Production of activated carbons from waste tire--process design and economical analysis

The process design and economic analysis of process plants to produce activated carbons from waste tires and coal have been performed. The potential range of products from each process has been considered, namely for waste tire--pyro-gas, active carbon, carbon black and pyro-oil; for coal--pyro-gas and active carbons. Sensitivity analyses have been carried out on the main process factors; these are product price, production capacity, total production cost, capital investment and the tipping fee. Net present values for the two plants at various discount factors have been determined and the internal rates of return have been determined as 27.4% and 18.9% for the waste tire plant and the coal plant, respectively.     

AN ANALYSIS OF REGION‐OF‐INFLUENCE METHODS FOR FLOOD REGIONALIZATION IN THE GULF‐ATLANTIC ROLLING PLAINS1

ABSTRACT: Region‐of‐influence (RoI) approaches for estimating stream flow characteristics at ungaged sites were applied and evaluated in a case study of the 50‐year peak discharge in the Gulf‐Atlantic Rolling Plains of the southeastern United States. Linear regression against basin characteristics was performed for each ungaged site considered based on data from a region of influence containing the n closest gages in predictor variable (PRoI) or geographic (GRoI) space. Augmentation of this count based cutoff by a distance based cutoff also was considered. Prediction errors were evaluated for an independent (split‐sampled) dataset. For the dataset and metrics considered here: (1) for either PRoI or GRoI, optimal results were found when the simpler count based cutoff, rather than the distance augmented cutoff, was used; (2) GRoI produced lower error than PRoI when applied indiscriminately over the entire study region; (3) PRoI performance improved considerably when Rol was restricted to predefined geographic subregions.     

Detection of ciliostatic activity in fungal growth on building materials

Varying ciliostatic activity was found in extracts of biomass from building materials inoculated with pure isolates of some molds previously isolated from buildings. Extracts from growth on materials composed of finely divided cellulose (plaster board and construction cardboard) were more active than those from growth on Rockwool. Extracts of biomass from all three materials demonstrated an activity greater than control samples. Based on the activity observed here, it is conceivable that the measurement of ciliostatic activity of biomass scraped from contaminated building materials could be useful for planning removal strategies.     

Non-breeding habitat preference affects ecological speciation in migratory waders

Models of ecological speciation predict that certain types of habitat should be more conducive to species diversification than others. In this study, I test this hypothesis in waders of the sub-order Charadrii using the number of morphological sub-species per species as an index of diversity. I classified all members of this clade as spending the non-breeding season either coastally or inland and argue that these represent fundamentally different environments. Coastal mudflats are characterised by high predictability and patchy worldwide distribution, whilst inland wetlands are widespread but unpredictable. The results show that migratory species that winter coastally are sub-divided into more sub-species than those that winter inland. This was not the case for non-migratory species. I argue that coastal environments select for more rigid migratory pathways, whilst inland wetlands favour more flexible movement patterns. Population sub-division could then result from the passive segregation of breeding sites or from the active selection for assortative mating of ecomorphs.     

Climate change adaptation and mitigation in smallholder crop–livestock systems in sub-Saharan Africa: a call for integrated impact assessments

African mixed crop–livestock systems are vulnerable to climate change and need to adapt in order to improve productivity and sustain people’s livelihoods. These smallholder systems are characterized by high greenhouse gas emission rates, but could play a role in their mitigation. Although the impact of climate change is projected to be large, many uncertainties persist, in particular with respect to impacts on livestock and grazing components, whole-farm dynamics and heterogeneous farm populations. We summarize the current understanding on impacts and vulnerability and highlight key knowledge gaps for the separate system components and the mixed farming systems as a whole. Numerous adaptation and mitigation options exist for crop–livestock systems. We provide an overview by distinguishing risk management, diversification and sustainable intensification strategies, and by focusing on the contribution to the three pillars of climate-smart agriculture. Despite the potential solutions, smallholders face major constraints at various scales, including small farm sizes, the lack of response to the proposed measures and the multi-functionality of the livestock herd. Major institutional barriers include poor access to markets and relevant knowledge, land tenure insecurity and the common property status of most grazing resources. These limit the adoption potential and hence the potential impact on resilience and mitigation. In order to effectively inform decision-making, we therefore call for integrated, system-oriented impact assessments and a realistic consideration of the adoption constraints in smallholder systems. Building on agricultural system model development, integrated impact assessments and scenario analyses can inform the co-design and implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies.F     

