Appropriate technologies and natural systems for wastewater treatment in low- and middle-income countries

Wastewater management is an environmental and social burden that primarily affects populations in Low- and Middle-Income Countries and the global environment. Wastewater collection, treatment, and reuse have become urgent, especially considering that 80% of the world's wastewater is untreated or improperly treated and discharged directly into water bodies. In recent years, the role of wastewater treatment plants in a sustainable water cycle has become even more critical, as they are the final destination of the collected wastewater. Indeed, the management of wastewater treatment plants should play an essential role in achieving SDG target 6.3 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for SD. In this context, water reuse, especially wastewater reuse, plays a key role. This research focuses on investigating the valorization of wastewater resources applying Appropriate Technologies and Natural Systems for wastewater treatment in two different Low- and Middle-Income Countries, the Palestinian Territories and Sub-Saharan Africa. The research objectives are: (1) Determine the characteristics and quality of wastewater in the two case studies analysed. (2) Identify Appropriate Technology to be used in the Palestinian Territories to treat wastewater for reuse in agriculture. (3) Assess the environmental, economic, and social impacts of this project. (4) Assess the feasibility of using natural wetlands for household wastewater treatment in Sub-Saharan region. The first study, conducted in Rafah, Gaza Strip, showed that implementing existing primary treatment plant with a natural secondary treatment plant properly optimized the wastewater quality for reuse in agriculture and was suitable for the study area. The second case study was conducted in Cape Coast, Ghana. It shows that the natural wetland studied is currently overly polluted and threatened by various anthropogenic factors that cannot remove pollutants from the incoming domestic wastewater. Therefore, some recommendations were made in order to improve the efficiency of this natural wetland

A Review of User Vulnerabilities Associated with Shared Sanitation Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa

Aims: Shared sanitation was excluded from the basic service level due to perceived limitations of their hygiene, accessibility and safety. But how does the current body of scientific knowledge influence the narrative? This paper is aimed at reviewing data on the current status and vulnerability issues reported to be associated with shared sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methodology: Literature was searched using key search terms from nine databases. Peerreviewed articles and various reports of individual country studies published in English from January 2000 to April 2022 were selected. Results: As at 2020, the proportion of the population sharing sanitation facilities in SSA was estimated as 19% compared to 7% globally. The review revealed a mixed opinion about issues and vulnerabilities associated with shared sanitation which may have arisen from inconsistencies in the typologies and levels of sharing of facilities among the reviewed studies. Using shared sanitation was found to be associated with an increased risk of diarrheal diseases (OR=1.06; 95%CI: 1.03- 1.08) and non-partner violence against women (OR=1.52; 95%CI: 1.22-1.82). However, there is also evidence that many shared facilities, particularly those shared by a few (2-3) households, are clean, meet the needs of the users and afford them similar health outcomes as non-shared facilities. Conclusion: The findings of the review suggest that the outright exclusion of all forms of shared sanitation from basic sanitation potentially underestimates the global efforts and progress toward access to sanitation. There is a need to segregate communal and public toilets from privately shared facilities in future research as well as the progress reporting by the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP). It is also recommended that steps are taken by the JMP to develop indicators for identifying and incorporating quality shared sanitation facilities into the basic sanitation service level in order to give a more realistic account of the global effort towards sanitation access

Environmental Assessment of Solid Recovered Fuel Production from Screening Waste Using a Life Cycle Assessment Approach

The circular economy, as a new model of waste management through energy self-sufficiency and valorisation, can be applied to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Screening waste from WWTP pretreatment is the only waste that is not energetically recovered and thus constrains the achievement of zero waste. Previous studies demonstrated the technical feasibility of producing solid recovered fuel (SRF) from this waste. Environmental benefits, including waste reduction, resource conservation, or reduced greenhouse gas emissions are analysed in this work. Environmental impact is quantified using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology through the SimaPro 9.2. software and the CML-IA baseline v3.08 impact methodology, that propose 11 impact categories. Five scenarios were established to compare current landfill disposal with the production of densified and non-densified SRF using solar and thermal drying. Within the system boundaries studied, from waste generation to SRF production, results show that landfill is the most environmentally damaging option while producing non-densified SRF using solar drying is the most environmentally viable scenario.Emasagra agreement number 432

