The purpose of the paper is to determine the environmentally safe and economically feasible technology of biofertilizer production from the digestate including dewatering process. Methodological basis is based on the systematic approach to the determination of factors effected on the distribution of nutrients and pollutants between liquidand solid fractions after digestate separation. We studied modern technologies aimed at dewatering the digestateand reduction of its volume, showed their effectiveness. These technologies allow expanding the opportunities forcommercialization of the digestate, increasing the cost of its transportation and application to the soil instead ofcomplex fertilizers, using some valuable products. The results of the study showed that the ecological quality ofthe digestate is the highest as well as co-digested thermally pre-treated feedstock is used for solid-liquid separationin centrifuge with polymer addition as post-treatment approach to the flocculation. In order to increase efficiencyof biofertilizer application the technological scheme of production process of granular fertilizers from digestatewas proposed. Special feature of this scheme is in the use of phosphogypsum binder for the production of organomineral fertilizer that contributes phosphogypsum recycling in the waste management system.

This article is focused on performing a SWOT analysis of agricultural waste management methods. This approach can be applied in the biogas technology strategic planning process in Ukraine, which can solve the issue of implementation of environmental guidelines for the development of biofuels and biofertilizers. The main factors that determine how digestate is used are its quality, local conditions, regulations, and documents. Fertilizing fields with digestate provides many advantages, for example: reduced demand for plant protection products, reduction of unpleasant odor, and destruction of possible pathogens. The strengths and weaknesses of the implementation of biogas plants in Ukraine have been identified, and opportunities and threats have been considered. In general, the introduction of biogas technology is a very promising solution for the agricultural sector. Taking into account that a biogas plant is considered a potentially hazardous object for workers, it is necessary to constantly monitor the parameters of reactor operation in order to ensure the technological and environmental safety of the engineering facilities. For Ukraine, there is a shortage of specialists to set up an effective operation of biogas equipment and bring it to the industrial scale. It is necessary to consult with medium and small farms interested in the feasibility study and implementation of biogas technologies. 

The study aims to define the potential and technological aspects of the digestate treatment for its application as a biofertilizer. Life cycle assessment methodology was used in terms of digestate quality management. The potential of nutrients, organic carbon, and useful microelements in the digestate allows for its consideration as a mineral fertilizer substitute and soil improver. The valorization of digestate as fertilizer requires quality management and quality control. Based on the research focus, the successful soil application of digestate post-treatment technologies was analyzed. Among the different commercial options for digestate treatment and nutrient recovery, the most relevant are drying, struvite precipitation, stripping, evaporation, and membranes technology. Comparing the physical and chemical properties of the whole digestate, separated liquid, and solid liquor fractions showed that in the case of soil application of granular fertilizer, nutrients from the digestate are released more slowly than digestate application without granulation. However, realizing this potential in an economically feasible way requires improving the quality of digestate products through appropriate technologies and quality control of digestate products. To support the manufacture of quality digestate across Europe, the European Compost Network developed a concept for a pan-European quality assurance scheme.

This paper focuses on determining the influence of soil, oil, and environmental factors on the process of oil filtration in a porous medium such as soil. Mathematical modeling of the oil geofiltration process based on classical and modified regularities makes it possible to solve a significant environmental problem associated with predicting the pollution zone due to accidental oil spills. The research methodology is based on the substantiation of theoretical models of oil filtration through porous media, methods for the numerical solution of equations, and computer visualization (ANSYS CFX software). Experimental data supported the verification of the adequacy of the models. Based on obtained results, it was found that all oil flowed into well-permeable sand at a speed of approximately 4-10 -4 m/h. The developed model of the stochastic process of petroleum hydrocarbons geofiltration involved obtaining the output as dependent variables, contamination level, contamination depth, and oil spot borders. Numerical solution and visualization using computer simulation showed the distribution of oil hydrocarbons in the soil in vertical and horizontal directions. The mathematical model allowed to predict the formation of the pollution front and assess the contaminated zone's size.

A baseline study was conducted of the occurrence of macroinvertebrates at 26 sites in the Nyando River catchment in 2005-2006. A total of 13 orders and 16 families of Arthropoda, Mollusca, Platyhelminthes and Annelida were collected, with the order Ephemeroptera being most abundant in the up- and mid-stream reaches, followed by Hemiptera and Plecoptera respectively. The downstream sections of the river were dominated by Hirudinea and tubificids, as the water quality deteriorated mainly due to local land use, raw sewage effluent discharge and annual floods. Insects and annelids were the main invertebrates found and the extent of pollution increased from mid-section (Site 15) downwards as the river flowed into the Winam Gulf. Stringent management measures are required to safeguard the environment and ecosystems of Lake Victoria.

Soil samples were collected from six locations representative of the Nyando River catchment area of the Lake Victoria over a period of two years. Sampling was done four times in the year in February, May, September and December 2005 and 2006 in farms where maize, tea, sugar cane, coffee, rice and vegetables have been grown over the years. This coincided with the effects of different seasons and farming activities on residue levels of the pesticides in use. The objective was to investigate levels and distribution of organochlorine pesticides that have either been banned or are restricted for use in Kenya. Organochlorine pesticides investigated were DDT, lindane, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, endrin, endosulfan (both α- and β- isomers and endosulfan sulphate), the sum is called “total” or Σendosulfan and methoxychlor. Prior to the ban or restriction in use, these pesticides had found wide applications in public health for control of disease vectors and in agriculture for control of crop pests. The analysis revealed presence of all the targeted pesticides with the highest mean concentrations for methoxychlor 140 ± 1.5 μg/kg, Σendosulfan (30 ± 2.1 μg/kg), aldrin (18 ± 0.28 μg/kg), respectively. The results show the presence of these pesticides in soils in the basin and this could be impacting negatively on the ecosystem health of the area.

Det behövs innovativa lösningar för att utveckla anaerob rötning i syfte att öka metangasutbytet från biogassubstrat. Beroende på substratets egenskaper, kan förbehandling möjliggöra sönderdelning av bakterieflockar, uppbrytning av cellväggar, elimination av inhiberande ämnen och frigörelse av intracellulära organiska ämnen, som alla kan leda till en förbättring av den biologiska nedbrytningen i rötningen. För att uppnå detta har den lågenergikrävande förebehandlingsmetoden hydrodynamisk kavitation prövats på biologiskt slam, matavfall, makroalger respektive gräs, i jämförelse med ångexplosion. Effekten på substraten av dessa två förbehandlingar har uppmäts genom att undersöka distribution av partikelstorlek, löst organiskt kol (sCOD), biometan potential (BMP) och nedbrytningshastigheten. Efter 2 minuters hydrodynamisk kavitation (8 bar) minskade partikelstorleken från 489- 1344 nm till 277- 281 nm (≤77 % reduktion) för de olika biomassorna. Liknande påverkan observerades efter tio minuters ångexplosion (210 °C, 30 bar) med en partikelstorlekreducering mellan 40 och 70 % för alla behandlade substrat. Efter behandling med hydrodynamisk kavitation, i jämförelse med obehandlad biomassa, ökade metanproduktionens hastighetskonstant (K) för matavfall (+65%), makroalgen S. latissima (+3%), gräs (+16 %) samtidigt som den minskade för A. nodosum (-17 %). Förbehandlingen med ångexplosion ökade hastighetskonstanten för S. latissima (+50 %) och A. nodosum (+65 %) medan den minskade för gräs (-37 %), i jämförelse med obehandlad biomassa. Vad gäller BMP värden, orsakade hydrodynamisk kavitation små variationer där endast A. nodosum visade en ökning efter behandling (+44 %) i jämförelse med obehandlad biomassa. Biomassa förbehandlade med ångexplosion visade en ökning för A .nodosum (+86 %), gräs (14 %) och S. latissima (4 %). Sammantaget visar hydrodynamisk kavitation potential som en effektiv behandling före rötning och kapabel att konkurrera med den traditionella ångexplosionen gällande kinetik och energibalans (+14%) samt metanutbytet för A. nodosum.

