Environmental implications of perfluorotributylamine—a potent greenhouse gas

Perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), a newly discovered greenhouse gas with the highest radiative efficiency, may have been released into the environment from a variety of industrial and medical uses in small amounts, leading to the potential contribution to the global warming addressed in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Kyoto Protocol. The aims of this article are to review the physicochemical properties and commercial/potential uses of PFTBA reported in the current available literature and also discuss its environmental implications based on its molecular structure. Results showed that PFTBA had extremely low solubility in water and relatively high vaporization from the water bodies, suggesting that this long-lived greenhouse gas will sink into the atmosphere. This paper also addressed the possible loss pathways through reactions with highly reactive ions in the upper atmosphere and toxic decomposition products (e.g., hydrogen fluoride, fluorine, and carbonyl fluoride) emitted when heated at high temperature. In this regard, there is a need for PFTBA emission reduction strategies due to its increasing usage in many professional applications and its potential contribution to anthropogenic climate forcing in the near future.     

Estimation of greenhouse gas emissions in China and the abatement measures

The major emission sources of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and CFCs in China have been identified, and the emission trends has been estimated. Besides fossil fuel combustion, human respiration and biomass burning are important sources. Some feasible abatement measures on energy conservation, afforestation and biomass recycling have been discussed.     

Sharing developed countries’ post-2012 greenhouse gas emission reductions based on comparable efforts

The Bali Action Plan as adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2007, states that Annex I (developed) countries should reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, based on comparable efforts. Within this context, we have explored various comparable effort approaches (for example, equal marginal abatement costs for all countries) for reducing emissions by the year 2020 for individual countries and regions. In all calculations, the total reduction for Annex I countries as a group is assumed to be 30% below 1990 levels. In the analysis, we compare the reduction targets as calculated from the different approaches with the emission reductions as pledged by these countries as part of the Copenhagen Accord, as drafted under the UNFCCC in 2009. Our analysis indicates that the different elements in these calculations may cause a diversity in outcomes and that, therefore, individual countries may favour certain elements over others. These elements include (a) the choice of the approach itself (the same approach may produce very different outcomes for countries with diverging national circumstances, such as Canada and Russia); (b) the reference year (such as 1990 or 2006 emissions, is very important for countries with an increase in emissions since 1990 (e.g. the United States, Canada) or for those that have lower emission levels (e.g. Russia, the Ukraine)); and (c) rules on land use (these are important for countries with large forest areas). It should be noted that the stringency of the individual countries’ reductions as pledged, differs substantially from the stringency of the reduction targets calculated from the effort-sharing approaches. The current pledges by both the European Union and the United States, are lower than the reductions that would be obtained in the effort-sharing approaches for a 30% overall reduction in Annex I countries.     

Quantifying and managing regional greenhouse gas emissions：Waste sector of Daejeon, Korea

A credible accounting of national and regional inventories for the greenhouse gas （GHG） reduction has emerged as one of the most significant current discussions. This article assessed the regional GHG emissions by three categories of the waste sector in Daejeon Metropolitan City （DMC）, Korea, examined the potential for DMC to reduce GHG emission, and discussed the methodology modified from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Korea national guidelines. During the last five years, DMC＇s overall GHG emissions were 239 thousand tons C02 eq./year from eleven public environmental infrastructure facilities, with a population of 1.52 million. Of the three categories, solid waste treatment/disposal contributes 68%, whilst wastewater treatment and others contribute 22% and 10% respectively. Among GHG unit emissions per ton of waste treatment, the biggest contributor was waste incineration of 694 kg CO2 eq./ton, followed by waste disposal of 483 kg CO2 eq./ton, biological treatment of solid waste of 209 kg CO2 eq./ton, wastewater treatment of 0.241 kg CO2 eq./m3, and public water supplies of 0.067 kg CO2 eq./m3. Furthermore, it is suggested that the potential in reducing GHG emissions from landfill process can be as high as 47.5% by increasing landfill gas recovery up to 50%. Therefore, it is apparent that reduction strategies for the main contributors of GHG emissions should take precedence over minor contributors and lead to the best practice for managing GHGs abatement.     

