Materials Balance for Bromine, Chlorine, Sulfur, and Nitrogen in Europe

An understanding of the flow of toxic materials through industry and into the environment is one of the major tasks for the IIASA Study, "The Future Environments for Europe: Some Implications, of Alternative Development Paths". Toxic chemicals represent a great threat to the environment, and yet they are commonly used in industrial societies. A sustainable development path would require that usage and disposal of toxic chemicals be compatible with the long-term health of humans and the natural environment. Examining the current and past flows of these materials is a starting point for understanding options for management of their use and disposal, and the impact these options might have on the economy and society. The method chosen to analyze this problem is a materials balance approach in which toxic chemicals are traced as they move through the industrial economy; from extraction to production to intermediate uses and finally to end uses. The methodology and its advantages and disadvantages are discussed in some detail in Chapter 2. The implementation of this approach will become apparent in Chapters 3 through 6 as four individual chemical elements are studied. The four elements examined are bromine, chlorine, sulfur and nitrogen. These chemicals were chosen from a list of 15 which were of particular interest because of the exceptional biological activity of many of the compounds derived from them. The major goal of the project was to develop process-product flow diagrams for these elements showing their pathways through the industrial economy. Each of Chapters 3 through 6 contains a discussion of production processes, major uses, process-product flow diagram(s) and an Appendix with detailed information about the chemical transformations involved in each of the processes. In addition, further investigations including quantitative analysis and discussions of the applicability of this approach for a given element are included in some of the Chapters. Chapter 3, Bromine, presents a detailed qualitative material balance and a more aggregated quantitative material balance for the Netherlands and the United States for 1978 and 1985. The selection of these two countries was based solely on available data. Although the U.S. is not formally part of the study, it is useful as it more closely represents the Western European consumption pattern on average than the Netherlands. While the quantitative analysis focuses only on two countries for two years, it does demonstrate both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the material balance approach. Bromine consumption is an interesting case as it has been heavily impacted by the phase-out of leaded gasoline and strong market shifts are expected in the future. Chapter 4, Chlorine, presents an in-depth qualitative materials balance and a look at the pathways of chlorine into the environment based on its pattern of end-use consumption. Currently, millions of tons of chlorine are produced each year for use as a disinfectant and in the organic and inorganic chemical industries. Many of the end-uses of chlorine result in eventual releases into the environment of various compounds which have a significant effect on environmental quality. Organic chlorine compounds are of great use to man because they are not readily biodegradable and they are chemically stable. However, because of these qualities they represent some of the most difficult disposal problems of any anthropogenic material. Chapter 5, Sulfur, presents a thorough qualitative analysis of the industrial processes and an in-depth discussion of the applicability of the materials balance approach to sulfur. A large portion of anthropogenically mobilized sulfur is from the burning of fossil fuels and the smelting of ores, two processes where sulfur is not an intentional product, simply an unavoidable one. The bulk of scientific study of sulfur wastes is concentrated on these areas due to their contribution to the acid rain problem. The analysis presented here shows that over half of the total anthropogenic sulfur budget in Europe is from industrial sources other than fossil fuels and ore smelting. This is a fairly surprising result. Thus, the flow of sulfur through the industrial economy in Europe is significant and greater understanding of the eventual disposal of this sulfur is needed. In addition, sulfuric acid is the number one industrial chemical based on the tonnage of production. It is used in a myriad of industries where it is generally consumed in the process and not embodied in the end product. This presents difficulties in the implementation of the materials balance analysis for sulfur. Chapter 6, Nitrogen, presents the process-product flow diagram for nitrogen. About 95% of the anthropogenically mobilized nitrogen is in the form of ammonia. Therefore, this chapter concentrates on the production and eventual end-uses of ammonia. While the process-product diagram is quite thorough, due to time constraints, further discussion and analysis of nitrogen is left as a future research topic. This report is the first step toward completing the task of understanding the impact of toxic materials in Europe. Future analysts may use the process-product diagrams and the analysis presented in this report as a starting point for a historical reconstruction which then could be used for building future scenarios of chemical flows of toxic materials

Industrial Metabolism, the Environment, and Application of Materials-Balance. Principles for Selected Chemicals

This report provides an important step in our understanding of material flows for four widely used inorganic chemicals, bromine, chlorine, sulfur, and nitrogen. Also, by invoking the concept of industrial metabolism, the authors provide a new vision for understanding how industrial sciences produce, process, use, and dispose of materials, and how these activities, taken as a whole, are linked to environmental change

Measurement of χ c1 and χ c2 production with s√ = 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

The prompt and non-prompt production cross-sections for the χ c1 and χ c2 charmonium states are measured in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using 4.5 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The χ c states are reconstructed through the radiative decay χ c → J/ψγ (with J/ψ → μ + μ −) where photons are reconstructed from γ → e + e − conversions. The production rate of the χ c2 state relative to the χ c1 state is measured for prompt and non-prompt χ c as a function of J/ψ transverse momentum. The prompt χ c cross-sections are combined with existing measurements of prompt J/ψ production to derive the fraction of prompt J/ψ produced in feed-down from χ c decays. The fractions of χ c1 and χ c2 produced in b-hadron decays are also measured