Summary Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) comprise a group of motile microorganisms common in most mesothermal aquatic habitats with pH values around neutrality. However, during the last two decades, a number of MTB from extreme environments have been characterized including: cultured alkaliphilic strains belonging to the Deltaproteobacteria class of the Proteobacteria phylum; uncultured moderately thermophilic strains belonging to the Nitrospirae phylum; cultured and uncultured moderately halophilic or strongly halotolerant bacteria affiliated with the Deltaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria classes and an uncultured psychrophilic species belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria class. Here, we used culture-independent techniques to characterize MTB from an acidic freshwater lagoon in Brazil (pH ? 4.4). MTB morphotypes found in this acidic lagoon included cocci, rods, spirilla and vibrioid cells. Magnetite (Fe3O4) was the only mineral identified in magnetosomes of these MTB while magnetite magnetosome crystal morphologies within the different MTB cells included cuboctahedral (present in spirilla), elongated prismatic (present in cocci and vibrios) and bullet-shaped (present in rod-shaped cells). Intracellular pH measurements using fluorescent dyes showed that the cytoplasmic pH was close to neutral in most MTB cells and acidic in some intracellular granules. Based on 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analyses, some of the retrieved gene sequences belonged to the genus Herbaspirillum within the Betaproteobacteria class of the Proteobacteria phylum. Fluorescent in situ hybridization using a Herbaspirillum-specific probe hybridized with vibrioid MTB in magnetically-enriched samples. Transmission electron microscopy of the Herbaspirillum-like MTB revealed the presence of many intracellular granules and a single chain of elongated prismatic magnetite magnetosomes. Diverse populations of MTB have not seemed to have been described in detail in an acid environment. In addition, this is the first report of an MTB phylogenetically affiliated with Betaproteobacteria class.

Klimatförändringar har ansetts vara en av de viktigaste utmaningarna i vår tid. För att förhindra att vidare skador av klimatförändringarna kom nationer som deltog i COP21 överens om att minska sina växthusgaser tillräckligt mycket för att förhindra farliga temperaturförhöjningar och att anpassa sina samhällen till resilienta enheter. Kommuner anses vara viktiga aktörer i denna omställning då de har makt att påverka förändringar på en lokal nivå. Dock saknas metoder för att bedöma hur omställning utförs då omställning är ett nytt angreppssätt kombinerat med en brist på genomförda omställningar. Syftet med denna uppsats är att utforska användningen av indikatorer som metod för att bedöma omställningsprocesser. Genom att använda en triangulering av metoder som delats upp i två faser fokuserar studien på två svenska kommuner som har fastställts som känsliga inför klimatförändringarna men även att ha förmågan att hantera dem. Den första fasen består av en litteraturstudie som skapade en vetenskaplig grund som berörde en global och nationell nivå. Den andra fasen bestod av en dokumentsanalys och intervjuer för att utforska omställningsprocesser på en lokal nivå. Studien visar på att det finns flera barriärer och drivkrafter för omställning som konkurrerande intressen, ekonomiska faktorer, politisk styrning, kunskaps byggande- och medvetenhet och långsiktighet men även att det fanns verktyg som var viktiga för kommunal omställning som nätverk genom samarbeten på olika nivåer och planer/mål. Slutligen visar även studien på att användningen av indikatorer som metod för att bedömma omställning skulle kunna vara möjligt men att begränsningar finns då metoden dels är kontextberoende men även att det är svårt att göra jämförelser då ingen fullförd omställning har skett.

Uppsatsens syfte är att analysera hur nedskalning av en global vision till en lokal kontext tar sig uttryck i Oslo kommuns klimatstrategi. Valet av Oslo kommuns klimatstrategi som studieobjekt baserades på Oslos samarbete med UN-Habitat samt utnämnandet av Oslo till Europas miljöhuvudstad 2019 och Norges petroleumverksamhet. Dokumentet Klimastrategi mot Oslo 2030 (2020) har analyserats utifrån begreppen Urbanitet och Hållbar övergång samt innebörden med nedskalning av klimatpolitiken och tre förmedlingsmetoder. Uppsatsen förankras i den tidigare forskningen som behandlar Köpenhamn och Stockholm. För att besvara frågeställningarna; vilka åtgärder presenteras som viktigast för att bli en nollutsläppsstad 2030? Hur beskrivs kopplingarna mellan den lokala klimatstrategin och den globala måluppfyllelsen? Vad finns det för kritiska punkter med strategins åtgärder och lösningar? används en kvalitativ analysmetod där empirin och den vetenskapliga förankringen får lika mycket utrymme. Utifrån den avslutande diskussionen framkommer det i slutsatserna att den största åtgärden i klimatstrategin är CCS-anläggningen på Klemetsrud. Även en fossilfri omställning av transportsektorn samt en minskad energianvändning är av vikt för att Oslo ska lyckas bli en nollutsläppsstad till 2030. Det belyses att den lokala utsläppsredovisningen påverkar den globala måluppfyllelsen. De kritiska punkterna i klimatstrategin som identifierats är; oklarhet gällande biobränslets framtida roll, den diffusa målformuleringen i Indirekta utsläpp samt problematiken med att ta efter åtgärder och lösningar från strategin för andra internationella städer. 

Digestate produced during anaerobic digestion of food waste is recognised as a good alternative to mineral fertilizer which could also be used to amend soil properties. This has conventionally been applied directly and unprocessed to nearby farms or processed and transported elsewhere. The latter option has gained recognition due to environmental restrictions coupled with soil nutrient management objectives but is an expensive venture. With increasing biogas production and AD plants across Europe, production of digestate has however exceeded its demand. Improving the dewaterability of the digestate has the benefit of reducing the cost and time of processing and handling. The principal aim of this experiment was to enhance the dewaterability of food waste digestate by the addition of pulp fibre to the AD process. In doing so, the study also investigated the effect of co-digestion of food waste and pulp fibre on the performance and stability of the digestion.

Source separated food waste was digested at OLR of 3.5 ±0.1 g VS/L*d-1 for 163 days in 3 CSTRs with a working volume of 6L at HRT OF 23-26 days. Soft- and hardwood pulp fibres were added to 2 designated digesters for 104 days and increased stepwise at OLR of 0.5 ±0.1 g VS/L*d-1 PF until 1.5 ±0.1 g VS/L*d-1 PF with the 3rd digester serving as a control. 3 other post-digesters, each with a working volume of 1.41L were operated for 104 days with sludge from the 3 main digesters serving as inoculum and substrate. This was run at HRT of 7 days. 

