The application of system dynamics in different practices of a waste management system

The continuous increase in waste generation warrants global management of waste to reduce the adverse economic, social, and environmental impact of waste while achieving goals for sustainability. The complexity of waste management systems due to different waste management practices renders such systems difficult to analyze. System dynamics (SD) approach aids in conceptualizing and analyzing the structure, interactions, and mode of behavior of the complex systems. The impact of the underlying components can therefore be assessed in an integrated way while the impact of possible policies on the system can be studied to implement appropriate decisions. This review summarizes various applications of SD pertinent to the waste management practices in different countries. Practices may include waste generation, reduction, reuse/recovery, recycling, and disposal. Each study supports regional-demanding targets in environmental, social, and economic scopes such as expanding landfill life span, implementing proper disposal fee, global warming mitigation, energy generation/saving, etc. The interacting variables in the WMS are specifically determined based on the defined problem, ultimate goal, and the type of waste. Generally, population and gross domestic product can increase the waste generation. An increase in waste reduction, source separation, and recycling rate could decrease the environmental impact, but it is not necessarily profitable from an economic perspective. Incentives to separate waste and knowledge about waste management are variables that always have a positive impact on the entire system.

     

Personal exposure to PM2.5-bound heavy metals associated with cardiopulmonary function in general population

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To better understand the cardiopulmonary alterations associated with personal exposed PM2.5-bound heavy meals, we conducted a cross-sectional study in...     

Effects of environmental regulation on firm entry and exit and China’s industrial productivity: a new perspective on the Porter Hypothesis

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - This paper dissects the effects of environmental regulation on the productivity of pollution-intensive industries and by doing so offers a new...     

Enhancing the adsorption function of biochar by mechanochemical graphitization for organic pollutant removal

• Mechanochemical treatment reduced the calcination temperature for biochar synthesis. • Biochar is converted to graphite after mechanochemical treatment. • Biochar was reduced to nanoscale after mechanochemical treatment. Biochar (BC) has been extensively studied as adsorbent for the treatment of water pollution. Despite the distinct advantages, the high calcination temperature and low adsorption capacity of pristine BC limit its practical applications. Most of the former studies focused on the structure and/or surface modification to improve the adsorption capacity of BC. However, the harsh experiment conditions involved in the biochar modification limited the application in industrial level. Herein, we introduced mechanical treatment into BC preparation to reduce the calcination temperature and improve the adsorption capacity simultaneously. The results indicated that the calcination temperature was reduced and the adsorption capacity of the treated BC was improved after mechanochemical treatment. Characterization of the samples disclosed that BCs were graphitized with the particle size reduced to nanoscale after treatment. Adsorption tests indicated that the mechanochemically treated BCs showed much better removal performance of organic contaminants than that of pristine BCs. For instance, among four pristine BCs (BC600, BC700, BC800, and BC900), only BC900 has strong adsorption capacity for MB, while BC600 has low adsorption capacity (1.2 mg/g). By comparison, the adsorption capacity of MB increased greatly to 173.96 mg/g by BC600-500/1 (treated at 500 r/min for 1 hour). To optimize the mechanochemical treatment, the effects of rotation speed and agitation duration were also investigated.     

A new prediction method of industrial atmospheric pollutant emission intensity based on pollutant emission standard quantification

● Established a quantification method of pollutant emission standard. ● Predicted the SO₂ emission intensity of single coking enterprises in China. ● Evaluated the influence of pollutant discharge standard on prediction accuracy. ● Analyzed the SO₂ emissions of Chinese provincial and municipal coking enterprises. Industrial emissions are the main source of atmospheric pollutants in China. Accurate and reasonable prediction of the emission of atmospheric pollutants from single enterprise can determine the exact source of atmospheric pollutants and control atmospheric pollution precisely. Based on China’s coking enterprises in 2020, we proposed a quantitative method for pollutant emission standards and introduced the quantification results of pollutant emission standards (QRPES) into the construction of support vector regression (SVR) and random forest regression (RFR) prediction methods for SO₂ emission of coking enterprises in China. The results show that, affected by the types of coke ovens and regions, China’s current coking enterprises have implemented a total of 21 emission standards, with marked differences. After adding QRPES, it was found that the root mean squared error (RMSE) of SVR and RFR decreased from 0.055 kt/a and 0.059 kt/a to 0.045 kt/a and 0.039 kt/a, and theR² increased from 0.890 and 0.881 to 0.926 and 0.945, respectively. This shows that the QRPES can greatly improve the prediction accuracy, and the SO₂ emissions of each enterprise are highly correlated with the strictness of standards. The predicted result shows that 45% of SO₂ emissions from Chinese coking enterprises are concentrated in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Hebei provinces in central China. The method created in this paper fills in the blank of forecasting method of air pollutant emission intensity of single enterprise and is of great help to the accurate control of air pollutants.     

