Life cycle analysis (LCA) and costs for energy storage in piles

This report is a part of the research project Sustainable energy from soils (BEAR). The BEAR project is a collaboration project between the industry, municipality and research institutions in mid Norway, funded by the regional research fund of Trøndelag (grant number 32116). The BEAR project involves designing and testing an energy concept that utilize the soil as a stable source of thermal energy for buildings, meanwhile also working as an integrated part of the building foundation, so called “energy piles”. The hypothesis is that integrating heat exchangers within the building foundations will enable and reduce the investment cost for the establishment of ground source heating systems in buildings that are situated on soils. The BEAR consortium consists of Malvik Municipality (project owner), NGI (project lead), Winns AS, Fundamentering AS, Noranergy AS and NTNU. BEAR comprises of four working packages, where this report summarizes the results and findings of work package 3 (WP3 - Evaluation)

First steps in the development of standardised processes for life cycle assessments of geotechnical works

publishedVersio

Restoration of seagrass habitats: Effects of artificial and natural sediments on the development of transplanted eelgrass (Zostera marina)

publishedVersio

Lime-cement stabilisation of Trondheim clays and its impact on carbon dioxide emissions

publishedVersio

Early life growth and associations with lung function and bronchial hyperresponsiveness at 11-years of age

Low birthweight and being born small-for-gestational age (SGA) are linked to asthma and impaired lung function. Particularly, poor intrauterine growth followed by rapid catch-up growth during childhood may predispose for respiratory disease. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) is an essential feature of asthma, but how foetal and early childhood growth are associated with BHR is less studied. Our hypothesis was that children born SGA or with accelerated early life growth have increased BHR and altered lung function at 11-years of age. We studied the associations between SGA and early childhood growth with lung function and BHR at 11-years of age in a subgroup of 468 children from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), and included data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN). Weight at 6 months of age was positively associated with forced vital capacity (adjusted Beta: 0.121; 95% Confidence interval: 0.023, 0.219) and negatively associated with the ratio of forced expiratory flow in first second/forced vital capacity (−0.204; −0.317, −0.091) at 11-years of age. Similar patterns were found for weight at 36 months and for change in weight from birth to 6 months of age. SGA or other various variables of early childhood growth were not associated with BHR at 11-years of age. Early life growth was associated with an obstructive lung function pattern, but not with BHR in 11-year old children. Foetal growth restriction or weight gain during early childhood do not seem to be important risk factors for subsequent BHR in children.acceptedVersio

Utviklingen i sykefraværet blant gravide fra 1985 og frem til i dag

Sykefraværet blant gravide har endret seg fra 1985 frem til i dag. Det er vanskelig å si noe sikkert om utviklingen fra 1985 til tidlig på -90 tallet da forskningen i denne tidsperioden kun er basert på spørreundersøkelser og ikke sykemeldingsregistreringer, og antall deltagere i studiene er få. I tidsperioden etter starten av -90 tallet og frem til i dag ser man en klar tendens til at sykefraværet blant gravide øker. To studier som har sett på sykefravær blant gravide på begynnelsen av -90 tallet og frem mot midten av 2000-tallet finner økning på henholdsvis 50% og 65%. Årsaken til denne utviklingen er trolig sammensatt, men det virker mindre sannsynlig at det skyldes endringer i arbeidsstokken, økende alder for gravide eller dobbel-byrde for kvinner som er årsaken. Derimot kan studiene peke mer i retning av at årsaken kan være holdningsendringer hos de gravide, arbeidsgiver, kollegaer og legene. Studier antyder at sykefraværet blant gravide arbeidstakere kan senkes dersom det satses mer på tilrettelegging og oppfølging på arbeidsplassen

Hvordan beskrive den totale miljøpåvirkningen fra gjenvinning av masser – mulige metoder

