Attributional life cycle assessment of woodchips for bioethanol production

Besides the apparent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, other important factors contributing to the renewed interest in biofuels are energy security concerns and the need of sustainable transportation fuel. Nearly 30% of the annual CO₂ emissions in the U.S. come from the transportation sector and more than half of the fuel is imported. Biofuels appear to be a promising option to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and the reliance on imported oil concomitantly. The interest on (ligno) cellulosic ethanol is gaining momentum as corn-based ethanol is criticized for using agricultural outputs for fuel production. Among many lignocellulosic feedstocks, woodchips is viewed as one of the most promising feedstocks for producing liquid transportation fuels. The renewable and carbon neutral nature of the feedstocks, similar chemical and physical properties to gasoline, and the low infrastructure cost due to the availability of fuel flex vehicles and transportation networks make (ligno) cellulosic bioethanol an attractive option. An in-depth LCA of woodchips shows that harvesting and woodchips processing stage and transportation to the facility stage emit large amount of environmental pollutants compared to other life cycle stages of ethanol production. Our analysis also found that fossil fuel consumption and respiratory inorganic effects are the two most critical environmental impact categories in woodchips production. We have used Eco-indicator 99 based cradle-to-gate LCA method with a functional unit of 4 m³ of dry hardwood chips production.     

NO3--N负荷对树皮填料人工湿地早期反硝化及释碳速率的影响

为了将污水厂尾水作为再生水进行利用,常常需要对尾水进行深度脱氮,针对尾水的水质特征,在深度脱氮时常常需投加碳源.试验采用树皮作为填料,兼作脱氮的缓释碳源,进行树皮填料人工湿地深度脱氮模型试验,研究进水NO_3~--N负荷对反硝化和树皮释放碳源的影响.结果表明,树皮填料人工湿地可稳定脱氮;反硝化速率遵循Monod关系式,随进水NO_3~--N负荷增大而递增,饱和常数KS=19.10 mg·L~(-1);硝氮去除率随进水NO_3~--N负荷增大而减小;在树皮填料人工湿地运行早期,树皮释碳总量、树皮释碳速率随进水NO_3~--N负荷增大而递增,与进水NO_3~--N均呈线性正相关;树皮静态释碳速率为0.2 mg·(g·d)-1,与腐朽木等中空松散的植物碳源相比,碳源缓释性能较好,释碳周期较长,是良好的缓释碳源.     

CO2 emission reduction for Japanese petrochemicals

Energy efficiency in the Japanese industry is one of the highest in the world. As a consequence, reduction of CO₂ emissions is considered to be difficult and costly. However little attention has been paid as of yet to changes related to so-called non-energy use of fossil fuels. The analysis in this paper suggests that a large number of options exist for emission reduction in the Japanese petrochemical industry. This includes the introduction of biomass feedstocks, the introduction of new catalytic production processes, and changes in waste handling. The use of bioplastics and the use of CO₂ feedstocks seem costly options for GHG emission reduction that should not be applied on the short term. Japanese GHG emissions can be reduced by 7.7% if the optimal set of emission mitigation options is applied. About 60 Mt emission reduction (4.9%) can be achieved by changes on the supply side, another 35 Mt emission reduction (2.8%) can be achieved by changes in waste management. While changes in waste management can be implemented before 2010, biomass introduction on the supply side will probably require a longer lead-time. About half of the emission reduction is cost–effective, but will require further technology development. The other half can be achieved at a cost level of 10,000 yen/t CO₂ (80 US$/t CO₂). The latter part is based on proven technology that is currently not cost–effective.     

双视角下中国畜牧业甲烷排放的温室效应

准确评价甲烷（CH₄）的温室效应是制定有效减排路径的基础.首次采用新提出的、针对短寿命气候污染物（SLCP）设计的气候指标GWP-star （GWP^*）对中国畜牧业CH₄排放的温室效应进行定量评价,并与常用的GWP指标评价结果相比较.结果表明,GWP的视角下我国畜牧业CH₄排放的温室效应持续增加.因此,畜牧业实现碳中和需要完全消除排放,或以增加碳汇、增加资源化利用的形式抵消每年稳定的CH₄排放.在GWP^*的视角下,2015~2019年间畜牧业CH₄排放的温室效应较20年前有所减少,降低的热量相当于从20年前的大气中减少2.1×10⁴万t CO₂的热量,畜牧业只需每年有效降低0.3%的CH₄排放则可在短期内实现自身碳中和.在中国畜牧业持续采取有效减排措施的情况下,采用GWP^*的标准制定减排目标比用GWP制定的减排目标更早达到,但选择GWP还是GWP^*需要综合考虑评价的目的、评价的时间尺度和实际可操作性.     

