• Energy Research
• Closed Access close
• Restricted close
• 13. Climate action close
• 15. Life on land close
• CZ close

Radiation use efficiency values estimation based on the biomass increment (one approach) and on NPP from eddy covariance (two approaches) estimation of NPP brings the values of 0.13, 0.40, and 0.47 g (C) MJ −1 , respectively. The productivity of terrestrial ecosystems is primarily reliant on the absorption of solar radiation energy and its conversion into biomass. Monteith (1977) first introduced the concept of radiation use efficiency (RUE), which expresses the effectiveness of a plant stand to use solar radiation for the formation of new biomass and to maintain existing biomass. The presented paper uses a long-term, decadal, time series of biomass data, which is based on forest inventory data and an allometric relation, and on the application of eddy covariance (EC) estimation of Net Primary Production (NPP). These approaches provide different values of light use efficiency (LUE). LUE is based on direct carbon exchange estimation, LUE i , which denotes instantaneous efficiency based on the relationship between the daily sum of incident global radiation (GR i ) and NPP and LUES, calculated as the ratio between the sum of NPP and the sum of GR i per growing season. RUE is based on direct yearly biomass increment expressed in carbon units (carbon = 0.5 × biomass) divided by the sum of GR i per year. The obtained values amount to 0.13, 0.40, and 0.47 g(C) MJ−1 for RUE, LUES, and LUE i , respectively. The higher value of LUE i reflects a direct relation with the efficiency of photosynthetic carbon pumping. In contrast, the RUE value, based on biomass inventories, is the result of woody mass formation that is caused by several mutually related physiological processes and “wastages” of radiation utilization.

Abstract Model liquid mixtures of organic compounds containing nitrogen were burned in a laboratory fluidized bed reactor at temperatures ranging from 700 to 900 °C and oxygen concentrations ranging from 2 to 15 vol%. The model solutions included binary mixtures of toluene with pyridine, quinoline, aniline, 1-aminonaphthalene, nitrobenzene and benzonitrile. Several ternary mixtures containing propanol, ethanol, pyridine, thiophene, toluene and urea were also employed. The nitrogen concentrations in the model mixtures varied within the range 0.5–5 wt%. The results showed that the dependence of the NO x emissions on temperature was influenced by the gas phase oxygen concentration. The conversion of the fuel nitrogen to NO x was less dependent on nitrogen compound type than on other factors. The conversions to NO x increased with increasing air excess for combustion and with decreasing organic nitrogen concentrations. Only a weak influence of SO 2 and in situ desulphurization on NO x emissions in the fluidized bed was observed. Addition of water, propanol or ethanol to a model burned mixture caused a significant reduction of NO x emissions.

Abstract The European Union (EU) has the world's most extensive regional power trade, making it essential for the EU environmental energy policies. Understanding the nexus amongst water, power and CO2 emissions is essential for sustainable water and energy resource management. Although a number of related studies on the nexus have been conducted, integrating virtual water and CO2 emission footprints for the power sector requires further attention. The current study analyses the virtual water and CO2 emissions embodied in the power supply, demand and regional trade. A network model is developed to track the virtual water and CO2 emissions of the inter-regional power trade for the case of EU-27 countries in 2017. The total virtual CO2 emissions and the embodied virtual water in the EU inter-regional power trade are estimated as 7.0 × 104 t CO2 and 5.6 × 108 m3, with a hydropower contribution of 37.8%. The largest virtual water and CO2 emissions exporters are identified by France (8.8 × 107 m3) and Germany (2 × 104 t), whilst the largest virtual CO2 importer is Austria (1 × 104 t). The identified synergy of climate mitigation and water scarcity provides a benchmark for policymakers to develop strategies for sustainable power development considering the virtual footprint in trade flow simultaneously.

