Biogas from agricultural waste streams represents an important way to produce fossil-free energy, allow nutrient recycling and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, biogas production from agricultural substrates is currently far from reaching its full potential. In Sweden, the number of biogas plants and their output have increased in recent years, but they are still experiencing harsh economic conditions. A recent evaluation (2010–2015) of 31 farm-scale biogas production facilities in Sweden sought to identify parameters of importance for further positive development. In this paper, data on plant operation, gas yield and digestate quality for 27 of these plants are summarised and statistically analysed to investigate factors that could allow an increase in overall biogas production and in nutrient content in the digestate. The analysis showed that addition of co-substrates to manure results in higher gas production, expressed as both specific methane potential and volumetric gas production, than when manure is the sole substrate. Use of co-substrate was also found to be influential for the nutrient content of the digestate. These observed improvements caused by co-digestion should be considered when subsidy systems for manure-based biogas processes are being created, as they could also improve the economics of biogas production. However, to achieve higher efficiency in existing biogas plants and to improve the situation for future investments, a more detailed, long-term evaluation programme should also be considered.

The purpose of this study was to compare the energy use and climate impact of extracting phosphorus (P) from sewage sludge, compared with mineral phosphorus from mining. The two processes that are studied are struvite precipitation and extraction of phosphorus from sludge ash (AshDec). We also looked at the potential recycling rate of plant nutrients in the different systems.

In the study, we have calculated the environmental impact of introducing the processes for P-recovery, related to a conventional sewage treatment plant with chemical precipitation. It is therefore only the differences that arise in comparison with the reference plant that are included in the calculations. You can think like this: there is an existing sewage treatment plant, where you introduce P recycling. All changes in environmental impact that arise in connection with the investment in this new process are burdens the new P-product.

The results show that the AshDec scenario has the best recovery rate of phosphorus and energy balance, while the struvite scenario shows the best return rate of nitrogen and the lowest climate impact. However, the sensitivity analyzes show that the results are strongly influenced by different assumptions. For the AshDec scenario, assumption about nitrous oxide emissions from incineration of sludge as well as the handling of energy surplus is crucial. For the struvite scenario, assumptions around the reconstruction of the sewage treatment plant to biological phosphor cleaning is of great significance, especially if the biogas production is affected.

Under senare år har ett flertal utbrottmed magsjuka kopplats till konsumtionav grönsaker, frukt och bär. Sjukdomsframkallandebakterier och virus, såsomnorovirus, Salmonella, toxinproducerandeE. coli, Campylobacter och Listeria. kanspridas från bevattningsvatten via grö-dan till människor och orsaka sjukdom.Smittat bevattningsvatten kan därförförorena frilandsproducerade grönsakeroch bär. Det är alltås viktigt att hakontroll på bevattningsvattnets kvalitet.Dessutom är det viktigt att känna tillvilken typ av kultur som vattnet skaanvändas till, eftersom risken för vidaresmitta till människor varierar mellanolika typer av kulturer. T.ex. är det störrerisk att använda kontaminerat vatten tillkulturer som äts råa utan uppvärmninghos livsmedelsproducenten eller konsument,eftersom det då inte finns nå-gon möjlighet att avdöda de oönskademikroorganismerna i ett efterföljandesteg. Genom rätt hantering och adekvatbehandling av bevattningsvattnetkan dess hygieniska kvalitet förbättras.Ibland finns det möjlighet för odlarenatt byta vattenkälla, men då detta inte ärpraktiskt möjligt kan det kontamineradevattnet renas innan bevattning. I dettafaktablad beskrivs två grundläggandetekniker för rening av bevattningsvattenvid frilandsproduktion, nämligen fotokemi(fotokatalys, UV) och filtrering(mekanisk filtrering, långsamfiltrering).Dessa används för att minska risken försmittspridning med bevattningsvattnet.

Landfill gas is formed under anaerobic conditions in landfills by microbial degradation of organic material. The gas composition can vary, but at Swedish landfills the gas generally consists of 40-60% methane, 30-40% carbon dioxide and 5-20% nitrogen. Hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) is a highly toxic and corrosive gas, which occur in landfill gas in varying concentrations, from 10 to 30,000 ppm (equivalent to 0.001 to 3.0%). It is desirable that the landfill gas is used for electricity and/or heat production, but to do that there is a need to clean the gas to reach <200 ppm H₂S. High levels of H₂S increases wear on the engine/boiler and thus the frequency of servicing. This leads to expensive maintenance costs, and ultimately shortens the economic life of the plant. To reduce corrosion, it is common to adjust the flue gas temperature, but this also leads to a lower efficiency and thus reduces the energy utilization of the gas. In some cases the gas concentration of H₂S is judged to be too high to be used for energy production at all. In 2015, approximately 53 GWh of landfill gas was flared in Sweden, which in many cases is due to problems with high levels of H₂S.

Cleaning of landfill gas from H₂S leads to several values; the gas energy is used efficiently, maintenance and service costs of the engines/boiler are reduced, and emissions of acidifying sulphur dioxide from combustion of landfill gas decreases. There are commercial cleaning technologies for H₂S but they are expensive, both in terms of capital cost and operating cost. Thus, there is a need to develop new cost efficient cleaning technologies that improve the economic outcome at landfills and that enables landfill gas with high H₂S concentrations to be utilized for valuable energy transformation.

RISE (formerly JTI – Swedish Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering) together with SLU develops new, potentially cost-efficient methods for upgrading biogas to fuel quality. One of the methods is based on the gas passing through a bed of moist ash (a so-called ash filter), where carbon dioxide and H₂S are fixed. The hypothesis of this project was that ashes originating from the incineration of waste, recycled waste wood etc., can be used to clean the high levels of H₂S in landfill gas. This type of ashes will usually be disposed of in landfills anyway and if the treatment effect is good, it would generate synergy effects in the form of the ash first being used to clean landfill gas from sulphur before it is used as a construction material at landfills.

This project performed two trials in pilot scale at a Swedish landfill with very high concentration of H₂S, approximately 15,000 ppm. Different gas flow rates were studied (0.7 to 7.6 m³ / h), while the volume of ash used were similar in the two trials, 0,37 m³. The concentration of H₂S in the cleaned gas was consistently very low during treatment, < 10 ppm at low gas flow rates and < 200 ppm at high gas flow rates. Two types of ash were investigated and both proved to have very good capacity to fix H₂S, 44-61 g H₂S/kg dry ash. In comparison with literature values, there is only one study showing an uptake capacity in the same order. Other studies report an order of magnitude lower uptake capacity.

Based on the experimental results, the technical and economic potential for an ash filter as the cleaning method was assessed. The calculations were made for various typical landfills to cover the different range of landfills. For normal sized landfills with gas flow rates of 100-1 000 m³/h and H₂S concentrations between 100 and 1 000 ppm, the amount of ash needed is 10-130 tons of dry ash per year. For the special case where the H₂S concentration is extremely high, the amount of ash increases and a plant with 15 000 ppm H₂S and a gas flow rate of 200 m³/h requires approximately 800 tons of dry ash per year. However, overall modest amounts of ash is required and considering all Swedish landfills the requirement of ash would be only 0.2-0.3% of the annual production of ash in Sweden.

The economic calculations show that the ash filter is a competitive method for removal of H₂S. For the special case of extremely high levels of H₂S, it turned out that the cost of the ash filter is approximately 20% lower in comparison with the cheapest feasible conventional cleaning technology on the market. Also for the cleaning of landfill gas at more normal levels of H₂S, the ash filter is competitive. At low gas flow rates (100 m³/h), the ash filter is clearly competitive compared to literature values for conventional cleaning technologies. The economy of scale seems to be higher for the conventional cleaning technologies, and consequently the difference between the cost of ash filter cleaning and other technologies is less at higher gas flow rates.

The low treatment cost of the ash filter reveals opportunities for landfills that currently do not clean the gas from H₂S. During the project 15 Swedish landfills was contacted and none of these reported any form of H₂S cleaning. When using cleaning, the landfill gas can be used effectively, i.e. reduced flaring, increased efficiency of electricity and heat production with reduced wear on boilers and combustion equipment as well as reduced emissions of sulphur into the atmosphere, which also reduces the potential odour problems around the landfill.

For further development, the design of an ash filter module prototype at full-scale is important. Furthermore, the treated ashes should be analysed for leaching characteristics, storability and usability as construction materials or as cover landfills along with an assessment of the overall environmental impact. Further tests at full scale should be made at other landfills with various gas flow rates and H₂S concentrations to verify the performance of the conducted pilot tests.

Förebyggande åtgärder dominerar i växtskyddet i ekologisk produktion och användningen av växtskyddsmedel är begränsad. Främst biologiska växtskyddsmedel används och utöver det ett fåtal kemiska växtskyddsmedel, de flesta med låg risk för hälsa och miljö. Dessa används främst i produktion av frukt, bär och grönsaker.

Food stores have begun to tackle food waste at the point of sale. They do so by selling ‘suboptimal’ food before it is wasted, typically with a price reduction. However, efficiency of this food waste avoidance action can be improved by knowing for which product category, which store type, which accompanying communication, and which consumer characteristics this action works best. This study uses an experimental online survey conducted in five North western European countries to investigate the effect of communication appealing to either self- or others-centred motives in either supermarkets or farmers' markets, for packaged and for fresh food. It is found that both messages – communicating budget saving or an emotional appeal - are effective in increasing choice likelihood. Store type affects choice likelihood of suboptimal packaged, while others-centred values and trust in the store affects choice likelihood for suboptimal fresh food. Communication improves quality perception of suboptimal fresh food. Findings imply that fresh suboptimal foods lend themselves more to be promoted with others-centred messages, or to be targeted at consumers with others-centred values. Sales of suboptimal food in the store should be accompanied by communication, and such efforts to tackle food waste in the store should focus on fresh food in particular.

