Recycling nutrient resources in waste for food security and environmental sustainability

拟议研究的中心目标是最大限度地利用生物废物作为营养资源，并确保英国的长期粮食安全，同时确保食品安全以及环境和土壤的可持续性。我们的愿景是实现范式转变，不再将生物废物视为废物，而是将其视为营养资源，并可持续地使用，以确保2020年后的粮食安全。利用废物中的营养物质对闭合营养循环至关重要，而就磷而言，全球供应有限，其可持续利用已被列为三大新兴环境问题。该研究将采用“整体系统方法”，包括从一系列商业，工业或市政来源的生物废物的处理，例如AD或MBT，直到生物废物，营养素和污染物的土壤-植物相互作用，以开发创新和创造性的过程，以提高营养素含量和可用性，并尽量减少污染物含量，可用性和影响。一个关键的方面将是最大限度地减少生物废弃物作为营养资源时对环境的风险;我们将使用最先进的技术来检查生物废弃物和改良土壤中营养物质和污染物的命运，以最大限度地提高农业价值并保护环境。这种合作关系将联合收割机在AD（南安普顿大学）和MBT（利兹大学）废物处理技术方面的世界领先专业知识与在使用这些过程产生的资源作为营养源（帝国理工学院伦敦和阅读大学）的农学和环境影响方面的世界领先专业知识结合起来。这种合作为操纵和管理处理过程提供了独特的机会，因此，除了实现该过程的其他目标（例如，在厌氧消化过程中最大限度地提高沼气产量）外，残留物的营养价值也得到了最大限度的提高，但对环境的风险最小。补充技能和技术将用于调查将废物用作环境资源的农艺和环境影响。例如，帝国理工学院在通过培养、植物生物测定和田间试验对养分可用性进行定量农艺学评估方面的专业知识，将补充阅读使用的技术，如分子微生物生态学、同位素比质谱法和GC-MS。在催化剂赠款范围内，合作机构将审查废物中养分资源回收利用的知识现状，每个人都侧重于他们的专业领域和在整个建议战略中的作用。这为联合收割机提供了一个独特的机会，可以将不同的方面结合在一起，进行一次连贯、综合和全面的评估。计划中的创新和跨学科计划解决了国家和国际研究需求，并将为英国，欧洲和更远地区的政策和行业提供信息和影响。在催化剂补助金期间，我们将开展一项“研究战略发展”研讨会计划，参与者来自四所大学，此外，还有来自水和废物行业以及政府和环境局的一些关键项目合作伙伴。催化剂补助金期间的活动计划将使我们能够确定有针对性和假设驱动的跨学科研究的关键领域，并确定整个研究计划的具体目标。

The central aim of the proposed research is to maximise the use of biowastes as a nutrient resource and enable long-term food security in the UK, whilst ensuring food safety and environmental and soil sustainability. The vision is to achieve a paradigm shift where biowastes are no longer considered as a waste, but as a nutrient resource, and used sustainably to ensure food security beyond 2020. Using nutrients from wastes is essential to close the nutrient loop, and in the case of P, the global supply is limited, and its sustainable use has been placed in the top three emerging environmental issues. The research will adopt a 'whole systems approach', encompassing the treatment e.g. AD or MBT, of biowastes from a range of commercial, industrial or municipal sources, through to the soil-plant interactions of biowastes, nutrients and contaminants, to develop innovative and creative processes to improve nutrient content and availability, and minimise contaminant contents, availability and impacts. A key aspect will be minimising risks to the environment when biowastes are used as a nutrient resource; we will use state of the art techniques to examine the fate of nutrients and contaminants in biowaste and amended soil to maximise the agronomic value and protect the environment. The collaborative relationships combine world-leading expertise in waste treatment technologies in AD (University of Southampton) and MBT (University of Leeds) with world-leading expertise in the agronomic and environmental impact of using the resources produced by these processes as a nutrient source (Imperial College London and University of Reading). This collaboration presents unique opportunities for manipulating and managing treatment processes so that, in addition to achieving the other objectives of the process (e.g. maximising biogas production during anaerobic digestion), the nutrient value of the residues is maximised but at minimal risk to the environment. Complementary skills and techniques will be applied to investigate the agronomic and environmental impact of using waste as an environmental resource. For example, expertise at Imperial in quantitative agronomic assessments of nutrient availability by incubation, plant bioassays and field trials, will complement techniques used at Reading such as molecular microbial ecology, isotope ratio mass spectrometry and GC-MS. Within the Catalyst Grant, the collaborating institutions will review the current state of knowledge on recycling nutrient resources in waste, each focusing on their areas of expertise and role in the strategy for the full proposal. This presents a unique opportunity to combine the different aspects together in a cohesive, integrated and holistic assessment. The planned innovative and interdisciplinary programme addresses national and international research needs, and will inform and impact on policy and industry in the UK, Europe and further afield. During the Catalyst Grant, we will conduct a programme of 'Research Strategy Development' workshops, involving participants from the four Universities, and, additionally, a number of key project partners from the water and waste industries, and from Government and the Environment Agency. The programme of activities during the Catalyst Grant will enable us to identify key areas for targeted and hypotheses-driven interdisciplinary research, and define the specific objectives for the full Research Programme.