The growing recognition that global climatic change is a pressing reality and that its impacts on humans and ecological systems are inevitable makes adaptation a core topic in climate change research and policymaking. The glacier tourism sector that is highly sensitive towards changing climatic conditions is among the most relevant in this respect. This study aims to examine empirically how adaptation to climate change impacts is practiced by small- and middle-scale glacier tour operators. Data was collected by means of a set of semi-structured interviews with the managers or owners of nine small- or middle-scale tour companies operating in the Vatnajökull National Park in Southeast Iceland and observations of glacier sites where the respondents' companies are operating. The results indicate that all entrepreneurs consider climate change to be a real phenomenon that affects their present daily operations, but they perceive these implications not as significant threats to their business. The interaction of operator's attributes of agency such as firsthand experiences, risk perceptions, and abilities to self-organize, with structural elements of the glacier destination system such as economic rationales and hazard reduction institutions, has shaped and consolidated operators' adaptation processes in the form of a wait-and-see strategy combined with ad hoc reactive adaptation measures and postponed or prevented proactive long-term adaptation strategies.

Abstract Municipal solid waste treatment leads to the production of a considerable amount of mixed municipal waste, in case of which material recovery is difficult. Its treatment represents a worldwide challenge since landfilling is still a major treatment method and the respective emissions of greenhouse gases are significant. Approximately 126 Mt of municipal solid waste were landfilled or incinerated within the EU-28 in 2017, while the waste management sector produced 3% of the overall greenhouse gases emissions. Regarding mixed municipal waste, Waste-to-Energy plants seem to be a suitable disposal option as they substitute both landfills and energy production from fossil fuels in combined heat and power plants. However, new treatment facilities of this type need to take into account also the heat and electricity demands in their vicinity to ensure economic stability. This paper therefore analyses the relationship between greenhouse gases emissions and the cost of mixed municipal waste treatment, while considering environmental impact of different treatment options. A reverse logistic (mixed integer programming) model has been developed to optimise future strategies of mixed municipal waste treatment in a large geographical area. The model is nonlinear because of the nonlinear nature of the cost of mixed municipal waste treatment as well as the economic incentive associated with the avoided greenhouse gases emissions. These, in turn, are influenced by plant capacities, locations, and other location-specific parameters (such as the yearly heat demand profile) that must be considered during the integration of a future plant into the existing district heating systems. The results are presented through a case study for the Czech Republic, with 206 micro-regions (waste producers), 148 landfills, 113 potential mechanical-biological treatment plants, 24 potential locations for plants utilising refuse-derived fuels, 4 existing Waste-to-Energy plants, and 32 candidate locations for new Waste-to-Energy plants have been considered. The proposed future concepts involving various processing chains (small Waste-to-Energy plant, large Waste-to-Energy plant with the necessary complex logistics, mechanical biological treatment prior to incineration), are compared with the current (2016) waste treatment strategy, in which 73% of mixed municipal waste is landfilled. The trade-off between economically viable and environmentally acceptable solution is also targeted. The obtained data suggest a possible reduction in greenhouse gases emissions by almost 150% with the cost of waste treatment being increased only by approx. 2.5 EUR/t.

Understanding the causes and consequences of insect declines has become an important goal in ecology, particularly in the tropics, where most terrestrial diversity exists. Over the past 12 years, the ForestGEO Arthropod Initiative has systematically monitored multiple insect groups on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama, providing baseline data for assessing long-term population trends. Here, we estimate the rates of change in abundance among 96 tiger moth species on BCI. Population trends of most species were stable (n= 20) or increasing (n= 62), with few (n= 14) declining species. Our analysis of morphological and climatic sensitivity traits associated with population trends shows that species-specific responses to climate were most strongly linked with trends. Specifically, tiger moth species that are more abundant in warmer and wetter years are more likely to show population increases. Our study contrasts with recent findings indicating insect decline in tropical and temperate regions. These results highlight the significant role of biotic responses to climate in determining long-term population trends and suggest that future climate changes are likely to impact tropical insect communities.