Food waste accounts for a considerable share of the environmental impact of the food sector. Therefore, strategies that aim to reduce food waste have great potential to improve sustainability of the agricultural and food supply chains. Consumer-related food waste is a complex issue that needs collaboration between various supply chain actors and sector stakeholders. Although a range of initiatives from various actors already exists internationally, there is still a lack of knowledge on which lessons can be derived from such cases. The current multiple case study provides insights into how to successfully design future actions, by analysing common and distinct key success factors in 26 existing initiatives to reduce consumer-related food waste. The findings reveal that collaboration between stakeholders, timing and sequence of initiatives, competencies that the initiative is built on, and a large scale of operations are key success factors. Success factors are identified for the primary design, for the development and maintenance phase, and for reaching out to consumers. There are three general types of initiatives that differ in their aims and characteristics: information and capacity building, redistribution, and retail and supply chain alteration. The first type focuses most strongly on motivating consumer food waste avoidance behaviour and strengthening consumer abilities, while the second and third focus primarily on altering consumer food choice context, but combine this with aspects of raising awareness. Recommendations are derived for future initiatives which should take inspiration from existing initiatives, especially considering the right partners, competencies involved, timing the start of the initiative right, and aim to soon achieve a large scale.

Introduction: 

Aquatic supply chains, based on e.g. fish, molluscs, crustaceans and algae, provide products aimed for direct or indirect human consumption and other uses. Global demand for these products is increasing, but the fact that wild-capture fisheries—supplying inputs for the food and feed industries—have stagnated (FAO 2016), or even declined, has raised questions about the environmental consequences of aquatic supply chains  Research applying LCA to seafood products has emerged since the early years of the century and, until today, dozens of case studies of fisheries and aquaculture systems from all around the world have been published. The body of literature in this field has grown to the extent of allowing systematic reviews to be undertaken on specific production sectors, such as for capture fisheries 

The lifecycle of seafood commodities differs from that of terrestrial production systems in their diversity, in the case of fisheries, the reliance on extraction of a natural resource (fish stocks), their impacts on often unmapped ecosystems (e.g. seafloors and deep sea fish stocks) and the more complex trophic webs of aquatic ecosystems. To capture also these biotic and fisheries-specific impacts, an increasing number of fisheries and aquaculture LCAs apply novel impact categories such as biotic resource use and benthic ecosystems impacts. Aquaculture systems, in addition, often rely on feed resources from capture fisheries, agriculture and livestock, requiring extensive LCI models.

Among the existing aquaculture seafood LCA studies, there is a strong focus on salmonids aquaculture in Europe and North America. The globally largest aquaculture sector, carp farming in China, has, however, been poorly covered. Peruvian anchoveta, the world’s largest fishery and the primary source of fishmeal and fish oil, was first modelled in 2014. Consequently, while the number of aquatic LCAs has steadily been increasing, the uniqueness of aquatic production chains and the diversity of species leave many inventories overlooked and some relevant impact categories unaddressed. In response, we initiated this Special Issue (SI), to supplement literature and highlight shortcomings. Thirteen articles were ultimately accepted in the SI

Molybdenum is toxic to ruminants when present in high levels in forage, causing physiological copper deficiency. A critical level for ruminants is 3–10 mg Mo kg−1 dry matter. The average Mo level varies considerably between different arable soils, depending mainly on soil parent material. This study investigated the possibility of using various existing sources of geospatial information (geophysical, biogeochemical and soil chemical) to develop a geography-based risk assessment system. Forage samples (n = 173) were collected in 2006–2007. Three types of national geoscientific datasets were tested: (1) SEPA topsoil, comprising data from arable land within the Swedish environmental monitoring programme; (2) SGU biogeochemical, containing data from aquatic plant root material collected in small streams; and (3) SGU geophysical, consisting of data from airborne gamma-ray scanning. The digital postcode area map was used for geocoding, with Mo concentrations in forage assigned to arable parts of the corresponding postcode area. By combining this with the three national geoscientific databases, it was possible to construct a risk map using fuzzy classification depicting High-risk, Intermediate-risk, Low-risk and Very-low-risk areas. The map was validated using 42 randomly selected samples. All samples but one with Mo &gt; 3 mg kg−1 were found in postcode areas designated High risk. Thus, the risk map developed seems to be useful as a decision support system on where standard forage analyses need to be supplemented with Mo analyses.

Several techniques have been developed during the 20th century in order to preserve foods. These innovative technologies vary considerably and embrace physical technologies (e.g., high hydrostatic pressure and high-pressure homogenization), electromagnetic technologies (e.g., pulsed electric fields, ohmic heating, microwaves, radio-frequency, and UV-light), acoustic technologies (e.g., ultrasound and shockwaves), and others such as membrane filtration and dense phase CO₂. In this chapter, the theoretical background and definition of the technologies are explained together with a description of the equipment, main technological/processing parameters, and some advantages and limitations from a technological point of view.

The development of an injectable biomaterial that supports cell survival and maintains or promotes nucleus pulposus (NP) phenotype could aid delivery of cells to degenerated NPs causing low back pain. Mesenchymal cells were loaded and grown in a synthetic peptide gel, PuraMatrix ® . Cells were observed within the gels over 0–28 days, and accumulation of glycosaminoglycans were detected by histological staining. The mechanical properties of the cell-loaded constructs, and the change of the mechanical properties were studied using stress relaxation of the gels under compression and confinement. The PuraMatrix ® gel was shown to relax fast on compression indicating that the fluid could easily flow out of the gel, and thus indicating the presence of large pores/voids. The presence of these pores/voids was further supported by high mobility of dextran molecules, determined using fluorescence recovery after photo bleaching. The stress required to deform the cell-loaded constructs to a specific strain increases at day 21, at which point the presence of glycosaminoglycans within the cell-loaded constructs was also observed. The results provide evidence of changes in mechanical properties of the PuraMatrix ® matrix upon excretion of the extracellular matrix by the

Based on soil temperature, snow depth and the grown cultivar's maximum attainable level of frost tolerance (LT50c), the FROSTOL model simulates development of frost tolerance (LT50) and winter damage, thereby enabling risk calculations for winter wheat survival. To explore the accuracy of this model, four winter wheat cultivars were sown in a field experiment in Uppsala, Sweden in 2013 and 2014. The LT50 was determined by tests of frost tolerance in November, and the cultivars’ LT50c was estimated. Further, recorded winter survival from 20 winter wheat field variety trials in Sweden and Norway was collected from two winter seasons with substantial winter damages. FROSTOL simulations were run for selected cultivars at each location. According to percentage of winter damage, the cultivar survival was classified as “survived,” “intermediate” or “killed.” Mean correspondence between recorded and simulated class of winter survival was 75% and 37% for the locations in Sweden and Norway, respectively. Stress factors that were not accounted for in FROSTOL might explain the poorer accuracy at the Norwegian locations. The accuracy was poorest for cultivars with intermediate LT50c levels. When low temperature was the main cause of damage, as at the Swedish locations, the model accuracy was satisfying.

Purpose: Leisure boaters in the Baltic Sea apply more copper as antifoulant than needed and permitted. Initiatives have been started to identify efficient means making boat owners comply with regulations through changed consumer behavior. We compare the environmental impacts of conventional and alternative antifouling methods, using Life Cycle Assessment methodology. Methods: Two non-toxic methods were compared with biocide paint. To study the influence of boat owner use patterns, paint and brush washer scenarios (e.g., different paints, amounts, and maintenance) were created based on current use and recommendations. The functional unit was an average Swedish leisure boat kept fouling free for 1 year and impact categories studied were freshwater eco-toxicity and greenhouse gas emissions. Production of paints, fuel, electricity, and material used in the non-toxic methods was included. Sensitivity analysis was performed regarding the characterization method for toxicity, the fuel consumption data, and the copper release data. Results and discussion: The non-toxic methods, hull cover and brush washer, performed best, but a trade-off was identified when the brush washer was located further away from the home port, when additional transportation increased greenhouse gas emissions. The resources needed for the non-toxic methods (production of materials and electricity used) cause considerably lower toxic emissions than paint. In the paint scenarios, using less paint and cleaning the boat over a washing pad with water treatment reduces aquatic emissions significantly. Fuel-related emissions were consistently lower than paint-related emissions. In the best-performing paint scenario, fuel- and paint-related emissions represented 26 and 67% of total emissions, respectively. Conclusions: The non-toxic methods hull cover and brush washers lead to lower emissions, especially when brush washers were located close to the home port. Lacking such infrastructure, “painting less” is a way to reduce emissions, by using lower amounts of paint and painting less frequently. More widespread use of these antifouling strategies would considerably reduce copper emissions from leisure boating to the Baltic Sea. We suggest that support to marinas for investments in brush washers and washing pads should be further developed to enable boat owners to choose more sustainable antifouling methods and that information campaigns on the combined economic, health, and ecosystem impacts of antifouling are especially designed for boaters, marinas, market actors, and policy makers for a change to take place towards more sustainable practices.

Det finns en ökande efterfrågan på ekologiska produkter. Producenter av ekologiskt producerade krukodlade produkter såsom kryddväxter, prydnadsväxter och grönsakplantor har stora odlingsutmaningar för att uppnå god kvalitet. Den stora utmaningen ligger i näringstillförseln och tidigare erfarenheter har varit blandade, ibland har produktkvalitén blivit dålig och man har misstänkt att obalanser i växtnäringstillförseln har varit orsak till detta. I ett pilotprojekt finansierat av Tillväxt Trädgård undersöktes kvävetillgängligheten från olika organiska gödselmedel i krukodlade kulturer.

