Effects of waste recovery on carbon footprint: a case study of the Gulf of Bothnia steel and zinc industries

This article analyses the impact of waste recovery on climate change mitigation on a regional scale. We focus on the EU End of Waste (EoW) policy, which aims at reducing negative impacts on the environment through the minimization of generated waste. At the same time, the EU climate objectives set challenging goals for the industry to lower greenhouse gas emissions. We argue that the goals of these two policies are conflicting: under certain circumstances, the EoW will lead into increased greenhouse gas emissions because of a number of negative feedback effects that function on multiple spatial and temporal scales.To assess the effects of waste recovery on greenhouse gas emissions, we carry out a consequential life-cycle inventory on a proposed industrial ecosystem around the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden. The system recovers currently unutilized steelmaking dust and slag from four steel mills in Finland and Sweden and converts them into iron and zinc raw materials in a novel rotary hearth furnace. The recovered iron is led back into the blast furnace of one of the steel mills and zinc is treated in an existing zinc plant. In the European scale, the model system is significant in size, serving thus as a model for integrated EoW and carbon footprint assessments in other similar cases within the EU.The analysis reveals the relative greenhouse gas emissions from raw material extraction and production, heat and power generation, transport and the production process itself, in comparison to the present system with limited material recovery. To test the model viability, we conduct a sensitivity analysis with respect to increasing energy and production capacity. Our analysis shows that from the point of view of a single operator, material recovery may bring noteworthy reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. If the scale of the assessment is expanded beyond the confines of a single plant, however, we find limited potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through further recovery of steelmaking residues. In conclusion, we provide policy recommendations with which the EoW paradigm can provide better support for climate change mitigation on a regional scale.     

Resource productivity enhancement as means for promoting cleaner production: analysis of co-incineration in cement plants through a life cycle approach

The objective of this paper is to assess the environmental effectiveness of a strategic measure aimed at resource productivity enhancement. The cement industry has been identified as a relevant sector for this global issue, since the related production process enables the use of waste in partial substitution of raw materials and in substitution of traditional fuels. The analysis of the cement production sector in Italy has been here performed, investigating the recovery of energy from waste through co-incineration. In terms of air emissions, the emission performances of cement kilns appear independent from the use of alternative fuels at the percentages usually employed. However, in order to measure the cleanliness of a production system, systematic analysis with global perspective is needed. For this aim, the principles of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have been used for a case study analysis of an Italian active plant using an amount of recovered plastics as an alternative fuel resource. The improvement on the investigated process has been quantitatively measured as a way for cleaner production, first in terms of gross energy requirement, and then through an environmental performance comparison with a sector benchmark. The analysis has highlighted the benefits on the global environmental balance for the practice of co-incineration in the cement production process.     

油气田压裂返排液治理技术研究现状

概述了压裂的目的、压裂液以及压裂返排液的来源和和水质特征。综述了近十年来絮凝沉降法、生物及生化法、高级氧化技术和Fe/C微电解组合工艺的水处理作用原理及其在压裂返排液治理中的应用进展。分析并指出了压裂返排液处理技术中存在的问题和今后的主要发展方向。     

"微滤+反渗透"工艺在处理垃圾渗滤液中的应用研究

采用"多孔陶瓷微滤+两级反渗透"工艺处理垃圾渗滤液.分别考察多孔陶瓷微滤膜、一级反渗透和二级反渗透对渗滤液COD、NH3-N、电导率及相应去除率与运行时间的关系,还重点考察了一级反渗透系统回收率控制及清洗周期和方法.研究结果表明:经过陶瓷微滤预处理后,出水的COD、NH3-N去除率、脱盐率分别维持在50.3%、30.2...     

