An integrated analytical framework for quantifying the LCOE of waste-to-energy facilities for a range of greenhouse gas emissions policy and technical factors

This study presents a novel integrated method for considering the economics of waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities with priced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions based upon technical and economic characteristics of the WTE facility, MSW stream, landfill alternative, and GHG emissions policy. The study demonstrates use of the formulation for six different policy scenarios and explores sensitivity of the results to ranges of certain technical parameters as found in existing literature. The study shows that details of the GHG emissions regulations have large impact on the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of WTE and that GHG regulations can either increase or decrease the LCOE of WTE depending on policy choices regarding biogenic fractions from combusted waste and emissions from landfills. Important policy considerations are the fraction of the carbon emissions that are priced (i.e. all emissions versus only non-biogenic emissions), whether emissions credits are allowed due to reducing fugitive landfill gas emissions, whether biogenic carbon sequestration in landfills is credited against landfill emissions, and the effectiveness of the landfill gas recovery system where waste would otherwise have been buried. The default landfill gas recovery system effectiveness assumed by much of the industry yields GHG offsets that are very close to the direct non-biogenic GHG emissions from a WTE facility, meaning that small changes in the recovery effectiveness cause relatively larger changes in the emissions factor of the WTE facility. Finally, the economics of WTE are dependent on the MSW stream composition, with paper and wood being advantageous, metal and glass being disadvantageous, and plastics, food, and yard waste being either advantageous or disadvantageous depending upon the avoided tipping fee and the GHG emissions price.     

Emission Models and Inventories for Local Greenhouse Gas Emissions Assessment: Experience in the East Midlands Region of the Uk

This paper considers how regional greenhouse gas emissioninventories can be determined. It presents a greenhousegas emissions inventory, by source, for the East Midlandsthat has been compiled as part of a regional study intoclimate change impacts in the United Kingdom. This hasused available local data, and national emissions datawith appropriate scaling factors. Total greenhouse gasemissions for the region are estimated to be 59 milliontonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂ equivalent)for 1997. Of these emissions, approximately 86% werecarbon dioxide emissions, 7% methane emissions, and 5%were nitrous oxide, with emissions of hydrofluorocarbons(HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride(SF₆) contributing less than 2% of total emissions.     

Diet of orange roughy,Hoplostethus atlanticus (Pisces: Trachichthyidae) on the Challenger Plateau,New Zealand

Stomach contents of 687 orange roughy [Hoplostethus atlanticus (Collett, 1889)] from the Challenger Plateau, sampled in March, July and November 1984, were examined. The relative importance of different components of the diet was assessed using three feeding indices which combine, in different ways, percentage frequency of occurrence, percentage number, and percentage weight of prey categories. For both sexes, for all size classes and at any time of the year, the most frequent and abundant components of the diet were prawns, followed by fish, squid, amphipods and mysids. The main natant decapod families were Oplophoridae, Pasiphaeidae, and Sergestidae. Fish, mainly Chauliodontidae and Myctophidae, were the most important prey by weight. Most prey species were benthopelagic and mesopelagic organisms which move towards the surface at night. However, H. atlanticus can be caught by bottom trawl (between 750 and 1 200 m) during any 24 h period, and there was no evidence of vertical migration in search of their prey. When the fish grow in length, there is a transition in the diet from prawns, mysids, and fish, to prawns, fish and squid. Squid were not found in the stomach contents of fish smaller than 20 cm. These dietary changes may be linked to modifications in morphology with growth. The relative proportions of the main dietary items, and in particular the natant decapod families, varied with time of the year. Also, the stomach data seem to indicate an increasing importance of fish and squid in the diet in deeper water. H. atlanticus appears to be an opportunistic predator, consuming a wide variety of invertebrates and fishes. Our results provide evidence to support the notion that benthopelagic predators which consume vertically migrating mesopelagic fish, have an important role in the transfer of energy to the benthos.     

Petroderma and Porterinema in the New World

Two species of crustose brown algae (Ralfsiaceae) are discussed. Petroderma maculiforme is described from several Massachusetts collections and Porterinema fluviatile is described for the first time from North America. The known world-wide distribution of both species is cited, and data are given on their ecology, and vegetative and reproductive periodicities. The wide range of salinities from which plants of these species have been collected indicate that they are both euryhaline. Lithoderma lignicola Kjeliman (1883) is synonymized with Petroderma maculiforme (Wollny) Kuckuck (1897) and Porterinema marina Jaasund (1965) with. P. fluviatile (Porter) Waern (1952).Systematics-Ecology Program Contribution No. 196.     

