Effective dialogue: Enhanced public engagement as a legitimising tool for municipal waste management decision-making

The complexity of municipal waste management decision-making has increased in recent years, accompanied by growing scrutiny from stakeholders, including local communities. This complexity reflects a socio-technical framing of the risks and social impacts associated with selecting technologies and sites for waste treatment and disposal facilities. Consequently there is growing pressure on local authorities for stakeholders (including communities) to be given an early opportunity to shape local waste policy in order to encourage swift planning, development and acceptance of the technologies needed to meet statutory targets to divert waste from landfill. This paper presents findings from a research project that explored the use of analytical–deliberative processes as a legitimising tool for waste management decision-making. Adopting a mixed methods approach, the study revealed that communicating the practical benefits of more inclusive forms of engagement is proving difficult even though planning and policy delays are hindering development and implementation of waste management infrastructure. Adopting analytical–deliberative processes at a more strategic level will require local authorities and practitioners to demonstrate how expert-citizen deliberations may foster progress in resolving controversial issues, through change in individuals, communities and institutions. The findings suggest that a significant shift in culture will be necessary for local authorities to realise the potential of more inclusive decision processes. This calls for political actors and civic society to collaborate in institutionalising public involvement in both strategic and local planning structures.     

The effect of clay catalyst on the chemical composition of bio-oil obtained by co-pyrolysis of cellulose and polyethylene

Cellulose/polyethylene (CPE) mixture 3:1, w/w with and without three clay catalysts (K10 – montmorillonite K10, KSF – montmorillonite KSF, B – Bentonite) addition were subjected to pyrolysis at temperatures 400, 450 and 500 °C with heating rate of 100 °C/s to produce bio-oil with high yield. The pyrolytic oil yield was in the range of 41.3–79.5 wt% depending on the temperature, the type and the amount of catalyst. The non-catalytic fast pyrolysis at 500 °C gives the highest yield of bio-oil (79.5 wt%). The higher temperature of catalytic pyrolysis of cellulose/polyethylene mixture the higher yield of bio-oil is. Contrarily, increasing amount of montmorillonite results in significant, almost linear decrease in bio-oil yield followed by a significant increase of gas yield. The addition of clay catalysts to CPE mixture has a various influence on the distribution of bio-oil components. The addition of montmorillonite K10 to cellulose/polyethylene mixture promotes the deepest conversion of polyethylene and cellulose. Additionally, more saturated than unsaturated hydrocarbons are present in resultant bio-oils. The proportion of liquid hydrocarbons is the highest when a montmorillonite K10 is acting as a catalyst.     

泄爆容器中粉尘爆炸的试验研究与数值模拟

为了解泄爆容器中粉尘爆炸的发展过程,采用试验和数值模拟相结合的方法对玉米淀粉在圆柱形容器内的泄爆过程进行研究。数值模型采用欧拉–拉格朗日方法模拟粉尘爆炸的两相流问题,通过求解非稳态的湍流两相反应流守恒方程对试验进行二维仿真。试验和模拟结果表明,点火位置对爆炸发展过程有明显影响,点火位置离泄爆口越远,容器中的最大泄爆压力Pred,max越高。在粉尘爆炸的安全防护设计中,应把点火位置作为重要影响因素之一加以考虑。     

散煤运输用膜型抑尘剂的制备及性能研究

采用水溶液聚合法,以氧化淀粉、丙烯酸(AA)、二甲基二烯丙基氯化铵(DMDAAC)为原料,通过接枝共聚制备了一种软膜型抑尘剂(抑尘剂液体干燥后形成具有一定韧性的软膜)。与聚乙烯醇类壳型抑尘剂(干燥后形成很脆的壳层)相比,软膜型抑尘剂提高了煤粉固化层的抗破裂能力。由抗震荡性试验可知,使用膜型抑尘剂后,经过18 h的震荡,煤粉的损失率仅为1.91%,而使用壳型抑尘剂后煤粉的损失率为4.85%。还测定了2种抑尘剂的保湿性和耐破度。利用红外光谱对产物的结构进行了表征,采用SEM观察了该产物在煤粉表面形成的膜层形貌。试验结果表明,散煤运输中膜型抑尘剂在减少煤粉损失和控制扬尘污染方面性能优于壳型抑尘剂。     

A stochastic fuzzy chance-constrained programming model for energy–environment system planning and management in the City of Beijing

A stochastic and fuzzy chance-constrained programming (SFCCP) model was developed in this study for supporting energy–environment management in the city of Beijing, China. SFCCP was capable of tackling the variables in constraints as fuzzy random variables, which were integration of randomness and vagueness. SFCCP was applied to an energy–environment management system in the city of Beijing. The study results indicated that SFCCP was useful in helping decision makers gain in-depth insights into proposed management system and establish environment-friendly energy allocation alternatives. The application of SFCCP is expected to provide a good demonstration to energy–environment management problems under complex uncertainties.     

