Welcome to the ECOCITY 2022 Interactive Programme
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Hall B
DECENTRALISED RESOURCE RECOVERY FROM DOMESTIC WASTEWATERS, DEMONSTRATED AT FULL SCALE IN 4 CITIES IN EUROPE
Hall B
Abstract
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Current fertiliser production practices are not sustainable. Phosphate rock is a non-renewable resource, and the nitrogen-based fertilisers production is highly energy-intensive, currently relying on the use of fossil fuels. There is increased recognition that domestic wastewater carries resources that can be recovered for reuse, contributing to the circular economy: nutrients, energy and water. This requires a paradigm shift in domestic wastewater management, as resource recovery from diluted sewage is not efficient. Optimal wastewater resource recovery and reuse should become an integral part of the urban design, separating different wastewater flows and employing existing and innovative technologies in the best combinations.
The Horizon 2020 project Run4Life demonstrates the recovery of fertiliser products and clean water from separated domestic wastewaters and food waste, at four sites in Europe. The larger size of the demonstration sites, from 100-1800 i.e., and the involvement of stakeholders along the entire value chain (e.g. water utilities, companies, farmers etc.) show that domestic wastewater with source separation is becoming a mature resource management system. This is done at newly developed neighbourhoods Nieuwe Dokken in Ghent (Belgium) and Oceanhamnen in Helsingborg (Sweden), existing houses in Sneek, the Netherlands and existing office buildings in Vigo (Spain). Although similar in their choice of source separation systems, the respective technologies for resource recovery differ between the sites:
Apart from developing and implementing innovative technological solutions for optimal resource recovery, in Run4Life also socio-economical and legislative aspects are investigated. These are of the utmost importance in the applicability of resource recovery concepts, as well as hygienic safety, heavy metals and organic micropollutants. At the demonstration sites new fertiliser products are harvested and characterised. By presenting an overview of the latest results that are obtained in the project, it becomes clear that source separation and decentralised treatment of domestic wastewaters for resource recovery have matured into a viable alternative for large-scale centralised treatment.
PASSIVE HOUSES FOR ACTIVE STUDENTS
Hall B
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OeAD student housing is a non-profit organization and pioneer in the field of ecological construction with the main responsibility of accommodating international and national students with 15 years of experience in passive house construction. Its success story started in 2005 with the construction of the first student guesthouse built to the passive house standard worldwide in Vienna. Sustainability and the best possible use of resources are key for the organization: Their flexible wooden container constructions “PopUp dorms” opened in 2015 and received the FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence Award in 2019. Since 2016, 201 students live in the first ever high-volume wooden student guesthouse built according to the passive house standard with a 6-floor timber construction, “mineroom”. Not stopping there, OeAD student housing also offers accommodation in the very first EnergyPLUS-student residence worldwide in Vienna – “GreenHouse”. Today, the non-profit organization accommodates more than 12.000 academics in Austria per year, offering accommodation in eight passive house-, respectively EnergyPLUS-, guesthouses in Vienna, Graz and Leoben.
This paper describes the benefits of passive houses and aims at raising awareness for eco- and energy-efficient buildings. The concept of a passive house is economically profitable in terms of energy expenses and its benefits are evident within the company. Living in a passive house provides controlled indoor space ventilation which, in turn, can control the spread of viruses like COVID-19 and massively counteract it despite closed windows. One of the biggest advantages of a passive house is - among other things - the high standard of its ventilation and filtration performance. Passive houses automatically ventilate themselves with outdoor air, which is an essential factor in reducing the spread of viruses.
Many students encounter the topic of eco-efficient building for the first time when they move into any of the OeAD-Guesthouses and experience the benefits of ecological construction first-hand: energy-efficient passive houses for active students.
As the organization wants to share its knowledge with the rest of the world, OeAD student housing implemented two academic summer universities, which pay attention not only to ecological building, but also to the economic systems lying underneath.
RETROFITTING AC CABLES TO DC FOR PUBLIC LIGHTING, REFLECTIONS AND TRANSIENTS DURING SWITCHING
Hall B
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The combicable is a power distribution cable that consists of four main conductors used for transportation of the three phase AC power to the consumers. In the same cable, there are four auxiliary conductors situated around the main conductors and these are used for powering public lighting, traditionally with AC power. Recently, public lighting shifts towards LED lighting, requiring DC instead of AC. The question is if the four auxiliary conductors can be used for DC powering the public LED lighting, instead of adding a new underground cable for public LED lighting. Retrofitting the auxiliary conductors in existing combicable means a considerable saving in material and labor costs, as there would be no need for replacement of the cable for applying DC powered public LED lighting. Since the combicable has been widely applied in the Netherlands with over 40.000 kilometers of cabling, reusing these cables would save a lot of material and labor costs.
