Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of four alternatives for using by-products of cane sugar production

Cane sugar production by-products can be considered either as waste, affecting the environment, or as a resource when an appropriate valorization technology is implemented.This study is made with the objective of identifying and quantifying the aspects which have the largest environmental impact of four alternatives for using by-products and wastes from the cane sugar process and suggest improvements in the systems.For this analysis a cane sugar mill was chosen in Cuba and four alternatives were designed for the by-product valorization. The first alternative represents the conventional sugar production; its main characteristics are the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, the bagasse combustion and the usage of molasses and agricultural wastes as animal food. Other wastes constitute emissions to the environment. Alternatives II, III and IV incorporate more use of by-products and wastes. Alternative II considers the use of wastewater, filter cake and ashes for the substitution of synthetic fertilizers. In Alternative III, the filter cake and wastewater are used for biogas production and Alternative IV integrates alcohol and biogas production into the sugar production process.The assessment is done by means of Life Cycle Assessment, according to the ISO 14040 series by using the SimaPro 6.0 LCA software, Ecoinvent database and the Eco-indicator 99 methodology. As a functional unit the daily sugar production of the mill was defined (216 t/d). The sugar was selected as main product and all the by-products were assumed to substitute other products on the market, avoided products.For the four alternatives, the agricultural stage shows the greatest impact due to land use, fuel and agrochemicals consumption. In the industrial stage, the electricity cogeneration with bagasse has the highest impact as to respiratory effects due to the emission of tiny particle material into the atmosphere. The major difference between the alternatives is found in the resource impact category. The advantage of producing alcohol, biogas, animal food and fertilizers from the by-products is made obvious through the comparative study for resource savings.     

Klimawandel und zukünftig mögliche temperaturgesteuerte Malariatransmission in Deutschland

Background, aim and scope On behalf of the Centre of Excellence for Climate Effects and Adaption (KomPass) of the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) an Expert Information System on Climate Change and Adaption (FISKA) was developed. FISKA shall provide the governmental institutions with basic information and models on climate change impacts for the development and accomplishment of adaption strategies. In this paper the impact model on potential temperature-dependent malaria transmissions is presented. It shows how, together with the REMO and WettReg climate models implemented in FISKA, areas at risk of malaria can be identified. Materials and methods FISKA was developed as an open and modular expert information system and allows the exchange of data and information with other institutions. Climate change impacts are implemented as calculation engines. The system allows for implementing additional data and impact models to improve existing impact models. For the calculation of the temperature-dependent potential secondary malaria infections the basic reproduction rate was used and the according algorithms were implemented in two calculation engines. One engine allows the calculation of the secondary infections and the other allows the calculation of the seasonal transmission gates. Measured air temperatures for the period 1961–2007 were provided by the German Meteorological Service (DWD), data on future air temperatures were extracted from the climate models REMO and WettReg for the climate reference periods 1991–2020, 2021–2050, and 2051–2080. The respective secondary infections and the resulting seasonal transmission gates for each period were regionalised on the basis of an ecological land classification to analyse significant ecoregional differences. Results Comparing the climate reference period 1961–1990 and the following period 1991–2007, the proportion of Germany featuring a potential seasonal malaria transmission gate of one or rather two months has been reduced in favour of a three months transmission gate. Accordingly, in the period 1991–2007 malaria transmissions during three months are possible on 70?% of the German territory instead of 26?% in 1961–1990. The percentage of a four months transmission gate has increased from 0.02?% to 0.76?%, and even a five months transmission is possible on 0.15?% of Germany. For future periods the number of potential secondary infections increases and further extensions of the seasonal transmission gates were revealed. In case of REMO A1B in 2051–2080, almost whole Germany features thermal conditions allowing malaria transmissions during four or rather five months. Discussion Rising air temperatures lead to changes in the spatial structure of the ecological elementary factor temperature, which can, under otherwise identical conditions, facilitate the reproduction of pathogens (here Plasmodium vivax) and vectors (here Anopheles atroparvus) as well as the spread of diseases. The basic reproduction rate serves the calculation of secondary malaria infections, which are the infections of host by a vector under the assumption that every member of the host population is susceptible for the pathogen. Improved thermal conditions alone do not necessarily imply the development of a malaria epidemic. Other factors like population density or medical care and the presence of vector habitats are of major importance, however, not considered by the calculation engines. The example of malaria is intended to be a model for a range of temperature-dependent vector-borne diseases. Conclusions The impact model on temperature-dependent malaria infections shows exemplarily the information content and functionality of FISKA. Data and functionality of FISKA serve as an expert information system for the detection of risks due to climate change. The results can be published as interactive maps via the FISKA internet interface. From a technical point of view, every impact model based on a calculation engine can be implemented and published via the web interface, provided that the impact models and the resulting risk maps rely on scientific reliable assumptions and are documented comprehensively. Recommendations and perspectives An improvement of FISKA considering the European scale is technically possible. It would require the development of GIS- and model applications on the basis of Europe-wide basic and specific data. For small-scale model runs a dynamic modelling of the water balance including soil hydrology as well as consideration of microclimate effects are required.     