Synthesis of a novel humic acid-based polycarboxylic dispersant for coal water slurry

A novel humic acid-based polycarboxylic-type (HAP) dispersant for coal–water slurry (CWS) was successfully synthesized in aqueous solution from the copolymerization of HA, acrylic acid and maleic acid. The structure of HAP was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetry (TG) and ¹H NMR. With HAP as a dispersant for Linfen coal slurry, the effects of the mass ratio of HA and monomer, initiator concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time on the HAP dispersant performance were discussed by examining the apparent viscosity of CWS. The results showed that CWS prepared withHAP dispersant performed excellent dispersity and stability. When the dosage of HAP was up to 0.5 wt.%, the apparent viscosity of CWS was 505 mPa·s. Experiments on the stability of CWS containing 0.5 wt.% HAP demonstrated that the penetration ratio reached 85.45 % after 96 h, which was higher by 12.87 % than that of CWS prepared with HA. And the CWS produced with HAP had lower dewatering rate within the storage time, which was less 1.85 % than that of CWS with HA when the storage time was 72 h. Furthermore, the maximum coal content of CWS with 0.5 wt.% HAP may reached 70 wt.%. This work found a new route for utilizing humic acid and enlarged the selecting range of the dispersant for CWS. It has a positive significance for protection of environment.     

Electrical performance of laser braze-welded aluminum–copper interconnects

The reported investigation is related to laser beam braze-welding technology for dissimilar aluminum–copper interconnects for Li-ion battery assembly. The correlation between the brittle and high-resistivity intermetallic compounds and the electrical contact resistance showed that a thin intermetallic layer is highly desirable. It was proved that highest shear strength and lowest contact resistance can be achieved within the same parameter set which is of particular interest to battery electrical vehicle applications requiring both high mechanical reliability and electrical performance.A study on the weld seam layout further showed that two parallel weld seams with optimized spacing and overlap design provide lowest contact resistance.     

Case report: a prenatal case of Jarcho–Levin syndrome diagnosed during the first trimester of pregnancy

The Jarcho–Levin syndrome is a specific form of spondylocostal/spondylothoracic dysostosis. There have been various classifications of this syndrome. We present the case of a severe prenatal Jarcho–Levin syndrome, diagnosed by ultrasound examination during the first trimester of pregnancy in a family with no previous medical history of an affected child. X-ray exploration, high-resolution spiral computed tomography and autopsy confirmed the diagnosis. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

内交联型淀粉改性水性聚氨酯固沙剂的制备

文章以甲苯二异氰酸酯(TDI)、聚氧化丙烯二醇(PPG)为基本原料,二羟甲基丙酸(DMPA)为亲水化改性单体、三羟甲基丙烷(TMP)为扩链剂通过预聚体法制备了淀粉改性水性聚氨酯环保型固沙剂,研究了淀粉用量对固沙剂乳液及其所成胶膜性能的影响。研究结果表明:在扩链聚合时加入可溶性淀粉,可以得到稳定的聚氨酯乳液;随着可溶性淀粉用量的增加,乳液的粘度增加,粒径呈增大趋势,胶膜拉伸强度减小;动态热力学分析显示胶膜储能模量E’随着淀粉含量的增加而减小,而玻璃化转变温度升高;保水实验显示保水效果随淀粉含量的增加而提高。当可溶性淀粉与纯聚氨酯的质量比为10%时,胶膜的拉伸强度和断裂伸长率分别为16.7 MPa和662%,而应用此配比固沙液的沙土在测试条件下10 h的失水率仅为55.7%,达到固沙剂保水性和胶膜力学性能之间较好的平衡。     

铁岭地区玉米淀粉工业废水资源化利用方式及环境效益分析

简要分析淀粉工业废水产生环节及水质特性,提出在行业废水处理普遍工艺的基础上对沼气进行回收利用,通过淀粉工业废水资源化利用方式减少污染物排放,降低废水治理成本,并综合分析淀粉工业废水资源化利用方式产生的环境效益。