Sustainability of silicon feedstock for a low-carbon society

We need to ensure the sustainable management of advanced materials, such as purified silicon, that contribute to a low-carbon society. Because a drastic increase in the demand for photovoltaic (PV) systems is tightening the supply of silicon for PV cells, the sustainability of silicon feedstock needs to be explored. For this purpose, a material flow analysis of silicon in Japan from 1996 to 2006 is presented in this paper. Our analysis finds that rapid growth in demand for polycrystalline silicon (pc-silicon) and single crystalline silicon (sc-silicon) has changed the structure of the purified silicon supply. The strong demand for purified silicon for solar cells is responsible for this change. While off-grade silicon obtained as a by-product of electronic-grade silicon (EG-Si) covered the demand for solar sells before 2000, pc-silicon is currently produced independently for solar cells via an energy-intensive process. Analysis of the resource effective-use index (REI), which indicates how effectively purified silicon is used, shows progress in the effective use of pc- and sc-silicon. REI analysis indicates that the effective use of pc-silicon is reaching a maximum, while the effective use of sc-silicon is advancing, with a corresponding increase in price. To ensure a sustainable supply of silicon feedstock, this paper proposes four solutions: (1) production of solar-grade pc-silicon by a less costly and less energy-consuming method; (2) reduction in the amount of crystalline silicon per watt in solar cells; (3) acceleration of the development and deployment of other solar cell types; and (4) reuse and recycling of solar cells in the future.     

Radon exhalation from building materials for decorative use

Long-term exposure to radon increases the risk of developing lung cancer. There is considerable public concern about radon exhalation from building materials and the contribution to indoor radon levels. To address this concern, radon exhalation rates were determined for 53 different samples of drywall, tile and granite available on the Canadian market for interior home decoration. The radon exhalation rates ranged from non-detectable to 312 Bq m⁻² d⁻¹. Slate tiles and granite slabs had relatively higher radon exhalation rates than other decorative materials, such as ceramic or porcelain tiles. The average radon exhalation rates were 30 Bq m⁻² d⁻¹ for slate tiles and 42 Bq m⁻² d⁻¹ for granite slabs of various types and origins. Analysis showed that even if an entire floor was covered with a material having a radon exhalation rate of 300 Bq m⁻² d⁻¹, it would contribute only 18 Bq m⁻³ to a tightly sealed house with an air exchange rate of 0.3 per hour. Generally speaking, building materials used in home decoration make no significant contribution to indoor radon for a house with adequate air exchange.     

工业园区循环经济绩效评价方法研究

针对当前循环经济绩效内涵不明确,评价指标体系多局限于对循环经济发展水平等循环经济绩效评价中存在的问题,在系统归纳总结该领域研究现状基础上,明确了循环经济绩效的概念;进一步构建了基于生态效率-物质流分析的循环经济绩效评估指标体系,利用模糊数学和灰色聚类方法分别建立了循环经济绩效评估模型;最后,以上海化工园区和南通农药化学工业园为案例,对2个园区循环经济绩效进行评估。结果表明:从理论和方法上,构建的工业园区循环经济绩效评价指标体系是适用的;模糊综合评价和灰色聚类评价的结果存在一定的差异,模糊评价结果更为合理,而且该模型可以直观地表示出园区循环经济绩效的优劣势所在。进而,以上海化工园区作为标杆,针对南通农药化学工业园存在的资源效率偏低等问题,提出若干循环经济绩效改进措施。     

Challenges for modelling and integrating environmental performances in concept design: the case of an automotive component lightweighting

The objective of this paper is to discuss the main barriers for modelling and integrating the environmental performances in the automotive concept design. Incorporating environmental assessment in the early design phase of a vehicle component is known as an important challenge that car makers need to face in order to develop more sustainable design solutions; in this regard, the Life Cycle Assessment is the most widespread methodology for the environmental assessment and comparison of alternatives. The present work illustrates the combination of such methodology with the traditional design procedure at two different levels of the component design phase, material choice and concept design. In particular, the potential benefits originated by a lightweight solution for the automotive component Throttle Body are evaluated by considering environmental and technical implications at the same level. The case study shows that a multi-disciplinary approach for design effectively allows the integration of the environmental issue in the company’s established procedures. However, interpretation of results is still a challenging aspect due to the inevitable contradicting elements which should not discourage to develop comprehensive sustainability assessment within the early design stage.     

