The aim of this essay was to study the nitrogen flow in two willowplantations, at different locations in the south of Sweden, that wereirrigated with sewage. The study was also performed to compare thedifferences in nitrogen flows between two years, 1998 and 1999. The studywas made in three parts. First, the Denitrification activity was measuredusing the acetylen inhibition method. Second the nitrogen flow, as well asthe water- and heat flows, were modeled through the SOIL-SOILN-modelThird; the nitrogen flow was calculated to compare with the results fromthe model.The results from the measurements were then compared with the resultsfrom the SOILN-simulations to detect differences in the Denitrificationrate.

This study was made as a part of a feasibility study on a polishing wetland at Rimbo wastewater plant (wwp) in Norrtälje municipality. The wwp had to decrease the nitrogen discharge to reach the limit 15 mg tot-N/l. The nitrogen in the outlet was mainly in the form of nitrate, hence the wetland mainly ought to support Denitrification. The proposed area for the wetland was situated right next to the wwp and was already in the municipalitys posession. One aim of this study was to examine what spieces of plants needed to achieve highest possible Denitrification.

Two ecological models of nitrogen processes in treatment wetlands have been evaluated and compared. These models have been implemented, simulated, and visualized in the Modelica language. The differences and similarities between the Modelica modeling environment used in this thesis and other environments or tools for ecological modeling have been evaluated. The modeling tools evaluated are PowerSim, Simile, Stella, the MathModelica Model Editor, and WEST. The evaluation and the analysis have been performed using McCall?s factors for software quality (McCall et al, 1977), a correlation analysis and the Constant Comparative Method (Glaser&Strauss, 1999).

This master thesis in energy optimization was made during the autumn of 2006 at Käppala wastewater treatment plant in Lidingö, Stockholm. A preceding thesis, where all electricity consumption was mapped, showed that the aeration in the biological treatment is the single largest consumer in the plant, and it is therefore of interest to reduce this cost. The oxygen control strategy used at Käppala WWTP is working well from a nutrient removal point of view, but not from an economic one. The last aerobic zones have a very low oxygen consumption during low loading periods which give rise to enhanced dissolved oxygen concentrations with excessive costs and reduced Denitrification as a result. But also during periods of normal loading unnecessary high oxygen concentration are sometimes given.By modifying the aeration control strategy three full-scale experiments have been made, with the intention to reduce the air consumption.

One of the environmental problems today in seas, lakes and streams is eutrophication. This is often caused by nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) that leak from agricultural areas. A measure to partly prevent the nutrient discharge is to construct or restore wetlands.In order to control the efficiency of nutrient reduction of existing wetlands in the county, the administrative board in Västra Götaland wants to find different criterias for reference wetlands. These reference wetlands should represent other wetlands and be used in future evaluations of reduction of nutrients and design of constructed wetlands. According to the administrative board in Västra Götaland the reference wetlands should have a catchment area of about 50 hectare consisting of at least 70 % arable land, to represent wetlands created to remove nutrients.

Agricultural soils constitute the base in human food production and soil content of organic matter and plant nutrients together with soil microbial activity are all important parameters for high crop yield of good quality. These parameters are dependant on proper fertilization.Anaerobic digestion of organic wastes for biogas production generates a liquid residue called biogas residue (BR). It contains organic material and plant nutrients which makes ita potential fertilizer for arable cropping. However, it also contains heavy metals and toxic organic compounds and it is therefore in need of evaluation before usage.Microbial tests were performed aiming to evaluate the agronomic traits of four different BR and to find a viable procedure for evaluating slurry fertilizers. Two experiments where soil respiration and soil potential Denitrification activity (PDA) was measured at fertilizer addition were performed.

The aim of this literature study was to analyze how milk urea concentration is working as a measure of the nitrogen supply to rumen microbes and indicator of the environmental load. Questions included in this literature study were how to improve the dairy cattle nitrogen efficiency and what correlations there are between milk urea, nitrogen efficiency and crude protein content in the feed. Effects on the reproduction from high ration protein content are also addressed. Dairy cattle are today fed with large proportions of protein which could lead to high expenditure of feed and environmental pollutions. The nitrogen can be lost to the environment by different pathways; leaching, Denitrification or by emission to the air.

The aim of this literature study was to analyze how milk urea concentration is working as a measure of the nitrogen supply to rumen microbes and indicator of the environmental load. Questions included in this literature study were how to improve the dairy cattle nitrogen efficiency and what correlations there are between milk urea, nitrogen efficiency and crude protein content in the feed. Effects on the reproduction from high ration protein content are also addressed. Dairy cattle are today fed with large proportions of protein which could lead to high expenditure of feed and environmental pollutions. The nitrogen can be lost to the environment by different pathways; leaching, Denitrification or by emission to the air.

