Carbon Dioxide Balance of Wood Substitution: Comparing Concrete- and Wood-Framed Buildings

In this study a method is suggested to compare the net carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission from the construction of concrete- and wood-framed buildings. The method is then applied to two buildings in Sweden and Finland constructed with wood frames, compared with functionally equivalent buildings constructed with concrete frames. Carbon accounting includes: emissions due to fossil fuel use in the production of building materials; the replacement of fossil fuels by biomass residues from logging, wood processing, construction and demolition; carbon stock changes in forests and buildings; and cement process reactions. The results show that wood-framed construction requires less energy, and emits less CO₂ to the atmosphere, than concrete-framed construction. The lifecycle emission difference between the wood- and concrete-framed buildings ranges from 30 to 130 kg C per m² of floor area. Hence, a net reduction of CO₂ emission can be obtained by increasing the proportion of wood-based building materials, relative to concrete materials. The benefits would be greatest if the biomass residues resulting from the production of the wood building materials were fully used in energy supply systems. The carbon mitigation efficiency, expressed in terms of biomass used per unit of reduced carbon emission, is considerably better if the wood is used to replace concrete building material than if the wood is used directly as biofuel.     

Wood materials used as a means to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs): An examination of wooden utility poles

There has been growing concern over the build-up of greenhouse gase(GHGs) in the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide (CO₂), as acause of global warming. The IPCC Third Assessment Report (2001) suggests two ways in which the choice of materials could berelevant. First, some materials, particularly wood, have the advantage thatthey continue to hold carbon (C)in their cells even after being convertedto products. The implications of this feature are well researched. Second,an area that is not well researched relates to the different energyrequirements for producing similar products made with different materials. Using the findings of recent research, this paper compares the energyrequirements and C emissions of manufacturing a product using wood withthat of other materials. The case study of utility poles demonstrates thepositive C and global warming consequences of the lower energyrequirements of wood in the U.S., compared to other materials such assteel or concrete. It demonstrates that GHG emissions associated withutility poles are a small but significant percent of total US annual emissions. Wood utility poles are associated with GHG emission reductions of 163Terragrams (Tg) of CO₂ when compared with steel poles. This isabout 2.8 percent of US annual GHG emissions, which are estimated atabout 5.28 Petragrams (Pg) of CO₂ annually. Thus, the use ofwooden utility poles rather than steel results in a small but significantreduction in total US emissions.     

试论Java与木材加工业自动化控制和安全生产的关系

Java(Java也是美国加里福尼亚州Sun Microsystems公司的注册商标)正快速成为一种用于加工制造业和系统集成的计算机编程语言。相对于标准C和C^ 计算机语言而言，Java的多功能性和支持众多计算机操作系统和平台的显著特点，使它能在装备有不同计算机平台和控制系统的机械设备上使用提供了最大的方便性。从而提高了木材产品加工过程的安全性。本文就Java软件系统在木材加工和家具加工过程中的应用以及潜在问题进行探讨。     

Characterizing the Width of Amphibian Movements During Postbreeding Migration

Habitat linkages can help maintain connectivity of animal populations in developed landscapes. However, the lack of empirical data on the width of lateral movements (i.e., the zigzagging of individuals as they move from one point to point another) makes determining the width of such linkages challenging. We used radiotracking data from wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) and spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) in a managed forest in Maine (U.S.A.) to characterize movement patterns of populations and thus inform planning for the width of wildlife corridors. For each individual, we calculated the polar coordinates of all locations, estimated the vector sum of the polar coordinates, and measured the distance from each location to the vector sum. By fitting a Gaussian distribution over a histogram of these distances, we created a population‐level probability density function and estimated the 50th and 95th percentiles to determine the width of lateral movement as individuals progressed from the pond to upland habitat. For spotted salamanders 50% of lateral movements were ≤13 m wide and 95% of movements were ≤39 m wide. For wood frogs, 50% of lateral movements were ≤17 m wide and 95% of movements were ≤ 51 m wide. For both species, those individuals that traveled the farthest from the pond also displayed the greatest lateral movement. Our results serve as a foundation for spatially explicit conservation planning for pond‐breeding amphibians in areas undergoing development. Our technique can also be applied to movement data from other taxa to aid in designing habitat linkages. Caracterización de la Amplitud de Movimiento de Anfibios durante la Migración Pos‐Reproducción     

