Economic and environmental effects of unilateral climate actions

Unilateral climate policy can be detrimental to global climate protection. Our objective is to provide insight into such a policy, to quantify the risk of carbon leakage, and to investigate the effects related to potential anti-leakage measures. We analyze existing definitions of carbon leakage and propose an alternative, rigorous one, which is different in three respects. The definition is then tested using computable general equilibrium analysis of the global economy and decomposition analysis. We identify a list of parameters that affect not only the magnitude but also the sign of the carbon leakage rate. Manipulating elasticities of substitution suggests that carbon leakage can be either positive or negative. Computable general equilibrium models, which are widely applied, including by the European Commission in this area, should be transparent, and their assumptions call for careful validation. We find that emission limits are properly distributed between sectors covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System and other sectors for the first commitment period (ended in 2012) but not for the second one (ending in 2020), where the target for the non-trading sectors should be reduced relative to the target for the trading sectors in order to equlize marginal abatement costs.     

序半连续式反应器应用于生物废水处理中的氧传递模型及参数估值

根据ASM 1号模型中的原理和结论,推导出序半连续式反应器生物废水处理中的氧传递数学模型;在试验的基础上,对模型中的参数采用了合适的方法进行参数估值;在研究空气流量与氧的传递速率关系的基础上,得出了空气流量QA与氧传递系数KLa之间的线性关系式;研究了氧在反应器中的质量平衡.     

Age-related thermal strain in men while wearing radiation protective clothing during short-term exercise in the heat.

The aim of the study was to compare heat strain among different age groups of men in protective clothing during short-term physical work. Eight young (20-29 years), 6 middle-aged (41-55 years), and 6 older (58-65 years) men exercised for 30 min on a cycle ergometer (40% V(O2 max)) in 2 hot environments with a similar WBGT (ca. 26 degrees C): once with minimal clothing without infrared radiation (E1), and once with aluminized protective clothing under infrared radiation (E2). All subjects had sedentary jobs, but only the older subjects were physically active in their leisure-time. Body temperatures, heart rate, sweat rate, and subjective feelings were determined during the tests. Higher thermal strain was observed in E2 than in E1. No age-related differences in thermal strain were observed in either experiment indicating that active older men can tolerate short work periods with protective clothing in the heat as well as younger sedentary men.     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polychlorinated biphenyls in cord blood from women in Poland

The purpose of this study was to assess human exposure in the prenatal period to selected PBDEs (BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-153) and PCBs (CB-77, CB-101, CB-118, CB-126, CB-138, CB-153, CB-170, CB-180) basing on the analysis of these compounds in cord blood. The experimental material consisted of 89 cord blood samples taken from women resident in Warsaw and its vicinity. In over 90% of all tested samples the presence of congeners CB-153, CB-138, CB-180 and BDE-47 was identified. The least frequently found were CB-126 and BDE-153, which were present at relatively low concentration levels. Among all analysed PCBs, the highest average concentrations were found in the case of congeners CB-138 (11.8 ng/g of fat) and CB-153 (43.4 ng/g of fat), whereas the lowest was in the case of CB-170 (0.4 ng/g of fat) and CB-126 (0.1 ng/g of fat). In the case of PBDEs the greatest share in the total concentration was that of the congeners BDE-47 and BDE-99, whereas the smallest share was that of the higher brominated congener BDE-153. These results suggest that human exposure to the examined compounds begins already in the period of intrauterine life. The comparison of our own results with the findings of other authors indicates that the PCBs and PBDEs levels in cord blood of women living in Poland do not differ from the respective concentrations in cord blood of other female inhabitants of Europe.     

Accumulation of elements by edible mushroom species II. A comparison of aluminium,barium and nutritional element contents

The aim of the study was to compare accumulation efficiency of Al, Ba and nutritional elements (Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na) exhibited by six edible mushrooms collected in particular regions of Poland during the last 20 years. The studied mushroom species were Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, Lactarius deliciosus, Leccinum aurantiacum, Suillus luteus and Xerocomus badius. The highest and the lowest concentrations of the elements in tested mushroom species were 11 – 410, 34 – 337, 16785 – 34600, 140 – 607, 12 – 75 and 16 – 143 mg kg^?1d.m., respectively. The highest average concentrations of Al, Mg and Mn were observed in Suillus luteus fruiting bodies, while for Ba, Ca, K and Na it was in Lactarius deliciosus. BCF >1 was found for K and Mg in all tested mushroom species and additionally for the highest Ca and Na concentrations of all tested mushroom species except for C. cibarius and S. luteus, respectively. For the other tested elements (Al, Ba, Fe and Mn) BCF values < 1 were recorded.     

Prospects of utilization of sugar beet carbohydrates for biological hydrogen production in the EU

Hydrogen can be produced through dark anaerobic fermentation using carbohydrate-rich biomass, and through photofermentation using the organic acids produced from dark fermentation. Sugar beet is an ideal energy crop for fermentative production of hydrogen in the EU due to its environmental profile and its potential availability in the area. In this work, various aspects of cultivating sugar beet in the EU for biohydrogen were highlighted, with special focus on The Netherlands and Greece. Moreover, fermentation of sugar beet juice with Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus at sucrose concentration 10 g/l was performed, and was found comparable to the fermentation on pure sucrose except that the hydrogen production was 10% higher on sugar beet juice. A conservative estimate of the annual hydrogen potential in the EU was made (300 × 10⁶ kg hydrogen), considering the utilization of sugar beet pulp in hydrogen production.     

Biodegradation of beet molasses vinasse by a mixed culture of micro organisms: Effect of aeration conditions and pH control

Upon aeration, the mixed microbial SCD ProBio OriginalTM culture may be used as the first stage in a two- or multi-stage system for the biodegradation of beet molasses vinasse.     

Physiological Method of Evaluating Protective Clothing for Work in a Cold Environment

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of physiological studies in the evaluation of protective clothing for work in a cold environment. The study included the examination of the dynamics of changes in chosen physiological parameters (core and skin temperatures, heart rate, pulmonary minute ventilation) as well as physical ones (the temperature and relative humidity under the clothes) during work in protective clothing with unknown thermal insulation. The experiment was conducted in extreme environmental conditions (–10 and –15°C) at a work load defined by the clothing manufacturer as moderate. Results show that thermal equilibrium was achieved and maintained throughout the investigated work time (60 min) and that the protective clothing ensures safety on the time scale of a regular 8-hour work day. It was also shown that the dynamics of thermal stress physiological parameters can be used to determine the maximum duration of exposure for cold protective clothing with unknown thermal insulation.