Pulp fibre addition of 1.5 ±0.1 g VS/L*d-1 OLR to 3.5 ±0.1 g VS/L*d-1 food waste increased the total biogas and methane production to 35-40% and 21-32% respectively. Though recording a higher biogas production, the corresponding specific methane production from the fibre addition was 12-8% lower than food waste digestion. Analysis of the digestate from post digestion showed that CST increased linearly from 595 ±13s for food waste digestate to 962 ±19s for pulp fibre addition. The experiment established a positive correlation between CST and organic matter content. Suspended solids increased from 128 ±10 mg/l for FW digestate to 177 ±12 – 237 ±10 mg/l for fibre addition. Addition of kraft pulp fibre types did not enhance the dewaterability of the digestate. However, the total methane production was enhanced by the addition of pulp fibre. 

Organic wastes can be converted to value-added products using biotransformation technologies since waste disposal and the depletion of fossil fuels are major concerns. There has been a great deal of environmental pollution caused by the extraction of palm oil, which produces a large number of by-products, along with the industry’s development and economic progress. It is important to address the issue of palm oil mill effluent (POME) in order to reduce its negative environmental effects. By regenerating energy from renewable sources, such as organic residues, anaerobic digestion (AD) is considered one of the most effective technologies for organic waste treatment. Since biomass is converted to energy through inputs and outputs, questions have been raised regarding the sustainability of bioenergy pathways. Defining sustainable disposal alternatives for organic residues can be achieved by evaluating the environmental benefits associated with biogas utilization, and digestate treatment.

Biohythane has been gaining a lot of attention lately, due to its gaseous composition of biohydrogen and biomethane. In this way, biogas production from POME can be evaluated and ensured to be sustainable through a holistic and comprehensive environmental tool, such as a life cycle assessment (LCA). By providing environmentally relevant information, LCA and carbon footprint analysis proves to be an appropriate tool for supporting future investment decisions in sustainable bioenergy production.

The Permian Irati Formation in Brazil hosts organic-rich shales and heavy hydrocarbons suitable for biogenic production of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). In this study, shale samples from the irati Formation were used in laboratory incubation experiments performed under different temperatures (22 degrees C, 50 degrees C, 70 degrees C and 80 degrees C) to evaluate the generation of CH4 and CO2 under thermal conditions compatible with biodegradation in shallow gas systems (amp;lt; 80 degrees C). Despite our laboratory experiments do not represent natural subsurface temperature conditions, it is observed that the concentrations of CH4 and CO2 increase when shale samples are incubated under temperature higher than 22 degrees C. Samples incubated at 80 degrees C presented a maximum CH4 yield of 2.45 ml/t.d (milliliter per ton of shale per day) compared to 0,49 ml/t.d at 22 degrees C, 1.75 ml/t.d at 50 degrees C and 2.09 ml/t.d at 70 degrees C. The same trend of increasing production rates with higher temperatures was observed for CO2, with maximum potential production observed under a laboratory temperature of 80 degrees C, reaching 23.47 ml/t.d. Stable carbon isotopes (delta C-13) on CH4 and CO2 suggest a mixture of thermogenic and secondary microbial gas. However, the measured CH4 and CO2 can be generated through methanogenic degradation of heavy hydrocarbons present in the studied shales, difficulting the use of carbon isotope composition to discriminate between biogenic and thermogenic gases. The studied shale samples showed significant differences in CH4 and CO2 production rates, which are possibly related to the major elements composition of the mineral matrix. Higher CH4 and CO2 production rates occurred in samples with higher amount of sulfur. Besides sulfur, we highlight that others soluble elements in the mineral matrix, such as Ca and Mg, can play an important role for the generation of biogenic CH4 and CO2. The present work intends to alert for the importance of thermal conditions as well as the geochemical composition of the mineral matrix to build conceptual models about shallow gas systems, acting on organic-rich shales in sedimentary basins.

While energy-sector emissions remain the biggest source of climate change, many least-developed countries still invest in fossil-fuel development paths. These countries generally have high levels of fossil fuel technology lock-in and low capacities to change, making the shift to sustainable energy difficult. Tanzania, a telling example, is projected to triple fossil-fuel power production in the next decade. This article assesses the potential to use internationally supported Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) to develop solar energy in Tanzania and contribute to transformational change of the electricity supply system. By assessing the cultural legitimacy of NAMAs among key stakeholders in the solar energy sector, we analyse the conditions for successful uptake of the concept in (1) national political thought and institutional frameworks and (2) the solar energy niche. Interview data are analysed from a multi-level perspective on transition, focusing on its cultural dimension. Several framings undermining legitimacy are articulated, such as attaching low-actor credibility to responsible agencies and the concept’s poor fit with political priorities. Actors that discern opportunities for NAMAs could, however, draw on a framing of high commensurability between experienced social needs and opportunities to use NAMAs to address them through climate compatible development. This legitimises NAMAs and could challenge opposing framings.

Biogas Research Center (BRC) är ett kompetenscentrum för biogasforskning som finansieras av Energimyndigheten, LiU och ett flertal externa organisationer med en tredjedel vardera. BRC har en mycket bred tvärvetenskaplig inriktning och sammanför biogasrelaterad kompetens från flera olika områden för att skapa interaktion på flera olika plan:

• mellan näringsliv, akademi och samhälle,
• mellan olika perspektiv, samt
• mellan olika discipliner och kompetensområden.

BRC:s vision är:

Resurseffektiva biogaslösningar finns genomförda i många nya tillämpningar och bidrar till en mer hållbar energiförsörjning, förbättrat miljötillstånd och goda affärer.

BRC:s särskilda roll för att uppnå denna vision är att bidra med kunskapsförsörjning och process-/teknikutveckling för att facilitera utveckling, innovation och implementering av biogaslösningar. Resurseffektivitet är ett nyckelord, vilket handlar om att förbättra befintliga processer och system samt utveckla biogaslösningar i nya sektorer och möjliggöra användning av nya substrat.

For BRC:s etapp 1, den första tvåårsperioden mellan 2012-2014, var forskningsprojekten organiserade enligt tabellen nedan. Den visar viktiga utmaningar för biogasproducenter och andra intressenter, samt hur dessa ”angreps” med åtta forskningsprojekt. Fem av projekten var av explorativ karaktär i bemärkelsen att de var bredare och mer framtidsorienterade - exempelvis utvärderade flera möjliga tekniska utvecklingsmöjligheter (EP1-5). Tre projekt hade ett tydligare fokus på teknik- och processutveckling (DP6-8).

I den här slutrapporten ges en kortfattad bakgrundsbeskrivning och det finns en introduktion till vad den här typen av kompetenscentrum innebär generellt. Därefter finns mer detaljerad information om BRC, exempelvis gäller det centrumets etablering, relevans, vision, hörnstenar och utveckling. De deltagande organisationerna presenteras, både forskargrupperna vid Linköpings universitet och partners och medlemmar. Vidare finns en mer utförlig introduktion till och beskrivning av utmaningarna i tabellen och kortfattat information om forskningsprojekten, följt av ett kapitel som berör måluppfyllelse och den externa utvärdering som gjorts av BRC:s verksamhet. Detaljerad, listad information finns till stor del i bilagorna.

Kortfattat kan det konstateras att måluppfyllelsen överlag är god. Det är speciellt positivt att så många vetenskapliga artiklar publicerats (eller är på gång att publiceras) kopplat till forskningsprojekten och även i det vidare centrumperspektivet. Helt klart förekommer en omfattande verksamhet inom och kopplat till BRC. I etapp 2 är det viktigt att öka andelen mycket nöjda partner och medlemmar, där nu hälften är nöjda och hälften mycket nöjda. Det handlar framför allt om stärkt kommunikation, interaktion och projektledning. Under 2015 förväntas åtminstone två doktorsexamina, där avhandlingarna har stor koppling till forskningen inom etapp 1.

