微生物燃料电池恒电流预培养阳极生物膜分析表征

阳极性能是影响微生物燃料电池(Microbial Fuel Cells,MFCs)性能的关键因素之一,同时阳极的接种挂膜过程是影响微生物燃料电池启动效率的关键因素.因此,本课题组提出了预培养阳极作为微生物燃料电池的一种新型阳极的概念,在三电极体系下,通过外加恒定电流预培养阳极,在不同条件下对阳极表面进行电化学选择和生物膜驯化以丰富生物膜结构和厚度.结果表明,阳极的性能与预培养电流大小密切相关,预培养阳极CF-4i(外加4 A·m-2电流密度)通过循环伏安法、塔菲尔曲线、电化学阻抗谱测试,性能好于其他测试组及对照组,装配阳极CF-4i的微生物燃料电池能实现最大功率密度968.20 m W·m-2,是对照组的2.53倍.同时,通过共聚焦显微镜观察发现,生物膜大体分两层,外层的活细胞及内层的死细胞,外层活细胞长在内层死细胞之上.这种结构分布表明,阳极生物膜中的活细胞部分绝大多数都分布于生物膜的外侧,而不是均布于整个阳极生物膜中;同时这也表明不是整个阳极生物膜都具有新陈代谢活性,但死亡的细胞可以继续积累在电极表面附近,活的外层膜负责电流的产生,而内层的死细胞作为一种导电基质.     

秸秆压块与燃煤供热系统生命周期环境排放对比研究

为证明采用秸秆压块燃料替代煤炭进行供热的可持续性,对秸秆压块和燃煤供热系统的生命周期环境排放进行了对比分析.基于我国2012年投入产出表,构建了投入产出生命周期评价(IO-LCA)和过程生命周期评价(PLCA)相结合的混合生命周期评价(Hybrid-LCA)模型,核算了玉米秸秆压块和燃煤供热系统供应1 GJ热的生命周期CO2、SO2、NOx和PM2.5排放.结果显示,秸秆压块供热系统的生命周期CO2排放量为7 kg·GJ-1热,比燃煤供热排放减少121 kg.此外,秸秆压块供热系统比燃煤供热系统可以分别减少SO2排放98%、NOx排放76%和PM2.5排放58%.控制原料水分,通过减少原料收集和能源转化过程中的耗损,减少能源转化过程的电力消耗以及控制原料收集半径等可以有效改进秸秆压块供热系统环境表现.     

Point‐Nonpoint Trading – Can It Work?1

Ribaudo, Marc O. and Jessica Gottlieb, 2011. Point‐Nonpoint Trading – Can It Work? Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):5‐14. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00454.x Abstract: Water quality trading between point and nonpoint sources is of great interest as an alternative to strict command and control regulations on point sources for achieving water quality goals. The expectation is that trading will reduce the costs of water quality protection, and may speed compliance. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has issued guidance to the States on developing point‐nonpoint trading programs, and United States Department of Agriculture is encouraging farmer participation. However, existing point‐nonpoint trading programs have resulted in very few trades. Supply side and demand side impediments seem to be preventing trades from occurring in most trading programs. These include uncertainty over the number of discharge allowances different management practices can produce, high transactions costs of identifying trading partners, baseline requirements that eliminate low‐cost credits, the reluctance of point sources to trade with unfamiliar agents, and the perception of some farmers that entering contracts with regulated point sources leads to greater scrutiny and potential future regulation. Many of these problems can be addressed through research and program design.     

Comparative analysis of air pollution emissions by electric utilities: Public policy implications

One of the objectives of US environmental regulations was to reduce industrial air pollution emissions, especially from the electric utility industry, the major industrial air polluter. In this study, a comparative analysis of air pollution emissions from fossil-fuel-burning electric utility plants is conducted. The analysis focuses on a 12-yr period from 1975 to 1987 for three air pollutants: particulates, surfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. The results indicate that particulate emissions have been significantly reduced but that sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are still major problems for a number of plants. Furthermore, the disparity in the performance by plants indicates that by using current technology, the industry as a whole could greatly reduce these emissions. These results have policy implication for future environmental legislation.     

