How video games are being used by foreign actors and extremists

Reports and Proceedings

LUND UNIVERSITY

Video games are easy to exploit, and are being used by actors ranging from IS and Hizbollah for recruitment, to Russia, who use it to spread propaganda during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. This according to a new report from Psychological Defence Research Institute at Lund University in Sweden.

Since the 2016 US Presidential election, many democratic governments have paid close attention to how foreign actors are using digital communication to further their agendas, in particular social media. Yet gaming platforms have been largely ignored, and now a new study from Lund University, funded by the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency, has identified up to 40 vulnerabilities within the gaming sphere.

“It surprised us that the gaming sector, a global industry with billions of users, has been largely overlooked by most Western nations. Currently, it offers an immersive and easily accessible arena for persuasion and propaganda for hostile states, organized criminals, and extremist groups”, says Jesper Falkheimer, one of the co-authors and Professor of Strategic Communication at Lund University.

According to the researchers, there are several examples of video games being used as recruitment tools by terrorist groups from the beginning of the 2000s, with Hezbollah, Hamas, and Da’esh using video games for influencing different target groups. One early notable example is from 2003, when the video game Special Force was released by the Hezbollah Central Internet Bureau. 

Video games have also been used for war propaganda, for example in the current war in Ukraine, where Russia have spread propaganda through Roblox, Minecraft and other games.

One example is the Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot known as the Ghost of Kyiv who gained significant fame on social media for taking down invading planes during the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, the pilot was fictional, and the footage used in some online videos was taken from the 2013 video game Digital Combat Simulator. Similarly, according to fact checks, a video claiming to depict the Israel-Hamas conflict was in fact footage taken from the gameARMA 3.

“Compared with social media, the gaming domain has insufficient policies and mechanisms to cope with information influence campaigns. Nor are there sufficient avenues for researchers, journalists, and the industry itself to better understand the degree to which gaming platforms are currently being exploited. In other words, not only do we not know how serious the situation is, we also lack the means to find out”, says Jesper Falkheimer.

So what should be done to secure an industry that provides entertainment and communication for billions of users worldwide?

The researchers say that lessons can be learned from social media platforms, as they have already been under scrutiny for the same issues. For example, voluntary agreements such as the EU Code of Practice on Disinformation reveal successes and also missteps that then would not need to be repeated. Any countermeasures should be designed as partnerships between the industry, players, and governments in a spirit of dialogue aiming to avoid major threats to democratic societies, they argue.

“Freedom of speech and expression must always come first, much in the same way that the debate surrounding social media was framed primarily by this right. Raising awareness is the first step towards an open discussion on how to move forward with this pressing issue, especially given the current state of the world”, concludes Jesper Falkheimer.

The six main tactics identified in the study:

Reframing reality, which includes disputing history, changing facts or disinformation about real-life situations, adopting gaming tropes in real-life situations, dehumanizing through gamification of real-life situations

Projecting authority, which includes techniques such as censoring and encouraging self-censorship in line with authoritarian norms and values, harvesting data and conducting espionage

Hacking systems and phishing, which refers to when threat actors use cyber capabilities to gain access to systems belonging to gamers, organizations, as well as the gaming industry. 

Interactive propaganda, which means spreading both traditional and interactive propaganda through games, establishing relationships with players by forming in-game communities and radicalizing & mobilizing players

Social propaganda, including shaping shared cultures with gaming as a common thread, and the use of social functions to introduce propaganda and increase polarization & intolerance

Psychographic targeting, used by threat actors who use harvested data to better know, audit and understand individuals, groups, opinions and market segments. Harvested data can be used to many ends.

 

North China Electric Power University’s innovative solutions for Fukushima radioactive water crisis

Chinese researchers are exploring advanced porous nanomaterials and technologies that can reduce radionuclide discharge into the environment

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CACTUS COMMUNICATIONS

 

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ADVANCED POROUS MATERIAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING NANOMATERIALS LIKE POROUS ORGANIC POLYMERS (POPS), METAL-ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS (MOFS), COVALENT ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS (COFS), AND POROUS AROMATIC FRAMEWORKS (PAFS) AND ADSOPRTION, PHOTOCATALYSIS AND ELECTROCATALYSIS ARE BEING EXPLORED TO REMOVE THESE RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT.