I början på år 2014 skedde en extern utvärdering av verksamheten vid BRC med huvudsyftet att bedöma hur väl centrumet lyckats med etableringen samt att granska om det fanns förutsättningar för framtida framgångsrik verksamhet. Generellt var utfallet mycket positivt och utvärderarna konstaterade att BRC på kort tid lyckats etablera en verksamhet som fungerar väl och engagerar det stora flertalet deltagande aktörer, inom relevanta områden och där de flesta involverade ser BRC som en befogad och väl fungerande satsning, som de har för avsikt att även fortsättningsvis stödja. Utvärderingen bidrog också med flera relevant tips och till att belysa utmaningar.

Utöver denna slutrapport finns separata publikationer från forskningsprojekten.

Arbetet som presenteras i rapporten har finansierats av Energimyndigheten och de medverkande organisationerna.

A significant proportion of carbon (C) captured by terrestrial primary production is buried in lacustrine ecosystems, which have been substantially affected by anthropogenic activities globally. However, there is a scarcity of sedimentary organic carbon (OC) accumulation information for lakes surrounded by highly productive rainforests at warm tropical latitudes, or in response to land cover and climate change. Here, we combine new data from intensive campaigns spanning 13 lakes across remote Amazonian regions with a broad literature compilation, to produce the first spatially-weighted global analysis of recent OC burial in lakes (over ~50-100-years) that integrates both biome type and forest cover. We find that humid tropical forest lake sediments are a disproportionately important global OC sink of 7.4 Tg C yr−1 with implications for climate change. Further, we demonstrate that temperature and forest conservation are key factors in maintaining massive organic carbon pools in tropical lacustrine sediments.

Coastal eutrophication and urban flooding are increasingly important components of global change. Although increased seawater renewal by barrier openings and channelizing are common mitigation measures in coastal lagoons worldwide, their effects on these ecosystems are not fully understood. Here, we evaluated the re-lationships between human interventions in the watershed, artificial connections to the sea, and the sediment burial rates in an urban coastal lagoon (Maric & PRIME;a lagoon, Southeastern Brazil). Sediment accretion along with nutrient and carbon burial rates were determined in two sediment cores representing the past-120 years (210Pb dating) and associated with anthropogenic changes as indicated by historical records and geoinformation ana-lyses. Lagoon infilling and eutrophication, expressed by the average sediment accretion, TP, TN, and OC burial rates, respectively, increased-9-18, 13-15, 11-14 and 11-12-fold from the earliest (<1950) to the most recent (2000-2017) period. These multi-proxy records confirm mechanistic links between deforestation, urbanization, and untreated sewage discharges. In addition, our findings reveal artificial connections to the sea may contribute to lagoonal eutrophication and infilling, particularly when not integrated with sewage treatment and forest conservation or reforestation in the watershed. Therefore, increased seawater renewal by physical interventions commonly considered as mitigation measures may in contrast cause severe degradation in coastal lagoons, causing harmful consequences that should be not neglected when implementing management practices.

Proper pretreatment of organic residues prior to anaerobic digestion (AD) can maximize global biogas production from varying sources without increasing the amount of digestate, contributing to global decarbonization goals. However, the efficiency of pretreatments applied on varying organic streams is poorly assessed. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis on AD studies to evaluate the efficiencies of pretreatments with respect to biogas production measured as methane yield. Based on 1374 observations our analysis shows that pretreatment efficiency is dependent on substrate chemical dominance. Grouping substrates by chemical composition e.g., lignocellulosic-, protein- and lipid-rich dominance helps to highlight the appropriate choice of pretreatment that supports maximum substrate degradation and more efficient conversion to biogas. Methane yield can undergo an impactful increase compared to untreated controls if proper pretreatment of substrates of a given chemical dominance is applied. Non-significant or even adverse effects on AD are, however, observed when the substrate chemical dominance is disregarded.

The textile industry is one of the largest environmental polluters in the world. Although waste management via anaerobic digestion (AD) is a sustainable strategy to transform waste into clean energy and water recovery, the efficiency of the AD process is reduced by the presence of recalcitrant materials, chemicals, and toxic contents. This study aims to investigate the performance of several chemical, physical, and biological pretreatments applied to improve the biodegradability of textile waste. We performed a meta-analysis with 117 data extracted from 13 published articles that evaluated the efficiency of pretreatments applied to textile waste prior to AD to increase biogas production measured as methane (CH4) yield. Even though the majority of the studies have focused on the effect of chemical and physical pretreatments, our results showed that the application of biological pretreatments are more efficient and eco-friendlier. Biological pretreatments can increase CH4 yield by up to 360% with lower environmental risk and lower operating costs, while producing clean energy and a cleaner waste stream. Biological pretreatments also avoid the addition of chemicals and favor the reuse of textile wastewater, decreasing the current demand for clean water and increasing resource circularity in the textile industry.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a versatile manure management approach that can combine waste treatment, energy generation and nutrient recovery, thus playing a central role in circular economy. The AD process is highly influenced by manure composition which, depending on the source, may contain high loads recalcitrant materials (e.g., lignocellulosic and fibers) or lead to the formation of toxic compounds (e.g., NH₃), decreasing the energetic potential of the waste and requiring specific pretreatments to increase its degradability and biogas production. Although there are distinctions in the chemical composition of manure according to animal diets, different manure sources are usually grouped together, leading to a suboptimal performance of both the pretreatment and the AD process. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of 54 studies to evaluate the effects of different pretreatments on different manure types and their effect on methane (CH₄) yield and we estimated the energy potential if the appropriate pretreatment is applied to largest manure producing countries. The results showed that chemical and/or biological pretreatments were more effective for omnivore manure (e.g., swine, chicken), while physical and a combination of chemical and physical pretreatments negatively affected CH₄ production. Physical and/or chemical pretreatments had a positive effect on CH₄ yield from herbivore manure (e. g., cattle, horses), while biological pretreatments had a negative effect. The application of the adequate pretreatment can more than double the energy recovered from manure, allowing for an important substitution of fossil fuels, while decreasing operational costs and environmental risks and ultimately improving profitability. The development of pretreatment technologies and their application are strongly related to public policies for sustainable manure management and biogas use and production.

Desinfektionsbiprodukter (DBP:s) är potentiellt giftiga ämnen som bildas när dricksvatten renas med desinfektionsmedel såsom hypoklorit eller monokloramin. En stor del av exponeringen är ännu okänd och hittills kända DBP:s kan inte förklara de hälsorisker som förknippats med klorerat dricksvatten i epidemiologiska studier. I avhandlingen undersöks en relativt okänd fraktion av DBP:s som utgörs av icke-flyktiga, klor/brom-innehållande ämnen. Målen var att undersöka hur dessa DBP:s varierar mellan olika vattenverk, om de förekommer hos konsumenter och hur nya vattenreningstekniker kan minska dess bildandning och relaterad toxicitet. För att mäta okända DBP:s användes ultrahögupplöst masspektrometri (Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS)), med vilken massan hos molekyler kan bestämmas så exakt att atomsammansättningen för enskilda DBP:s kan räknas ut. En serie effektbaserade metoder som bygger på biologiska testsystem användes för att mäta kombinerade toxiska effekter från de studerade biprodukterna. 

