171 research outputs found
Soot particles from shipping: Analysing emission factors
Emissions of air pollutants from shipping in Europe result in about 50 000 premature deaths every year. Soot particles, also called black carbon, are particularly hazardous to human health when inhaled. The adverse health effects are especially a danger in coastal areas, but the particles can travel further away with the wind. These soot particles also have an effect on the climate. Fresh soot particles are known to be ineffective cloud condensation nuclei for cloud droplet formation, whereas aged soot particles with condensed inorganic sulphuric acid on the particle surface may act as effective cloud condensation nuclei. This leads to changing properties of clouds, thereby changing the cloud reflection of incoming solar shortwave radiation. The particles can also deposit on surfaces of snow and ice, where they have a warming effect. The snow and ice melts, causing a reduced amount of reflected sunlight. The aim of this study was to calculate the emissions of soot particles from ships in Gothenburg. The amount of soot emissions from ships was compared to the amount of fuel used. This was done by calculating the emission factor for soot and its absorption coefficient. Calculations of the emission factors in ship plumes were made on five selected days. The initial data was gathered over a period of a month outside Gothenburg harbor in the fall of 2014. The field station containing the measurement instruments was located 500 meters downwind from the shipping lane. Plumes were just over a minute old when they reached the field station. A sliding percentile-based method was used in order to separate plumes from background concentrations of CO2 and soot particles. Subsequently, the emission factors were calculated. The total number of analysed ship plumes was 228. Some of which are the same ships arriving and leaving the harbor. When plumes were present, the amount of CO2 rose above the background levels with a minimum of 2 ppm. Plumes could increase with as much as 35 ppm. The emission factor for black carbon, or soot, was estimated at 0.57 ( ± 1.40) grams of black carbon per kilogram of fuel. This is an average number for the shipping fleet connected to Gothenburg, which should be able to be applied to the entire shipping fleet travelling in the SECA area in Europe. Additionally, it is not entirely certain how lower fuel sulphur content affect the emissions of black carbon. There are no identical studies done so far which makes it difficult to reach a conclusion whether the emissions of black carbon particles have decreased or not. When looking at individual ships, no clear difference could be observed. Oil tankers and cargo ro-ro's usually emits the most black carbon but also include vessels with lower emissions. All passenger ships have different emission factors. Not many studies have been done on the subject. It is therefore important to further study this in order to fully understand the effects on soot particles when reducing sulphur.Sotpartiklar frĂ„n bĂ„tar leder till förtida dödsfall, Men hur stort Ă€r egentligen utslĂ€ppet? Emissioner av partiklar frĂ„n bĂ„tar leder till 50 000 förtida dödsfall per Ă„r i Europa. Vid inandning leder det Ă€ven till en ökad risk för luftvĂ€gssjukdomar, hjĂ€rt- kĂ€rlsjukdomar, samt allergier. Skeppsemissioner pĂ„verkar Ă€ven klimat och miljö pĂ„ olika vis, bĂ„de positiva och negativa. Den största boven i dessa emissioner Ă€r de olika partiklarna som slĂ€pps ut, i synnerhet sotpartiklar. Sotpartiklarna bildas frĂ€mst pĂ„ grund av svavel i brĂ€nslet. I denna studie undersöks hur mycket sotpartiklar som i dagslĂ€get slĂ€pps ut av skepp. I Sveriges vatten finns det regler om hur mycket svavel som skeppsbrĂ€nsle fĂ„r innehĂ„lla. Ă
r 2010 var det 1 % svavel som gÀllde, och Är 2015 sÀnktes det till 0,1 %. Denna studie analyserar mÀtningar av emitterade sotpartiklar, och tittar Àven pÄ skillnader i utslÀpp mellan olika typer av skepp. MÀtdata erhölls frÄn Göteborgs hamn hösten Är 2014 via en mÀt-kampanj. MÀt-kampanjen utfördes av flera forskningsinstitutioner, bland annat Lunds universitet. MÀtdata anvÀndes för att rÀkna ut sÄ kallade emissionsfaktorer. Dessa faktorer visar pÄ hur mycket sotpartiklar som slÀpps ut per kilogram skeppsbrÀnsle. Ett medelvÀrde rÀknades ut för hela skeppsflottan som fÀrdas via Göteborg. MedelvÀrdet bör kunna appliceras pÄ alla skepp som fÀrdas inom det svavelreglerade omrÄdet. Den mÀngd sotpartiklar som slÀpps ut per kilogram brÀnsle rÀknades ut till 0,57 gram (med en osÀkerhet pÄ ± 1,40 gram). Detta resultat liknar de fÄ resultat frÄn tidigare studier, men det Àr svÄrt att jÀmföra pÄ grund av olika berÀkningsmetoder och instrument. PÄ grund av denna svÄrighet gÄr det inte att konstatera huruvida utslÀpp av sotpartiklar har minskat eller ökat. DÀrför krÀvs det att en liknande studie utförs för att fÄ ett jÀmförbart vÀrde. En framtida studie bör helst vara sÄ lik denna som möjligt. Fördelningen av utslÀpp mellan skepp Àr ocksÄ i behov av vidare studier. Det var 45 individuella bÄtar som identifierades, frÀmst oljeskepp, lastskepp, och passerarskepp. UtslÀppen mellan alla bÄtarna varierade. De flesta oljeskepp och lastskepp hade lÄga utslÀpp av sotpartiklar, men de inkluderade ocksÄ ett fÄtal med vÀldigt höga utslÀpp. Alla passagerarskeppen hade vÀldigt olika utslÀpp. Trots att resultatet i denna studie visar hur mycket sotpartiklar som slÀpps ut, sÄ finns det inget konkret att jÀmföra med. Det gÄr dÀrför inte att nÄ en slutsats huruvida sotpartiklar har minskat eller ökat. Det som behövs Àr vidare studier som anvÀnder sig av samma metoder och instrument som i denna. Handledare: Adam Kristensson Examensarbete 30 hp i Miljövetenskap 2015 Centrum för miljö- och klimatforskning, Lunds universite
