Household adjustment to flood risk: a survey of coastal residents in Texas and Florida,United States

Individual households have increasingly borne responsibility for reducing the adverse impacts of flooding on their property. Little observational research has been conducted, however, at the household level to examine the major factors contributing to the selection of a particular household adjustment. This study addresses the issue by evaluating statistically the factors influencing the adoption of various household flood hazard adjustments. The results indicate that respondents with higher‐value homes or longer housing tenure are more likely to adopt structural and expensive techniques. In addition, the information source and the Community Rating System (CRS) score for the jurisdiction where the household is located have a significant bearing on household adjustment. In contrast, proximity to risk zones and risk perception yield somewhat mixed results or behave counter to assumptions in the literature. The study findings provide insights that will be of value to governments and decision‐makers interested in encouraging homeowners to take protective action given increasing flood risk.     

Can domestic production of iLUC-free feedstock from arable land supply Sweden’s future demand for biofuels?

The increasing biofuel production from agricultural crops has been suggested to cause indirect land use change (iLUC). This increases interest in biofuel feedstocks that qualify as iLUC-free: (1) residues without a market, (2) crops from previously unused arable land, (3) additional crops and (4) biomass from intensified production. In the present study, biofuel potential from such feedstocks was quantified for Sweden and compared against the predicted biofuel demand from agricultural resources in 2030. The results indicate that straw (category 1) could cover up to 37% of future biofuel demand. Grass leys from intensified production (category 4), set-aside and abandoned land (category 2) and excess grass silage (category 1) could cover up to 79%. Intermediate and ecological focus area crops (category 3) could contribute up to 21%. To realize the biofuel targets, a high implementation rate of additional iLUC-free feedstock is needed. Future studies need to investigate impacts of low-iLUC policies.     

Barriers to the diffusion of renewable energy: studies of biogas for transport in two European cities

The diffusion of renewable energy – particularly in transport – in cities may facilitate the transition away from fossil fuels, improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Past studies on this topic have focused on system modelling of diffusion pathways, technology characteristics and also estimations of future availability of renewable energy, whilst neglecting the agency of producers and users. This article assesses barriers to the diffusion of biogas for transportation in cities from a system and actor perspective. Using document studies and interviews in the cities of Basel, Switzerland, and Odense, Denmark, we identify the presence of conflicting political priorities and shifting strategic objectives, resulting in mixed signals concerning the role and viability of biogas for transportation. This underlines the importance of public sector support and coherent design and implementation of strategy and policy enabling the diffusion of renewable energy.     

Perspectives on quantifying and influencing household metabolism

Household metabolism is a concept that is concerned with the analysis of stocks and flows of energy, matter, and information at the household scale. This paper starts by providing a brief overview of the concept of household metabolism. Rather than attempting an in-depth review and analysis of this field, the article subsequently maps the contributions and perspectives of a broad variety of research traditions that have an interface with the concept of household metabolism. Next, this paper highlights a number of controversial issues connected to household metabolism, and studies at the interface of household metabolism. Finally, this paper argues that the concept of household metabolism can provide valuable help in diagnosing misalignments between enacted system dynamics and expressed societal goals, and can help to design research that facilitates their alignment.     

观赏植物对沼液的净化效果

为研究观赏植物对沼液的净化能力,以滴水观音、水仙、红掌、白掌、万年青、绿萝、风信子为研究对象,通过沼液水培实验,对比分析了不同植物的生长特性及其对污染物的去除效果。结果表明,万年青、白掌、红掌和滴水观音的相对生长量和适应能力明显优于其他植物;随着处理时间的延长,大部分植物对COD的去除率呈增加趋势,最终达80%左右;在处理时间为7 d时,红掌、白掌和万年青对TN的去除率均达到80%以上;7种植物对沼液中TP的去除率在整个水培期间均未超过60%。各植物对污染物的去除效果均显著优于空白组(p0.05),且不同种类的植物之间差异明显(p0.05)。实验表明,万年青、红掌、白掌可作为处理沼液的备选观赏植物。     

