Biodiesel production from vegetable oil and waste animal fats in a pilot plant

In this study, corn oil as vegetable oil, chicken fat and fleshing oil as animal fats were used to produce methyl ester in a biodiesel pilot plant. The FFA level of the corn oil was below 1% while those of animal fats were too high to produce biodiesel via base catalyst. Therefore, it was needed to perform pretreatment reaction for the animal fats. For this aim, sulfuric acid was used as catalyst and methanol was used as alcohol in the pretreatment reactions. After reducing the FFA level of the animal fats to less than 1%, the transesterification reaction was completed with alkaline catalyst. Due to low FFA content of corn oil, it was directly subjected to transesterification. Potassium hydroxide was used as catalyst and methanol was used as alcohol for transesterification reactions. The fuel properties of methyl esters produced in the biodiesel pilot plant were characterized and compared to EN 14214 and ASTM D6751 biodiesel standards. According to the results, ester yield values of animal fat methyl esters were slightly lower than that of the corn oil methyl ester (COME). The production cost of COME was higher than those of animal fat methyl esters due to being high cost biodiesel feedstock. The fuel properties of produced methyl esters were close to each other. Especially, the sulfur content and cold flow properties of the COME were lower than those of animal fat methyl esters. The measured fuel properties of all produced methyl esters met ASTM D6751 (S500) biodiesel fuel standards.     

Effect on fatality risk of changing from secondary to primary seat belt enforcement

BACKGROUND: Most seat belt use laws originally passed in the United States contained language restricting enforcement to drivers already stopped for some other reason. States that have since removed this secondary enforcement restriction have reported increased seat belt use. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the effect of these law changes on driver fatality rates. METHOD: Trends in passenger vehicle driver death rates per billion miles traveled were compared for 10 states that changed from secondary to primary seat belt enforcement and 14 states that remained with secondary enforcement. RESULTS: After accounting for possible economic effects and other general time trends, the change from secondary to primary enforcement was found to reduce annual passenger vehicle driver death rates by an estimated 7% (95% confidence limits 3.0-10.9). CONCLUSION: The majority of U.S. states still have secondary enforcement laws. If these remaining secondary laws were amended, an estimated 696 deaths per year could be prevented.     

林丹在作物和土壤中的残留及其消解

通过不同施药方法,探讨了林丹在小麦、玉米中的残留水平。结果表明,林丹在作物中的残留量随施药量的增加而递增。采用喷雾,4(a.i.)g/亩,林丹在小麦中的残留为0.0073ppm;土壤处理,100(a.i.)g/亩,林丹在小麦中的残留为0.0134ppm;撒颗粒剂,0.015(a.i.)g/株,林丹在玉米中的残留为0.0600ppm.林丹在土壤中消解很快,当土壤处理[200(a.i.)g/亩],林丹在土壤中的半衰期为23.7～25.2d,消解99％需160d左右。作者认为,在我国部分害虫防治中起用林丹不可能对生态环境构成威胁。      

“双碳”目标下城市形态对碳排放的影响:以长江经济带为例

明晰城市形态对于碳排放的影响机制,是实现城市碳减排的重要前提.以长江经济带为例,在阐述城市形态对于碳排放作用机制的基础上,利用多源数据定量评估城市形态,并分别采用空间计量模型和地理探测器在全局和分区域尺度评估2005~2020年城市形态对于碳排放的影响.结果表明:①2005~2020年,碳排放量由2365.31 Mt上升至4230.67 Mt,但增速呈逐渐放缓的趋势.其在空间上呈现两极分布格局,高值区主要集中在上海和重庆等核心城市,低值区集中在四川和云南西部地区.②建设用地面积在15年间整体扩张,建设用地人口密度呈下降趋势;城市破碎度不断降低且各市之间差异逐渐缩小;城市形状的平均规则程度有所提升,且各市紧凑度显著增加.③城市规模在全局尺度对碳排放有显著的正向作用,城市破碎度在2005年对碳排放有显著负向效应,但在随后年份负效应减弱,城市紧凑度指标在研究时段内与碳排放呈显著负相关性.④斑块类型面积、斑块密度和有效网格大小对上游城市碳排放的影响最为显著;有效网格大小、平均周长面积比和斑块类型面积在中游城市影响程度较高;有效网格大小、同类邻接百分比和最大斑块指数则是促进下游城市碳减排的关键因素.不同区域城市应当综合考虑各城市形态指标对于碳排放的影响,继而优化其城市形态以推动可持续发展.     

特大城市集群绿色发展与生态足迹关联特征

本文以成渝城市群、长江中游城市群和长三角城市群为研究对象,解析不同空间尺度下绿色发展与生态足迹时空变化特征,并结合耦合协调度模型、环境库兹涅茨曲线（EKC）理论探究绿色发展与生态足迹的关联特征。研究表明,长江经济带城市群2000—2015年绿色发展水平逐年提升,约16.44%的城市达到较高水平,空间上呈现“东部高、西部低”的特征。人均三维生态足迹增长逐渐趋缓,成渝城市群达到峰值（5.21hm²）后逐年稳定下降。长江经济带绿色发展与生态足迹处于良好协调状态,绿色经济的快速发展带动了耦合协调度的提高。绿色发展与生态足迹存在倒“ U”形EKC曲线关系,由于自然资源基础和产业结构差异,成渝城市群（拐点出现在2008年）绿色发展与生态足迹协调关系好转早于中下游城市群（拐点分别在2019年、2012年）。四川、安徽应作为降低资源消耗的重点对象,未来应进一步加强区域中心城市的辐射带动作用,拉动周围城市提高绿色发展水平。研究成果能为区域绿色发展与生态环境协同管理提供思路与理论支持。     

Emergy analysis using US economic input-output models with applications to life cycles of gasoline and corn ethanol

