Nutrient budget analysis and its implications as an indicator of urban sustainability : a case study on Hanoi, Vietnam | |
| Author | Le Ngoc Cau |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-03-9 |
| Subject(s) | Mass budget (Geophysics) Sewage disposal -- Vietnam -- Hanoi |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering. |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. EV-03-9 |
| Abstract | This study was conducted to clarify nutrient budget of a city and to evaluate the sustainability of the urban system from the view point of the nutrient budget. Hanoi citadel with a total area of 84.1 square kilometers was selected as a case study. A general view of socio-economics condition, solid waste management and wastewater discharged in the surveyed area was obtained. Available data related to nutrients input and output flows of Hanoi city were collected during the field study. By using the obtained data, major nutrients input flows in the forms of water, food, and mineral fertilizer, and output flows in the forms of wastewater and solid waste were estimated. The estimated total N input in Hanoi was 14243 tons per year in 1999. The identified major or dominant N input flows were livestock and crop commodities. The estimated total output ofN in Hanoi was 16111 tons per year in 1999. The identified major output N flows were solid waste and discharged wastewater. And, the estimated N balance was negative, approximately accounting for 14 % of the total N input. The estimated total P input in Hanoi was 2638 tons per year in 1999. The identified major or dominant P input flows were livestock and crop commodities. The estimated total output of Pin Hanoi was 4200 tons per year in 1999. The identified major output P flows were solid waste and discharged wastewater. And, the estimated P balance was negative, approximately accounts for 60 % of the total P input. Currently, the nutrients recycling is not well done in Hanoi city, the estimated amount of nutrients recycled is significantly smaller in comparison with the total nutrients output. The estimated amount of nutrients recycled through composting indicated that only about 1.5 % of total N output is recycled, and that for P is about 3 .5 %. This indicates that, in terms of nutrients, the region is still more dependent on external sources, and thus it is not well selfsustained. In terms of nutrient management, Hanoi city still has significant rooms to improve nutrient flows to achieve higher sustainability. The estimation methods developed here have successfully clarified the size of input and output flows. The accuracy might be enough in grasping the size of nutrients recycling in comparison to the total input and output flows and to evaluate the sustainability from the view of nutrient recycling. But in order to assess the budget itself, if the budget is positive, negative, or well balanced, the accuracy still needs significant improvement. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. EV-03-9 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Satoh, Hiroyasu |
| Examination Committee(s) | Nguyen Cong Thanh ;Preeda Parkpian |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Government of the Netherlands |