Small-Scale Palm Oil Production in Ghana: Practices, Environmental Problems and Potential Mitigating Measures

The environmental impact of small-scale palm oil processing mills in Ghana has come under serious questioning, especially the disposal of wastewater generated from their operations. This chapter describes the small-scale palm oil production operations in Ghana to highlight the associated environmental problems arising from the disposal of wastewater and other waste by-products. The chapter further discusses the effluent discharge permitting arrangements and possible modifications to the production practices and policy interventions that could improve their environmental compliance and encourage resource recovery. The data in this chapter was obtained from a survey of selected small-scale palm oil processing mills in Ghana, laboratory analysis of wastewater samples from processing mills and review of related literature. Wastewater generated from the processing activities is currently disposed of without any form of treatment. The characteristics of wastewater indicate the need for treatment before disposal. Treatment technologies that could achieve resource recovery (such as biogas, compost, earthworm biomass) and fit into the framework of circular economy should be explored

Messa a punto e verifica di modelli di danno da alluvione per la pianura emiliano-romagnola

Il costante aumento del rischio idraulico nei territori di pianura del nostro Paese porta alla necessità di individuare metodologie accurate di valutazione del danno atteso, al fine di salvaguardare maggiormente il territorio. Il presente lavoro di Tesi s’inserisce nell'ambito di studio della valutazione del rischio idraulico, nei territori di pianura dei corsi d’acqua della Regione Emilia-Romagna. Si è studiato il caso dell’alluvione del Fiume Secchia, avvenuta il 19 gennaio 2014, che ha provocato l’allagamento di una cospicua porzione dei Comuni di Modena, Bastiglia e Bomporto. Partendo dai dati di danno di beni di varia natura d’uso forniti dalle autorità competenti, riguardo la sopracitata alluvione, si è effettuato un approfondimento delle tecniche di stima del danno da alluvione, al fine di poter costruire dei modelli di danno sulla base di dati realmente osservati. L’analisi è stata effettuata mediante tecniche di regressione lineare e quadratica sviluppati in ambiente di calcolo R; i modelli sviluppati per ciascuno dei tre comuni colpiti dall’alluvione sono successivamente stati sperimentati al di fuori del comune di definizione, in maniera da trarre indicazioni relativamente alla loro validità generale. I risultati della Tesi hanno evidenziato che: 1) la stima del danno da alluvione è meglio descritta dal modello di regressione quadratica; 2) il valore del danno complessivo risulta ben delineato per le tipologie di beni per le quali vi sono linee guida oggettive da utilizzare per il risarcimento; 3) l’applicazione dei modelli esternamente al comuni considerato per la loro identificazione non ha portato a stime soddisfacenti del danno, evidenziando come un modello di danno calibrato in corrispondenza di una determinata area non possa ritenersi esportabile in area diversa; 4) l’impossibilità di definire un modello di danno rappresentativo dell’intera area in esame

Application of natural treatment systems for wastewater reuse in agriculture in Gaza Strip