Hovedmålet med GEOreCIRC er å utvikle metoder som danner grunnlag for økt gjen-vinnning av: a) Restprodukter og overskuddsmasse som er lettere forurenset og som i dag blir ansett som et avfall b) Problemfraksjoner som blir ansette som rene, og som har et potensial for gjenvinning. Bygg og anleggsprosjekter genererer ofte store mengder overskuddsmasse. Rene overskuddsmasser kan i dag gjenvinnes etter tillatelse fra Miljødirektoratet for hvert enkelt tilfelle. Tillatelsen gis med bakgrunn i flere kriterier, blant annet at materialet som gjenvinnes skal ha samme egenskaper som de massene de erstatter, samt at det skal utføres en stedspesifikk vurdering av risikoen ved forurensning fra massene som skal gjenvinnes (se NGI, 2019). Det vurderes ikke hvordan gjenvinning av masser kan redusere utslipp av CO2 eller redusere kostnaden for prosjektet. I foreliggende rapport er det kartlagt og beskrevet metoder som kan brukes til å vurdere utslipp til globalt miljø. Det er fokusert på LCA-verktøy, nytte-kost vurderinger og prissetting av miljøgoder og multikriterie beslutningsverktøy. Gjennomgangen av tilgjengelige metoder viser at det er ingen metoder som kan brukes direkte. Det foreslås derfor at CO2-utslipp for prosesser plukkes fra egnede verktøy og summeres i en tabell. Statens vegvesen sin metode for å kvalitativt vurdere konsekvens for ikke-prissatte størrelser som ikke kan vurderes som CO2-utslipp brukes også. Metoden er gjort for et case og resultatene viser at gjenvinning av masser gir betydelig mindre utslipp av CO2 og også lavere kostnader for tiltaket

Hvordan beskrive den totale miljøpåvirkningen fra gjenvinning av masser – mulige metoder

Hovedmålet med GEOreCIRC er å utvikle metoder som danner grunnlag for økt gjen-vinnning av: a) Restprodukter og overskuddsmasse som er lettere forurenset og som i dag blir ansett som et avfall b) Problemfraksjoner som blir ansette som rene, og som har et potensial for gjenvinning. Bygg og anleggsprosjekter genererer ofte store mengder overskuddsmasse. Rene overskuddsmasser kan i dag gjenvinnes etter tillatelse fra Miljødirektoratet for hvert enkelt tilfelle. Tillatelsen gis med bakgrunn i flere kriterier, blant annet at materialet som gjenvinnes skal ha samme egenskaper som de massene de erstatter, samt at det skal utføres en stedspesifikk vurdering av risikoen ved forurensning fra massene som skal gjenvinnes (se NGI, 2019). Det vurderes ikke hvordan gjenvinning av masser kan redusere utslipp av CO2 eller redusere kostnaden for prosjektet. I foreliggende rapport er det kartlagt og beskrevet metoder som kan brukes til å vurdere utslipp til globalt miljø. Det er fokusert på LCA-verktøy, nytte-kost vurderinger og prissetting av miljøgoder og multikriterie beslutningsverktøy. Gjennomgangen av tilgjengelige metoder viser at det er ingen metoder som kan brukes direkte. Det foreslås derfor at CO2-utslipp for prosesser plukkes fra egnede verktøy og summeres i en tabell. Statens vegvesen sin metode for å kvalitativt vurdere konsekvens for ikke-prissatte størrelser som ikke kan vurderes som CO2-utslipp brukes også. Metoden er gjort for et case og resultatene viser at gjenvinning av masser gir betydelig mindre utslipp av CO2 og også lavere kostnader for tiltaket.Norges forskningsrådpublishedVersio

The role of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus in affecting the fate of marine oil spills

