Inferring biogenic and anthropogenic carbon dioxide sources across an urban to rural gradient

We continuously monitored CO₂ concentrations at three locations along an urban-to-rural gradient in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah from 2004 to 2006. The results showed a range of CO₂ concentrations from daily averages exceeding 500 p.p.m. at the city center to much lower concentrations in a non-urbanized, rural region of the valley. The highest values were measured in the wintertime and under stable atmospheric conditions. At all three sites, we utilized weekly measurements of the C and O isotope composition of CO₂ for a 1-year period to evaluate the CO₂ sources underlying spatial and temporal variability in CO₂ concentrations. The results of an inverse analysis of CO₂ sources and the O isotope composition of ecosystem respiration (δ¹⁸ O _R) showed large contributions (>50%) of natural gas combustion to atmospheric CO₂ in the wintertime, particularly at the city center, and large contributions (>60%) of biogenic respiration to atmospheric CO₂ during the growing season, particularly at the rural site. δ¹⁸ O _R was most enriched at the rural site and more isotopically depleted at the urban sites due to the effects of irrigation on ecosystem water pools at the urban sites. The results also suggested differences in the role of leaf versus soil respiration between the two urban sites, with seasonal variation in the contribution of leaf respiration at a residential site and relatively constant contributions of leaf respiration at the city center. These results illustrate that spatial and temporal patterns of urban CO₂ concentrations and isotopic composition can be used to infer patterns of energy use by urban residents as well as plant and soil processes in urban areas.     

On mitigating emissions leakage under biofuel policies

A reason for much pessimism about the environmental benefits of today's biofuels, essentially corn and sugarcane ethanol, is the so‐called indirect land‐use change (ILUC) emissions associated with expanding biofuel production. While there exist several simulation‐based estimates of indirect emissions, the empirical basis underlying key input parameters to such simulations is not beyond doubt, while empirical verification of indirect emissions is hard. Regardless, regulators have adopted global warming intensity ratings for biofuels based on those simulations and in some case are holding regulated firms accountable for (some forms of) leakage. Suffice to say that both the estimates of and the approach to regulating leakage are controversial. The objective of this study is therefore to review a wider economic in order to identify a broader set of policy options for mitigating emissions leakage. We find that controlling leakage by affixing responsibility to regulated firms lacks support in the broader literature, which emphasizes alternative approaches.     

基于LEAP的厦门市节能与温室气体减排潜力情景分析

城市是人类社会经济活动的中心,聚集了世界一半以上的人口。在城市发生的温室气体排放量占全球排放总量的75%左右,因此在城市这个尺度上研究温室气体减排意义重大。从城市这个尺度出发,以厦门市为实际研究案例,应用LEAP模型进行节能减排政策情景分析,定量分析评价城市节能减排潜力,并详细分析各种控制情景和各部门的节能减排贡献率。研究结果显示:在综合控制情景下,厦门能源消费总量年均增长率、万元地区生产总值能耗和温室气体排放总量年均增长率都有所下降;清洁燃料替代措施节能减排效果最好,工业部门节能减排潜力最大;优化能源使用结构蕴藏巨大减排潜力。     

Empirical Fuel Consumption and CO2 Emissions of Plug‐In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Plug‐in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) combine electric and conventional propulsion. Official fuel consumption values of PHEVs are based on standardized driving cycles, which show a growing discrepancy with real‐world fuel consumption. However, no comprehensive empirical results on PHEV fuel consumption are available, and the discrepancy between driving cycle and empirical fuel consumption has been conjectured to be large for PHEV. Here, we analyze real‐world fuel consumption data from 2,005 individual PHEVs of five PHEV models and observe large variations in individual fuel consumption with deviation from test‐cycle values in the range of 2% to 120% for PHEV model averages. Deviations are larger for short‐ranged PHEVs. Among others, range and vehicle power are influencing factors for PHEV model fuel consumption with average direct carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions decreasing by 2% to 3% per additional kilometer (km) of electric range. Additional simulations show that PHEVs recharged from renewable electricity can noteworthily reduce well‐to‐wheel CO₂ emissions of passenger cars, but electric ranges should not exceed 200 to 300 km since battery production is CO₂‐intense. Our findings indicate that regulations should (1) be based on real‐world fuel consumption measurements for PHEV, (2) take into account charging behavior and annual mileages, and (3) incentivize long‐ranged PHEV.     