Pot grown herbs are often cultivated as certified organic products, and there is an increasing demand for organically certified ornamental plants. Supplying the required nutrients using organic fertilizers is a challenge with respect to matching the mineralization and thus the availability of dissolved nutrients in the growing medium with plant demand. In experiments, sweet basil and Pelargonium × hortorum were cultivated using two different organic fertilizer strategies and controlled-release mineral nutrients as control treatment. The two organic strategies were, i) blood meal + Baralith® Enslow (a plant-based organic fertilizer), and ii) poultry manure. The availability of dissolved nitrogen was monitored during the crop cycle by under-pressure lysimeter sampling. Plant development parameters were measured along with chlorophyll fluorescence and chlorophyll concentration of leaves. For both organic treatments, nitrate-N availability was low at the beginning of the experiment, whereas ammonium-N was high. During the experiment, ammonium availability decreased at the same time as nitrate availability increased after a few weeks and then declined again by the end of the experiment. The blood meal + Enslow treatment caused poor germination and slow growth in basil. Plant height and fresh weight was also affected by this treatment for basil but not for Pelargonium. Chlorophyll concentration was affected by treatment, with also visually detectable paler leaves in the treatment with poultry manure. There were no differences in chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) between treatments, indicating that plants were not stressed in any of the treatments.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of cellulose-based hydrocolloids on the rheology of flour doughs based on corn starch and potato starch. Adding cellulosebased hydrocolloids or a chemically modified waxy starch to this gluten-free dough imparted a shear-thinning behavior similar to that of wheat flour dough.

The influence of zein protein and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) on the texture and volume of gluten-free bread was investigated. The addition of HPMC to starch affected the dough viscoelasticity and it improved the bread volume during baking since it acts as an emulsifier. The addition of zein protein to gluten-free bread increased the crumb firmness and reduced the crust hardness within the range of concentrations investigated. No zein protein network could be observed in the bread crumb. The zein protein, cold mixed at low concentration, did not enhance the dough elasticity. Due to the lack of a protein network noncovalent interactions may stabilize the bubble structure stabilization within the crumb, rather than covalent links of the protein chain. With an optimized amount of zein protein and HPMC hydrocolloid, the gluten-free bread showed similar texture and staling behavior to that of model wheat bread. The optimized recipe, compiled into a spreadsheet, is available in the supporting information. The microstructural observations suggest that zein could be replaced with another protein for this recipe resulting in a similar bread texture.

ABSTRACT The continuous relaxation time spectrum was modelled from the mechanical spectrum of a xanthan aqueous solution both using the TA Instruments TRIOS® software, and with the rheology software IRIS®1 . Two types of calculation were applied to obtain the relaxation modes since the software bundles used in this study base the calculation upon two different algorithms, named “parsimonious” as it models continuous relaxation spectra using a minimum number of modes to obtain continuous relaxation times2 , and a nonlinear regularization method that provides a larger spectrum with several modes3 . The results were overall comparable but slightly different for long relaxation times.

The European Horizon 2020 project “Research Coordination for a Low-Cost Biomethane Production at Small and Medium Scale Applications”, short Record Biomap, aims to build up a knowledge transfer platform to foster the use of research outcomes which are often insufficiently exploited after the end of a research project. In the focus are technology solutions for a cost efficient biomethane production at small to medium scale, which is not yet economically competitive compared to large scale applications. Technology developments along the biomethane supply chain, from substrate pre-treatment, digestion systems up to gas upgrading processes, especially for those technologies which are yet in the first phases of their development are monitored and supported during the project duration. The present paper will give an overview of the project´s focus. The current status of collected technology profiles is presented. The promising innovative technologies “ultra-sound and hydrodynamic cavitation” for substrate pre-treatment, the “high organic loading plug-flow digestion system” and the “in-situ methane enrichment in combination with a wood ash filter” to upgrade the biogas to biomethane are explained in detail. Furthermore, the first findings on R&D needs and framework conditions are highlighted. © 2017, ETA-Florence Renewable Energies. All rights reserved.

The European Horizon 2020 project “Research Coordination for a Low-Cost Biomethane Production at Small and Medium Scale Applications”, short Record Biomap aims to foster technology solutions for a cost efficient biomethane production at small to medium scale. This includes substrate pre-treatment, digestion systems and gas upgrading processes. The project collected technology descriptions of 46 technologies which are still in their development phase and presented them on the biomethane map (https://biomethane-map.eu). All technologies with a Technology Readiness Level between 3 and 7, which are in the focus of this project, were also evaluated through an impact assessment. The presentation gives an overview of the project´s results, concentrating on the first results of the assessment for innovative technology solutions along the biomethane supply chain and especially upgrading of biogas to biomethane. The assessment includes aspects such as energy efficiency, specific technical characteristics of the systems as well as economic parameters. Results are expected to characterise those new technologies and to highlight their special application areas. In addition, the paper presents a roadmap and an EU level biomethane structural analysis as the groundwork for a more detailed strategy for market implementation of innovative technologies for small- to medium scale upgrading of biogas to biomethane.

Innovative small-scale biogas plants, including upgrading solutions to affordable biomethane, are necessary to tap into the spatially distributed potentials of organic waste. This research identified and assessed novel small-scale technologies before market-entry maturity in the key process steps of the biomethane chain. We assessed technical, economic, and ecological indicators, and compared them to larger-scale references. The assessment included 7 pre-treatment, 13 digester, and 11 upgrading systems all at the small scale. We collected recently available data for Europe (2016–2018) for small-scale technologies (&lt;200 m 3 ; raw biogas per hour). In the literature we did not find such a comprehensive assessment of actual European small-scale innovative non-market-ready technologies for the production of biomethane. Several conclusions were drawn for each of the individual process steps in the biomethane chain, e.g., the economic indicator calculated for the upgrading technologies shows that the upgrading costs, for some of them, are already close to the larger-scale reference (about 1.5 €ct/kWh raw biogas). Furthermore, biomethane production is absolutely context-specific, which dramatically limits the traditional way to evaluate technologies. Hence, new ways of integration of the technologies plays a major role on their future

Chlorophenols are widespread and of environmental concern due to their toxic and carcinogenic properties. Development of less costly and less technically challenging remediation methods are needed; therefore, we developed a formulation based on micronized vermiculite that, when air-dried, resulted in a granular product containing the 4-chlorophenol (4-CP)-degrading Gram-positive bacterium Arthrobacter chlorophenolicus A6. This formulation and stabilization method yielded survival rates of about 60% that remained stable in storage for at least 3 months at 4 °C. The 4-CP degradation by the formulated and desiccated A. chlorophenolicus A6 cells was compared to that of freshly grown cells in controlled-environment soil microcosms. The stabilized cells degraded 4-CP equally efficient as freshly grown cells in two different set-ups using both hygienized and non-treated soils. The desiccated microbial product was successfully employed in an outdoor pot trial showing its effectiveness under more realistic environmental conditions. No significant phytoremediation effects on 4-CP degradation were observed in the outdoor pot experiment. The 4-CP degradation kinetics from both the microcosms and the outdoor pot trial were used to generate a predictive model of 4-CP biodegradation potentially useful for larger-scale operations, enabling better bioremediation set-ups and saving of resources. This study also opens up the possibility of formulating and stabilizing also other Arthrobacter strains possessing different desirable pollutant-degrading capabilities.

Nuvarande belysningsstandarder baseras enbart på tekniska krav, såsom ljusstyrka, jämnhet och luminans. Att även inkludera upplevelsebaserade krav skulle troligen främja bättre ljuskomfort, men även mer energieffektiva ljusmiljöer och produkter. Kunskapen om hur upplevda belysningsparametrar kan beskrivas är dock begränsad. Detta hämmar fastighetsägare och brukare att precisera önskvärda ljusmiljöer, liksom belysningstillverkare att utveckla produkter för nya marknader och tillämpningar. Syftet med detta forskningsprojekt var att utveckla och tillämpa sensoriska metoder på belysning. Till skillnad från tidigare metoder möjliggör sensoriska metoder objektiva bedömningar av upplevda belysningsparametrar.

En analytisk panel bestående av åtta personer som uppfyller särskilda urvalskriterier rekryterades och tränades att bedöma belysningsprodukter i ett multisensoriskt laboratorium på SP Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut i Borås. Metodutvecklingen fokuserade särskilt på en effektiv träningsprocedur, hantering av ögats adaption, samt bedömning av färg och skuggningar. Förutom laboratorie-försök undersöktes möjligheten att genomföra analytiska bedömningar i en verklig kontext med samma försöksuppställning och panel.

Resultaten visar att det är möjligt att använda sensorisk metodik för att genomföra objektiva belysningsbedömningar av armaturer; paneldeltagarna kunde skilja mellan attribut och prover. Signifikanta skillnader identifierades mellan de olika armaturerna, både i form av sensoriska och fysikaliska egenskaper såsom läsbarhet och bländning. Fysikaliska och sensoriska parametrar samvarierar dock inte alltid, vilket visar att fysikaliska och sensoriska mätningar ger kompletterande information om belysningskvalitet. Vidare visade bedömningsförsök i en verklig kontext att samma resultat uppnåddes som i laboratoriet, men med lägre signifikans, vilket verifierar metodens tillämpbarhet på belysning.

