Experimental investigation of a 250-kW turbine organic Rankine cycle system for low-grade waste heat recovery

An organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is generally used for converting low-grade heat into electricity. In this study, an extensive literature survey was conducted to identify current research gaps on experimental ORC systems. Specifically, there is limited experimental data and limited details on thermal and expander efficiencies of ORC systems. In order to address these gaps, the objective of this study included developing a turbine ORC with a power output exceeding 50 kW and thermal efficiency exceeding 8% for a heat source temperature < 120°C. The experimental results indicated that the system achieved a net power output of 242.5 kW and a thermal efficiency of 8.3% (the highest value for a turbine ORC system for the heat source temperature below 120°C). Thus, the study addressed the gaps identified in the research area of ORCs.     

中国区域工业企业绿色技术创新效率及因素分解

本文基于两阶段创新价值链下工业企业绿色技术创新的过程,构建了中国区域工业企业绿色技术创新效率评价体系,同时运用主成分分析法对这些指标数据进行降维处理,分别计算出两个阶段的技术创新效率,再通过DEA法测算各区域工业企业整体绿色技术创新效率并进行因素分解。研究发现:1在绿色技术开发阶段,考虑环境因素比不考虑环境因素的效率要低,中、西部地区面临的环境问题更加严峻,三大区域绿色技术开发效率差距悬殊。2在绿色技术成果转化阶段,绿色技术创新效率仍存在较大提升空间,东、中和西部地区绿色技术创新效率从高到低依次排列。3中国工业企业绿色技术创新整体效率偏低,而纯技术效率是导致整体效率低的主要原因。区域差距悬殊且存在继续扩大的风险,中、西部地区在纯技术效率和规模效率两个方面均有很大提升空间。4辽宁、河北、黑龙江、新疆、山西、内蒙古、云南、青海等区域要注重提高区域技术,安徽、吉林、江西、广西等区域则要注重减少资源冗余,宁夏、甘肃则既要注重提高区域技术还要注意较少资源冗余。未来,中国应该建立低碳经济发展模式,将环境污染指标工业企业技术创新效率评价体系,提升绿色技术创新效率。以供给侧改革为突破口,加快区域协同发展,发挥东部地区引领作用,缩小中国东、中、西部地区差异。因地制宜,根据各省份绿色技术创新效率不高的根源,采取有针对性的政策。加大绿色技术开发、清洁生产设备等方面的投入,控制污染物排放,推动以科技创新为核心的全面创新。     

中国碳市场波动溢出效应研究

自2013年以来,中国已先后建立了七个区域性碳市场。研究中国碳市场之间的波动溢出效应,有助于发现在碳市场运行初期起价格引导作用的区域市场,为其它地区碳市场的发展和全国碳市场的建立提供建议。本文选择广东、湖北和深圳三个交易量最大的区域碳市场为样本,利用多元GARCH(1,1)-BEKK模型,检验其波动溢出效应。为了消除履约期的影响,本文根据履约期将样本划分为阶段一(2014年7月1日—2015年6月30日)和阶段二(2015年7月1日—2016年7月19日),分阶段进行了检验,并从市场有效性的视角解释了检验结果。波动溢出效应检验结果显示:在阶段一内,广东碳市场对湖北碳市场、湖北碳市场对深圳碳市场、深圳碳市场对广东碳市场分别存在单向的波动溢出效应;在阶段二内,只存在深圳碳市场对广东碳市场的单向波动溢出效应;在整个样本期内,只存在深圳碳市场对广东碳市场的单向波动溢出效应。基于方差比的市场有效性检验结果显示:无论是阶段一、阶段二或整个样本期,三个碳市场均没有达到弱式有效。本文进一步在多重分形检验的基础上,利用多重分形谱宽度,比较了三个碳市场的非有效性程度,结果显示:在阶段一、阶段二和整个样本期,三个碳市场有效性大小关系分别为:湖北广东深圳、深圳湖北广东、广东深圳湖北。可见,三个碳市场早期的波动溢出效应不完全符合市场有效性大小关系,而较晚期的波动溢出效应符合市场有效性大小关系,这证明了中国碳市场在阶段二相比阶段一更为成熟。本文最后对中国碳排放权交易市场的发展提出了政策建议。     

