The feasibility of combining the concept of sustainability principles and the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is examined. The goal is to achieve an operational tool that incorporates sustainability in product development and strategic planning. While the method outlined has the structure of LCA, it emphasises aspects and parameters often omitted from traditional LCA. The analysis and results can be either qualitative or semi-quantitative. Although a qualitative analysis is less time consuming, it can still highlight the important issues. Qualitative information, which is easily lost in a quantitative analysis, can be emphasised. One of the conclusions is that the method is well suited for screening analysis. 相似文献
Weathering rates of base cations are crucial in critical load calculations and assessments of sustainable forestry. The weathering rate on a single site with detailed geological data can be modelled using the PROFILE model. For environmental assessments on a regional scale, the weathering rates for sites are scaled into regional maps. The step from sites to regional level requires focus on the spatial variation of weathering rates. In this paper, a method is presented by which weathering rates are calculated for 25589 Swedish sites with total elemental analysis for the soil. Based on a part of the results, a methodology for creating area covering maps by geostatistical analysis and kriging is described. A normative reconstruction model was used to transform total elemental analysis to mineralogy. Information from the Swedish Forest Inventory database and other databases were used to derive texture and other important information for the sites, e.g. climate, deposition and vegetation data. The calculated weathering rates show a regional pattern that indicates possibilities for interpolation of data in large parts of Sweden. Geostatistical analysis of an area in southern Sweden shows different properties for different base cations. Kriging was performed for potassium to demonstrate the method. It was concluded that different base cations and different regions have to be analysed separately, in order to optimise the kriging method. 相似文献
Livestock manure is a significant source of atmospheric methane (CH4), especially during liquid storage. In liquid manure (slurry) storages a surface crust may form naturally, or an artificial surface crust can be established. We investigated whether there is a potential for CH4 oxidation in this environment. Surface crust materials were sampled from experimental storages with cattle slurry (with natural crust) or anaerobically digested cattle slurry (with straw layer) that had been stored with or without a wooden cover. Extracts of surface crust material were incubated with 5.6% CH4 in the headspace, and methanotrophic activity was demonstrated in all four treatments following a 4- to 10-d lag phase. Subsequent incubation of field-moist surface crust material with 350 microL L(-1) CH4 also showed CH4 oxidation, indicating a potential for CH4 removal under practical storage conditions. There was no CH4 oxidation activity during incubation of autoclaved samples. Methane oxidation rates were 0.1 to 0.5 mg kg(-1) organic matter (OM) h(-1), which is comparable with the activity in wetlands and rice paddies. Partial drying increased CH4 oxidation to 0.2 to 1.4 mg kg(-1) OM h(-1), probably as a result of improved diffusivity within the surface crust. Rewetting reversed the stimulation of methanotrophic activity in some treatments, but not in others, possibly due to a decline in CH4 production in anaerobic volumes, or to growth of methanotrophs during incubation. This study presents direct evidence for methanotrophic activity in slurry storages. Measures to ensure crust formation with or without a solid cover appear to be a cost-effective greenhouse gas mitigation option. 相似文献
The only documentation on the building downwash algorithm in AERMOD (American Meteorological Society/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model), referred to as PRIME (Plume Rise Model Enhancements), is found in the 2000 A&WMA journal article by Schulman, Strimaitis and Scire. Recent field and wind tunnel studies have shown that AERMOD can overpredict concentrations by factors of 2 to 8 for certain building configurations. While a wind tunnel equivalent building dimension study (EBD) can be conducted to approximately correct the overprediction bias, past field and wind tunnel studies indicate that there are notable flaws in the PRIME building downwash theory. A detailed review of the theory supported by CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and wind tunnel simulations of flow over simple rectangular buildings revealed the following serious theoretical flaws: enhanced turbulence in the building wake starting at the wrong longitudinal location; constant enhanced turbulence extending up to the wake height; constant initial enhanced turbulence in the building wake (does not vary with roughness or stability); discontinuities in the streamline calculations; and no method to account for streamlined or porous structures.
Implications: This paper documents theoretical and other problems in PRIME along with CFD simulations and wind tunnel observations that support these findings. Although AERMOD/PRIME may provide accurate and unbiased estimates (within a factor of 2) for some building configurations, a major review and update is needed so that accurate estimates can be obtained for other building configurations where significant overpredictions or underpredictions are common due to downwash effects. This will ensure that regulatory evaluations subject to dispersion modeling requirements can be based on an accurate model. Thus, it is imperative that the downwash theory in PRIME is corrected to improve model performance and ensure that the model better represents reality. 相似文献
• Nanowire-assisted LEEFT is applied for water disinfection with low voltages.• LEEFT inactivates bacteria by disrupting cell membrane through electroporation.• Multiple electrodes and device configurations have been developed for LEEFT.• The LEEFT is low-cost, highly efficient, and produces no DBPs.• The LEEFT can potentially be applicable for water disinfection at all scales. Water disinfection is a critical step in water and wastewater treatment. The most widely used chlorination suffers from the formation of carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBPs) while alternative methods (e.g., UV, O3, and membrane filtration) are limited by microbial regrowth, no residual disinfectant, and high operation cost. Here, a nanowire-enabled disinfection method, locally enhanced electric field treatment (LEEFT), is introduced with advantages of no chemical addition, no DBP formation, low energy consumption, and efficient microbial inactivation. Attributed to the lightning rod effect, the electric field near the tip area of the nanowires on the electrode is significantly enhanced to inactivate microbes, even though a small external voltage (usually<5 V) is applied. In this review, after emphasizing the significance of water disinfection, the theory of the LEEFT is explained. Subsequently, the recent development of the LEEFT technology on electrode materials and device configurations are summarized. The disinfection performance is analyzed, with respect to the operating parameters, universality against different microorganisms, electrode durability, and energy consumption. The studies on the inactivation mechanisms during the LEEFT are also reviewed. Lastly, the challenges and future research of LEEFT disinfection are discussed. 相似文献
In the scientific literature, few valuations of biodiversity and ecosystem services following the impacts of toxicity are available, hampered by the lack of ecotoxicological documentation. Here, tributyltin is used to conduct a contingent valuation study as well as cost–benefit analysis (CBA) of measures for improving the environmental status in Swedish coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. Benefits considering different dimensions when assessing environmental status are highlighted and a quantitative environmental assessment framework based on available technology, ecological conditions, and economic valuation methodology is developed. Two scenarios are used in the valuation study: (a) achieving good environmental status by 2020 in accordance with EU legislation (USD 119 household−1 year−1) and (b) achieving visible improvements by 2100 due to natural degradation (USD 108 household−1 year−1) during 8 years. The later scenario was used to illustrate an application of the assessment framework. The CBA results indicate that both scenarios might generate a welfare improvement.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0682-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 相似文献