An approach for domino effect reduction based on optimal layouts

An approach to reduce the probability of producing a domino effect in process industry is developed in this work. It is assumed that optimal layouts should include appropriate analysis to reduce risk during the process design stage. The model developed for this approach combines the estimation of probability of damage due to overpressure, proposed by Mingguang and Juncheng (2008), and escalation threshold values defined by Cozzani, Gubinelli, and Salzano (2006). These equations are combined with other typical layout constraints as well as bounding the probability constraint, which has resulted in a highly non-linear MINLP problem. Solving a case study used by other authors provides evidence for reliability of the developed approach. In this way, layouts are designed to reduce the escalation probability yielding safe distributions.     

Small-scale physical explosions in shock tubes in comparison with condensed high explosive detonations

A series of small-scale experiments involving physical explosions in a 1.6 l pressure vessel was carried out. Explosions were initiated by spontaneous rupture of an aluminium membrane on one side of the vessel at a pressure in the range 1–1.2 MPa. The pressure waves released were measured at different distances along two separate shock tubes, one 10 m long and 200 mm in diameter (closed at one end by the high pressure vessel) and the other 15 m long and 100 mm in diameter.TNT equivalency was used for predicting the blast wave characteristics after vessel rupture. TNT equivalency was used because equations for prediction of peak pressure and impulse of the blast wave in 1-D geometry after detonations of condensed explosives are known. Some experiments with an equivalent amount of real explosive were carried out for comparison with the theoretical and experimental data obtained. The applicability of the TNT equivalency method presented for calculations of maximum pressure and shock wave impulse generated after rupture of the pressure vessel in 1-D geometry is discussed.     

Media surface properties and the development of nitrifying biofilms in mixed cultures for wastewater treatment

Plastic was tested to select biofilm support media that would enhance nitrification in the presence of heterotrophs. Eight different types (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, nylon, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinyl chloride and tufnol) were immersed in an aerobic fed-batch reactor receiving domestic settled wastewater. Nitrification rates did not correlate with biomass concentrations, nor surface roughness of the plastics as measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The maximum nitrification rate of 1.5 g/m² d^?1 was obtained from biofilms growing on PTFE which had the lowest surface adhesion force (8 nN). Nitrification rates for the biofilms were inversely correlated with the attraction forces as measured by AFM.     

Environmental risk mapping of accidental pollution and its zonal prevention in a city

Accidental releases of pollution can have severe environmental, societal, economic, and institutional consequences. This paper considers the use of risk mapping of accidental pollution events, and zonal prevention measures for alleviating the impact on large urban areas. An Environmental Pollution Accident Risk Mapping (EPARM) model is constructed according to a mapping index system supported by quantitative sub-models dedicated to evaluating the risk arising from different sources of potential accidental pollution. The EPARM approach consists of identifying suitable indexes, assessment of environmental risk at regional and national scales based on information on previous pollution accidents and the prevailing environmental and social conditions, and use of GIS to map the overall risk. A case study of pollution accidents in Minghang District, Shanghai, China is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the model. The paper also proposes a systemic framework for accidental environmental pollution risk prevention, and detailed countermeasures for specific risk zones.     

Experimental and theoretical investigations for mitigating NaAlH4 reactivity risks during postulated accident scenarios involving exposure to air or water

Experimental and theoretical studies were conducted to investigate the pyrophoricity and water-reactivity risks associated with employing sodium alanate (NaAlH₄) complex metal hydride in on-board vehicular hydrogen (H₂) storage systems. The ignition and explosivity of NaAlH₄ upon exposure to oxidizers in air or water were attributed to the spontaneous formation of stable hydroperoxyl intermediates on the NaAlH₄ surface and/or H₂ production, as well as the large driving force for NaAlH₄ conversion to favorable hydroxide products predicted by atomic and thermodynamic modeling. The major products from NaAlH₄ exposure to air: NaAl(OH)₄, gibbsite and bayerite Al(OH)₃, and Na₂CO₃ observed by XRD, were identified to be formed by surface-controlled reactions. The reactivity risks were significantly minimized, without compromising de-/re-hydrogenation cyclability, by compacting NaAlH₄ powder into wafers to reduce the available surface area. These core findings are of significance to risk mitigation and H₂ safety code and standard development for the safe use of NaAlH₄ for on-board H₂ storage in light-duty vehicles.     

Effects of productivity on biodiversity in forest ecosystems across the United States and China

In the global campaign against biodiversity loss in forest ecosystems, land managers need to know the status of forest biodiversity, but practical guidelines for conserving biodiversity in forest management are lacking. A major obstacle is the incomplete understanding of the relationship between site primary productivity and plant diversity, due to insufficient ecosystem‐wide data, especially for taxonomically and structurally diverse forest ecosystems. We investigated the effects of site productivity (the site's inherent capacity to grow timber) on tree species richness across 19 types of forest ecosystems in North America and China through 3 ground‐sourced forest inventory data sets (U.S. Forest Inventory and Analysis, Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory, and Chinese Forest Management Planning Inventory). All forest types conformed to a consistent and highly significant (P < 0.001) hump‐shaped unimodal relationship, of which the generalized coefficients of determination averaged 20.5% over all the forest types. That is, tree species richness first increased as productivity increased at a progressively slower rate, and, after reaching a maximum, richness started to decline. Our consistent findings suggest that forests of high productivity would sustain few species because they consist mostly of flat homogeneous areas lacking an environmental gradient along which a diversity of species with different habitats can coexist. The consistency of the productivity–biodiversity relationship among the 3 data sets we examined makes it possible to quantify the expected tree species richness that a forest stand is capable of sustaining, and a comparison between the actual species richness and the sustainable values can be useful in prioritizing conservation efforts.     

