Sustainable management of feedlot and agricultural runoff through bio-inspired bioreactor-constructed wetland configuration for high-quality reuse

Doctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Biological & Agricultural EngineeringStacy L. HutchinsonPollution from animal wastes is a threat to water resources. Animal agriculture generates substantial amounts of manure, typically collected and stored in wastewater lagoons on farms. Insufficient treatment and disposal of animal manure results in potential runoff and leaching of waste into surface and groundwater, causing environmental damage (e.g., algal blooms and fish kills) and contaminating drinking water in many rural areas. As global concerns regarding water security and environmental pollution continue to rise, new economic, sustainable solutions for runoff management and wastewater treatment are crucial. The ultimate goal of this research is to assess the efficiency of an innovative configuration of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR) technology and constructed wetlands (CWs) systems to provide a sustainable, resilient management system for agricultural wastewaters. Additionally, this dissertation explores the broader issue within ecological engineering by evaluating the impact of using different terms on the field’s advancement and communication through a bibliometric analysis. Moreover, this study investigated the capacity of eastern red cedar biochar to decrease the concentrations of target antibiotics that have been extensively used in the swine industry, such as tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, sulfadiazine, and sulfamethazine. Finally, preliminary CW designs were evaluated using HYDRUS CW2D to better assess system variability and function. A bibliometric analysis was performed using the bibliometrix package in RStudio on environmental engineering, ecological engineering, nature-based solutions, engineering with nature, constructed wetlands, green engineering, and ecological systems. The results showed that these terms developed over different periods with a recent increase in the scientific literature. Scientific production in environmental engineering and ecological systems started in the early 1960s, gaining force in the 1990s and reaching a peak in 2020 with 4779 and 1398 publications, respectively. The growth of ecological engineering is stagnant with first publications in 1971 and reaching a peak in 2018 with 145 publications. Nature-based solutions is becoming more popular with the first publication in 2009 and thriving in 2020 with 323 publications. Engineering with nature, on the other hand, was dated in 2001, reaching a peak of 5 in 2018. Constructed wetlands and green engineering started in 1985 and 1991, reaching a peak in 2020 with 818 and 55 publications, respectively. The term constructed wetlands was chosen as part of the ecological engineering field. However, the most substantial connection appears to be with environmental engineering. Environmental engineering remains the predominant area, with nature-based solutions gaining popularity instead of ecological engineering. To remove antibiotics from swine wastewater, eastern red cedar biochar was produced by pyrolysis from eastern red cedar at 450 ºC. The sorption tests were performed by mixing biochar and a solution containing each antibiotic in 100, 300, 600, and 900 μg L-1 concentrations. The results indicate that red cedar biochar was able to effectively remove up to 99.93% of tetracycline, 96.23% of oxytetracycline, 98.28% of chlortetracycline, 76.4% of sulfadiazine, and 78.6% of sulfamethazine at the lowest concentrations. The removal efficiency at higher concentrations declined up to 83.52%, 47.23%, 64.16%, 69.8%, and 58.4% for tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, sulfadiazine, and sulfamethazine, respectively. The adsorption capacity and mechanisms were significantly influenced by each antibiotic's chemical properties and the biochar's surface properties. Overall, the results highlighted the potential utilization of eastern red cedar biochar as filter media in CWs systems. Numerical simulations were conducted to assess the capacity of CWs to remove nutrients from AnMBR permeate varying NH4+, P, and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations and temperature conditions (10, 20, 30, and 40 ºC). The simulations were conducted using HYDRUS software with the CW2D module. The results supported the assumption that the given CWs design can be an efficient polishing step for AnMBR permeate, removing more than 90% of NH4+ and P, further confirmed with experimental measurements. The effectiveness of this design relies on the natural processes for nutrient removal that can be optimized by altering nutrient and COD loading rates from the AnMBR system. When AnMBR systems face unexpected failures or technical issues, the integration of CWs provides a reliable contingency plan, ensuring a practical and resilient wastewater treatment process. The findings from this research offer significant promise for developing cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions for the treatment and reuse of agricultural runoff, contributing to the broader goals of sustainable water management and agricultural practices

Educação ambiental aplicada ao gerenciamento de resíduos sólidos em Frederico Westphalen, RS