Evaluation of a novel structural model to describe the endogenous release of lead from bone

The aim of this paper was to assess the endogenous release of lead from bone to blood, in 204 exposed subjects. resuming their duties after a 10-month strike in a primary lead smelter in 1991. In vivo 109Cd K X-ray Fluorescence (109Cd K XRF) was used to measure the bone lead concentration in tibia and calcaneus in the smelter, in 1994 and five years later. The 1994 data were used to derive the post-strike bone lead concentrations retrospectively from the significant association between bone lead and the cumulative blood lead index (CBLI). When a linear model was used to predict the current blood lead upon the level of lead in bone, structural analysis of the data produced slopes for tibia (2.0, 95% CI 1.66-2.54) and calcaneus (0.19, 95% CI 0.16-0.23) that were significantly higher than those predicted by the commonly used simple linear regression method, for tibia (0.73, 95%, CI 0.58-0.88) and calcaneus (0.08, 95% CI 0.06-0.09). This suggests that more lead than previously predicted by regression is released from bone to blood. Furthermore, the structural analysis of the data produced an estimation of the contribution of the bone lead stores to the bloodstream that was more consistent with the 1999 epidemiological data than did the regression estimation. Moreover, a non-linear relationship between tibia lead and blood lead was suggested from the assumption checking procedures for regression. When a non-linear regression model was fit to the data, the method produced estimates of important parameters in human lead kinetics, namely the blood lead saturation constant, showing a good agreement with current knowledge of lead metabolism. Finally, the likelihood of a non-linear bone lead release seems to be supported by the recently described dependence of the half-life of lead in bone on age and intensity of occupational exposure.     

Cost–benefit analysis of construction waste source reduction: a system dynamics approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Construction waste (CW) source reduction is a crucial strategy to address the sustainability issue of the construction industry. The economic benefit...     

Multi-decadal Changes in Tundra Environments and Ecosystems: The International Polar Year-Back to the Future Project (IPY-BTF)

Polar and alpine environments are changing rapidly due to increases in temperature, which are amplified in the Arctic, as well as changes in many local factors. The impacts on ecosystems and their function have potential consequences for local residents and the global community. Tundra areas are vast and diverse, and the knowledge of geographical variation in environmental and ecosystem change is limited to relatively few locations, or to remote sensing approaches that are limited mostly to the past few decades. The International Polar Year, IPY, provided a context, stimulus and timely opportunities for re-visiting old research sites and data sets to collate data on past changes, to pass knowledge from old to new generations of researchers and to document environmental characteristics of sites to facilitate detection and attribution of future changes. Consequently, the project “Retrospective and Prospective Vegetation Change in the Polar Regions: Back to the Future,” BTF, was proposed and endorsed as an IPY activity (project #512). With national funding support, teams of researchers re-visited former sites and data sets throughout the Arctic and some alpine regions. These efforts have amounted to a gamut of “BTF” studies that are collectively geographically expansive and disciplinary diverse. A selection of these studies are introduced and presented in the current issue together with a brief synthesis of their findings.     

Testing antimicrobial cleaner efficacy on gypsum wallboard contaminated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stachybotrys chartarum</Emphasis>

Goal, Scope and Background Reducing occupant exposure to indoor mold is the goal of this research, through the efficacy testing of antimicrobial cleaners. Often mold contaminated building materials are not properly removed, but instead surface cleaners are applied in an attempt to alleviate the problem. The efficacy of antimicrobial cleaners to remove, eliminate or control mold growth on surfaces can easily be tested on non-porous surfaces. However, the testing of antimicrobial cleaner efficacy on porous surfaces, such as those found in the indoor environment such as gypsum board can be more complicated and prone to incorrect conclusions regarding residual organisms. The mold Stachybotrys chartarum has been found to be associated with idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage in infants and has been studied for toxin production and its occurrence in water damaged buildings. Growth of S. chartarum on building materials such as gypsum wallboard has been frequently documented. Methods Research to control S. chartarum growth using 13 separate antimicrobial cleaners on contaminated gypsum wallboard has been performed in laboratory testing. Popular brands of cleaning products were tested by following directions printed on the product packaging. Results A variety of gypsum wallboard surfaces were used to test these cleaning products at high relative humidity. The results indicate differences in antimicrobial efficacy for the six month period of testing. Discussion Results for the six types of GWB surfaces varied extensively. However, three cleaning products exhibited significantly better results than others. Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner-Orange Breeze (full strength) demonstrated results which ranked among the best in five of the six surfaces tested. Both Borax and Orange Glo Multipurpose Degreaser demonstrated results which ranked among the best in four of the six surfaces tested. Conclusions The best antimicrobial cleaner to choose is often dependent on the type of surface to be cleaned of S. chartarum contamination. For Plain GWB, no paint, the best cleaners were Borax, Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner-Orange Breeze (full strength), Orange Glo Multipurpose Degreaser, and Fantastik Orange Action. Recommendations and Perspectives These results are not meant to endorse the incomplete removal of mold contaminated building materials. However, it is recognized that complete removal may not always be possible and solutions to control mold regrowth may contribute to reduced occupant exposure. Current recommendations of removal and replacement of porous building materials should be followed. It is not the intension of this discussion to endorse any product. Reporting on the performance of these products under the stated conditions was and remains the only purpose. ESS-Submission Editor: Dr. Lee Young (youngrisk@bresnan.net)     

Heterogeneity in social network connections is density-dependent: implications for disease dynamics in a gregarious ungulate

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - Individual animals across all taxa differ consistently in behaviour, i.e. they show personality traits. This inter-individual variability has significant...     

Monitoring of Particle Mass and Number in Urban Air

Measurements of aerosol particles in the air of an urban area in the UK have been made. Ambient air was sampled and the particulates measured after passing through a size selective PM₁₀ inlet. Particle mass was measured using a Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM). Particle number and size distributions were obtained using an Electrical Aerosol Analyser (EAA) and an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS). Measurements were also made of local meteorological parameters. Fine particle number concentrations were found to show better temporal agreement, including diurnal variation, with particle mass concentrations than the coarser particle number concentrations.