Results of An Indoor Size Fractionated PM School Sampling Program in Libby, Montana

Libby, Montana is the only PM_2.5 nonattainment area in the western United States with the exceptions of parts of southern California. During January through March 2005, a particulate matter (PM) sampling program was conducted within Libby’s elementary and middle schools to establish baseline indoor PM concentrations before a wood stove change-out program is implemented over the next several years. As part of this program, indoor concentrations of PM mass, organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) in five different size fractions (>2.5, 1.0–2.5, 0.5–1.0, 0.25–0.5, and <0.25 μm) were measured. Total measured PM mass concentrations were much higher inside the elementary school, with particle size fraction (>2.5, 0.5–1.0, 0.25–0.5, and <0.25 μm) concentrations between 2 and 5 times higher when compared to the middle school. The 1.0–2.5 μm fraction had the largest difference between the two sites, with elementary school concentrations nearly 10 times higher than the middle school values. The carbon component for the schools’ indoor PM was found to be predominantly composed of OC. Measured total OC and EC concentrations, as well as concentrations within individual size fractions, were an average of two to five times higher at the elementary school when compared to the middle school. For the ultrafine fraction (<0.25), EC concentrations were similar between each of the schools. Despite the differences in concentrations between the schools at the various fraction levels, the OC/EC ratio was determined to be similar.     

Key factors that influence households’ tree planting behaviour

Despite a decrease in indigenous forests and a growing demand for tree products in developing countries, tree planting activities are not considerably expanding in Tanzania. In this paper, we analyse factors that influence households’ tree planting behaviour, as well as the number of trees planted. Coast and Morogoro regions in the east of Tanzania were selected as the case, and data was gathered from 202 households in 11 villages in these regions where tree planting programmes have been or still are active. A Heckman model is used to analyse the factors that drive tree planting behaviour. Results indicate that households get wood energy from forest reserves (57%), in addition to their own planted trees (9.1%). Emperical findings show that the most important factors have significantly positive effects on households’ tree planting behaviour, as well as the extent to which it was implemented. These factors include households’ land sizes, households’ awareness of tree planting programmes, tree planting for wood energy, and the age of the head of the household. The right/freedom to harvest and transport tree products, households’ attitudes towards tree planting, and family size have significantly negative effects on households’ tree planting behaviour. This paper is perhaps the first comprehensive study to analyse the factors that influence households’ tree planting behaviour in Tanzania, and it uncovers results that are useful, even for other developing countries with similar conditions.     

复合链式结构下中国林业碳库系统测度模型构建

温室气体上升导致的全球气候变暖问题不容忽视,增加森林碳汇和木质林产品碳储是缓解温室效应的有效途径。根据森林碳汇功能与林产品碳储功能的关联理论与模型,推导和改进包括森林子碳库、土壤子碳库及木质林产品子碳库在内的林业碳库核算模型及方法,以实现目标碳从森林碳库向木质林产品碳库的过渡与转移。基于气候变化背景下森林-林产品产业链的发展现状,构建包括森林子碳库和林产品子碳库的复合一体化林业碳库模型,使之为中国林业碳库的计量与评价提供判据。首先,对包含森林子碳库和木质林产品子碳库在内的世界林业碳库的发展现状进行探讨,归纳和比较国内外主流的关联林业碳库评估方法模型,从而对中国林业碳库模型的构建提供理论背景支持和逻辑方法支撑。其次,分析现有中国林业碳库评估存在的优势和弊端,找出适合中国林业特点的国家碳库创新评估路径,运用政府间气候变化专门委员会指定的生产法的思路,通过分析目标碳在林产品产业链生产、加工等过程中的流入和支出,提出创新中国林业碳库的模型构想并对其系统内涵进行分析。最后,赋予中国林业碳库系统模型数学表达,分析其数理结构并进行逻辑演绎,在森林子碳库和木质林产品子碳库两个复合链式体系下构建中国林业碳库系统测度模型(ForestProducts Carbon Model/FPCM)。     

