{"id":2025,"date":"2020-08-05T13:35:08","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T13:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/?p=2025"},"modified":"2020-08-24T15:20:30","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T15:20:30","slug":"blog-interdisciplinary-research-delivering-joined-up-solutions-to-multiple-sustainable-development-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/2020\/08\/blog-interdisciplinary-research-delivering-joined-up-solutions-to-multiple-sustainable-development-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Interdisciplinary research delivering “joined-up” solutions to multiple sustainable development goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Working together to find new strategies to e<\/span><\/b>liminat<\/span><\/b>e h<\/span><\/b>uman <\/span><\/b>p<\/span><\/b>athogens in <\/span><\/b>o<\/span><\/b>rganic <\/span><\/b>w<\/span><\/b>astes <\/span><\/b>t<\/span><\/b>hrough <\/span><\/b>l<\/span><\/b>ow<\/span><\/b>–<\/span><\/b>e<\/span><\/b>nergy <\/span><\/b>co<\/span><\/b>st <\/span><\/b>a<\/span><\/b>naerobic <\/span><\/b>d<\/span><\/b>igestion<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

W<\/span>aste<\/span> management<\/span> is a major <\/span>global <\/span>challenge<\/span>. In <\/span>Sub-Saharan African countries such as Nigeria and Ghana,<\/span> inadequate <\/span>waste management systems <\/span>pose<\/span> significant <\/span>risk<\/span>s<\/span> both <\/span>to human<\/span> health<\/span> and <\/span>to <\/span>the environment<\/span>. <\/span>The <\/span>handling and disposal of <\/span>human waste- urine and <\/span>faec<\/span>es-<\/span> raise <\/span>particular c<\/span>oncern<\/span>s<\/span>, and is <\/span>one<\/span> focus of <\/span>Sustainable Development Goal 6 (<\/span>SDG6 <\/span>Water and Sanitation)<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>In 2017, <\/span>t<\/span>he UN report<\/span>ed<\/span><\/a> that <\/span>only 45 per cent of the global population <\/span>had access to<\/span> safely managed sanitation <\/span>systems<\/span>.<\/span> That\u2019s more than four<\/span> billion <\/span>people living <\/span>without safely managed sanitation<\/span>. <\/span>Faecal waste harbours a vast array of microorganisms, some of which can cause <\/span>serious human <\/span>disease<\/span>s<\/span>.<\/span> P<\/span>oor sanitation and hygienic practices relating to the management of faeces <\/span>and other wastes <\/span>contribute significantly to outbreaks of infectious diseases in <\/span>Sub-Saharan Africa<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, <\/span>human waste can be used as a source of energy and fertiliser, for example through the process of anaerobic digestion (AD). <\/span>Using AD allows \u201cwaste\u201d to become a resource to produce biogas, <\/span>for use as a cooking fuel for example<\/span><\/a>. The material left at the end of AD, known as <\/span>digestate, can be used as <\/span>fertilizer to improve crop yields<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> However, for<\/span> farmers to use<\/span> digestate <\/span>as a fertilizer for<\/span> food crops <\/span>they<\/span> have to be sure that <\/span>any disease-causing microbes <\/span>(pathogens) <\/span>have been destroyed during the digestion process.<\/span> That poses challenges <\/span>that can only be solved by<\/span> research<\/span> that <\/span>cross<\/span>es<\/span> the boundaries of traditional a<\/span>cademic disciplines.<\/span> Chemical e<\/span>ngineers are essential to <\/span>optimise the production of biogas from<\/span> AD systems, but are not trained to <\/span>investigate<\/span> the use of digestate in crops<\/span>. That<\/span> research<\/span> needs <\/span>plant scientists, <\/span>agricultural engineers and soil scientists, but neither they nor the chemical engineers have the<\/span> expertise in<\/span> microbiology needed <\/span>to <\/span>quantify how AD affects pathogen levels.<\/span> The only way to make real progress is to work together across all those disciplines.<\/span> That is exactly what is happening i<\/span>n the<\/span> GCRF<\/span><\/a>-funded RE<\/span>CIRCULATE <\/span>project<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am part of a cross-disciplinary team of <\/span>ch<\/span>emical <\/span>e<\/span>ngineers, <\/span>m<\/span>icrobiologists, <\/span>agricultural engineers, and s<\/span>oil <\/span>s<\/span>cientists working together to <\/span>optimis<\/span>e<\/span> conditions for the elimination of human pathogens in organic wastes during anaerobic digestion<\/span>. <\/span>The <\/span>chemical e<\/span>ngineers work to design and develop <\/span>AD systems<\/span><\/a> that are<\/span> o<\/span>ptimised for biogas <\/span>produc<\/span>tion and the <\/span>eliminat<\/span>ion of<\/span> pathogens.<\/span> The agricultural engineers and soil scientists assess the agronomic value of the pasteurised digestates<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> I am a<\/span> m<\/span>icrobiologist<\/span>, <\/span>so <\/span>my <\/span>role is to investigate the decline of pathogens <\/span>in different<\/span> AD <\/span>systems <\/span>process, <\/span>and then as <\/span>digestate<\/span> is applied to s<\/span>oil. This <\/span>understanding is essential <\/span>to ensure that digestate do<\/span>es not contaminate crops with<\/span> human pathogens<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a team<\/span>,<\/span> w<\/span>e are optimising several factors <\/span>that<\/span> influence the de<\/span>struction<\/span> of pathogens in wastes during anaerobic digestion<\/span>. Our aim is to find<\/span> which <\/span>combination works best for <\/span>BOTH <\/span>biogas production <\/span>AND<\/span> pathogen kill. <\/span>In my<\/span> microbiological<\/span> experiments<\/span>, <\/span>I <\/span>started by using<\/span> non-disease-causing strains of the <\/span>bacterium<\/span> Escherichia coli<\/span><\/i>– \u201c<\/span>E. coli<\/span><\/i>\u201d- as an indicator organism for monitoring what would happen for serious disease-causing microbes<\/span>,<\/span> such as <\/span>Salmonella<\/span><\/i> or<\/span> Campylobacter<\/span><\/i>.