Potential and sustainability for carbon sequestration with improved soil management in agricultural soils of China

Arable land soils generally have lower organic carbon (C) levels than soils under native vegetation; increasing the C stocks through improved management is suggested as an effective means to sequester CO₂ from the atmosphere. China's arable lands, accounting for 13% of the world's total, play an important role in soil C sequestration, but their potential to enhance C sequestration has not yet been quantitatively assessed. The C sequestration by agricultural soils is affected by many environmental factors (such as climate and soil conditions), biological processes (crop C fixation, decomposition and transformation), and crop and soil management (e.g. tillage and manure application). Estimation of the C sequestration potential requires the quantification of the combined effects of these factors and processes. In this study, we used a coupled remote sensing- and process-based ecosystem model to estimate the potential for C sequestration in agricultural soils of China and evaluated the sustainability of soil C uptake under different soil management options. The results show that practicing no-tillage on 50% of the arable lands and returning 50% of the crop residue to soils would lead to an annual soil C sequestration of 32.5 Tg C, which accounts for about 4% of China's current annual C emission. Soil C sequestration with improved soil management is highly time-dependent; the effect lasted for only 20–80 years. Generally, practicing no-tillage causes higher rate and longer sustainability of soil C sequestration than only increasing crop residue into soils. The potential for soil C sequestration varied greatly among different regions due to the differences in climate, soil conditions and crop productivity.     

Stakeholder evaluation of sustainable development in the life sciences industry

Corporate sustainable development (CSD) can help to force the life sciences industry (LSI) to move from responsibility towards accountability.In terms of sustainability issues, which currently affect and occupy the LSI and their stakeholders, one could speak of 4 generations:

• •The local side-effects of operations, production, distribution and use.
• •The effects and risks of the used and applied technologies and methods.
• •The affordability and access to essential available treatments and products.
• •The necessity and need for new essential products or treatments for neglected diseases.

In order to make corporations accountable, there have been many efforts in the field of evaluation. These efforts mostly remain very general. The problem is however that the different stakeholders have diverse understandings of the various sustainability issues. The paper proposes a 2-phased stakeholder-oriented evaluation method for evaluating CSD-strategies on specific sustainability issues of the LSI in Basel, Switzerland. During the first phase, corporate commitment is challenged against the stakeholders' expectations. In the second phase, relevant stakeholders evaluate the effective corporate performance against the corporate commitment.The evaluation method was extensively tested with the stakeholders of the LSI in 5 case studies on the 4 issue generations. The method turned out to work and delivered interesting insight into managing sustainability issues.     

The impact of climate change under different thinning regimes on carbon sequestration in a German forest district

The objective of this paper is to assess how much carbon (C) is currently stored in a forest district in Thuringia, Germany, and how the carbon stocks will develop up to the year 2099 with a changing climate and under various management regimes (including no management), with different assumptions about carbon dioxide (CO₂) fertilization effects. We applied the process-based model 4C and a wood product model to a forest district in Germany and evaluated both models for the period from 2002 to 2010, based on forest inventory data for the stands in the district. Then, we simulated the growth of the stands in the forest district under three different realizations of a climate change scenario, combined with different management regimes. Our simulations show that in 2099, between 630 and 1149 t C ha^?1 will be stored in this district. The simulations also showed that climate change affects carbon sequestration. The no management strategy sequestered the highest amount of carbon (8.7 t C ha^?1 year^?1), which was greater than the management regimes. In the model, the possible fertilization effect of CO₂ is an important factor. However, forest management remains the determining factor in this forest district.     

Determinants of CO2 emissions in Brazil and Russia between 1992 and 2011: A decomposition analysis

This paper deals with the decomposition analysis of energy-related CO₂ emissions in Brazil and Russia from 1992 to 2011. The refined Laspeyres index (RLI) method applied and both aggregated and sectoral changes in CO₂ emissions decomposed. Brazil’s and Russia’s economies divided into three economic sectors including agriculture, industry and services. Impact of four main factors, such as economic activity, employment, energy intensity, and carbon intensity in CO₂ emissions changes were analyzed. The aggregated decomposition analysis revealed that Brazil is still far from a decoupling between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions where Russia achieved a substantial decline in carbon emissions mainly due to the improved energy intensity. The empirical findings of sectoral decomposition analysis emphasized that the economic activity was the major CO₂ increasing factor in Brazil’s economic sectors. On the other hand the economic activity effect followed a reducing impact in Russia’s sectoral emissions until 2000. The structural changes between sectors and their impacts on CO₂ emissions were captured by employment effect. Energy intensity and carbon intensity effects underlined that environmental sustainability widely neglected in Brazil and Russia during the study period. The results yield important hints for energy planning and sustainable environment.     