猪场废水处理中的沼气热电联产工程案例分析

中高浓度畜禽废水处理中的沼气热电联产是保障沼气工程常年稳定运行的有效手段.以典型猪场废水处理沼气热电联产工程为案例,在工程介绍的前提下,引入相关数学模型,对沼气热电联产相关工艺参数进行了计算分析,结果表明,该工程沼气产量最高为1 678 m3/d,沼气发电机组发电效率为31.3％,发热效率为38.8％,总发电效率为70.1％,该沼气工程投资回报期为3.6年;CSTR厌氧罐秋季可达温度为24.3℃,冬季为15.9℃,CSTR厌氧罐内温度分布为秋季罐内平均温度(T)5.4(换热器顶部温度)=25.4℃,平均温度梯度grad1=1.83℃/m,grad2=0.80℃/m;冬季(T)5.4=19.6℃,(grad)1=1.44℃/m,(grad)2=1.06℃/m;通过参数分析,搅拌器宜尽可能置于换热器所在区域,并控制进水量稳定以保证CSTR厌氧罐的消化效果.     

pH值对玉米秸秆厌氧消化产气的影响

采用批式实验,研究了(35±0.5)℃、搅拌速度65 r/min的厌氧消化体系中,pH值对玉米秸秆厌氧消化产甲烷的影响,分析了消化液相及固相特性的变化.结果表明,厌氧消化第7～9天时各系统VFA浓度均达到最大值,pH值为7和9时,挥发性脂肪酸(VFA)浓度显著高于其他系统,SCOD向VFA的转化效率较高.pH值为9时累积产气量增加速度最快,最大累计产气量达到134.33 mL/g VS.pH值为7时累计产气量最大,高达149.2 mL/g VS,是pH值为5和11系统的3.23和6.71倍.pH值为7和9时,沼气中甲烷的平均含量分别为64.1％和62.5％,比pH值为5和11的系统提高了约10％.pH值为7和9时VS去除率达到67.68％和58.87％,显著高于其他系统.控制厌氧消化pH值在7～9范围内可以有效提高木质纤维素生物质的产气效率.     

The influence of dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment on biogas production from wheat plant

Dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment was used to improve the biomethane production from wheat plant (WP) via mesophilic anaerobic digestion. The pretreatments were performed at 121°C for different time durations of 10, 30, 60, and 120 min. The maximum methane yield of 302.4 mL/g volatile solids (VS) was obtained after the pretreatment for 120 min, which was 15.5% higher than that of the untreated WP. The highest amounts of lignin removal (15.2%) and xylan degradation (91.5%) were also achieved after this pretreatment. The pretreatment for 60 min enhanced the methane yield by 8.9%, while the pretreatments for 10 and 30 min had no positive effects on the methane yield. All of the pretreatments significantly removed the hemicelluloses. Moreover, the qualitative analysis of the untreated and pretreated WP structure showed significant reduction in the crystallinity index accompanied by the destruction of surface layers of WP structure after pretreatment.     

Biogas upgrading and utilization from ICEs towards stationary molten carbonate fuel cell systems

Biogas production from anaerobic digestion has increased rapidly in the last years, in many parts of the world, mainly due to its local scale disposition and to its potential on greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions mitigation. Biogas can be used as fuel for combined heat and power systems (CHP), in particular for internal combustion engines (ICEs). In recent investigations, fuel cells have been considered as alternative CHP systems. In the present article, two different energy conversion systems are compared: a 1.4 MW class MCFC system, running on pipeline natural gas, and an in situ ICE, running on biogas. In the first case, biogas is considered as a source fuel to obtain upgraded gas to be injected in the natural gas grid. In such scenario, the location of the fuel cell power plant is no longer strictly connected to the anaerobic digester site. Several energy balances are evaluated, considering different upgrading techniques and different biogas methane/carbon dioxide ratios.     

三峡库区农村生活垃圾处理支付意愿及影响因素分析

农村生活垃圾的集中化、科学化处理对改善农村居民生活环境和农业生产环境具有重要意义。而农户对农村生活垃圾处理的支付意愿对农村生活环境的改善具有关键性作用。采用条件价值评估法(CVM)分析了三峡库区农户对处理生活垃圾的支付意愿及其影响因素。结果表明:(1)农户对农村生活垃圾处理的平均支付意愿为48元/a;(2)户主年龄、文化程度以及对环境是否关心对当地农户处理生活垃圾的支付意愿有极显著影响。户主年龄和文化程度对生活垃圾处理的支付意愿的影响为正,说明农户年龄越大、文化程度越高,对生活垃圾处理的支付意愿就越强烈。农户对环境的关心程度为正,表示农户越关心环境,对生活垃圾处理的支付意愿就越强烈。最后,提出相关建议:制定政策时要充分考虑农户的个体特征和自身利益;加强教育,提高农户的文化水平;加强环境保护宣传,提高农户的环境认知和环保意识。