Mercury emission and pollution in Chongqing City, China

1　ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＣｈｏｎｇｑｉｎｇｉｓａｂｉｇｃｉｔｙｉｎｓｏｕｔｈｗｅｓｔＣｈｉｎａ,ａｎｄｉｓａｎｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔｉｎｄｕｓｔｒｉａｌｃｉｔｙｗｉｔｈ 2 30 0 0ｋｍ2 ａｒｅａ .Ａｂｏｕｔ 17ｍｉｌｌｉｏｎｔｏｎｓｏｆｃｏａｌａｒｅａｂｕｒｎｈｅｒｅｐｅｒｙｅａｒ.ＳｏｔｈｅａｃｉｄｐｒｅｃｉｐｉｔａｔｉｏｎａｎｄＨｇｅｍｉｓｓｉｏｎａｒｅｓｅｒｉｏｕｓａｎｄｔｈｅｅｃｏｓｙｓｔｅｍｉｓｓｉｇｎｉｆｉｃａｎｔｌｙａｆｆｅｃｔｅｄｉｎＣｈｏｎｇｑｉｎｇ(Ｍｏｕ ,1992 ;1995) ,ｍｏｒｅｔｈ…     

Sectoral emission inventories of greenhouse gases for 1990 on a per country basis as well as on 1°×1°

A set of global greenhouse gas emission inventories has been compiled per source category for the 1990 annual emissions of the direct greenhouse gases CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O, as well as of the indirect greenhouse gases (ozone precursors) CO, NO_x and NMVOC, and of SO₂. The inventories are available by sector, both on a per country/region basis and on a 1°×1° grid. Developed by TNO and RIVM for constructing the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) Version 2.0, in co-operation with the Global Emission Inventory Activity (GEIA) of IGAC/IGBP, the inventories meet the needs of both policy-makers and atmospheric modellers. The data sources for activity data, emission factors and grid maps are discussed with the focus on anthropogenic sources of primarily CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O. The estimates of a standard group of anthropogenic sources are presented for each compound per world region.     

Sampling and determination of carbonyls in stack gas

Ｓｏｍｅａｌｄｅｈｙｄｅｓａｎｄｋｅｔｏｎｅｓａｒｅｔｏｘｉｃａｎｄｃａｒｃｉｎｏｇｅｎｉｃ．Ｔｏｔｈｅｐｏｌｕｔｉｏｎｏｆａｌｄｅｈｙｄｅｓａｎｄｋｅｔｏｎｅｓ，ａｇｒｅａｔａｔｅｎｔｉｏｎｈａｓｂｅｅｎｐａｉｄａｌｏｖｅｒｔｈｅｗｏｒｌｄ．Ｔｈｅ...     

Emission of landfill gas in Qingdao, China

ＥｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌＳｃｉｅｎｃｅｓ，Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ１０００１２，Ｃｈｉｎａ）Ａｂｓｔｒａｃｔ：ＡｓｔｕｄｙｏｎｌａｎｄｆｉｌｌｇａｓｅｍｉｓｓｉｏｎｉｎＱｉｎｇｄａｏ，Ｃｈｉｎａｗａｓｃａｒｒｉｅｄｏｕｔ．Ｔｈｅｒｅｓｕｌｔｓｓｈｏｗｅｄｔｈ...     

Mercury in coal and its emission by coal combustion in the Northeast China

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Sensitivity experiments and assessment of climatic changes in China induced by greenhouse effect

Climatic changes can be separated into two parts: natural changes -and human activity influenced on climatic changes. The observed data could not only show the effects caused by human activity. Several simulated results as simulated by the GCMs induced by the greenhouse effects in China .have been analysed. It is shown that an obvious warming of about 3-6℃ in winter and 2-5℃ in summer in China as simulated by the GCMs induced by doubling CO2 have been found. There are getting drier or wetter regions in China due to doubled CO2 as simulated by most of models. Comparing the simulated results with the observed data in China, some simulated results are able to be believed. The GCMs should be improved, especially in the regional areas.     