Background: Oil spills in marine environments are subject to biological, physical and chemical weathering processes, including entrainment of oil as droplets in the water column. The oil droplets with diameter < 100 μm are within the size range of particles ingested by marine filter-feeders. Ingestion of oil droplets has been reported for several species of zooplankton, including the calanoid copepod Calanus finmarchicus. C. finmarchicus is ubiquitous in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Barents Sea. Based on their high abundance, high feeding activity, and indiscriminate feeding strategy, copepods have been suggested to contribute to weathering and transport processes of oil spills. Aim: The aim of this thesis was to investigate how the abundant marine filter-feeder C. finmarchicus influence transport and weathering of oil dispersions. The work included: 1. A modelling approach using the oil spill contingency and response model OSCAR with a filter-feeder module implemented, determining the quantity of an oil spill that can be removed by ingestion by C. finmarchicus. 2. Laboratory studies determining: a. Concentration of oil in C. finmarchicus feeding in dilute oil dispersions b. Feeding activity of C. finmarchicus in dilute oil dispersions c. Accumulation of oil compounds to C. finmarchicus from dilute oil dispersions and the corresponding water soluble fraction (WSF) d. Viable and total microbial communities in clean and oil-containing feces from C. finmarchicus e. Biodegradation of dilute oil dispersions in the presence of feces from C. finmarchicus Results and discussion: The modeling approach estimated that C. finmarchicus may ingest between 1 and 40% of an oil spill. The estimates in the lower ranges (≤ 2%) were suggested to be realistic, since the high range estimates combined extreme values for several input parameters. The input parameters that had highest impact on the quantity of oil removed by C. finmarchicus were the size limit for droplets ingested, and the population density. The laboratory studies showed that at fixed density (50 ind. L-1) and oil droplet size (diameter < 40 μm), the concentrations of oil in C. finmarchicus biomass were ranging between 3 and 14 mg oil kg-1 (exposure concentration 5.5-0.3 mg L-1). Both the concentration of oil in the biomass and the feeding activity of the copepods were low at the high concentration of oil. The feeding activity were rapidly significantly reduced at low concentrations of oil (17 h, 1.4 μL L-1,) indicating that C. finmarchicus have largest impact on oil spills at an early stage and at low concentrations. Ingestion of oil droplets contributed to rapid accumulation of all oil compounds. Accumulation from the WSF reached steady state for the low lipophilic (log Kow < 5) compounds within 24 hours, while the high lipophilic compounds (log Kow > 5) did not reach steady state within the 96 hour exposure. Over time, lower concentrations of the low lipophilic compounds were observed in oil dispersion exposed C. finmarchicus compared to WSF-exposed. This indicated elimination to the water, and may cause redistribution of these compounds during oil spills. Since the concentration of the high lipophilic compounds not was affected similarly, C. finmarchicus biomass may act as a sink for high lipophilic oil compounds. The oil-containing feces from C. finmarchicus feeding in dilute oil dispersions contained significantly higher concentrations of viable oil-degrading microorganisms. The total microbial communities were similar between the clean and oil-containing feces, and the oil-degrading activity was suggested to be mediated by indigenous feces bacteria. The presence of oil-containing feces resulted in higher biodegradation of the nalkanes in a dilute oil dispersion, while the presence of clean copepod feces resulted in lower biodegradation of the n-alkanes. This supported the suggestion that the indigenous feces bacteria were mediating the oil-degrading activity. These bacteria may have preferred carbon in feces prior to the carbon in the n-alkanes. The oil and copepod feces also formed large agglomerates. These may increase the sedimentation of relatively un-weathered oil towards the seabed during oil spills, depending on their effective density. The presence of clean C. finmarchicus feces resulted in higher biodegradation of the aromatic fraction, suggested to be caused by leaking of nutrients from the copepod feces. The presence of C. finmarchicus feces can thus increase the biodegradation of the dissolved fraction of an oil spill. Conclusion: The results indicated that a substantial concentration of oil can be contained in the C. finmarchicus biomass during oil spills. Further, C. finmarchicus biomass can contribute to redistribution of the low lipophilic oil compounds and function as a sink for dissolved high lipophilic compounds. The excretion of oil in feces increased the concentration of viable oil-degrading microorganisms in the feces, mediated by the indigenous feces bacteria. Biodegradation of the n-alkanes was dependent on the quantity of feces present, while the biodegradation of the aromatic compounds was increased in the presence of copepod feces