Den genererade kunskapen väntas på sikt bidra till utveckling av verktyg som stödjer kommunikationen mellan olika professioner inom ljusdesign och planering och på så vis främja mer önskvärda och energieffektiva ljusmiljöer.

En ökad användning av miljösmart teknik och förfarande vid rengöring och desinfektion i livsmedelsindustrin förväntas leda till mindre miljöpåverkan genom mindre vatten-, energi-, kemikalie- och materialförbrukning och mindre matsvinn. Detta gynnar också tillväxten hos miljöteknikföretag som bidrar med gröna lösningar. Testbädden Cleaning Innovation (www.cleaninginnovation.se) medverkar till utveckling av miljösmarta och effektiva metoder för rengöring och desinfektion i många branscher. Huvudintressenter är leverantörer/utvecklare av kemikalier, utrustning eller material; hygienföretag; livsmedelsföretag; offentliga aktörer. Cleaning Innovation, som ägs av RISE, är en öppen, oberoende testbädd och erbjuder utvärdering av teknik, kemikalier, material, utrustning och metoder. Testbädden bygger på samverkan mellan olika typer av verksamheter inom RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) inriktade mot mikrobiologi, miljö, processteknik, certifiering, mätteknik, kemi, material, energiteknik samt med hygienteknikföretaget Lagafors AB. Inom Cleaning Innovation finns marknadskunskap, tvärvetenskaplig kompetens, analys-, beräknings- och mätutrustning, laboratorier samt testutrustningar i pilotskala. I projektet utvecklades befintlig verksamhet avseende testlokal, utrustning och produkterbjudande. Ett viktigt resultat från projektet är att vi har genomfört mer än 10 projekt där utvärdering av renhet och desinfektion görs med kunder. Eftersom detta är betydligt mer än planerat har egen finansiering blev betydligt högre än budgeterad. Detta visar på ett bra utbud och en tydlig marknad. Vi har också breddat vår målgrupp och inkluderar nu alla branscher med behov av rengöring och desinfektion; i motsats till bara livsmedelsindustrin som beskrivit i projektansökan.

Testbädden Cleaning Innovation lanserades 29 november 2016. Cleaning Innovations utveckling i framtiden ser ljus ut och har en stark och naturlig förankring inom RISE. Framtidsplanerna involverar ett succesivt bräddande till kunder inom fler industrityper och en långsam expansion av verksamheten.

Den här rapporten visar att det är möjligt att få fram tillförlitlig statistik över svensk sjömatskonsumtion för alla arter utom sill och skarpsill på en detaljgrad som tidigare saknats, trots de dataluckor som finns.Sjömatskonsumtionen i Sverige beräknas ligga på 25 kg per capita hel sjömat, vilket motsvarar 12,5 kg ätlig sjömat eller knappt två portioner i veckan. Vi äter mindre sjömat än för fem år sedan.Upp mot 80 olika sjömatsarter finns på den svenska marknaden, men de tio vanligaste står för 80 procent av konsumtionen. Mest äter svenskar av lax, sill, torsk och räkor.Knappt 30 procent av det som äts kommer från den inhemska produktionen av sjömat från yrkes- och fritidsfiske, samt odling. Den inhemska produktionen kan ses som Sveriges teoretiska självförsörjningsgrad av sjömat. Drygt 70 procent importeras alltså och då främst med Norge, Danmark och Kina som avsändarland. Från den svenska produktionen är det främst sill, skarpsill, regnbåge och den fisk som rapporteras under koden ”Fryst fisk i.a.n.” i tulltaxan, som exporteras. Figuren nedan visar fördelningen mellan import och inhemsk produktion.Siffran på sillkonsumtion är mycket osäker på grund av att den officiella statistiken håller låg kvalitet. Sill är den volymmässigt och ekonomiskt viktigaste arten i svenskt fiske och den är viktig för svensk konsumtion. Det är därmed anmärkningsvärt att data kring fisket och handeln är så bristfällig.Det är genomförbart att ta fram statistiken på årlig basis för att följa trenden för sjömatskonsumtion över tid, både totalt och utvecklingen av enskilda arter. Metoden som utvecklats här förenklar detta avsevärt, men det krävs fortfarande en del manuell justering och bearbetning av befintliga dataset, samt kunskap om branschen.

Heterogeneity is an inherent property of a wealth of real-world nanomaterials and yet rarely in the reporting of new properties is its effect sufficiently addressed. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) – fluorescent, nanoscale fragments of graphene - are an extreme example of a heterogeneous nanomaterial. Here, top-down approaches – by far the most predominant – produce batches of particles with a distribution of sizes, shapes, extent of oxidation, chemical impurities and more. This makes characterization of these materials using bulk techniques particularly complex and comparisons of properties across different synthetic methods uninformative. In particular, it hinders the understanding of the structural origin of their fluorescence properties. We present a simple synthetic method, which produces graphene quantum dots with very low oxygen content that can be suspended in organic solvents, suggesting a very pristine material. We use this material to illustrate the limitations of interpreting complex data sets generated by heterogeneous materials and we highlight how misleading this “pristine” interpretation is by comparison with graphene oxide quantum dots synthesized using an established protocol. In addition, we report on the solvatochromic properties of these particles, discuss common characterization techniques and their limitations in attributing properties to heterogeneous materials.

The average Swedish household throws away 480 kg of solid garbage per year. But this amount of material is only a small share of the resource consumption that our lifestylegives rise to. Our homes need to be built, goods produced, we are transported,and food is produced. In today's linear consumption society, every individual inthe EU is estimated to have a material footprint of 29 tons/year on average – afootprint that needs to shrink to 8 tons in order to stay within “planetaryboundaries”. In a circular system, products are recycled and shared leading toless resources and materials needed, but do we know how much? Which resourceand material consumption is generated in Sweden? What could we achieve througha transition to a sharing and circular economy, and how would our consumptionpatterns look like within a sustainable material lifestyle? The goal of thisstudyis to assess the material footprint of sharing and circular lifestyles inhousing, mobility and food system. "8 ton society" takes athree-level method approach: (1) National: assessing the material footprint ofsharing and circular lifestyles in housing, mobility and food systems on anational level. (2) Municipal: Mapping material and waste streams at municipallevel (for the three Swedish municipalities Göteborg, Malmö och Umeå), by whichmunicipalities can identify opportunities for a circular society, for exampleby supplementing existing climate strategies and waste plans with circularaction plans. (3) Household: Combined with a household level analysis ofmaterial footprints, the project contributes to behavioral change at householdlevel as well as strengthened decision making and innovation at national andmunicipal level. The results of the study are material footprints and scenariosthat are used as basis for the development of reduction measures. The scenariosdescribe potential “8t societies” for Sweden, meaning potential policy andsocietal innovations that allow for a drastic reduction of material footprint.These include sharing and circular solutions. Additionally, the project willcontrast the Swedish results to similar projects that have been carried out in Finland and Germany.

The growing volumes of food globally lost or wasted and implications for food security and sustainability have raised the concern of researchers, governments, international organizations and grass-root movements. Much research and experiences investigating food waste causes and drivers focus on one specific segment of the food supply chain and limit the analysis to the situation of one or few countries, while the few studies of wider geographical scope also target other relevant and diversified objectives (e.g., food waste definition, quantification, environmental and economic impacts, and recommendations for interventions). This study, carried out by a network of European institutions involved in research and initiatives against food waste, focuses on the analysis of a broad area, Europe, through a wide and systematic literature review and consultation with stakeholders in international focus groups. The food supply chain was divided into seven segments and three main contexts were defined for the examination of food waste sources: Technological, Institutional (related to organisational factors, i.e., business management, economy, legislation, and policy), and Social (related to consumers’ behaviours and lifestyles). Results suggest a wide and multifaceted problem, interconnected across all stages of the food supply chain, from primary production, to final consumption. Within each context, the identified drivers have been grouped according to the possibilities and the type of interventions for food waste reduction. A final cross-contextual prioritization distinguished food waste sources related to (A) inherent characteristics of food; (B) social and economic factors; (C) individual non-readily changeable behaviours; (D) other priorities targeted by private and public stakeholders; (E) diversified factors, such as mismanagement, inefficient legislation, lack of awareness or information; and sub-optimal use of available technologies, which could be more promptly changed. Such diversification of causes calls for specific monitoring systems, targeted policy measures, and actions of individual stakeholders at each stage of the food supply chain.

I dag finns tekniska belysningsstandarder som inkluderar parameterar så som ljusstyrka, jämnhet och luminans. Det som saknas är krav som grundar sig på människors upplevelser av belysning och ljusmiljöer. Att få med den upplevelsebaserade dimensionen skulle betyda ett helhetstänk som förmodligen skulle gynna både ljuskomforten och än mer energieffektiva ljusmiljöer och produkter. Att beskriva upplevda belysningsparametrar har hittills visat sig inte vara helt enkelt, och här saknas både kunskap och en gemensam begreppsvärld inom branschen; något som hämmar fastighetsägare att ställa lämpliga krav vid en upphandling liksom belysningstillverkare att utveckla produkter för nya marknader och tillämpningar. Det övergripande syftet med detta forskningsprojekt är att utveckla och tillämpa sensoriska metoder på belysning. Till skillnad från tidigare metoder möjliggör sensoriska metoder objektiva bedömningar av upplevda belysningsparametrar. Syftet med försöken som redovisas i denna delrapport är att vidareutveckla och testa metoden ytterligare. Detta görs genom att nya armaturer testas liksom att försök utförs i en ny verklig kontext (kontorsmiljö). Försöken bygger vidare på resultat från tidigare försök som har rapporterats om i (Boork et al, 2017).