Resultaten visar att största delen av bildade DBP:s var unik för varje vattenverk och att lokala förutsättningar påverkar vilka DBP:s som bildas, till exempel om det finns organiskt material med särskilda kemiska strukturer, bromid eller vilket desinfektionsmedel (klor eller kloramin) som används. De studerade biprodukterna detekterades både i klorerat och kloraminerat dricksvatten och i samtliga kranvatten, vilket innebär att de bidrar till konsumenters exponering. Antalet detekterade DBP:s minskade och sammansättningen ändrades mellan vattenverk och konsument, vilket innebär att DBP exponeringen hos konsumenter inte är densamma som mäts på vattenverken. En utvärdering av nya reningstekniker visade att suspenderat jonbyte och ozonering har potential att minska bildning och relaterad toxisk effekt från DBP:s och att borttagning av organiskt material kan påverka kvalitativa aspekter av DBP bildning, såsom proportionerna av klorerade (mindre toxiska) och bromerade (mer toxiska) DBP:s. Genom ökad insikt om icke-flyktiga DBP:s roll och relevans kan detta arbete bidra till att förbättra framtida uppföljning och insatser för att minska hälsorisker kopplade till DBP:s i klorerat eller kloraminerat dricksvatten.  

The occurrence of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water has become an issue of concern during the past decades. The DBPs pose health risks and are suspected to cause various cancer forms, be genotoxic and have negative developmental effects. The vast chemical diversity of DBPs makes comprehensive monitoring challenging. Only few of the DBPs are regulated and included in analytical protocols. In this study, a method for simultaneous measurement of 20 DBPs from five different structural classes (both regulated and non-regulated) was investigated and further developed for 11 DBPs using solid phase extraction and gas chromatography coupled with a halogen specific detector (XSD). The XSD was highly selective towards halogenated DBPs, providing chromatograms with little noise. The method allowed detection down to 0.05 µg/L and showed promising results for the simultaneous determination of a range of neutral DBP classes. Compounds from two classes of emerging DBPs, more cytotoxic than the “traditional” regulated DBPs, were successfully determined using this method. However, haloacetic acids (HAAs) should be analyzed separately as some HAA methyl esters may degrade giving false positives of trihalomethanes (THMs). The method was tested on real water samples from two municipal waterworks where the target DBP concentrations were found below the regulatory limits of Sweden.

The formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) during drinking water treatment has been associated with various health concerns but the total DBP exposure is still unknown. In this study, molecular level non-target analysis by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) was used to study non-volatile DBPs, and how their composition changes during water distribution in four drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in Sweden using different types of raw water and disinfection processes. The largest portion of tap water DBP compositions were detected also at the DWTPs, highlighting that these DBP formulae were rather stable and contribute to human DBP exposure. Yet the number of detected DBPs decreased 14-48% between drinking water treatment and consumer taps in the three plants in which no mixing of water from other DWTPs in the distribution system occurred showing active DBP processing in the water distribution network. While considerable amounts of bromine-containing DBPs were detected upon chemical disinfection in some DWTPs, few of them were detected in the tap water samples, likely due to debromination by hydrolytic reactions. The overall fewer non-volatile DBPs detected in tap waters, along with changed distribution among chlorine and bromine DBPs, demonstrate that DBP mixtures are highly dynamic and that DBP measurements at DWTPs do not adequately reflect exposure at the point-of-use. Clearly, more knowledge about changes of DBP mixtures through the distribution system is needed to improve DBP exposure assessments.

Potentially harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs) are formed upon drinking water treatment when disinfectantsreact with organic matter in the water. Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) provides information on the compositions of individual DBPs in the unknown, toxicologically relevantfraction, comprising non-volatile, high-molecular weight DBPs. This review evaluates current applications of FTICR-MS for DBP analysis to assist improved analysis with this technique. Four methodological aspects are infocus, 1) The use of quenching agents, 2) The choice of extraction method 3) The choice of ionization techniques/modes, and 4) Data processing including DBP formula verification and interpretation. Quenching can lead todecomposition or adduct formation and needs to be further evaluated or avoided. There is a large potential toexpand FT-ICR-MS DBP analysis by applying different SPE sorbents and ionization techniques, and improvedsystematic verification procedures are important to ensure reliable non-target analysis.

Reactions between chemical disinfectants and natural organic matter (NOM) upon drinking water treatment result in formation of potentially harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs). The diversity of DBPs formed is high and a large portion remains unknown. Previous studies have shown that non-volatile DBPs are important, as much of the total toxicity from DBPs has been related to this fraction. To further understand the composition and variation of DBPs associated with this fraction, non-target analysis with ultrahigh resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) was employed to detect DBPs at four Swedish waterworks using different types of raw water and treatments. Samples were collected five times covering a full year. A common group of DBPs formed at all four waterworks was detected, suggesting a similar pool of DBP precursors in all raw waters that might be related to phenolic moieties. However, the largest proportion (64–92%) of the assigned chlorinated and brominated molecular formulae were unique, i.e. were solely found in one of the four waterworks. In contrast, the compositional variations of NOM in the raw waters and samples collected prior to chemical disinfection were rather limited.This indicated that waterworks-specific DBPs presumably originated from matrix effects at the point of disinfection, primarily explained by differences in bromide levels, disinfectants (chlorine versus chloramine) and different relative abundances of isomers among the NOM compositions studied. The large variation of observed DBPs in the toxicologically relevant non-volatile fraction indicates that non-targeted monitoring strategies might be valuable to ensure relevant DBP monitoring in the future.

Disinfection by-products (DBPs) are potentially toxic compounds formed upon chemical disinfection of drinking water. Controlling the levels and characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) as precursor material for DBPs is a major target to reduce DBP formation. A pilot-scale treatment including suspended ion exchange (SIX (R)), a ceramic microfilter (CeraMac (R)) with in-line coagulation and optional pre-ozonation followed by granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration was compared with a conventional full-scale treatment based on DOM removal and DBP formation using Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS), rapid fractionation, liquid chromatography organic carbon detection (LC-OCD), adsorbable organic halogens (AOX) and trihalomethane (THM) analysis. The new treatment combination showed different selectivity for DOM removal, compared to the conventional, leading to changes in composition of the DBPs formed. SIX (R) and GAC had the largest impacts on reducing AOX and THM formation potentials but the high adsorptive capacity of GAC affected the diversity of detected DBPs most. Chlorination and chloramination of pilot treated water with doses normally used in Sweden produced low levels of AOX compared to the full-scale treatment, but FT-ICR MS revealed an abundance of brominated DBP species in contrast with the conventional treatment, which were dominated by chlorinated DBPs. This finding was largely linked to the high DOM removal by the pilot treatment, causing an increased Br-/C ratio and a higher formation of HOBr. Potential increases in Br-DBPs are important to consider in minimizing health risks associated with DBPs, because of the supposed higher toxicity of Br-DBPs compared to Cl-DBPs.

