Carla Mae Pausta
Academic and research departments
Centre for Environmental Health and Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.About
My research project
The assessment of the impact of nutrient recovery for improving urban wastewater management and protecting water quality in lakes using the case study of Laguna de Bay, PhilippinesThe PhD research would particularly address the challenges of eutrophication in lakes and depletion of phosphorus resources for agri-food systems in the context of circular phosphorus economy. The main objective of the research project is to develop a novel tool by integrating a lake model with the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) tool to holistically evaluate the environmental, social, and economical impacts of integrating a nutrient recovery system with wastewater treatment systems on water resources, using Laguna de Bay (Laguna Lake), Philippines as a case study. As such, the current and historical water quality data of Laguna Lake will be examined.
To promote the circular nutrient economy concept in agri-food systems of vulnerable developing countries such as Philippines, a nutrient recovery reactor will be installed to recover phosphorus from septic tank sludge at a farm, Salikneta Farm, Philippines. The recovered phosphorus will be used as an alternative fertiliser for locally-produced crops. The data gathered from the lake water quality studies and nutrient recovery reactor operations will be used as inputs for the integrated lake model to assess different scenarios of pollution and feasible control measures.
Supervisors
The PhD research would particularly address the challenges of eutrophication in lakes and depletion of phosphorus resources for agri-food systems in the context of circular phosphorus economy. The main objective of the research project is to develop a novel tool by integrating a lake model with the life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) tool to holistically evaluate the environmental, social, and economical impacts of integrating a nutrient recovery system with wastewater treatment systems on water resources, using Laguna de Bay (Laguna Lake), Philippines as a case study. As such, the current and historical water quality data of Laguna Lake will be examined.
To promote the circular nutrient economy concept in agri-food systems of vulnerable developing countries such as Philippines, a nutrient recovery reactor will be installed to recover phosphorus from septic tank sludge at a farm, Salikneta Farm, Philippines. The recovered phosphorus will be used as an alternative fertiliser for locally-produced crops. The data gathered from the lake water quality studies and nutrient recovery reactor operations will be used as inputs for the integrated lake model to assess different scenarios of pollution and feasible control measures.
Publications
Understanding the resources nexus such as food, energy, water, and land will play a crucial role in our progress towards sustainability and resilience. For example, food production is the main driver behind the excessive global use of mineral fertilisers. Though these fertilisers provide critical nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous, they also contribute significantly to the carbon footprint and embodied energy of the agri-food systems. In addition, these nutrients from agricultural runoff and sewage may also pollute and cause dead zones in our water bodies. On the one hand, phosphorous scarcity and food security could also pose an existential risk against the backdrop of feeding ten billion people by 2050. One emerging sustainability pathway is the green circular bioeconomy that encourages nutrient recycling from biowastes such as that agricultural waste, food waste, and domestic wastewater.