Water supply represents a constant worldwide challenge for people and authorities. This problem is significantly severe in arid and semiarid regions such as Gaza Strip, where groundwater constitutes the only freshwater source. Furthermore, Gaza Strip area suffers from water scarcity due to the decrease in water recharge, constant groundwater over-pumping, seawater intrusion, and the huge gap between water demand and water supply, which cause serious problems in freshwater supply by quantity and quality point of view. In that region, agriculture represents the second-highest sector for water consumption, using more than 50% of the water from the stressed polluted Gaza’s coastal aquifer. Treated wastewater reuse and recycling could represent a sustainable approach to increase water resource availability, alleviate stressed polluted Gaza’s coastal aquifer, and contribute to local agriculture. This study presents an analysis for applying of natural wastewater treatment system in Al-Mawasi District, Rafah Governorate, Gaza Strip, where the inadequate management of wastewaters has a high impact on public health and the environment. The experimental study began at the end of 2018 with an environmental and territorial framework of the Southern area of Gaza Strip and in-depth research to choose the appropriate technology (phytoremediation and aerated lagoon). Firstly, a pilot-scale plant has been designed and installed to evaluate the feasibility of a municipal wastewater recovery for agricultural purposes in Rafah (Gaza Strip), reproducing real working conditions and performances of a real plant. The pilot plant has been fed by the sewage coming from the municipal WWTP of Rafah City after the primary treatment. The technology was monitored with physico-chemical, and microbiological analysis, which has been carried out in the “Coastal Municipalities Water Utility Central Lab – State of Palestine”, to evaluate the quality of treated water in comparison with the Palestinian legal limits for wastewater reuse in irrigation. The preliminary results highlighted that the phytoremediation system, followed by natural disinfection, improves the overall wastewater treatment process. The analysis of the effluents demonstrates that, under controlled conditions, treated municipal wastewater can be used for agriculture purposes with effective economic and environmental benefits. The results have allowed the construction, in summer 2021, of a real scale finishing treatment plant, in the same area, able to treat a municipal wastewater flow of about 1000 m3/day that will be used for local crops (such as olives, citrus, potatoes, grapes, and guava) by many farmers, final beneficiaries of the project. In the meantime, a socio-economic study to identify the beneficiaries and evaluate the social impact of the project was carried out. The whole project has been designed according to a sustainability approach, demonstrating actual environmental, social, and economic effectiveness. This study has been developed inside a research project carried on by the University of Bologna together with the Italian NGO “Overseas”, the University of Applied Sciences (UCAS), Gaza, and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees Association (UAWCA) – Gaza, in the context of a longtime collaboration between University of Bologna and Palestine

ROCK Green Office Bologna

The dataset contains all the materials developed within the ROCK project from academic staff, sustainability experts, and the Students’ Green Office. All the activities, projects, and materials carried out have allowed the birth and development of “ROCK Green Office Bologna”, a sustainability hub run by students supported by the University, Citizenship, and Municipality of Bologna, such as organization and management of sustainable cultural events, low carbon and sustainable initiatives for the local community

A circular prospective for a secondary life of plastic banners

Plastic banners are largely used for advertising and communication of cultural and academic events. In both applications, they quickly turn into waste because of their short lifespan. In Bologna, for instance, it was calculated that an average of 15 plastic banners for about 2 weeks festival or temporary exhibi-tion was used. In that way, their end of life management has become more concerned for municipality and other public banner owners. The considered plastic banners consist in multicomponent materials composed by a polyester film coated by polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Due to the double compositions, plastic banners are difficult to be recycled and in most of the case they are incinerated or landfilled according to regional policies. The paper shows a case study conducted by the Students’ “Green Office” of the University of Bolo-gna, within a European project aiming to promote common sustainable solutions for city and Universi-ty together. One of the purposes of the Green Office initiative was to engage students in developing new sustainable activities and programmes in collaboration with the Municipality of Bologna. The project aimed at investigating a secondary use of the banners and at finding new alternative solutions. The specific plastic banners considered have a very short usage, from one to maximum two months, therefore alternative uses are of paramount importance to extend their lifespan. More specifically, three end of life management options were examined within a circular economy perspective. Some physical-mechanical characterization tests were developed to analyse materials properties in order to explore a secondary use by reprocessing plastic banners into new products (e. g. pencil case or bicycle accessories) or to evaluate recycling alternatives. Finally, an eco-design approach has been considered to explore different solution in materials and components of banners, in their polymers’ composition or assembling, in order to facilitate recycling or reuse options