Wood-Specific Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Patterns in Soot Using Gas Chromatography-Atmospheric Pressure Laser Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (GC-APLI-MS)

If organic matter is burnt, the combustion of wood produces the highest amounts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) compared with other fossil energy sources such as oil, coal, or gas. Emissions from wood combustion are increasingly of special interest due to the rising use of wood as a renewable energy source in residential heating in Europe. To the authors' knowledge, reproducible wood-specific PAH patterns in soot were identified for the first time by use of a sampling interval of only 5 min in this study. The short sampling interval was enabled by the very sensitive analytical method of gas chromatography–atmospheric pressure laser ionization–mass spectrometry (GC-APLI-MS) applied. The analysis of 40 PAH of soot from wood logs of spruce, pine, larch (softwood) and beech, birch, oak (hardwood), and wood pellets, as well as wood briquettes, showed 13.46–250.62 mg/kg for ∑40 PAH and 10.75–177.94 mg/kg for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency PAH standard (without acenaphthylene and anthracene). Highest concentrations occurred in the samples from birch with bark, beech, and wood briquettes. Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, naphthalene, and alkylated naphthalenes were also detected. Significant concentrations of the very toxic dibenzopyrenes (up to 11.30 mg/kg) are reported. Softwood soot contained highest amounts of 2–4-ring PAH, followed by hardwood which is in accordance with the presence of highest amounts of abietic acid in softwood, a known precursor of retene and phenanthrene. PAH in soot from five spruce samples from different locations show a mean ∑40 PAH concentration of 13.46 mg/kg (n = 5, minimum 8.03, maximum 23.32 mg/kg, SD = 5.65) and exhibited a typical pattern that differed from all other wood soot samples. The distributions of alkylated naphthalenes of the spruce samples show a bell-shape distribution in contrast to the alkylated phenanthrenes/anthracenes of all samples (except the wood pellets), showing a slope distribution. The data indicate that wood-specific PAH patterns exist and under the applied conditions, spruce logs produced the least toxic soot.     

某木材加工企业安全评价中的危险因素辨识

木材加工生产中危险有害因素较多,发生人员伤害事故的风险比较高. 用安全系统的理论和方法,以某木材加工企业生产过程为研究对象,通过危险有害因素辨识,对造成人员伤害的危险事件发生的可能性和导致伤害后果的严重程度进行了分析,为提出相应的安全对策措施提供了依据.     

Performance,combustion and emission characteristics of a single-cylinder,four-stroke,direct injection diesel engine operated on a dual-fuel mode using Honge oil methyl ester and producer gas derived from biomass feedstock of different origin

Renewable and alternative fuels have numerous advantages compared with fossil fuels, as they are renewable and biodegradable, and provide food and energy security and foreign exchange savings besides addressing environmental concerns and socio-economic issues. In this context, present work was carried out to investigate the feasibility of alternative and renewable fuels derived from biomass feedstock of different origin for engine applications. The present study was also extended to study the effect of producer gas composition derived from different biomass feedstock on the performance, combustion and emission characteristics of a single-cylinder, four-stroke, direct injection stationary diesel engine operated on a dual-fuel mode using Honge oil methyl ester (HOME) and producer gas induction. The performance of the engine was evaluated with a constant injection timing of 27° before top dead centre, an injection pressure of 205 bar for the diesel–producer gas combination and 230 bar for the HOME–producer gas combination and a compression ratio of 17.5. The results showed that the performance of the dual-fuel engine varies with the composition of the producer gas and depends on the type of biomass feedstock used in the gasifier. Experimental investigations on the dual-fuel engine showed that brake thermal efficiency values for the engine operated using HOME–producer gas derived from babul, neem and honge woods were found to be 17.2, 14.3 and 11.56% respectively, compared to 23.8% for diesel–producer gas operation at 80% load. However, the results showed better engine performance with lower exhaust emission levels for the operation of HOME–producer gas derived from the ordinary or babul wood compared with the operation of that derived from the neem and Honge woods. In view of this, present study reveals that use of alternative and renewable fuels for dual fuel engine can be considered as an immediate solution for the development of rural areas and emergency use in the event of severe diesel fuel shortage.