Changes in electrical generator cooling systems: Are they cost-effective sources of water now and under climate change?

In the United States, thermal power plant electrical generators (EGs) are large water diverters and consumptive users who need water for cooling. Retrofitting existing cooling systems to dry cooling and building new facilities with dry cooling can save water and reduce EG's vulnerability to drought. However, this can be an expensive source of water. We estimate that the cost of water saved by retrofitting cooling in existing EGs ranges from $0.04/m³ to $18/m³ depending on facility characteristics. Also water savings from building new EGs with dry cooling ranges in cost per unit water from $1.29/m³ to $2.24/m³. We compare costs with that for water development projects identified in the Texas State Water Plan. We find the water cost from converting to dry cooling is lower than many of the water development possibilities. We then estimate the impact of climate change on the cost of water saved, finding climate change can increase EG water use by up to 9.3% and lower the costs of water saved. Generally, it appears that water planners might consider cooling alterations as a cost competitive water development alternative whose cost would be further decreased by climate change.     

Institutional quality,financial development and sustainable economic growth among lower income countries

This article postulates strong endogenous relationships in lower income countries between institutional quality, financial development and sustained economic growth. These associations were investigated using the vector-error correction model (VECM) and Granger causality method for a sample of 79 countries from 2005 to 2022. The findings show that (1) these variables reinforce each other in the short run. (2) In the long run, both institutional quality and financial development can fuel economic growth. (3) The positive effect of institutional quality on economic growth is greater than that of financial development. Policy implications of these findings are that careful attention should be paid to co-development policies to enhance the institutional quality and the financial system in these economies. Policies should also consider economic growth strategies to enable sustainable economic growth rates.     

内窥镜检查在电站锅炉内部检验中的应用

工业内窥镜是电站锅炉内部检验中不可或缺的设备,主要用来对集箱、减温器、受热面管等内部人眼无法观察到的地方进行检验,从而确定承压部件内部是否存在严重影响锅炉安全运行的缺陷.本文通过对锅炉内窥实例进行分析和总结,阐述内窥镜检查在锅炉内检中的重要性并给相关工作人员提供借鉴与参考.     

Environmental pollution,hydropower and nuclear energy generation before and after catastrophe: Bathtub-Weibull curve and MS-VECM methods

In this paper, the life span of hydro and nuclear energy generations and the relationship between hydro and nuclear energy generations, environmental pollution, and economic growth were investigated for Japan covering the period of 1960–2018 by employing the Bathtub-Weibull curve and Markov switching-vector error correcting (MSVEC) method, respectively. According to the Bathtub-Weibull curve analysis, a rising failure rate for nuclear energy was found, indicating that the life of nuclear energy has expired, but a decreasing failure rate for hydroelectric energy has been detected. Then two different MSVEC models were used. The MSVEC method, unlike traditional approaches, determines the relationship between variables under different regimes. The results of MSVEC methods indicate three important points. First, regime-dependent asymmetry and regime changes are crucial for policy recommendations. Second, the shocks to hydropower and nuclear energy generations cause temporary deviations from the long-run growth path in both regimes. Lastly, the increase in hydropower generation leads to a decrease in environmental pollution and an increase in GDP, and an increase in nuclear power generation increases pollution and growth in both regimes.     

燃煤电厂超低排放气态污染物监测技术综述

介绍了燃煤电厂超低排放气态污染物监测系统的采样系统和分析单元,分析了其各自的优缺点。对稀释抽取式、冷干抽取式和热湿抽取式3种采样方法,以及非分散红外吸收法(NDIR)、非分散紫外吸收法(NDUV)、紫外差分吸收法(DOAS)、紫外荧光法(UVF)和化学发光法(CL)5种分析方法进行对比。结果表明,冷干抽取式+紫外差分法以及稀释抽取式+紫外荧光法+化学发光法可以较好地符合燃煤电厂超低排放监测的要求。     

