Analysis of Wind Farm Output: Estimation of Volatility Using High-Frequency Data

In the financial year 2011–2012, wind farms supplied 26 % of South Australia’s electricity demand according to the Australian Energy Market Operator’s report. This contribution has risen from zero in 2003. The operation of the electricity grid depends heavily on knowledge of the variability of supply. Wind farm output displays similar conditional volatility as financial market variables. In this paper, a new method of estimating wind farm output volatility on a 5-min time scale is developed through the use of higher-frequency wind farm output data. First, an autoregressive model for the high-frequency data is developed, and it is used to derive a volatility measure for 5-min data. The results are also true in certain general situations when the high-frequency data follow an autoregressive moving average process or exhibits long memory features. The methods described here are analogous to realised volatility measures used in financial series, except that wind farm output data are measured at uniform intervals, unlike random trading times for financial transactions.     

Emission of volatile organic compounds from religious and ritual activities in India

Worshipping activity is a customary practice related with many religions and cultures in various Asian countries, including India. Smoke from incense burning in religious and ritual places produces a large number of health-damaging and carcinogenic air pollutants include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde, benzene, 1,3 butadiene, styrene, etc. This study evaluates real-world VOCs emission conditions in contrast to other studies that examined emissions from specific types of incense or biomass material. Sampling was conducted at four different religious places in Raipur City, District Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India: (1) Hindu temples, (2) Muslim graveyards (holy shrines), (3) Buddhist temples, and (4) marriage ceremony. Concentrations of selected VOCs, respirable particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter, <5 μm), carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide were sampled from the smoke plumes. Benzene has shown highest emission factor (EF) among selected volatile organic compounds in all places. All the selected religious and ritual venues have shown different pattern of VOC EFs compared to laboratory-based controlled chamber studies.     

Rebirth,Devastation and Sickness: Analyzing the Role of Metaphor in Media Discourses of Nuclear Power

Nuclear power plays an important but controversial role in policies to ensure domestic energy security, fuel poverty reduction and the mitigation of climate change. Our article construes the problem of nuclear power in terms of social discourse, language and public choice; specifically examining the role that metaphors play in the policy domain. We empirically analyze metaphors as framing devices in nuclear energy policy debates in the UK between April 2009 and March 2013, thereby capturing the impact of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. We employ documentary analysis of major UK national broadsheet and tabloid newspapers, using electronic bibliographic tools to extract the metaphors. We then map these metaphors using a Type Hierarchy Analysis, which examines how elements of the target domain (energy technologies and policies) originate from a different source domain. Type hierarchies identify and categorize metaphors, defining the affectual and emotional responses associated with them, providing us with grounded insight into their role in shaping discourse and as a consequence influence public engagement with energy policy. Our analysis highlights three emergent domains of discourse metaphors and discusses the implications of their deployment. Metaphors were found to be classified into three different categories: Rebirth (Renaissance), Devastation (Apocalypse, Inferno, Genie and Bomb) and Sickness (Addiction and Smoking).     

The Use of Zero‐Valent Iron (ZVI) Technology to Promote DDT and Dieldrin Degradation at Point Pelee National Park

Point Pelee National Park (PPNP) is highly contaminated with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dieldrin due to the historical use of these two persistent organochlorine pesticides. Zero‐valent iron (ZVI) technology with and without amendments has been successfully used in the past to promote organochlorine pesticides degradation in several locations in North America and Europe. In this study, the use of two commercially available ZVI products, DARAMEND^® and EHC^®, to promote DDT and dieldrin degradation in PPNP's soil and groundwater were investigated. DARAMEND^® was applied to PPNP's soil in a laboratory experiment and in an in situ pilot‐scale plot. In both cases, DARAMEND^® did not significantly increase DDT or dieldrin degradation in treated soils. The effectiveness of EHC^® was tested in a laboratory experiment that simulated the park's groundwater environment using PPNP's pesticide contaminated soil. The result was consistent with the one reported for DARAMEND^®, in that there was no significant increase in DDT or dieldrin degradation in any of the samples treated with EHC^®. These results demonstrate that both of these ZVI commercially available products are not suitable for in situ remediation at PPNP.  ©2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Concentrations and Source Characteristics of Airborne Carbonyl Compounds Measured Outside Urban Residences

Abstract

This paper presents the analysis of ambient air concentrations of 10 carbonyl compounds (aldehydes and ketones) measured in the yards of 87 residences in the city of Elizabeth, NJ, throughout 1999–2001. Most of these residences were measured twice in different seasons; the sampling duration was 48 hr each time. The authors observed higher concentrations for most of the measured carbonyl compounds on warmer days, reflecting larger contributions of photochemical reactions on warmer days. The estimated contributions of photochemical production varied substantially across the measured carbonyl compounds and could be as high as 60%. Photochemical activity, however, resulted in a net loss for formaldehyde. The authors used stepwise multiple linear regression models to evaluate the impact of traffic sources and meteorological conditions on carbonyl concentrations using the data collected on colder days (with lower photochemical activities). They found that the concentrations of formal-dehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein, propionaldehyde, crotonaldehyde, benzaldehyde, glyoxal, and methylglyoxal significantly decreased with increasing distance between a measured residence and one or more major roadways. They also found significant negative associations between concentrations for most of the measured carbonyl compounds and each of the following meteorological parameters: mixing height, wind speed, and precipitation.     

Monuments as sampling surfaces of recent traffic pollution

Background, aim and scope  

A new approach towards monuments, considering them as a passive sampler of pollution, is presented. Cultural Heritage objects suffer daily the damages of environmental pollution, especially in those areas interested by heavy traffic. Since monuments undergo only periodic conservation or maintenance works, surfaces are able to accumulate atmospheric deposit and to record changes in its composition. An optimised analytical protocol was developed in order to quantify platinum and rhodium at trace level on surfaces. The two elements have become tracers of automobile emissions in recent years, since the introduction of catalytic converters, and could have catalytic effects on the decay reactions of natural and artificial stone materials. As a first case study, the cement mortar surfaces of a twentieth century monument, the Camerlata Fountain, in Como (Italy) were investigated.     

Guided group discussion and attitude change: The roles of normative and informational influence

Kurt Lewin and others have showed that group discussion effectively changed attitudes and behaviors compared to individually targeted messages. This study examines the roles of normative and informational social influence in this effect. High school students heard a message about replacing toxic products with nontoxic alternatives; classes were randomly assigned to hear the message delivered as a lecture or via guided group discussion. For female students (N=250 in 26 classes), HLM mediation analyses suggested normative influence predominated: Discussion was more effective than lecture and this effect was fully mediated by students’ perceptions that other students endorsed nontoxics. Content analyses of students’ comments indicated that three kinds of remarks led female students to this perception: (1) sharing knowledge about nontoxics; (2) asking questions about nontoxics; and (3) little praise for toxic products. For male students in separate HLM analyses (N=107 in 19 of the same classes), informational influence was most apparent: Postmeeting attitudes were higher after discussion than lecture, and this effect was partially mediated by cognitive elaboration about the message (but not perceptions others endorsed the message). In addition, males’ quiz grades were higher after discussion, and students’ comments fully mediated the discussion to quiz grades relationship. Results support the importance of hearing others’ promessage comments for changing socially motivated behaviors, although the routes of influence appear to differ for these samples of male and female students.     

Dioxins, PCBs, metals, metalloids, pesticides and antimicrobial residues in wild and farmed Australian southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii)

Data concerning the concentration of dioxins (PCDD/PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals, metalloids, pesticides and antimicrobials residues are reported for the edible portion of Australian wild and farmed southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii). In 2004 wild caught (n=5) and farmed (n=26) southern bluefin tuna (SBT) were collected. The mean concentration of total mercury on a fresh weight (fw) basis was 0.34 mg/kg in wild SBT and 0.31 mg/kg in farmed SBT. Concentrations of dioxins (PCDD/PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in wild SBT were extremely low. The mean concentration (fw) of the sum of PCDD/PCDFs and the dioxin-like PCBs was 0.27 pg TEQ/g in wild SBT and 0.61 pg TEQ/g in farmed SBT. Mean PCB total concentration (fw basis) was 0.47 ng/g in wild SBT and 6.60 ng/g in farmed SBT. No detectable residues of any pesticide or antimicrobial compounds were found. All residues detected were within regulatory limits set by the Japanese Competent Authority, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the Australian Competent Authority, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). The need for harmonisation of international product integrity procedures for bluefin tunas in international trade is highlighted.     

A thermodynamic approach to the hydration of sulphate-resisting Portland cement

A thermodynamic approach is used to model changes in the hydrate assemblage and the composition of the pore solution during the hydration of calcite-free and calcite-containing sulphate-resisting Portland cement CEM I 52.5 N HTS. Modelling is based on thermodynamic data for the hydration products and calculated hydration rates for the individual clinker phases, which are used as time-dependent input parameters. Model predictions compare well with the composition of the hydrate assemblage as observed by TGA and semi-quantitative XRD and with the experimentally determined compositions of the pore solutions. The calculations show that in the presence of small amounts of calcite typically associated with Portland cement, C-S-H, portlandite, ettringite and calcium monocarbonate are the main hydration products. In the absence of calcite in the cement, however, siliceous hydrogarnet instead of calcium monocarbonate is observed to precipitate. The use of a higher water-to-cement ratio for the preparation of a calcite-containing cement paste has a minor effect on the composition of the hydrate assemblage, while it significantly changes the composition of the pore solution. In particular, lower pH value and higher Ca concentrations appear that could potentially influence the solubility and uptake of heavy metals and anions by cementitious materials.