Tolerance of calluna vulgaris and peatland plant communities to sulphuric acid deposition

Critical loads offer a unique way of evaluating impacts of acid deposition by quantifying environmental sensitivity. The critical loads of acidity for UK peat soils have been based upon an arbitrary reduction in pH of 0.2 units. This chemical shift needs to be better related to adverse effects on sensitive biological receptors. It is known that effective precipitation pH equates closely to soil solution pH, and the latter is directly linkable to biotic effects of pH change. On continuation of a long-term experiment assessing impacts of simulated acid rain on peat microcosms in a realistic outdoor environment, Calluna vulgaris continued to flourish at acid deposition loads well above the existing critical load. Calluna plants were harvested and analysed, and acid deposition treatments to the microcosms continued to allow natural vegetation to regenerate. A diverse mixture of moorland plants and bryophytes established at acidity treatments well above the existing critical load, and only a very high acid load resulted in no natural regeneration. A critical effective rain pH value of 3.6 is suggested as a basis for setting critical loads. At this pH, Calluna grows well, and a healthy diverse vegetation community re-establishes when harvested. It is suggested that the peat critical load should be set at the acid load that, at any specific site, would result in a mean effective precipitation pH of 3.6.     

Perceptions toward stewardship among residents living near U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Facilities

Although stewardship has been widely defined and used in environmental management and planning, there is a dearth of studies that describe how the lay public perceives this concept. A national sample of residents in 14 states who live near DOE nuclear facilities were interviewed to delineate public understanding and awareness of the stewardship program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This study discusses the findings of the survey and discusses how institutional trust influences public participation and resident’s choices of potential stewards. Almost 40% of the respondents could not define stewardship; those who did, believed that ‘responsibility,’ ‘management,’ and ‘accountability’ are key elements of stewardship. In addition, about a third of the respondents identified Federal groups and the DOE as potential stewards. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue     

密封组合形式对结构密封性能影响研究

目的研究密封组合形式对结构密封性能的影响。方法开展密封性能试验,从密封形式、装配形式和涂覆形式的3种组合形式开展试验研究,找出结构密封性能影响因素,筛选密封最优组合形式。结果结构密封3种组成形式分别为有无贴合面的密封形式,干涉装配、湿装配形式,部分涂覆、全涂覆形式。开展2种应力水平下8种密封组合形式的密封性能试验,在保证密封工艺质量条件下,按照飞机结构和受载特点选取合理密封组合形式能有效提高结构密封性能。结论在飞机应力较高、不常拆的密封部位应选择贴合面密封、干涉装配、部分涂覆的密封组合形式,在飞机结构设计要求间隙装配、常拆卸的密封部位选择贴合面密封、湿装配、部分涂覆的密封组合形式。     

大力开展清洁生产做好节能环保工作

在开展清洁生产过程中，江苏油田真武天然气集中处理站通过节约用水和冷量回收工艺的技术改造，减少了外排水，使水得到循环利用；能量得到很好的利用，增加了产品的产量，给企业增加了经济效益。     

无顺市水污染物总量分配探讨

根据抚顺市地表水系和水域功能区划的分布情况，采用了定额达标分配、治理费用最小，及按现有排污总量进行达标分配的方法对水污染物进行总量分配，从而对减少污染物排放，控制水体污染提供了技术支持。     

Energy use and transport correlation linking personal and travel related energy uses to the urban structure

This paper considers relationships between sustainability objectives, transport, spatial design of the built environment and rational use of energy. Conventional transport modelling, housing supply and energy assessment tools are drawn together to provide a common platform for appraisal of city-wide energy use by stationary and mobile sources. The paper outlines methodologies developed for the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The paper concludes by briefly reviewing the effect in terms of mobile and stationary energy consumption and travel behaviour of implementing sustainable policy measures in current and future years within the study area.     

Comparison of mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestions of thermal hydrolysis pretreated swine manure: Process performance, microbial communities and energy balance

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of swine manure (SM) commonly shows low biogas output and unsatisfactory economic performance. In this study, thermophilic AD (TAD, 50 ± 1 °C) was combined with thermal hydrolysis pretreatment (THP, 170 °C/10 bar), to investigate its potential for maximizing biogas yield, securing successful digestion and microbial diversity, as well as improving energy balance. Four lab-scale continuously stirred tank reactors were operated for 300 days and compared with each other, i.e., reactor 1 (raw SM fed in mesophilic AD: RSM-MAD), reactor 2 (THP-treated SM fed in MAD: TSM-MAD), reactor 3 (RSM-TAD), and reactor 4 (TSM-TAD). The results showed that THP was efficient to increase methane production of SM, TSM-TAD mode led to the highest methane yield (129.8 ± 40.5 mL-CH₄/g-VS/day) among the tests (p < 0.05). Although TAD was more likely to induce free ammonia (> 700 mg/L) or volatile fatty acids (> 6000 mg/L) accumulation compared with MAD in start-up phase, TSM-TAD treatment mode behaved a sustainable digestion process in a long-term operation. For TSM-TAD scenario, higher Shannon–Weaver (3.873) and lower Simpson index (0.061) indicated this mode ensured and enlarged the diversity of bacteria communities. Phylum Bathyarchaeota was dominant (59.3%−90.0%) in archaea community, followed by Euryarchaeota in the four reactors. RSM-MAD treatment mode achieved the highest energy output (4.65 GJ/day), TSM-TAD was less effective (−17.38 GJ/day) due to increased energy demands. Thus improving the energetic efficiency of THP units is recommended for the development of TSM-TAD treatment mode.     

New process for anaerobic treatment of Vitamin C wastewater in a full scale plant

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重庆的能源利用与大气污染

文章分析了大气污染和酸雨对重庆生态环境产生的危害。研究表明，重庆的大气污染主要由燃煤导致，控制大气污染的对策应与能源发展规划相协调，只有降低煤炭使用比例才能使重庆乃至我国的大气污染物排放量做到根本性消减，要把调整能源结构提到能源发展战略的高度     

关于500t／h污水处理场设备运行的探讨

济南炼油厂新建污水处理场采用目前国内石化系统污水处理先进技术，对设备，构筑物等进行实际运行标定。尤其是设备改造，提出作者的见解，同时对污水处理问题进行探讨。