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CREDIT: RANEKO FROM OPENVERSE (HTTPS://OPENVERSE.ORG/IMAGE/3C4C14CE-2960-46E5-98F1-88897C108318?Q=FUKUSHIMA%20NUCLEAR%20POWER%20PLANT)

Japan's recent announcement of its plan to release more than 1.2 million tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean has triggered global environmental concerns. The radioactive water in question was generated by the cooling process employed to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, in the aftermath of the catastrophic 2011 Fukushima nuclear incident. Despite being treated by an advanced liquid processing system (ALPS), the water is still reported to carry hazardous radioactive materials or radionuclides which may be active and have long half-lives (effectively taking a long time to disintegrate), thereby posing a significant threat to ecosystems and human health globally.

Conventional materials like clay minerals, activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, and resins have been used for radionuclide removal, but are limited by their slow adsorption kinetics, poor selectivity, and low adsorption capacity. As a result, researchers are now exploring advanced nanomaterials like porous organic polymers (POPs), metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs) for this purpose. These materials possess a high specific surface area, abundant pore structures, exceptional stability, and design flexibility, making them promising candidates for radionuclide removal.

Taking this forward, a research team led by Professor Xiangke Wang from North China Electric Power University, Beijing, P. R. China is at the forefront of these efforts to design nanomaterials and technologies that can remove radionuclides from the environment. In their recent review article published in the journal Eco-Environment & Health, they shed light on this emerging research, higher requirements for nanomaterial design, and the implementation of strategies and strengthened cooperation required to mitigate any harm caused to aquatic and land ecosystems. Speaking about the motivation behind their extensive review, Prof. Wang says, “We intend to create high-performance porous materials and technologies for the efficient removal of radionuclides from practical environments, as well as a reserve of advanced materials and technologies that can be used or further developed to deal with future nuclear accidents.”

Of the various technologies being explored, electrocatalysis has emerged as a next-generation solution that offers a continuous extraction of radionuclides through reduction or oxidation using electric fields. It is considered a promising approach for sewage treatment owing to its controllability, efficiency, and environmental friendliness. This technology has also been shown to effectively extract uranium from seawater, thereby highlighting its promise. Adsorption also stands out due to its low cost, simplicity, and practicality. The key to successful adsorption is the design of efficient adsorbents with rich functional sites, large specific surface areas, and high stability. Additionally, adsorption-photocatalysis systems have emerged as a viable approach for selective and efficient radionuclide removal. Photocatalytic technology activates catalysts through light field resources, offering an eco-friendly, low-cost, and efficient solution. Researchers have achieved impressive uranium extraction capacities under visible light irradiation by introducing photo-active sites into nanomaterials such as COFs.

While these technologies and materials look promising, there are several challenges that must be addressed to fully harness their potential. These include the complexities of radionuclide forms in practical environments, the need for simpler and eco-friendly material preparation processes, the exploration of collaborative technology systems, a need for deeper understanding of material structures and radionuclide capture mechanisms, and the recycling of resource nuclides.

Looking ahead, Prof. Wang hopes that this research will attract the interest of a wide range of researchers and raise concerns about material design and technology improvement for radionuclide removal. “The ultimate goal is to apply these nanomaterials and technologies in real-world environmental conditions to promote sustainable development and safeguard our planet from the threats of radioactive contamination” Prof. Wang concludes.

 

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Reference

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eehl.2023.09.001

Authors: Xiaolu Liu, Muliang Xiao, Yang Li, Zhongshan Chen, Hui Yang, and Xiangke Wang

Affiliations: MOE Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental System Optimization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, P. R. China

 

About Professor Xiangke Wang from North China Electric Power University (NCEPU)

Dr. Xiangke Wang has authored 500+ peer-reviewed articles, including 30+ invited reviews in professional journals. Dr. Wang's research covers radionuclide environmental behavior, heavy metal and organic pollutant management, and wastewater treatment using nanomaterials and clay minerals. His current work explores plasma techniques and nanomaterials for radioactive pollution control.

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JOURNAL

Eco-Environment & Health

DOI

10.1016/j.eehl.2023.09.001 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Commentary/editorial

ARTICLE TITLE

Advanced porous materials and emerging technologies for radionuclides removal from Fukushima radioactive water

 

ET phone Dublin? Astrophysicists scan the Galaxy for signs of life

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN

 

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THE I-LOFAR ARRAY AS SEEN FROM ABOVE.

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CREDIT: I-LOFAR

Astrophysicists from Trinity College Dublin are scanning the Universe for “technosignatures” emanating from distant planets that would provide support for the existence of intelligent, alien life.