Neutron-Induced Scintillation in Organics
Neutrons are widely used as probes of matter to study materials in a broad range of fields from physics, chemistry and medicine to material sciences. Any application utilizing neutrons needs to employ a well-understood and optimized neutron-detector system. This thesis is centered on fundamental aspects of neutron-detector development, including the establishment of the Source Testing Facility at Lund University, experimental methods for the in-depth characterization of scintillator-based neutron detectors and analytical and computational methods for the precise interpretation of results. It focuses on the response of liquid organic scintillators to fast-neutron and gamma-ray irradiations, specifically for NE 213A, EJ 305, EJ 331 and EJ 321P. A simulation-based method for detector calibration was developed which allowed for the use of polyenergetic gamma-ray sources in this low energy-resolution environment. With an actinide/beryllium neutron source and a time-of-flight setup, beams of energy-tagged neutrons were used to study the energy-dependent behaviour of the intrinsic pulse-shape of NE 213A and EJ 305 scintillators. The results demonstrated the advantages of the neutron-tagging method and how the combination of neutron tagging and pulse-shape discrimination can give deeper insight into backgrounds resulting from inelastic neutron scattering. A comprehensive characterization of the neutron scintillation-light yield for NE 213A, EJ 305, EJ 331 and EJ 321P was also performed. It employed the simulation-based calibrations to confirm existing light-yield parametrizations for NE 213A and EJ 305, and resulted in light-yield parametrizations for EJ 331 and EJ 321P extracted for the first time from data. In addition to the development of a simulation-based framework for the study of neutron-induced scintillation in organic scintillators, the methods and results presented in this thesis lay the foundation for future source-based neutron-tagging efforts and scintillator-detector research and development
Looking west: Three Essays on Swedish-American Life
Excerpt from preface:
This book contains three essays on Swedish and Swedish-American topics by Jules Mauritzson, professor of Swedish language and literature at Augustana College from 1901 until his untimely death in 1930.
Table of Contents:
Preface / Dag Blanck, Ann Boaden -- Introduction / Dag Blanck -- The Swedish-American: at Work and Play, at Home and Away (Svensk-amerikanen i helg och söcken, hemma och borta) -- Chicago: From Open Prairie To a City of One Million in Fifty Years (Chicago: frÄn öde prairie till million-stad pÄ femtio Är) -- Christmas Customs, Old and New (Julseder: gamla och nya)https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/ahsbooks/1014/thumbnail.jp
Uppföljning av energi- och klimatrĂ„dgivning hos företag och organisationer - Grund för kommande energitillsynsprojekt i HĂ€ssleholms, Osby och Ăstra Göinge kommun
The oil crisis in the 1970âs made countries realize their dependence on oil; and with it a dependence of other countries. To be self-sufficient and to be able to decrease the impact of economic crises, such as the oil crisis, some countries have started searching for renewable alternatives for fossil fuels. In the same process the importance of saving energy has become another vital action towards a sustainable society. The European Union took action and put forward a growth-strategy for making Europe more sustainable, called Europe 2020. Sweden has developed and set forward national goals, one of which is regarding energy and climate, for the year 2020. In Sweden energy has not until recently been seriously considered as an environmental aspect by the environmental offices of municipals and the environmental inspectors. While this includes every energy aspect in the society this study is focusing only on industries and organizations. Not previously having a systematic way to deal with the energy-subject, Sweden has put forward several measures to fix the current situation. One of these measures is the energy- and climate-advisors, whom is offering free advice to companies, organizations and inhabitants across the land. The study evaluates the effects of the service energy- and climate advising, following up on whether companies and organizations have responded to the advise and implemented energy efficient changes. It also follows up on the amount of energy companies and organizations are using in the municipals HĂ€ssleholm, Osby and Ăstra Göinge. Heavy energy-users above 500 megawatt hours, and those who still use fossil fuels as an energy-source for heating are also established. Of the responding businesses 13 out of 25 have an energy use above 500 megawatt hours, or 52 percent. 