Wheat straw and peat for fuel pellets—organic compounds from combustion

Wood pellets are an environmentally friendly biofuel with no net contribution to global warming. Today, the demand for wood pellets for residential heating is rapidly increasing in Sweden and many other countries. Therefore, alternative raw materials for pellet production, such as wheat straw and peat, are of great interest.Before these new fuels are widely used, it is important to study the emissions to air during combustion. The smoke contains a large number of compounds which, to varying degrees, can affect health and the environment. Specific organic compounds from five sequential combustion stages; initial smouldering, early flaming, late flaming, after-flame smouldering and final glowing, were determined for incomplete combustion of straw and peat/wood pellets on a laboratory scale and compared to those from softwood pellets.The emissions from incomplete combustion reflect the chemical composition of the fuel. During initial smouldering of the studied fuels, methoxyphenols from the lignin of the fuels were released at high concentrations. Relatively high concentrations of 1,6-anhydroglucose and furan-related compounds, originating from the polysaccharides of the fuel, were also found during this stage, especially in peat/wood pellet smoke. During flaming burning, wood pellets burned more efficiently and with even lower emissions than the other fuels. After-flame smouldering of the studied pellets, especially straw pellets, released high concentrations of compounds that are hazardous to health and the environment.     

城市照明规划中光污染评价指标与方法研究

针对日益增长的城市夜间光污染问题进行研究,讨论了科学化监测与评价光污染的必要性,探讨了评价与监测指标,提出光污染总体评价指标,分别为环境亮度分区、熄灯时间、光色控制、区域间距控制、上射光比例、亮度平衡,以及光污染监测技术指标,即照度、光源闪烁度、有效光照区域、照射时间、眩光控制水平、天顶亮度。最后,从城市夜景照明总体规划角度,提出城市光污染评价程序,以期建立完善的城市光环境规划、评价与保障体系。     

中西方建筑环境史观演变浅析

从历史和系统的角度重新审视现代室内环境构筑的策略和技术是保证社会可持续性发展的重要课题。本文通过分析农耕文明与工业文明时期建筑用能的变化趋势,从生产力和生产关系发展的角度阐述了不同生产力发展时期生活方式对建筑环境营造策略和技术发展变化趋势的影响,总结了不同时期建筑环境营造策略和技术的特点,提出了中国在面临能源、环境、健康三大危机时,集成式的自然调节建筑设计方法和理论、建筑室内环境适应性热舒适标准理论和基于中医理论的室内环境健康标准理论是现代中国建筑环境营造策略和技术的必然之选和发展方向。     

Analysis of a monthly auction for financial transmission rights and flow-gate rights

A monthly transmission rights (TR) auction issuing both point-to-point financial transmission rights (FTRs) and flow-gate rights (FGRs) is studied in this paper. Initially, a locational marginal pricing (LMP) based energy market is presented, in which the linear security constrained optimal power flow (SCOPF) problem is solved for each hour of system operation, determining the nodal prices, the transmission link capacity prices and the transmission congestion charges (TCCs) that should be collected by the ISO in case of congestion. A monthly auction is conducted in the TR market issuing FTR obligations, FTR options and FGRs to market players, building a link between all types of transmission rights under the same market structure. Combining the advantages of financial and physical rights, the market efficiency can be enhanced by offering a variety of choices for risk management to market players. The monthly TR auction is tested on several case studies using the IEEE three-area RTS96 and useful conclusions are drawn concerning the utility of the various types of transmission rights as compared to one another, in terms of the reimbursement they provide to their holders.     

Non-adiabatic boundaries and thermal stratification in a confined volume

Heating experiments have been performed during 1.5–18 days in a confined room of volume about 300 m³ in an underground quarry near Paris (France). During heating, a thermal stratification of the atmosphere is observed. After a time depending on the presence or not of ventilation, this stratification reaches a stationary state during which the temperature difference between the rock and the atmosphere is constant. During this stationary phase, both temperatures increase linearly with time. We propose here a new model of filling box with radiative heat exchanges and cooling by direct contact at the boundaries, which accounts for the observed vertical profiles of temperature in the atmosphere, and for the temperature variation with time. Such contributions of heat transfer at the boundaries are important in situations such as fire in confined cavities, presence of visitors in a painted cave, or in the study of building ventilation.     