En analytisk panel bestående av åtta personer, som uppfyllde särskilda urvalskriterier, har tidigare rekryterats och dessa personer tränades nu för detta specifika delprojekt för att bedöma belysningsprodukter i ett multisensoriskt laboratorium på RISE Research Institutes of Sweden i Borås. Metodutvecklingen fokuserade särskilt på en effektiv träningsprocedur, hantering av ögats adaption, samt bedömning av färg och skuggningar. Förutom laboratorieförsök undersöktes möjligheten att genomföra analytiska bedömningar i en verklig kontext med samma försöksuppställning och panel.

Resultaten visade att det är möjligt att använda sensorisk metodik för att genomföra objektiva belysningsbedömningar även för de testade belysningsprodukterna, dvs mindre LED-spotlights. Signifikanta skillnader identifierades mellan de olika armaturerna och som i tidigare försök spelade färgtemperaturen en stor roll för flera av de bedömda egenskaperna; inte minst förstås för ljuskällans gulhet och för läsbarhet (textkontrasten). Liksom i tidigare försök fanns det samband mellan de fysikaliska mätningarna och sensoriska bedömningarna, men inte för alla egenskaper, vilket visar att fysikaliska och sensoriska mätningar ger kompletterande information om belysning.  Vidare visade bedömningsförsök i en verklig kontext att likvärdiga resultat uppnåddes som i laboratoriet, om ändock något spretigare och inte heller lika entydiga i jämförelse med verklig kontext i tidigare försök.

Den genererade kunskapen väntas på sikt bidra till utveckling av verktyg som stödjer kommunikationen mellan olika professioner inom ljusdesign och planering och på så vis främja mer önskvärda och energieffektiva ljusmiljöer.

The number of farms in Sweden is decreasing while the size is increasing as most farms grow bigger in areal in order to remain competitive on the market. However, this situation set pressure on farmers looking to expand. It is rare for farmers to find available land close to their farm and therefore start to cultivate land further away. The extra distance has a cost, both for the farmers’ profitability and for the environment. Previous study looked at four particular farms focusing on the cost related to the harvest (cereal or forage). By simulating an exchange of land to closer ones, the cost for transport of the harvest was at least halved in the four cases. The study looked mostly at the technical aspect and included only the four cases.

Therefore, this project aims to have a broader perspective, both in term of geography and also by looking at the social factors related to land exchange. During the project, a tool has been developed to calculate on a national level the distance between each field and the farm cultivating it. The tool is also used to minimise the distance between field and farm by allowing fields to be exchanged between farmers. Moreover, the tool has been used to estimate the potential for diesel use and cost reduction related to land exchange. Using the tool as ground for discussion, semi-structured interviews have been performed with farmers to understand the hinders and driving forces for land exchange between each other. During these interviews, the potential for implementing the tool was also discussed.

The theoretical potential if limiting the exchange of land only between two parties at a time would be 12.4 %. Moreover, this number would decrease when considering the practical and social barriers such as the soil characteristics, the different cultivation methods (organic/conventional, no-till) and trust between farmers.

The development of an application for optimal land exchange will require not only a robust model for distance calculation and optimization of land exchange but also a well-developed and user-friendly interface. Depending on how the application will be used, by single farmers or by consultants and advisers, different versions of an application may be required.

The tool developed during the project has been positively received both by farmers during the interviews and also by other stakeholders during the concluding seminar. It gives a solid basis and acts as decision support tool. More is needed to agree on the best way to implement it in Sweden, in particular looking at the ownership, business model, and the development of new functions.

The greenhouse gas emissions connected to energy use in the Swedish agriculture (excluding greenhouse cultures) represents 0,6 Mton CO2eq which is about 4% of the agriculture greenhouse gas emission in Sweden (Jordbruksverket, 2018). The “All Party Committee for environmental objectives” (miljömålsberedning) suggested that by 2045 Sweden should has a zero-net-emission of greenhouse gases. The parliament (Riksdag) adopted this political framework for climate issues which entered into force the 1st of January 2018. To reach this ambitious goal, all sectors including agriculture must undertake measures.

The project developed a roadmap in the form of a list of measures leading the Swedish agriculture towards a sustainable status in line with the Swedish Environmental Goals. This roadmap was developed using a backcasting methodology. It means that first the goals were set and then the measures needed to move from the present status to the goals were developed. Based on political goals as well sustainability principles, a vision of the future for Swedish agriculture has been developed. The vision is:

“In the future, agriculture is energy effective, independent from fossil resources, deliver energy to the society and is profitable. Agricultural enterprises have access to knowledge, competences, and decision support. Collaboration within the agricultural sector as well as with other sectors is comprehensive for energy.

To analyse the current situation, four studies were implemented within the project: (i) a survey of farmers view and interest, (ii) a survey of agrarian education, (iii) identification of bottlenecks with research and development (R&D), and (iv) an analysis of how relevant tools for energy are communicated. A selection of observation positive for the energy and climate questions are as follow: more agricultural enterprises have solar cells today than three years ago, 25% of the respondents have attend an eco-driving course, large farms have done most energy surveys and, investment in fossil free energy is seen as positive for both enterprise and the environment. Negative observations are that farmers miss a long-term regulation for energy production and feel a lack of knowledge about energy efficiency and production. Only 8% of the respondents uses high blends biofuels. In addition, respondents have expressed a lack of collaboration and inquire for a joint communication for R&D results concerning energy efficiency and production. In the agrarian education the interest in energy efficiency and production is low.

A range of measures contributing to reach the vision were suggested. These measures vary between different communication strategies, improved advisory services and need for regulatory simplification to minimize the hassle with permissions and administration. Simple and accessible key figures as well as better statistics would make it easier to follow the different energy flows. It is up to decision-making authorities, advisory organisations, institutions of higher education, agricultural organisations and agriculture themselves to implement these measures.

The greenhouse gas emissions connected to energy use in the Swedish agriculture (excluding greenhouse cultures) represents 0,6 Mton CO2eq which is about 4% of the agriculture greenhouse gas emission in Sweden (Jordbruksverket, 2018). The “All Party Committee for environmental objectives” (miljömålsberedning) suggested that by 2045 Sweden should has a zero-net-emission of greenhouse gases. The parliament (Riksdag) adopted this political framework for climate issues which entered into force the 1st of January 2018. To reach this ambitious goal, all sectors including agriculture must undertake measures.

The project developed a roadmap in the form of a list of measures leading the Swedish agriculture towards a sustainable status in line with the Swedish Environmental Goals. This roadmap was developed using a backcasting methodology. It means that first the goals were set and then the measures needed to move from the present status to the goals were developed. Based on political goals as well sustainability principles, a vision of the future for Swedish agriculture has been developed. The vision is:

“In the future, agriculture is energy effective, independent from fossil resources, deliver energy to the society and is profitable. Agricultural enterprises have access to knowledge, competences, and decision support. Collaboration within the agricultural sector as well as with other sectors is comprehensive for energy.

To analyse the current situation, four studies were implemented within the project: (i) a survey of farmers view and interest, (ii) a survey of agrarian education, (iii) identification of bottlenecks with research and development (R&D), and (iv) an analysis of how relevant tools for energy are communicated. A selection of observation positive for the energy and climate questions are as follow: more agricultural enterprises have solar cells today than three years ago, 25% of the respondents have attend an eco-driving course, large farms have done most energy surveys and, investment in fossil free energy is seen as positive for both enterprise and the environment. Negative observations are that farmers miss a long-term regulation for energy production and feel a lack of knowledge about energy efficiency and production. Only 8% of the respondents uses high blends biofuels. In addition, respondents have expressed a lack of collaboration and inquire for a joint communication for R&D results concerning energy efficiency and production. In the agrarian education the interest in energy efficiency and production is low.

A range of measures contributing to reach the vision were suggested. These measures vary between different communication strategies, improved advisory services and need for regulatory simplification to minimize the hassle with permissions and administration. Simple and accessible key figures as well as better statistics would make it easier to follow the different energy flows. It is up to decision-making authorities, advisory organisations, institutions of higher education, agricultural organisations and agriculture themselves to implement these measures.

This report: summarizes expert judgements on how slurry acidification technologies (SATs) could be implemented in Belarus and North West Russia. Special focus on bottlenecks for implementing SATs with existing manure management systems was considered.

In Belarus and North West Russia, a smaller proportion of manure is handled as slurry compared to EU Baltic Sea countries, but this might be due to the high poultry production in Russia since most poultry manure is solid. None the less, SATs are currently only available for slurry manure handling systems and not for solid or semi-solid manure.

Regarding the current systems used in Russia and Belarus some SATs may be easier to implement than others. For instance, due to health issues, farms do not store manure under animal houses. Further studies related to the legislation are needed to reveal if this factor is a potential bottleneck for the in-house SAT. In-storage SATs, both long term and just before spreading should be possible to implement based on the current handling practices, even in Belarus where lagoons are very commons to store slurry. In-field SATs also have a good potential for implementation, but it is worth mentioning that machine contractors in agriculture are nearly non-existent in these two countries and equipment is usually owned by each farm.

More information concerning economics and environmental impacts as well as safety issues related to acid handling are still needed to fully understand the implementation potential of SATs in Belarus and Russia.

The food value chain system in Sweden is well established making it hard for small companies to develop new products and even harder to create new food supply systems Obstacles could lay at the beginning of the chain (food production or processing), at the end (marketing, consumer) or could even be related to the legislative regulation framing the food supply chain. Smaller actors often lack resources and networks to develop their sector. However, their degree of creativity, innovativeness, and engagement is high, and their energy is needed in the development of new sustainable food value chains.

