Carbon abatement in the fuel market with biofuels: Implications for second best policies

A carbon tax on fuel would penalize carbon intensive fuels like gasoline and shift fuel consumption to less carbon intensive alternatives like biofuels. Since biofuel production competes for land with agricultural production, a carbon tax could increase land rents and raise food prices. This paper analyzes the welfare effect of a carbon tax on fuel consisting of gasoline and biofuel in the presence of a labor tax, with and without a biofuel subsidy. The market impacts of a carbon tax are also compared with that of a subsidy. Findings show that if a carbon tax increases biofuel demand, the tax interaction effect due to higher fuel prices is exacerbated by higher land rent and food prices and greater erosion of the carbon tax base. Thus, the second best optimal carbon tax for fuel is lower with biofuel in the fuel mix, especially if biofuel is subsidized.     

Comparative study on the efficiency and environmental impact of two methods of utilizing polyvinyl chloride waste based on life cycle assessments

Two processes of utilizing polyvinyl chloride （PVC） waste, an incineration process and a vacuum pyrolysis process, for energy conversion were compared to determine their efficiency and environmental perfor- mance. We carried out a life cycle assessment with each of the two processes to evaluate their environmental impact and defined the goals and limits of our remit. As well, we established an inventory of PVC waste from incineration and vacuum pyrolysis based on process analysis, data collection and calculations. The results show that electrical power output per unit mass of PVC waste in the incineration process was twice as high as that of the vacuum pyrolysis process. Incineration had a larger total environmental impact potential than vacuum pyrolysis. The total environmental impact potential of PVC waste from incineration was three times higher than that from vacuum pyrolysis. Incineration of PVC disposed 300 ng. 100 kgI of dioxins and vacuum pyrolysis 98.19 ng- 100 kgI of dioxins. As well, we analyzed the data for their uncertainty with results quantified in terms of three uncertainties： basic uncertainty, additional uncertainty, and computational uncertainty. The coefficients of variation of the data were less than 25% and the quality of the inventory data was acceptable with low uncertainty. Both PVC waste disposal processes were of similar quality and their results comparable. The results of our life cycle impact assessment （LCIA） showed considerable reliability of our methodology. Overall, the vacuum pyrolysis process has a number advantages and greater potential for development of PVC disposal than the incineration process.     

CeO2负载型双金属Pd/Fe催化还原四氯化碳的实验研究

实验采用共沉淀法制得CeO_2负载型双金属Pd/Fe催化剂,并对催化剂的结构特征进行了X射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)分析.使用负载型双金属催化剂对四氯化碳进行还原脱氯研究,探究了温度、溶液初始pH值、催化剂投加量及不同钯载率对四氯化碳脱氯的影响;对比了不同催化剂包括纳米零价铁、纳米钯铁双金属和CeO_2负载型双金属Pd/Fe对四氯化碳的脱氯效果.实验结果表明负载型双金属催化剂在温度为40℃,溶液初始pH为6.5,催化剂投加量为0.4 g·L-1,钯载率为0.5%的条件下,对初始浓度为5 mg·L-1的四氯化碳的去除率高达99.88%.在相同的反应条件下,纳米零价铁和纳米钯铁双金属对四氯化碳的脱氯率分别为58.25%、87.94%.此外,对四氯化碳的脱氯机制进行了探讨.     

Climate anomalies, Indonesian vegetation fires and terrestrial carbon emissions

There was a widespread misconception about the causes of vegetation and land fires in Indonesia. At a certain point, the public perceived that fires and the associated haze pollution were primarily caused by smallholders' agricultural activities. In fact, there was a variety of land-use activities including large-scale land clearing following deforestation for further land development. El Niño events and the associated dry weather were sometimes quoted by officials and the media as the cause of fires. The fire episodes from 1980 to 2000 were analysed in connection with climate anomalies and the implementation of land-use policies related to forest conversions. The analysis employs long-term climatic and sea surface temperature data to reconstruct climate distributions and anomalies including Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Outgoing Long-wave Radiation (OLR). In this study, the terrestrial carbon emissions from vegetation fires were estimated based on official statistical data on area burnt. The possible incentives for sustainable land management were discussed in the light of fire prevention. The underlying cause neglected in the discussion of Indonesian vegetation fires was forest and land development policy. Legitimated in the early 1980s, it drove massive forest conversions and the use of fires for land clearing. El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) provided dry weather suitable for biomass burning and widespread fire, but it was hardly the cause of fires. The estimate of area burnt in the big fires in 1997 was about 11.6 Mha, resulting in carbon release of 1.45 Gt, equivalent to 0.73 ppmv of CO₂, or almost half the annual global atmospheric CO₂ growth. Based on the current carbon market price such emissions by the 1997 fire episode were worth around US$ 3.6 billion.     

