Reduction of anthropogenic environmental influences by advanced and optimized technologies / Pollmann O.A.

• Main Author: Pollmann, Olaf Axel.
• Published: North-West University 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10394/8221

Sustainable development and resource efficiency are the common global strategies of the 21st century. The actual global natural resource consumption of humankind went far over the limit and to cover this worldwide resource consumption the productivity of 1.5 earths is now necessary. The work “Reduction of anthropogenic environmental influences by advanced and optimized technologies” discussed the problem of advanced resource efficiencies with mining activities in South Africa as an example. Related strategies to reverse anthropogenic impacts to such an extent that it resembles former natural conditions were also discussed. Heavy metal contaminated soil and water were treated with natural techniques and different natural media to reduce and eliminate contamination and to provide a market value for former unusable material. Specially developed soil ameliorants and natural filter media could increase the total quality of soil and water. Even plants could be established in these changed conditions. Applied to the natural environment an overall upgrade of mining activities could be achieved. To optimize these laboratory and field results support was generated by using evolutionary algorithms as part of the artificial intelligence. By combining applied technologies with the evolution strategy an optimization tool could be developed to simulate, optimize and forecast procedures of anthropogenic impact reversion. With this tool a transfer of solutions to other similar applications in under–developed and developing countries could be shown. The trans–disciplinary scientific approach of balancing the trigger element carbon proved that the reduction to the smallest common element carbon can be used to balance processes and to indicate pollution. As stated in the United Nations Framework, carbon balances are one of the most significant causes of environmental problems, including environmental pollution and health and are also closely related to climate change in general. With carbon balances resource efficiency and resource protection can be transferred into practice. Finally, all results were collected and verified in a decision support system with the aim to optimize the treatment steps and to make the results transparent and available for users in academia and practice. The work was exemplary in showing that the approach of environmental sciences and techniques to reverse anthropogenic interferences back to natural sustainability and evolution, optimized the equilibrium of nature. === Thesis (Ph.D. (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.