In this  study we have investigated the role of biogas solutions to support increased resource efficiency on the island Gotland,  including recovery and redistribution of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) within the agricultural sector. First, we  analyzed the potential for  expanding energy and nutrient recovery from organic residues using biogas solutions. Our findings suggest that the biogas production could expand to 165 GWh, from the current 36 GWh (2020), with manure accounting for a potential  110 GWh biogas annually if all were digested. Comparing the nutrients contained in organic feedstock with the crop nutrient demand on Gotland showed that for N the  demand is 2.4 times higher than the supply. In contrast, the calculations showed a 137 tonnes P surplus, with distinct excess areas in the center and southern part of the island.

We then compared scenarios with different numbers (3 - 15) of biogas plants with respect to   efficient nutrient redistribution and transport costs. Spatial constraints for new plants, e.g. need for roads with a certain capacity  and permit issues, were accounted for by  adding local information to a national data set. We identified  104 potential locations (1 km$^2$ grid cells) and used an optimization model to identify the most suitable locations for minimized transport costs. Optimal  (meeting the crop demand with no excess) redistribution of all nutrients contained in the feedstock, as raw digestate from biogas plants, would result in an export of 127 tonnes of P from the island. The model results indicated that if all potential feedstock would be digested in three additional biogas plants and nutrients redistributed for optimal reuse, the total transport  cost would be 2.6 million SEK annually, excluding the costs for nutrient export from the island (3.7 million SEK). If instead 10 or 15 smaller plants would be built, the transport cost would drop to 1.8  million SEK, with the same amount of P being exported. Comparing the scenarios with different number of biogas plants (3 - 15), showed that some locations are more suitable than others in terms of distance to feedstock and

to fields with fertilizer demands. Finally, a preliminary analysis of the amount of crop residues indicated that this type of feedstock could add a substantial amount of biogas production, but more extensive analyses are needed to assess  the feasibility to realize part of that potential.

We study a bi-objective covering problem stemming from a real-world application concerning the design of camera surveillance systems for large-scale outdoor areas. It is in this application prohibitively costly to surveil the entire area, and therefore necessary to be able to present a decision-maker with trade-offs between total cost and the portion of the area that is surveilled. The problem can be stated as a set covering problem with two objectives, describing cost and portion of covering constraints that are fulfilled. Finding the Pareto frontier for these objectives is very computationally demanding and we therefore derive a method for finding a good approximate frontier in a practically feasible computing time. The method is based on the epsilon-constraint reformulation, an established heuristic for set covering problems, and subgradient optimization.

We revisit the classic supporting hyperplane illustration of the duality gap for non-convex optimization problems. It is refined by dissecting the duality gap into two terms: the first measures the degree of near-optimality in a Lagrangian relaxation, while the second measures the degree of near-complementarity in the Lagrangian relaxed constraints. We also give an example of how this dissection may be exploited in the design of a solution approach within discrete optimization.

Set covering problems are well-studied and have many applications. Sometimes the duality gap is significant and the problem is computationally challenging. We dissect the duality gap with the purpose of better understanding its relationship to problem characteristics, such as problem shape and density. The means for doing this is a set of global optimality conditions for discrete optimization problems. These decompose the duality gap into two terms: near-optimality in a Lagrangian relaxation and near-complementarity in the relaxed constraints. We analyse these terms for numerous instances of large size, including some real-life instances. We conclude that when the duality gap is large, typically the near-complementarity term is large and the near-optimality term is small. The large violation of complementarity is due to extensive over-coverage. Our observations should have implications for the design of solution methods, and especially for the design of core problems.

A circular biobased economy must be able to sustainably manage multiple resources simultaneously. Nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) recycling and renewable energy production (biogas) can be compatible practices but require substantial transport of heavy organic waste. We combine a spatial optimization model and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to explore how Sweden could maximize its use of excreta resources. We use 10×10 km2 resolution data on the location of animal and human excreta and crop demand and model both optimal biogas plant locations and transport of nutrients to and from these plants. Each type of biogas plant (given 4 realistic mixes of excreta) is then evaluated for global warming potential, primary energy use and financial resource costs. Moving excreta through biogas plants, as opposed to simply reapplying on fields, to meet crop nutrient demands comes at a similar cost but the climate and primary energy savings are substantial. As much as 91% of phosphorus and 44% of nitrogen crop demand could be met via optimally transported excreta and the country would avoid about 1 450 kt of CO2-eq, save 3.6 TWh (13 000 tera-joules) of primary energy, and save 90 million euros per year. Substituting mineral fertilizers with recycled nutrients results in savings across all indicators, but the added energy and avoided greenhouse gas emissions associated with biogas production make a large difference in the attractiveness of nutrient recycling. Although the numeric values are theoretical, our results indicate that carefully coordinated and supported biogas production could help maximize multi-resource benefits.