碳酸锶生产中"三废"综合利用研究

介绍了碳还原法生产碳酸锶过程中"三废"的主要成分;提出了用克劳斯燃烧法和吸收氧化法生产硫磺,用直接合成法和4级联合吸收法生产硫脲综合利用废气的途径;提出了2种治理废水方案,不仅达到脱硫、脱氮、降解有机物目的,而且还可得到硫磺、碳酸氢氨副产品;探讨了锶渣在砖、水泥的生产及公路工程建设中应用的可行性.     

ClO2和碳水化合物水平对中国明对虾存活和生长的影响

研究了盐度为5条件下,ClO2和碳水化合物水平对中国明对虾(Fenneropenaeus chinensis)存活和生长的影响,共两个实验:实验1研究了ClO2(0、1、4、7、10、13、16、19和22 mg/L)对中国明对虾存活的影响,发现随ClO2浓度的升高,对虾存活率呈下降趋势;在24、48、72和96 h,LC50分别为21.04、13.32、10.91和8.26 mg/L,安全浓度为1.60 mg/L.实验2研究了ClO2(0.0、0.2、0.4和0.6 mg/L)和饲料中碳水化合物水平(13.89和41.76%)对中国明对虾存活和生长的影响,发现在两个碳水化合物水平,随ClO2浓度的升高,对虾存活率、特定生长率、摄食量和吸收效率均呈下降趋势,而饲料系数呈上升趋势;在四个ClO2水平,摄食13.89%碳水化合物对虾的特定生长率、摄食量和吸收效率均高于摄食41.76%碳水化合物的对虾,而摄食13.89%碳水化合物对虾的饲料系数低于摄食41.76%碳水化合物的对虾.     

沈阳市城市降雨综合利用途径探讨

降雨是城市的宝贵水资源,开发利用雨水资源已成为当前的重要研究课题.在调查目前沈阳市水资源和降水资源的特点和状况的基础上,分析了沈阳市降水水质.同时借鉴了国内其它城市和世界上其它国家在降雨利用方面的先进技术和经验,提出了针对沈阳市降雨特点的雨水综合利用的途径和措施,为缓解沈阳市水资源短缺问题具有一定的指导作用.     

安徽区域水资源可持续利用评价

利用"水桶模型"原理,在分析影响区域水资源可持续利用的各种因素基础上,对建立区域水资源可持续利用指标体系进行初步探讨.在论述构建区域水资源可持续利用指标体系的指导思想、原则后,设计了包含目标层、准则层和指标层3个层次的区域水资源可持续利用评价指标体系框架.并以安徽省三大自然地理区为例,利用主成分分析法和多级灰色关联评价法,结合所建立的指标体系,对区域水资源可持续利用状况进行定量评价.结果表明:江南、江淮地区属可持续发展区,而淮北地区属基本可持续发展区.指出了这3个区域水资源开发利用中的问题,对今后各地区水资源开发利用过程中应注意的不同侧重点提出了相应意见.      

染料废水电催化氧化及降解动力学研究

以新型钛基二氧化铅电极为阳极、石墨为阴极、活性炭-纳米二氧化钛为催化粒子电极降解染料模拟废水酸性红B溶液,考察了槽电压、pH值、催化剂量等对处理效果的影响。实验结果表明:纳米二氧化钛催化剂的催化效果显著,该反应器能够有效的降解酸性红B,降解机制主要是电致H2O2、.OH对有机物的氧化、降解。同时用一级反应拟合了酸性红B溶液COD去除反应,由实验数据确定了反应动力学方程。     

Preparation and performance of photocatalytic regenerationable activated carbon prepared via sol-gel TiO2

Preparation of photocatalytic regenerationable activated carbon （AC） is the key step for the practical application of in situ regeneration of exhausted AC. A novel photocatalytic regenerationable AC was prepared by sol-gel TiO2 in this work. The adsorption and regeneration performance of TiO2/AC were evaluated using phenol as model compound. Scanning electron microscope （SEM） and nitrogen （77 K） adsorption isotherm were used to determine the surface area, pore structure and the distribution of TiO2. The results showed that with the increase of TiO2 loading, adsorption capacity of TiO2/AC decreased and the regeneration efficiency increased. The photocatalytic regenerationable AC with suitable TiO2 loading （2 wt%） exhibited suitable adsorption capacity and regeneration efficiency. TiO2 located mainly in the entrance of macro-pore of carbon. The prepared TiO2/AC exhibited similar surface structure and pore structure with material carbon.