植物油燃料研究概述

本文介绍了植物油作燃料的研究历史以及试验研究状况，表明植物油作为柴油的替代品是最易实现的方案。但植物油燃料还需进一步试验研究才能使其实用化，其技术储备具有深远的现实意义。本文还通过对燃料油植物栽培问题的探讨，认为“农林复合经营”是生产植物燃料油的重要途径。     

New federalism and state implementation of the Clean Water Act

An important goal of the Reagan administration has been to shift responsibility for many public programs from the US federal government to the states. This New Federalism seeks to restore a proper balance to the federal system and to ensure an effective working partnership between the states and the federal government. Such a partnership is especially important for many environmental laws because these laws often give states primary responsibility for the control and abatement of pollution.This research examines the extent to which the Reagan administration has succeeded in improving intergovernmental environmental relations in terms of state implementation of the Clean Water Act. Data from a 1985 survey of directors of state water quality control programs are compared with responses to a similar survey that the US General Accounting Office conducted in 1979. The latter survey found considerable dissatisfaction on the part of state directors with the quality of their relations with the US Environmental Protection Agency. Although some improvement can be noted between 1979 and 1985, the Reagan administration's efforts to improve intergovernmental relations appear to have been of limited consequence, to the possible detriment of effective implementation of the Clean Water Act.     

Regulatory context for cumulative impact research

Wetlands protection has become a topic of increased public attention and support, and regulation of wetlands loss under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act has received high priority within the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Despite this, the nation is continuing to experience serious wetlands losses. This situation reflects the contentious nature of wetlands protection; it involves fundamental conflicts between environmental and development interests. Better information is needed to support regulatory decision making, including information on cumulative impacts. Currently, consideration of cumulative impacts, although required by various federal regulations, is limited. One reason is that most regulatory decisions are made on a permit-specific, site-specific basis, whereas cumulative impacts must be assessed on a broader, regional scale. In addition, scientific information and methods necessary to support cumulative impact assessment have been lacking. An anticipatory, planning-oriented framework to complement the existing site-specific permit review program is needed to support more effective consideration of cumulative impacts; such an effort is beginning to emerge. In addition, EPA is supporting research to provide better information on cumulative effects. It is recommended that the EPA program place initial emphasis on synthesis and analysis of existing information, on maximizing its use in decision making, and on information transfer. Recommended approaches include correlation of historic wetlands losses with loss of wetlands function and values, regional case studies, and development of indices of cumulative impact for use in permit review.Formerly Director, Office of Federal Activities, US Environmental Protection Agency     

Evaluating the effectiveness of air quality management within the class I area of great smoky mountains national park

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 designated national parks and wilderness areas larger than 1894 ha to be class I areas for air quality management, setting more restrictive criteria than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Class I areas are afforded the greatest degree of air quality protection under the Clear Air Act of 1970. In recent years, several studies have documented air pollution effects in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), the second-largest class I area in the eastern United States. Air pollution problems of greatest concern in the GSMNP are effects of acid deposition, visibility impairment, and tropospheric ozone. Several recent events have increased concerns about air quality management in the class I area of the GSMNP. A forum, sponsored by the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Cooperative (SAMAB), was held in March 1992, which involved representative. parties-at-interest and began to address strategies for better management of air resources in the Southern Appalachians. This paper summarizes those discussions and recommendations and reports actions occurring as a result of the forum. Another objective of this paper is to present a conceptual framework for more effective management of the class I area of the GSMNP.     

Determining residential firewood consumption

Household firewood use has become increasingly popular in the United States over the past few years. Significant problems remain in estimating firewood consumption. Methods of determining the amount of wood consumed vary from state to state. Units used for measuring firewood vary, but the cord remains the researcher's favorite. Factors used for converting other units, such as pickup truck loads to cords also vary. People who do not use firewood are less likely to respond to mailed surveys, resulting in potential overestimates of statewide consumption. This paper identifies some problems associated with estimating household firewood consumption and recommends methods of dealing with them.     

Trip-Based Explanatory Variables For Estimating Vehicle Fuel Consumption and Emission Rates

The current state-of-practice in the US for estimatingvehicle emissions is based on a single traffic-relatedexplanatory variable, namely average speed. Research,however, has demonstrated that the use of average speed asa single traffic-related variable is insufficient for theestimation of vehicle emissions. For example, although theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) MOBILE5 model wouldindicate that a slowing of traffic typically increasesemissions, empirical research indicates the opposite inmany cases.The objective of this paper is to identify criticalaggregate trip variables as potential explanatory variablesfor the estimation of a vehicle's fuel consumption andemissions. Subsequently, statistical models for estimatingfuel consumption and emissions of hydrocarbon (HC), carbonmonoxide (CO), and oxides of nitrogen (NO_x) aredeveloped using these critical variables that include theaverage speed, speed variability, the level ofdeceleration, and the level of acceleration. The proposedmodels are demonstrated to be consistent with microscopicenergy and emission model estimates that are based on thevehicle's instantaneous speed and acceleration levels(coefficient of determination ranges from 0.88 to 0.96).