<\/span> I use<\/span> strains of <\/span>E. coli<\/span><\/i> that have been<\/span> \u201ctagged\u201d to produce red or green light.<\/span> That makes them easy to <\/span>identify and <\/span>count when they grow in Petri dish cultures<\/span>. <\/span>More recently I have extended my studies to include <\/span>several <\/span>disease-causing bacteria<\/span> (<\/span>Klebsiella pneumoniae<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Enterococcus faecalis<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Clostridium perfringens<\/span><\/i>) <\/span>that have been reported to survive the AD process in <\/span>conventional systems<\/span>.<\/span> A key outcome of my research will be understanding how their survival is reduced by our innovative AD designs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I introduce defined concentrations of tagged <\/span>E. coli<\/span><\/i> and the other bacteria <\/span>in to laboratory scale AD systems <\/span>that are set up u<\/span>sing <\/span>different <\/span>simulated food and agricultural wastes as feedstocks.<\/span> B<\/span>y taking samples <\/span>at <\/span>intervals<\/span> during the AD process <\/span>and then growing them in Petri <\/span>dishes,<\/span> I can count how the numbers of <\/span>these bacteria<\/span> change over time.<\/span> My r<\/span>esults<\/span> so far <\/span>have <\/span>show<\/span>n that the development of highly acid<\/span>ic<\/span> conditions during digestion is a major factor in the effective reduction of <\/span>E. coli<\/span><\/i> populations. <\/span>W<\/span>ith all the<\/span> microbes <\/span>that I have studied, <\/span>I have found that highly acidic AD conditions kill more than 99.999% of the bacteria originally present w<\/span>ithin 24 hours<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This new information has allowed our chemical engineers <\/span>to alter the AD set-up to maximise acid produ<\/span>ction<\/span><\/a>. The improved design will<\/span> maximise the destruction of pathogens without compromising biogas production. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the next phases of our research<\/span>,<\/span> I will work with the rest of the team to monitor the decline of <\/span>E.<\/span><\/i> coli<\/span><\/i> in digestate applied to agricultural soil. We will take in to account standard agricultural practices, for example whether or not the crop is <\/span>water<\/span>ed.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From a personal perspective, it<\/span> i<\/span>s great to be <\/span>working <\/span>with such a diverse team on a project that aims to create a useful fertilizer <\/span>from <\/span>what are currently problem<\/span> waste<\/span>s<\/span>. By optimising systems to produce <\/span>pathogen<\/span>-free digestate<\/span> we can encourage improved <\/span>waste management (<\/span>SDG 6<\/span><\/a>). Beyond <\/span>that,<\/span> we will contribute to the p<\/span>roduction of clean and renewable energy<\/span>, and so <\/span>SDG 7<\/span><\/a>, and improved food production (<\/span>SDG 2<\/span><\/a>). <\/span>In turn, both SDG2 and SDG7 make major contributions <\/span>to <\/span>SDG 3<\/span><\/a>, which is to \u201c<\/span>Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages<\/span>\u201d. <\/span>Working <\/span>together,<\/span> we can help address <\/span>four<\/span> of the most important sustainable development goals for sub-Saharan Africa.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\nSaanu Victoria Obatusin <\/strong>is a graduate researcher working at Lancaster University, UK and is completing a PhD funded by Lancaster University contributing to Work Package 4 (Water for Energy Production) of the RECIRCULATE project. Victoria has a Masters degree in Food & Industrial Microbiology and a BSc in Microbiology, both from the University of Benin, Nigeria. Before coming to Lancaster she was a lecturer at University of Benin, Nigeria.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

All articles in The FLOW<\/strong> are published under a Creative Commons \u2014 Attribution\/No derivatives license,<\/a> for details please read the RECIRCULATE re-publishing guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Working together to find new strategies to eliminate human pathogens in organic wastes through low–energy cost anaerobic digestion.\u00a0 Waste management is a major global challenge. In Sub-Saharan African countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, inadequate waste management systems pose significant risks both to human health and to the environment. The handling and disposal of human […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":910,"featured_media":2236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[44,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-flow","category-wp4"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/files\/2020\/08\/Vic-at-work1-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9hFf1-wF","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2025"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3929,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025\/revisions\/3929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/recirculate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}