Formation of secondary inorganic aerosols by power plant emissions exhausted through cooling towers in Saxony

Background, aim, and scope  The fraction of ambient PM₁₀ that is due to the formation of secondary inorganic particulate sulfate and nitrate from the emissions of two large, brown-coal-fired power stations in Saxony (East Germany) is examined. The power stations are equipped with natural-draft cooling towers. The flue gases are directly piped into the cooling towers, thereby receiving an additionally intensified uplift. The exhausted gas-steam mixture contains the gases CO, CO₂, NO, NO₂, and SO₂, the directly emitted primary particles, and additionally, an excess of ‘free’ sulfate ions in water solution, which, after the desulfurization steps, remain non-neutralized by cations. The precursor gases NO₂ and SO₂ are capable of forming nitric and sulfuric acid by several pathways. The acids can be neutralized by ammonia and generate secondary particulate matter by heterogeneous condensation on preexisting particles. Materials and methods  The simulations are performed by a nested and multi-scale application of the online-coupled model system LM-MUSCAT. The Local Model (LM; recently renamed as COSMO) of the German Weather Service performs the meteorological processes, while the Multi-scale Atmospheric Transport Model (MUSCAT) includes the transport, the gas phase chemistry, as well as the aerosol chemistry (thermodynamic ammonium–sulfate–nitrate–water system). The highest horizontal resolution in the inner region of Saxony is 0.7 km. One summer and one winter episode, each realizing 5 weeks of the year 2002, are simulated twice, with the cooling tower emissions switched on and off, respectively. This procedure serves to identify the direct and indirect influences of the single plumes on the formation and distribution of the secondary inorganic aerosols. Results and conclusions  Surface traces of the individual tower plumes can be located and distinguished, especially in the well-mixed boundary layer in daytime. At night, the plumes are decoupled from the surface. In no case does the resulting contribution of the cooling tower emissions to PM₁₀ significantly exceed 15 μgm⁻³ at the surface. These extreme values are obtained in narrow plumes on intensive summer conditions, whereas different situations with lower turbulence (night, winter) remain below this value. About 90% of the PM₁₀ concentrations in the plumes are secondarily formed sulfate, mainly ammonium sulfate, and about 10% originate from the primarily emitted particles. Under the assumptions made, ammonium nitrate plays a rather marginal role. Recommendations and perspectives  The analyzed results depend on the specific emission data of power plants with flue gas emissions piped through the cooling towers. The emitted fraction of ‘free’ sulfate ions remaining in excess after the desulfurization steps plays an important role at the formation of secondary aerosols and therefore has to be measured carefully.     

Effect of impeller type and mechanical agitation on the mass transfer and power consumption aspects of ASBR operation treating synthetic wastewater

The effect of flow type and rotor speed was investigated in a round-bottom reactor with 5 L useful volume containing 2.0 L of granular biomass. The reactor treated 2.0 L of synthetic wastewater with a concentration of 800 mgCOD/L in 8-h cycles at 30 degrees C. Five impellers, commonly used in biological processes, have been employed to this end, namely: a turbine and a paddle impeller with six-vertical-flat-blades, a turbine and a paddle impeller with six-45 degrees -inclined-flat-blades and a three-blade-helix impeller. Results showed that altering impeller type and rotor speed did not significantly affect system stability and performance. Average organic matter removal efficiency was about 84% for filtered samples, total volatile acids concentration was below 20 mgHAc/L and bicarbonate alkalinity a little less than 400 mgCaCO3/L for most of the investigated conditions. However, analysis of the first-order kinetic model constants showed that alteration in rotor speed resulted in an increase in the values of the kinetic constants (for instance, from 0.57 h(-1) at 50 rpm to 0.84 h(-1) at 75 rpm when the paddle impeller with six-45 degrees -inclined-flat-blades was used) and that axial flow in mechanically stirred reactors is preferable over radial-flow when the vertical-flat-blade impeller is compared to the inclined-flat-blade impeller (for instance at 75 rpm, from 0.52 h(-1) with the six-flat-blade-paddle impeller to 0.84 h(-1) with the six-45 degrees -inclined-flat-blade-paddle impeller), demonstrating that there is a rotor speed and an impeller type that maximize solid-liquid mass transfer in the reaction medium. Furthermore, power consumption studies in this reduced reactor volume showed that no high power transfer is required to improve mass transfer (less than 0.6 kW/10(3)m3).     