植物内重金属的赋存形态及分布特征分析方法研究进展

植物内重金属分析不仅有助于阐述重金属迁移转化规律,揭示植物修复机理,也是监测评价大气、水及土壤环境重金属污染状况的重要依据。研究针对植物样品中重金属赋存形态及分布特征的分析方法进行综述,分别介绍了其原理、优缺点及应用。提出制定统一高效的分析检测方法,深化植物内重金属的赋存形态及分布特征与环境相关性的研究以及建立数据共享平台是植物样品重金属信息分析方法的未来发展方向。     

郑州市土壤与绿色植物中汞的分布特征

汞污染具有生物积累性,因而得到社会广泛关注。研究监测和评估了郑州市城区土壤和绿色植物叶片中汞浓度、分布、污染水平等。研究发现郑州市主城区土壤总汞浓度为0. 150～0. 958 mg/kg,平均浓度为0. 448 mg/kg;郑州市主城区绿色植物叶片总汞浓度为0. 017～0. 249 mg/kg,平均浓度为0. 107 mg/kg;土壤和叶片中汞浓度按功能区排序为交通枢纽区工业区商业区行政区高教区住宅区。采用地累积指数法对郑州市80个土壤样品的汞污染水平进行评估,结果显示60%受到轻度污染,35%受到偏中度污染,5%受到中度污染。研究较为全面地分析了土壤汞污染的现状及浓度,为郑州市土壤汞污染防治提供参考。     

Economic growth,international trade,and the depletion or conservation of renewable natural resources

Conservation of renewable natural resources and promotion of economic growth are both sustainable development goals. Here, we study the interdependency between economic growth, international trade, and the use of renewable natural resources—under alternative institutional settings of either open access or full property rights—in an endogenous growth model. We find that if the resource is depleted over time, consumption growth is reduced. Economic growth and international trade only impact resource use when the resource is harvested under full property rights. Then, widening international trade can lead countries to shift from conservation to depletion. Changes in the institutional setting of resource use in one country may have repercussions on trading partners. Our results indicate potential trade-offs between the sustainable development goals and imply that policies focusing on resource use or trade (e.g., international trade bans or certified trade) are not sufficient to prevent resource depletion.     

Discounting in the presence of scarce ecosystem services

The discount rate for cost-benefit analysis has to take account of future scarcity of ecosystem services in consumption and production. Previous literature focuses on the first aspect and shows the importance of the relative price effect, for given growth rates of consumption and ecosystem services. This paper focuses on intermediate ecosystem services in production and shows that for limited substitutability and a low growth rate of these ecosystem services, the growth rate of consumption, and thus the discount rate, declines towards a low value. Using a Ramsey growth model, the paper distinguishes three cases. If ecosystem services can be easily substituted, the discount rate converges to the usual value in the long term. Secondly, if ecosystem services can be easily substituted in production but not in consumption, the relative price effect is important. Finally, and most interestingly, if ecosystem services cannot be easily substituted in production, the discount rate declines towards a low value and the relative price effect is less important. Another part of the previous literature has shown that a declining discount rate is the result of introducing several forms of uncertainty, but this paper reaches that conclusion from an endogenous effect on the growth rate of the economy.     

乙草胺对蛋白核小球藻的毒性效应研究

乙草胺是我国使用量最大的除草剂之一,在水体中广泛存在。已有研究证明,乙草胺对人类、老鼠和鱼类具有毒害效应,而关于其对浮游植物影响的研究较少。以蛋白核小球藻(Chlorella pyrenoidosa)为模型,使用1～10 000μg·L~(-1)的乙草胺对其进行7 d的暴露实验,考察小球藻生长性能、叶绿素含量、光合作用产氧量以及光合作用相关基因(pbsA、rbcL和rbcS)表达的变化。结果表明,较低浓度的乙草胺可刺激蛋白核小球藻生长,而较高浓度乙草胺则会抑制其生长;并且乙草胺会通过影响小球藻叶绿素的含量而影响光合作用产氧量;小球藻光合作用相关基因pbsA、rbcL和rbcS表达大多显著上升,这可能是对乙草胺胁迫响应的反馈调节。研究表明,乙草胺会对蛋白核小球藻的生长及光合作用产生影响。