Policy integration in the EU governance of global food security

The global food price spikes of 2007–8 and 2010 led to increased awareness of the complexity of food (in)security as a policy problem that crosscuts traditional sectoral, spatial and temporal scales. At the European Union (EU) level, this awareness resulted in calls for better integrated approaches to govern food security. This paper addresses the question of to what extent these calls were followed by an actual shift towards better integrated EU food security governance. We address this question by applying a processual policy integration framework that distinguishes four integration dimensions: (i) the policy frame, (ii) subsystem involvement, (iii) policy goals, and (iv) policy instruments. The empirical body of evidence for assessing shifts in these dimensions draws upon an extensive analysis of EU documents complemented with interview data. We find that policy integration advanced to at least some degree: the policy frame expanded towards new dimensions of food security; a wider array of subsystems started discussing food security concerns; food security goals diversified somewhat and there was an increased awareness of coherence and linkages with other issues; existing instruments, including internal procedural instruments, were expanded and made more consistent; and new types of instruments were developed. At the same time, significant differences exist between policy domains and policy integration efforts seem to have come to a halt in recent years. We conclude with various policy recommendations and suggestions for follow-up research.     

The synthesis of poly(butylene terephthalate) from terephthalic acid,part II: Assessment of the first stage of the polymerization process

The production of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) struggles with the formation of substantial amounts of tetrahydrofuran (THF). When PBT is synthesized from terephthalic acid (TPA) instead of dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), even more THF is formed, mainly during the first stage of the melt polymerization process. Although a lot of literature reports on the existence of this side reaction in both processes, to the best of our knowledge, a comparison, which reveals the importance of the acidity and insolubility of TPA on the THF formation, was never described. Finally, an interesting study was performed on the THF formation during the synthesis of PBT from mixtures of DMT and TPA as well as from the completely soluble monomethyl terephthalate (MMT). © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Reduced iron induced nitric oxide and nitrous oxide emission

Formation of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide in water treatment systems is predominantly studied as a biological phenomenon. There are indications that also chemical processes contribute to these emissions. Here we studied the formation of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) due to chemical nitrite reduction by ferrous iron (Fe(II)). Reduction of nitrite and NO coupled to Fe(II) oxidation was studied in laboratory-scale chemical experiments at different pH, nitrite and iron concentrations. The continuous measurement of both NO and N₂O emission showed that nitrite reduction and NO reduction have different kinetics. Nitrite reduction shows a linear dependency on the nitrite concentration, implying first order kinetics in nitrite. The nitrite reduction seems to be an equilibrium based reaction, leading to a constant NO concentration in the liquid. The NO reduction rate is suggested to be most dependent on reactive surface availability and the sorption of Fe(II) to the reactive surface. The importance of emission of NO and N₂O coupled to iron oxidation is exemplified by iron reduction experiments and several examples of environments where this pathway can play a role.     

Role of syntrophic microbial communities in high-rate methanogenic bioreactors

Anaerobic purification is a cost-effective way to treat high strength industrial wastewater. Through anaerobic treatment of wastewaters energy is conserved as methane, and less sludge is produced. For high-rate methanogenesis compact syntrophic communities of fatty acid-degrading bacteria and methanogenic archaea are essential. Here, we describe the microbiology of syntrophic communities in methanogenic reactor sludges and provide information on which microbiological factors are essential to obtain high volumetric methane production rates. Fatty-acid degrading bacteria have been isolated from bioreactor sludges, but also from other sources such as freshwater sediments. Despite the important role that fatty acid-degrading bacteria play in high-rate methanogenic bioreactors, their relative numbers are generally low. This finding indicates that the microbial community composition can be further optimized to achieve even higher rates.     

Material Properties and Glass Transition Temperatures of Different Thermoplastic Starches After Extrusion Processing

Four different starch sources, namely waxy maize, wheat, potato and pea starch were extruded with the plasticizer glycerol, the latter in concentrations of 15, 20 and 25% (w/w). The glass transition temperatures of the resulting thermoplastic products were measured by Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA). Beside mechanical and structural properties also the transition temperatures of the materials were evaluated during tensile and impact tests. Above certain glycerol contents, dependent on the starch source, a lower glass transition temperature T_g resulted in decreased modulus and tensile strengths and increased elongations. Lowering the T_g at different glycerol contents did not influence the impact strength. When the amylose/amylopectin ratio increased a decrease in T_g was found. For pea, wheat, potato and waxy maize starch the T_g was 75 °C, 143 °C, 152 °C and 158 °C, respectively. Therefore products with higher percentages of amylose are more flexible. The shrinkage of the specimens made by injection molding was considerable compared to the specimens made by pressing.