UK air quality in 2050—synergies with climate change policies

Estimates are made of air quality in the UK around the time of 2050 on the assumption that significant changes are made to energy and transport technologies to move towards the goal of a 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 on a 1990 base. London is used as an example to assess possible future concentrations of particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen. Emission reductions and their effects on ozone concentrations in the southern UK are also discussed. The paper concludes that significant synergies and co-benefits are possible through a concerted consideration of air quality and climate change policies.     

Regional sustainability contrasts in Brazil as indicated by the Compass of Sustainability – CompasSus

The current need for assessing sustainable processes and states is a driving assumption for this article, having as objective to present preliminary results of a new assessment approach, the Compass of Sustainability (CompasSus), applied to administrative regions of Brazil. Its methodological approach is based on a combination of existing assessment methodologies, such as the Human Development Index and the Ecological Footprint. CompasSus is elaborated under the perspective of rather complementary operational concepts of sustainable development, namely weak and strong sustainability, which are often seen as competing ones. In spite of the advances on the perspective of sustainable development perceived in international agreements for conservation of nature, as well as in the implementation of national policies aiming at sustainability, there still exists an operational ambiguity of the concept of sustainability. Thus, its fuzzy theoretical consolidation for clear definition of objectives and lines of action still leads to different assumptions for diverse stakeholders and authors. Looking at the Brazilian case, conservation strategies are needed to protect the world's largest tropical rainforest against a predatory business – as-usual frontier expansion. As for addressing trade-offs between environmental conservation and regional development demands the CompasSus introduces a combined hemispheric assessment of sustainability. In 2006, the state in which the sustainability index had the best performance was DF (Distrito Federal). This, the seat of the capital city, presents an economy based on the public and the service sectors, both very little carbon and energy intensive. Furthermore, the high income per capita, and good social indicators associated with the small relevance of the agrarian sector grants it the best sustainability index, which is determined by performances in two components representing strong and weak sustainability. In the other extreme is São Paulo (SP) where a high population density and major impacts on waterways have implied a worse performance in weak sustainability index, whereas the high consumption of energy together with high carbon emissions have also determined a low performance in strong sustainability index.     

The adoption of cleaner vehicles in the UK: exploring the consumer attitude–action gap

This paper reports the initial findings of two research projects that identify attitudinal barriers inhibiting the adoption of cleaner vehicles in the UK. The first, conducted for the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership by Ecolane Transport Consultancy, reviews the evidence of consumer attitudes to low carbon cars. The study shows that car buyers have a poor knowledge of cleaner car technologies, the environmental impacts of road transport and car ownership costs. The second study, initiated within the Open University's Design Innovation Group, identifies key ‘hotspot’ factors that influence consumers' adoption of low carbon products. The study, which is ongoing, has concluded that identifying where and when these hotspot points of leverage occur could help inform initiatives to facilitate consumer adoption and effective use.     

Experiences from early stages of a national industrial symbiosis programme in the UK: determinants and coordination challenges

This paper reviews the factors influencing the development and sustained operation of regional industrial symbiosis (IS) networks and discusses the roles a coordination body can play to alter these factors so as to catalyse the development and functioning of such networks. These are analysed within the context of experiences gained in the early stages of three regional IS programmes under development in the UK, and of the recently launched national IS programme (NISP) that they are part of. It is stated that the policy framework in the UK has elements supportive of such networks to evolve, and the regional public bodies are favouring their development. Based on differences among studied cases, it is argued that the nature of companies’ operations and industrial history in the regions, the extent of peer pressure, the positioning of the coordinating body in the region, and its approach to awareness raising and recruitment have major influence on the progress of the programmes. Finally, the paper emphasises the importance of aligning the characteristics of emerging operations with the longer-term sustainability requirements. If accepted, this challenge assigns additional responsibilities to the coordinating parties.     

Reviewing the carbon footprint analysis of hotels: Life Cycle Energy Analysis (LCEA) as a holistic method for carbon impact appraisal of tourist accommodation

This study discusses the potential for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to be utilized for the environmental assessment of tourism accommodation facilities, and their contribution to global carbon footprint. To demonstrate the viability of employing LCA in the hotel sector, its simplified derivative, Life Cycle Energy Analysis (LCEA), is applied to two tourism accommodation facilities in Poole, Dorset (UK) to quantify their CO₂ emissions. The results indicate that the reviewed hotels are less energy and carbon-intense than the tourism accommodation establishments reported in the literature. This may indirectly imply the continuous progress of hotel’s energy efficiency over time. The implications of the current energy use practices in the reviewed hotels are discussed and suggestions are made on how to further improve the energy performance and therefore cut the carbon footprint. Recommendations for hotel management and policy-making are developed to reduce the energy and carbon intensity of the hotel industry. A method for energy and carbon footprint analysis of outsourced laundries and breakfast services is also proposed.     

