Livestock slurry, a potential secondary raw material, has been documented as containing valuable macronutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Proper separation and concentration of these compounds would transform it into a high-quality fertilizer. In this investigation, the liquid component of pig slurry was assessed for its potential as a fertilizer and nutrient recovery. To gauge the effectiveness of the proposed technology train within a circular economy framework, several indicators were used. To improve macronutrients extraction from the slurry, a phosphate speciation study, targeting the pH range from 4 to 8, was performed, leveraging the high solubility of ammonium and potassium species across the entire pH spectrum. The study yielded two separate treatment trains, one for acidic and another for alkaline conditions. A centrifugation, microfiltration, and forward osmosis-based acidic treatment system yielded a nutrient-rich liquid organic fertilizer with 13% N, 13% P2O5, and 15% K2O content. Through the alkaline valorisation process, centrifugation combined with stripping by membrane contactors produced an organic solid fertilizer (77% N, 80% P2O5, 23% K2O), an ammonium sulphate solution (14% N), and irrigation water. In assessing circularity, the acidic treatment procedure yielded a recovery of 458 percent of the initial water content and less than 50 percent of the contained nutrients—specifically, nitrogen (283 percent), phosphorus pentoxide (435 percent), and potassium oxide (466 percent)—ultimately resulting in 6868 grams of fertilizer output per kilogram of processed slurry. The alkaline treatment process resulted in the recovery of 751% of water usable for irrigation purposes and a marked increase in the content of nitrogen (806%), phosphorus pentoxide (999%), and potassium oxide (834%). This led to the production of 21960 grams of fertilizer per kilogram of processed slurry. The recovery and valorization of nutrients are effectively achieved through treatment paths in acidic and alkaline environments; the resultant products, a nutrient-rich organic fertilizer, solid soil amendment, and ammonium sulfate solution, comply with the European fertilizer regulations for use in crop fields.

A global surge in urbanization has contributed to the widespread proliferation of emerging contaminants, encompassing pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, and micro and nano-plastics, within aquatic systems. Even in small quantities, these contaminants represent a risk to the delicate balance of aquatic environments. A critical step in understanding the effects of CECs on aquatic ecosystems involves measuring the concentration levels of these pollutants in these systems. The present monitoring of CECs demonstrates a lack of equilibrium, overemphasizing certain categories and creating a void of data concerning environmental concentrations in other CEC types. For the purpose of improving CEC monitoring and pinpointing their environmental concentrations, citizen science is a viable tool. However, the effort to integrate citizen participation in CECs monitoring brings with it some difficulties and areas requiring further consideration. This paper investigates the current state of citizen science and community science projects that track different categories of CECs in both freshwater and marine ecological settings. We also assess the pros and cons of citizen science for CEC monitoring, providing suggestions for effective sampling and analytical procedures. A disparity in the frequency of citizen science monitoring exists between different CEC groups, as our research indicates. Volunteer participation in microplastic monitoring programs showcases a higher rate of engagement than in programs investigating pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and personal care products. These discrepancies, nonetheless, do not inherently suggest a scarcity of sampling and analytical methodologies. In conclusion, the outlined roadmap details which methodologies can be employed to augment monitoring of all CEC categories via citizen science.

Bio-sulfate reduction within mine wastewater treatment systems produces sulfur-compounded wastewater which contains sulfides (HS⁻ and S²⁻) and metal ions. Wastewater containing sulfur-oxidizing bacteria typically results in the generation of biosulfur, which takes the form of negatively charged hydrocolloidal particles. DIRECTRED80 Employing traditional methods, the recovery of biosulfur and metal resources is a difficult undertaking. This study investigated the sulfide biological oxidation-alkali flocculation (SBO-AF) method for recovering valuable resources from the wastewater, offering a technical guide for mine wastewater resource recovery and heavy metal pollution mitigation. A study of SBO's contribution to biosulfur generation and the crucial factors involved in SBO-AF operation led to a pilot-scale wastewater treatment procedure for resource recovery. The study's findings show that partial sulfide oxidation was achievable with a sulfide loading rate of 508,039 kg/m³d, dissolved oxygen levels of 29-35 mg/L and a temperature range of 27-30°C. At pH 10, concurrent precipitation of metal hydroxide and biosulfur colloids resulted from the combined effect of precipitation entrapment and charge neutralization through adsorption. The treatment process reduced the manganese, magnesium, and aluminum concentrations and turbidity in the wastewater from their initial values of 5393 mg/L, 52297 mg/L, 3420 mg/L, and 505 NTU to 049 mg/L, 8065 mg/L, 100 mg/L, and 2333 NTU, respectively. DIRECTRED80 Sulfur and metal hydroxides were the principal substances found in the recovered precipitate. The average sulfur content was 456%, the average manganese content was 295%, the average magnesium content was 151%, and the average aluminum content was 65%. The economic feasibility analysis, substantiated by the results shown above, confirms that SBO-AF displays both superior technical and economic benefits in recovering resources from contaminated mine wastewater.

