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Health impacts of domestic coal use in China
15 Environment 00100620 Estimation of heavy metal emissions from coaifired power plants in Russia Gromov, S. and Ginzburg, V. Adv. Air Pollut., 1998, 5, 597-606. A balance method based on element mass balance during coal firing was used to estimate trace heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg Cu) emission in the atmosphere near coal combustion. Experimental data of element concentration in the coal, slag and fly ash were adopted for this calculation. In addition, four other methodologies suggested by different authors were utilized and compared for estimation of element emissions from energetic coal combustion. Evaluations were also made of total amounts of atomic heavy metal emissions on the territory of former Soviet Union.
W/W621 Gas-phase and solid residue release from used oils during heating
Di Lalla, S. and Kozinski, J. A. Proc. Int. Conf. Incineration Therm. Treat. Technol., 1997, 327-33 1. The thermal treatment of used oils is associated with a number of environmental concerns, namely, the release of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) owing to their mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. One of the more attractive and common methods of disposal of waste oils generated in industrial processes, as well as from automobile and other motor vehicles, is through thermal remediation. It allows for the recovery of energy from the waste while drastically reducing the waste mass and volume. Although thermal remediation processes are generally very efficient (to maximize energy recovery), the escape of even a minor amount of toxic compounds from the process over an extended period of time is unwelcome because of the potential negative health impacts. It is necessary that the process be improved to minimize the formation and release of these compounds. Gas and solid phase release from spent lubricating oil was studied with a Cahn TG171 thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) coupled with a Mattson Galaxy 5020 FTIR Spectrometer. A sample of 300 mg was subjected to healing at a rate of 3”/min 5650” and subsequently at 5”/min
Greenhouse gas balances in building construction: wood versus concrete from life-cycle and forest land-use perspectives W/W622
Biirjesson, P. and Gustavsson, L. Energy Policy, 2000,28, (9), 575-588. In this paper, primary energy use and carbon dioxide (COz) and methane (CHd) emissions from the construction of a multi-storey building, with either a wood or a concrete frame, were calculated from life-cycle and forest land-use perspectives. The primary energy input (mainly fossil fuels) in the production of building materials was found to be about 60-80% higher when concrete frames were considered instead of wood frames. The net greenhouse gas (GHG) balance for wood materials will depend strongly on how the wood is handled after demolition of the building. The net GHG balance will be slightly positive if all the demolition wood is used to replace fossil fuels, slightly negative if part of the demolition wood is reused and clearly positive if all wood is deposited in landfills, due to the production of CH4. However, if the biogas produced is collected and used to replace fossil fuels, the net GHG emissions will be insignificant. If concrete frames are used, the net GHG emissions will be about those when demolition wood from the wood-framed building is deposited in landfills and no biogas is collected. We have considered that the COs released from the chemical processes in the production of cement will be re-bound to the concrete by the carbonization process. Otherwise, the net GHG emission would be more than twice as high when concrete frames are used. If forest biomass is used instead of fossil fuels, the net area of forest land required to supply both raw material and energy for the production of building materials, will be about twice as high when wood frames are used instead of concrete frames. However, the GHG mitigation efficiency, expressed as COz equivalents per unit area of forest land, will be 2-3 times higher when wood frames are used if excess wood waste and logging residues are used to replace fossil fuels. The excess forest in the concrete frame alternative is used to replace fossil fuels, but if this forest is used for carbon storage, the mitigation
(pollution, health protection,
safety)
efficiency will be higher for the first forest rotation period (100 years), but lower for the following rotation periods. Some of the data used in the analyses are uncertain, but an understanding of the complexity in comparing different alternatives for utilizing forest for GHG mitigation and of the fact that the time perspective applied affects the results markedly, is more important for the results than the precise figures in the input data. 00100623 Health impacts of domestic coal use in China Finkelman, R. B. et al. Proc. Nat!. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 1999, 96, (7), 3427-3431. This review discusses how domestic coal combustion has had profound adverse effects on the health of millions of people world-wide. In China alone several hundred million people burn raw coal in unvented stoves that permeate their homes with high levels of toxic metals and organic compounds. In the Guizhou Province in south-west China, at least 3000 people are suffering from sever arsenic poisoning. The primary source of the arsenic appears to be consumption of chili peppers dried over fires fuelled with high-arsenic coal. In this region, the coal samples were found to consist of about 35000 ppm arsenic. On average, chili peppers dried over high-arsenic coal fires adsorb 500 ppm arsenic. Greater than 10 million people in Guizhou Province and surrounding areas suffer from skeletal and dental fluorosis. The excess fluorine is caused by eating corn dried over burning briquettes made from highfluorine coals and high-fluorine clay binders. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formed during coal combustion are believed to cause or contribute to the high incidence of esophageal and lung cancers in areas of China. Domestic coal combustion also has caused selenium poisoning and most probably mercury poisoning. Some of these health problems could be reduced if information on the coal quality parameters was more available. For example, information on concentrations and distributions of potentially toxic elements in coal may help delineate areas of a coal deposit to be avoided. Details on the modes of occurrence of these elements and the textural relations of the macerals and minerals in coal may help predict the how the potentially toxic components would behave during coal combustion.
Heat and mass transfer during evaporation and caicination of concentrated radioactive liquid waste 00100624
Pande, D.P. er al. Heat Mass Transfer 97, Proc. Third ISHMT-ASME Hear Mass Transfer Conf., Fourteenth Notl. Heat Moss Transfer Conf., 1998, 1119-l 125. Edited by Biswas G.N. In the first cycle waste stream of fuel reprocessing, the radioactive liquid waste that is generated contains fission products in addition to activation and corrosion products. The concentrated liquid contains nitric acid and water along with dissolved nitrates. The radioactive nuclides contain the fission, activation and corrosion products. This liquid is concentrated several fold to reduce the volume by using thermosiphon type of evaporators. The evaporation technique is very effective in concentrating the volume of the liquid waste and separating the low radioactivity distillate. Water is removed in the vapour phase leaving behind non-volatile radio-nuclides in the solution. From the experimental data it is evident that the kinetics of scale formation and fouling of tubes increases rapidly beyond 20% concentration in the evaporators. The addition of the calcined solids in the melter, instead of liquid feed, helps to avoid a low temperature zone because the vaporization of liquid phase and decomposition of nitrates, do not take place inside the melter. In order to reduce evaporation and volatility losses in the vitrification facility, it is advantageous for a rotary calciner to be used for the evaporation and calcination steps. Efforts have been directed for the engineering development of a Rotary Ball kiln calciner, The Rotary Ball Kiln Calcination has some advantages with respect to flexibility in operation for assorted of type of liquid waste - the generation of vessel off gases compared to the fluid bed calciner is smaller. In a Rotary calciner, it is possible to separate the volatile product progressively with increasing temperature, therefore, studies on characterization of the calcined products were also made to understand the calcination behaviour. (differential thermal analysisthermo-gravimetric analysis) have been carried out for some of the fission and corrosion nitrates. 00100625
How to reduce US automobile greenhouse gas
emissions Difiglio, C. and Fulton, L. Energy, 2000, 25, (7), 657-673. This paper presents an analysis of alternative policies and measures for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the US light-duty vehicle sector to specified levels by 2010 and beyond (to 2030). Although the Kyoto treaty does not require specific reductions in each sector, this paper considers the likelihood that light-duty vehicles can ‘pull their weight’ relative to other sectors. Economic relationships between fuel prices, travel, and vehicle fuel economy are used to estimate the effect of different GHG policies. The estimated GHG savings from a number of travel-related and vehicle-related policies are compared to reductions that would be needed in order to achieve Kyoto-type reductions in the sector by 2010. It is found that, apart from an Fuel and Energy Abstracts
January 2001
65
W/W621 Gas-phase and solid residue release from used oils during heating
Di Lalla, S. and Kozinski, J. A. Proc. Int. Conf. Incineration Therm. Treat. Technol., 1997, 327-33 1. The thermal treatment of used oils is associated with a number of environmental concerns, namely, the release of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) owing to their mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. One of the more attractive and common methods of disposal of waste oils generated in industrial processes, as well as from automobile and other motor vehicles, is through thermal remediation. It allows for the recovery of energy from the waste while drastically reducing the waste mass and volume. Although thermal remediation processes are generally very efficient (to maximize energy recovery), the escape of even a minor amount of toxic compounds from the process over an extended period of time is unwelcome because of the potential negative health impacts. It is necessary that the process be improved to minimize the formation and release of these compounds. Gas and solid phase release from spent lubricating oil was studied with a Cahn TG171 thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) coupled with a Mattson Galaxy 5020 FTIR Spectrometer. A sample of 300 mg was subjected to healing at a rate of 3”/min 5650” and subsequently at 5”/min
Greenhouse gas balances in building construction: wood versus concrete from life-cycle and forest land-use perspectives W/W622
Biirjesson, P. and Gustavsson, L. Energy Policy, 2000,28, (9), 575-588. In this paper, primary energy use and carbon dioxide (COz) and methane (CHd) emissions from the construction of a multi-storey building, with either a wood or a concrete frame, were calculated from life-cycle and forest land-use perspectives. The primary energy input (mainly fossil fuels) in the production of building materials was found to be about 60-80% higher when concrete frames were considered instead of wood frames. The net greenhouse gas (GHG) balance for wood materials will depend strongly on how the wood is handled after demolition of the building. The net GHG balance will be slightly positive if all the demolition wood is used to replace fossil fuels, slightly negative if part of the demolition wood is reused and clearly positive if all wood is deposited in landfills, due to the production of CH4. However, if the biogas produced is collected and used to replace fossil fuels, the net GHG emissions will be insignificant. If concrete frames are used, the net GHG emissions will be about those when demolition wood from the wood-framed building is deposited in landfills and no biogas is collected. We have considered that the COs released from the chemical processes in the production of cement will be re-bound to the concrete by the carbonization process. Otherwise, the net GHG emission would be more than twice as high when concrete frames are used. If forest biomass is used instead of fossil fuels, the net area of forest land required to supply both raw material and energy for the production of building materials, will be about twice as high when wood frames are used instead of concrete frames. However, the GHG mitigation efficiency, expressed as COz equivalents per unit area of forest land, will be 2-3 times higher when wood frames are used if excess wood waste and logging residues are used to replace fossil fuels. The excess forest in the concrete frame alternative is used to replace fossil fuels, but if this forest is used for carbon storage, the mitigation
