Currently, energy consumption for cooking in rural households of India is mostly based on fuelwood used in traditional stoves. This paper presents results of a study carried out in a forest fringe area of India on cooking energy use. The concept of calculating levelized cost as cost per unit of useful energy is applied on source–device combinations of cooking and validated in Bargaon Community Development Block of Sundergarh District in Odisha, India. About 92 % of the households in the study area use fuelwood as the only energy source for cooking; the total use of fuelwood for only cooking, in the Block is nearly 1.8 times the total sustainable wood supply showing an urgent need for promoting alternative cooking energy options. This paper also presents an assessment of different cooking options in terms of cost per unit of useful cooking energy. LPG, biogas and gasifier stoves are found to be far too expensive for the local people. Briquette-fired improved stoves appear to be a promising cooking energy option in the study area. Government support and intervention are recommended for promoting this option. 相似文献
Copper ions were first adsorbed by zeolite 4A synthesized from bauxite tailings, the desorption of Cu(II) using Na2EDTA solutions was performed, and the recycling of zeolite 4A in adsorption and desorption was systematically investigated. It was observed that the Cu(II) removal efficiency was directly dependent on the initial pH value. The maximum removal efficiency of Cu(II) was 96.2% with zeolite 4A when the initial pH value was 5.0. Cu(II) was completely absorbed in the first 30 min. It was also observed that the desorption efficiency and zeolite recovery were highly dependent on the initial pH and concentration of Na2EDTA in the solution. The desorption efficiency and percent of zeolite recovered were 73.6 and 85.9%, respectively, when the Na2EDTA solution concentration was 0.05 mol L?1 and the pH value was 8. The recovered zeolites were pure single phase and highly crystalline. After 3 cycles, the removal efficiency of Cu(II) was as high as 78.9%, and the zeolite recovery was 46.9%, indicating that the recovered zeolites have good adsorption capacity and can repeatedly absorb Cu(II).
Wildland fire in the South commands considerable attention, given the expanding wildland urban interface (WUI) across the
region. Much of this growth is propelled by higher income retirees and others desiring natural amenity residential settings.
However, population growth in the WUI increases the likelihood of wildfire fire ignition caused by people, as humans account
for 93% of all wildfires fires in the South. Coexisting with newly arrived, affluent WUI populations are working class, poor
or otherwise socially vulnerable populations. The latter groups typically experience greater losses from environmental disasters
such as wildfire because lower income residents are less likely to have established mitigation programs in place to help absorb
loss. We use geographically weighted regression to examine spatial variation in the association between social vulnerability
(SOVUL) and wildfire risk. In doing so, we identify “hot spots” or geographical clusters where SOVUL varies positively with
wildfire risk across six Southern states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. These clusters
may or may not be located in the WUI. These hot spots are most prevalent in South Carolina and Florida. Identification of
these population clusters can aid wildfire managers in deciding which communities to prioritize for mitigation programming. 相似文献
The aim of this study was to investigate the pollution characteristics of typical veterinary antibiotics in manure and soil of livestock farms in Jiangsu province. This investigation employed solid-phase extraction (SPE) coupled with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). A total of 53 manure and 50 amended soil samples from 16 livestock farms in Jiangsu province were collected for analysis. In the manure samples, the highest detected frequencies and concentrations were those of tetracyclines (TCs, 54.1 ± 5775.6 μgkg?1), followed by fluoroquinolones (FQs, 8.4 ± 435.6 μgkg?1), sulphonamides (SAs, 3.2 ± 5.2 μgkg?1) and macrolides (MACs, 0.4 ± 110.5 μgkg?1). Statistical analysis was used to illuminate the pollution characteristics of 23 veterinary antibiotics for various animal types and different regions in Jiangsu province. The results showed that the pollution level in cow manure was relatively lower compared with pig and chicken manure due to the relative restriction of medication. Furthermore, contamination was serious in amended soil from chicken farms. The pollution level in manure among different regions was higher to the south and north compared with the centre of the region. The same outcome was found for soil. Antibiotic residues in organic fertilizer were also investigated in this study. We found that although the detected concentration was lower in organic fertilizer than in fresh manure, detection frequencies (10–90%) were high, especially for roxithromycin (90%) in MACs (30–90%). This finding suggests attention should be paid to the pollution levels in organic fertilizer. This study is the first extensive investigation of the occurrence and distribution of many kinds of typical veterinary antibiotics in manure and soil from livestock farms of Jiangsu province. This investigation systematically assesses veterinary antibiotics usage and related emissions in southeast China. 相似文献