Traffic emission and its impact on air quality in Guangzhou area

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The traffic emission and its impact on air quality in Guangzhou area

A comprehensive field measurement was set up in Guangzhou City of China and the key was placed on NO_x and O₃ pollution. The results indicated that the average driving speed of vehicle was only 14 km/h in downtown with high frequency of idle and acceleration. Upward fluxes of CO and NO were observed in Dongfeng street. NO_x annual mean concentration in urban area increased year by year, and NO_x was identified as the most important pollutant since 1995. Photochemical smog pollution was serious in general,spatial and seasonal distribution of O₃ was observed. O₃ concentration was kept in a high level in autumn, and its formation was restrained in summer due to frequent thunderstorm and high humidity. The numerical simulation showed the average concentration and maximum concentration of O₃ would increase 60%—100% if vehicular emission increased 100% in Guangzhou.     

A critical review on lead migration, transformation and emission control in Chinese coal‐fired power plants

Coal is widely utilized as an important energy source, but coal-fired power plant was considered to be an important anthropogenic lead emission source. In the present study, the distribution characteristics of lead in coal and combustion by-products are reviewed. Specifically, lead is mainly transferred to ash particles and the formation and migration mechanisms of particulate lead are summarized. Also, targeted measures are proposed to control the formation of fine particulate lead as well as to increase the removal efficiency during the low-temperature flue gas clean process. In detail, interactions between gaseous lead and some coal-bearing minerals or added adsorbents could obviously suppress the formation of fine particulate lead. On the other hand, some efforts (including promoting capture of fine particles, reducing resistivity of particles and strengthening the gas-liquid contact) could be made to improve the fine particulate lead removal capacity. Notably, the formation mechanism of fine particulate lead is still unclear due to the limitations of research methods. Some differences in the removal principles of fine particles and particulate lead make the lead emission precisely control a great challenge. Finally, the environmental potential risk of lead emission from flue gas and ash residues is addressed and further discussed.     

Biophoton emission,free radical and toxicity of benzene to aquatic biosystems

Ｂｉｏｐｈｏｔｏｎｅｍｉｓｓｉｏｎ，ｆｒｅｅｒａｄｉｃａｌａｎｄｔｏｘｉｃｉｔｙｏｆｂｅｎｚｅｎｅｔｏａｑｕａｔｉｃｂｉｏｓｙｓｔｅｍｓ￥ＷａｎｇＹｉｎｇｙａｎ；ＷａｎｇＪｉｇｕａｎｇ（ＢｅｉｊｉｎｇＭｕｎｉｃｉｐａｌＲｅｓｅａｒｃｈｉｎｓｔｉｔｕｔ...     

Decreased emission of nitrous oxide from delivery wards—case study in Sweden

The very potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O) is widely used as a mild anaesthetic for mothers in delivery work in Sweden. As a part of the Stockholm County Council environmental program it was decided in 2002 that the emissions should be drastically reduced. Different ways were theoretically evaluated, and catalytic splitting to nitrogen and oxygen gas (N₂ and O₂) was chosen for a demonstration installation. A Japanese commercial unit for treatment of mixed anaesthetic gases (Anesclean® from Showa Denko K.K.) was thoroughly modified and installed at the Karolinska University Hospital at Huddinge in Stockholm in 2004. The destruction of N₂O was optimised and studied for 2 years. Data from both collection and destruction are given in the article. Of the collected N₂O more than 95% was split to N₂ and O₂ in the very stable system. The overall emission decrease was mainly dependent on the share that could be collected in the specific exhaustion system as compared to the normal room ventilation. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) were used to evaluate the actual environmental value and economical cost for the process. Important factors are pointed out.     

