Predicted no-effect concentrations for mercury species and ecological risk assessment for mercury pollution in aquatic environment

Mercury(Hg) exists in different chemical forms presenting varied toxic potentials. It is necessary to explore an ecological risk assessment method for different mercury species in aquatic environment. The predicted no-effect concentrations(PNECs) for Hg(Ⅱ) and methyl mercury(Me Hg) in the aqueous phase, calculated using the species sensitivity distribution method and the assessment factor method, were 0.39 and 6.5 × 10-3μg/L, respectively. The partition theory of Hg between sediment and aqueous phases was considered, along with PNECs for the aqueous phase to conduct an ecological risk assessment for Hg in the sediment phase. Two case studies, one in China and one in the Western Black Sea, were conducted using these PNECs. The toxicity of mercury is heavily dependent on their forms,and their potential ecological risk should be respectively evaluated on the basis of mercury species.     

Mercury adsorption characteristics of HBr-modified fly ash in an entrained-flow reactor

In this study, the mercury adsorption characteristics of HBr-modified fly ash in an entrained-flow reactor were investigated through thermal decomposition methods. The results show that the mercury adsorption performance of the HBr-modified fly ash was enhanced significantly. The mercury species adsorbed by unmodified fly ash were HgCl₂, HgS and HgO. The mercury adsorbed by HBr-modified fly ash, in the entrained-flow reactor, existed in two forms, HgBr₂ and HgO, and the HBr was the dominant factor promoting oxidation of elemental mercury in the entrained-flow reactor. In the current study, the concentration of HgBr₂ and HgO in ash from the fine ash vessel was 4.6 times greater than for ash from the coarse ash vessel. The fine ash had better mercury adsorption performance than coarse ash, which is most likely due to the higher specific surface area and longer residence time.     

Mercury levels and estimated total daily intakes for children and adults from an electronic waste recycling area in Taizhou, China: Key role of rice and fish consumption

In order to assess the potential health risks of Hg pollution, total mercury (T–Hg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations were determined in air, dust, surface soil, crops, poultry, fish and human hair samples from an electronic waste (e-waste) recycling area in Taizhou, China. High concentrations of T–Hg and MeHg were found in these multiple matrices, and the mean concentration was 30.7 ng/m³ of T–Hg for atmosphere samples, 3.1 μg/g of T–Hg for soil, 37.6 μg/g of T–Hg for dust, 20.3 ng/g of MeHg for rice and 178.1 ng/g of MeHg for fish, suggesting that the e-waste recycling facility was a significant source of Hg. The inorganic Hg (I–Hg) levels (0.84 μg/g) in hair samples of e-waste workers were much higher than that in the reference samples. Pearson''s correlation coefficients showed that strong positive correlations (p < 0.01) between hair I–Hg and time staying in industrial area (r = 0.81) and between MeHg and fish consumption frequency (r = 0.91), imply that workers were mainly exposed to Hg vapor through long-time inhalation of contaminated air and dust, while other population mainly exposed to MeHg through high-frequency fish consumption. The estimated daily intakes of Hg showed that dietary intake was the major Hg exposure source, and Hg intakes from rice and fish were significantly higher than from any other foods. The estimated total daily intakes (TDIs) of MeHg for both children (696.8 ng/(kg·day)) and adults (381.3 ng/(kg·day)) greatly exceeded the dietary reference dose (RfD) of 230 ng/(kg·day), implying greater health risk for humans from Hg exposures around e-waste recycling facilities.     

Responses of soil ammonia oxidizers to a short-term severe mercury stress

The responses of soil ammonia-oxidizing archaea(AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria(AOB) to mercury(Hg) stress were investigated through a short-term incubation experiment.Treated with four different concentrations of Hg(CK,Hg25,Hg50,and Hg100,denoting 0,25,50,and 100 mg Hg/kg dry soil,respectively),samples were harvested after 3,7,and 28 day incubation.Results showed that the soil potential nitrification rate(PNR) was significantly inhibited by Hg stress during the incubation.However,lower abundances of AOA(the highest in CK: 9.20 × 10~7 copies/g dry soil; the lowest in Hg50: 2.68 × 10~7 copies/g dry soil) and AOB(the highest in CK: 2.68 × 10~7 copies/g dry soil; the lowest in Hg50:7.49 × 10~6 copies/g dry soil) were observed only at day 28 of incubation(P 0.05).Moreover,only the community structure of soil AOB obviously shifted under Hg stress as seen through DGGE profiles,which revealed that 2–3 distinct AOB bands emerged in the Hg treatments at day 28.In summary,soil PNR might be a very useful parameter to assess acute Hg stress on soil ecosystems,and the community structure of soil AOB might be a realistic biological indicator for the assessment of heavy metal stress on soil ecosystems in the future.     