Controls on carbon consumption during Alaskan wildland fires

A method was developed to estimate carbon consumed during wildland fires in interior Alaska based on medium‐spatial scale data (60 m cell size) generated on a daily basis. Carbon consumption estimates were developed for 41 fire events in the large fire year of 2004 and 34 fire events from the small fire years of 2006–2008. Total carbon consumed during the large fire year (2.72 × 10⁶ ha burned) was 64.7 Tg C, and the average carbon consumption during the small fire years (0.09 × 10⁶ ha burned) was 1.3 Tg C. Uncertainties for the annual carbon emissions ranged from 13% to 21%. Carbon consumed from burning of black spruce forests represented 76% of the total during large fire years and 57% during small fire years. This was the result of the widespread distribution of black spruce forests across the landscape and the deep burning of the surface organic layers common to these ecosystems. Average carbon consumed was 3.01 kg m^?2 during the large fire year and 1.69 kg m^?2 during the small fire years. Most of the carbon consumption was from burning of ground layer fuels (85% in the large fire year and 78% in small fire years). Most of the difference in average carbon consumption between large and small fire years was in the consumption of ground layer fuels (2.60 vs. 1.31 kg m^?2 during large and small fire years, respectively). There was great variation in average fuel consumption between individual fire events (0.56–5.06 kg m^?2) controlled by variations in fuel types and topography, timing of the fires during the fire season, and variations in fuel moisture at the time of burning.     

Convergent development of anodic bacterial communities in microbial fuel cells

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are often inoculated from a single wastewater source. The extent that the inoculum affects community development or power production is unknown. The stable anodic microbial communities in MFCs were examined using three inocula: a wastewater treatment plant sample known to produce consistent power densities, a second wastewater treatment plant sample, and an anaerobic bog sediment. The bog-inoculated MFCs initially produced higher power densities than the wastewater-inoculated MFCs, but after 20 cycles all MFCs on average converged to similar voltages (470±20 mV) and maximum power densities (590±170 mW m⁻²). The power output from replicate bog-inoculated MFCs was not significantly different, but one wastewater-inoculated MFC (UAJA3 (UAJA, University Area Joint Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant)) produced substantially less power. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiling showed a stable exoelectrogenic biofilm community in all samples after 11 cycles. After 16 cycles the predominance of Geobacter spp. in anode communities was identified using 16S rRNA gene clone libraries (58±10%), fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) (63±6%) and pyrosequencing (81±4%). While the clone library analysis for the underperforming UAJA3 had a significantly lower percentage of Geobacter spp. sequences (36%), suggesting that a predominance of this microbe was needed for convergent power densities, the lower percentage of this species was not verified by FISH or pyrosequencing analyses. These results show that the predominance of Geobacter spp. in acetate-fed systems was consistent with good MFC performance and independent of the inoculum source.     

一株抑氨菌的筛选、鉴定及应用研究

目的从蛋鸡粪便中筛选抑氨效果最佳的目标菌,用以减少鸡舍内NH3的浓度,有效改善蛋鸡生产环境、保障鸡群健康。方法菌株的筛选采用富集培养方法,鉴定分析采用形态学观察、生理生化鉴定、16S rRNA基因部分序列分子生物学鉴定和系统发育分析方法,并验证菌株抑氨效果。结果筛选到编号为2-3的目标菌与乳酸片球菌属(Pediococcus acidilactici)的亲缘关系最近;添加7.5 mL菌液5 d后,抑氨效果最高为66.67%;扣除水分的影响后,接种7.5 mL菌液4 d后,抑氨效果最高为40.0%。结论菌株2-3是一株性能较好的抑氨菌。     

我国农业氨排放估算方法研究进展

农业大量施用氮肥以及持续扩大的禽畜养殖业是我国氨污染的最大来源。近年来大气环境问题备受关注,氨排放研究的重要性日益凸显,如何客观、科学定量的评估我国区域氨排放的问题尤为重要。通过检索已报道的国内外氨排放估算的研究进展,对我国的氨排放研究进行梳理,比对了氨排放主要估算方法的特点,对其所使用数据类型、获取途径,参数的定量取值方法及不确定性产生等方面进行了分析。针对国内氨排放估算存在计算方法单一,排放因子本地化不足等问题,提出了进一步改善的意见和建议。研究结果以期为我国做好氨排放控制基础研究,开展控制技术试验,制定相关政策文件,加强政府引导和扶持等提供科学依据。     

微生物燃料电池发展态势分析

随着世界经济的高速发展和人口的不断增长,能源短缺和环境污染问题日益成为制约发展的瓶颈。微生物燃料电池(microbial fuel cell,MFC)能将污染物中蕴含的化学能直接转化为电能,实现同步污水处理和电能回收,是一种极具前景的可持续污水处理技术。同时,MFC在污泥处理、生物修复、环境监测、海水淡化等方面也展示了诱人的前景。基于科睿唯安Web of Science数据库和德温特专利检索分析平台(Derwent Innovation, DI),对MFC领域1990~2018年的论文和专利数据进行统计分析,得出全球MFC领域的发展趋势、国际分布、研发热点和技术格局。在此基础上,对未来MFC领域的发展做出了展望,对中国MFC产业化发展提出了思考和建议。     

Regional trends and drivers of the global methane budget

The ongoing development of the Global Carbon Project (GCP) global methane (CH₄) budget shows a continuation of increasing CH₄ emissions and CH₄ accumulation in the atmosphere during 2000–2017. Here, we decompose the global budget into 19 regions (18 land and 1 oceanic) and five key source sectors to spatially attribute the observed global trends. A comparison of top-down (TD) (atmospheric and transport model-based) and bottom-up (BU) (inventory- and process model-based) CH₄ emission estimates demonstrates robust temporal trends with CH₄ emissions increasing in 16 of the 19 regions. Five regions—China, Southeast Asia, USA, South Asia, and Brazil—account for >40% of the global total emissions (their anthropogenic and natural sources together totaling >270 Tg CH₄ yr^?1 in 2008–2017). Two of these regions, China and South Asia, emit predominantly anthropogenic emissions (>75%) and together emit more than 25% of global anthropogenic emissions. China and the Middle East show the largest increases in total emission rates over the 2000 to 2017 period with regional emissions increasing by >20%. In contrast, Europe and Korea and Japan show a steady decline in CH₄ emission rates, with total emissions decreasing by ~10% between 2000 and 2017. Coal mining, waste (predominantly solid waste disposal) and livestock (especially enteric fermentation) are dominant drivers of observed emissions increases while declines appear driven by a combination of waste and fossil emission reductions. As such, together these sectors present the greatest risks of further increasing the atmospheric CH₄ burden and the greatest opportunities for greenhouse gas abatement.     

Life cycle assessment of fuel cell vehicles a methodology example of input data treatment for future technologies

Life cycle assessment (LCA) will always involve some subjectivity and uncertainty. This reality is especially true when the analysis concerns new technologies. Dealing with uncertainty can generate richer information and minimize some of the result mismatches currently encountered in the literature. As a way of analyzing future fuel cell vehicles and their potential new fuels, the Fuel Upstream Energy and Emission Model (FUEEM) developed at the University of California—Davis, pioneered two different ways to incorporate uncertainty into the analysis. First, the model works with probabilistic curves as inputs and with Monte Carlo simulation techniques to propagate the uncertainties. Second, the project involved the interested parties in the entire process, not only in the critical review phase. The objective of this paper is to present, as a case study, the tools and the methodologies developed to acquire most of the knowledge held by interested parties and to deal with their — eventually conflicted—interests. The analysis calculation methodology, the scenarios, and all assumed probabilistic curves were derived from a consensus of an international expert network discussion, using existing data in the literature along with new information collected from companies. The main part of the expert discussion process uses a variant of the Delphi technique, focusing on the group learning process through the information feedback feature. A qualitative analysis indicates that a higher level of credibility and a higher quality of information can be achieved through a more participatory process. The FUEEM method works well within technical information and also in establishing a reasonable set of simple scenarios. However, for a complex combination of scenarios, it will require some improvement. The time spent in the process was the major drawback of the method and some alternatives to share this time cost are suggested.     