Using the Irish LOFAR telescope and its counterpart in Onsala, Sweden, the team – led by Professor Evan Keane, Associate Professor of Radio Astronomy in Trinity’s School of Physics, and Head of the Irish LOFAR Telescope – plans to monitor millions of star systems.

Scientists have been searching for extraterrestrial radio signals for well over 60 years. Many of these have been carried out using single observatories which limits the ability to identify signals from the haze of terrestrial interference on Earth. Much of the effort has focused on frequencies above 1 GHz because the single-dish telescopes employed operate at these frequencies. 

Now, a new collaboration led by Trinity College Dublin, with the Breakthrough Listen team and Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden, is perfecting a multi-site, multi-telescope technique that allows them to search at much lower frequencies of 110 – 190 MHz. 

The Breakthrough Listen programme is the most comprehensive search for technologically advanced extraterrestrial life, developing dedicated instruments at the Irish and Swedish LOFAR stations. Using multiple sites has the major benefit that it is much less likely to provide a “false positive” signal; such signals arise due to interference from many human sources on Earth.

The team has just published details of their method and their ongoing search in the Astronomical Journal They have already scanned 1.6 million star systems flagged as interesting targets by the Gaia and TESS space missions, run by ESA and NASA respectively. So far these searches have drawn a blank. 

But the search has only just begun...

This plot shows each of the stars that were searched for technosignatures, emanating out from our observation point here on Earth. The colour bar shows the distance these stars are in units of kiloparsecs/

CREDIT

Owen Johnson and Evan Keane, Trinity College Dublin

Prof. Keane said: “In the last 50 years evidence has steadily mounted that the constituents and conditions necessary for life are relatively common in the Universe, which begs one of life’s greatest unanswered questions: are we really alone?

“To some people the ‘Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence, or SETI’ might seem like something from a movie, but it has been a scientific pursuit for decades, and for a host of very good reasons. With this project we are basing our search on the common assumption that civilisations elsewhere in the Universe may employ similar technologies to those developed on Earth. As a result radio frequencies are a logical domain for conducting SETI surveys due to the widespread use of telecommunications and radar and our access to next-gen radio telescopes offers a great chance for a deep dive into the Universe.”

Owen Johnson, PhD Candidate in Trinity’s School of Physics, is the first author of the journal article, and the first Irish person to ever undertake a PhD on the topic of SETI. He added:

“What makes surveys like this one truly captivating is the fact that we're pushing these telescopes to their absolute limits, directing them towards substantial portions of the sky. As a result, we have the exciting possibility of discovering all sorts of wild and wondrous phenomena during this process and if we're very fortunate, even encountering our cosmic neighbours. 

“LOFAR is soon to undergo a staged series of upgrades across all stations in the array across Europe, which will allow an even broader SETI at ranges of 15 - 240 MHz. We have billions of star systems to explore and will be relying on some machine learning techniques to sift through the immense volume of data. 

“That in itself is interesting – it would be fairly ironic if humankind discovered alien life by using artificial intelligence.”

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JOURNAL

The Astronomical Journal

DOI

10.3847/1538-3881/acf9f5 

Curiosity rover finds new evidence of ancient Mars rivers, a key signal for life

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PENN STATE

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — New analysis of data from the Curiosity rover reveals that much of the craters on Mars today could have once been habitable rivers.

“We’re finding evidence that Mars was likely a planet of rivers,” said Benjamin Cardenas, assistant professor of geosciences at Penn State and lead author on a new paper announcing the discovery. “We see signs of this all over the planet.”

In a study published in Geophysical Research Letters, the researchers used numerical models to simulate erosion on Mars over millennia and found that common crater formations — called bench-and-nose landforms — are most likely remnants of ancient riverbeds.

The study was the first to map the erosion of ancient Martian soil by training a computer model on a combination of satellite data, Curiosity images and 3D scans of the stratigraphy — or layers of rock, called strata, deposited over millions of years — beneath the Gulf of Mexico seafloor. The analysis revealed a new interpretation for common Martian crater formations which, until now, have never been associated with eroded river deposits.

“We have everything to learn about Mars by better understanding how these river deposits can be interpreted stratigraphically, thinking about rocks today as layers of sediment deposited over time,” Cardenas said. “This analysis is not snapshot, but a record of change. What we see on Mars today is the remnants of an active geologic history, not some landscape frozen in time.”