The aim of this project was to develop and apply a methodology for evaluating food value chains, focusing on profitable small-scale production systems in Sweden that show potential for fast development of new products that quickly reach the market. The work also included identifying Swedish raw food materials with growth potential and to identify how they could come into greater demand. Ten food value chains with high development potential in Sweden and for export were mapped and the main bottlenecks briefly described. Three food chains where selected based on a potential-difficulty-benefit matrix. The three selected food value chains were: (i) Hops, (ii) Swedish forest berries, and (iii) Land-based fish farming. These three food value chains where further studied looking at the whole value chain, from production to end consumer. Through literature review and contacts with relevant stakeholders (telephone interview, face-to-face interview, or workshop) the bottlenecks were clarified and potential solutions for increased demand where identified.

Swedish hops production is carried out by passionate and engaged smaller actors, mostly on a hobby level, and the hops is used as an ingredient for beer. Germany and the USA produce about 75% of the worldwide production These hops varieties are not adapted to the Swedish climate and therefore result in a low volume and poor quality. However, domestic varieties have been grown in the past giving better yield under Swedish climate conditions. More work is needed to characterize the quality of Swedish hops. At the present time, knowledge about the characteristics of Swedish hops is low, explaining the lack of interest from brewers. In Sweden most hops are harvested by hand, making it nearly impossible to be profitable on the market. The mechanization of the harvesting step is necessary to move Swedish hops from a hobby to a commercial activity. No solutions are available on the Swedish market, RISE together with SLU is looking to develop a hops harvester fulfilling Swedish and EU regulations and adapted to small scale cultivation. At the end of the value chain, innovative products could increase the need for Swedish hops, for example by developing beers brewed with fresh hops. Moreover, hops have antiseptic characteristics and could potentially be used in other food products than beer.

Only about four percent of the berries that are produced by the Swedish forests every year are picked. The largest volumes picked are for bilberry (Swedish: blåbär), lingonberry, and cloudberry and most of them are washed and frozen in Sweden. Processing of berries, however, has to a large extent moved out of the country while the products produced for the Swedish market are quite traditional, low-processed foods such as jams, juices and dessert soups. The majority of the Swedish berries mainly bilberries due to their nutritional content are exported and are further processed into value added powders or extracts in Asia and Europe. In Sweden this kind of value chain is under developed largely due to knowledge barriers and to the currently very traditional market. However, there is a great consumer interest in berries and they have a perceived healthiness also in Sweden. Consumers are also increasingly aware of the origin of berries used as ingredients in products such as jams, purees and juice, as well as in health food products. To fill this gap between consumer interest/demand and raw materials available new businesses can be developed. To facilitate such development there is a need for knowledge generation and transfer along the whole value chain (picking, processing, product development and consumer studies), which can be generated by starting up new innovation and research projects. It is also of importance to facilitate networking, for example in the ‘berry network’ (coordinated by RISE), as the creation of a new value chain will require different businesses to cooperate. Also, product development projects will need support for testing, pilot production, and possibly in finding investment funding for new equipment.

Land-based fish farming is small in comparison to traditional fish farming in Sweden, but several actors see a great potential in this system which has a lower impact on the environment compared to conventional fish farms. For instance, the Swedish farmer federation (LRF) has invested in a land-based fish farm recently. As in other EU-countries, the number of active farms in Sweden is decreasing and some see the potential to recycle unused animal stables into fish farms. A major bottleneck for land-based fish farming is current legislation as it is based on conventional fish farming and therefore does not consider the environmental benefits of land-based systems. Knowledge should be spread to relevant authorities and policy makers to open a dialog and facilitate the development of a relevant regulatory framework. Regarding the production phase, access to sustainably produced feed and technical competence are lacking. Moreover, as the technology is costly learning through trial and error would not be recommended. A testbed dedicated to land-based fish farming could support companies who wish to try modifications to their system. Furthermore, smaller producers have difficulties in finding processing solutions for their products; e.g. slaughterhouses and conditioning. Two potential solutions would be to develop a land-based fish farm cooperative and/or mobile systems that could take care of smaller productions. Finally, the competition on the market is tough as land-based fishes are competing with large-scale conventional fish farms from Norway and Asia. To overcome this bottleneck, the sector could develop its own certification as well as increasing the consumers awareness and knowledge.

Some conclusions could be applied to all the studied food chains. For instance, each value chain can be seen as a puzzle with many pieces. In order to develop new food value chains many separate pieces need to fall into place. Therefore, it is necessary to increase collaboration between stakeholders but also to have a stakeholder driven coordination of this collaboration. The stakeholders within the developing value chains often do not have all the resources to carry out this task, especially if they are small businesses. The development of cooperatives also seems to be a solution to overcome bottlenecks in the studied food chains. Likewise, logistics in the developing value chains have a great margin for improvement. Furthermore, this project focused on value chains where food commodities are the end product but investigating the potential for non-food uses would also be of interest.

The method used in this project can be replicated to other value chains with potential of development. It would help the users to get a holistic view of the current bottlenecks and facilitate contact between stakeholders. The list of bottlenecks can be followed up and used as an indicator to evaluate if the value chain in moving forward.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) has several current and potential future uses in the food industry because of its ability to form hydrogels with distinctive properties. The texture of BC hydrogels is determined by both the cellulose fibre network and the internal dispersed water. In this study, mechanical properties of hydrated BC synthesised by six different strains of Komagataeibacter genus were investigated with regards to their extensibility, compressive strength, relaxation ability, viscoelasticity and poroelasticity. The stress/strain at failure and Young's modulus were assessed by uniaxial tensile testing. The compressive strength, relaxation ability and viscoelasticity were measured via a series of compression and small amplitude oscillatory shear steps. A poroelastic constitutive modelling simulation was used to investigate the mechanical effects of water movement. The morphology of the BC fibril network under compression was observed via scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that the mechanics of BC were highly dependent on the cellulose concentration, as well as the morphology of the fibril network. BC synthesised by ATCC 53524 was the most concentrated (0.71 wt%), and exhibited high tensile properties, stiffness and storage moduli; whereas comparatively low mechanical properties were noted for BC produced by ATCC 700178 and ATCC 10245, which contained the lowest cellulose concentration (0.18 wt%). Small deformation responses (normal stress, G′) scaled with cellulose concentration for all samples, whereas larger deformation responses (Young's modulus, poroelasticity) depended on both cellulose concentration and additional factors, presumably related to network morphology. Increasing concentration and compressive coalescence of fibres in the integrated BC network reduced both the relaxation of the normal stress and the movement of water. This research aids the selection of bacterial strains to modulate the texture and mechanical properties of hydrated BC-based food systems.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) has several current and potential future uses in the food industry because of its ability to form hydrogels with distinctive properties. The texture of BC hydrogels is determined by both the cellulose fibre network and the internal dispersed water. In this study, mechanical properties of hydrated BC synthesised by six different strains of Komagataeibacter genus were investigated with regards to their extensibility, compressive strength, relaxation ability, viscoelasticity and poroelasticity. The stress/strain at failure and Young's modulus were assessed by uniaxial tensile testing. The compressive strength, relaxation ability and viscoelasticity were measured via a series of compression and small amplitude oscillatory shear steps. A poroelastic constitutive modelling simulation was used to investigate the mechanical effects of water movement. The morphology of the BC fibril network under compression was observed via scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that the mechanics of BC were highly dependent on the cellulose concentration, as well as the morphology of the fibril network. BC synthesised by ATCC 53524 was the most concentrated (0.71 wt%), and exhibited high tensile properties, stiffness and storage moduli; whereas comparatively low mechanical properties were noted for BC produced by ATCC 700178 and ATCC 10245, which contained the lowest cellulose concentration (0.18 wt%). Small deformation responses (normal stress, G') scaled with cellulose concentration for all samples, whereas larger deformation responses (Young's modulus, poroelasticity) depended on both cellulose concentration and additional factors, presumably related to network morphology. Increasing concentration and compressive coalescence of fibres in the integrated BC network reduced both the relaxation of the normal stress and the movement of water. This research aids the selection of bacterial strains to modulate the texture and mechanical properties of hydrated BC-based food systems. 

About one third of the food produced globally is wasted along the food chain, representing a burden for the environment and an inefficiency of the food system. Tackling food waste is a priority on the global political agenda to guarantee food security. Defining a methodology for food waste quantification is key to monitoring progress towards the achievement of reduction targets. This paper summarises the outcomes of a workshop on food waste accounting co-organised by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and Directorate-General on Health and Food Safety with the aim of stimulating harmonisation of methodologies, identifying challenges, opportunities, and further advancement for food waste accounting. The paper presents methodological aspects, e.g. system boundaries, reliability of data, accounting of water flows, to ensure better support to food waste policy design and interventions. It addresses all the actors of the food supply chain, governments, and research institutions. © 2019 The Authors

Sudden losses to food production (that is, shocks) and their consequences across land and sea pose cumulative threats to global sustainability. We conducted an integrated assessment of global production data from crop, livestock, aquaculture and fisheries sectors over 53 years to understand how shocks occurring in one food sector can create diverse and linked challenges among others. We show that some regions are shock hotspots, exposed frequently to shocks across multiple sectors. Critically, shock frequency has increased through time on land and sea at a global scale. Geopolitical and extreme-weather events were the main shock drivers identified, but with considerable differences across sectors. We illustrate how social and ecological drivers, influenced by the dynamics of the food system, can spill over multiple food sectors and create synchronous challenges or trade-offs among terrestrial and aquatic systems. In a more shock-prone and interconnected world, bold food policy and social protection mechanisms that help people anticipate, cope with and recover from losses will be central to sustainability. © 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.