Concentrations of six heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Cr, and Pb) in sediments and fine roots, thick roots, branches, and leaves of six mangrove plant species collected from the Futian mangrove forest, South China were measured. The results show that both the sediments and plants in Futian mangrove ecosystem are moderately contaminated by heavy metals, with the main contaminants being Zn and Cu. All investigated metals showed very similar distribution patterns in the sediments, implying that they had the same anthropogenic source(s). High accumulations of the heavy metals were observed in the root tissues, especially the fine roots, and much lower concentrations in the other organs. This indicates that the roots strongly immobilize the heavy metals and (hence) that mangrove plants possess mechanisms that limit the upward transport of heavy metals and exclude them from sensitive tissues. The growth performance of propagules and 6-month-old seedlings of Bruguiera gymnorhiza in the presence of contaminating Cu and Cd was also examined. The results show that this plant is not sufficiently sensitive to heavy metals after its propagule stage for its regeneration and growth to be significantly affected by heavy metal contamination in the Futian mangrove ecosystem. However, older mangrove seedlings appeared to be more metal-tolerant than the younger seedlings due to their more efficient exclusion mechanism. Thus, the effects of metal contamination on young seedlings should be assessed when evaluating the risks posed by heavy metals in an ecosystem. 相似文献
The waterborne polyurethane (PU) prepolymer was prepared based on isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), polyester polyol (N220), dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) and hydroxyethyl methyl acrylate (HEMA). The modified waterborne polyurethane–acrylate (PUA) emulsions were obtained with different proportions of acrylate (butyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate) and initiating agent by in situ dispersion technique. The structures and thermal properties of prepared PU and PUA were analyzed and characterized with FT-IR, UV–Vis spectroscopy and DSC. The PUA hybrid samples had lower glass transition temperature of hard segment and higher decomposition temperatures than PU sample. Performances of the emulsion and film were studied by means of apparent viscidity, particle size and polydispersity, surface tension and mechanical properties. The results indicated that the particle sizes of the PUA dispersions were larger than those of the pure PU and the solvent resistance, mechanical properties of PUA films was improved compare with the unmodified polyurethane film. The film had the biggest hardness and the least water absorption when the BA/MMA mass ratio 5:5 modified PU. The obtained PUA have great potential application such as coatings, leather finishing, adhesives, sealants, plastic coatings and wood finishes. 相似文献
This study focused on the changes of reference evapotranspiration (ET0) and pan evaporation (ETpan) to study the impacts of climate change on the hydrological cycle in the Jinghe River catchment. Based on the Penman–Monteith
equation, the ET0 was calculated. The temporal trend and spatial distribution of ET0 and Epan measured with a 20-cm pan were examined at the 14 stations during 1957–2005. The effects of meteorological factors on the
variation of ET0 were determined by analyzing the trends in themselves with comparison between original climate and detrended climate scenarios
and then their sensitivity to ET0. Both the ET0 and Epan showed remarkable decreasing trends from 1957 to 2005 and their decreasing rate was 40.9 and 17.7 mm per 10 years, respectively.
Trend analysis of meteorological factors exhibited that the reduction in ET0 and ETpan was principally caused by both significant decreases in wind speed and sunshine hours. Furthermore, the decreasing trend
of ET0 was mainly dominated by the significant decrease in wind speed with high sensitivity, to a less extent, by the decrease in
net radiation. Although relative humidity is one of the most sensitive variables, its effect on ET0 was negligible because of its temporal constancy. The contribution of wind speed reduction to decreased ET0 has increased from 50 to 76.1%, but net radiation, by contrast, decreased from 50 to 23.9%. 相似文献
The present study is aimed at analysing and comparing different soil enzymes in soil samples of native contaminated sites
of a Mathura refinery and adjoining agricultural land. Enzyme activities are considered as indicators of soil quality and
changes in biogeochemical function due to management or perturbations. Soil samples were collected from the premises and nearby
area of Mathura refinery, India. Biological health parameters (dehydrogenase, aryl esterase, aryl sulphatase,
\upbeta \upbeta -glucosidase, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, lipase, laccase and catalase activity) were estimated in the soil samples.
Among all the samples, sewage sludge soil showed maximum activity of enzymes, microbial biomass carbon and most probable number
of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degraders in soils spiked with three- to four-ring PAHs at 50 ppm. Available phosphorus,
potassium and nitrogen was also exceptionally high in this sample, indicating maximum microbial bioconversion due to presence
of nutrients stimulating potent PAH-degrading microorganisms. 相似文献