Urban Solid Waste (USW) management is a highly challenging issue to be addressed in advancing sustainable urban policies. For a waste management system to be sustainable, it should be environmentally efficient, economically viable and socially accepted by the directly affected population. However, with regard to rural areas, waste management and treatment are being forgotten and consequently large amounts of waste are being inappropriately discarded, leading to serious environmental problems. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the real situation of solid waste in the Linha São José community, located in the rural area of Frederico Westphalen city (RS, Brazil), proposing solutions for waste management and seeking the environmental awareness of the inhabitants. The methodological procedure used includes a data survey through questionnaire, in order to obtain information. Dry waste collectors were installed in the community center and environmental education campaigns were performed. The biggest issue found was the burning of dry waste which was handled by the collector implanted in the community, showing positive results for the problem. The other campaigns performed showed great importance for the waste management and an improvement in the quality of life of the community’s inhabitants.Urban Solid Waste (USW) management is a highly challenging issue to be addressed in advancing sustainable urban policies. For a waste management system to be sustainable, it should be environmentally efficient, economically viable and socially accepted by the directly affected population. However, with regard to rural areas, waste management and treatment are being forgotten and consequently large amounts of waste are being inappropriately discarded, leading to serious environmental problems. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the real situation of solid waste in the Linha São José community, located in the rural area of Frederico Westphalen city (RS, Brazil), proposing solutions for waste management and seeking the environmental awareness of the inhabitants. The methodological procedure used includes a data survey through questionnaire, in order to obtain information. Dry waste collectors were installed in the community center and environmental education campaigns were performed. The biggest issue found was the burning of dry waste which was handled by the collector implanted in the community, showing positive results for the problem. The other campaigns performed showed great importance for the waste management and an improvement in the quality of life of the community’s inhabitants.A gestão de resíduos sólidos urbanos (RSU) constitui uma questão altamente desafiadora a ser enfrentada para se avançar nas políticas urbanas sustentáveis. Para que um sistema de gestão de resíduos seja sustentável, espera-se que o mesmo seja ambientalmente eficiente, economicamente viável e socialmente aceito pela população diretamente afetada. Porém, no que se refere às áreas rurais, a gestão e o tratamento de resíduos estão sendo esquecidos e, consequentemente, grandes quantidades de resíduos estão sendo descartados de forma inadequada, levando a sérios problemas ambientais. Nesse contexto, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a situação real dos resíduos sólidos na comunidade da linha São José localizada na zona rural do município de Frederico Westphalen-RS, buscando-se propor soluções para o gerenciamento de resíduos, juntamente com o desenvolvimento da sensibilização ambiental dos moradores. O procedimento metodológico utilizado compreende um levantamento de dados para obter informações através de um questionário. Foram instaladas coletoras de resíduos secos no centro da comunidade e realizadas campanhas de educação ambiental. O maior agravo encontrado foi a queima de resíduos secos, sendo que a coletora implantada na comunidade trouxe resultados positivos para esse problema. As demais campanhas realizadas demonstraram grande importância para a gestão de resíduos e uma melhora na qualidade de vida dos moradores da comunidade

Evaluation of the Functional and Operational Situation of Wellsin the Municipality of São José das Missões – RS

The growing demand for water resources that feeds consumption needs, while also ensures compliance with chemical and biological parameters, has become the great challenge of the 21st century. Seeking to establish compatibility between quality control and quantity of water for public supply, ANA and DRH/SEMA require the regularization of groundwater wells in Federal Law Nº 9.433/1997 and State Law Nº 10.350/1994, respectively, to the issue of granting of water use. The granting is an authorization of the use of water depends on a series of technical analysis carried out by the management agencies, ensuring the protection of water resources. In the city of São José das Missões in the north of the Rio Grande do Sul state, there are 21 wells responsible for public supply. However, only 4 of them have granted the use of water. In this context, the present work makes a survey of information and evaluation of the functional and operational situation of wells according to the current legislation, in addition to analyzing whether there is economic viability between administrative sanctions and the cost of granting. Considering that the request and the publication of a concession are free and that the regularization of the wells may present a lower cost than the value of the fines, it was tried to show that it is feasible to regularize the wells to obtain a grant. Thus, it is important to regularize before the assessment to reduce the amounts to be paid by the municipalit

DIAGNÓSTICO DA GESTÃO AMBIENTAL NOS MUNICÍPIOS DA MICRORREGIÃO DE ERECHIM – RS

A Constituição Federal impõe ao poder público, juntamente com a coletividade, o dever de preservar o meio ambiente. A formulação de políticas visando a gestão ambiental vem ao entorno desse dever, implicando na legitimação de novos paradigmas que, na maioria dos casos, significam uma ruptura com o modelo atual, exigindo a formalização de novos instrumentos de trabalho. O presente trabalho busca realizar o diagnóstico da gestão ambiental dos municípios pertencentes à Microrregião de Erechim. Para a realização da pesquisa proposta foi utilizado um método quantitativo estabelecido para aplicação de questionário, buscando a objetividade dos dados e a explanação dos resultados à cerca do diagnóstico de cada município. Em muitos pontos ainda existe deficiência por parte dos órgãos públicos em relação à problemática ambiental, necessitando de novos caminhos para satisfazer essa demanda. Dessa forma, procurou-se sensibilizar os municípios que não estão de acordo com a legislação ambiental ou não apresentam um grande número de indicadores de gestão ambiental municipal, a fim de que atinjam as conformidades, evitando prejuízos e impactos negativos ao meio ambiente.

ESCORREGAMENTO DE SOLOS NA REGIÃO OESTE DO ESTADO DE SANTA CATARINA: CONSEQUÊNCIAS SÓCIO-AMBIENTAIS

Na atualidade são cada vez mais comuns os eventos e tragédias relacionados aos desastres e/ou eventos naturais, como é o caso de deslizamentos e enchentes, provindos por exemplo de mudanças climáticas, chuvas torrenciais e outros. Devido à grande relevância desta problemática e sua influência tanto nos aspectos sociais e econômicos quanto nos ambientais, este estudo propõe um levantamento de dados sobre o deslizamento de terra ocorrido no Bairro Esperança do município de Marema no extremo-oeste do estado de Santa Catarina. O objetivo do trabalho é identificar métodos para sua estabilização. Para a realização deste estudo buscou-se informações junto ao governo municipal, além da coleta de dados geográficos, via GPS, e fotografias do local. Para uma melhor complementação e caracterização realizou-se uma pesquisa bibliográfica em portais da web, legislações, normas e estudos relacionados ao caso. A área em questão sofreu um deslizamento de terra, o qual atingiu um assentamento que abrigava cerca de 26 habitações. O evento ocorreu entre os dias 21 e 22 de junho de 2011, devido à elevada intensidade das precipitações pluviométricas. O loteamento ocupava a base de uma encosta com relevo inclinado, o que devido as atividades e construções acarretaram no desenvolvimento de uma região com solo frágil. Medidas imediatas de retirada de pessoas foram efetuadas, entretanto a necessidade de isolamento permanente e recuperação da área com plantação de mata nativa é indispensável, bem como a construção de métodos de contenção. Entretanto, tais métodos devem seguir normas e legislações, visando o bem-estar social sem causar mais danos ao meio ambiente

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements