• Energy Research
• Restricted close
• Open Source close
• Embargo close
• 12. Responsible consumption close
• 6. Clean water close
• NL close
• CN close

This study highlights how Chinese economic development detrimentally impacted water quality in recent decades and how this has been improved by enormous investment in environmental remediation funded by the Chinese government. To our knowledge, this study is the first to describe the variability of surface water quality in inland waters in China, the affecting drivers behind the changes, and how the government-financed conservation actions have impacted water quality. Water quality was found to be poorest in the North and the Northeast China Plain where there is greater coverage of developed land (cities + cropland), a higher gross domestic product (GDP), and higher population density. There are significant positive relationships between the concentration of the annual mean chemical oxygen demand (COD) and the percentage of developed land use (cities + cropland), GDP, and population density in the individual watersheds (p < 0.001). During the past decade, following Chinese government-financed investments in environmental restoration and reforestation, the water quality of Chinese inland waters has improved markedly, which is particularly evident from the significant and exponentially decreasing GDP-normalized COD and ammonium (NH4+-N) concentrations. It is evident that the increasing GDP in China over the past decade did not occur at the continued expense of its inland water ecosystems. This offers hope for the future, also for other industrializing countries, that with appropriate environmental investments a high GDP can be reached and maintained, while simultaneously preserving inland aquatic ecosystems, particularly through management of sewage discharge.

Domestic heating represents the most dominant energy function in Dutch households nowadays. Using district heat from CHP (combined heat and power) by means of a NGCC (natural gas-fired combined cycle) plants is generally acknowledged as an effective option to reduce primary energy consumption for heating. However, methods to calculate energy savings from CHP differ widely. This paper compares a number of different methods, including the method from the EU CHP Directive, to estimate primary energy savings in comparison with the typically used domestic gas-fired condensing boiler. Real hourly CHP plant performance data is used. An estimation of the CO2 mitigation cost of delivering district heat to Dutch dwellings is made. We find that supplying dwellings with district heat from an NGCC-CHP saves energy, regardless of the calculation method and for a rather wide range of reference efficiencies. CO2 mitigation costs are acceptable from a social perspective (at discount rates up to 4%, excluding fuel taxes) and negative from a private perspective (at discount rates up to 10%, including fuel taxes).

About 25 million tons of food go wasted or lost in Iran which has socio-economic and environmental consequences for both the country and the households. The main objective of this research is to develop a model to examine the relationship between FCM components and the amount of FW of households in Tehran city, with a focus on urban women. By means of a structural model, this study provides a novel approach to exploring relationships between the food-related behavior of urban households and waste control (n = 1197). Besides, this study is the first attempt to quantify food waste in Iran at the household level. According to the adopted self-reporting procedure, in Tehran, every consumer wastes about 27.6 kg of edible food annually. It is found that households with better food consumption management (FCM (have a lower level of food waste. Moreover, the results have proved that other determinants such as demographic factors, economic power, information use, ability, and motivation have direct and indirect significant effects on FCM as well as on the amount of food waste generation. The findings suggest that the above-mentioned determinants are crucial and should be considered when developing a strategically sustainable food waste prevention plan.

AbstractTransition to a bio‐based economy will create new demand for biomass, e.g. the increasing use of bioenergy, but the impacts on existing markets are unclear. Furthermore, there is a growing public concern on the sustainability of biomass. This study proposes a methodological framework for mapping national biomass flows based on domestic production‐consumption and cross‐border trade, and respective share of sustainably‐certified biomass. A case study was performed on the Netherlands for 2010‐2011, focusing on three categories: (i) woody biomass, (ii) oils and fats, and (iii) carbohydrates. Between 2010‐2011 few major shifts were found, besides the increasing biofuel production. The share of sustainably‐certified feedstock is growing in many categories. Woody biomass used for energy amounted to 3.45 MT, including 1.3 MT imported wood pellets ( >85% certified). About 0.6 MT of oils and fats and 1.2 MT (estimation) of carbohydrates were used for biofuel production. It is assumed that only certified materials were used for biofuel production. For non‐energy purpose, more than 50% of woody biomass used was either certified or derived from recycled streams. Certified oils has entered the Dutch food sector since 2011, accounted for 7% of total vegetable oils consumption. It is expected that carbohydrates will also be certified in the near future. Methodological challenges encountered are: inconsistency in data definitions, lack of coherent cross‐sectorial reporting systems, low reliability of bilateral trade statistics, lack of transparency in biomass supply chains, and disparity in sustainability requirements. The methodology may be expanded for future projection in different scenarios. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Urban environments provide opportunities for greater resource efficiency and the fostering of urban ecosystems. Brownfield areas are a typical example of underused land resources. Brownfield redevelopment projects that include green infrastructure allow for further ecosystems to be accommodated in urban environments. Green infrastructure also deliver important urban ecosystem services (UES) to local residents, which can greatly contribute to improving quality of life in cities. In this case study, we quantify and assess the economic value of five UES for a brownfield redevelopment project in Antwerp, Belgium. The assessment is carried out using the “Nature Value Explorer” modelling tool. The case includes three types of green infrastructure (green corridor,infiltration gullies and green roofs) primarily intended to connect nature reserves on the urban periphery and to avoid surface runoff. The green infrastructure also provides air filtration, climate regulation, carbon sequestration and recreation ecosystem services. The value of recreation far exceeds other values, including the value of avoided runoff. The case study raises crucial questions as to whether existing UES valuation approaches adequately account for the range of UES provided and whether such approaches can be improved to achieve more accurate and reliable value estimates in future analyses.

It is possible to distribute drinking water without a disinfectant residual when the treated water is biologically stable. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of easily and slowly biodegradable compounds on the biostability of the drinking water at three full-scale production plants which use the same surface water, and on the regrowth conditions in the related distribution systems. Easily biodegradable compounds in the drinking water were determined with AOC-P17/Nox during 2012-2015. Slowly biodegradable organic compounds measured as particulate and/or high-molecular organic carbon (PHMOC), were monitored at the inlet and after the different treatment stages of the three treatments during the same period. The results show that PHMOC (300-470 μg C L-1) was approximately 10% of the TOC in the surface water and was removed to 50-100 μg C L-1. The PHMOC in the water consisted of 40-60% of carbohydrates and 10% of proteins. A significant and strong positive correlation was observed for PHMOC concentrations and two recently introduced bioassay methods for slowly biodegradable compounds (AOC-A3 and biomass production potential, BPC14). Moreover, these three parameters in the biological active carbon effluent (BACF) of the three plants showed a positive correlation with regrowth in the drinking water distribution system, which was assessed with Aeromonas, heterotrophic plate counts, coliforms and large invertebrates. In contrast, the AOC-P17/Nox concentrations did not correlate with these regrowth parameters. We therefore conclude that slowly biodegradable compounds in the treated water from these treatment plants seem to have a greater impact on regrowth in the distribution system than easily biodegradable compounds.

Abstract Public attitudes anywhere in Europe show moderate to strong support for the implementation of renewable energy. Nevertheless, planning wind power developments appears to be a complicated matter in most countries. The problems that have to be dealt with during decision making processes on the siting of wind turbines are usually referred to as mere ‘communication problems’. However, public attitudes towards wind power are fundamentally different from attitudes towards wind farms. This ‘gap’ causes misunderstandings about the nature of public support for renewables. In particular where planners easily assume support for renewables can be generated by information campaigns emphasising the environmental benefits, whereas opposition to renewable energy schemes can be explained by a selfish ‘not in my backyard’ attitude. Both explanations used by planners, authorities and, unfortunately, by many scholars, are falsified. Furthermore, policies that still take this ‘common knowledge’ for granted can have negative consequences for the implementation rates of renewables. Visual evaluation of the impact of wind power on landscape values is by far the dominant factor in explaining why some are opposed to wind power and others are supporting it. Moreover, feelings about equity and fairness appear the determinants of ‘backyard’ motives, instead of selfishness.