森林可燃物计划烧除的相关分析

森林火灾带来了严重后果,但许多人对黑色防火感到一些困惑,计划烧除是"防火"、"用火"还是"放火".随着数据分析技术的进步,运用数据库、多元统计分析等方法可以分析森林火灾调查和统计的数据,探索森林防火的最佳措施.针对黑色防火的深入理解,对试验数据进行了相关分析.该相关分析是利用了云南松林里进行计划烧除后得到的各种数据,然后通过SPSS软件来分析数据.试验结果可以表明:计划烧除时火强度、火蔓延速度与火焰高度属于正相关;火强度与森林可燃物的生物量也属于正相关,通过小强度的计划烧除能有效的减少森林可燃物的生物量,从而提高森林的自防能力.     

黄土高原子午岭大披针苔草能量与养分特征

森林地表死可燃物是引起森林火灾的重要原因,掌握森林地表死可燃物载量的分布,对预防火灾和可燃物管理有重要意义.依据1 h、10 h和100 h分类标准,对呼中林区的不同林型内的地表死可燃物载量进行了对比分析.结果表明:樟子松林内死可燃物总载量最高,偃松林内的最低;对不同类型兴安落叶松林群落的地表死可燃物进行比较,发现笃斯越桔-兴安落叶松林内死可燃物总载量最高,而泥炭藓-杜香-兴安落叶松林的最低;此外,相关分析表明,兴安落叶松死可燃物总载量与平均胸径、平均树高、草本盖度、凋落物厚度呈显著的正相关,与坡向、腐殖质厚度等因子呈显著负相关;多元线性回归分析表明,用兴安落叶松林的凋落物厚度、草本盖度、平均树高因子可较好地估算地表死可燃物总载量,进而为森林可燃物的管理和指导森林防火提供科学的依据.     

A Comprehensive Energy and Economic Assessment of Biofuels: When “Green” Is Not Enough

Referee: Dr. Charles A. S. Hall, Department of Environmental Studies, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210 Biofuel production systems are sometimes claimed to be able to fill in for future fossil fuel shortages as well as to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and global warming. As such, they are often promoted as a “green” alternative to fossil fuels. I present a comprehensive, system-based case study of biofuel production from maize or corn (Zea mays L.) and evaluate it critically in this review. The case study is taken as an example of the comprehensive approach that I suggest for any energy crop. I conclude that the biofuel option on a large scale is not a viable alternative based on economic, energy and eMergy (amount of available energy [exergy] of one form [usually solar] that is directly or indirectly required to provide a given flow or storage of exergy or matter) analyses of the case study data and estimated possible improvement of yield and efficiency. This is true for developed countries due to their huge energy demand compared with what biofuel options are able to supply as well as for developing countries due to the low yield of their agriculture and competition for land and water for food production. However, biofuels may contribute to optimizing the energy and resource balance of agricultural, livestock, or industrial production systems at an appropriate scale. I present a proposal to integrate ethanol production with industrial activities within a “zero emission framework” as a suggestion for optimization strategies capable of making the biofuel option more sustainable and profitable in those cases where it is appropriate.     

Features and influencing factors of carbon emissions indicators in the perspective of residential consumption: Evidence from Beijing,China

This research establishes a residential indirect carbon emissions model through input–output structure decomposition analysis (IO-SDA) and LMDI, analyses the influencing factors affecting urban and rural residential carbon emissions indicators in Beijing through input–output tables from 2000 to 2010, and calculates the direct carbon emissions from residential consumption. As the results suggest, the total carbon emissions from residential consumption in Beijing showed volatility. Growing rural and urban differences in direct emissions, and for indirect emissions, mean that urban greatly exceeds rural in this regard. Rising per capita GDP and population, as well as intermediate demand and sectoral emissions intensity change induce growth in indirect emissions in both urban and rural settings: of which, per capita GDP contributes the most. Declining energy intensity contributes the most to emission reductions, followed by residential consumption rates, the rural to urban consumption ratio and consumption structure effects are much smaller.     

