The potential contribution of sustainable waste management to energy use and greenhouse gas emission reduction in the Netherlands

Future limitations on the availability of selected resources stress the need for increased material efficiency. In addition, in a climate-constrained world the impact of resource use on greenhouse gas emissions should be minimized. Waste management is key to achieve sustainable resource management. Ways to use resources more efficiently include prevention of waste, reuse of products and materials, and recycling of materials, while incineration and anaerobic digestion may recover part of the embodied energy of materials. This study used iWaste, a simulation model, to investigate the extent to which savings in energy consumption and CO₂ emissions can be achieved in the Netherlands through recycling of waste streams versus waste incineration, and to assess the extent to which this potential is reflected in the LAP2 (currently initiated policy). Three waste streams (i.e. household waste, bulky household waste, and construction and demolition waste) and three scenarios compare current policy to scenarios that focus on high-quality recycling (Recycling+) or incineration with increased efficiency (Incineration+). The results show that aiming for more and high-quality recycling can result in emission reductions of 2.3 MtCO₂ annually in the Netherlands compared to the reference situation in 2008. The main contributors to this reduction potential are found in optimizing the recycling of plastics (PET, PE and PP), textiles, paper, and organic waste. A scenario assuming a higher energy conversion efficiency of the incinerator treating the residual waste stream, achieves an emission reduction equivalent to only one third (0.7 MtCO₂/year) of the reduction achieved in the Recycling+ scenario. Furthermore, the results of the study show that currently initiated policy only partially realizes the full potential identified. A focus on highest quality use of recovered materials is essential to realize the full potential energy and CO₂ emission reduction identified for the Netherlands. Detailed economic and technical analyses of high quality recycling are recommended to further evaluate viable integrated waste management policies.     

基于PLC的电器能效测试系统设计

文章通过介绍一种基于PLC并符合GB 21519-2008要求的储水式热水器能效测试系统设计方案,研究PLC在电器能效测试的应用。该系统采用PLC作为下位机,控制电磁阀通断给所检测的样品供水和排水,通过读取能耗检测元件信号计算出能耗值,通过重量传感器输出量的变化换算得出储水式热水器的容积,利用温度模块测得样机各点的温度值;上位机采用PC机,利用组态软件,对现场实施监控与数据实时处理,通过友好的界面快速、实时、准确分析、计算、储存能效值。该系统的设计能有效地提高能效测试的可靠性和工作效率。     

Home energy efficiency grants and advice: findings from the English Midlands

Research was conducted in Nottinghamshire, England to investigate public attitudes regarding home energy efficiency issues. Quantitative data were collected in the form of a postal survey, achieving over three hundred responses. Additionally, predominantly qualitative data were collected in semi-structured interviews in 15 homes. The issues investigated included the grant-funded energy efficiency measures installed by the public, the organisations providing grants, the means by which the recipients were referred to the organisations, and the public's preferences regarding energy efficiency advice. Findings were made about the local authority's success in encouraging the take-up of energy efficiency grants, about the public's preferences for the means by which advice should be provided, about trust relating to energy efficiency grants provided by gas and electricity suppliers, and about people's knowledge of the most effective energy efficiency measures. Additional findings were drawn about specific energy efficiency issues, including old heating systems and compact fluorescent light bulbs.     

Policy,Institutional and Market Barriers to the Implementation of Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) in China

China is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the world, with potentially about two thirds of total Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) for Asia on the world carbon market (). Since 68% of its primary energy is from coal, China's average energy intensity is 7.5 times higher than the EU and 4.3 times higher than the US (EU, 2003 The European Union on-line. (2003). (http://europa.eu.int/index_ns_en.htm accessed Oct 2003  [Google Scholar]). Therefore, introducing advanced clean technologies and management to China represents opportunities for Annex I countries to obtain low-cost CERs through CDM projects, and access to one of the largest potential energy conservation markets in the world.

CDM can provide a win-win solution for both China and Annex I countries, and the Chinese government considers that the introduction of CDM projects can bring advanced energy technologies and foreign investment to China, thereby helping China's sustainable economy and generating CERs. As energy efficiency is generally low and carbon intensity is high in both China's energy supply and demand sectors, numerous options exist for cost-effective energy conservation and GHG mitigation with CDM.