7 out of 29 companies currently use fossil fuels for heating, or 24 percent. Energy- and climate advisors are useful tools to inform companies and organizations of the advantages of becoming more energy efficient. A majority of the responding companies and organizations have listened to the advisor and thereby taken some proposed actions, ranging from exchanging lightning to getting rid of old boilers. However, the interaction between businesses and advisors could improve by having a more structural feedback from the companies and organizations. This would allow the advisors to better follow up on the previous visit. In the current situation it can be helpful to primarily use energy and climate advisors to spread awareness and information regarding energy efficiency. However, advisors alone might not be enough to reach our national goals.Ett hĂ„llbart samhĂ€lle Ă€r en fras som blir allt mer aktuell i dagens samhĂ€lle. I arbetet mot en hĂ„llbar utveckling innefattar det att mĂ€nniskan bör lĂ€ra sig att hantera begrĂ€nsade resurser, sĂ„ som olja eller fosfor, pĂ„ ett sĂ„dant sĂ€tt att framtida generationer inte blir lidande av dagens anvĂ€ndning. En av mĂ„nga viktiga Ă„tgĂ€rder mot ett hĂ„llbart samhĂ€lle Ă€r minska anvĂ€ndandet av energi. Denna studie följer upp och undersöker utfört arbete av kommunala sĂ„ kallade energi- och klimatrĂ„dgivare, med syfte att se om deras arbete har nĂ„gon effekt i kampen mot ett energieffektivare samhĂ€lle. RĂ„dgivningen som följs upp har utförts i kommunerna HĂ€ssleholm, Osby och Ăstra Göinge i SkĂ„ne. Studiens undersökning visar att rĂ„dgivare lĂ€mpar sig vĂ€l som verktyg för att informera företag och organisationer om fördelar med energieffektivisering, frĂ€mst i form av ekonomiska besparingar. Det Ă€r viktigt att verksamheter inser de besparingar som kan göras inom deras respektive bransch. Att övertyga verksamheter och visa pĂ„ energieffektiva Ă„tgĂ€rder som kan göras Ă€r nĂ„got som just energi- och klimatrĂ„dgivare Ă€r bra lĂ€mpade för. Majoriteten av undersökta företag och organisationer har enligt rĂ„dgivarens förslag utfört energibesparande Ă„tgĂ€rder, allt frĂ„n att byta ut belysning till att göra sig av med oljepannor. Ett mindre anvĂ€ndande av fossila brĂ€nslen gĂ„r hand i hand med en hĂ„llbar utveckling. Uppföljning av utgiven rĂ„dgivning Ă€r dock nĂ„got som bör förbĂ€ttras, exempelvis genom ett bĂ€ttre samspel mellan verksamhet och rĂ„dgivare i form av Ă„terkopplande feedback frĂ„n rĂ„dgivna verksamheter. En större satsning pĂ„ energi- och klimatrĂ„dgivning kan lĂ€mpligen hjĂ€lpa SkĂ„ne pĂ„ traven inför kommande mĂ„l om energianvĂ€ndning samt anvĂ€ndandet utav fossila brĂ€nslen. Tillsammans med studien gjordes Ă€ven en kartlĂ€ggning över företag och organisationers energianvĂ€ndning, samt identifiering av de som fortfarande anvĂ€nder fossila brĂ€nslen för uppvĂ€rmning. Detta med avseende för att hjĂ€lpa kommande energieffektiviseringsprojekt inom kommunerna. I Sverige har energi tidigare inte ansetts som en miljöaspekt av miljöinspektörer samt miljökontoren i kommuner. Eftersom det tidigare inte har funnits ett systematiskt sĂ€tt att hantera energifrĂ„gan har Sverige lagt fram flera Ă„tgĂ€rder för att rĂ€tta till denna situation. En av dessa Ă€r energi- och klimatrĂ„dgivning som ger ett incitament för företag, organisationer och privatpersoner att efterstrĂ€va en effektivare energianvĂ€ndning. Vare sig om det Ă€r med syfte att vĂ€rna om miljön eller att spara pengar spelar inte sĂ„ stor roll, eftersom de bĂ„da ofta Ă€r sammankopplade. RĂ„dgivningen i sig sjĂ€lv Ă€r dock inte tillrĂ€cklig för att driva oss mot ett hĂ„llbart samhĂ€lle, men det Ă€r Ă€ndĂ„ ett stadigt steg i rĂ€tt
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Ultra High Efficiency ESP for Fine Particulate and Air Toxics Control
Nearly ninety percent of U.S. coal-fired utility boilers are equipped with electrostatic precipitators (ESP). Cost effective retrofittable ESP technologies are the only means to accomplish Department of Energy's (DOE) goal of a major reduction in fine particulate and air toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants. Particles in the size range of 0.1 to 5 {micro}m typically escape ESPs. Metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, molybdenum and antimony, concentrate on these particles. This is the main driver for improved fine particulate control. Vapor phase emissions of mercury, selenium and arsenic are also of major concern. Current dry ESPs, which operate at temperatures greater than 280 F, provide little control for vapor phase toxics. The need for inherent improvement to ESPs has to be considered keeping in perspective