Mercury emission from coal-fired power plants in Poland

The paper reviews the current state of knowledge regarding sources of mercury emission in Poland. Due to the large quantities of coal burned at present, as well as taking into account existing reserves, coal remains the main energy source of energy in Poland. The data on coal consumption in Poland in the past, at present and in the future are discussed in the paper. Information on the content of mercury in Polish coals is presented.Coal combustion processes for electricity and heat production are the main source of anthropogenic mercury emission in Poland. It is expected that the current emissions will decrease in the future due to implementation of efficient control measures. These measures for emission reduction are described in the paper. Results of estimated mercury emission from coal-fired power station situated in the Upper Silesia Region, Poland are investigated. A relationship between mercury emission to the air and the mercury content in the consumed coal in power station equipped with the electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) is discussed.     

Benchmarking of power cycles with CO2 capture—The impact of the selected framework

The paper puts focus on the selection of an appropriate framework for benchmarking studies of power cycles with CO₂ capture. The need for a reference power plant without CO₂ capture in a benchmarking study is emphasized. The impact of the use of site-specific plant boundary conditions is discussed as well as the selection of computational assumptions to reflect future technology development. A significant part of the paper is dedicated to a study of how changes in the benchmarking framework to reflect technology development can give additional knowledge about the potential for different CO₂ capture technologies. A major conclusion, based on the findings, is that it should be highly relevant for technology providers to investigate the future development potential for a CO₂ capture technology before launching a product development program.     

Urban Environmental Management in Botswana: Toward a Theoretical Explanation ofPublic Policy Failure

For the last three and half decades, Botswana has been widely acclaimed to be one of sub-Saharan Africa's longest and most stable liberal democracies, coupled with and sustained by a growing economy. One of the major contradictions, however, within this development scenario, has been the neglect of environmental problems in the country in general, and urban environmental issues in particular. Part of the problem fueling the misconception of environmental issues in Botswana is the state's domination of the country's environmental agenda. This is linked to the power disjunction in decision-making and policy processes between state and nonstate actors over the most appropriate course of action to tackle the problems. Without adopting appropriate analytical frameworks, it is possible that the problem of urban environmental mismanagement in Botswana will persist. This article examines some of the major urban environmental issues in Botswana from neighborhood, citywide, and urban–rural interface perspectives. Further, the elite theory of public policy is used to explain constraints on policy change in the urban environmental management arena in Botswana.     

风力发电场的主要环境问题

本文介绍了风电场建设时周边环境的有利、不利影响及风力发电场选址的气象、社会自然条件,并就此提出建议。     

Optimum Heat Conductance Distribution for Power Optimization of a Regenerated Closed Brayton Cycle

In this paper, the power output of the cycle is taken as objective for performance optimization of an irreversible regenerated closed Brayton cycle coupled to constant-temperature thermal energy reservoirs in the viewpoint of finite time thermodynamics (FTT) or entropy generation minimization (EGM). The analytical formulae about the relations between power output and pressure ratio are derived with the heat resistance losses in the hot- and cold-side heat exchangers and the regenerator, the irreversible compression and expansion losses in the compressor and turbine, and the pressure drop loss in the piping. The maximum power output optimization is performed by searching the optimum heat conductance distribution corresponding to the optimum power output among the hot- and cold-side heat exchangers and the regenerator for the fixed total heat exchanger inventory. The influence of some design parameters, including the temperature ratio of the heat reservoirs, the total heat exchanger inventory, the efficiencies of the compressor and the turbine, and the pressure recovery coefficient, on the optimum heat conductance distribution and the maximum power output are provided. The power plant design with optimization leads to smaller size including the compressor, turbine, and the hot- and cold-side heat exchangers and the regenerator.     

核电站气载放射性流出物环境辐射剂量计算

计算大亚湾核电站正常工况下气载放射性流出物对80km的大气环境防护距离内的公众所致辐射剂量。根据大亚湾核电站2001年气载放射性流出物排放量,逐时观测气象数据及相关参数,选用修正的高斯烟羽模型和美国核管会导则1.109的食物链模型,运用美国橡树岭国家实验室编制的AIRDOS-EPA程序,程序经修改后适合于中国核设施的计算。计算得到2001年大亚湾核电站气态放射性流出物对周边80km范围内的公众所致的年均集体剂量为4.722E-3人·希,最大个人有效剂量为1.362E-8希。结果表明,2001年大亚湾核电站正常工况下,气载放射性流出物对周围公众造成的剂量当量远低于国家标准,对周边地区居民健康几乎没有影响。     

基于升流式厌氧污泥床反应器的微生物燃料电池的研究

构建了一种基于升流式厌氧污泥床反应器（UASB）的微生物燃料电池（MFCs）,利用UASB高效去除COD能力及连续进样方式,获得稳定电能输出。考察了水力停留时间、进液方式、电极材料、离子交换膜种类、溶液离子强度等因素对于MFCs性能的影响。实验结果表明：在水力停留时间6h、连续进液、高纯石墨板电极以及均相阳离子交换膜条件下,连续运行3个月,放电功率稳定在145mW／m^2,开路电压0．78V,放电电流最高可达321mA／m^2。