Optimal Policies for Aggregate Recycling from Decommissioned Forest Roads

To mitigate the adverse environmental impact of forest roads, especially degradation of endangered salmonid habitat, many public and private land managers in the western United States are actively decommissioning roads where practical and affordable. Road decommissioning is associated with reduced long-term environmental impact. When decommissioning a road, it may be possible to recover some aggregate (crushed rock) from the road surface. Aggregate is used on many low volume forest roads to reduce wheel stresses transferred to the subgrade, reduce erosion, reduce maintenance costs, and improve driver comfort. Previous studies have demonstrated the potential for aggregate to be recovered and used elsewhere on the road network, at a reduced cost compared to purchasing aggregate from a quarry. This article investigates the potential for aggregate recycling to provide an economic incentive to decommission additional roads by reducing transport distance and aggregate procurement costs for other actively used roads. Decommissioning additional roads may, in turn, result in improved aquatic habitat. We present real-world examples of aggregate recycling and discuss the advantages of doing so. Further, we present mixed integer formulations to determine optimal levels of aggregate recycling under economic and environmental objectives. Tested on an example road network, incorporation of aggregate recycling demonstrates substantial cost-savings relative to a baseline scenario without recycling, increasing the likelihood of road decommissioning and reduced habitat degradation. We find that aggregate recycling can result in up to 24% in cost savings (economic objective) and up to 890% in additional length of roads decommissioned (environmental objective).     

Classifying environmentally significant urban land uses with satellite imagery

We investigated Bayesian networks to classify urban land use from satellite imagery. Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM(+)) images were used for the classification in two study areas: (1) Marina del Rey and its vicinity in the Santa Monica Bay Watershed, CA and (2) drainage basins adjacent to the Sweetwater Reservoir in San Diego, CA. Bayesian networks provided 80-95% classification accuracy for urban land use using four different classification systems. The classifications were robust with small training data sets with normal and reduced radiometric resolution. The networks needed only 5% of the total data (i.e., 1500 pixels) for sample size and only 5- or 6-bit information for accurate classification. The network explicitly showed the relationship among variables from its structure and was also capable of utilizing information from non-spectral data. The classification can be used to provide timely and inexpensive land use information over large areas for environmental purposes such as estimating stormwater pollutant loads.     

Economic and policy instrument analyses in support of the scrap tire recycling program in Taiwan

Understanding the cost-effectiveness and the role of economic and policy instruments, such as the combined product tax-recycling subsidy scheme or a tradable permit, for scrap tire recycling has been of crucial importance in a market-oriented environmental management system. Promoting product (tire) stewardship on one hand and improving incentive-based recycling policy on the other hand requires a comprehensive analysis of the interfaces and interactions in the nexus of economic impacts, environmental management, environmental valuation, and cost-benefit analysis. This paper presents an assessment of the interfaces and interactions between the implementation of policy instruments and its associated economic evaluation for sustaining a scrap tire recycling program in Taiwan during the era of the strong economic growth of the late 1990s. It begins with an introduction of the management of the co-evolution between technology metrics of scrap tire recycling and organizational changes for meeting the managerial goals island-wide during the 1990s. The database collected and used for such analysis covers 17 major tire recycling firms and 10 major tire manufacturers at that time. With estimates of scrap tire generation and possible scale of subsidy with respect to differing tire recycling technologies applied, economic analysis eventually leads to identify the associated levels of product tax with respect to various sizes of new tires. It particularly demonstrates a broad perspective of how an integrated econometric and engineering economic analysis can be conducted to assist in implementing policy instruments for scrap tire management. Research findings indicate that different subsidy settings for collection, processing, and end use of scrap tires should be configured to ameliorate the overall managerial effectiveness. Removing the existing boundaries between designated service districts could strengthen the competitiveness of scrap tires recycling industry, helping to reduce the required levels of product tax and subsidy. With such initial breakthroughs at hand to handle the complexity of scrap tire recycling technologies, there remains unique management and policy avenues left to explore if a multi-dimensional solution is to be successful in the long run.     

基于最优拍卖数量和资金再分配模型的碳市场有偿分配机制研究

拍卖作为一种有偿分配机制已经确立为我国碳市场配额分配的基本方式之一,而拍卖机制的灵活运用以及与市场运行之间的关系也成为实践中亟待解决的难题。传统的排放权拍卖理论以政府收入最大化作为目标函数,并没有将企业预算和交易策略纳入到分析框架中,同时对于拍卖收入资金的再分配方法缺乏可行的指导。本文将企业的成本约束(或预算)作为一个因素引入,提出了最优拍卖数量模型以及基于双重红利思想的资金再分配模型。分析表明最优拍卖数量由企业的边际减排成本和二级市场弹性系数决定,二级市场弹性系数则取决于排放的不确定性水平;边际减排成本越高的企业,其承受的拍卖成本随着拍卖价格增长越快,这可能导致减排空间小的企业承担的拍卖成本增长过高,从而产生不公平问题,因此本文提出了一种基于多轮竞价的资金分配策略,根据企业参加拍卖的投标情况间接评估企业的边际减排成本水平,并制定相应的补贴标准。最后以广东碳市场为例,从市场结构、履约成本、市场价格三个方面深入讨论了拍卖对碳市场的影响以及最优参数的选择策略。广东的经验为拍卖机制的引入提供了良好的建议:在二级市场流动性不足,价格发现能力较弱的情况下,引入拍卖机制可以快速建立一级市场的价格发现机制;由于历史法的不可靠,拍卖会将履约成本分配不合理的问题进一步放大,加剧市场的不公平问题,甚至出现劣币驱逐良币的现象,但拍卖收入资金的循环利用可以在一定程度上纠正这一问题;短期内拍卖底价是政府建立市场预期的辅助工具,是在二级市场供求关系尚未建立时的一种过渡手段,但从长期来看随着二级市场的成熟,底价政策应该逐渐放松或退出,建立起一级市场价格与二级市场价格联动的定价机制。     