the current trend towards the use of low sulfur coals. Switching to low sulfur coals is the dominant approach for SO{sub 2} emission reduction in the utility industry. Low sulfur coals generate high resistivity ash, which can cause an undesirable phenomenon called ''back corona.'' Higher particulate emissions occur if there is back corona in the ESP. Results of the pilot-scale testing identified the ''low temperature ESP'' concept to have the biggest impact for the two low sulfur coals investigated. Lowering the flue gas temperature to 220 F provided the maximum impact in terms of decreased emissions. Intermediate operating temperatures (reduction from 340 to 270 F) also gave significant ESP performance improvement. A significant reduction in particulate emissions was also noted when the flue gas humidity was increased (temperature held constant) from the baseline condition for these moderately high resistivity ash coals. Independent control of flue gas humidity and temperature was an important and a notable element in this project. Mercury emissions were also measured as a function of flue gas temperature. Mercury emissions decreased as the flue gas temperature was lowered, indicating the native ability of ash to capture the mercury. Pulsed operation of the ESP with the SIR module provided a 2 to 3-fold reduction in emissions at the higher operating temperatures. In light of the positive results from Phase I, we propose proof of concept testing in the field in Phase II. The main objective of the Phase II testing would be to determine the ESP performance improvement as a function of flue gas temperature and humidity for a range of low-sulfur coals being fired by utilities. Equally important will be the long-term evaluation of the risk of corrosion and plugging (due to acid condensation) associated with low temperature operation. The impact of higher flue gas velocities (lower SCA-specific collection area), compared to the laboratory pilot program, would also need to be evaluated. A secondary objective would be to examine mercury capture by the ESP at the different temperatures and with sorbent injection
Simulation of the Response of the Solid State Neutron Detector for the European Spallation Source
The characteristics of the Solid-state Neutron Detector, under development
for neutron-scattering measurements at the European Spallation Source, have
been simulated with a Geant4-based computer code. The code models the
interations of thermal neutrons and ionising radiation in the 6Li-doped
scintillating glass of the detector, the production of scintillation light and
the transport of optical, scintillation photons through the the scintillator,
en route to the photo-cathode of the attached multi-anode photomultiplier.
Factors which affect the optical-photon transport, such as surface finish,
pixelation of the glass sheet, provision of a front reflector and optical
coupling media are compared. Predictions of the detector response are compared
with measurements made with neutron and gamma-ray sources, a collimated alpha
source and finely collimated beams of 2.5 MeV protons and deuterons.Comment: Preprint 22 pages, 12 figures, published in NIM
Vanadium based neutron beam monitor
A prototype quasiparasitic thermal neutron beam monitor based on isotropic neutron scattering from a thin natural vanadium foil and standard 3He proportional counters is conceptualized, designed, simulated, calibrated, and commissioned. The European Spallation Source designed to deliver the highest integrated neutron flux originating from a pulsed source is currently under construction in Lund, Sweden. The effort to investigate a vanadium based neutron beam monitor was triggered by a list of requirements for beam monitors permanently placed in the ESS neutron beams in order to provide reliable monitoring at complex beamlines low attenuation, linear response over a wide range of neutron fluxes, near to constant efficiency for neutron wavelengths in a range of 0.6 10 , calibration stability and the possibility to place the system in vacuum are all desirable characteristics. The scattering based prototype, employing a natural vanadium foil andstandard 3He proportional counters, was investigated at the V17 and V20 neutron beamlines of the Helmholtz Zentrum in Berlin, Germany, in several different geometrical configurations of the 3He proportional counters around the foil. Response linearity is successfully demonstrated for foil thicknesses ranging from 0.04 mm to 3.15 mm. Attenuation lower than 1 for thermal neutrons is demonstrated for the 0.04 mm and 0.125 mm foils. The geometries used for the experiment were simulated allowing for absolute flux calibration and establishing the possible range of efficiencies for various designs of the prototype. The operational flux limits for the beam monitor prototype were established as a dependency of the background radiation and prototype geometry. The herein demonstrated prototype monitors can be employed for neutron intensities ranging from 103 1010 n s
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