上海废电池回收实证分析及相关宣传教育对策探讨

回顾了上海市废电池回收过程;通过对2个试点项目实施效果的分析,指出了目前废电池回收存在的误区及原因。在相关宣传教育方面,指出针对废电池回收的宣传教育并未随政策改变而作相应调整,宣传教育形式比较单一,内容相对陈旧,效果不理想。提出了提高公众认识、调整宣教内容、在环境宣传教育中增强专业性和创新性等建议。     

我国环境影响评价审查的专家回避制度探讨

对我国环境影响评价专家审查制度存在的问题进行深入分析,参考我国司法、行政、仲裁体系的回避制度,探讨如何以《环境影响评价审查专家库管理办法》中的审查专家主动回避规定为基础,引入审查专家申请回避,建立、健全我国环境影响评价审查的专家回避制度,以保证环境影响评价审查的公正性、公平性和权威性,进一步完善我国的环境影响评价制度。     

304L不锈钢废水管线腐蚀泄漏失效分析

某304L不锈钢废水管线使用30天左右即发生腐蚀泄漏。采用宏观检验、化学成分分析、金相检验、电镜观察、三氯化铁试验等分析方法,对该废水管道的腐蚀泄漏进行失效分析。分析结果表明,该不锈钢管线所通的废水中含有高浓度的Cl^-,且试运行后一直未使用,最终在管内残留废水的作用下发生了点蚀穿孔。     

Review and prospect of emerging contaminants in waste – Key issues and challenges linked to their presence in waste treatment schemes: General aspects and focus on nanoparticles

The presence in waste of emerging pollutants (EPs), whose behaviours and effects are not well understood, may present unexpected health and environmental risks and risks for the treatment processes themselves. EP may include substances that are newly detected in the environment, substances already identified as risky and whose use in items is prohibited (but which may be present in old or imported product waste) or substances already known but whose recent use in products can cause problems during their future treatment as waste. Several scientific studies have been conducted to assess the presence of EP in waste, but they are mostly dedicated to a single category of substance or one particular waste treatment. In the absence of a comprehensive review focused on the impact of the presence of EP on waste treatment schemes, the authors present a review of the key issues associated with the treatment of waste containing emerging pollutants. This review presents the typologies of emerging pollutants that are potentially present in waste along with the major challenges for each treatment scheme (recycling, composting, digestion, incineration, landfilling and wastewater treatment). All conventional treatment processes are affected by these new pollutants, and they were almost never originally designed to consider these substances. In addition to these general aspects, a comprehensive review of available data, projects and future R&D needs related to the impact of nanoparticles on waste treatment is presented as a case study.     

Energy implications of mechanical and mechanical–biological treatment compared to direct waste-to-energy

Primary energy savings potential is used to compare five residual municipal solid waste treatment systems, including configurations with mechanical (MT) and mechanical–biological (MBT) pre-treatment, which produce waste-derived fuels (RDF and SRF), biogas and/or recover additional materials for recycling, alongside a system based on conventional mass burn waste-to-energy and ash treatment. To examine the magnitude of potential savings we consider two energy efficiency levels (state-of-the-art and best available technology), the inclusion/exclusion of heat recovery (CHP vs. PP) and three different background end-use energy production systems (coal condensing electricity and natural gas heat, Nordic electricity mix and natural gas heat, and coal CHP energy quality allocation).The systems achieved net primary energy savings in a range between 34 and 140 MJ_primary/100 MJ_{input waste}, in the different scenario settings. The energy footprint of transportation needs, pre-treatment and reprocessing of recyclable materials was 3–9.5%, 1–18% and 1–8% respectively, relative to total energy savings. Mass combustion WtE achieved the highest savings in scenarios with CHP production, nonetheless, MBT-based systems had similarly high performance if SRF streams were co-combusted with coal. When RDF and SRF was only used in dedicated WtE plants, MBT-based systems totalled lower savings due to inherent system losses and additional energy costs. In scenarios without heat recovery, the biodrying MBS-based system achieved the highest savings, on the condition of SRF co-combustion. As a sensitivity scenario, alternative utilisation of SRF in cement kilns was modelled. It supported similar or higher net savings for all pre-treatment systems compared to mass combustion WtE, except when WtE CHP was possible in the first two background energy scenarios. Recovery of plastics for recycling before energy recovery increased net energy savings in most scenario variations, over those of full stream combustion. Sensitivity to assumptions regarding virgin plastic substitution was tested and was found to mostly favour plastic recovery.     

