Environmental assessment of supercritical water oxidation of sewage sludge

Environmental aspects of using supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) to treat sewage sludge were studied using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The system studied is the first commercial scale SCWO plant for sewage sludge in the world, treating sludge from the municipal wastewater treatment facility in Harlingen, TX, USA. The environmental impacts were evaluated using three specific environmental attributes: global warming potential (GWP), photo-oxidant creation potential (POCP) and resource depletion; as well as two single point indicators: EPS2000 and EcoIndicator99. The LCA results show that for the described process, gas-fired preheating of the sludge is the major contributor to environmental impacts, and emissions from generating electricity for pumping and for oxygen production are also important. Overall, SCWO processing of undigested sewage sludge is an environmentally attractive technology, particularly when heat is recovered from the process. Energy-conserving measures and recovery of excess oxygen from the SCWO process should be considered for improving the sustainability potential.     

NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION CRITERIA AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PATTERNS IN TROPHIC STATE FOR RIVERS IN HETEROGENEOUS LANDSCAPES1

ABSTRACT: A method is demonstrated for the development of nutrient concentration criteria and large scale assessment of trophic state in environmentally heterogeneous landscapes. The method uses the River Environment Classification (REC) as a spatial framework to partition rivers according to differences in processes that control the accrual and loss of algae biomass. The method is then applied to gravel bed rivers with natural flow regimes that drain hilly watersheds in New Zealand's South Island. An existing model is used to characterize trophic state (in terms of chlorophyll a as a measure of maximum biomass) using nutrient concentration, which controls the rate of biomass accrual, and flood frequency, which controls biomass loss. Variation in flood frequency was partitioned into three classes, and flow data measured at 68 sites was used to show that the classes differ with respect to flood frequency. Variation in nutrient concentration was partitioned at smaller spatial scales by subdivision of higher level classes into seven classes. The median of flood frequency in each of the three higher level classes was used as a control variable in the model to provide spatially explicit nutrient concentration criteria by setting maximum chlorophyll a to reflect a desired trophic state. The median of mean monthly soluble reactive phosphorus and soluble inorganic nitrogen measured at 68 water quality monitoring sites were then used to characterize the trophic state of each of the seven lower level classes. The method models biomass and therefore allows variation in this response variable to provide options for trophic state and the associated nutrient concentrations to achieve these. Thus it is less deterministic than using reference site water quality. The choice from among these options is a sociopolitical decision, which reflects the management objectives rather than purely technical considerations.     

TEMPORAL CHANGES IN THE YADKIN RIVER FLOW VERSUS SUSPENDED SEDIMENT CONCENTRATION RELATIONSHIP1

ABSTRACT: Dynamic linear models (DLM) and seasonal trend decomposition (STL) using local regression, or LOESS, were used to analyze the 50‐year time series of suspended sediment concentrations for the Yadkin River, measured at the U.S. Geological Survey station at Yadkin College, North Carolina. A DLM with constant trend, seasonality, and a log₁₀ streamflow regressor provided the best model to predict monthly mean log₁₀ suspended sediment concentrations, based on the forecast log likelihood. Using DLM, there was evidence (odds approximately 69:1) that the log₁₀ streamflow versus log₁₀ suspended sediment concentration relationship has changed, with an approximate 20 percent increase in the log₁₀ streamflow coefficient over the period 1981 to 1996. However, sediment concentrations in the Yadkin River have decreased during the decade of the 1990s, which has been accompanied by a concomitant increase in streamflow variability. Although STL has been shown to be a versatile trend analysis technique, DLM is shown to be more suitable for discovery and inference of structural changes (trends) in the model coefficient describing the relationship between flow and sediment concentration.     

黄河积石峡水电站库区泥石流危险度评价

在选取一次(可能)最大冲出物方量、泥石流发生频率、流域面积、主沟长度、流域相对高差、流域切割密度、泥沙补给段长度比7个因子为泥石流沟谷危险度划分的主要因子的基础上,对评价因子隶属度的确定作了分析和阐述,并运用模糊综合评判法对黄河上游积石峡水电站库区16条泥石流沟进行了危险度划分.     

利用信息扩散模式对安徽及华东地区地震的风险分析

本文利用信息扩散模式,分别从年地震频次和年最大震级两个方面对安徽及华东地区的地震风险进行评估.结果显示:安徽地区ML≥3.0地震,年频次4次以上,约两年一遇;年发生ML≥3.9地震,则3年可能遇一次.而华东地区ML≥4.0地震,年频次4次以上,大约3年一遇;年发生ML≥4.9的地震,则可能2年遇一次.     

矿井电网动态安全分析系统的研究

随着国民经济的迅速发展,各行各业对煤矿资源的需求越来越大,然而矿难事故的频繁发生,煤矿安全已成为迫切需要解决的首要问题。笔者针对目前的矿井供电系统存在的不足而导致的安全隐患问题,进行了深入的理论研究和技术分析。根据煤矿供电系统的实际情况,对其供电系统的动态安全分析问题进行了较全面的探讨和论述;介绍了矿井电网动态安全分析系统的功能要求、主要组成部分和结构;对各部分的实现和需要注意的问题进行了分析;给出了矿井电网动态安全分析系统的框图及系统最终要反映的信息要求。     

基于模糊模式识别的模糊综合评价在高层建筑火灾危险评价中的应用

针对高层建筑火灾危险的特点,建立了高层建筑火灾危险评价的指标体系,并应用层次分析法确定了其权重。根据高层建筑火灾危险评价系统具有多因素、多层次的特点,采用模糊综合评价方法;针对模糊综合评价的不足之处,提出把权广义距离之和最小模糊模式识别运用到模糊综合评价当中,建立了基于模糊模式识别的模糊综合评价模型;该评价模型避免了单因素矩阵的确定和模糊算子的选择问题,用安全状态特征值来表征最终的评价结果,能使评价结果更加准确,可操作性强。通过对陕西某高层建筑火灾危险评价实例证明,该模型具有较好的应用价值,为日常的安全管理和性能化防火设计提供了有用依据。     

铁矿区采空区勘测及其危害评价研究

本文采用野外勘测、理论分析和定量计算相结合的技术路线,研究了采空区分布及参数的高密度电法勘测方法、采空区对地表的影响程度和地表移动区的范围的定性定量评价方法,研究结果可以作为政府进行矿区安全生产综合整治和安全规划的科学决策依据.     

旅游区(点)安全评估体系初探

旅游区的安全状况越来越受到各级政府的广泛关注,规范旅游景点安全管理已成当务之急.文章以模糊数学和层次分析理论为指导构建了旅游区(点)安全评估指标体系和评价模型,评价过程考虑了影响安全等级的相关因素,并保留了各级评价的全部信息.实例采用典型的旅游景点指标数据,评价结果直观地反映了旅游区的安全状况.     

工业设施受恐怖袭击风险评价方法研究进展

鉴于全球范围恐怖活动日益猖獗的形势,无论从学术研究还是维护社会安全稳定的角度,恐怖袭击都应作为一个重要的风险因素加以深入研究.恐怖袭击事故是由恐怖分子策划和实施的,其风险机理不同于系统失效或人为失误造成的事故机理.科学地分析、预测和预防恐怖袭击的风险成为当前安全科学领域面临的新课题.本文对国内外相关研究的进展做了较详细的评述,提出了对重要工业设施和公共设施在加强传统安全管理的同时要加强脆弱性评价和保安管理体系建设等建议.