The influence of operational flexibility on the exploitation of CO2 reduction potential in industrial energy production

Energy conservation is a key measure for reducing CO₂ emissions. However, realising the emission reduction potential of an energy conservation investment depends on many factors, such as energy prices. The EU emissions trading scheme has made the investment analysis more complicated and increased the economic value of operational flexibility under fluctuating carbon prices. The different operational options in industrial energy production complicate the estimation of CO₂ reduction potential in the investment phase. Increasing operational flexibility enables optimisation in the economic dimension, which may lead to less than optimum CO₂ reduction. In our case study, which analysed the effects of an energy conservation investment made in the pulp and paper industry, the deviation from the expected emission reduction was around 30% over the period from 2000 to 2007. However, it seems that with high carbon prices, increasing operational flexibility has no significant effect on the carbon emissions. In policy-making, the freedom of action that is made possible by increasing operational flexibility should be taken into account when evaluating the contribution of an individual energy efficiency investment towards meeting the national targets for energy efficiency improvement and CO₂ emission reduction.     

Anatomy of a buzzword: The emergence of ‘the water-energy-food nexus’ in UK natural resource debates

The existence of a water-energy-food ‘nexus’ has been gaining significant attention in international natural resource policy debates in recent years. We argue the term ‘nexus’ can be currently seen as a buzzword: a term whose power derives from a combination of ambiguous meaning and strong normative resonance. We explore the ways in which the nexus terminology is emerging and being mobilised by different stakeholders in natural resource debates in the UK context. We suggest that in the UK the mobilisation of the nexus terminology can best be understood as symptomatic of broader global science-policy trends, including an increasing emphasis on integration as an ideal; an emphasis on technical solutions to environmental problems; achievement of efficiency gains and ‘win-wins’; and a preference for technocratic forms of environmental managerialism. We identify and critique an ‘integrative imaginary’ underpinning much of the UK discourse around the concept of the nexus, and argue that attending to questions of power is a crucial but often underplayed aspect of proposed integration. We argue that while current efforts to institutionalise the language of the nexus as a conceptual framework for research in the UK may provide a welcome opportunity for new forms of transdisciplinary, they may risk turning nexus into a ‘matter of fact’ where it should remain a ‘matter of concern’. In this vein, we indicate the importance of critique to the development of nexus research.     

Comparison of registry methodologies for reporting carbon benefits for afforestation projects in the United States

No mandatory national program currently exists to mitigate climate change in the US Consequently, voluntary programs and mandatory state-level programs are multiplying to allow users to register emission-offset activities, creating multiple often contradictory measurement and recording standards.For the land use sector we examined a hypothetical project: tree planting on rangelands in California. We apply four sets of protocols from the following registries – the California Climate Action Registry, the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the USDOE 1605(b) program – and compare the results to the ‘actual’ net sequestration and also briefly compare them to international protocols such as the relevant Clean Development Mechanism methodology. Carbon in land use can be estimated accurately, precisely and cost-effectively, but to achieve this requires good protocols. As predicted, the consequence of applying different protocols for reportable carbon was significant. The choice of measurement pools, the handling of the baseline and the issue of uncertainty led to a baseline estimate of 0–66,690 t CO₂-e, and final sequestered carbon totals (after 60 years) that varied between 118,044 and 312,685 t CO₂-e—a factor of 2.5 difference. The amount reported under 1605(b) is the closest to “actual” with CCX entity reporting the most divergent.     

秸秆污泥基活性炭的制备及吸附H2S的实验研究

以市政污泥和玉米秸秆的混合物为原材料,KOH为活化剂,制备了秸秆污泥基活性炭(AC).实验考察了秸秆与污泥用量比例,以及活化剂用量对秸秆污泥基活性炭物化特性的影响.结果显示,m(污泥)∶m(秸秆)∶m(KOH)为3∶7∶2的条件下,制备的活性炭C372以微孔为主,微孔率达到0.59,比表面积达到369.271 m2·g-1.该活性炭的穿透硫容与饱和硫容均最高,分别为5.82 mg·g-1(以H2S计)和7.00 mg·g-1(以H2S计),活性炭表面内酯基的存在不利于其对硫化氢的吸附.SEM和BET表征分析显示,随着秸秆在污泥中比例的增加,活性炭比表面积增大,对H2S的吸附量提高.活性炭C372具有较好的再生性能,二次再生后其穿透硫容与饱和硫容均能恢复55%以上.     