Improved characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in source waters used for drinking water treatment is necessary to optimize treatment processes and obtain high drinking water quality. In this study, seasonal differences in freshwater DOM composition and associated treatment-induced changes, were investigated at four drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in Sweden, during all seasons and a full-year. The objective was to understand how effectively DWTPs can adapt to seasonal changes and compare how optical and mass spectrometry methods detected these changes. In addition to bulk DOM analysis, this work focused on excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence including parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis, and molecular level non-target analysis by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS). Overall, seasonal variability of raw water DOM composition was small and explained primarily by changes in the contributions of DOM with aromatic and phenolic moieties, which were more prevalent during spring in two surface water sources as indicated by absorbance measurements at 254 nm, computed specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) and phenol concentrations. These changes could be balanced by coagulation, resulting in seasonally stable DOM characteristics of treated water. While EEM fluorescence and PARAFAC modelling effectively revealed DOM fingerprints of the different water sources, FT-ICR MS provided new insights into treatment selectivity on DOM composition at the molecular level. Future DOM monitoring of surface waters should target more specific seasonal DOM changes, such as features with a known impact on certain treatment processes or target certain events, like algal or cyanobacterial blooms. Improved characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in source waters used for drinking water treatment is necessary to optimize treatment processes and obtain high drinking water quality.

Review essay of Infinite Mobilization, by Peter Sloterdijk, translated by Sandra Berjan, Cambridge, Polity, 2020, 240 pp., $24.95, ISBN: 978-1-509-51847-0.

From charting out climate change mitigation pathways to estimating price risks associated with the social cost of carbon, as environmentally concerned citizens of the twenty-first century, we live in a culture of foresight. Because of a growing integration of an ever-wider sample space of possible climate futures into the present, historical experience has become seemingly irrelevant for effectively predicting where our climate transitions are headed, in effect restricting our sense of futurity to its performativity in the present. What has been surprisingly absent as a theoretical and methodological approach among sociologists, however, are treatments of the performativity of the future as the expression of a historical praxis for prognosis, with its own mode of disclosure. By interrogating the temporal structure of anticipation that characterizes computer-based simulations of emissions scenarios, the paper illustrates how this praxis discloses the future in accordance with the grammatical tense of the future perfect. It then argues that this relationship between past and future is the cultural product of a historically particular set of prognostic techniques and technologies, namely, model-based scenario analysis. Against this background, the paper seeks to contribute to the rehabilitation of the relevance of historical experience by historicizing the social ontological status of the future that theories of performativity take as their starting point.

This paper considers negative emissions – the deliberate removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere by human intervention – as a future-oriented imaginary of connected social and technological order. It does so in order to examine how expectations around the development and use of negative emission technologies are managed with the help of integrated assessment models. By treating this family of models as a case study for drawing out historical associations between the terminology of risk saturating the discourse of net-zero emissions and the modern conception of the future as an unexplored territory to be profitably colonized, the paper argues that integrated assessment modeling, as a praxis of forecast, structure and organize our experience of the future through standards of risk management and utility maximization. It concludes that to consider risk as a means of navigating between possible futures is to engage with practices that are enacted in the name of a particular understanding of how one ought to act in the face of deep uncertainty. Aside from epistemic questions of how to treat various kinds of uncertainties inherent to integrated assessment models, of pressing concern are thus also normative questions of how its representation of environmental hazards in terms of risk are distinctively writing the contours of our contemporary forms of responsibility toward nature, each other, as well as future generations.

In light of the radical change to the reach and range of technical alteration, the co-evolution of mankind and the biosphere has become one of the principal questions of our age. As we find that man has altered the planet at just about every scale we are capable of measuring, the question concerning the essence of technology, in its power to not only imitate but in many ways even surpass the forces of nature, has become critical for the discussion about global environmental change. Often, the empirical findings of the geosciences have been interpreted as a motive to question the long-standing dualism between nature and artifice that itself has served, during almost the entirety of the history of Western philosophy, as the productive tension through which concepts such as technology and history have hitherto been conceptualized. But if much of our contemporary discourse on global environmental change is premised upon the functional and formal similarities between natural and artificial organs, I argue that returning to the intellectual current of 1920s and 30s Weimar Culture, where the relationship between globalization and industrialization first became of central hermeneutic concern, may shed new light on the Anthropocene as the conceptual site for a resurged geoaesthetics that denotes the ontological ubiquity of the designed environment, making the technological the foundation for a modern typological cosmology. Examining Ernst Jünger’s early work on the meaning of the planetary impact of modern technology, I caution that by reifying the cybernetic disclosure of the earth as a natural-artificial hybrid into a naturalistic ontology of work, we are liable to render our planet perfectly functional to its sustained instrumental appropriation as standing-reserve.

Artificial Earth: A Genealogy of Planetary Technicity offers an intellectual history of humanity as a geological force, focusing on a prevalent contradiction in the Anthropocene discourse on global environmental change: on the one hand, it has been argued that there are hardly any pristine environments anymore, to the degree that the concept of nature has lost its meaning; while on the other, that anthropogenic environmental change has become so prevailing that it ought to be conceived of as a force of nature, in the literal sense of the expression. Artificial Earth argues that to fully grasp the stakes of this discourse, we need not only understand the contemporary scientific and technological transformations behind the Anthropocene, but also explore the history of an ontological concern tied up with it.

In order to do so, Artificial Earth examines reflections on the ontological dualism between nature and artifice within the history of earth science from the late eighteenth century onwards. Paying particular attention to its consequences for how human subjectivity has been conceptualized in the Anthropocene, it then enrolls these resources in an effort to problematize attempts since the 1980s to formalize earth science in systems theoretical terminology. In sum, the aim is to investigate the historical conditions for the possibility of conceiving human artifice as an integral part of the earth’s terrestrial environment, with the conviction that such an investigation may assist in resolving the aforementioned contradiction or at least to understand it better by tracing its historical lineage.

Since the turn of the millennium, the humanities have been progressively forced to come to terms with the materiality of a warming world, in particular the entanglement of natural environments with technical infrastructures that lies at the heart of anthropgenic environmental change, and its implications for the hithertofore seemingly impentetrable ontological wall of separation between natural and human history. In an effort to address the concomitant insufficiency of remaning solely at the discursive level, some scholars have sought to reorient the interpretative concerns of the humanities by submerging the modern subject into geological registers of deep time. This paper cautions that along with such a reorientation, however, any sense of a limit – such as a horizon of understanding belonging to human history – recedes into the modal void of deep time, with the unfortunate side-effect that questions of human agency and responsibility have a tendency to get lost in the more-than-human networks of the earth’s geophysical forces. This is ironic, given that the purported novelty of the so-called ‘Anthropocene’ condition is to highlight the anthropogenic dimension of global environmental change, and thus the deep time consequences of human action.

En stor del av dagens miljöproblem bottnar i bristande miljömedvetenhet och en beteendeförändring är en förutsättning för att minska människans skadliga påverkan. Det krävs därför kunskap om vad som formar människors miljömedvetenhet och miljöbeteende. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka barns miljömedvetenhet och miljöbeteende med fokus på ålder och genus. Vi vill öka förståelsen för vad som påverkar barns intresse, engagemang och förståelse för miljöproblem och miljövänligt beteende. Vi har genomfört intervjuer med tjugo barn i åldersgrupperna nio och tolv år samt med en lärare för respektive åldersgrupp. Studien belyser barns syn på begreppen miljö, miljöproblem, miljövänligt beteende och miljöns framtid samt barnens intresse, engagemang och kunskap kring miljö. Resultatet visar att barns miljömedvetenhet varierar och att det finns individuella skillnader som påverkas av både barnens föräldrar och skolans undervisning. Vidare redogörs ålderskillnader gällande barns förhållningssätt, intresse och framtidstro till miljö. Genusskillnader är inte lika tydliga men framkommer när barnen diskuterar miljövänligt beteende och miljöns framtid.