环境生物样品预处理中的微波溶样技术

微波溶样是近年产生的一种崭新的有前途的样品预处理技术，本文评述这一技术在环境、生物样品消解方面的近期应用。     

Characterization of Dust Storms to Hong Kong in April 1998

In April 1998, two intense dust storms were generated in CentralAsia and transported eastward across East Asia (15 and 19 April). This article presents the chemical characterization ofHong Kong (HK) aerosols during the dust storms. During the 15 Aprildust storm, hourly respiratory suspended particles (RSP)(particle diameter smaller than 10 m) concentrationsmonitored at 7 sites in Hong Kong reached the peak valuessynchronously between 9 and 11 a.m. on 17 April, in which thehighest concentration was 267 g m^-3. Analysis ofthe RSP samples showed that concentrations of crustalelements (Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mg, K⁺) and anthropogenicspecies (As, Ni, Pb, Zn, NH₄ ⁺, NO₃ ^-,SO₄ ^2- and total carbon) were substantiallyenhanced. Enhancement of these species was more than afactor of 2 to 14 relative to the non dust period. The totalcarbon content was high, at 59 g m^-3 (notincluding carbonate), and the enrichment factors of Asand Pb on 17 April were 122 and 117, respectively. Thisimplied that anthropogenic materials together with mineraldust were transported to HK from Mainland China. Based onmaterial balance calculations, mineral dust contributed41% to the observed RSP mass on 17 April, which was 2 times thatof the nondust sample (22%). From the 5-day backwardtrajectory analysis, this storm was transported directlyfrom Northwest China to HK. However, there was nocorresponding observation for the 19 April dust stormaerosol. Consequently, 15 April storm had stronger impact onHK's atmosphere than 19 April storm. Compared to the HK AirQuality Objective, 15 April dust storm did not cause seriousair pollution in HK.     

土壤水分对沙棘成活率及抗逆生理特性的影响

为提高沙棘在滩涂区，半干旱区造林的成活率，对不同土壤水分下沙棘的生理学特性进行了分析。结果表明：（1）在不同土壤水分处理下，随土壤含水量降低及处理时间的延长，沙棘叶片脯氨酸（Pro)含量升高，POD活性增强，可溶性糖含量升高；水淹情况下，沙棘叶片Pro含量明显上升，POD活性增强，可溶性糖含量升高。（2）土壤含水量在15%-30%之间，沙棘苗木成活率最高（100%），生长最好；35%和40%处理下，沙棘苗木成活率较高（66.7%)，生长良好；5%，10%处理水平和水淹情况下，沙棘苗木成活率低（33.3%)，生长不良，（3）不同处理下，随土壤含水量的降低，沙棘叶片的相对电导度增大，沙棘受伤害的程度加剧，且淹水对沙棘的伤害最重。     

甲醇中十氯酮溶液标准样品不确定度评定

介绍了甲醇中十氯酮溶液标准样品的研制过程,该标准样品采用称量法制备,用气相色谱质谱法进行均匀性检验和稳定性检测,对不确定度来源进行了全面评估,并与国际同类标准样品进行了量值比对分析。结果表明：该溶液标准样品均匀性良好,在18个月内质量稳定,与国外同类标准样品具有量值一致性,可用于环境监测和科学研究工作。     

磁分离技术在我国废水处理中的研究进展

本文介绍了磁分离技术的基本原理、分离方法和设备，综述了该技术在某些特定废水处理中的应用现状。磁分离技术的实际应用具有分离效率高、分离速度快、选择性好、处理对象广、成本低廉、分离物系的粒度可达到很小，并且不受处理体系的温度、密度、酸碱度限制等优点，可以使某些采用传统分离方法较难或不能分离的物系得以顺利地分离，有较为广泛的应用前景。     

纳米气敏材料的研究现状与发展

各种气体尤其是可燃性气体和毒性气体的检测监控已成为当前急需解决的问题，纳米气敏材料的研究对提高气敏材料的灵敏度、选择性和长期稳定性，以及如何降低工作温度和缩短响应温度时间等方面起着重大的作用。针对氢气、硫化氢、碳氢化合物、氮氧化合物、乙醇、丙酮等气体的纳米气敏材料的研究现状作了一定的研究，并对发展的趋势作了展望。