Freezing is the most popular and widely used food preservation method of the modern times. The freezing process of food matrices is related to their high water content and its metamorphoses into ice on cooling. The final quality of the frozen product is highly depended on the ice crystal morphology because it can cause irreversible damage on the microstructure of the food matrix. Supercooling and ice nucleation temperature need to be controlled both in suppressing and inducing the solidification to improve technological processes such as freeze drying, freeze concentration, cryopreservation, ice formation and cold-energy storage both in food industry and domestic preservation. However, the mechanism of freezing is not yet well known and it is affected by several factors. Several emerging technologies have been recently proposed for ice nucleation control during freezing. This review article is focused on the alternative freezing methods such as ultrasound waves, magnetic, electric, and electromagnetic field assisted freezing. In addition, the properties, mechanism of action and possible applications of electrofreezing are extensively discussed.

Although freezing is known as the best method of food preservation, physical and chemical changes that occur to the cellular structure during processing and storage may damage the quality of food products. Most freeze damages are associated with ice crystal morphology (size, number, shape and distribution) which in turn affects the microstructure of the frozen food. Therefore, the evaluation of frozen food microstructure provides opportunities for monitoring the ice crystal morphology and also identifies freeze damage at cellular level which can be linked with the final quality of frozen food products. In this review, the most important physical damages that occur during freezing and storage of food matrices are described. In addition, methods for evaluating and observing the morphology of ice crystals and microstructure of frozen food stuffs are comprehensively discussed. An understanding of the freeze damage and their relationship with ice crystal morphology can contribute to the improvement of the freezing process as well as to the frozen product quality.

Urged by the importance of resource efficiency and circular economy agenda of EU and national policy makers, many stakeholders are seeking alternatives for current surplus food or side flows within the food supply chain. Any new valorisation route for side flows (i.e. not the main product) will be associated with impacts (monetary and environmental). To allow informed decision making at all levels, from individual stakeholder to policy level, robust, consistent and science based approaches are required. The EU H2020 funded project REFRESH (Resource Efficient Food and dRink for the Entire Supply cHain) aims to contribute to food waste reduction throughout the food supply chain, and evaluate the environmental impacts and life cycle costs.

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) are well documented and generic approaches for assessing the environmental and cost dimensions of a system. Both LCA and LCC are characterised by allowing for a large flexibility in system scoping. To allow for comparison between different options consistent approaches are required. Furthermore, there is a need to bridge the gap between assessors who might have a deep knowledge of the systems they are assessing, but are not in depth method experts on LCA or LCC. Highlighting challenging methodological aspects and encouraging the practitioner to ask the most relevant questions contributes to a better scoping practice of LCA and LCCs.

The objective of this study was to develop a consistent approach, combining LCA and LCA specifically to assess impacts of prevention of resource inefficiencies, valorisation routes and waste handling in the food supply chain. The recommendations build on existing standards and state-of-the-art LCA/LCC research, and provide guidance on how to overcome specific methodological challenges. They focus particularly on the goal and scope stage of an LCA and Environmental LCC and on side flows from the food supply chain.

To categorise systems in order to be assessed, the concept of “REFRESH situations” (RS) has been developed (De Mena et al., 2016; Unger et al., 2016). The four REFRESH situations (RS) are: Prevention of side flow (RS 1), side flow valorisation (RS 2), valorisation as part of waste management (RS 3), and end-of-life treatment (RS 4). The REFRESH situations can take place at any point/process in the life cycle, within the remit of any stakeholder (including consumers) and are independent of the perspective taken, i.e. of the producer of side stream or the receiver. For each REFRESH situation, specific recommendations on setting of system boundary, functional unit(s) and handling of multi-functionality in relation to the stated problem are provided (beside some other aspects). The importance to differentiate between attributional and consequential approaches is discussed in detail. This consistent approach contributes towards more harmonised use of LCA and LCC for informed decision for handling side flows in the food supply chain.

The focus of the specific recommendations given in this report is primarily on change-oriented studies on interventions for side flows since foot print studies are to a higher degree covered in existing frameworks such as the ILCD-handbook and the PEF framework under development.

Food waste has received increasing scientific and societal attention during the last decade. One important cause of food waste is thought to be the un-willingness of supply chains and consumers to sell, purchase, and consume suboptimal or imperfect foods. Yet, empirical research on this issue is scarce and contradictory. The current research investigates under which conditions consumers purchase or consume foods that deviate from regular products in terms of appearance standards, date labelling, or damaged packaging, without deviation on the intrinsic quality or safety. An online choice experiment among 4214 consumers from five Northern European countries reveals that consumer preferences for suboptimal products differ depending on whether the consumer is in a supermarket or at home, and depending on the type of sub-optimality. Moreover, consumer choices, discount preferences, and waste behaviors of suboptimal products are influenced by demographics (nationality, age), by personality characteristics (value orientation, commitment to environmental sustainability, and perceived consumer effectiveness in saving the environment), and by individual-waste aspects (perceived food waste of the household, perceived importance of food waste, engaging in shopping/cooking). These findings provide important insights into consumer preferences for suboptimal products, and useful suggestions for supply-chain regulations on suboptimal products.

A set of functionalized nanoparticles (PEGylated dendrimers, d = 2.8-11 nm) was used to probe the structural heterogeneity in Na⁺/K⁺ induced κ-carrageenan gels. The self-diffusion behavior of these nanoparticles as observed by ¹H pulsed-field gradient NMR, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, and raster image correlation spectroscopy revealed a fast and a slow component, pointing toward microstructural heterogeneity in the gel network. The self-diffusion behavior of the faster nanoparticles could be modeled with obstruction by a coarse network (average mesh size <100 nm), while the slower-diffusing nanoparticles are trapped in a dense network (lower mesh size limit of 4.6 nm). Overhauser dynamic nuclear polarization-enhanced NMR relaxometry revealed a reduced local solvent water diffusivity near 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-labeled nanoparticles trapped in the dense network, showing that heterogeneity in the physical network is also reflected in heterogeneous self-diffusivity of water. The observed heterogeneity in mesh sizes and in water self-diffusivity is of interest for understanding and modeling of transport through and release of solutes from heterogeneous biopolymer gels.

The potential of modified spring barley crops with improved nitrogen (N) use efficiency to reduce nitrogen (N) leaching and to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) storage was assessed at the regional scale. This was done using simulation model applications designed for reporting according to the Helcom (Helsinki Commission) and Kyoto protocols. Using model simulations based on modified crops N dynamics and SOC were assessed for three agro-ecological regions (latitudes ranging 55°20′–60°40′ N) in Sweden over a 20-year period. The modified N use properties of spring barley were implemented in the SOILNDB model (simulating soil C, N, water and heat, and plant N dynamics) by changing the parameters for root N uptake efficiency and plant N demand within a range given by previous model applications to different crops. A doubling of the daily N uptake efficiency and increased N demand (by ca 30%) reduced N leaching by 24%–31%, increased plant N content by 9%–12%, depending on region. The effects of the modified crop on SOC was simulated with the ICBM model, resulting in an increased SOC content (0–25 cm depth) by 57–79 kg C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹. The results suggest that a modified crop might reduce N leaching from spring barley area, in a range similar to the targets of relevant environmental protection directives, a result which held more in the northern than southern regions. The simulated SOC increase on a hectare basis was highest for the central region and least for the most northern region. For the total agricultural area the share of spring barley area was small and more crops would need to be modified to reach the emission reduction targets.

Digestion of poultry manure with digestate processing in pilot scale tests

Twenty farmers in the municipality of Mönsterås in southern Sweden are jointly planning to build a large biogas plant. The plant will digest a very high proportion of poultry manure, resulting in significantly greater biogas yield than normally expected, and higher nitrogen contents in the digestate. A major obstacle to realising the biogas plant is controlling digestion operation under high nitrogen levels resulting from the considerable amounts of poultry manure substrate. Poultry manure also contains both heavy and light particles that can cause challenges with poor stability in the digestion process, formation of sediments and crust in digester tanks. The high nitrogen contents together with high phosphorus and solids concentrations will also create difficulties for digestate management and use as fertiliser. 

Today solid poultry manure is mainly used as a phosphorus fertiliser, not only due to high concentration of phosphorus but also due to relatively poor utilisation of the nitrogen by crops. However, due to the high concentration of phosphorus, the application rate needed to meet plant needs is lower than modern solid manure spreaders can evenly apply. Over application and inefficient use of nitrogen increases risk of nutrient losses to waters and the environment.

To study these issues for biogas production, Vinnova (Sweden's innovation agency) has supported this research project in applied digestion and digestate processing.

The project contained the following components: i) 6 months digestion tests with prospective substrates in a pilot-plant with 5 m³ active digesting volume, provided with mixers and pumps commonly used in full-scale plants, ii) laboratory tests to determine biogas potential for feedstocks, and to determine the potential for increased gas production by post-digestion, iii) applied trials of separating and concentrating the digestate with centrifuge followed by industrial evaporation of the liquid phase, iv) analysis of the nutrient value and the function of the concentrated fertilizer in organic farming.

