BEFWAM-BIOENERGY, FERTILISER AND CLEAN WATER FROM INVASIVE AQUATIC MACROPHYTES

该项目将重点利用入侵水生植物，如水葫芦，结合营养丰富的废物和固定的微生物系统，通过开发创新的生物技术解决方案，促进资源效率和长期可持续服务，最大限度地生产沼气，同时在低收入社区生产清洁水和回收营养物质。该项目将为在新型生物反应器中处理水葫芦和其他废物（例如粪便、食物废物）提供切实可行的解决方案。这些应该能够生产负担得起的清洁能源（根据联合国可持续发展目标#7- a.k.a.）。可持续发展目标7），提高沼气产量和质量，并适用于烹饪，制冷和发电。拟议的沼气生产过程将被设计为适当地扩展到城市地区（城市）和较小的社区，如村庄和学校（可持续发展目标11）。此外，综合办法将有可能从大型植物原料中回收有价值的营养物质，用于种植粮食和生产清洁水。综合方法将减少与木材燃烧相关的排放和健康影响（可持续发展目标3），并支持更可持续地利用生物质资源（可持续发展目标13）。使用水生植物作为替代生物质资源发电可以减轻对木柴的过度依赖，从而促进生物质资源的更可持续利用（可持续发展目标12）。它还为许多非洲和亚洲地区日益严重的问题提供了解决方案，这些问题与富营养化和与卫生条件差和工业监管有关的污染造成的入侵性大型植物有关（可持续发展目标6，9和13）。BEFWAM将支持高收入和中等收入国家的知识转让（英国和印度）到非洲低收入国家（乌干达）这将通过应用项目内开发的创新技术来实现，而所有发展阶段都将通过分析能源生产的社会影响来了解，水生植物和废物。社会分析将特别强调性别与贫穷的关系。

The project will focus on utilising invasive aquatic macrophytes such as water hyacinth in combination with nutrient rich waste and immobilised microbial systems to maximise the production of biogas whilst generating clean water and recovering nutrients in low income communities, by developing innovative biotechnology solutions that promote resource efficiency and long-term sustainable services. The project will provide practical solutions for processing water hyacinth with other wastes (e.g. faecal matter, food waste) in novel bioreactors. These ought to be capable of producing affordable clean energy (as per the UN's Sustainable Development Goal # 7- a.k.a. SDG 7) with improved biogas yields and quality, and be suitable for use in cooking, refrigeration and power generation. The proposed processes of biogas production will be designed to be scaled appropriately to either urban areas (cities) and to smaller communities such as villages and schools (SDG 11). In addition, the integrated approaches will allow the potential for the recovery of valuable nutrients from the macrophyte feedstock for growing food and for the production of clean water. The integrated approaches will result in reduced emissions and health impacts associated with combustion of wood (SDG 3) and support more sustainable use of biomass resources (SDG 13). The use of aquatic macrophytes as an alternative biomass resource for energy generation can mitigate the over-reliance on firewood for cooking, thus promoting a more sustainable use of biomass resources (SDG 12). It also provides a solution to the growing problem in many African and Asian regions associated with invasive macrophytes resulting from eutrophication and pollution associated with poor sanitation and regulation of industry (SDG 6, 9 and 13). BEFWAM will support knowledge transfer from high- and mid-income countries (UK and India) to low-income countries in Africa (Uganda) and the delivery of training and supporting partnerships between stakeholders and local business.This will be effected through the application of the innovative technologies developed within the project while all stages of development are to be informed by the analysis of the social implications of energy production from macrophytes and waste. Special emphasis of the social analysis will be devoted to the gender-poverty nexus.