废旧手机回收意愿影响因素的实证研究 ——基于兰州市居民的调查

随着手机的不断更新升级,消费者更换手机的频率越来越高,废旧手机的回收引起了社会关注.基于兰州市居民的调查,通过问卷数据,探讨了废旧手机回收意愿的影响因素.结果表明:环保知识、经济动机、回收渠道对废旧手机回收意愿有显著正向影响,且影响程度依次递减,但主观规范对废旧手机的回收意愿并没有显著影响.最后提出促进兰州市居民废旧手...     

中国资源循环利用产业金融支持水平和效率的区域差异

资源循环利用产业对于推动我国经济发展方式转变具有重要战略意义,研究该产业的金融支持水平和效率的区域差异,能为推进该产业全面协调发展提供科学依据。本文以该产业的上市企业为研究对象,运用熵权法和GS-SBM模型测算了2016—2020年东、中、西部企业的金融支持水平和效率,利用Malmquist指数和Dagum基尼系数揭示了金融支持水平和效率的演变情况和区域差异。结果表明：(1)我国资源循环利用产业金融支持水平很低,观测期内均值仅为0.067,中部略高于东部,明显高于西部;金融支持效率较高,观测期内均值为0.86,西部>中部>东部;该产业内各子产业的金融支持水平和效率也存在区域差异。(2)该产业在各区域的金融支持水平与效率均呈现水平上升、效率下降的趋势。不同区域的金融支持水平增长速度与来源存在差异,而效率的下降均来源于技术效率水平的恶化。(3)不同区域该产业的金融支持水平差异较大,但水平差异波动下降;金融支持效率差异相对较小,但效率差异波动上升。区域内差异是金融支持水平和效率差异的主要来源。     

油气田开发水资源高效利用探

在油气田开发过程中,尤其是干旱缺水地区,处理好生产用水与产出废水之间的关系是油气田企业可持续发展的重要问题。油气田开发水资源高效利用的最终目的是减少淡水的消耗量,主要体现在新鲜水的合理使用及产出废水的回收再利用两个方面。提出应以产出废水为生产水源,研发适合其水质特征的工作液体系,实现产出废水"免处理"再利用;建立油气田开发水管理体系,根据水的不同用途,科学调配新鲜水和产出废水,实现水资源的高效利用。     

Use of artificial neural network black-box modeling for the prediction of wastewater treatment plants performance

A reliable model for any wastewater treatment plant is essential in order to provide a tool for predicting its performance and to form a basis for controlling the operation of the process. This would minimize the operation costs and assess the stability of environmental balance. This process is complex and attains a high degree of nonlinearity due to the presence of bio-organic constituents that are difficult to model using mechanistic approaches. Predicting the plant operational parameters using conventional experimental techniques is also a time consuming step and is an obstacle in the way of efficient control of such processes. In this work, an artificial neural network (ANN) black-box modeling approach was used to acquire the knowledge base of a real wastewater plant and then used as a process model. The study signifies that the ANNs are capable of capturing the plant operation characteristics with a good degree of accuracy. A computer model is developed that incorporates the trained ANN plant model. The developed program is implemented and validated using plant-scale data obtained from a local wastewater treatment plant, namely the Doha West wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). It is used as a valuable performance assessment tool for plant operators and decision makers. The ANN model provided accurate predictions of the effluent stream, in terms of biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) when using COD as an input in the crude supply stream. It can be said that the ANN predictions based on three crude supply inputs together, namely BOD, COD and TSS, resulted in better ANN predictions when using only one crude supply input. Graphical user interface representation of the ANN for the Doha West WWTP data is performed and presented.     

Effects of redox potential on soil cadmium solubility: Insight into microbial community

Understanding the role of microbes in the solubility of cadmium (Cd) is of fundamental importance for remediation of Cd toxicity. The present study aimed to identify the microbes that involved in regulating Cd solubility and to reveal possible mechanisms. Therefore, microbial communities were investigated through high-throughput sequencing approach, the molecular ecological network was constructed and metagenomes were predicted. Our results indicated that redox conditions affected both the solubility of soil Cd and the microbial communities. Anaerobic microbes, such as Anaerolineaceae, did not only play important roles in shaping the microbial community in soils, but might also be involved in regulating the Cd solubility. Two possible mechanisms that how Anaerolineaceae involved in Cd solubility are (1) Anaerolineaceae are important organic matter degraders under anoxic conditions and (2) Anaerolineaceae can co-exist with methane metabolism microbes, while methane metabolism promotes the precipitation of soluble Cd. Thus, application of Anaerolineaceae in bioremediation of soil Cadmium contamination is a potential approach. The study provided a novel insight into the role of microbial community in the regulation of Cd solubility under different redox conditions, and suggested a potential approach for the remediation of soil Cd contamination.     

回灌条件下的土壤蒸发处理研究

采用模型实验方法,模拟垃圾填埋场土壤层进行研究。结果表明在回灌条件下,填埋场覆土层的水分饱和程度提高,土壤蒸发条件发生 变化,土壤蒸发按蒸发能力进行,接近甚至可能大于水面蒸发量。通过循环蒸发处理,垃圾渗滤液可以大量削减。