Some experimental research has been carried out to investigate whether it is possible to apply the combination of AC main power and DC power for the public lighting in the same combicable. Before implementation, the cross-coupling and electromagnetic interference between the AC and DC system has to be investigated to ensure reliability of the system. In particular the impact of transient voltages and currents in the AC section of the cable as a results of switching actions in the DC section of the cable.
To investigate this problem, a simulation model of the combicable is a valuable tool. In this paper, a set up of a simulation model for the combicable will be described that makes it possible to investigate and to observe the transient voltages in the cable during switching actions. The simulation results give insight in the behavior of the combicable when applying AC and DC simultaneously in the same cable.
CRYPTOURBANOMICS: A METHOD TO BOOST URBAN CIRCULARITY WITH BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY. USE CASE ON ENERGY TRANSITION
Hall B
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Cryptourbanomics puts forward the idea that there are forces and capital in our society that cannot be dismissed or neglected but that the System (understood as the Establishment or Status-quo) has failed to acknowledge or been unable to address. These social forces have strong ideological, cultural, or identity components, sometimes related to an unrealized Right to the City (as defined by Lefèvre, 1968). The social capital behind those forces are often citizens who gave up—the so-called drop-outs because they lost their faith in the System and prefer living in their own world. Blockchain is the technology that empowers these unheard social forces and capital. However, blockchain will remain as an Anti-System technology until it finds a fit within the Establishment, until the Status-quo acknowledges and ushers it.
Cryptourbanomics is a novel method that brings into the blockchain those societal challenges that the System left unsolved. And because today’s societal challenges mostly take place in urban environments and are due, not to the lack of resources but to the inneficiencies of their flows, the Cryptourbanomics method focuses on the overall urban circularity and analyses it with a blockchain lens. The Cryptourbanomics method includes an array of blockchain tools to tackle legacy societal challenges yet unsolved by the System with a more decentralised, distributed, transparent and disintermediated approach.
A use case on Energy Transition has been chosen to show how the Cryptourbanomics method can help deliver on urban circulariy by shifting powers, from the Establishment to Communities. Moreover, this use case has been put forward by the Catalan Government, proving not only that blockchain technology is not Anti-System but that it can become an ally technology for governments who want to empower their citizens on issues that are best managed and delivered by communities themselves.
COMPREHENSIVE FRAME- WORK FOR RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOOD - THE SUDANESE CONTEXT
Hall B
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This paper examined the features of sustainable neighborhoods: compact, integrated and connected to evaluate some of the residential neighborhoods in Sudan. The main objective of this study is to formulate a comprehensive frame work for future sustainable neighborhood developments in Sudan combining international knowledge with local experience, which would enable to find innovative solutions relevant to the local context. A case study approach was chosen to gather the necessary qualitative and quantitative data and detailed survey on existing development pattern was carried out for three neighborhoods: a traditional neighborhood -Abrouf, a contemporary neighborhood -Alryad and a low-cost neighborhood -ElWadi Elakhader. Each neighborhood has different opportunities and challenges for urban sustainability. The assessment of the neighborhoods was based on the empirical findings of the field work compared with UN Habitat principles of the sustainable neighborhood which include: Adequate space for streets , High density, mixed land-use, social mix and Limited land-use specialization. The paper found that these neighborhoods are not fully sustainable and self-contained according to UN Habitat principles although street network characteristics and mixed land-uses development are compatible with principles of sustainability. The analysis showed that there are other influential factors contributing to urban sustainability such as the role of the urban form in achieving better social sustainability. An additional opportunity lies in the unique nature of the social fabric of the Sudanese community concerning participation in social and community activities and interaction between various socio-economic and age groups.It was evident that socio-economic disparities and access to services had a direct impact in the development of neighborhoods and make differences from one neighborhood to the other. The paper presented a comprehensive frame- work to assess sustainability in neighborhoods that include other factors such as availability of green scape, provision of service centers and social services within a walking distance and access to quality transport. The paper recommended identifying key service gaps in these neighborhoods then build long-term resilience into infrastructure and planning by creating a participatory planning process that involves residents, community leaders, civil society organizations, technical experts and city officials.
Q&A
Hall B