen Informationsangeboten zu erwachsenenpädagogischen Themen zu Beginn der Corona-Krise und darüber hinaus gab. (DIPF/Orig.)The wb-web portal and its integrated EULE elearning platform support adult and continuing education instructors in developing competencies through (self-)professionalization opportunities. Have adult educators taken greater advantage of these digital opportunities and expanded their adult education competencies on their own over the course of the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020? The authors’ statistical analysis suggests that they have. During the first lockdown, more people accessed the wb-web portal as well as the EULE elearning platform than in a comparable period in 2019. The interest in topics regarding the digital organization of teaching/learning settings was even greater than before. This illustrates how users had a greater need for digital information on topics in adult education at the start of the COVID crisis, and this need has continued. (DIPF/Orig.

Spatial variability in the soil water content of a Mediterranean agroforestry system with high soil heterogeneity

Variability of soil water content is known to increase with the size of spatial domain in which measurements are taken. At field scale, heterogeneity in soil, vegetation, topography, water input volume and management affects, among other factors, hydrologic plot behaviour under different mean soil water contents. The present work studies how the spatial variability of soil water content (SWC) is affected by soil type (texture, percentage of stones and the combination of them) in a timber-orientated plantation of cherry tree (Prunus avium) under Mediterranean climatic conditions. The experimental design is a randomized block one with 3 blocks * 4 treatments, based on two factors: irrigation (6 plots irrigated versus 6 plots not irrigated) and soil management (6 plots tillaged versus 6 plots not tillaged). SWC is continuously measured at 25, 50 and 100 cm depth with FDR sensors, located at two positions in each treatment: under tree influence and 2.5 m apart. This study presents the results of the monitoring during 2012 of the 24 sensors located at the 25 cm depth. In each of the measurement point, texture and percentage of stones were measured. Sandy-loam, sandy-clay-loam and loam textures were found together with a percentage of stones ranging from 20 to 70 %. The results indicated that the relationship between the daily mean SWC and its standard deviation, a common procedure used to study spatial variability, changed with texture, percentage of stones and the estimation of field capacity from the combination of both. Temporal stability analysis of SWC showed a clear pattern related to field capacity, with the measurement points of the sandy-loam texture and the high percentage of stones showing the maximun negative diference with the global mean. The high range in the mean relative difference observed ( 75 %), could indicate that the studied plot may be considered as a good field-laboratory to extrapolate results at higher spatial scales. Furthermore, the pattern in the temporal stability of tree growth was clearly related to that one in SWC. Nevertheless, the treatments that represent the mean conditions in growth were not exactly the same than those in SWC, which could be attributable to other characteristics than soil

Mediterranean Green Roof Simulation in Caldes de Montbui (Barcelona): Thermal and Hydrological Performance Test of Frankenia laevis L., Dymondia margaretae Compton and Iris lutescens Lam

Green roofs provide a number of environmental advantages like increasing urban biodiversity, reducing pollution, easing burdens on drainage systems, and lowering energy costs thanks to thermal insulation. Frankenia laevis, Dymondia margaretae and Iris lutescens were tested in a green roof installation. For all three species, we assessed two minimal irrigation treatments and one rain-fed treatment to resemble Mediterranean climate conditions analyzing the thermal and hydrological performance of all three species and their substrates through an evaluation of green cover, mortality, and biomass. The most influential factors registered for all three species are the relationship between air and water in the substrate and the interaction between green cover and substrate, respectively, for summer and winter seasons. In particular, D. margaretae preserved more water in its substrate than the other species both in summer and winter and after each rainfall event. F. laevis registered the highest level of variation in terms of substrate water content and of rainwater retention. I. lutescens achieved low hydrological performance, a limited amount of green cover, and slow growth. Our results suggest the absolute need of additional irrigation, managed in accordance with specific functional objectives, for all three species analyzed under Mediterranean conditions and different water regimeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Desarrollo de competencias genéricas mediante flipped classroom y el uso de herramientas web 2.0 en el marco de trabajos colaborativos en educación superior [Development of generic competencies through flipped classroom and the use of web 2.0 tools within the framework of collaborative work in higher education]

El perfil del Grado en Ingeniería en Diseño Industrial y Desarrollo de Producto (GIDIDP) y el ámbito profesional del diseño industrial exige un alto desarrollo competencial de sus egresados en ciertas competencias que permiten un acercamiento entre el mundo académico y el mundo laboral, como son el trabajo en equipo, la competencia digital, la creatividad, y la comunicación oral. Por otro lado, el aprendizaje de la metodología del diseño industrial se plantea, principalmente, a partir del desarrollo de proyectos. El objetivo de este trabajo es el desarrollo de las competencias antes citadas. Así, atendiendo a la importancia que cobra el desempeño de estas competencias genéricas en el GIDIDP y tomando como escenario los trabajos por módulos como actividad interdisciplinar y colaborativa, se planifica y diseña una serie de actividades en torno al módulo, integrando el uso de herramientas de la web 2.0 para facilitar su desarrollo. Para ello, se emplea el modelo flipped classroom, transfiriendo parte del proceso de aprendizaje fuera del aula y utilizando el tiempo de los seminarios y tutorías de los trabajos por módulos para potenciar otros procesos de adquisición y práctica de las competencias genéricas. [The profile of the Degree in Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development (DEIDPD), as well as the professional field of industrial design requires a high competence development of its graduates in certain competencies that allow a rapprochement between the academic and the professional world, as teamwork, digital competence, creativity, and oral communication. On the other hand, the learning of the methodology of industrial design is mainly based on the development of projects. Thus, considering the importance of the performance of these generic competencies in DEIDPD and taking as a scenario the works by modules as an interdisciplinary and collaborative activity, the objective of this work is the development of these competencies from the planning and design of a series of activities around the module, integrating the use of web 2.0 tools to facilitate their development. To do this, the flipped classroom model is used, transferring part of the learning process outside the classroom and using the time of the seminars and tutorials of the work by modules to promote other processes of acquisition and practice of generic competencies.