The biological and technical operational performance in the pilot test was evaluated in a complete stirred tank reactor at mesophilic temperature during co-digestion of poultry manure, liquid manure and glycerol. The poultry manure contributed with approx. 70% of dry matter in the substrate mixture and 80% of the nitrogen and phosphorus. The digestion process was stable with NH₄-N levels close to 6 g/l. To control hydrogen sulphide in the biogas to approx. 100 ppm, ferric chloride was added to the digester. Volumetric methane production reached 1,1 m³ CH4/ m³ digester and day. Significant formation of sediment occurred in both digester and in pipes, however, no crust formation was observed in the digester. The outflow of ammonia from the digester by the digestate was 3.7 times higher than the ammonia inflow by the substrate mixture. Thirteen tonnes of digestate was produced during the pilot test. The digestate was separated with a decanter centrifuge generating a solid fraction corresponding to 23% of digestate weight and approx. 70% of the phosphorus in the digestate. Sulfuric acid was added to the liquid fraction generated by the centrifuge before evaporation to stabilize the ammonium nitrogen. Industrial evaporation of the liquid fraction produced a concentrate corresponding to 23% of digestate weight and containing approx. 70% of the ammonium nitrogen in the digestate.

The pilot test generated four different fertilisers, (digestate, solid fraction, liquid fraction and concentrate) each with very different physical and chemical properties. Digestate processing increased the N/P ration of the liquid fraction and concentrate allowing more balanced N and P supply to crop demand, reducing the risk of nutrient losses to waters but also increasing the resource use efficiency of the plant nutrients. Processing was also successful at concentrating the two of the fertilisers, enabling cost effective long-distance transport for use in areas with low animal density and a need for the soil amendment properties of from manure.

These project results have contributed to plans for a full-scale plant by developing the basis of design and the credibility for implementation, resulting in an investment grant and the formation of a new economically stronger company.  Based on the results from the project, the estimated production of biogas in a full-scale plant is 70 GWh /year for renewable automotive fuels. Post-digestion of the digestate with 10 days retention time can increase biogas production with an extra 3 GWh/year (4%). The solid and liquid products can fertilise 12 000 ha/year of organic cultivation with nitrogen and up to 20 000 up to ha/year with phosphorus.

Copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) with their unique propertiesare central for economic growth, quality of life and creation of new jobs. The base-metalproducing sector is, however, under growing public pressure in respect toenergy and water requirements and needs to meet several challenges, includingincreased demand and lower ore grades generally associated with larger resourceuse. The development of technologies for metal production from secondarysources is often motivated by increased sustainability and this paper aims to providefurther insights about one specific aspect of sustainability, namely climatechange. The paper presents a review of carbon footprints (CF) for Cu and Znproduced from primary and secondary raw materials, by analyzing data taken fromscientific literature and the Ecoinvent database. Comparisons are carried outbased on the source of data selected as reference case. In the case of Cu,reduced CF of secondary production is indicated, although there is large datavariation. As for Zn, production of this metal from secondary sources seems to bebeneficial but the number of data and cases to be compared is much smallercompared to Cu. The general variation of data suggests that standardization ofcomparison is needed when assessing the environmental benefits of production inline with the principles of waste valorization, zero waste approach andcircular economy.

To improve the extraction efficiency of anthocyanins from bilberry press cake using pressurized carbon dioxide, the combined effect of drying technique and bilberry press cake particle size was assessed. Pressurized carbon dioxide using ethanol as co-solvent was compared with a simple and efficient solvent extraction using methanol. The press cake with large (>710 mm) size particles had a higher anthocyanins content (84 g/kg dry matter to 87 g/kg dry matter) than did the small (<710 mm) size particles (60 g/kg dry matter to 65 g/kg dry matter). Although, the large size particles contained more anthocyanins, more efficient anthocyanins extraction using pressurized carbon dioxide extraction was obtained with the small than the large size particles. The press cake dried by freeze-drying generated a powder with smaller particles and lower bulk density than either the microwave-assisted hot-air-dried or hot-airdried powders. In comparison to methanol extraction, the most efficient anthocyanins extraction was obtained from the freeze-dried small size particles. This work showed that there is a potential to improve the extraction efficiency of anthocyanins extracted by pressurized carbon dioxide by selecting appropriate drying technology and particle size distribution of the press cake.

Berry powders are popular as ingredients in a range of food products, where they naturally provide flavor, color, texture, polyphenols, fiber, and other nutrients. The choices regarding processing techniques and conditions influence the quality attributes of berry powders. The aim of this study was to study the effects on bilberry powder functionalities of applying different preprocessing techniques (purée mixing and juice pressing vs. untreated whole berries) prior to hot air drying and milling. Drying of press cake reduced the drying time by 72% and increased the total apparent phenolic content of the final powder by 44%, as compared to the powder of dried whole berries. The press cake powder showed an easier flowing behavior than the powders from whole berries and puréed berries. Dispersibility (in water and dairy cream) was 60% higher for powders from whole berries and puréed berries, as compared to press cake. The total phenolic content of the dispersed powders was highest for whole berries and puréed berries. Bilberry powder functionality can be modulated through the selection of an appropriate preprocessing technique before drying and milling. This tailors the powder properties into food ingredients ready for different applications, without the need for additives.

Systems with different source-separated toilet fractions (blackwater, fecal sludge and urine) can reduce the number of pharmaceuticals to the aquatic environment and at the same time allow circulation of nutrients. However, knowledge of the occurrence of pharmaceutical residues in source-separated toilet fractions is partly insufficient. There is also a lack of knowledge of how the different treatment processes effect the occurrence of pharmaceutical residues and if they are reduced or maintained thru different treatments. Knowledge of their faith in the environment is also limited, in terms of uptake in plants, degradation, transport and spreading.

The purpose of this project was to gather current knowledge related to pharmaceutical residues in source-separated toilet fractions from both Sweden and internationally, to be able to identify prioritized research areas for the future. The project also aimed to describe how treatment of source-separated toilet fractions affects the levels of pharmaceutical residues in the final product.

A review of literature was made, focusing on studies and research related to pharmaceutical residues in the different fractions. No analyzes have been carried out within this project. Data on the content of pharmaceutical residues in untreated and treated source-separated toilet fractions was collected from previous studies and summarized. The basis in the different studies varies a lot, which makes it difficult to compare the results of the content and reduction of pharmaceutical residues in the different source-separated toilet fractions.

Most of the studies that was found treated pharmaceuticals residues in urine. Most of the treatment methods for urine are performed in lab scale while studies on blackwater are made on plants that are in operation today. For fecal sludge, only one study that treats pharmaceuticals residues has been found.

Different treatment methods work differently on different types of pharmaceutical residues. For urine, there are studies with many different treatment techniques. Of those considered in this study, only ozone and UV-light have a broad effect and reduces most of the pharmaceutical residues that have been analyzed. Three treatment methods have been studied for blackwater. None of the methods reduced all pharmaceutical residues, but treatment with UASB reactor provided a good reduction as most pharmaceutical residues analyzed were reduced to about 60 %. For fecal sludge, most pharmaceutical residues were not affected by either mesophilic or thermophilic digestion.

Most studies on pharmaceutical residues in the environment focus on aquatic systems and the information on how the pharmaceutical residues behave in the soil is limited - both in terms of degradation and content in growing crops. More research is needed in these areas.

Pharmaceutical residues in source-separated toilet fractions are a complex area with several gaps of knowledge and more research is needed. Hopefully, this rapport contributes to an overview of some data and treatment processes and brings more knowledge into the area that simplifies decisions and prioritization of future research.

This project, Function in small on-site soil and infiltration beds for wastewater treatment in field – competition, investigated the status of small on-site soil treatment systems (STS) for wastewater in field. The project is an extension of a former project, “Function in small on-site soil and infiltration beds for wastewater treatment in field” where 101 were inspected. Together with 56 inspections from this project there were a total of 157 filed inspections.

The purpose of the study was to find out if there were any common problems in STS and to suggest if they could be prevented. This after that several projects pointed out the occurrence of functional problems, such as clogging and decreasing purification in STS. This study is a supplement to the prewires project to make the quantity more statistically safe (larger number of measurements) and more representative regarding the different conditions that may exist in Sweden.

The result shows that 8% of the STS had very high levels of water (≥ 11 cm) and 9% had very high levels of sludge (≥ 5 cm) in the distribution pipes. There are indications of correlations between very high levels of water in the distribution pipe and high water levels in other parts of the plant, which suggest that the plant is not working as it should. High levels of water can also be connected to functional faults that have arisen from the comments observed in the field and noted in field protocols.  For very high levels of sludge, there are some indications of relationships of various malfunctions, however, these connections are not as clear. Slightly high levels of sludge (2–5 cm) and water (3–11 cm) do not seem to have as strong connection with malfunction.

The study also indicates that greater water-loading installation, e.g. baths larger than 300 liters or water purification filters that rinse large amounts of water, should not be led to the STS, and that it is important that the plant is built according to the size specified in the permit. The statistical analysis carried out in the study also indicates that the age of the plant can be a "natural" cause for very high water levels.

According to the SGU database, the groundwater levels during the time of inspections were much below normal or below normal (SGU 2018). Based on given criteria in the project, about 7% of the STS in the study did not meet the requirements of one meter between the distribution pipe and the groundwater. Due to unreliable control points for groundwater it was uncertain whether the requirements were met or not for 53% STS. Without a reliable control point, it is difficult to follow up the distance between the distribution pipe and the current groundwater level.

It is important to remember that the performed inspections only provide a momentary-view of the STS and not the operation of the STS over time. Following some STS over a longer period would give a better picture of the function over time and a better idea of how sludge and water levels can vary in different parts and with different seasons. There are also no studies on how, for example, different levels of sludge and water in distribution pipes affect the purification process in the STS. This needs to be studied in the future to increase knowledge and provide guidance on what measures can be taken in different types of functional problems.