Prior studies of satellite data from Mars had identified erosional landforms called fluvial ridges as being possible candidates for ancient river deposits. Using data collected by the Curiosity rover at Gale crater, the team found signs of river deposits that are not associated with fluvial ridges, but rather bench-and-nose landforms that have never been linked to ancient river deposits.

“This suggests that there could be undiscovered river deposits elsewhere on the planet, and that an even larger section of the Martian sedimentary record could have been built by rivers during a habitable period of Mars history,” Cardenas said. “On Earth, river corridors are so important for life, chemical cycles, nutrient cycles and sediment cycles. Everything is pointing to these rivers behaving similarly on Mars.”

In designing their computer model, Cardenas and his team found a new use for 25-year-old scans of Earth’s stratigraphy. Collected by oil companies, the scans of beneath the Gulf of Mexico seafloor provided an ideal comparison to Mars, Cardenas explained.

The team simulated Mars-like erosion using the 3D scans of actual, recorded stratigraphy on Earth. When they ran the simulation, the model revealed erosional Martian landscapes that formed topographic benches and noses, rather than fluvial ridges, appearing almost identical to landforms observed by the Curiosity rover inside the Gale crater.

“Our research indicates that Mars could have had far more rivers than previously believed, which certainly paints a more optimistic view of ancient life on Mars,” Cardenas said. “It offers a vision of Mars where most of the planet once had the right conditions for life.”

The other co-author on the paper is Kaitlyn Stacey, a doctoral candidate in planetary geosciences at Penn State. A NASA Solar System Workings Grant funded this work.

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JOURNAL

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

10.1029/2023GL103618 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Landforms Associated With the Aspect-Controlled Exhumation of Crater-Filling Alluvial Strata on Mars

 

Light, freshwater sticks to Greenland's east coast

Light, freshwater sticks to Greenland's east coast

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ROYAL NETHERLANDS INSTITUTE FOR SEA RESEARCH

 

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DRIFTER IN THE WATER AFTER DEPLOYMENT. CREDITS: FEMKE DE JONG

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CREDIT: FEMKE DE JONG

Meltwater that runs along the east coast of Greenland, hardly enters the open ocean before reaching the western side of the island.  That is one of the conclusions NIOZ PhD-candidate Elodie Duyck draws in the thesis she is defending today at Utrecht University. In the changing climate, fresh water from Greenland and the Arctic could disrupt the circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. “Understanding where, and how much, of that fresh and light water enters the Atlantic Ocean is critical to predict how the circulation may evolve under climate change”, Duyck says.

Greenland and the Atlantic Ocean circulation

In the coming decades, climate change will lead to increasing amounts of freshwater from Greenland and the Arctic entering the northern North Atlantic Ocean. These waters are less dense than the seawater around Greenland and may hinder the exchange between the surface and deep ocean that usually takes place in this region. This could lead to a weakening of the so-called Atlantic Meridional Overtuning Circulation (AMOC), the large-scale circulation of the Atlantic Ocean, that brings warm water northward at the surface and returns cold water southward at greater depths, affecting the climate in large parts of the world.

Freshwater pathways

Waters from Greenland and the Arctic initially flow close to the Greenland coast. The extent to which the fresh water then spreads into the open ocean remains uncertain. Direct measurements of the circulation, done by NIOZ and others in the scientific program ‘Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program’ (OSNAP), show that the Irminger Sea, south-east of Greenland, is particularly important for the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation.

Drifting buoys

To investigate whether fresh waters enter the Irminger Sea, Duyck deployed a total of one hundred and twenty buoys along Greenland's east coast. Using sea anchors, she ensured that those buoys drifted with the surface currents, free from the disruptive influence of wind or waves. Those buoys were carried southward along the Greenland coast, until they reached the western side of Greenland.

Limited export east of Greenland

Duyck identified a few areas along the eastern coast of Greenland where fresh shelf water mixes with Atlantic waters, and one area, at the southernmost tip of Greenland, where freshwater may be exported in larger quantities during strong wind events. But overall, buoys tended to remain close to the coast until they reached the western side of Greenland: “This means that meltwater hardly flows from the south-east coast of Greenland to the Irminger Sea", Duyck explains.