环境约束下大都市城郊土地利用结构评价——基于信息熵和非期望产出模型分析

土地利用过程中会产生期望和非期望产出,针对以往土地利用结构评价中忽略环境产生的非期望产出而影响土地利用结构效率真实性问题,以大都市城郊的上海青浦区为例,宏观上,运用信息熵模型对该区2005~2014年土地利用结构有序性进行评价;微观上,运用非期望产出模型测算青浦区研究期间土地利用结构效率,为寻求区域土地利用结构效率损失的原因及改善途径提供参考。结果表明:(1)2005~2014年青浦区土地利用结构信息熵值时序上呈现"M"形变化趋势,空间上由中部向东西两翼递减;(2)2005~2014年青浦区土地利用结构效率变化趋势在时间序列上呈现"W"形变化趋势,空间上由中部的中心城区向东西两翼递减格局;(3)将环境的负产出纳入非期望产出模型进行土地利用结构效率评价,能更加准确的反映土地利用结构效率的真实性;(4)影响青浦区土地利用结构效率水平变化的主要因素为纯技术效率的变化,资源过度消耗和环境污染物排放过量是制约青浦区土地利用结构效率提升的主要原因。针对土地利用结构效率损失的原因及区域差异提出效率提升途径。研究结果可为青浦区土地利用结构优化和可持续发展提供科学借鉴。     

Economic and environmental value stream map (E2VSM) simulation for multi-product manufacturing systems

Value stream mapping (VSM) is a well-accepted tool within lean manufacturing concept which is often used for analysing and designing the flow of materials and information required to manufacture a product. However, the analysis is static and single product oriented, which fails to cope with either the variation of production plan or a multi-product environment. In addition, the environmental impact of a manufacturing system is highly associated with the dynamic consumption of energy and resources. Despite the recent integration of VSM with simulation or environmental studies (in the domain of energy efficiency), still neglected is the dynamic assessment of all the resources involved in a multi-product production environment. This paper presents a methodology for modelling multi-product manufacturing systems with dynamic material, energy and information flows with the aim to generate economic and environmental value stream maps (E²VSM). The proposed methodology is validated with an industrial case.     

Rebound effect and its decomposition – an analysis based on energy types in China

Rebound effect derived from energy efficiency improvement has been widely invested. However, most of studies focus on the rebound effect of the energy composite level and neither distinguish nor compare different energy types. We compare the differences in energy saving and energy rebound between primary and secondary energy sources, and further decompose the rebound effect into production rebound part and final demand component. To do so, we add a module for rebound into a comparative state China-CGE model. We design and test two simulation scenarios using the model. In Scenario 1, all production sectors’ energy efficiency of using primary energy increases by 5%. In Scenario 2, all production sectors’ energy efficiency of using secondary energy increases by 5%. The results show that Scenario 2 leads to more GDP growth and more energy saving. Our scenarios show rebound effects range between 9.6% and 27.9%, and in general are higher when energy efficiency of using primary energy sources is improved. Our decomposition analysis shows that improving energy efficiency in production sectors would stimulates energy use of final demand. Indeed, the consumption side has significant contribution to rebound in secondary energy use, especially in crude oil and gas. This study reveals that improving efficiency of using secondary energy is better than improving that of primary energy, both in terms of economic impact and energy rebound. And complementary policies that prevent energy services prices from falling too much can be adopted to reduce rebound. Controlling residential energy use could also be effective in reducing rebound, this has particular implication to economies in which residential energy consumption are far from saturation.     