När klimatet förändras påverkas människor och deras egendom, företag, kommunal och statlig verksamhet, vilket gör att såväl myndigheter, kommuner, företag som enskilda fastighetsägare måste agera.

Översvämningar, värmeböljor, ras och skred är bara några exempel på vad vi behöver rusta oss för. Vi ska möta klimatförändringar som sker här i Sverige, men vi måste också anpassa oss till vad klimatförändringar i andra länder innebär för Sverige.

Kostnaderna för klimatanpassning kan bli höga, men bedöms av bland andra EUkommissionen ändå löna sig i förhållande till de skadekostnader som uppstår om inga åtgärder vidtas.

Klimatanpassningsarbetet i Sverige har gått framåt under de senaste åren. Några exempel på myndighetsuppdrag är Nationell höjddatabas, Ras- och skredkarteringen av Göta älvdalen, Dricksvattenutredningen, länsstyrelsernas regionala handlingsplaner för klimatanpassning, samt inrättandet av Nationellt kunskapscentrum för klimatanpassning.

Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska instituts arbete med regeringsuppdraget att utarbeta underlag till kontrollstation 2015 för anpassning till ett förändrat klimat, visar på stort behov av fortsatta insatser. Denna rapport ger förslag till en färdplan för klimatanpassningen i Sverige. Slutsatserna handlar framförallt om att arbetet måste bedrivas långsiktigt, att roller och mandat förtydligas samt att en bättre samordning mellan olika aktörer uppnås.

De viktigaste slutsatserna för fortsatt arbete är:

• Regelverk behöver anpassas, roller och ansvar samt strategier och mål måstetydliggöras
• Prioriterade forsknings- och utvecklingsinsatser, som fyller identifierade kunskapsbehov inklusive långtidsövervakning, behöver finansieras
• Kunskap, beslutstöd och prognos- och varningssystem behöver göras mer tillgängliga
• Hur kostnader ska fördelas mellan olika aktörer och hur resurser till prioriterade åtgärder ska säkerställas, behöver klarläggas

Uppdraget har inneburit att sammanställa kunskap om nuvarande och framtida risker och konsekvenser för samhället av ett förändrat klimat, till exempel effekter på samhällsviktiga funktioner och människors hälsa. Arbetet har också omfattat en kartläggning över vad som genomförts sedan Klimat- och sårbarhetsutredningen presenterades år 2007. Utifrån det underlaget har målet varit att beskriva behoven och lämna förslag på åtgärder för  anpassning av olika delar av samhället. Hänsyn har tagits till EU:s strategi för klimatanpassning. Arbetet har bedrivits i bred samverkan med myndigheter, kommuner, forskare, branschorganisationer och andra näringslivsrepresentanter.

Redovisningen av uppdraget omfattar en huvudrapport samt 18 bilagor. Huvudrapportens tredje kapitel är en syntes av rapportens alla förslag, och kan ses som färdplanen för att säkerställa att Sverige klimatanpassas.

As part of the governmental mission to act as knowledge brokers in the field of adaptation to climate change, the Swedish National Knowledge Centre for Climate Change Adaptation, together with Linköping University, is developing a serious game concept with the aim to provide an experience of how different functions in society are influenced by choices or lack of choice of climate adaptation measures. The game is primarily targeted towards high-school students, but could also be used by, e.g., practitioners and politicians in municipalities that recently have initiated work on climate change adaptation. Sharing experiences from game sessions could contribute to the development of a common understanding of the needs and benefits of adaptation actions. In its present version the game is developed in Minecraft as a single-player game. Moderated dialogues between players are a vital part of the game, with the aim to address: What are the consequences (cost-benefits) related to actions taken (or not taken)? How to take decisions with consideration to uncertainty and natural variability (provided from a climate generator)? The concept has been evaluated from testing with high-school students and teachers. The potential of to engage students seems to be promising, especially when the game has been integrated in a role-play setting, where the players reflect upon different societal roles and perspectives. However, for some teachers the integration of gaming in education has been perceived as a technical challenge. The next step of the work will therefore include provision of a simpler web-based in order to increase the audience that feels comfortable with the use the game concept. However, while technical and methodological challenges remain, the use of serious gaming has been shown to support dialogues and engagement and will now be tested together with politicians in three Swedish municipalities under guidance of high-school students from the participating municipalities.

Limited application and use of forecast information restrict smallholder farmers ability to deal with drought in proactive ways. This paper explores the barriers that impede use and uptake of seasonal climate forecasts (SCF) in two pilot communities in Limpopo Province. Current interpretation, translation and mediation of national SCF to the local context is weak. A local early warning system (EWS) was developed that incorporated hydrological modelled information based on national SCF, locally monitored rainfall and soil moisture by a wireless sensor network, and signs from indigenous climate indicators. We assessed to what degree this local EWS could improve interpretation of SCF and increase understanding and uptake by farmers. Local extension staff and champion farmers were found to play important knowledge brokering roles that could be strengthened to increase trust of SCF. The local EWS provided added value to national SCF by involving community members in local monitoring, enacting knowledge interplay with indigenous knowledge and simplifying and tailoring SCF and hydrological information to the local context. It also helped farmers mentally prepare for upcoming conditions even if many do not currently have the adaptive mindsets, economic resources or pre-conditions to positively respond to SCF information.

This thesis identified dominant discourses in climate change mitigation policy in three Swedish municipalities using argumentative discourse analysis. It was explored how these discourses influence the potential for success in mitigating climate change. Other studies have identified several factors that are important when working with climate change mitigation in municipalities, for example, political leadership and organizational structure. However, studies have shown that discourse is also an influential factor since it sets the frame for what can be thought of, consequently influencing policies and actions, but this has not been studied as much at the municipal level in Sweden. Previous studies of environmental policy have shown the dominance of an ecological modernization discourse, where economic growth and environmental issues are combined to create a win-win. The results in this thesis show the dominance of a strong ecological modernization where the decoupling between economic growth and environmental problems, renewable energy and technology, a global justice perspective, and a focus on collaboration between stakeholders is central. A main conclusion is that the ecological modernization discourse risks obscuring potential solutions that are not related to the market or technological innovation. However, the inclusion of a diversity of actors and a focus on justice could potentially minimize this risk. Finally, emerging discourses around transformation and circular economy could be ways to problematize the taken-for-granted ecological modernization discourse. However, their potential depends on how these concepts are framed and what is included in them.

This article explores how discourses may influence the potential for success in mitigating climate change in Swedish municipalities. We identify dominant discourses in climate change mitigation policy in three Swedish municipalities using argumentative discourse analysis, based on policy documents and interviews as empirical material. Political leadership and adequate organizational preconditions are necessary for working with climate change mitigation in municipalities, but the role of discourse is also significant. Policy discourse constructs preconditions for certain scenarios while rendering others less likely. Previous studies have shown that the ecological modernization (EM) discourse tends to be dominant, something which this study confirms and investigates further. We find that the dominant discourse is strong EM, which largely considers it possible to decouple economic growth and environmental problems through renewable energy and technology. A focus on collaboration between stakeholders is central and a global climate justice perspective is present to some extent. Potential solutions that are not related to the market or technological innovation risk being rendered invisible when this discourse is dominant, but the inclusion of a diversity of actors and an increased focus on climate justice could potentially minimize this risk. Finally, emerging discourses around transformation and circular economy have potential to enable the forging of new paths. This depends, however, on how these concepts are framed and how they are used.