The evolution of food sharing in primates

The aim of this study is to explain the occurrence of food sharing across primates. Defined as the unresisted transfer of food, evolutionary hypotheses have to explain why possessors should relinquish food rather than keep it. While sharing with offspring can be explained by kin selection, explanations for sharing among unrelated adults are more controversial. Here we test the hypothesis that sharing occurs with social partners that have leverage over food possessors due to the opportunity for partner choice in other contexts. Thus, we predict that possessors should relinquish food to potential mates or allies, who could provide or withhold matings or coalitionary support in the future. We used phylogenetic analyses based on both maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches in a sample of 68 primate species to test these predictions. The analyses strongly indicate that (1) sharing with offspring is predicted by the relative processing difficulty of the diet, as measured by the degree of extractive foraging, but not overall diet quality, (2) food sharing among adults only evolved in species already sharing with offspring, regardless of diet, and (3) male–female sharing co-evolved with the opportunity for female mate choice and sharing within the sexes with coalition formation. These results provide comparative support for the hypothesis that sharing is “traded” for matings and coalitionary support in the sense that these services are statistically associated and can thus be selected for. Based on this, we predict that sharing should occur in any species with opportunities for partner choice.     

Fuel consumption and associated emissions from seagoing ships at berth derived from an on-board survey

A methodology is presented to estimate the emissions of ships at berth based on their actual fuel consumption and the fuel quality. Accurate estimates of emissions from ships at berth demand reliable knowledge of the fuel consumption while at berth and associated fuel characteristics. However, assured information about energy use and fuel consumption of seagoing ships at berth is scarce. Proper estimation of ship emissions at berth is crucial for understanding the impact of shipping emissions on air quality and health in harbour cities as well as for a proper evaluation of the impact of abatement measures such as shore-side electricity and/or restrictions of sulphur content for shipping fuels to be used in ports. Therefore, a survey of energy consumption and fuel use on board of 89 seagoing ships was made in close cooperation with the Port of Rotterdam. Rotterdam is the major port of Europe ensuring that the results will have relevance for the larger European domain. On board of the ships at berth, a questionnaire was filled in by the chief engineer of that particular ship, assisted by two former mechanical shipping engineers employed at our organization. Survey results as well as the emission estimations are compared to the (scarce) information that is available and expert judgements in recent studies. The compiled survey data underlie the current Dutch emission estimation methodology for emissions of ships at berth.     

Atmosphärische Deposition und Anreicherung von Schwermetallen und Stickstoff in Natura-2000-Gebieten Deutschlands

Purpose Under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution mosses are used to map the bioaccumulation of heavy metals and nitrogen throughout Europe. To this end, since 1990 mosses were sampled and analyzed chemically every five years. The goal of this article is to apply the moss survey data for assessing the bioaccumulation of Cd, Pb and N in German Natura 2000 Sites of Community Importance (SCI). Methods The temporal trends of the heavy metal bioaccumulation within SCIs were analyzed using a multi metal index (MMI) calculated by means of geostatistics and percentile statistics. For nitrogen, only monitoring values for 2005 were available for the assessment. The geostatistically estimated values of the metal and nitrogen concentrations in mosses were transformed to estimated deposition values by use of regression analyses. Subsequently, the results were integrated into the assessment of the German SCIs. Results Highest metal loads within SCIs were detected in 1990, followed by a continuous decrease to 2000 and a significant increase until 2005. Regarding N, a median of 1.5?% nitrogen in the dry mass was calculated. The deposition values calculated from the moss estimates resulted in median values of 0.33?g/ha/a for Cd, 8.2?g/ha/a for Pb and 16.7?kg/ha/a for nitrogen. Conclusions The Moss-Monitoring is the only environmental monitoring programme which enables statistically sound estimations of the exposure of SCI to environmental contaminants in terms of heavy metal and nitrogen deposition and bioaccumulation.     

Practitioner insights as a means of setting a context for conservation

A key obstacle to conservation success is the tendency of conservation professionals to tackle each challenge individually rather than collectively and in context. We sought to prioritize barriers to conservation previously described in the conservation literature. We undertook an online survey of 154 practitioners from over 70 countries to ascertain the most important barriers to conservation they faced. We used statistical analyses to identify the key impediments to conservation success and to examine whether these were affected by organizational attributes. Twenty-one barriers were identified. The importance ascribed to those was influenced by continent of operation and organization size, but not by organization age or autonomy (from larger parent organizations). We found the most important barriers to consider when undertaking conservation action were wider issues (e.g., population growth, consumerism, favoring development, and industrial-scale activity), operating environment (e.g., lack of political will, ineffective law enforcement, weak governments, corruption, safety and security), community attributes (e.g., dynamics, conflicts, and education levels), and the way conservation is undertaken (overconfidence, lack of funding, and externally set agendas). However, we advise against applying a one-size-fits-all approach. We propose that conservationists account for the complex socioecological systems they operate in if they are to achieve success.     

Characteristics, treatment and utilization of residues from municipal waste incineration

Beneficial utilization of residues from municipal solid waste incineration is an important objective for integrated waste management in many jurisdictions. When residues are to be used as an aggregate substitute in construction applications, the release of constituents of concern to soils and water through leaching is an important environmental consideration. In this paper, residue characteristics that control constituent leaching and testing approaches for evaluating leaching are discussed. Quality control and potential improvement in case of beneficial application are addressed.