Energy and economic impacts of an international multi-regional carbon market

The establishment of a global multi-regional carbon market is considered to be a cost effective approach to facilitate global emission abatement and has been widely concerned.The ongoing planned linkage between the European Union’s carbon market and a new emission trading system in Australia in 2015 would be an important attempt to the practice of building up an international carbon market across different regions.To understand the abatement effect of such a global carbon market and to study its energy and economic impact on different market participants,this article adopts a global dynamic computable general equilibrium model with a detailed representation of the interactions between energy and economic systems.Our model includes 20 economic sectors and 19 regions,and describes in detail 17 energy technologies.Bundled with fossil fuel consumptions,the emission permits are considered to be essential inputs in each of the production and consumption activities in the economic system to simulate global carbon market policies.Carbon emission permits are endogenously set in the model,and can be traded between sectors and regions.Considering the current development of the global carbon market,this study takes 2020 as the study period.Four scenarios(reference scenario,independent carbon market scenario,Europe Union（EUh-Australia scenario,and China-EU-Australia scenario） are designed to evaluate the impact of the global carbon market involving China,the EU,and Australia.We find that the carbon price in the three countries varies a lot,from $32/tCO₂ in Australia,to $17.5/tCO₂ in the EU,and to $10/tCO₂ in China.Though the relative emission reduction（3%） in China is lower than that in the EU（9%） and Australia（18%）,the absolute emission reduction in China is far greater than that in the EU and Australia.When China is included in the carbon market,which already includes the EU and Australia,the prevailing global carbon price falls from $22 per ton carbon dioxide（CO₂） to $12/tCO₂,due to the relatively lower abatement cost in China.Seventy-one percent of the EU’s and eighty-one percent of Australia’s domestic reduction burden would be transferred to China,increasing 0.03%of the EU’s and 0.06%of Australia’s welfare.The emission constraint improves the energy efficiency of China’s industry sector by 1.4%,reduces coal consumption by3.3%,and increases clean energy by 3.5%.     

我国取消电价补贴的经济影响——基于电价管制及完全竞争市场的分析

通过构建电力部门细分的CGE模型,分别在电价管制和完全竞争市场背景下,评估了取消电价交叉补贴和可再生能源电价补贴,以及引入碳税政策并将碳税收入转移支付给风电及光伏行业的经济影响.研究发现:取消电价交叉补贴对GDP有负面影响,而取消可再生能源电价补贴后GDP有所提升;相比完全竞争市场,电价管制市场背景下取消电价交叉补贴对GDP的负面冲击强度增加了0.003%,而取消可再生能源电价补贴对GDP的促进作用幅度则相对减小0.056%;同时取消两种补贴时,在电价管制市场背景下GDP相比基准情景下降了0.022%,而在完全竞争市场背景下GDP则增加了0.038%.电价管制市场背景下取消电价补贴对电力结构及能源结构影响较小;而在完全竞争市场背景下取消电价补贴将刺激传统电力消费并导致碳排放有所增加.引入碳税政策并将碳税收入转移支付给风电及光伏行业可以有效控制碳排放并促进电力结构和能源结构改善,但会对行业总产出和GDP产生更大的负面冲击.我国未来应适度放开电价管制,并采取诸如适时征收碳税并将其收入转移支付给风电和光伏行业的支持性政策,推动我国能源结构优化和节能减排目标的实现.     

我国噪声与振动控制行业2013年发展综述

综述了2012年我国噪声与振动控制行业的发展环境以及行业的生产经营情况;阐述了行业总体技术进展、新技术的开发应用概况,以及行业市场特点及重要动态;分析了行业主要骨干企业的发展情况及企业的国内外竞争力状况;针对行业发展中存在的主要问题, 提出了解决对策和建议,并对行业的发展进行了展望.     

The NICE-Whyco technologies partnership: saving energy, dollars, and the environment in the metal plating industry

In partnership with the US Department of Energy’s Office of Industrial Technology, Whyco Technologies, Inc., has developed an innovative perforated plating barrel used in the plating of metal parts. This new technology employs a thin-walled construction, differing from the traditional thick-wall design required to provide adequate structural integrity. The thicker walls lowered the efficiency of transferring plating solution into and out of the barrel and diminished the electrical current pushed through the holes and onto the parts being plated. By machining pockets out of the traditional thick-walled perforated structure, Whyco produced a ‘honeycomb’ of staggered cells, allowing for the greatest number of holes per open area while maintaining structural integrity. Hydrodynamic pumping occurs during barrel rotation to create greater solution transfer than in traditional barrels. The Whyco barrel has higher current density plating, which leads to faster plating cycles, reduced bath concentration, and better plating of difficult chemistries such as in alloys. This new technology has helped the company reduce energy use by 16%, eliminate more than 480 tons/year of solid waste, and reduce wastewater by more than 17 000 gallons/day. The resulting cost savings total more than $500 000 annually. The company has manufactured and sold more than 275 of these barrels to other electroplating companies that are reporting up to a 40% increase in plating productivity and similar energy and environmental impacts.     

市场转型对中国环境治理结构的影响——国家污染物减排指标的分配机制研究

国家统计局数据显示,2006年我国节能减排任务均远未实现国家"十一五"规划开局之年的目标,特别是主要污染物排放总量不降反升.本文在分析了中国环境治理体系和国家"十一五"规划主要污染物减排指标分配机制的基础上,研究了市场转型对中国环境治理结构的影响.中国的市场转型可以抽象为以"分权让利"、"市场化"和"工业化"为主要特征的结构演进过程.文中提出,中国市场转型过程对环境治理结构造成了重大影响,而环境治理的各项措施反过来也应与市场转型相适应.当前中国主要污染物减排指标没有实现达标的重要原因是国家污染物减排指标的分配机制无法适应我国市场转型的要求.为此,本文提出一系列国家主要污染物减排指标分配机制的政策建议.     

上海市郊区农业土地流转类型与土地利用变化响应差异性研究

在对农业用地流转机制进行深入分析的基础上，将农业土地流转市场划分为三种类型：政府引导型、集体推动型和农户主导型。进而结合农户调查数据，通过建立农业土地非耕地化流转的驱动力模型。分析不同类型的农业土地流转市场对于耕地利用变化的影响。模型运行结果表明：政府引导的农业土地流转导致耕地面积大幅减少，集体推动的流转有利于提高耕地利用效率。农户主导的农业土地流转促使了粮食作物种植面积的减少。最后以模型运行结果为依据，从保护农民土地权益、维持耕地总量平衡的角度提出相关建议。