Evaluating Japanese policy instruments for the promotion of renewable energy sources

In Japan, the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) have been used for the exploitation of renewable energy sources (RES). Although these are significant to enhance the use of RES, the RES penetration is not reaching the expected percentage. The identification of their strengths/weaknesses will allow their improvement for achieving the target. This paper concerned the evaluation of RPS and FIT using a multi-criteria evaluation method. First, official data/information were used to assess their performance using the method. Second, national experts were asked about their performance to verify the outcomes. We found FIT was more effective than RPS.     

Adsorption of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions on biochars prepared from agricultural by-products

In this study, the adsorption of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions by agricultural by-products, such as rice husks, olive pomace and orange waste, as well as compost, was evaluated. The aim was to obtain sorbent materials (biochars) through hydrothermal treatment (300?°C) and pyrolysis (300?°C and 600?°C). The effect of adsorbent dose, pH, contact time and initial Cu(II) concentration in batch-mode experiments was investigated. The optimum Cu(II) adsorption conditions was found to occur at 5-12?g/L adsorbent dose, initial pH 5-6, and reaction time 2-4?h. Furthermore, the adsorption kinetics were best described by the pseudo-second order model for all the tested materials, while the adsorption equilibrium best fitted by the linear and Freundlich isotherms. Comparing rice husks and olive pomace, the higher adsorption capacity resulted after pyrolysis at 300?°C. With respect to the orange waste and compost, the highest adsorption capacity was observed using biochars obtained after hydrothermal treatment and pyrolysis at 300?°C.     

Impact of Free Calcium Oxide Content of Fly Ash on Dust and Sulfur Dioxide Emissions in a Lignite-Fired Power Plant

Abstract

Emitted pollutants from the Agios Dimitrios lignite-fired power plant in northern Greece show a very strong linear correlation with the free calcium oxide content of the lignite ash. Dust (fly ash) emissions are positively correlated to free calcium oxide content, whereas sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions are negatively correlated. As a result, at present, the Agios Dimitrios Power Plant operates very strictly within the legislative limits on atmospheric particulate emission. In the present study, the factors to be considered in assessing the impact of lignite combustion on the environment are presented and evaluated statistically. The ash appears to have a remarkable SO₂ natural dry scrubbing capability when the free calcium oxide content ranges between 4 and 7%. Precipitator operating problems attributable to high ash resistivity can be overcome by injecting sulfur trioxide to reduce the ash resistivity, with, of course, a probable increase in operating costs.     

Soil Erosion Potential after Fire and Rehabilitation Treatments in Greece

Wildland fires are one of the more severe disturbances for natural ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin and can become a critical factor in the process of soil erosion. A quantitative assessment of soil erosion is needed in order to form an assessment on the extent and magnitude of post-fire soil erosion potential and to assess the effectiveness of the rehabilitation treatment. On 21 August 2006, a large wildland fire occurred in the Kassandra Peninsula in northern Greece, which burned one fifth of the Peninsula. After the fire, in order to protect the soil against erosion, the Forest Services applied a hillslope rehabilitation treatment of contour-felled logs and branch piles. In this paper, we report quantitative estimation of the wildland fire and erosion control treatment on soil erosion potential. The coupling of the Universal Soil Loss Equation and the Geographical Information Systems was implemented and the erosion potential was found to be 2.8 t/ha/year pre-fire, 29.5 t/ha/year post-fire, and 21.3 t/ha/year after rehabilitation treatment. The model can successfully contribute in the planning of the rehabilitation treatment but it cannot be used in the quantification of the soil loss after the application of the erosion control measures. The comparisons between the results of the three cases indicate the importance of the immediate erosion control measures in order to mitigate soil loss and restore the natural environment.     

Bioaccumulation of metals (Cd, Cu, Zn) by the marine bivalves M. galloprovincialis, P. radiata, V. verrucosa and C. chione in Mediterranean coastal microenvironments: association with metal bioavailability

