LCA of eucalyptus wood charcoal briquettes

This paper sets out to describe the environmental impact assessment for wood charcoal briquettes produced from eucalyptus wood in Brazil, with specific reference to those impacts associated with Global Warming Potential. To achieve that objective, the work was undertaken in accordance with ISO 14040 "Environmental management - Life cycle assessment - Principles and framework" which describes essential LCA characteristics and good practices. Charcoal briquettes are produced from two basic raw materials, charcoal fines and starch. The fines result from the production of charcoal from sustainably managed eucalyptus plantations. Starch is extracted from babaçu pulp in the Amazon region. Multi-output processes were allocated based on income from the different by-products. The results showed that more than 90% of incoming CO₂ was due to biomass production for charcoal, and the remainder to starch biomass production. Based on Brazilian data, as well as information provided by the GaBi4.3 database, it turned out that supplying the energy content of 1 kg of briquettes resulted in the sequestration of 3.9690 kg of CO₂, i.e. around 4 kg of CO₂ per kg of briquettes produced. CO₂ emissions throughout the briquette production process are totally compensated for by the environmental quality of the raw materials used.     

Linking Russia with the European and global greenhouse gas emissions trading markets: three paths for greening the Russian assigned amount under the Kyoto Protocol

This article examines possibilities for linkage between the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and Russia, with a view to enhancing cooperation on a broader scale than the project-based approaches that have been tested thus far. Three paths for possible EU-Russia linkage are presented by which the Russian Assigned Amount under the Kyoto Protocol can be greened in order to stimulate emissions trading: 1. Joint implementation—reductions earned via individual projects in Russia; 2. Greened allowances or green investment schemes; and 3. Linked cap-and-trade systems, in which a Russian domestic emissions trading system would link with the European Union Emissions Trading System. The authors conclude that the third option, emissions trading through linked domestic emissions trading systems, offers the best opportunities at the lowest transaction costs. The authors discuss useful innovative instruments like call options and slip level arrangements on government-to-government and business-to-business levels.

Occurrence,functions and biosynthesis of polyamides in microorganisms and biotechnological production

Microorganisms are able to synthesize three different polyamides by enzymatic processes independently from ribosomal protein biosynthesis: poly(gamma-D-glutamic acid), poly(epsilon-L-lysine) and multi-L-arginyl-poly(L-aspartic acid) which is also referred to as cyanophycin. These polyamides, which occur mainly in Bacillus spp. (and only a few other eubacteria and the nematocysts of Cnidaria, in Streptomyces albulus or in cyanobacteria, respectively), have recently attracted considerable interest of the chemical industry and may be suitable for various applications. This review summarizes our current knowledge on the occurrence, biosynthesis, physiological functions, and biodegradation as well as on the properties and putative applications of these polyamides. Emphasis is placed on the enzymology of the polymerization and on the genes encoding the polymerizing enzymes, which have only recently become available for cyanophycin synthetases. Prospects for novel production processes. in particular for cyanophycin, are also presented.     

Mineral, chemical and radiological investigation of a black sand at Touzla Cape, near Thessaloniki, Greece

A black-sand formation located at Touzla Cape, near Thessaloniki city, Greece, was investigated using optical microscopy, powder-XRD, SEM-EDS, INAA and in-situ -ray spectrometry. This black sand is mainly composed of ilmenite, magnetite, garnet, zircon and rutile. Also present, in minor or trace amounts, are quartz, sphene, pyroxenes, sillimanite, feldspars, biotite, haematite, tourmaline, chromite, niobian-rutile and pyrrhotite. Niobian-rutile and pyrrhotite were found as inclusions in ilmenite and magnetite respectively. The radioactivity measurements indicated contributions of the uranium and thorium radioactive series and of 40K and 137Cs, and the maximum value of the total absorbed dose rate in air was found to be 62, 172, 8 and 2 nGy h-1 respectively. The main radioactivity of the uranium and thorium series is attributed to the fractions of zircon (304 µg Th g-1 and 157 µg U g-1), of ilmenite (89 µg Th g-1) and to a lesser extent to the fraction of garnet (5 µg Th g-1). The zircon fraction also contained 5076 µg Hf g-1. Some minerals and elements (Ti, Zr, Hf, Th, U) contained in the black sand could be of potential economic value. The high proportions of monomineralic grains along with the variations observed in mineral phases, in colour, in sphericity, in roundness, in grain size, in composition and in mineral inclusions, imply that the minerals and grains were subjected to several cycles of weathering and sedimentation, as well as being derived from multiple source rocks and areas.     

Death and injury in earthquakes

The assumption that the ratio of mortality to morbidity will approximate 1:3 in earthquake disasters is investigated. When it occurs, a 1:3 ratio is most likely to coincide with a Richter magnitude in the range 6.5–7.4, but many other ratios of death to injuries may instead be probable. For each individual disaster the pattern of casualties is likely to be very heterogeneous, but it would be easier to discover regularities if a more standardized definition of 'injury' could be found.     

Natural disasters: a framework for research and teaching

Natural disasters are defined in this paper by relating the impact of extreme geophysical events to patterns of human vulnerability. Hazard perception is shown to be a factor that limits the mitigation of risk. The historical development of disaster studies is traced and five different schools of thought are identified. The current International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) is evaluated critically with regard to its potential for unifying the disparate strands of knowledge and its scope as a vehicle for education.
A pedagogical framework for disaster studies is presented. Time and space provide valuable unifying factors, while the subject matter can be differentiated according to the continua and dichotomies that it presents. In disaster studies as in other branches of higher education, an ecocentric approach is preferable to a technocentric one, as many of the poorer nations of the world, which are most afflicted by natural catastrophe, will have to rely for mitigation on maintaining their ecological sustainability, instead of depending on sophisticated technology. Valuable insights into the impact of environmental extremes on mankind are gained from the study of disasters as human ecology.     

Solid-phase microextraction to monitor the sonochemical degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with GC-MS has been used to monitor the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by ultrasound treatment. Immersion SPME sampling enabled the fast and solventless extraction of target contaminants at the low microg l(-1) concentration level. The developed protocol was found to be linear in the concentration range from 0.1 to 50 microg l(-1) for most target analytes, with the limits of detection ranging between 0.01 and 0.70 microg l(-1) and the relative standard deviations between 4.31 and 27%. The developed SPME protocol was used to follow concentration profiles of aqueous solutions containing 16 PAHs, which were subject to low frequency ultrasonic irradiation. At the conditions employed in this study (80 kHz of ultrasound frequency, 130 W l(-1) of applied electric power density, 30 microg l(-1) of initial concentration for each of the 16 PAHs), sonochemical treatment was found capable of destroying the lower molecular weight PAHs (naphthalene, acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and pyrene) within 120-180 min of irradiation. The higher molecular weight PAHs were more recalcitrant to ultrasound treatment.