Further studies

About one third of the buoys that were released on the eastern side of Greenland were exported to the Labrador Sea, on the western side of Greenland, where more exchange between the coastal area and the open ocean is known to take place: “This means that the circulation on the eastern side of Greenland may impact how much freshwater enters the Labrador Sea, on the western side of Greenland”, Duyck says. The fresh doctor is already working on a new project, at the University of Hamburg, where she uses similar instrument to investigate how freshwater enters the Labrador Sea and how this may affect the ocean circulation in the future.

 

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DOI

10.1029/2023JC019905 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Light, freshwater sticks to Greenland's east coast

 

Hydrothermal synthesis of bifunctional COFs for co-electrolysis of CO2 and methanol

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

 

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SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF POLYIMIDE LINKED METALLOPHTHALOCYANINE-PORPHYRIN COFS FOR CO-ELECTROLYSIS OF CO2 AND METHANOL

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CREDIT: ©SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

The massive consumption of fossil fuels all over the world has led to excessive CO2 emissions into atmosphere, which has caused serious environmental issues and energy crisis. Electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) by renewable electric energy offers a promising strategy to convert CO2 into useful energy substances, which will simultaneously reduce CO2 and produce useful energy fuels. Recent years, multifarious ECR catalysts have been developed for CO2 reduction, and high efficiencies have also been achieved. However, most studies only focused on the ECR half reaction at cathode, while neglecting the relevant oxidation half reaction in anode side, thus caused a great waste of energy. In most of the reported researches, the conventional method to treat anode reaction was coupled with the water oxidation reactions (oxygen evolution reaction, OER). Unfortunately, this OER process will cause very large overpotential and also need high energy input due to slow kinetics and unfavorable thermodynamics of H2O oxidation reaction. Besides, the produced O2 is relative less value-added compared to many industrial chemicals. Therefore, it is urgent to develop oxidation reaction with high energy efficiency to replace OER process.

The application of the anodic oxidation process to the organic molecules oxidative synthesis such as methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) to produce HCOOH can effectively improve energy efficiency due to low theoretical overpotential. However, it remains a great challenge to enable these two electrocatalytic reactions to effective cooperate. The main barrier in this field is the lack of highly active electrocatalysts to fulfill these two processes. Theoretically, the electrocatalysts for ECR and MOR should satisfy the following requirements: (1) highly active and accessible catalytic sites for reduction or oxidation reaction; (2) affinity and adsorption activation for substrates such as CO2 or methanol; (3) preferable electron and proton transfer ability; (4) high stability during the electrochemical measurements. The construction of bifunctional heterogeneous catalysts can effectively solve the above problems which is used for ECR and MOR simultaneously, yet rarely been studied.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with excellent structural designability are promising platforms for catalytic reactions. Especially, some building blocks of COFs possess appropriate coordination site, thus make them capable of introducing metal active sites for typical catalysis. Recently, metallophthalocyanine (MPc) and metalloporphyrin (MPor) based-COFs has been studied for catalytic reaction. Nevertheless, most of works only focused on studying the catalytic performance of single functional component, while the integration of MPc and MPor together into COFs for bifunctional catalysts was still unexplored. Besides, as one of the most important classes of crystalline COFs, Pc-based COFs possess excellent conductivity, mechanical performance and redox-active properties. However, the traditional synthesis of Pc-based COFs based on solvothermal methods are inevitable to use toxic organic solvent and catalyst. Therefore, it is urgent to develop green and efficient methods to synthesize Pc-based COFs.

On the basis of the above research results, Lan et al. rationally prepared NiPc-2HPor COF by condensing phthalic acid group of NiPc and aromatic amine group of 2HPor through hydrothermal method, and further synthesized NiPc-NiPor COF by post-synthesis coordination reaction. The formed polyimides-linked COFs (PI-COFs) showed high chemical stability and activity for electrocatalysis MOR and ECR. Above all, the synthesized NiPc-MPor COFs combine the features of crystalline and conductivity, also have multiple active sites with different chemical environment for ECR and MOR. Among them, the NiPc-NiPor COF shows the excellent activity for cathodic ECR and anodic MOR to HCOOH and exhibits remarkable long-term stability. The in-situ fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to identify the key intermediates for both ECR and MOR. Furthermore, the density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the ECR process mainly performs on NiPc unit with the assistance of NiPor, meanwhile, the MOR process more prefers on NiPor and conjugates with NiPc. The synergistic catalytic effect of NiPc and NiPor together contributes to such high catalytic activity. This is the first report of bifunctional MPc-MPor-based COFs for electrocatalytic cathodic ECR and anodic MOR simultaneously, and it is also of great significance in the field of bifunctional electrocatalysts.