A commonly encountered challenge in emergy analysis is the lack of transformity data for many economic products and services. To overcome this challenge, emergy analysts approximate the emergy input from the economy via a single emergy/money ratio for the country and the monetary price of economic inputs. This amounts to assuming homogeneity in the entire economy, and can introduce serious uncertainties in the results. This paper proposes and demonstrates the use of a thermodynamically augmented economic input-output model of the US economy for obtaining sector-specific emergy to money ratios that can be used instead of a single ratio. These ratios at the economy scale are more accurate than a single economy-wide emergy/money ratio, and can be obtained quickly for hundreds of economic products and services. Comparing sector-specific emergy/money ratios with those from conventional emergy studies indicates that the input-output model can provide reasonable estimates of transformities at least as a stop-gap measure until more detailed analysis is completed. A hybrid approach to emergy analysis is introduced and compared with conventional emergy analysis using life cycles of corn ethanol and gasoline as examples. Emergy and transformity data from the hybrid approach are similar to those from conventional emergy analysis, indicating the usefulness of the proposed approach. In addition, this work proposes the metric of return on emergy investment for assessing product alternatives with the same utility such as transportation fuels. The proposed approach and data may be used easily via web-based software.     

Drivers' Assessment of Ford's Belt Reminder System

In recent model years, Ford vehicles have been equipped with a supplementary seat belt reminder system that flashes and chimes intermittently for up to 5 min if the driver is unbelted. Sound- and light-based belt reminder systems of various types are beginning to appear in the market place, and it is important to learn about their acceptance and ability to increase belt use. The present study was designed to ascertain consumer reaction and reported belt use regarding the Ford system. Personal interviews were conducted with 405 drivers of vehicles with the reminder system. Among the drivers, 67% said they had activated the belt reminder one or more times, 73% said that the last time this happened they fastened their belts, 46% said their belt use had increased since driving this vehicle, 78% said they liked the reminder system, and 79% said they wanted a reminder system like this in their next vehicle. Five percent had disabled the system. Part-time users were responsive to the reminder, for example, of those who said they currently used belts usually but not on some occasions, 70% said they fastened their seat belts the last time the reminder was activated and 76% said their belt use had increased. Five percent spontaneously mentioned the belt reminder as an especially disliked feature of their new vehicles, and 2% said their belt use had decreased since having it. The 7% of respondents who reported they used belts never or very occasionally were least responsive to the system. Overall, the Ford belt reminder system is being favorably received.     

The Belt and Road Initiative and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: seeking linkages for global environmental governance

ABSTRACT

Global environmental cooperation serves as an important part in the Chinese ideal of building a Community with a Shared Future for all Human Beings. The report of 19th CPC National Congress indicates that China is committed to proactive mitigation under the Paris Agreement and further participating in global environmental governance under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and both of which are largely integrated to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). BRI are also closely linked with South–South environmental and climate cooperation proposed by China from previous UN summits. Based on shared ideas, intersected agendas, and compatible governance approaches, BRI and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development grow increasingly relevant and they might form synergies based on increasingly interactive relations. In sum, seeking and intensifying the linkages between BRI and 2030 sustainable development goals (SDGs) could address global environmental governance deficits and enhance cooperation among nations.     

Hydraulic management of a soil moisture controlled SDI wastewater dispersal system in an Alabama Black Belt soil

Rural areas represent approximately 95% of the 14000 km(2) Alabama Black Belt, an area of widespread Vertisols dominated by clayey, smectitic, shrink-swell soils. These soils are unsuitable for conventional onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) which are nevertheless widely used in this region. In order to provide an alternative wastewater dosing system, an experimental field moisture controlled subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system was designed and installed as a field trial. The experimental system that integrates a seasonal cropping system was evaluated for two years on a 500-m(2) Houston clay site in west central Alabama from August 2006 to June 2008. The SDI system was designed to start hydraulic dosing only when field moisture was below field capacity. Hydraulic dosing rates fluctuated as expected with higher dosing rates during warm seasons with near zero or zero dosing rates during cold seasons. Lower hydraulic dosing in winter creates the need for at least a two-month waste storage structure which is an insurmountable challenge for rural homeowners. An estimated 30% of dosed water percolated below 45-cm depth during the first summer which included a 30-year historic drought. This massive volume of percolation was presumably the result of preferential flow stimulated by dry weather clay soil cracking. Although water percolation is necessary for OWTS, this massive water percolation loss indicated that this experimental system is not able to effective control soil moisture within its monitoring zone as designed. Overall findings of this study indicated that soil moisture controlled SDI wastewater dosing is not suitable as a standalone system in these Vertisols. However, the experimental soil moisture control system functioned as designed, demonstrating that soil moisture controlled SDI wastewater dosing may find application as a supplement to other wastewater disposal methods that can function during cold seasons.     

基于胡焕庸线波动的长江经济带水资源环境承载力动态演变特征

基于水资源生态足迹模型,对长江经济带2010—2018年131个地区水资源生态足迹与生态承载力进行研究,并用GIS可视化揭示和探讨长江经济带水资源时空特征。研究发现： （1）胡焕庸线假说在长江经济带区域成立;（2）长江经济带人均水资源生态盈余状况在胡焕庸线以西区域最好,胡焕庸线与胡焕庸亚线之间次之,胡焕庸亚线以东最差;（3）长江经济带胡焕庸线以西区域人均水资源承载力均值、水资源承载力均值在三个区域中最大;（4）长江经济带各地区历年万元GDP生态足迹呈减小趋势,水资源利用率逐年提高;（5）长江经济带历年平均水资源负载指数呈上升趋势,水资源压力逐年上升。研究结果有助于长江经济带水资源综合管理,为水资源的调控及使用提供量化依据。