Archaeological Evidence of Validity of Fish Populations on Unexploited Reefs as Proxy Targets for Modern Populations

Reef‐fish management and conservation is hindered by a lack of information on fish populations prior to large‐scale contemporary human impacts. As a result, relatively pristine sites are often used as conservation baselines for populations near sites affected by humans. This space‐for‐time approach can only be validated by sampling assemblages through time. We used archaeological remains to evaluate whether the remote, uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) might provide a reasonable proxy for a lightly exploited baseline in the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). We used molecular and morphological techniques to describe the taxonomic and size composition of the scarine parrotfish catches present in 2 archaeological assemblages from the MHI, compared metrics of these catches with modern estimates of reproductive parameters to evaluate whether catches represented by the archaeological material were consistent with sustainable fishing, and evaluated overlap between size structures represented by the archaeological material and modern survey data from the MHI and the NWHI to assess whether a space‐for‐time substitution is reasonable. The parrotfish catches represented by archaeological remains were consistent with sustainable fishing because they were dominated by large, mature individuals whose average size remained stable from prehistoric (AD approximately 1400–1700) through historic (AD 1700–1960) periods. The ancient catches were unlike populations in the MHI today. Overlap between the size structure of ancient MHI catches and modern survey data from the NWHI or the MHI was an order of magnitude greater for the NWHI comparison, a result that supports the validity of using the NWHI parrotfish data as a proxy for the MHI before accelerated, heavy human impacts in modern times. Evidencia Arqueológica de la Validez de Poblaciones de Peces en Arrecifes Sin Explotar como Objetivos de Apoderamiento para Poblaciones Actuales     

Environmental cost of using poor decision metrics to prioritize environmental projects

Conservation decision makers commonly use project‐scoring metrics that are inconsistent with theory on optimal ranking of projects. As a result, there may often be a loss of environmental benefits. We estimated the magnitudes of these losses for various metrics that deviate from theory in ways that are common in practice. These metrics included cases where relevant variables were omitted from the benefits metric, project costs were omitted, and benefits were calculated using a faulty functional form. We estimated distributions of parameters from 129 environmental projects from Australia, New Zealand, and Italy for which detailed analyses had been completed previously. The cost of using poor prioritization metrics (in terms of lost environmental values) was often high—up to 80% in the scenarios we examined. The cost in percentage terms was greater when the budget was smaller. The most costly errors were omitting information about environmental values (up to 31% loss of environmental values), omitting project costs (up to 35% loss), omitting the effectiveness of management actions (up to 9% loss), and using a weighted‐additive decision metric for variables that should be multiplied (up to 23% loss). The latter 3 are errors that occur commonly in real‐world decision metrics, in combination often reducing potential benefits from conservation investments by 30–50%. Uncertainty about parameter values also reduced the benefits from investments in conservation projects but often not by as much as faulty prioritization metrics.     

Potential Negative Ecological Effects of Corridors

Despite many studies showing that landscape corridors increase dispersal and species richness for disparate taxa, concerns persist that corridors can have unintended negative effects. In particular, some of the same mechanisms that underlie positive effects of corridors on species of conservation interest may also increase the spread and impact of antagonistic species (e.g., predators and pathogens), foster negative effects of edges, increase invasion by exotic species, increase the spread of unwanted disturbances such as fire, or increase population synchrony and thus reduce persistence. We conducted a literature review and meta‐analysis to evaluate the prevalence of each of these negative effects. We found no evidence that corridors increase unwanted disturbance or non‐native species invasion; however, these have not been well‐studied concerns (1 and 6 studies, respectively). Other effects of corridors were more often studied and yielded inconsistent results; mean effect sizes were indistinguishable from zero. The effect of edges on abundances of target species was as likely to be positive as negative. Corridors were as likely to have no effect on antagonists or population synchrony as they were to increase those negative effects. We found 3 deficiencies in the literature. First, despite studies on how corridors affect predators, there are few studies of related consequences for prey population size and persistence. Second, properly designed studies of negative corridor effects are needed in natural corridors at scales larger than those achievable in experimental systems. Third, studies are needed to test more targeted hypotheses about when corridor‐mediated effects on invasive species or disturbance may be negative for species of management concern. Overall, we found no overarching support for concerns that construction and maintenance of habitat corridors may result in unintended negative consequences. Negative edge effects may be mitigated by widening corridors or softening edges between corridors and the matrix. Other negative effects are relatively small and manageable compared with the large positive effects of facilitating dispersal and increasing diversity of native species. Efectos Negativos Potenciales de los Corredores