Adaptation of agriculture to climate change in semi-arid Borena,Ethiopia

Livestock production is very risky due to climate variability in semi-arid Sub-Saharan Africa. Using data collected from 400 households in the Borena zone of the Oromia Region, we explored what drives adoption of agricultural practices that can decrease the vulnerability of agro-pastoralists to climate change. Households with more adaptive capacity adopted a larger number of practices. The households’ adaptive capacity was stronger when the quality of local institutions was high. However, adaptive capacity had less explanatory power in explaining adoption of adaptation options than household socio-economic characteristics, suggesting that aggregating information into one indicator of adaptive capacity for site-specific studies may not help to explain the adoption behaviour of households. Strong local institutions lead to changes in key household-level characteristics (like membership to community groups, years lived in a village, access to credit, financial savings and crop income) which positively affect adoption of agricultural practices. In addition, better local institutions were also positively related to adoption of livestock-related adaptation practices. Poor access to a tarmac road was positively related to intensification and diversification of crop production, whereas it was negatively related to the intensification of livestock production, an important activity for generating cash in the region. Our findings suggest that better local institutions lead to changes in household characteristics, which positively affect adoption of adaptation practices, suggesting that policies should aim to strengthen local institutions.     

Effects of dry bulk density and particle size fraction on gas transport parameters in variably saturated landfill cover soil

Landfill sites are emerging in climate change scenarios as a significant source of greenhouse gases. The compacted final soil cover at landfill sites plays a vital role for the emission, fate and transport of landfill gases. This study investigated the effects of dry bulk density, ρ(b), and particle size fraction on the main soil-gas transport parameters - soil-gas diffusivity (D(p)/D(o), ratio of gas diffusion coefficients in soil and free air) and air permeability (k(a)) - under variably-saturated moisture conditions. Soil samples were prepared by three different compaction methods (Standard and Modified Proctor compaction, and hand compaction) with resulting ρ(b) values ranging from 1.40 to 2.10 g cm(-3). Results showed that D(p) and k(a) values for the '+gravel' fraction (<35 mm) became larger than for the '-gravel' fraction (<2mm) under variably-saturated conditions for a given soil-air content (ε), likely due to enhanced gas diffusion and advection through less tortuous, large-pore networks. The effect of dry bulk density on D(p) and k(a) was most pronounced for the '+gravel' fraction. Normalized ratios were introduced for all soil-gas parameters: (i) for gas diffusivity D(p)/D(f), the ratio of measured D(p) to D(p) in total porosity (f), (ii) for air permeability k(a)/k(a)(,pF4.1), the ratio of measured k(a) to k(a) at 1235 kPa matric potential (=pF 4.1), and (iii) for soil-air content, the ratio of soil-air content (ε) to total porosity (f) (air saturation). Based on the normalized parameters, predictive power-law models for D(p)(ε/f) and k(a)(ε/f) models were developed based on a single parameter (water blockage factor M for D(p) and P for k(a)). The water blockage factors, M and P, were found to be linearly correlated to ρ(b) values, and the effects of dry bulk density on D(p) and k(a) for both '+gravel' and '-gravel' fractions were well accounted for by the new models.     

Assessing drought-related ecological risk in the Florida Everglades

In the winter-spring of 2001, South Florida experienced one of the worst droughts in its recorded history. Out of a myriad of ecological concerns identified during this time, the potential for catastrophic peat fire and negative impacts to wading bird reproduction emerged as critical issues. Water managers attempted to strike a balance between the environment and protection of water supplies for agriculture and urban interests. It became evident, however, that a broad-scale, integrated way to portray and prioritise ecological stress was lacking in the Florida Everglades, despite this being considered a necessary tool for addressing issues of environmental protection. In order to provide a framework for evaluating various water management operations using real-time information, we developed GIS-based indices of peat-fire risk and wading bird habitat suitability. These indices, based on real physical, chemical, and biological data, describe two ecological conditions that help define the physical and biological integrity of the Everglades. In addition to providing continuous, updated assessments throughout the drought period, we incorporated predictive models of water levels to evaluate how various water management alternatives might exacerbate or alleviate ecological stress during this time.