Under environmental conditions, wild birds can be exposed to multiple stressors including natural toxins, anthropogenic pollutants and infectious agents at the same time. This experimental study was successful in testing the hypothesis that adverse effects of cyanotoxins, heavy metals and a non-pathogenic immunological challenge combine to enhance avian toxicity. Mortality occurred in combined exposures to naturally occurring cyanobacterial biomass and lead shots, lead shots and Newcastle vaccination as well as in single lead shot exposure. Mostly acute effects around day 10 were observed. On day 30 of exposure, there were no differences in the liver accumulation of lead in single and combined exposure groups. Interestingly, liver microcystin levels were elevated in birds co-exposed to cyanobacterial biomass together with lead or lead and the Newcastle virus. Significant differences in body weights between all Pb-exposed and Pb-non-exposed birds were found on days 10 and 20. Single exposure to cyanobacterial biomass resulted in hepatic vacuolar dystrophy, whereas co-exposure with lead led to more severe granular dystrophy. Haematological changes were associated with lead exposure, in particular. Biochemical analysis revealed a decrease in glucose and an increase in lactate dehydrogenase in single and combined cyanobacterial and lead exposures, which also showed a decreased antibody response to vaccination. The combined exposure of experimental birds to sub-lethal doses of individual stressors is ecologically realistic. It brings together new pieces of knowledge on avian health. In light of this study, investigators of wild bird die-offs should be circumspect when evaluating findings of low concentrations of contaminants that would not result in mortality on a separate basis. As such it has implications for wildlife biologists, veterinarians and conservationists of avian biodiversity.

Abstract To reduce pollutant emission of gasoline engine during cold start, ZSM-5 zeolite was selected as adsorbent and coated on cordierite carrier and encapsulated as a hydrocarbon (HC) catcher. The hydrocarbon catcher was connected to an engine bench and the cold start experiment was carried out on the engine bench. The low-speed section of World Light Vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC) was used as the real road cycle to study the cold start emission of gasoline engines. The real-time emissions of hydrocarbons before and after the hydrocarbon catcher were measured and compared. The following results were obtained: in the first 41 s, the adsorption efficiency could reach 78%. From 41 s to 108 s, most of the adsorbed hydrocarbons were desorbed. After 108 s, chemical adsorption played a leading role. The total adsorption efficiency was 26.2% in the whole cycle. Results showed that ZSM-5 was an excellent HC adsorbent for cold start of gasoline engine. Molecular simulation based on the Monte Carlo method was applied to help understand the adsorption behavior of propene on ZSM-5 zeolite. Results showed that the priority of propene adsorption sites was: channel intersection near the compensation cation > channel intersection > center of the channels > the outer ring of the channels.

Abstract Total Site (TS) analysis for incorporating short-term or daily energy variation has been introduced in the previous studies as an extension of the Time Slice Model for the Heat Integration of batch processes. However, the energy supply and demand fluctuation could also be affected by changing customer demands due to seasonal climate variations, economic downturn, maintenance, plant turn-around, plant operability issues and raw material availability. This paper extended the cascade energy targeting methodology for TSHI incorporating long- and short-term heat energy supply and demand variation problem. The methodology aims to estimate the energy requirements of the TS system considering seasonal energy storage system as a feasibility study for energy efficiency project. A newly extended algebraic tool, known as Seasonal Total Site Heat Storage Cascade (Seasonal TS-HSC), is introduced in the methodology for modelling the energy flow between process units and storage facilities. The general tool could be used for different storage systems. This proposed tool includes the estimation of energy losses through self-discharge, charge and discharge process based on the energy storage system performance. The methodology is illustrated by a case study, which integrates batch processes, community buildings and space heating system. Implementation of the developed methodology on the case study resulted in 93.4% (low-pressure steam - LPS) and 38.2% (hot water - HW) heating requirement reduction via seasonal energy storage system application at two utility levels. The result shows the energy requirement reduction, which contributes to profitability margin improvement, greenhouse gas emission reduction potential and regional sustainability enhancement, through seasonal energy storage system in the industrial energy system.