Comparative analysis of available life cycle inventories of cement in the EU

Life cycle inventories (LCIs) are a prerequisite of life-cycle assessments (LCA). This paper conducts a comparative analysis of inventories of several different types of cement produced in Europe. It considers the production of 1 kg of cement from cradle to gate, and all results are based on this mass unit. The reliability of cement inventories is affected by inaccurate or nonrepresentative data, and comparative analysis is difficult due to varying system boundary definitions. Only the four main emissions (CO₂, NOx, SO₂ and dust) are considered. The theoretical model used gives reasonable estimates of emission levels and, thus, can serve as a reference to measured values. In the case of CO₂, this is definitely a feasible alternative to in situ measurements. The emissions derive primarily from the production of clinker, both from the chemical reactions occurring in the kiln and by its fossil fuel consumption.     

Physicochemical characterization of sahti,an ‘ancient’ beer style indigenous to Finland

Sahti, a strong, unhopped farmhouse beer flavoured with juniper, is still actively brewed in rural areas in Finland. Presented here is the first comprehensive analysis of the physical and chemical properties of this unique beer style. Twelve sahti samples from the southwest of Finland were analysed and, while properties varied, the beers generally had high levels of alcohol (mean = 7.9% ABV) and high residual extract (mean = 9.5°P). Foam stability was negligible, as is typical for the style, and glycerol concentrations at 3.1 – 4.7 g L^?1 were higher than in reference beers (commercial lager, wheat beer and porter). These features may be attributed to the very high gravity conditions employed in brewing sahti beers. Bitterness levels were relatively low (3–13 IBU) owing to the absence or moderate use of hops. All samples contained detectable levels of the clove‐like compound 4‐vinylguaiacol owing to the use of baker's rather than brewer's yeast for brewing. Concentrations of higher alcohols and esters were high, with many individual aroma compounds being above the normal flavour thresholds. Results have highlighted the uniqueness of this style of beer in comparison to commercially available beers and have contributed to our understanding of the reasons for the particular sensorial properties of this traditional beer style. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Degradation of EDTA and novel complexing agents in pulp and paper mill process and waste waters by Fenton's reagent

Fenton's process was used in oxidative degradation of ethylediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and novel complexing agents, namely BCA5 and BCA6, in distilled water and spiked samples of integrated pulp and paper mill waste water and ECF-pulp bleaching effluent. In waste water, over 90% of EDTA was degraded within 3 min when temperature was 60 degrees C, pH 4, and molecular ratio of H2O2:Fe2+:EDTA was 70:2:1 (0.26 mM EDTA) or higher. In spiked ECF bleaching effluent up to 42% of EDTA was degraded in similar reaction conditions, still higher than published results indicate biological waste water treatment of pulp and paper mill waste water being capable of. In pH 3, EDTA proved readily degradable by Fenton's process in otherwise similar conditions. According to these results, Fenton's process could be used as a pre-treatment method for EDTA-containing bleaching effluents prior to the biological waste water treatment. In addition, BCA5 and BCA6 proved their superiority in terms of degradability also by Fenton's process in both pH 3 and 4.     

Biodegradation of novel amino acid derivatives suitable for complexing agents in pulp bleaching applications

The biodegradability of four novel diethanolamine derivative complexing agents was examined by using two biodegradation tests standardised by OECD (301B and 301F). Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) were employed as reference substances. Biodegradation of the new complexing agents was studied both with unacclimated and acclimated inocula as well as by simulating wastewater treatment in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). These new complexing agents were of technical grade, and therefore, the results are only indicative but these new compounds hold promise for use as complexing agents in the pulp and paper industry.The novel complexing agents were not readily biodegradable but they showed slight biodegradation. Around 10-30% degradation was found in the SBR where degradation was followed by measurement of concentration. Moreover the novel complexing agents did not have any negative impact on reactor performance as measured by chemical oxygen demand reduction. In the standardised biodegradation tests at best around 50% degradation was observed with the acclimated inoculum and in the prolonged test whereas EDTA and DTPA exhibited no biodegradation. The elevated degradation in acclimated sludge indicates that the water treatment plant microbes are capable of decomposing these molecules under favourable conditions. The total concentration of novel complexing agents decreased slightly during biodegradation tests, while the EDTA and DTPA concentrations remained stable.     

