An Integrated Assessment by Models for Energy Systems Analysis and Life-Cycle Assessment with a Case Study of Advanced Fossil-Fired Power Plants in China

We developed an integrated assessment (IA) using models for energy systems analysis and life-cycle assessment (LCA). Based on this assessment framework, we developed cost-benefit analysis (CBA) case studies for a hypothetical project designed to introduce advanced fossil-fired power generation technologies in China. Our MARKAL model for Japan confirmed that radical reductions (i.e., 80 % by 2050) of carbon dioxide (CO₂) could be attained from energy systems alone and that credit for emission allowances was required. We evaluated life-cycle costs and emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxide, and nitrogen oxide gases for the energy technologies using an LCA model. Further, we applied a power generation planning model for six Chinese grids to provide a power mix structure, potentially producing credit by installing fossil-fired power generation technology and by using baseline grid emission factors with an average cost of electricity. Finally, by using dynamic emission reductions and additional costs from the two models, we conducted case studies of CBA for a hypothetical project to install the technologies in China. This was accomplished by evaluating emission reductions in monetary terms and by applying a life-cycle impact assessment model. A unique feature of our IA is its dynamic (time-varying) assessment of costs and benefits.     

Levels of PCDDs, PCDFs and Co-PCBs in human milk in Saitama, Japan, and epidemiological research

From 1998 to 2000, the dioxin levels were measured in the milk of 299 mothers who lived in Saitama prefecture, Japan. Factors that influenced the dioxin levels were investigated based on a questionnaire given to the milk donors at that time. It was found that the dioxin levels in the milk of the mothers who smoked were lower than those of non-smokers, and the dioxin levels were generally low in the mothers who were heavy smokers. The average dioxin levels in the milk of mothers who had been breast-fed were higher than those given formula, and there was a significant difference in the dioxin congeners. It was also found that the dioxin levels in milk of the women who regularly consumed fish and shellfish were generally higher. There was a strong correlation between summation operator TEQ and PCB126. The data suggested that PCB126 could be a useful indicator for the simplified analysis of dioxin in human milk.     

100-year simulation of mercury emissions from landfilled stabilized mercury waste

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Owing to Minamata Convention on mercury, the final disposal of mercury in environmentally safe manners will be required. Mercury disposal in...     

Polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes in Japanese environmental samples and their photodegradability and dioxin-like endocrine-disruption potential

Polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs) in sediment, soil, and fly ash samples collected in Japan were analyzed and their dioxin-like endocrine-disruption potential and photodegradability investigated. PCDTs were detected in all three types of sample, although the concentrations were lower than those of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). An Ah-immunoassay confirmed that 2,3,7,8-TeCDT, 1,2,3,7,8-PeCDT, 1,2,3,7,8,9-HxCDT, and 1,2,3,4,7,8,9-HpCDT had Ah receptor-binding activities, which means that these PCDTs have the potential to cause dioxin-like endocrine-disruption. Photodegradation of PCDTs by UV irradiation was accompanied by dechlorination. The photodegradation rates of 2,3,7,8-TeCDT and OCDT were lower than the rates for the corresponding PCDF isomers (2,3,7,8-TeCDF and OCDF), which indicates that PCDTs are more stable than PCDFs to photodegradation.     

Touch-free in situ investigation of ancient Egyptian pigments

 Some of the pigments painted on the Funerary Stele of Amenemhat (ca. 2000 B.C.) exhibited at the Egyptian Museum, Cairo and on the walls of the Tomb of Userhat (ca. 1450 B.C.), a rock-cut tomb in Thebes, Egypt, were investigated in situ using both a convenient home-made hand-held type of X-ray diffractometer and a commercial X-ray fluorescence spectrometer in a complementary way under touch-free conditions. CaCO₃ · 3MgCO₃ (huntite) was found in the white-painted parts of these two ancient monuments. An arsenic (As)-bearing phase was detected in the yellow-painted parts of the latter monument. The occurrence of huntite in Egypt has not been reported previously. Received: 8 October 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 10 March 2000     

Coherent array of branched filamentary scales along the wing margin of a small moth

In butterflies and moths, the wing margins are fringed with specialized scales that are typically longer than common scales. In the hindwings of some small moths, the posterior margins are fringed with particularly long filamentary scales. Despite the small size of these moth wings, these scales are much longer than those of large moths and butterflies. In the current study, photography of the tethered flight of a small moth, Phthorimaea operculella, revealed a wide array composed of a large number of long filamentary scales. This array did not become disheveled in flight, maintaining a coherent sheet-like structure during wingbeat. Examination of the morphology of individual scales revealed that each filamentary scale consists of a proximal stalk and distal branches. Moreover, not only long scales but also shorter scales of various lengths were found to coexist in each small section of the wing margin. Scale branches were ubiquitously and densely distributed within the scale array to form a mesh-like architecture similar to a nonwoven fabric. We propose that possible mechanical interactions among branched filamentary scales, mediated by these branches, may contribute to maintaining a coherent sheet-like structure of the scale array during wingbeat.     

Bioremediation of coastal areas 5 years after the Nakhodka oil spill in the Sea of Japan: isolation and characterization of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria

Five years after the 1997 Nakhodka oil spill in the Sea of Japan, seven bacterial strains capable of utilizing the heavy oil spilled from the Nakhodka Russian oil tanker were isolated from three coastal areas (namely Katano Seashore of Fukui Prefecture, Osawa and Atake seashores of Ishikawa Prefecture) and the Nakhodka Russian oil tanker after a 5-year bioremediation process. All bacterial strains isolated could utilize long-chain-length alkanes efficiently, but not aromatic, and all of them were able to grow well on heavy oil. Using 16S rDNA sequencing, most of the strains were affiliated to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Comparing between the year 1997 (at the beginning of bioremediation process) and the year 2001 (after 5 years of bioremediation), there was no significant change in morphology and size of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria during the 5-year bioremediation. Scanning and transmission electron microscopic observations revealed that a large number of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria still existed in the sites consisting of a variety of morphological forms of bacteria, such as coccus (Streptococcus and Staphylococcus) and bacillus (Streptobacillus). On the application of bioremediation processes on the laboratory-scale, laboratory microcosm experiments (containing seawater, beach sand, and heavy oil) under aerobic condition by two different treatments (i.e., placed the inside building and the outside building) were established for bioremediation of heavy oil to investigate the significance of the role of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria on them. There was no significant bacterial activity differentiation in the two treatments, and removal of heavy oil by hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in the outside building was slightly greater than that in the inside building. The values of pH, Eh, EC, and dissolved oxygen (DO) in two treatments indicated that the bioremediation process took place under aerobic conditions (DO: 1-6 mg/l; Eh: 12-300 mV) and neutral-alkaline conditions (pH 6.4-8) with NaCl concentrations of 3-15% (ECs of 45-200 mS/cm).