Quantifying capital goods for waste incineration

Materials and energy used for the construction of modern waste incineration plants were quantified. The data was collected from five incineration plants (72,000–240,000 tonnes per year) built in Scandinavia (Norway, Finland and Denmark) between 2006 and 2012. Concrete for the buildings was the main material used amounting to 19,000–26,000 tonnes per plant. The quantification further included six main materials, electronic systems, cables and all transportation. The energy used for the actual on-site construction of the incinerators was in the range 4000–5000 MW h. In terms of the environmental burden of producing the materials used in the construction, steel for the building and the machinery contributed the most. The material and energy used for the construction corresponded to the emission of 7–14 kg CO₂ per tonne of waste combusted throughout the lifetime of the incineration plant. The assessment showed that, compared to data reported in the literature on direct emissions from the operation of incinerators, the environmental impacts caused by the construction of buildings and machinery (capital goods) could amount to 2–3% with respect to kg CO₂ per tonne of waste combusted.     

Gasification of waste plastics by steam reforming in a fluidized bed

The process of producing synthetic gas from waste plastics by steam reforming was investigated. To evaluate this process, the steam reforming of the oils derived from low-density polyethylene and polystyrene were carried out using a laboratory-scale fluidized bed of Ni-Al₂O₃ catalysts. The performance of gasification in terms of carbon conversion, gas yield, and gas compositions was examined. Although oils derived from plastics contain many kinds of heavy hydrocarbons and aromatics, they were well gasified at temperatures above 1023 K with a steam/carbon ratio of 3.5 and a weight hourly space velocity of 1 h⁻¹. The hydrogen content of the product gas was very high at approximately 72 vol% for polyethylene-derived oil and 68 vol% for polystyrene-derived oil. These compositions agreed well with the values calculated from chemical equilibrium.     

Studies of the effects of environmental factors on the seasonal change of phytoplankton population in municipal waste water stabilization ponds

Studies were carried out on waste water stabilization ponds in the southern region of Tehran (Iran). Concrete waste stabilization ponds made up of 4 lagoons with 32,047?m³ volume handled 180?lit/ day sewage per capita. Samples were collected monthly from 3 regions of influent and effluent from January to December. Some of the samples were used for identification, culture and purification without any fixation of phytoplankton, but some of them were fixed. Algae were identified using bright field and dark field microscopes. The relationship between the environmental factors and the population density of the species at different times was also measured based on the data analysis factors. Results showed existing 53 taxa in 4 phylum and 38 genera of algae. Taxa were: Cyanophyta (17 taxa), Chlorophyta (22 taxa), Chrysophyta (11 taxa) and Euglenophyta (4 taxa) that fluctuated based on the environmental conditions.     

Physical and motor development in male and female rat offspring prenatally exposed to gamma radiation

Abstract

The effects of radiation on physical and motor development of male and female rats exposed to ionizing radiation in utero were studied. Rats were exposed to three different doses of radiation (150 rad, 15 rad and 6.8 rad, considered as high, moderate and low doses of radiation respectively) on the 20th day of prenatal life. Exposure to 150 rad contributed to significantly lower body weights of both male and female rat offspring. Upper jaw tooth eruption was delayed in 150 rad treated male offspring, as well as in 15 rad and 150 rad treated female offspring. Cliff‐avoidance response was delayed in 6.8 rad, 15 rad, and 150 rad treated male offspring; and 150 rad treated female offspring. Lower jaw tooth eruption, eye opening, and crawling were not affected by radiation in male or female animals. Results indicate that radiation affected the developmental parameters of both male and female rat offspring, and sex of the offspring played no role in the magnitude of radiation induced damages.     

Goshute Native American Tribe and Nuclear Waste: Complexities and Contradictions of a Bounded-Constitutive Relationship

This essay examines discourse from members of the Skull Valley Goshute Native American tribe about the nuclear-waste proposal and tribal controversy. Building from Kinsella's “bounded-constitutive” theoretical model of communication, I argue the environment (material) is more than a context where Goshute culture and policy development (symbolic) plays out. Rather, environment, culture, and policy mutually define each other, and the material environment constrains Goshute culture. Instead of the symbolic unilaterally influencing the material, the material responds and acts to influence the symbolic. The symbolic becomes responsible to the material and vice versa as the relationship is multi-influential and interactive creating political, cultural, and environmental complexities and contradictions while fueling intra-tribal conflict.