This paper reviews current Chinese policies and administrative and institutional settings for CDM cooperation, and discusses existing policy, institutional and other barriers in the energy market by drawing on observations and experience from previous initiatives such as Cleaner Production and energy efficiency. Some options to remove these barriers are addressed. In order to make CDM projects feasible, China's government needs to promote awareness, streamline administrative systems, and be more active in building a competitive edge in the world carbon market.     

Second Law Analysis for Solar Cookers

Abstract

This article presents the importance and usefulness of Second Law (exergy) analysis for evaluating and comparing solar cookers in meaningful ways. The thermodynamic considerations required for the development of rational and meaningful methodologies for the evaluation and comparison of the efficiency of the solar cookers were defined. Energy and exergy equations were also developed to obtain energy and exergy efficiencies of the solar cookers. The evaluation of the solar cookers requires a measure of efficiency, which is rational, meaningful, and practical. Exergy analysis provides an alternative means of evaluating and comparing the solar cookers. Since exergy is a measure of the quality or usefulness of energy, exergy efficiency measures are more significant than energy efficiency measures, exergy analysis should be considered in the evaluation of the solar cookers.     

Market efficiency,filter rules and buffer stock profitability

This paper uses a model of the optimum buffer stock as a ‘filter rule’ together with a financial model that can be used to assess the efficiency of international commodity markets. The approach is simpler to apply than many other methods which have hitherto been used and yields an economy in theoretical and computational effort. The arguments are applied as a case study to the international copper market. The main conclusion is that private storage is not under-provided for and that a public buffer stock agency would be unlikely to be self-financing.     

EVALUATION OF THE SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER WITHDRAWALS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1995 TO 20251

To evaluate the long term sustainability of water withdrawals in the United States, a county level analysis of the availability of renewable water resources was conducted, and the magnitudes of human withdrawals from surface water and ground water sources and the stored water requirements during the warmest months of the year were evaluated. Estimates of growth in population and electricity generation were then used to estimate the change in withdrawals assuming that the rates of water use either remain at their current levels (the business as usual scenario) or that they exhibit improvements in efficiency at the same rate as observed over 1975 to 1995 (the improved efficiency scenario). The estimates show several areas, notably the Southwest and major metropolitan areas throughout the United States, as being likely to have significant new storage requirements with the business‐as‐usual scenario, under the condition of average water availability. These new requirements could be substantially eliminated under the improved efficiency scenario, thus indicating the importance of water use efficiency in meeting future requirements. The national assessment identified regions of potential water sustainability concern; these regions can be the subject of more targeted data collection and analyses in the future.     

我国能源节约战略研究

节约能源，保护环境，是全面建设小康社会、实现可持续发展的必不可少的前提条件。中国万美元GDP能耗水平是发达国家的3至11倍。节能潜力很大。其中工业部门是我国的能源消费大户。其能源消费占全国能源消费总量的比重一直保持在70％左右，其节能潜力也居第一位。2020年中国实现全面建设小康社会的目标．人均GDP是3000美元，按届时人口15亿计算，全国GDP为49500亿美元，所需要的能源总量是33亿t标准煤，万美元GDP的能耗是6．67吨标煤；人均能耗是2．13吨标煤。只要政策选择适当。我国完全可以以当初发达国家一半的能源供应实现其相应的人均经济发展目标。为此，我们需要继续建立和完善适应市场经济要求的推动能源节约与资源综合利用的新机制；加快制定与《节约能源法》配套法规，引导和规范用能行为；加快建立以企业为主体的技术创新体系。     

Futures markets and economic efficiency: A theoretical perspective

This article examines the role of futures markets in schieving economic efficiency. The question is introduced in a timeless, certain framework, and extended to the case where time, but not uncertainty, becomes important: it is shown that in such a framework futures markets ensure economic efficiency. Uncertainty is then introduced, and it is shown that contingent markets ensure full efficiency, but that these are cumbersome; it is also shown that futures markets, as an alternative, ensure approximate efficiency. An appendix explores more formally the relation between markets and efficiency.     

从经济效益和生态效益来探索城市土地利用的合理模式

从土地资源的经济和生态特性入手，结合我国土地利用的现状。分析了土地利用的经济效益和生态效益，探讨了既符合市场经济规律、又符合城市可持续发展的土地利用模式。