(pollution, health protection,
safety)
efficiency will be higher for the first forest rotation period (100 years), but lower for the following rotation periods. Some of the data used in the analyses are uncertain, but an understanding of the complexity in comparing different alternatives for utilizing forest for GHG mitigation and of the fact that the time perspective applied affects the results markedly, is more important for the results than the precise figures in the input data. 00100623 Health impacts of domestic coal use in China Finkelman, R. B. et al. Proc. Nat!. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 1999, 96, (7), 3427-3431. This review discusses how domestic coal combustion has had profound adverse effects on the health of millions of people world-wide. In China alone several hundred million people burn raw coal in unvented stoves that permeate their homes with high levels of toxic metals and organic compounds. In the Guizhou Province in south-west China, at least 3000 people are suffering from sever arsenic poisoning. The primary source of the arsenic appears to be consumption of chili peppers dried over fires fuelled with high-arsenic coal. In this region, the coal samples were found to consist of about 35000 ppm arsenic. On average, chili peppers dried over high-arsenic coal fires adsorb 500 ppm arsenic. Greater than 10 million people in Guizhou Province and surrounding areas suffer from skeletal and dental fluorosis. The excess fluorine is caused by eating corn dried over burning briquettes made from highfluorine coals and high-fluorine clay binders. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formed during coal combustion are believed to cause or contribute to the high incidence of esophageal and lung cancers in areas of China. Domestic coal combustion also has caused selenium poisoning and most probably mercury poisoning. Some of these health problems could be reduced if information on the coal quality parameters was more available. For example, information on concentrations and distributions of potentially toxic elements in coal may help delineate areas of a coal deposit to be avoided. Details on the modes of occurrence of these elements and the textural relations of the macerals and minerals in coal may help predict the how the potentially toxic components would behave during coal combustion.
Heat and mass transfer during evaporation and caicination of concentrated radioactive liquid waste 00100624
Pande, D.P. er al. Heat Mass Transfer 97, Proc. Third ISHMT-ASME Hear Mass Transfer Conf., Fourteenth Notl. Heat Moss Transfer Conf., 1998, 1119-l 125. Edited by Biswas G.N. In the first cycle waste stream of fuel reprocessing, the radioactive liquid waste that is generated contains fission products in addition to activation and corrosion products. The concentrated liquid contains nitric acid and water along with dissolved nitrates. The radioactive nuclides contain the fission, activation and corrosion products. This liquid is concentrated several fold to reduce the volume by using thermosiphon type of evaporators. The evaporation technique is very effective in concentrating the volume of the liquid waste and separating the low radioactivity distillate. Water is removed in the vapour phase leaving behind non-volatile radio-nuclides in the solution. From the experimental data it is evident that the kinetics of scale formation and fouling of tubes increases rapidly beyond 20% concentration in the evaporators. The addition of the calcined solids in the melter, instead of liquid feed, helps to avoid a low temperature zone because the vaporization of liquid phase and decomposition of nitrates, do not take place inside the melter. In order to reduce evaporation and volatility losses in the vitrification facility, it is advantageous for a rotary calciner to be used for the evaporation and calcination steps. Efforts have been directed for the engineering development of a Rotary Ball kiln calciner, The Rotary Ball Kiln Calcination has some advantages with respect to flexibility in operation for assorted of type of liquid waste - the generation of vessel off gases compared to the fluid bed calciner is smaller. In a Rotary calciner, it is possible to separate the volatile product progressively with increasing temperature, therefore, studies on characterization of the calcined products were also made to understand the calcination behaviour. (differential thermal analysisthermo-gravimetric analysis) have been carried out for some of the fission and corrosion nitrates. 00100625
How to reduce US automobile greenhouse gas
emissions Difiglio, C. and Fulton, L. Energy, 2000, 25, (7), 657-673. This paper presents an analysis of alternative policies and measures for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the US light-duty vehicle sector to specified levels by 2010 and beyond (to 2030). Although the Kyoto treaty does not require specific reductions in each sector, this paper considers the likelihood that light-duty vehicles can ‘pull their weight’ relative to other sectors. Economic relationships between fuel prices, travel, and vehicle fuel economy are used to estimate the effect of different GHG policies. The estimated GHG savings from a number of travel-related and vehicle-related policies are compared to reductions that would be needed in order to achieve Kyoto-type reductions in the sector by 2010. It is found that, apart from an Fuel and Energy Abstracts
January 2001
65