This work investigates and discusses how the introduction of electric buses (EB), both battery and plug-in hybrid EB, will and should change the operations planning of a public transit system. It is shown that some changes are required in the design of a transit route network, and in the timetabling and vehicle scheduling processes. Other changes are not required, but are advisable, using this opportunity upon the introduction of EB. The work covers the main characteristics of different types of EB with a short description, including the most popular charging technologies, and it presents the generally accepted transit operations planning process. Likewise, it describes and analytically formulates new challenges that arise when introducing EB. The outcome of the analyses shows that multiple new considerations must take place. It is also shown that the different charging techniques will influence the operations planning process in different ways and to a varying extent. With overnight, quick and continuous charging, the main challenges are in the network route design step, given the possibility of altering the existing network of routes, with efficient and optimal changes of the timetabling and vehicle scheduling components. An illustrative example, based on four bus lines in Norrköping, Sweden, is formulized and introduced using three problem instances of 48, 82, and 116 bus trips. The main results exhibit the minimum number of vehicles required using different scenarios of charging stations.

In an era characterized by a move towards a “knowledge society”, universities are central in fostering “knowledgeability”, that is the reflexive understanding of knowledge in knowledge societies. The objective of “knowledgeability” can be met through creating a stronger link between education and research. Furthermore, overall student performance, for example in critical thinking and problem solving, can be improved if research-related activities are incorporated into the curriculum. The aim of this paper is to use international examples to discuss the research- education nexus from four different perspectives, namely context, policy, implementation and quality, with case studies from higher education institutions in Singapore and Sweden. We suggest that different integrative technologies can be used to enhance the links, but it will be essential to consider the inputs of training, service and support in using new technology. Interestingly, the act of evaluating the link between education and research will increase awareness of this linkage by stakeholders involved in both education and research. In turn the link can be strengthened, contributing to increased quality in both education and research.

Achieving food security will require closing yield gaps in many regions, including Pakistan. Although fertilizer subsidies have facilitated increased nitrogen (N) application rates, many staple crop yields have yet to reach their maximum potential. Considering that current animal manure and human excreta (bio-supply) recycling rates are low, there is substantial potential to increase the reuse of nutrients in bio-supply. We quantified 2010 crop N, phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) needs along with bio-supply nutrient availability for Pakistani districts, and compared these values to synthetic fertilizer use and costs. We found that synthetic fertilizer use combined with low bio-supply recycling resulted in a substantial gap between nutrient supply and P and K crop needs, which would cost 3 billion USD to fill with synthetic fertilizers. If all bio-supply was recycled, it could eliminate K synthetic fertilizer needs and decrease N synthetic fertilizer needs to 43% of what was purchased in 2010. Under a full recycling scenario, farmers would still require an additional 0.28 million tons of synthetic P fertilizers, costing 2.77 billion USD. However, it may not be prohibitively expensive to correct P deficiencies. Pakistan already spends this amount of money on fertilizers. If funds used for synthetic N were reallocated to synthetic P purchases in a full bio-supply recycling scenario, crop needs could be met. Most recycling could happen within districts, with only 6% of bio-supply requiring between-district transport when optimized to meet national N crop needs. Increased recycling in Pakistan could be a viable way to decrease yield gaps.

In this paper we present a novel mathematical model, integrating the timetabling and vehicle schedulingproblems for electric buses. The objective is to minimize the number of buses while satisfying constraintsconcerning routing and charging, including design choices of where to install charging equipment. Weillustrate the different effects of tackling the timetabling and vehicle scheduling of electric buses as separateproblems or as a joint problem, both for fixed and variable headways. To do so, tests are performed with: (i) given timetable, i.e. solving only the vehicle scheduling problem, (ii) fixed headways for each line, (iii) variable headways. For these tests, a small case based on four bidirectional bus lines is used.