Ecological Engineering for Optimal Management of Agricultural and Municipal Organic Residues

农业和市政有机残留物优化管理的生态工程

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-04273
• 负责人: Clark, Grant
• 金额: $ 1.46万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=636090
• 关键词: Ecological; Engineering; Optimal; Management; Agricultural

Clark’s Ecological Engineering Research Group has performed innovative research on the creation and management of ecosystems that provide services or solutions. The group uses computational modeling and physical experimentation in parallel. Their recent work on in-vessel composting has led to industry and municipal research partnerships on compost production and utilization. Related work investigated models of large-scale nutrient cycling and on the feasibility of Integrated Assessment Modeling of regional agricultural systems.The group is now strongly positioned to study the flow of nutrients through human-dominated ecosystems. In industrialized economies, the principle crop nutrients are unsustainably sourced. Nitrogen fertilizer is fixed from the atmosphere at a huge energy cost and phosphorous and potassium fertilizers are extracted from nonrenewable mineral deposits. These nutrients are applied to agricultural land, concentrated in cities as part of the food supply chain, and then dispersed in the environment. The challenges are increasing, as growing population and affluence will double demand for food by midcentury. At the same time, rising energy costs and depletion of mineral resources will make fertilizers more expensive. These nutrients are increasingly concentrated in growing cities as urbanization continues worldwide. Long-term sustainability of food and biomass production demands that nutrients be recycled back to production, by the disruptive, large-scale reinvention of waste management systems.In the short term, the group’s prior experience strongly positions them to advance: (1) computational modeling of multi-scale material and energy flows, and (2) the recycling of organic residues. The first research thrust will focus on multi-scale simulation of material and energy flows. The work will expand on the concept of urban metabolism, characterizing nutrient transport from agricultural land, to cities, and into the environment. Strategies will then be evaluated for disruptive change in waste management systems, to instead recycle nutrients back to agricultural production. Technologies such as large-scale composting of organic residuals could direct reclaimed nutrients back to traditional agricultural land or to urban agriculture initiatives. This work will be conducted at the doctoral and research associate level, through strong interdisciplinary collaboration with Clark’s government, industry, and academic colleagues.The second research thrust is the physical and computational modeling of compost production to recycle organic residues. This work is necessary to evaluate technologies proposed as part of the large-scale systems models. Preliminary work by Clark’s group shows promise in adding biochar to compost to reduce gas emissions and retain nitrogen. New work will optimize the degradation in compost of novel biopolymers. Replicated physical experiments will be run in existing pilo-scale composting vessels, instrumented for automated measurement of temperature and gas emissions. This work will be the primary focus of the MSc stream of the lab group.These combined efforts will elevate the group’s combined expertise to make even greater contributions to the development of a sustainable economy based on the rational management of the planet’s finite biological resources. On a large horizon, the work will inform regional and national policy for the sustainable production of food and biomass. The work will contribute in the mid-term to the development of standards and protocols for organics recycling, as many municipalities scramble to implement recycling and composting programs. At a smaller scale, innovation in composting technology and utilization will benefit the group’s industrial and municipal partners.

克拉克的生态工程研究小组对提供服务或解决方案的生态系统的创建和管理进行了创新研究。该小组并行使用计算建模和物理实验。他们最近在围内组成的工作导致了堆肥生产和利用方面的行业和文化研究合作伙伴关系。相关工作调查了大规模营养循环的模型以及区域农艺系统的综合评估模型的可行性。该组现在可以很好地研究通过人类主导的生态系统来研究养分的流动。工业化经济，主要农作物营养物质是不可持续的。氮肥以巨大的能源成本从大气中固定，磷和钾肥从不可再生的矿物沉积中提取。这些营养素被应用于农业土地，集中在城市中，作为食品供应链的一部分，然后分散在环境中。挑战正在增加，因为到本世纪中叶，人口的增长和影响力的需求将增加一倍。同时，能源成本的上升和矿产资源的耗尽将使肥料变得更加昂贵。随着全球城市化的持续，这些营养物质越来越集中在不断发展的城市中。食品和生物量生产的长期可持续性要求通过破坏性的，大规模的废物管理系统重新塑造营养，从而回收营养。在短期内，该集团的先前经验强烈地定位了它们以提高其前进：（1）计算材料和能源流的多规模材料和能量流，以及（2）（2）有机保留的恢复。第一个研究推力将集中于对材料和能量流的多尺度模拟。这项工作将扩大城市代谢的概念，这些概念是从农业土地到城市和环境的营养运输的特征。然后，将评估策略的废物管理系统中的破坏性变化，以将养分恢复为农业生产。诸如有机残留物的大规模堆肥之类的技术可以将回收的养分引导回传统的农业土地或城市农业倡议。这项工作将通过与克拉克政府，行业和学术同事进行强大的跨学科合作在博士和研究助理级别进行。第二项研究推力是堆肥生产的物理和计算建模，以回收有机保留率。这项工作对于评估作为大型系统模型的一部分的技术是必要的。克拉克小组的初步工作表明，将生物炭添加到堆肥中，以减少气体排放并保留氮。新工作将优化新型生物聚合物堆肥中的降解。复制的物理实验将在现有的Pilo尺度堆肥容器中进行，该容器用于自动测量温度和气体排放。这项工作将是实验室组的MSC流的主要重点。这些综合努力将提高该集团的综合专业知识，以根据地球有限的生物资源的合理管理为可持续经济的发展做出更大的贡献。在整个地平线上，这项工作将为粮食和生物量的可持续生产提供区域和国家政策。这项工作将在中期为组织回收的标准和协议的发展做出贡献，因为许多文化争夺都以实施回收和作曲计划。在较小的规模上，创新技术和利用的创新将使集团的工业和文化伙伴受益。