Measurement of the flavour composition of dijet events in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper describes a measurement of the flavour composition of dijet events produced in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV using the ATLAS detector. The measurement uses the full 2010 data sample, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 39 pb−1. Six possible combinations of light, charm and bottom jets are identified in the dijet events, where the jet flavour is defined by the presence of bottom, charm or solely light flavour hadrons in the jet. Kinematic variables, based on the properties of displaced decay vertices and optimised for jet flavour identification, are used in a multidimensional template fit to measure the fractions of these dijet flavour states as functions of the leading jet transverse momentum in the range 40 GeV to 500 GeV and jet rapidity |y|<2.1. The fit results agree with the predictions of leading- and next-to-leading-order calculations, with the exception of the dijet fraction composed of bottom and light flavour jets, which is underestimated by all models at large transverse jet momenta. The ability to identify jets containing two b-hadrons, originating from e.g. gluon splitting, is demonstrated. The difference between bottom jet production rates in leading and subleading jets is consistent with the next-to-leading-order predictions

Measurement of the production of a W boson in association with a charm quark in pp collisions at √s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The production of a W boson in association with a single charm quark is studied using 4.6 fb−1 of pp collision data at s√ = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. In events in which a W boson decays to an electron or muon, the charm quark is tagged either by its semileptonic decay to a muon or by the presence of a charmed meson. The integrated and differential cross sections as a function of the pseudorapidity of the lepton from the W-boson decay are measured. Results are compared to the predictions of next-to-leading-order QCD calculations obtained from various parton distribution function parameterisations. The ratio of the strange-to-down sea-quark distributions is determined to be 0.96+0.26−0.30 at Q 2 = 1.9 GeV2, which supports the hypothesis of an SU(3)-symmetric composition of the light-quark sea. Additionally, the cross-section ratio σ(W + +c¯¯)/σ(W − + c) is compared to the predictions obtained using parton distribution function parameterisations with different assumptions about the s−s¯¯¯ quark asymmetry

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections for Higgs boson production in the diphoton decay channel at s√=8 TeV with ATLAS

Measurements of fiducial and differential cross sections are presented for Higgs boson production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8 TeV. The analysis is performed in the H → γγ decay channel using 20.3 fb−1 of data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The signal is extracted using a fit to the diphoton invariant mass spectrum assuming that the width of the resonance is much smaller than the experimental resolution. The signal yields are corrected for the effects of detector inefficiency and resolution. The pp → H → γγ fiducial cross section is measured to be 43.2 ±9.4(stat.) − 2.9 + 3.2 (syst.) ±1.2(lumi)fb for a Higgs boson of mass 125.4GeV decaying to two isolated photons that have transverse momentum greater than 35% and 25% of the diphoton invariant mass and each with absolute pseudorapidity less than 2.37. Four additional fiducial cross sections and two cross-section limits are presented in phase space regions that test the theoretical modelling of different Higgs boson production mechanisms, or are sensitive to physics beyond the Standard Model. Differential cross sections are also presented, as a function of variables related to the diphoton kinematics and the jet activity produced in the Higgs boson events. The observed spectra are statistically limited but broadly in line with the theoretical expectations

Search for squarks and gluinos with the ATLAS detector in final states with jets and missing transverse momentum using √s=8 TeV proton-proton collision data

A search for squarks and gluinos in final states containing high-p T jets, missing transverse momentum and no electrons or muons is presented. The data were recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment in s√=8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, with a total integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. Results are interpreted in a variety of simplified and specific supersymmetry-breaking models assuming that R-parity is conserved and that the lightest neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. An exclusion limit at the 95% confidence level on the mass of the gluino is set at 1330 GeV for a simplified model incorporating only a gluino and the lightest neutralino. For a simplified model involving the strong production of first- and second-generation squarks, squark masses below 850 GeV (440 GeV) are excluded for a massless lightest neutralino, assuming mass degenerate (single light-flavour) squarks. In mSUGRA/CMSSM models with tan β = 30, A 0 = −2m 0 and μ > 0, squarks and gluinos of equal mass are excluded for masses below 1700 GeV. Additional limits are set for non-universal Higgs mass models with gaugino mediation and for simplified models involving the pair production of gluinos, each decaying to a top squark and a top quark, with the top squark decaying to a charm quark and a neutralino. These limits extend the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded by previous searches with the ATLAS detector

Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (ΛR c) of approximately 30

Evidence for the Higgs-boson Yukawa coupling to tau leptons with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for H → τ τ decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb−1 and 20.3 fb−1 at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (τ → `νν¯ with ` = e, µ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ν) tau decays are considered. An excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (3.4) standard deviations. This excess provides evidence for the direct coupling of the recently discovered Higgs boson to fermions. The measured signal strength, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, of µ = 1.43 +0.43 −0.37 is consistent with the predicted Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model

Measurement of the top pair production cross section in 8 TeV proton-proton collisions using kinematic information in the lepton plus jets final state with ATLAS

A measurement is presented of the $t\bar{t}$ inclusive production cross-section in $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=8$ TeV using data collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement was performed in the lepton+jets final state using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb$^{-1}$. The cross-section was obtained using a likelihood discriminant fit and $b$-jet identification was used to improve the signal-to-background ratio. The inclusive $t\bar{t}$ production cross-section was measured to be $260\pm 1{\textrm{(stat.)}} ^{+22}_{-23} {\textrm{(syst.)}}\pm 8{\textrm{(lumi.)}}\pm 4{\mathrm{(beam)}}$ pb assuming a top-quark mass of 172.5 GeV, in good agreement with the theoretical prediction of $253^{+13}_{-15}$ pb. The $t\bar{t}\to (e,\mu)+{\mathrm{jets}}$ production cross-section in the fiducial region determined by the detector acceptance is also reported.Comment: Published version, 19 pages plus author list (35 pages total), 3 figures, 2 tables, all figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/TOPQ-2013-06