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JOURNAL

National Science Review

DOI

10.1093/nsr/nwad226 

 

From sludge to fuel: Researchers are getting ready to produce green oil in Denmark

Very soon the first green fuel will be made from the sludge in our wastewater. This is the culmination of many years of research and the first oil is planned for delivery to a refinery in the Danish city of Fredericia early next year.

Grant and Award Announcement

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

 

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SOON WE WILL BE ABLE TO REFUEL OUR PLANES WITH SLUDGE FROM SEWAGE PLANTS. RESEARCHERS FROM AARHUS UNIVERSITY HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE TECHNOLOGY SINCE 2015, WHICH WILL NOW BE TESTED ON A FULL SCALE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A DEMONSTRATION PLANT IN FREDERICIA. IN THE PICTURE: LEENDERT VERGEYNST (RIGHT) AND WILLIANE VIEIRA MACEDO

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CREDIT: HENRIK OLSEN

We have been talking about it for a long time, and both Denmark's biggest funds and the EU have invested millions in developing the technology. Researchers have spent thousands of hours in their labs, and companies have begun preparing for a new Danish export venture.

But it still sounds almost too good to be true. We can convert sludge from ordinary wastewater into a potent type of oil that can replace fossil fuels in planes, ships and trucks, for example.

"The crude oil we get from the sludge is very similar to the fossil oil we already know, and it can be refined into kerosene for aviation fuel, for example. It’s a technology that could be very important for more climate-friendly transport," says Patrick Biller, associate professor at the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering at Aarhus University.

The technology is called hydrothermal liquefaction, or HTL, and it is based on a simple principle. The sludge is heated to 325 degrees centigrade under high pressure and then biocrude oil is formed and recovered for refining into different types of fuel.

According to Patrick Biller, the technology also offers a new solution to a significant environmental problem, because it means we will not have to deposit sewage sludge on agricultural land.

"We know that, in many cases, the sludge contaminates farmland with a cocktail of heavy metals, microplastics and drug residues, and a positive side-effect of our research is that now we can avoid this," he says.

The dream will become a reality in Fredericia

In the test facility located in Foulum at AU Viborg, researchers from Aarhus University can today achieve an energy return from wastewater sludge of approximately 340 percent. This means that the energy content of the finished green biocrude oil is more than three-times higher than the energy it takes to produce it, and that is no mean figure.

"Our experimental experience with converting wet waste from wastewater into fuel is very positive, so we have high expectations for the next steps, when we will demonstrate that the technology is also effective in the real world," says Patrick Biller.

Now, the researchers are waiting for the final regulatory approvals before they can move their experimental activities out of the laboratory and over to the port area in Fredericia.

Here, supported by the researchers, the startup company Circlia Nordic will install a new and larger HTL demonstration plant at the wastewater treatment plant of Fredericia. They will do so in collaboration with Fredericia Spildevand og Energi, Krüger and the Crossbridge Energy refinery. If all goes well, they will be able to realize the dream of getting planes, ships and trucks running on sludge next year.

The new demonstration plant is the size of two 40-foot containers and it can produce 1,400 tonnes of bio crude oil a year. In theory, if the researchers were given access to all the sludge from all Danish wastewater treatment facilities, it would correspond to approximately two per cent of the nation's total consumption of fossil fuels.

When the sludge has been transformed into bio crude oil, only the inorganic fraction of the sludge remains where all of the phosphorus is concentrated. We can use this concentrate as valuable fertiliser instead of spreading polluting manure and sludge or importing inorganic fertiliser from abroad.

And then there's water. Pitch black water.

Black water

“Water makes up to 90 percent of the material that comes out of the HTL plant when it is fed with sewage sludge, and in the experiments this water was extremely polluted," says Leendert Vergeynst, assistant professor at the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering at Aarhus University.

He researches wastewater treatment, and he did not like what he saw when he received the first water samples from the HTL project.

"It looked like black coffee and had a 100-times higher concentration of toxic organic components. We were genuinely concerned that this was a problem we wouldn't be able to solve," he says.

Leendert Vergeynst was brought to Denmark in 2019 to help solve the problem. Since then, he has built up a research group at Aarhus University that specialises in microbial water purification technologies, and together, they have been able to purify the water from the HTL facility.