The concentrations of Cd, Cu and Zn in both the whole soft tissue and separate organs (gills, mantle, muscle and digestive gland) of wild bivalves (Mytilus galloprovincialis, Pinctada radiata, Venus verrucosa and Callista chione) from three different coastal microenvironments of Greece were monitored from 2003 to 2004. In parallel, by employing appropriate analytical protocols for metal partitioning, the labile fraction of the metals was determined in the dissolved phase, suspended particulate matter and sediments. Differences in the metal levels were detected both among the study areas as well as among the bivalves examined. Significant bioaccumulation was demonstrated regarding Zn in M. galloprovincialis specimens from the highly industrialized Gulf of Elefsis and Cd in P. radiata and V. verrucosa from the Maliakos Gulf, which is influenced by extended agricultural activity occurring at the neighbouring area and a river outflow. Data of the metal levels in the various environmental phases were correlated with their concentrations in bivalves’ tissues. The clear relationships obtained in many cases among the labile metal concentrations and the bioaccumulated concentrations in bivalves point out that the labile fraction of a metal is the most bioavailable. The lack of positive correlation for C. chione confirms the occurrence of effective mechanisms of internal regulation of metal concentrations.     

Effects of low concentration biodiesel blends application on modern passenger cars. Part 3: Impact on PAH, nitro-PAH, and oxy-PAH emissions

This study explores the impact of five different types of methyl esters on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), nitrated-PAH and oxygenated PAH emissions. The measurements were conducted on a chassis dynamometer, according to the European regulation. Each of the five different biodiesels was blended with EN590 diesel at a proportion of 10-90% v/v (10% biodiesel concentration). The vehicle was a Euro 3 compliant common-rail diesel passenger car. Emission measurements were performed over the NEDC and compared with those of the real traffic-based Artemis driving cycles. The experimental results showed that the addition of biodiesel led to some important increases in low molecular-weight PAHs (phenanthrene and anthracene) and to both increases and reductions in large PAHs which are characterised by their carcinogenic and mutagenic properties. Nitro-PAHs were found to reduce with biodiesel whereas oxy-PAH emissions presented important increases with the biodiesel blends. The impact of biodiesel source material was particularly clear on the formation of PAH compounds. It was found that most PAH emissions decreased as the average load and speed of the driving cycle increased. Cold-start conditions negatively influenced the formation of most PAH compounds. A similar trend was observed with particulate alkane emissions.     

Leaching of the organophosphorus nematicide fosthiazate

Fosthiazate is an organophosphorus nematicide which was recently included in Annex I of the Directive 91/414/EEC under the clause that it should be used with special care in soils vulnerable to leaching. Thus, the leaching of fosthiazate was investigated in columns packed with three different soils which represented situations of high (site 2), intermediate (site 1) and low (site 3) leaching potential. The recommended dose of fosthiazate was applied at the surface of the soil columns and fosthiazate fate and transport was investigated for the next two months. Fosthiazate concentrations in the leachate collected from the bottom of the columns packed with soil from site 2 exceeded 0.1 microgl(-1) in most cases. This soil was characterized as acidic, indicating longer fosthiazate persistence, with low organic matter content, indicating weak adsorption, thus representing a situation vulnerable to leaching. In contrast, the lowest concentrations of fosthiazate in the leachate were evident in the columns packed with soil from site 3. This soil was characterized as alkaline, indicating faster degradation, with higher organic matter content, indicating stronger adsorption, thus representing a situation not favoring leaching of fosthiazate. The highest concentration of fosthiazate in the leachate from the columns packed with soil from site 2 was 3.44 microgl(-1) compared to 1.17 and 0.16 microgl(-1), which were the corresponding maximum values measured in columns packed with soil from sites 1 and 3, respectively. The results of the current study further suggest that fosthiazate is mobile in soil and can leach under conducive soil conditions like acidic soils with low organic matter content.     

An application of data mining tools for the study of shipping safety in restricted waters

The effectiveness of the enforcement of the ISM-Code and the examination of its role in the distribution of causes of shipping accidents between human and non-human error was studied. All accidents involving Greek-flagged ships from 1995 to 2006, a time-scale which spans over the pre- and post-ISM period in navigational regions of restricted waters, were analyzed.The accident data was processed through a classification tree analysis which enabled the classification of various accident factors. The analysis revealed that although the human error maintained its position as the dominant factor in shipping accidents, there is also substantial evidence in support of the ISM-Code effective control over shipping accidents during the post-ISM period. The implementation of the ISM-Code led to an overall reduction of human-induced accidents in total. Furthermore, in terms of location, the ISM-Code improved the human-induced accident record within restricted waters.Conclusively, the ISM-Code constitutes an effective policy measure for shipping safety. The results of the classification tree analysis reported in the present work can be used by decision makers in companies and international organizations to build knowledge-based expert systems and augment their information in the field of safety policy and management.