Carbon capture and storage-desirability from a risk management point of view

Environmental and safety risks related to carbon capture and storage concern leakages and accidental releases during transport and geological storage. Based on principles widely accepted in the EU and beyond in the discussion about the where’s and why’s of nuclear waste repositories, this paper discusses the desirability of carbon capture and storage from a risk management point of view, focusing on environmental risks on the global level (climate change). On this basis it is concluded that, if the key energy issue of coming generations, not just in Europe but all around the world, is not the abundance of fossil resources but rather an unacceptably high probability of global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions, then the solution should not include any massive hiding of the emissions but entirely focus on the avoidance based on improved technology in power plants and other industrial installations.     

生态工业园区"四位一体"运行模式研究

生态工业园区是依据清洁生产要求、循环经济理念及工业生态学原理,设计建立的一种新型工业园区。生态工业园区遵从循环经济的3R原则。建设生态工业园区是一个系统工程,构建政府、企业、公众、中介组织为主的“四位一体”生态工业园区运行模式。为诚国生态工业园区理论研究的深化和实践的深入提供参考。     

Development of a highly sensitive extractive spectrophotometric method for the determination of nickel(II) from environmental matrices using N-ethyl-3-carbazolecarboxaldehyde-3-thiosemicarbazone

Nickel(II) reacts with N-ethyl-3-carbazolecarboxaldehyde-3-thiosemicarbazone (ECCT) and forms a yellow colored complex, which was extracted into n-butanol from sodium acetate and acetic acid buffer at pH 6.0. The absorbance value of the Ni(II)-ECCT complex was measured at different intervals of time at 400nm, to ascertain the time stability of the complex. The extraction of the complex into the solvent was instantaneous and stable for more than 72h. The system obeyed Beer's law in the concentration range of 1.2-5.6mugml(-1) of nickel(II), with an excellent linearity and a correlation coefficient of 0.999. The molar absorptivity and Sandell's sensitivity of the extracted species were found to be 1.114x10(4)Lmol(-1)cm(-1) and 5.29x10(-3)mugcm(-2) at 400nm, respectively. Hence, a detailed study of the extraction of nickel(II) with ECCT has been undertaken with a view to developing a rapid and sensitive extractive spectrophotometric method for the determination of nickel(II) when present alone or in the presence of diverse ions which are usually associated with nickel(II) in environmental matrices like soil and industrial effluents. Various standard alloy samples (CM 247 LC, IN 718, BCS 233, 266, 253 and 251) have been tested for the determination of nickel for the purpose of validation of the present method. The results of the proposed method are comparable with those from atomic absorption spectrometry and were found to be in good agreement.     

Implementation of resource management plans: identifying keys to success

One of the primary challenges in resource and environmental planning is successful implementation of plans. Plan implementation is a complex process influenced by many factors. This study identifies 19 criteria affecting implementation success and tests the impact of these criteria through a case study of collaborative plan implementation in British Columbia, Canada. The significance of criteria and degree to which they are met is assessed by a survey of senior officials responsible for plan implementation. An implementation evaluation index (IEI) is constructed to assess the quality of plan implementation systems and best practices for effective implementation are identified.     

基于WebGIS水利信息系统的设计与实现

通过对比分析目前WebGIS的常用开发方法和软件平台的特点,结合实际需求选择．NET和AreIMS技术,利用ArcIMS中的Serdet连接器和ArcXML语言的优点,在．NET环境下对ArcXML的生成进行封装,并结合ASP．NET技术设计了通用的WebGIS控件。该控件较好地实现了WebGIS中表现层与服务层的分离,可以方便地进行二次开发和与其他．NET系统集成,从而大大降低了WebGIS在．NET平台下的实现难度,并使系统具有了更好的可扩展性,通过在博州水利信息系统的应用实例介绍了实现过程。     

Leaching of cyanogenic glucosides and cyanide from white clover green manure

Use of crops for green manure as a substitute for chemical fertilizers and pesticides is an important approach towards more sustainable agricultural practices. Green manure from white clover is rich in nitrogen but white clover also produces the cyanogenic glucosides (CGs) linamarin and lotaustralin; CGs release toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) upon hydrolysis which may be utilized for pest control. We demonstrate that applying CGs in the form of a liquid extract of white clover to large columns of intact agricultural soils can result in leaching of toxic cyanide species to a depth of at least 1m. Although degradation of the CGs during leaching proceeded with half lives in the interval 1.5-35 h depending on soil characteristics, a fraction of the applied CGs (0.9-3.2%) was recovered in the leachate as either CGs or toxic cyanide species. Detoxification of the HCN formed was rapid in soil and leachate from both sandy and loamy soil. However, 30% of the leachate samples exceeded the EU threshold value of 50 micrgl(-1) total cyanide for drinking water and 85% exceeded the US threshold of 5 micrgl(-1) for cyanide chronic ecotoxicity in fresh water. This study demonstrates that even easily degradable natural products present in crop plants as defense compounds pose a threat to the quality of groundwater and surface waters. This aspect needs consideration in assessment of the risk associated with use of crops as green manure to replace chemical fertilizers and pesticides as well as in genetic engineering approaches to design crops with improved pest resistance.     

Assessment of chemical, biochemical and ecotoxicological aspects in a mine soil amended with sludge of either urban or industrial origin

A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of sewage sludge (SS), of sugar beet sludge (SBS), or of a combination of both, in the remediation of a highly acidic (pH 3.6) metal-contaminated soil, affected by mining activities. The SS was applied at 100 and 200 Mg ha(-1) (dry weight basis), and the SBS at 7 Mg ha(-1). All pots were sown with Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). After 60 d of growth, shoot biomass was quantified and analysed for Cu, Pb and Zn. The pseudo-total and bioavailable contents of Cu, Pb and Zn and the enzymatic activities of beta-glucosidase, acid phosphatase, cellulase, protease and urease were determined in the soil mixtures. Two indirect acute bioassays with leachates from the soil (luminescent inhibition of Vibrio fischeri and Daphnia magna immobilization) were also used. The SS, in particular when in combination with SBS, corrected soil acidity, while increasing the total organic matter content and the cation exchange capacity. The application of SS led to a decrease in the level of effective bioavailable metals (extracted by 0.01 M CaCl(2), pH 5.7, without buffer), but caused an increase in their potential bioavailability (extracted by a solution of 0.5M NH(4)CH(3)COO, 0.5 M CH(3)COOH and 0.01 M EDTA, pH 4.7). Plant biomass increased more than 10 times in the presence of 100 Mg SS ha(-1), and more than five times with the combined use of 100 Mg SS ha(-1) and SBS, but a considerable phytotoxic effect was observed for the application rate of 200 Mg SS ha(-1). Copper, Pb and Zn concentrations in the shoots of L. multiflorum decreased significantly when using 100 Mg SS ha(-1) or SBS. The activities of beta-glucosidase, urease and protease increased with increasing SS applications rates, but cellulase had a reduced activity when using 200 Mg ha(-1)SS. Both amendments were able to suppress soil toxicity to levels that did not affect D. magna, but increased the soil leachate toxicity towards V. fischeri, especially with the application of 200 Mg SS ha(-1). This study showed that for this type of mine soils, and when using SS of similar composition, the maximum SS application rate should be 100 Mg ha(-1), and that liming the SS amended soil with SBS did not contribute to a further improvement in soil quality.     

Effects of pig manure compost and nonionic-surfactant Tween 80 on phenanthrene and pyrene removal from soil vegetated with Agropyron elongatum

This paper evaluates the effects of pig manure compost (PMC) and Tween 80 on the removal of phenanthrene (PHE) and pyrene (PYR) from soil cultivated with Agropyron elongatum. Soils spiked with about 300mgkg(-1) of PHE and PYR were individually amended with 0%, 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% (dry wt) of PMC or 0, 20 and 100mgkg(-1) of Tween 80. Unplanted and sterile microcosms were prepared as the controls. PAH concentration, total organic matter (TOM), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total heterotrophic and PAH degrading microbial populations in soil were quantified before and after 60d period. The results indicated that A. elongatum could significantly enhance PYR removal (from 46% to 61%) but had less impact on PHE removal (from 96% to 97%). Plant uptake of the PAHs was insignificant. Biodegradation was the key mechanism of PAH removals (<3% losses in the sterile control). Increase in PMC or Tween 80 levels increased the removal of PYR but not of PHE. Maximal PYR removal of 79% and 92% were observed in vegetated soil receiving 100mgkg(-1) Tween 80 and 7.5% PMC, respectively. Enhanced PYR removal in soil receiving PMC could be explained by the elevated levels of DOC, TOM and microbial populations as suggested by Pearson correlation test. While the positive effect of Tween 80 on PYR removal could probably due to its capacities to enhance PYR bioavailability in soil. This paper suggests that the addition of either PMC or nonionic-surfactant Tween 80 could facilitate phytoremediation of PAH contaminated soil.     

Regio- and stereoselective isomerization of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs): kinetics and mechanism of gamma- to alpha-HBCD isomerization

Hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) are high production volume chemicals (>20000 ty(-1)) used as flame retardants for plastics and textiles. Lately, we reported on the stereoselective isomerization of beta-HBCDs. Herein we present insights into the mechanism and kinetics of (+)gamma- to (+)alpha- and of (-)gamma- to (-)alpha-HBCD isomerization. Only two of the six bromine atoms migrated, indicating that rearrangements of gamma- to alpha-HBCDs are regio- and stereoselective as well. The apparent first-order isomerization rate constants increased from 0.0013 to 0.0031 to 0.0070 min(-1) at 120, 130, and 140 degrees C, respectively, corresponding to half-lives of 540, 230, and 99 min. Thus, a thermal treatment of materials containing gamma-HBCDs at temperatures >100 degrees C may induce the formation of alpha-HBCDs and, hence, may alter the diastereomeric ratio of a HBCD mixture. The inversion of vicinal dibromides in like-configurations (RR/SS) prevailed, whereas unlike-configurations (RS/SR) were not affected. An intramolecular, stereoselective migration of neighboring bromine atoms via a four-center transition state would explain the observed stereoisomer pattern and first-order kinetics. Despite the fact that vicinal dibromides in HBCDs prefer synclinal (gauche) conformations, antiperiplanar (staggered) conformations are assumed to facilitate concerted 1.2-shifts of both bromine atoms. A conformation analysis revealed that under kinetic control, only those bromine atoms in the more flexible part of the molecules are migrating, whereas those in the conserved triple-turn motive were not affected. Thus, this structural motive, common to all alpha-, beta-, and gamma-HBCDs, is more rigid and less reactive than the flexible part, containing the reacting dibromides in like-configurations.