Comparison of a mass balance and an ecosystem model approach when evaluating the carbon cycling in a lake ecosystem

Carbon budgets are frequently used in order to understand the pathways of organic matter-in ecosystems, and they also have an important function in the risk assessment of harmful substances. We compared two approaches, mass balance calculations and an ecosystem budget, to describe carbon processing in a shallow, oligotrophic hardwater lake. Both approaches come to the same main conclusion, namely that the lake is a net autotrophic ecosystem, in spite of its high dissolved organic carbon and low total phosphorus concentrations. However, there were several differences between the carbon budgets, e.g. in the rate of sedimentation and the air-water flux of CO2. The largest uncertainty in the mass balance is the contribution of emergent macrophytes to the carbon cycling of the lake, while the ecosystem budget is very sensitive towards the choice of conversion factors and literature values. While the mass balance calculations produced more robust results, the ecosystem budget gave valuable insights into the pathways of organic matter transfer in the ecosystem. We recommend that when using an ecosystem budget for the risk assessment of harmful substances, mass balance calculations should be performed in parallel in order to increase the robustness of the conclusions.     

Deposition of contaminant aerosol on human skin

Over recent years, it has been established that deposition of various types of pollutant aerosols (e.g., radioactive) on human skin can have serious deleterious effects on health. However, only few investigations in the past have been devoted to measurement of deposition velocities on skin of particles of the potentially problematic sizes. An experimental programme has shown the deposition velocities on skin of particles in the ca. 0.5-5 microm AMAD range to be high and generally associated with great variations. A series of investigations have been made to identify some of the factors that lead to this variation. Part of the variation was found to be caused by differences between individuals, whereas another part was found to be related to environmental factors. The identification of major influences on skin contaminant deposition is important in estimating health effects as well as in identifying means for their reduction.     

Measurement of contaminant removal from skin using a portable fluorescence scanning system

The residence time of particulate contamination on the human body is a factor that has an important impact on the accuracy of exposure assessment in the aftermath of an accidental release of radionuclides to the atmosphere. Measurements of particle clearance from human skin were made using an illumination system to excite fluorescence in labelled silica particles and a CCD camera and image processing system to detect this fluorescence. The illumination system consists of high-intensity light emitting diodes (LEDS) of suitable wavelengths arranged on a portable stand. The physically small size of the LEDs allows them to be positioned close to the fluorescing surface, thus maximising the fluorescent signal that can be obtained. The limit of detection was found to be 50 microg of tracer particle per cm2. Experiments were carried out to determine the clearance rates of 10 microm and 3 microm particles from the skin. Results show that, in the absence of any mechanical rubbing of the skin, the clearance of particles from the skin followed an approximately exponential decay with a half-time of 1.5-7.8 h. Skin hairiness and degree of human movement were found, in addition to particle size, to have an important influence on particle fall-off rate.     

Different patterns of carotenoid composition and photosynthesis acclimation in two tropical red algae

To be able to survive, marine macroalgae in shallow coastal waters need mechanisms for short-term acclimation to fast changes in their environment. Of major importance are mechanisms that regulate the efficiency of photosynthesis by protecting PS II from photo-oxidative damage. Carotenoids, xanthophyll cycles and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) are central constituents of such protection mechanisms. Red algae as a group do not have a universal carotenoid composition. We screened ten red algal species and selected two species, originating from similar ecological conditions but with different carotenoid compositions, for use in irradiance-acclimation experiments. We selected the tropical intertidal species Gracilaria domingensis and Kappaphycus alvarezii with antheraxanthin and lutein as major xanthophylls, respectively. Simultaneous in vivo fluorescence and O₂ evolution experiments were performed at different irradiance levels, which allowed a direct comparison of overall photosynthetic performance with NPQ. Interconversions of xanthophylls (violaxanthin, zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin and one unidentified carotenoid) did occur in G. domingensis, but not in response to sudden exposure to light. Thus, NPQ was not correlated with any xanthophyll cycle during short-term acclimation to light. G. domingensis had five times higher weight-specific photosynthetic rates than K. alvarezii, which can be explained by the thicker thallus of K. alvarezii. Chlorophyll-specific gross photosynthetic rates were higher in K. alvarezii, but net rates were the same for both species. G. domingensis showed an immediate strong onset of NPQ upon exposure to irradiance, followed by downregulation to the NPQ level required. In K. alvarezii NPQ increased slowly until the required NPQ level was reached. At high irradiance G. domingensis downregulated photosynthesis while K. alvarezii continued to produce O₂ even at 2,000 μmol photons m⁻² s⁻¹ without NPQ increase. The strategy of K. alvarezii may provide short-term gains but with the risk of oxidative damage. The fast onset of NPQ in G. domingensis even at subsaturating irradiance as well as downregulation of photosynthesis when NPQ is saturated might provide this species with a competitive advantage under conditions of changing irradiance in the field.     

Energy use in Denmark

This paper reviews the evolution of energy use in Denmark since the early 1970s, in order to shed light on the future path of energy use in Denmark, with particular emphasis on the role of energy efficiency. Improvements in end-use energy efficiency reduced primary energy requirements in Denmark by 22% between 1972 and 1988. This change accounts for two-thirds of the decline in the ratio of energy use to gross domestic product that occurred during this time: the rest of the decline was caused by changes in the mix of goods and services produced and consumed by the Danes. Total energy savings achieved between 1972 and 1988 in Denmark ranked among the highest measured in any major OECD country. Overall, most of the energy savings in Denmark were brought about through improvements in technology. Short-term changes in consumer behaviour were significant in reducing energy needs for space heating and transport. An important stimulus for improved efficiency was higher energy prices, led in no small part by significant taxes imposed on small consumers of heating oil, electricity and motor fuels.     

Micromechanical Tensile Testing of Cellulose-Reinforced Electrospun Fibers Using a Template Transfer Method (TTM)

A template transfer method (TTM) and a fiber fixation technique were established for fiber handling and micro tensile stage mounting of aligned and non-aligned electrospun fiber mats. The custom-made template had been precut to be mounted on a variety of collectors, including a rapidly rotating collector used to align the fibers. The method eliminated need for direct physical interaction with the fiber mats before or during the tensile testing since the fiber mats were never directly clamped or removed from the original substrate. By using the TTM it was possible to measure the tensile properties of aligned poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) fiber mats, which showed a 250?% increase in strength and 450?% increase in modulus as compared to a non-aligned system. The method was further evaluated for aligned PMMA fibers reinforced with cellulose (4 wt%) prepared as enzymatically derived nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC). These fibers showed an additional increase of 30?% in both tensile strength and modulus, resulting in a toughness increase of 25?%. The fracture interfaces of the PMMA?CNFC fibers showed a low amount of NFC pull-outs, indicating favorable phase compatibility. The presented fiber handling technique is universal and may be applied where conservative estimates of mechanical properties need to be assessed for very thin fibers.     

Sulfur recirculation for increased electricity production in Waste-to-Energy plants

Sulfur recirculation is a new technology for reducing boiler corrosion and dioxin formation. It was demonstrated in full-scale tests at a Waste to Energy plant in Göteborg (Sweden) during nearly two months of operation. Sulfur was recirculated as sulfuric acid from the flue gas cleaning back to the boiler, thus creating a sulfur loop.The new technology was evaluated by extensive measurement campaigns during operation under normal conditions (reference case) and operation with sulfur recirculation. The chlorine content of both fly ash and boiler ash decreased and the sulfur content increased during the sulfur recirculation tests. The deposit growth and the particle concentration decreased with sulfur recirculation and the dioxin concentration (I-TEQ) of the flue gas was reduced by approximately 25%. Sulfuric acid dew point measurements showed that the sulfuric acid dosage did not lead to elevated SO₃ concentrations, which may otherwise induce low temperature corrosion.In the sulfur recirculation corrosion probe exposures, the corrosion rate decreased for all tested materials (16Mo3, Sanicro 28 and Inconel 625) and material temperatures (450 °C and 525 °C) compared to the reference exposure. The corrosion rates were reduced by 60–90%. Sulfur recirculation prevented the formation of transition metal chlorides at the metal/oxide interface, formation of chromate and reduced the presence of zinc in the corrosion products. Furthermore, measured corrosion rates at 525 °C with sulfur recirculation in operation were similar or lower compared to those measured at 450 °C material temperature in reference conditions, which corresponds to normal operation at normal steam temperatures. This implies that sulfur recirculation allows for higher steam data and electricity production without increasing corrosion.     

Environmental problems and environmental regulations in Western Europe, 1980–1989

Environmental problems are a function of the process of economic development and the ability to mitigate the problems through regulation. An historical analysis helps to show how the problems have been solved thus far. The objective of this investigation is to present an overview of environmental problems and the corresponding regulations in Western Europe during the 1980s. Environmental problems for 18 Western European countries were identified from abstracts from a data base on environmental literature. The 1977 findings were systematized on the basis of 20 key words according to source and impact, and a new data base was established. The data showed that the main environmental problems in Western Europe were: energy production/acid rain, nuclear power/waste, air pollution/climate, heavy metals, pesticides, water pollution, solid waste, and unforeseen accidents. Many environmental problems are common to most European countries. Regulatory measures differ significantly. In some countries environmental regulations are largely limited to the implementation of European Economic Community (EEC) directives. We have supplemented the national analyses with an examination of existing and proposed EEC regulations along with interviews with civil servants in the EEC Commission. In the 1980s, EEC environmental regulations were similar to environmental regulations in some member states. It is expected that future EEC regulations will be less reflective of those of individual member states.     

In situ tracer tests to determine retention properties of a block scale fracture network in granitic rock at the Aspö Hard Rock Laboratory, Sweden

Experiments were conducted at the Asp? Hard Rock Laboratory in order to improve the understanding of radionuclide retention properties of fractured crystalline bedrock in the 10-100 m scale (TRUE Block Scale Project, jointly funded by ANDRA, ENRESA, Nirex, JNC, Posiva and SKB). A series of tracer experiments were performed using sorbing tracers in three different flow paths. The different flow paths had Euclidian lengths of 14, 17 and 33 m, respectively, and one to three water conducting structures. Four tests were performed using different cocktails made up of radioactive sorbing tracers (22,24Na+, 42K+, 47Ca2+, 85Sr2+, 83,86Rb+, 131,133Ba2+ and 134,137Cs+). For each tracer injection, the breakthrough of sorbing tracers was compared to the breakthrough of a conservative tracer, 82Br-, 131I-, HTO and 186ReO4-, respectively. In the two longer flow paths, no breakthrough of 83Rb+ and 137Cs+ was observed after 8 months of pumping. Selected tracer tests were subject to basic modelling in which a one-dimensional (1D) advection-dispersion model, including surface sorption, and an unlimited matrix diffusion were used for the interpretation of the results. The results of the modelling indicated that there is a slightly higher mass transfer into a highly porous material in the block-scale experiment compared with in situ experiments performed over shorter distances and significantly higher than what would have been expected from laboratory data obtained from studies of the interactions in nonaltered intact rock.