Integrating conservation planning and landuse planning in urban landscapes

The rapid growth of cities around the world is now seen as a major contributor to global biodiversity loss and many governments include biodiversity conservation as an explicit policy goal. To help prevent further loss of biodiversity, there is an urgent need for more strategic approaches to conservation planning in urban environments based on a scientific understanding of landscape patterns, species requirements and development pressures. In this study, we demonstrate the use of new conservation planning tools to better integrate information on threatened species into landuse planning. We present a case study in the Greater Melbourne area that utilises the Zonation conservation planning tool with data for 30 threatened fauna species. We perform a multi-species spatial prioritisation that incorporates species-specific connectivity requirements and demonstrate the use of this information in a number of landuse planning contexts. First, we quantitatively assess the differences between Melbourne's current conservation areas with the locations prioritised by Zonation and determine priority areas for their extension. We then show how the prioritisation can be used in decisions regarding Melbourne's Urban Growth Boundary and in rezoning land for development. Finally, we demonstrate how the prioritisation can be used to identify areas of conservation significance within individual developments that account for the wider landscape context. These results demonstrate how conservation planning tools can be better integrated into the different stages of landuse planning for future urban growth.     

Photocatalytic degradation of phenol in aqueous solution by rare earth-doped SnO2 nanoparticles

The influence of heterogeneous semiconductors on the photodegradation of phenol in water was investigated using doped tin dioxide (SnO₂) nanoparticles. Photocatalysts of SnO₂ were synthesized with lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), and neodymium (Nd) dopants. These photocatalysts were synthesized from tin tetrachloride by sol–gel method with different dopant concentrations, and its photocatalytic degradation was investigated up to 0.8 % under UV-A light in aqueous suspensions. The photocatalytic oxidation reactions were studied by varying photocatalyst composition, light intensity, reaction time, pH of the reaction medium, and phenol concentration. It was found that the photocatalytic activity of rare earth-doped SnO₂ for phenol decomposition under UV light irradiation was considerably higher than that of pure SnO₂ nanoparticles. The experimental results also indicate that more than 95 % phenol was effectively oxidized in the presence of an aqueous suspension of La: SnO₂ nanoparticles within 120 min of UV light irradiation.     

Porosity enhancement of activated carbon by hydrolyzed lignin from black liquor

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - In this work, the porosity enhancement of activated carbon by hydrolyzed lignin extracted from black liquor was studied. Lignin was treated before...     

Template-free synthesis of self-assembled Co3O4 micro/nanocrystals

In this article, we have reported the fabrication of various morphological porous Co3O4 by thermal decomposition of cobalt oxalate at open atmospheric conditions. Uniform cobalt oxalate microrods and microneedles were synthesized without using any surfactants or templates in large scale. The cobalt oxalate preparation method was played a crucial role on the crystal structure and its morphology. The as prepared cobalt oxalates and its corresponding cobalt oxides were characterized by using the thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nitrogen adsorption analysis. The XRD results indicated that the orthorhombic and monoclinic cobalt oxalates were formed in different experimental conditions. The influence of preparation method of cobalt oxalates and cobalt precursors on the final morphology has been investigated. The M-H loop of the Co3O4 porous microrods and microneedles showed the presence of paramagnetic properties at room temperatures. A plausible mechanism of both cobalt oxalates and Co3O4 formation was proposed based on the experimental results.     

“Plug-up”–a new concept for fabricating SOI MEMS devices

This paper reports a novel process sequence for fabricating micromechanical devices on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. Among the merits of the described process are its improved immunity to stiction and elimination of conductor metal endurance problems during sacrificial etching in hydrofluoric acid. With this novel process one can controllably embed vacuum cavities within SOI substrates. Further processing of such cavity wafers enables realization of a wide variety of micromechanical devices based on single crystalline silicon or even integrated read-out circuitry.K. Järvi and T. Häkkinen are gratefully acknowledged for the device fabrication. The Finnish National Technology Agency, Okmetic, VTI Technologies, and Micro Analog Systems participated in funding this work. The ultrasonic devices were fabricated in collaboration with Autotank, Oras, Suunto, Vaisala, and Enermet.