珠江口表层水中多环芳烃的分布特征及健康风险评估

分别于2015年2、5、8、11月在珠江八大入海口采集表层水体样品,应用固相萃取富集法对该区域表层水体中16种USEPA优控多环芳烃(PAHs)的时空分布特征进行分析,并利用终生致癌风险增量模型(ILCR)对该区域的饮水健康风险进行评价。结果表明:珠江口4个季度所采集的水样中,∑15PAHs的浓度范围为18.0~50.3 ng/L,含量处于中等水平。其中7种强致癌性∑7PAHs的浓度范围为1.53~3.73 ng/L,占∑15PAHs的5.89%~11.1%,∑15PAHs和∑7PAHs在枯水期(2、11月)样品中明显高于丰水期(5、8月)。就组成特征而言,各采样点PAHs以3、4环为主。珠江口表层水中非致癌类PAHs的危害商数值为0.99×10~(-5)~2.73×10~(-5),远低于USEPA规定的阈值(1);致癌类PAHs产生的健康风险为6.50×10~(-8)~2.37×10~(-7),其中Ba P导致的饮水途径健康风险最高,所有点位致癌类PAHs的健康风险均低于USEPA推荐的对致癌物质最大可接受风险水平(10~(-6)),表明珠江口表层水中PAHs尚不具备严重的致癌风险,但是仍然存在潜在的健康风险,需要重点控制和管理。     

蓝藻资源化技术研究及应用进展

针对蓝藻资源化问题,概述国内外利用蓝藻制备有机肥、提取高纯度藻蓝蛋白、制备活性炭和藻粉这4种利用方式的特点、现状及应用进展。提出,应从高温好氧堆肥技术、藻蓝蛋白提取技术和藻水分离技术这3个方面,解决其关键技术问题并进行进一步研究开发。     

地下铀矿山留矿法采场受限空间内氡迁移的数值模拟

为研究铀矿山留矿法采场氡迁移规律,依据留矿法采场的构造和物理几何尺寸,建立了受限空间内颗粒堆积型射气介质气体流动的数学模型和氡迁移方程,以10 m和20 m高爆破矿堆为对象,采用计算流体力学(CFD)方法,研究了不同通风条件下采场中氡的迁移规律。结果表明:1)采场下行通风方式降低矿堆上部作业空间氡浓度的效果优于上行通风方式,但对采场运输巷道氡浓度的效果相反;采场排风氡浓度与采场通风风量成反比,氡析出份额与通风风量成正比;2)在相同通风风量下,10 m高爆破矿堆与20 m高爆破矿堆氡析出份额之差随通风风流量增长而逐渐缩小;3)均压通风对渗透率高(k=1×10-8m2)的采场排风氡浓度、矿堆氡析出份额有明显影响。     

Design,Modelling and Assessment of Emission Scenarios Resulting from a Network of Wood Biomass Boilers

The use of wood biomass as a fuel for domestic and industrial heating systems allows for a reduction of CO₂ emissions at a global scale, but it may also result in worse local air quality conditions, due to their emissions of particulate matter. The aim of this study is to assess the actual trend of atmospheric pollution in a study area, assuming that all heating systems are replaced by small size biomass boilers linked to the buildings through district heating network. Ground level concentrations of particulate matter, emitted by different heating systems, are therefore evaluated through numerical simulations performed by means of an atmospheric dispersion model (Sirane). As a first step, we have compared the environmental impact of a woodchip boilers network with that given by the use of traditional heating systems, i.e. wood stoves and natural gas boilers. As a second step, we have analysed the impact of such a network taking into account different emission scenarios, related to different boilers operating conditions. Results show that the environmental performances of a woodchip boilers network can be optimized by combining it with other renewable sources of energy devoted to the supply of hot water. The adopted analysis methodology can be applied to other real or hypothetic punctual sources on the territory.     

三峡库区消落带农用坡地磷素径流流失特征

消落带是三峡库区重要的生态交错带，但自发农用和无序开发可能会造成更多的氮磷流失，进而加剧三峡库区水体富营养化。通过对库区连续3 a的定位监测（2011~2013年），研究了三峡库区消落带农用坡地的磷素流失特征。结果表明：次降雨事件中常规施肥处理的地表径流、壤中流总磷平均浓度分别为0.848±0.153、0.140±0.006 mg/L，其中地表径流中磷的形态以颗粒态为主，壤中流以溶解态的生物可利用磷为主。常规施肥下，地表径流、壤中流磷素年均流失通量分别为0.236±0.004、0.100±0.003 kg·hm 2，地表径流、壤中流磷素流失通量分别占总流失通量的70.2%、29.8%，地表径流是坡地磷素流失的主要途径，但壤中流也是不可忽视的重要途径。与常规施肥处理相比，减量施肥处理地表径流、壤中流磷素流失量分别降低了45.3%、40.0%。建议采取减量施肥的方式，以降低营养盐负荷，保护水环境。