While hydropower is the leading global renewable energy source, providing benefits like water storage and flexibility, it simultaneously presents noteworthy environmental repercussions. The pursuit of Green Deal targets requires sustainable hydropower to find a delicate balance among electricity generation, its effects on ecosystems, and its societal advantages. Digital, information, communication, and control (DICC) technologies are increasingly employed as a potent strategy to balance competing priorities, particularly within the European Union (EU), encouraging simultaneous advancements in green and digital initiatives. The study showcases DICC's potential for integrating hydropower into Earth's diverse spheres, emphasizing the hydrosphere (water quality and quantity, water flow management), biosphere (riparian vegetation health and fish habitats), atmosphere (methane emissions, reservoir evaporation), lithosphere (sediment management, reduced seepages), and anthroposphere (mitigation of pollution from combined sewer overflows, chemicals, plastics, and microplastics). The discussion below delves into the primary DICC applications, case studies, difficulties, Technology Readiness Level (TRL), benefits, drawbacks, and broader applications to energy production and predictive operation and maintenance (O&M) pertaining to the Earth spheres mentioned above. Emphasis is placed on the key objectives of the European Union. While the paper predominantly examines hydropower, similar considerations apply to any artificial obstruction, water impoundment, or civil structure that disrupts freshwater ecosystems.

Cyanobacterial blooms have increased worldwide in recent years, largely due to the pervasive impacts of global warming and water eutrophication. This has triggered a cascade of water quality concerns, among which the distressing odor emanating from lakes is of prominent concern. The bloom's later phase witnessed an abundance of algae accumulating on the sediment surface, potentially leading to problematic odor pollution in the lake. DIRECTRED80 Lakes often display an unpleasant odor profile, which is sometimes a consequence of the algae-produced chemical cyclocitral. An annual survey of 13 eutrophic lakes within the Taihu Lake basin was examined in this study; its purpose was to evaluate the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on -cyclocitral in the water. -cyclocitral concentrations within sediment pore water (pore,cyclocitral) were measured to be markedly higher than those in the overlying water column, averaging approximately 10,037 times the concentration. Structural equation modeling indicated that -cyclocitral concentrations in the water column are directly influenced by algal biomass and pore-water cyclocitral. Furthermore, total phosphorus (TP) and temperature (Temp) fostered algal biomass growth, consequently boosting -cyclocitral production in both water column and pore water environments. A critical finding was that at 30 g/L of Chla, algae exhibited a significantly increased impact on pore-cyclocitral, which prominently influenced the regulation of -cyclocitral concentrations in the water column. Our study provided a holistic and detailed understanding of the effects of algae on odorants and the dynamic regulatory processes present in complex aquatic ecosystems. Crucially, it highlighted the substantial contribution of sediments to -cyclocitral in eutrophic lakes, leading to a more accurate appreciation of off-flavor genesis in these environments and enabling enhanced future odor management strategies.

Coastal tidal wetlands' essential contributions to flood protection and biological preservation are fairly and properly acknowledged. Essential for the quantification of mangrove habitat quality is the accurate measurement and estimation of topographic data. A novel methodology is presented in this study for the rapid generation of a digital elevation model (DEM), combining instantaneous waterline data with tidal level recordings. With unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), immediate on-site assessment of waterline characteristics and interpretation became a reality. Waterline recognition accuracy is improved by image enhancement, according to the results, and object-based image analysis achieves the highest accuracy.