Application of landscape connectivity in habitat suitability evaluation case study in Wolong Nature Reserve,Sichuan, China

１ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＬａｎｄｓｃａｐｅｃｏｎｎｅｃｔｉｖｉｔｙ，ａｓｏｎｅｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔｐａｒａｍｅｔｅｒｔｏｄｅｓｃｒｉｂｅｔｈｅｅｃｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌｐｒｏｃｅｓｅｓａｎｄｅｃｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌｆｕｎｃｔｉｏｎｓｉｎｌａｎｄｓｃａｐｅｅｃｏ...     

Environmental, land-use and economic implications of Brazilian sugarcane expansion 1996–2006

Governments are promoting biofuels and the resulting changes in land use and crop reallocation to biofuels production have raised concerns about impacts on environment and food security. The promotion of biofuels has also been questioned based on suggested marginal contribution to greenhouse gas emissions reduction, partly due to induced land use change causing greenhouse gas emissions. This study reports how the expansion of sugarcane in Brazil during 1996–2006 affected indicators for environment, land use and economy. The results indicate that sugarcane expansion did not in general contribute to direct deforestation in the traditional agricultural region where most of the expansion took place. The amount of forests on farmland in this area is below the minimum stated in law and the situation did not change over the studied period. Sugarcane expansion resulted in a significant reduction of pastures and cattle heads and higher economic growth than in neighboring areas. It could not be established to what extent the discontinuation of cattle production induced expansion of pastures in other areas, possibly leading to indirect deforestation. However, the results indicate that a possible migration of the cattle production reached further than the neighboring of expansion regions. Occurring at much smaller rates, expansion of sugarcane in regions such as the Amazon and the Northeast region was related to direct deforestation and competition with food crops, and appear not to have induced economic growth. These regions are not expected to experience substantial increases of sugarcane in the near future, but mitigating measures are warranted.     

Torpor and activity in a free-ranging tropical bat: implications for the distribution and conservation of mammals?

Bats are most diverse in the tropics, but there are no quantitative data on torpor use for energy conservation by any tropical bat in the wild. We examined the thermal biology, activity patterns and torpor use of two tree-roosting long-eared bats (Nyctophilus geoffroyi, 7.8?g) in tropical northern Australia in winter using temperature telemetry. Bats commenced activity about 20?min after sunset, ended activity about 2.5?h before sunrise and entered torpor everyday in the early morning even when minimum ambient temperatures (T _a) were as high as 23°C. On average, bats remained torpid for almost 5?h, mean minimum skin temperature (T _skin) measured was 22.8?±?0.1°C and daily T _skin minima were correlated with T _a. Our study shows that even in the tropics, torpor is frequently employed by bats, suggesting that worldwide most bat species are heterothermic and use torpor for energy conservation. We propose that the ability of employing torpor and the resulting highly plastic energy requirements may partially explain why these small insectivorous bats can inhabit almost the entire Australian continent despite vastly different climatic and likely trophic conditions. Reduced energy requirements also may permit survival in degraded or modified habitats, reduce the need for foraging and reduce exposure to predators. Thus, the ability to employ torpor may be one important reason for why most Australian bats and other heterothermic mammals have not gone extinct whereas many obligatory homeothermic mammals that cannot employ torpor and have high energy and foraging requirements have suffered high rates of extinctions.     

Cold-loving microbes, plants, and animals—fundamental and applied aspects

Microorganisms, plants, and animals have successfully colonized cold environments, which represent the majority of the biosphere on Earth. They have evolved special mechanisms to overcome the life-endangering influence of low temperature and to survive freezing. Cold adaptation includes a complex range of structural and functional adaptations at the level of all cellular constituents, such as membranes, proteins, metabolic activity, and mechanisms to avoid the destructive effect of intracellular ice formation. These strategies offer multiple biotechnological applications of cold-adapted organisms and/or their products in various fields. In this review, we describe the mechanisms of microorganisms, plants, and animals to cope with the cold and the resulting biotechnological perspectives.