Surface and bulk modification for advanced electrode design in photoelectrochemical water splitting

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting provides a prominent strategy for harnessing solar energy in the production of sustainable hydrogen fuel from water. Over the past few decades, extensive efforts have been devoted to develop advanced electrodes for efficient PEC water splitting. This review presents the recent progress in the development of efficient photoanodes through two major approaches: surface modification, including co-catalyst-loading, passivation, and defect engineering; and bulk modification, including hybridization, dopant engineering, and structural control. By virtue of bulk and surface modification a considerable improvement in PEC activity has been obtained so far. Photocurrent response of various anodes observed in the range of 0.063 mA cm⁻² – 8.5 mA cm⁻² (as listed in Table 1) require further improvement to upgrade the overall performance efficiency of PEC cells.This review also provides a systematic overview of the fundamentals of PEC water splitting, as well as the key challenges and notable achievements made so far in terms of electrode design and material modification. Finally, future research perspectives that will further advance this field are discussed. The contribution of this paper is to provide fundamental information about bulk and surface modifications, which will aid in the design of advanced electrodes for high-performance PEC cells.     

An alternative approach for the prevention of deforestation using renewable energies as substitute

The promotion of the adoption of renewable energies in deprived and remote areas can be considered as an important step towards reduction of threats to the loss of biodiversity through community mobilization. One important outcome is mitigation of the deforestation processes through firewood collection. The aim is achievement of sustainable development of the forest biodiversity, awareness raising and the capacity building for execution of similar projects. The social and economical aspects and the obstacles for execution of such project were investigated and guidelines were prepared to facilitate the promotion of renewable energy in similar small communities.     

壁挂式太阳能空气集热器变风量控制运行效果研究

本文以壁挂式太阳能空气集热器(Wall-mounted Solar Air Collector,WSAC)为研究对象,采用现场实测和理论分析的方法,通过研究太阳辐射照度、送风量与WSAC瞬时效率以及纯效率的关联性,提出了综合考虑建筑能耗时变风量工况下提高WSAC运行效率的途径.而后,利用实体大实验房,分别采用连续定风量...     

基于生态足迹法低碳住宅系统构筑的分析

生态足迹分析方法作为一种衡量自然资本可持续利用的生物物理定量评价工具,得到了越来越广泛的关注和应用.一栋建筑从设计、建设到运营、拆毁,需要消耗大量的资源和能源.本文选取2种类型的低碳住宅和对比住宅为研究对象,通过对生态足迹、生物承载力以及生态足迹指数等的计算分析,阐述了建设阶段和运营阶段生态足迹比重的变化以及各项资源所占生态足迹比重的对比,为明确低碳建筑的设计方向提供了参考依据.     

Angler preferences for management of aquatic invasive species in the USA and Canada: A discrete choice experiment

Aquatic invasive species (AIS) management in the Great Lakes region of North America requires coordination between multiple agencies and stakeholder groups. Because the Great Lakes are an internationally managed entity, an understanding of policy preferences among stakeholders across borders is crucial for making both comprehensive and evidence-based decisions about fishery resources. We evaluated angler preferences for how future fishing scenarios are affected by aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes region. Using a mixed-mode survey of anglers in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, and the Canadian province of Ontario, we conducted a stated choice experiment to understand and compare American and Canadian anglers. Results from a mixed multinomial logit model suggested fish habitat quality, amount of native fish species, impact of invasive species, availability of wash stations, and cost significantly influenced hypothetical scenarios chosen by survey respondents. Fish habitat and increased availability of boat wash stations had the greatest influence on the likelihood that a given scenario would be chosen by a survey respondent. We observed predominantly similar patterns across the border but did find that Canadians had stronger preferences for limiting AIS impacts and improving habitat quality. Our research thus suggests that an internationally consistent management approach would likely be well received among the anglers engaged in this study.