Putting climate change policy-integration into practice is challenged by problems of institutional misfit, due to, inter alia, deficient vertical administrative interplay. While most focus within the field of climate change research has targeted the national-local interplay, less is known about the interface of regional and local perspectives. Here, the aim is to study that interface with a specific focus on the relation between regional and local spatial planning actors, through a case-study of transport and coastal zone management in a Swedish municipality. The article is based on interviews (focus group and single in-depth) and official planning documents. The material reveals a tricky planning situation, replete with conflict. In practice, various institutional frameworks, claims and ambitions collide. The attempts to steer the local spatial planning initiatives from the regional level led to conflicts, which in turn seems to have hampered the overall work for climate change management through spatial planning. Furthermore, there are few traces of prospects of a smooth vertical institutional interplay able to support the overall aims related to integrating climate change mitigation and adaptation in spatial planning. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acknowledging the climate scenarios’ future deployment of BECCS in Europe and modelers’ questions as to the feasibility of implementing the level of BECCS proposed in the scenarios, this chapter provides a crude estimate of?the existing European potential for BECCS.?This potential is estimated through mapping point sources of biogenic CO2 from three types of processes with particularly promising prospects for BECCS: production of paper and pulp, combined heat and power (CHP), and bioethanol. The production of pulp, paper, and paperboard (“pulp and paper” for short)?is very energy intensive and generates considerable CO2 emissions. Due to?improved energy efficiency and a switch from fossil fuels to in-house biomass-based fuels, a large proportion of these CO2 emissions are biogenic (Sun et al., 2018). This, in combination with the fact that the emissions are often concentrated in just a few large production plants, makes these industries promising for BECCS deployment.

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka berörda samhällsaktörers inställning till att uppnå klimatneutralitet inom Sverige med bio-CCS som åtgärd. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys av remisser från klimatpolitiska vägvalsutredningens betänkande Vägen till en klimatpositiv framtid genomfördes med ett multi-level perspective för att studera dessa aktörers ståndpunkt. Aktörernas synpunkter identifieras och analyseras för att därefter ställas mot tidigare forskning. Resultatet av studien visar att det finns delade uppfattningar hos aktörerna angående bio-CCS och vad som behövs för att främja tekniken. De största hindren till att implementera bio-CCS som åtgärd anses vara ekonomiska och politiska aspekter, men att det även finns andra faktorer som har en betydande roll för att bio-CCS ska kunna ha ett inflytande till att Sverige ska uppnå klimatneutralitet till 2045. 

Desinfektionsbiprodukter (DBP) är oönskade kemikalier som bildas när dricksvatten desinficeras med desinfektionsmedel som klor eller kloramin. Halterna av DBP som produceras beror på parametrar som halten av naturligt organiskt material (NOM) och typ och koncentration av det använda desinfektionsmedlet. I denna avhandling undersöks hur mycket DBP:er som produceras när man använder antingen klor eller kloramin som kemiskt desinfektionsmedel. Målet var att undersöka om desinfektion med klor och kloramin producerar liknande koncentrationer av DBP.

Inom avhandlingsarbetet testades också en metod baserad på en gaskromatografi med halogenselektiv detektor (GC-XSD) för att bestämma kända DBP:er i dricksvattnet.

Resultaten visar att liknande nivåer av DBP bildades vid desinfektion med klor eller kloramin. Men kloramin används hellre än klor eftersom lägre halter av reglerade DBP:er bildas.

GC-XSD fungerade bra för bestämning av DBP i dricksvatten. Eftersom XSD är mycket selektiv och specifik för halogener och lätt att använda, är denna uppställning inte bara ett potentiellt verktyg för rutinmässig DBP-övervakning vid dricksvattenanläggningar, utan den kan också användas för att söka efter okända halogenerade föreningar.

Ökad kunskap om bildandet av DBP:er och hur dessa kan bestämmas med GC-XSD kan bidra till bättre metoder att hitta kända och okända halogenerade organiska föreningar i dricksvatten för att minska befolkningens exponering för potentiellt toxiska halogenerade organiska föreningar.

In the climate change communication literature, the concept of framing is increasingly used to discuss various understandings of climate change. This paper addresses the under-researched question of how specific audiences perceive the adequacy of various climate change frames, by exploring how Swedish farmers make sense of climate change information. Based on focus group discussions with farmers, the paper explores what communicators, or frame articulators, Swedish farmers perceive as central and how farmers judge the credibility of potential frame articulators in climate change communication. The paper discusses 1) the credibility of frame articulators as a matter of perceived independence and impartiality, 2) empirical credibility—whether farmers were able to verify the claims underlying climate change frames—as a matter of practical experience versus analytical reasoning, and 3) frame consistency, i.e. whether climate change frames correspond to audience beliefs and claims.

While previous studies have found games and gaming to be a new andinnovative communication strategy to inform the public and citizens aboutscientific research and engage them with it, this article addresses theunder-researched question of credibility aspects in research-basedgaming. The study analyses agricultural stakeholders’ discussions on thecredibility of scientific descriptions in The Maladaptation Game — a gamebased on research on climate change maladaptation in Nordic agriculture.The analysis of focus group transcripts and frame credibility finds thatplayers attribute credibility to 1) the perceived correspondence betweengame-articulated information on climate change, suggested adaptationactions and their potential maladaptive outcome, 2) the perceived “fit”between these elements and players’ experiences, and 3) the informationsources underpinning the game. Lastly, the article discusses the role ofresearch-based games in science communication and advocates the needfor careful balance between models of conceptual and scientific thinking ingame design and everyday experiences among players.

While previous research into understandings of climate change has usually examined general public perceptions, this study offers an audience-specific departure point. This article analyses how Swedish farmers perceive climate change and how they jointly shape their understandings. The agricultural sector is of special interest because it both contributes to and is directly affected by climate change. Through focus group discussions with Swedish farmers, this study finds that (1) farmers relate to and understand climate change through their own experiences, (2) climate change is understood either as a natural process subject to little or no human influence or as anthropogenic and (3) various communication tools contribute to the formation of natural and anthropogenic climate change frames. The article ends by discussing frame resonance and frame clash in public understanding of climate change and by comparing potential similarities and differences in how various segments of the public make sense of climate change.

As local climate adaptation activity increases, so does the number of questions about costs, benefits, financing and the role that economic considerations play in adaptation-related decision-making and policy. Through five cases, covering a range of climate risks and types of adaptation measures, this paper critically examines Swedish project coordinators perceptions of costs and benefits in already-implemented climate adaptation measures. Our study finds that project coordinators make use of different system boundaries - on temporal, geographical and administrative scales - in their cost/benefit evaluations, making the practice of determining adaptation costs arbitrary and hard to compare. We further demonstrate that the project coordinators interpret costs and benefits in a manner that downplays the intangible environmental and social costs and benefits arising from the adaptation measures, despite their own experience of how such measures negatively impact upon social value. The exclusion of social and environmental costs and benefits has severe implications for justice, as it can bias decisions against people and ecosystems that are affected negatively. Based on the findings, we propose three tentative social justice dilemmas in local climate adaptation planning and implementation: 1. Cost and benefit distribution across scales; 2. The identification and valuation of non-market effects; and 3. The equitable allocation of costs and benefits.