废茶活性炭脱硫脱硝性能的应用研究

为探讨废茶活性炭对于SO2和NO脱除作用的制约因素,分别考察了材料孔径结构、石墨化程度及表面结构对其脱硫脱硝性能的影响,同时研究了其吸附机制及动力学过程.结果表明,较高的石墨化程度是影响材料脱硫性能的主要因素,微孔径较小且含氮碱性基团较高时有利于SO2的脱除;发达的中孔结构是制约NO脱除效率的关键因素,含氮碱性基团对NO的脱除具有一定的促进作用;烟气中SO2和NO共存时,材料的脱硫脱硝性能均有所降低,氧气和水蒸气的加入能够改善其脱硫脱硝效率;废茶活性炭在无水环境下对于SO2和NO的吸附作用均以物理吸附为主,水蒸气的存在促进了材料对SO2的化学吸附;通过动力学模型的拟合发现,Bangham吸附模型能够很好地描述材料脱硫脱硝的动力学过程,其R2均高于0.989,材料对于SO2和NO的吸附速率常数均随氧气和水蒸气的加入而减小.     

臭氧污染对不同品种小麦干物质与生物量碳积累与分配的影响

近地层臭氧(O3)污染对陆地生态系统及植物生长的危害备受关注.本研究利用开放式臭氧污染(Free-air O3concentration enrichment,O3FACE)研究平台,研究了大气O3浓度增加(比周围大气高50%)对长江三角洲地区5个冬小麦(Tritcium aestivum L.)品种(扬麦15、扬麦16、烟农19、扬幅麦2号和嘉兴002)的干物质与生物量碳的积累与分配以及作物残体C/N比的影响.结果表明,不同品种小麦的干物质积累和分配对O3升高的响应差异明显;O3升高具有降低扬麦15、嘉兴002和增加扬幅麦2号总生物量的趋势,但对扬麦16和烟农19几乎无影响,其中嘉兴002达到显著水平.O3升高显著增加了扬麦15、嘉兴002和显著降低了烟农19和扬幅麦2号的根/冠比,而对品种扬麦16无影响,导致干物质在地上和地下分配呈现品种差异.高O3环境下扬麦15、扬麦16和嘉兴002穗重降低,而烟农19和扬幅麦2号无明显变化;小麦籽粒占穗的比重在高O3条件下嘉兴002、烟农19和扬幅麦2号显著降低8.2%～15.5%,扬麦15呈增加趋势而扬麦16变化不大;表明O3升高将致嘉兴002、烟农19、扬幅麦2号和扬麦16不同程度减产.O3升高导致烟农19和扬幅麦2号秸秆碳量显著增加14.1%～22.9%和C/N比显著降低10.9%～29.1%,JX002秸秆碳量显著减少和C/N比显著增加,扬麦16和扬麦15的秸秆碳量与C/N比则分别呈增加和降低趋势.O3升高显著降低了扬麦16、烟农19和扬幅麦2号品种的根茬碳量和C/N比,对嘉兴002的根茬碳量无显著影响却显著降低了C/N比,但对扬麦15根茬碳数量与质量均影响不大.评价小麦干物质的形成与分配、根茬和秸秆固碳的质与量对O3污染的响应需考虑品种差异影响.     

废铁屑强化污泥厌氧消化产甲烷可行性分析

有关全球气候变化的《巴黎协定》落槌,预示着污水处理追求碳中和运行的时代已经来临.碳中和狭义理解即能源自给自足,这就要求污水处理厂应最大程度转化污水中有机物或产生的剩余污泥所蕴含的有机能源,并将其生成可再生能源——甲烷.然而,剩余污泥能源转化率较低一直都是限制厌氧消化技术广为应用的瓶颈.在污泥预处理技术之外,向厌氧消化系统中投加废铁屑强化甲烷生产有望成为另一个提高能源转化率的突破口,继而实现"以废促能、变废为宝"的目的.本综述从铁腐蚀析氢现象入手,在描述铁腐蚀析氢原理、析出H2对产CH4过程影响的基础上,对铁在厌氧系统ORP减少方面的作用、对厌氧微生物生理、生化特性的影响、对涉及微生物酶活的影响等进行了全面的介绍.最后,还通过生命周期评估(LCA)评价了基于废铁屑的污泥厌氧消化技术对环境的影响及经济合理性.