Entre biografías ilustradas no ficcionales y lecturas ficcionales para una educación literaria: espacios de promoción del legado cultural

This paper aims to reflect on the role of illustrated non-fictional biographies and fictional readings in the development of the cultural legacy of literary authors in young readers. The context of the research was carried out in three foundations in different places - Carlos Edmundo de Ory Foundation, in Cádiz; Casa Museo Antonio Machado, in Segovia; and The New York Public Library - to design a contrastive case study and learn about the management models based on three illustrated books available in each institution. The voice of the managers served to publicize good literary practices and to detect possible areas of development in the institutions themselves.Este trabajo tiene como objetivo reflexionar sobre el papel que tienen biografías ilustradas no ficcionales y lecturas ficcionales en el desarrollo del legado cultural de autores literarios en los jóvenes lectores El contexto de la investigación se realizó en tres fundaciones de distintos lugares —Fundación Carlos Edmundo de Ory, en Cádiz; Casa Museo Antonio Machado, en Segovia; y The New York Public Library— para diseñar un estudio de casos contrastivos y conocer los modelos de gestión a partir de tres libros ilustrados que disponen en cada institución. La voz de los gestores sirvió para dar a conocer buenas prácticas literarias y detectar posibles zonas de desarrollo en los propios organismos

Un proyecto de gestión cultural en el Monasterio de la Resurrección de Zaragoza.

El Monasterio de la Resurrección de Zaragoza fue fundado en los primeros años del siglo XIV, acogiendo desde entonces de forma ininterrumpida una comunidad de canonesas del Santo Sepulcro. Es un edificio de estilo mudéjar apoyado en la muralla romana construido fundamentalmente en el último tercio del siglo XIV, destacando la importancia artística del claustro, la sala capitular y el refectorio. Sin embargo este espacio sufre de los problemas que están viviendo en la actualidad monasterios y conventos, así como algunos problemas en su conservación. El presente proyecto plantea la creación de una pequeña empresa de gestión de cultural que apoye al Monasterio en las tareas de comunicación y en las tareas de acción cultural que ya realiza, y la creación y organización de nuevas actividades que pongan en valor este espacio. <br /

Blooming under Mediterranean Climate: Estimating Cultivar-Specific Chill and Heat Requirements of Almond and Apple Trees Using a Statistical Approach

Climate change, and specifically global temperature increase, is expected to alter plant phenology. Temperate deciduous fruit trees have cultivar-specific chill and heat requirements to break dormancy and bloom. In this study, we aimed to estimate chill and heat requirements (in chill portions, CP, and growing degree hours, GDH, respectively) of 25 almond (30–36 years) and 12 apple (14–26 years) cultivars grown under a Mediterranean climate. The set included early and late blooming genotypes. Long-term phenological and temperature records were analyzed by means of partial least squares (PLS) regression. The main difference between early and late genotypes was chill requirement, ranging from 8.40 CP of early genotypes to 55.41 CP of extra-late genotypes. However, as chill requirements are quite easily attained by all almond cultivars in this study, year-to-year variations in actual blooming dates for each genotype are governed by variability of mean forcing temperatures. In contrast, different chill and heat combinations resulted in similar mean blooming dates for the studied apple cultivars. Mean temperature in both chilling and forcing phases determined their blooming time in the location studied. Overlaps and gaps between both phases were obtained. Despite some limitations, the PLS analysis has proven to be a useful tool to define both chilling and forcing phases. Nevertheless, since the delineation of these phases determine the total amount of CP and GDH, further efforts are needed to investigate the transition of these phases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Acidification and solar drying of manure-based digestate to produce improved fertilizing products

The increase in energy and fertilizer consumption makes it necessary to develop sustainable alternatives for agriculture. Anaerobic digestion and digestates appeared to be suitable options. However, untreated digestates still have high water content and can increase greenhouse gas emissions during storage and land application. In this study, manure-derived digestate and solid fraction of digestate after separation were treated with a novel solar drying technology to reduce their water content, combined with acidification to reduce the gaseous emissions. The acidified digestate and acidified solid fraction of digestate recovered more nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen than their respective non-acidified products (1.5–1.3 times for TN; 14 times for TAN). Ammonia and methane emissions were reduced up to 94% and 72% respectively, compared to the non-acidified ones, while N2O increased more than 3 times. Dried digestate and dried acidified digestate can be labeled as NPK organic fertilizer regarding the European regulation, and the dried solid fraction and the improved dried acidified solid fraction can be labeled as N or P organic fertilizer. Moreover, plant tests showed that N concentrations in fresh lettuce leaves were within the EU limit with all products in all the cases. However, zinc concentration appeared to be a limitation in some of the products as their concentration exceeded the European legal limitsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio