Composition of Floating Debris in Harbours of the United States

As part of a programme to characterize floating anthropogenic debris in the aquatic environment, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted 18 field surveys in the harbours of major metropolitan cities of the east, west, and Gulf coasts of the United States and the Mid-Atlantic Bight. the surveys were designed to provide information on the types, relative amounts, and distributions of aquatic debris in different geographic regions of the United States. Neuston nets (0.33 mm mesh) were used to collect surface debris during outgoing tides on two or three consecutive days in selected areas of each city. After each net tow, the debris, which ranged in size from small resin pellets to large plastic sheeting pieces, was identified, categorized, and counted. the data are being used to qualitatively characterize aquatic debris in coastal metropolitan areas, to examine potential regional variations, and to tentatively identify potential sources.     

基于行业全产业链评估一份外卖订单的环境影响

构建"生产-运输-使用-废弃处置"的外卖全产业链，通过大样本企业调研与外卖平台大数据分析，计算8个样本城市不同材质与规格的外卖餐盒、餐具、包装袋的市场使用比例，挖掘骑手配送的海量数据，收集城市垃圾处理处置情况，系统评估外卖全过程的环境影响.结果表明，外卖包装物全产业链中生产环节（45%）与废弃处置环节（50%）为环境影响的主要来源，严重程度依次为固废排放、水污染、资源能源消耗和大气污染.所在城市及选用包装物材质的不同，外卖行业造成的环境影响会有显著区别，全产业链上的各环节需相互配合，多主体共同承担环境责任，采取差别化的减缓应对措施.     

火灾中均布荷载作用下钢筋混凝土方板的极限分析

本文利用有限差分法确定了火灾时钢筋混凝土板的温度分布，并基于塑性铰线理论确定了火灾时钢筋混凝土方板的破坏机制，根据高温下混凝土和钢筋的力学性能对火灾过程中塑性铰截面的弯矩及板的极限荷载进行了分析，可为建筑结构的耐火设计提供依据。     

Recycling-oriented characterization of plastic frames and printed circuit boards from mobile phones by electronic and chemical imaging

This study characterizes the composition of plastic frames and printed circuit boards from end-of-life mobile phones. This knowledge may help define an optimal processing strategy for using these items as potential raw materials. Correct handling of such a waste is essential for its further “sustainable” recovery, especially to maximize the extraction of base, rare and precious metals, minimizing the environmental impact of the entire process chain. A combination of electronic and chemical imaging techniques was thus examined, applied and critically evaluated in order to optimize the processing, through the identification and the topological assessment of the materials of interest and their quantitative distribution. To reach this goal, end-of-life mobile phone derived wastes have been systematically characterized adopting both “traditional” (e.g. scanning electronic microscopy combined with microanalysis and Raman spectroscopy) and innovative (e.g. hyperspectral imaging in short wave infrared field) techniques, with reference to frames and printed circuit boards. Results showed as the combination of both the approaches (i.e. traditional and classical) could dramatically improve recycling strategies set up, as well as final products recovery.     

构建中国快递行业包装废弃物产业链对环境影响重要性研究

互联网和电子商务的快速发展带动了快递行业的飞速发展,使社会对快递包装物的需求增加.庞大的快递废弃物给环境造成了严重的破坏.然而由于相关法律不健全、回收体系不完整、企业不积极以及回收渠道少等原因导致了中国的快递包装废弃物回收率非常低.构建快递包装废弃物回收产业链,并降低快递包装废弃物对环境造成的影响就成了社会经济发展的一个迫切需要.为此推广环保材料和环保产品以及提高消费者环保意识入手,构建快递包装废弃物回收产业链势在必行.     

包装企业有机废气深度处理技改实例探讨

有机废气的治理方法有很多,应选择合适的治理方法或组合来提高处理效率,来着力改善大气环境质量。以某包装企业有机废气深度处理技术改造项目为实例,探讨采取RTO焚烧法取得的治理效果。     

Polymer Barrier Films

Many polymers such as polyolefins (polyethylene, polypropylene), poly(vinyl chloride), aliphatic polyamides, poly(ethylene terephthalate), polycarbonate, and others are used as protective barrier films against the mass transport of small molecules of gases, vapors, and liquids (known as diffusates, permeants) in different applications. The barrier properties depend on the polymer characteristics such as solubility, diffusion, permeability, and others, the nature of the fluid, temperature, and other factors. Mainly polymer barrier film application in packaging, construction, and agriculture are discussed.     

Outdoor Weathering Evaluation of Carbon-Black-Filled, Biodegradable Copolyester as Substitute for Traditionally Used, Carbon-Black-Filled, Nonbiodegradable, High-Density Polyethylene Mulch Films

Carbon-black-filled, biodegradable, copolyester mulch film (Eastar®, or EA, Tennessee Eastman, Kingsport, TN) and commercial carbon-black-filled, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) mulch film were exposed for 12 weeks to commercial vegetable crop growing conditions by being placed directly on irrigated soil in the field of the University of Tennessee Alcoa Highway State Agriculture Experiment Station (Knoxville, TN) and by being placed on a plywood exposure rack as described by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard Test Method 1435: Outdoor Weathering of Plastics. Mechanical properties and weather information were collected in order to evaluate the feasibility of using the newly developed biodegradable EA mulch film to replace the nonbiodegradable HDPE mulch film. Results indicate that the EA mulch film exhibited favorable tensile strength and elongation-at-break during outdoor exposure rack testing and outdoor, in-field, placed directly on the soil, exposure testing, suggesting biodegradable EA could be a substitute for the HDPE nonbiodegradable material.     

Material cycles in Asia: especially the recycling loop between Japan and China

In this article, we clarify the current status of Japanese exports and Chinese imports of secondary resources. A total of around 10 million metric tons (t) of secondary resources are exported annually from Japan to China, Hong Kong, and Korea. Hong Kong plays the role of a transshipment point, especially regarding the trade in plastic waste, and China imports much from the USA and Japan, often through Hong Kong. The secondary resources exported from Japan include both byproducts from manufacturing processes and end-of-life products or materials. The great demand in China, and the difference in prices between countries, drive this transboundary shipment, although Japan has enacted various recycling laws that were implicitly intended to promote domestic recycling. In China, the imported secondary resources are recycled, usually by means of primitive and low-cost hand labor. The greatest concern is whether there are still improper (illegal or polluting) recycling activities in China. International material cycles should prevent environmental pollution and ensure efficient resource utilization. To that end, the following measures are needed: cooperative control of the trade of secondary resources between countries, the alignment of domestic laws with the regulations in other countries based on the actual trade activities, and the realization of sound practices for global resources management.     

Catalytic decomposition of hydrocarbon into hydrogen and carbon in a spouted-bed reactor as the second-stage reactor of a plastic recycling process

A two-stage process for the chemical recycling of plastics is proposed. In this process, which consists of two reactors, plastics are converted into hydrogen and carbon. In the first reactor, plastic chips are thermally decomposed into hydrocarbons. In the second reactor, the hydrocarbons formed in the first reactor are catalytically decomposed into carbon and hydrogen. In this study, in order to obtain basic data for the second reactor, propene was catalytically decomposed in a laboratory-scale spouted-bed reactor (600mm high, 21.6mm internal diameter, made of SUS304). The effect of the type of spouting medium used on the decomposition behavior of propene was investigated using four types of spouting medium (nickel-plated -alumina, palladium-plated -alumina, nickel-impregnated -alumina, and -alumina). The nickel-impregnated -alumina gave the best propene conversion and hydrogen yield.