Determinants for cassava production expansion in the semi-arid zone of West Africa

The study focuses on evaluating factors that farmers consider relevant in adopting cassava production in five semi-arid zone of West African countries. The study is based on primary data randomly collected as part of collaborative study of cassava in semiarid zones of Africa (COSCASSA) village level survey from five West African countries namely: Nigeria, Ghana, Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso. This study models effects of farm, farmer and technology specific factors on the decision of semi arid farmers to adopt cassava into their farming system. By way of threshold decision models—Probit and Logit models, the estimation of each country and the pooled data adoption models reveal different adoption models for the countries considered. For each country, different variables appeared as major adoption shifters. Comparatively, the adoption models for Nigeria and whole region appear to have the highest significance variables, being seven in number. This is followed by Chad (6), Ghana (4), and Burkina Faso and Niger with three each. For the variables considered, distance to nearby urban market appears a major adoption shifter in all the country, except for Niger. This is closely followed by contact with extension, variety, pest/disease resistance and livestock feeds, which appear significant in four of the countries. Membership of cooperative societies appears as the least adoption predictor, which is only significant in Chad republic. The study therefore recognizes the importance of varietial characteristics and farmers’ characteristics in acceptance of cassava as a major root tuber crop in the semi arid region of West Africa. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Protection of palak (Beta vulgaris L. var Allgreen) plants from ozone injury by ethylenediurea (EDU): Roles of biochemical and physiological variations in alleviating the adverse impacts

Ameliorative effects of ethylenediurea (N-[2-(2-oxo-1-imidazolinidyl) ethyl]-N′ phenylurea, abbreviated as EDU) against ozone stress were studied on selected growth, biochemical, physiological and yield characteristics of palak (Beta vulgaris L. var Allgreen) plants grown in field at a suburban site of Varanasi, India. Mean eight hourly ozone concentration varied from 52 to 73 ppb which was found to produce adverse impacts on plant functioning and growth characteristics. The palak plants were treated with 300 ppm EDU at 10 days after germination at 10 days interval up to the plant maturity. Lipid peroxidation in EDU treated plants declined significantly as compared to non-EDU treated ones. Significant increment in F_v/F_m ratio in EDU treated plants as compared to non-EDU treated ones was recorded. EDU treated plants showed significant increment in ascorbic acid contents and reduction in peroxidase activity as compared to non-EDU treated ones. As a result of the protection provided by EDU against ozone induced stress on biochemical and physiological characteristics of palak, the morphological parameters also responded positively. Significant increments were recorded in shoot length, number of leaves plant⁻¹, leaf area and root and shoot biomass of EDU treated plants as compared to non-EDU treated ones. Contents of Na, K, Ca, Mg and Fe were higher in EDU treated plants as compared to non-EDU treated ones. The present investigation proves the usefulness of EDU in partially ameliorating ozone injury in ambient conditions.     

Fate of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in wastewater treatment plants - Conception of a database and first results

We created a database in order to quantitatively assess the occurrence and removal efficiency of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). From 117 scientific publications, we compiled 6641 data covering 184 PPCPs. Data included the concentrations of PPCPs in WWTP influents and effluents, their removal efficiency and their loads to the aquatic environment. The first outputs of our database allowed to identify the most investigated PPCPs in WWTPs and the most persistent ones, and to obtain reliable and quantitative values on their concentrations, frequency of detection and removal efficiency in WWTPs. We were also able to compare various processes and pointed out activated sludge with nitrogen treatment and membrane bioreactor as the most efficient ones.     

产朊假丝酵母处理马铃薯淀粉废水

研究了pH、接种量、无机盐(通过加入磷酸二氢钾进行无机盐补充)及DO等对产朊假丝酵母处理马铃薯淀粉废水的影响.结果表明.在pH为5.0、产朊假丝酵母接种量为10%(体积分数)、磷酸二氢钾(质量分散为0.1%)加入量为0.5 g/L、废水不灭菌的条件下,废水处理效果和产朊假丝酵母生长最佳.且当废水COD为5 074 mg/L时,COD去除率达到74.86%,同时可获得2.23g/L的单细胞蛋白.产朊假丝酵母处理马铃薯淀粉废水的最佳条件的实验研究对实现马铃薯淀粉废水资源化利用提供了理论参考.