Life-Cycle Energy, Costs, and Strategies for Improving a Single-Family House

The life-cycle energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and costs of a contemporary 2,450 sq ft (228 m³) U.S. residential home (the standard home, or SH) were evaluated to study opportunities for conserving energy throughout pre-use (materials production and construction), use (including maintenance and improvement), and demolition phases. Home construction and maintenance materials and appliances were inventoried totaling 306 metric tons. The use phase accounted for 91% of the total life-cycle energy consumption over a 50-year home life. A functionally equivalent energy-efficient house (EEH) was modeled that incorporated 11 energy efficiency strategies. These strategies led to a dramatic reduction in the EEH total life-cycle energy; 6,400 GJ for the EEH compared to 16,000 GJ for the SH. For energy-efficient homes, embodied energy of materials is important; pre-use energy accounted for 26% of life-cycle energy. The discounted (4%) life-cycle cost, consisting of mortgage, energy, maintenance, and improvement payments varied between 426,700 and 454,300 for a SH using four energy price forecast scenarios. In the case of the EEH, energy cost savings were offset by higher mortgage costs, resulting in total life-cycle cost between 434,100 and 443,200. Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions were 1,010 metric tons CO₂ equivalent for an SH and 370 metric tons for an EEH.     

The Eco-efficiency of Lead in China's Lead-Acid Battery System

Improving eco-efficiency can contribute to sustainable development. This article defines the societal services and environmental impacts of the lead-acid battery (LAB) system and offers definitions of eco-efficiency, resource efficiency, and environmental efficiency in the context of LAB systems. Based on the actual lead-flow in the LAB system, we develop a model that considers changes in production, the time interval between production and disposal, direct linkages between the final product and the societal service it provides, and the fiscal year as the statistical period. From this model, equations for eco-efficiency are derived and changes in eco-efficiency are predicted.
The results show, not surprisingly, that increased lead recycling and reduced lead emissions will both improve ecoefficiency. The resource and environmental efficiencies for LAB in China are 119 and 131 kilowatt-hour-years per metric tonne (kWh. yr/t), respectively, versus a value for both of 15, 800 kWh. yr/t in Sweden. The difference results from a lower lead recycling rate (only 0.312 tonne/tonne, which means that nearly 70% of the old lead scrap is not recycled based on official statistics) and higher lead emissions (0.324 tonne/tonne, which means that nearly 33% of the lead inputs used in the LAB system were lost into the environment) in China. Further analysis shows that these problems result from inefficient management of lead scrap, poor quality lead ore, and an abundance of small-scale lead-related plants. Ways to improve eco-efficiency are proposed.     

聚类分析视角下的中国省域碳排放时空格局及驱动因素分析

中国碳排放的时空格局对全球气候治理极为重要,其驱动机制是"减排"的关键所在。对中国省域碳排放时空特征和驱动模式进行聚类研究,揭示不同省域的模式相似性与差异性,对于各省域的 "双碳"目标达成和路径安排具有重要影响和现实支撑。研究采用1997-2019年碳排放量及社会经济数据,从聚类分析角度探讨了中国省域碳排放的趋势及驱动模式,基于偏最小二乘法(PLS)模型的归因结果,识别不同省域碳排放的驱动因素的贡献度和敏感性,进一步探寻省域减排方案。研究表明:①研究期内中国碳排放以499.25mt/a的速率上升,呈低位平缓波动-大幅上升-高位缓慢波动的趋势变化,省域碳排放呈北高南低、东高西低格局。②省域碳排放模式具有差异性,北京、天津等为低起点低速发展类,趋势呈扁平"S"型;吉林、新疆等为低起点高速发展类,呈上升"S"型;河南、广东等为中起点高速发展类,呈扩张"S"型。山东、山西为高起点超高速发展类,呈指数"S"型。③中国省域碳排放驱动因子的贡献度和敏感性存在空间差异。经济发展、产业结构、城市化水平与能源消耗等对碳排放的贡献度较高,其中地区GDP、人均GDP、第二产业占比GDP、年底非农人口比例、地区能源消耗总量等是碳排放的主要贡献因子。碳排放对产业结构、科技发展、环境规制的敏感性较强。④中国省域碳排放驱动模式的分异性较为明显,同类驱动模式省域多在地理空间范围内形成"集聚"现象。因此,不同省域政府减排策略的落实应考虑其碳排放的发展规模及驱动机制的差异,实现地区发展和减排 "两手抓"的同时利用地区优势,资源互通、交流合作,加强省域间碳排放的"共治",进一步促进高质量发展。