Browsing by Author "Pasten González, Pablo Arturo"

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    Localising urban sustainability indicators: the CEDEUS indicator set, and lessons from an expert-driven process
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2020) Steiniger, Stefan; Wagemann, Elizabeth; Barrera Melgarejo, Francisco Javier de la; Molinos Senante, María; Villegas Salgado, Rodrigo Andrés; Fuente, Helen de la; Vives Vergara, Alejandra; Arce, Guillermo; Herrera Maldonado, Juan Carlos; Carrasco Montagna, Juan Antonio; Pasten González, Pablo Arturo; Muñoz Abogabir, Juan Carlos; Barton, Jonathan Richard; CEDEUS (Chile)
    The development and application of urban sustainability indicators has gained momentum in recent years, especially since the generation of specific urban indicators for the Agenda 2030. Urban sustainability is a broad concept involving many dimensions, therefore the generation of a short, but comprehensive list of indicators is a significant challenge. In this paper, we present a set of 29 indicators designed to characterise urban sustainability in Chile, which we also expect to be relevant to other cities, particularly in the Global South where issues of poverty and inequality are prevalent. We first outline the process of selecting the indicators through expert consultation. Then we present selected indicators, and the variables used to measure them. Subsequently the set is applied to six Chilean cities that are diverse in terms of population, socio-economic conditions and geography. We show that some indicators highlight negative nationwide trends that are common to the cities, while other indicators reveal notable differences that can be traced back to their local contexts. The CEDEUS indicators provide a complement to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for cities; therefore, a comparison is made with the SDGs. The indicator development process is critically examined and policy recommendations are given.
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    Nitrate increases the capacity of an aerobic moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) for winery wastewater treatment
    (2024) Walker Huyghe, Patricio Alejandro; Nerenberg, Robert ; Pizarro Puccio, Gonzalo Ernesto; Aybar, Marcelo ; Pavissich, Juan Pablo ; González, Bernardo ; Pasten González, Pablo Arturo
    We used bench-scale tests and mathematical modeling to explore chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rates in a moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) for winery wastewater treatment, using either urea or nitrate as a nitrogen source. With urea addition, the COD removal f luxes ranged from 34 to 45 gCOD/m2-d. However, when nitratewas added, fluxes increased up to 65 gCOD/m2-d, twice the amount reported for aerobic biofilms for winery wastewater treatment. A one-dimensional biofilm model, calibrated with data from respirometric tests, accurately captured the experimental results. Both experimental and modelling results suggest that nitrate significantly increased MBBR capacity by stimulating COD oxidation in the deeper, oxygen-limited regions of the biofilm. Our research suggests that the addition of nitrate, or other energetic and broadly used electron acceptors, may provide a cost-effective means of covering peak COD loads in biofilm processes for winery or another industrial wastewater treatment.