The EU Water Framework Directive has led that management follows the boundaries of natural catchments.The Swedish waters suffer from a nutrient overload that originates mainly from diffuse sources such as agriculture and the subcatchment of Hackstabäcken in Vallentuna Kommun, just north of Stockholm, has been chosen for this study because of its high nutrient load and because it has undergone obvious changes in land use through the years.In this study, the land use in 1902 is compared with the land use in 2011 in order to investigate if it has influenced the ability of the landscape to produce ecosystem services related to nutrient removal. These services will continue to be produced as long as the system is stable and resilient, but when landuse changes and manure from horses increases it will lead to disturbances that can convert a system from one regime in to a completely different one. That will result in loss, or degradation, of ecosystem services such as Denitrification, phosphor sedimentation and adsorption, vegetation uptake and infiltration.The results of this study are based upon area calculations of landuse from old maps from 1902 and 2011. Through these maps it becomes clear that the forests in Hackstabäcken, has increased with 170 ha together with an urbanization of 311 ha, at the same time as wetlands and arable land has diminished and lakes has suffered from reductions. Wetlands have been reduced with 76 ha and the ones remaining are of insufficient quality from a nutrient removal perspective.Data from 1902 and 2011 regarding number of horses and bovines indicated a decrease in bovines and an increase in horses.

The euthropthication of the Baltic Sea is a threat that is beginning to be taken seriously by the governments concerned. In Sweden, regulations concerning the allowed nitrogen (N) concentration in the effluent water from wastewater treatment plants are being tightened up. The Rimbo wastewater treatment plant has been imposed to reduce the annual mean concentration of total N in the effluent water to levels below 15 mg l-1. A more and more common way to reduce the nitrogen level in wastewater is to let the water pass through a wetland. This study investigates the possibility to build this kind of wetland at the outlet of the Rimbo wastewater treatment plant.A prestudy of the topography, soil characteristics and groundwater flow indicates that the land area in question is well suited for the construction of a wetland.

The requirements for wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are gradually increasing, partly because of higher incoming loads, which in turn require a more efficient treatment process. In parallel with environmental and economic goals there are also desires to lower energy consumption without compromising the wastewater treatment. Furthermore, there is a demand on WWTP´s to alter eutrophication in aquatic systems through better nitrogen and phosphorus removal. An increasing number of WWTP´s have acquired biological nitrogen and phos-phorus removal. A by-product of this type of biological treatment is the formation of nitrous oxide, which is a potent greenhouse gas.

The nitrogen cycle in freshwater bodies is complex and consists of many separate processes affected by a number of important factors for example oxygen concentration in the water, temperature and circulation. Knowledge of the different components of the nitrogen cycle exists; however, a complete and comprehensive picture is difficult conceptually as well as theoretically. The available literature illustrates that the research on nitrogen and the related freshwater processes is still associated with high uncertainty of how much of the supplied nitrogen from the catchment is transported with the water versus and how much is lost due to Denitrification, sedimentation or uptake by plants. This report is an interdisciplinary survey of Nitrogen discharge permitting. The research focuses in particular on the decision-making process, the levels of scientific standard and the administrative framework.Application for Nitrogen discharge permits are decided by the Environmental Court with council from their own experts as well as relevant government authorities and organisations.

In connection with the admittance of the EC-directive (99/31/EC) in Swedish politic, through the constitution of waste depositing (2001:512) at year 2001, the rules about management the landfills and leachates tightened. At the landfill Vissberga in the municipality of Hallsberg, a leachate treatment plant was constructed just a year thereafter. This treatment plant consisted of an aerated pond with a following land treatment and a willow cultivation to replace the land treatment during the summer. In this case the parameters, which were estimated as the most important to reduce, were iron and nitrogen. The iron would react with the oxygen-rich water in the aerated pond and precipitate to ferric-hydroxide and than settle in a calm zone of the pond.

This thesis was carried out to give some background information to a report of SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) for the Swedish National Rail Administration (Banverket). The requested information was to provide basic data for an environmental impact assessment of the construction of the tunnel through Hallandsås. The aim with the thesis work was to discuss and quantify the leaching of nitrate and the emission of nitrous oxide from the soil at the groundwater level established through the tunnel project. The nitrogen related processes that could be affected were described and discussed. The different areas where a decreased groundwater level can cause changes in the nitrogen processes are the wet and moist areas.

På Käppalaverket i Stockholm står luftningen av de biologiska bassängerna för omkring en femtedel av verkets totala elenergiförbrukning. I ett försök att minska energikostnaden utvärderades under hösten 2010 nya metoder för luftflödesreglering på verket. Grundtanken var att styra luftflödet efter medelvärdet på utgående ammoniumkoncentration under en längre tid, istället för som idag efter momentana värden.Ett vanligt sätt att styra luftflöden på reningsverk idag är att använda återkoppling från utgående ammoniumkoncentration, vilket syftar till att alltid hålla den utgående koncentrationen vid ett valt börvärde. Lagstiftade gränsvärden på ammonium avser dock normalt medelvärden över en längre tid, såsom kvartal eller år. Istället för att anpassa luftflödet efter den inkommande belastningen är det därför möjligt att hålla luftflödet relativt konstant medan istället den utgående koncentrationen tillåts variera.I denna studie visades en energibesparing kunna erhållas om luftflödets variation reduceras.