油库上装密闭发油鹤管的研发

根据油库油气回收系统的工艺要求,分析了现有油库上装发油系统实现油气密闭收集的技术难点及需要解决的问题。借鉴下装式发油的技术特点,研发了上装密闭发油系统,提出了鹤管系统及油罐车改造方案。在对现有油库上装发油鹤管不进行大规模改造的前提下,实现了上装密闭发油,经现场应用,效果良好。     

Barriers to the long‐term recovery of individuals with disabilities following a disaster

This study examines how pre‐existing disabling conditions influenced the recovery process of survivors of Hurricane Katrina. It focuses specifically on the barriers that hindered the recovery process in these individuals. Focus groups were convened in four Gulf Coast states with 31 individuals with disabilities who lived in or around New Orleans, Louisiana, prior to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. Qualitative data were analysed using grounded theory methodology. Five themes emerged as the most significant barriers to recovery: housing; transportation; employment; physical and mental health; and accessing recovery services. While these barriers to recovery were probably common to most survivors of the disaster, the research results suggest that disability status enhanced the challenges that participants experienced in negotiating the recovery process and in acquiring resources that accommodated their disabilities. The findings indicate that, when disaster recovery services and resources did not accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities, recovery was hindered. Recovery efforts should include building accessible infrastructure and services that will allow for participation by all.     

Towards a natural disaster intervention and recovery framework

Contemporary responses to facilitate long‐term recovery from large‐scale natural disasters juxtapose between those of humanitarian agencies and governments and those of the affected community. The extent to which these mechanisms articulate is crucial to the recovery propensity of the affected communities. This research examines such action by exploring the relationship between the scale of post‐disaster response interventions, the extent of community participation in them, and their impact on community recovery, using a community wealth capital framework. The investigation was applied to a study of the longer‐term community recovery of the island of Vilufushi, Republic of Maldives, which was almost completely destroyed by the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004. Data were analysed through the employment of a pattern match technique and a holistic recovery network analysis. The research framework, informed by the case‐study results, other long‐term recovery evaluations, and existing resilience theory, is reconfigured as a testable roadmap for future post‐disaster interventions.     

离子交换树脂法高效提取水中硝酸盐研究

硝酸盐是水体中重要的污染物之一,硝酸盐中的稳定氮氧同位素组成可用于有效识别其污染来源,而水体中硝酸盐的高效提取是其氮氧同位素测试的前提和关键步骤。阴离子树脂交换法提取硝酸盐是目前普遍采用的方法,但对于提取效率的影响因素还缺乏深入研究。文章通过室内实验,探讨了国产717型阴离子树脂对硝酸盐的吸附效率,以及不同洗脱剂的洗脱效率,系统研究了水体中硝酸盐高效提取过程影响因素。结果表明:12.56 mL体积的国产717型树脂对NO3-的吸附量高达200 mg以上;40 mL 4 mol/L的KCl溶液对4 cm长的吸附树脂柱(直径2 cm)的洗脱效率可达95%以上;SO42-的对NO3-的吸附和洗脱具有显著的影响。     

溶剂萃取法回收4-溴-2-氟碘苯萃余废水中的碘

研究了4-溴-2-氟碘苯萃余废水中碘的回收方法。25℃下,测定了苯、环己烷等7种萃取剂对碘萃取的分配常数及环己烷对碘萃取的分配曲线。研究选用了萃取率与分配常数相对较高,毒性相对较低的环己烷为萃取剂,并探讨了萃取剂、反应时间、溶液pH值、温度、反萃剂等因素对碘单质去除率的影响。结果表明在室温20℃,不调节废水pH值,相比为1:5、萃取时间10 min的条件下,碘的萃取率可达到88%。在室温20℃,相比为4:5的条件下,采用0.1 mol/L的氢氧化钾为反萃剂,碘的单级反萃率可达到90%。     

废旧锂电池电极活性材料真空热解固氟研究

以废旧锂离子电池电极活性材料为研究对象,在真空热解过程中加入CaO作为固氟剂,用以吸收电极活性材料在真空热解的回收工艺中产生的氟磷化合物,能有效减轻二次污染。研究了温度、CaO添加量、停留时间等热解条件对真空热解固氟效果的影响。结果表明固氟效果随温度的增加而增加,在温度500℃以上变化不大,并略有下降;CaO添加量对固氟效果有促进作用,30%可达到很高的固氟效果;30 min的停留时间对于含氟化合物的分解已经足够。得到CaO固氟工序的最佳操作参数:CaO添加量30%左右,温度500~600℃,停留时间30 min。