“Optimising water purification technologies is about understanding the interplay between microorganisms and pollutants in the water, and having complete control over biochemical processes. This makes it possible for us to remove pharmaceutical residues, biocides, hormones and nutrients," he says.

The bacteria that feed on the mixture of nutrients and organic material in the dirty water grow quickly and become a sticky mass that has to be removed regularly. The researchers are therefore already investigating how they can use this soup of bacteria for useful purposes. For example, as new biomass in the HTL plant for conversion into more oil. Perhaps the researchers can even design processes that can get the surplus bacteria to produce bioplastic.

"We need to begin viewing polluted water as a valuable resource filled with valuable carbon compounds. We have a huge potential to make better use of the water for new and sustainable products. We hope that we’ll be able to learn much more from the full-scale project in Fredericia," says Leendert Vergeynst.

Behind the research

The project title is:  Sludge2Fuel and is funded by the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP) of the Danish Energy Agency. 

Read more about the project here

 

Scientists uncover cause of mysterious deaths of elephants in Zimbabwe

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY

A bacterium, closely associated with deadly septicaemia, could have caused the deaths of six African elephants in Zimbabwe and possibly more in neighbouring countries. The findings place infectious diseases on the list of pressures on African elephants, whose populations continue to be under threat. 

During this unique study, scientists from the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, the Animal and Plant Health Agency UK, the University of Surrey and laboratories in South Africa investigated the mysterious deaths of 35 elephants mostly between August and September 2020, in a 40 x 25 km radius of North-Western Zimbabwe. This incident followed the death of approximately 350 elephants in neighbouring northern Botswana from May to June 2020, which triggered much international concern. 

African savanna elephants are an endangered species with only 350,000 remaining in the wild and ongoing losses estimated at eight percent annually. This finding is very worrying since elephants are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list already. Investigating the deaths of these elephants is crucial to sustain the future of this majestic species. 

Lead Investigator, Dr Chris Foggin a Wildlife Veterinarian at the Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust, said; 

“Investigating this mortality in the wildlife areas in north-west Zimbabwe proved challenging. Identifying and then reaching the carcasses in time to obtain useful samples is one problem we often face in this type of work.  

“However, we also didn’t know what disease we may be dealing with, although we initially suspected that it could be anthrax, which is known to occur in the area; or possibly some other disease that might pose a risk to human health. We therefore had to be cautious when undertaking the post-mortem examinations on elephant which, in itself, is a difficult task with such a big animal, especially working in field conditions.” 

A number of such postmortem examinations were carried out. Poaching was quickly ruled out, mainly because all the dead elephants had their tusks intact. Toxicology analyses, including immediate testing for cyanide, which is sometimes used to kill elephant in Zimbabwe, as well as more sophisticated analyses done in UK, found no traces of poisons in the carcases or at a waterhole close to many of the carcasses.  

Further examination by veterinarians and scientists identified a septicaemic infection caused by a by a little-known bacteria provisionally named Bisgaard taxon 45, an unclassified member the of Pasteurellaceae bacterial family, in six elephants. This was confirmed by bacterial isolation and genetic analysis. Only a limited amount of samples were suitable to carry out such examinations. Pasteurella bacteria have previously been implicated in sudden deaths of wild animals such as antelope, but a role in elephant deaths was not suspected prior to this study. 

APHA Head of Virology Professor Falko Steinbach said:  

“The identification of this bacterium is a significant step forward in learning more about why these elephants died, and I was pleased to be part of the team at APHA that could corroborate these important findings.  

 “Transmission of the bacteria is possible, especially given the highly sociable nature of elephants and the link between this infection and the stress associated with extreme weather events such as drought, which may make outbreaks more likely. 

 “Further research is needed to learn more about the bacteria and its long-term implications for the African elephant population and other wildlife.” 

Dr Arnoud van Vliet, Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Microbiology from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey, said:  

“The international composition of our research team highlights the opportunities arising for conservation investigations into the disease and death of free-ranging animals. Bisgaard taxon 45 has never before been associated with bacterial septicaemia and it adds to the growing list of disease related threats to elephant conservation.” 

This research was published in Nature Communications (paper will appear when embargo lifts) 

Notes to editors 

• Professor Falko Steinbach and Dr Arnoud van Vliet are available for interview on request 

• For more information, please contact the University of Surrey's press office via mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk 

 

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-023-41987-z 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Oct-2023