Das Projekt "Conversion of Data on the Arise of Hazardous Waste to the EWC-Stat Waste Classification System" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Öko-Institut. Institut für angewandte Ökologie e.V. durchgeführt.
Das Projekt "Demonstration of direct Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) co-combustion in pulverised fuel plants and implementation of a sustainable waste-to-energy technology in large-scale energy production (RECOFUEL)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von REMONDIS GmbH, Stoffstrom-Marktentwicklung SBS durchgeführt. Objective: The use of Solid Recovered Fuels (SRF) derived from mixed-/mono waste streams is expected to result in a significant contribution to the generation of sustainable energy. The demand for alternative waste treatment is addressed by production and direct co-combustion of SRF in pulverised fuel fired power plants as an environmentally friendly, energy efficient, short-term available and cost effective technical solution. The project assists the implementation of EU policies (energy, environmental, economic and social goals) by sustainable energy production, CO2 emission reduction, preservation of natural resources and abatement of hazardous impacts on the environment due to landfill. The proposed project comprises large-scale demonstration of SRF co-combustion at a 450MWth brown coal/lignite boiler of RWE Rheinbraun AG in a continuous period of at least 12 months with the scope of permanent and reliable operation. A thermal share of 10% is envisaged (25.000 - 50.000 Mg/a SRF) resulting in a direct environmental benefit up to 50.000 Mg/a CO2 by the efficient use of the renewable share of SRF. With successful demonstration the implementation of the SRF co-combustion technology at further comparable and larger units of RWE is envisaged. Operational problems arising during former short-term co-combustion tests with hard coal could be successfully solved by an improved fuel production and a reliable quality control system. The interaction between a reliable quality control, quality management system and the combustion technology makes this technology competitive in the liberalised energy market without any additional subsidy. To achieve the ambitious goals partners of industry and research centres with substantial expertise in the areas covering the whole waste-to-energy chain created a consortium.
Das Projekt "Mehrphysik-Modellierung von Zwei- und Dreiphasenströmung unter Berücksichtigung des Kapillardrucks" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Wasser- und Umweltsystemmodellierung durchgeführt. Viele technische sowie umweltrelevante Anwendung der Mehrphasenmodellierung in Porösen Medien (CO2 Speicherung, erweiterte Ölförderung oder die Beseitigung gefährlicher Stoffe aus dem Grundwasser) erfordern rechenintensive Simulationen auf großen Gebieten und über eine lange Zeitspanne. Meistens treten komplizierte Transportprozesse jedoch nur in kleinen Teilgebieten auf. Hier lässt sich die Qualität der Simulation durch verfeinerte Gitterauflösung und eine detailliertere physikalische Prozessbeschreibung verbessern. Außerhalb ist es im Hinblick auf die Rechenleistung dennoch ratsam, auf groben Gittern und mit einfachen physikalischen Modellen zu rechnen. Daher scheinen flexible und dadurch effiziente Modellierungsstrategien angeraten zu sein. Bei Mehrphysik-Ansätzen werden lokal unterschiedlich detaillierte Modellkonzepte angewandt, um die vorliegenden physikalischen Prozesse korrekt aber möglichst einfach abbilden zu können. Basierend auf dem Ansatz von J. Fritz wurde das Entkoppelte System um Kapillarkräfte und mit einem Dreiphasenansatz erweitert, und somit die Modellkomplexität weiter verfeinert. Zusätzlich wird das Gitter angepasst, um besonders interessante Teilgebiete besser auflösen zu können und um lokale Strömungen wie beispielsweise Infiltrationsfronten modellieren zu können. Die Flüsse an den durch Verfeinerung entstandenen 'hängenden Knoten' werden durch eine Mehrpunktflussapproximation realisiert, um Fehler durch unterschiedliche Gitterauflösungen zu vermeiden.
Das Projekt "Defining organic matter reactivity and its influence on arsenic release to groundwater in the Mekong Delta" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Institut für Integrative Biologie durchgeführt. Naturally occurring arsenic (As) in groundwater aquifers is widely recognized as a threat to water resources. An estimated 100 million people worldwide are exposed to hazardous levels of As in their drinking water, predominately in South and Southeast Asia. Biologically-driven reductive dissolution of As-bearing Fe(III)-(hydr)oxides and As(V) are generally accepted to be the dominant mode of As release, resulted from microbial degradation of organic matter (OM) under limited oxygenation within soils/sediments. As the release process is governed by OM and its decomposition mechanisms and rates, it is crucial to understand the nature and reactivity of OM. Within the Mekong Delta of Cambodia, As release to groundwater was recently identified to occur mainly in the shallow clay layers of permanently saturated wetlands. In contrast, lesser amounts of As are released in the surficial clay layers below seasonally saturated wetlands. The two locations therefore provide an ideal opportunity to study the nature of OM and compare its reactivity during decomposition in similar environments under different redox conditions. Accordingly, we seek to determine how different geomorphic features result in different quantities and type of OM, and to link the characteristics of OM to the quantity of As release. During a field trip in July 2010 two 1 m deep soil profiles from two different locations (permanently and seasonally saturated wetlands), were sampled for OM characterization. Visual inspection of the seasonally saturated wetlands profile showed two different OM morphologies with leaf-type OM in the upper and amorphous OM in the lower part of the profile, while no leaf-type OM was found in the permanently saturated wetlands. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy revealed significant differences between the two materials, especially in the areas of C=O vibrations of carboxylates and of CH and NH (amide II) bending motions. Two high-resolution sediment sequences up to 6 m depth in both seasonally and permanently saturated wetlands are presently being examined by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Further, synchrotron-based FTIR spectra of transition zones and of the organic matter-mineral assemblages are being investigated. The specific chemical states are then be related to reactivity through incubation studies. Collectively, the results of this study will provide valuable insights into the role and heterogeneity of OM driving As liberation.
Das Projekt "Antimony leaching from contaminated soil under different water regimes" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Institut für terrestrische Ökosysteme, Ökosystemmanagement durchgeführt. Antimony (Sb) is a rather rare element in the earth's crust, but in the recent past, human activities have led to highly elevated Sb concentrations in soils and sediments at many locations and, as a consequence, to increased exposure of biota to this toxic element. Soil contamination by Sb has recently become an urgent issue in particular on shooting ranges. In Switzerland, all shooting ranges are currently examined and will be remediated within the next decade. This implies the removal of large quantities of contaminated soil. Large fractions of these soils are not heavily contaminated but have to be treated because they are located in pollution-sensitive areas such as groundwater protection zones. This soil can potentially be reused for less sensitive types of land-use, saving high treatment costs and precious hazardous waste disposal space. Knowledge about the risks of Sb leaching from such soils is very limited, however. One key factor regarding solute leaching is the water regime, particularly in soils subject to permanent or periodic water-logging. Water-logging strongly inhibits soil aeration, and this can have a strong influence on the entirety of chemical and biological conditions affecting solute transport in soil. This holds all the more for elements that are sensitive to changes in their oxidation state under environmental conditions such as Sb. Given that there is very little information available on the transport behavior of Sb in soils, particularly under dynamic water regimes, this project has the aim to investigate the influence of water-logging on Sb leaching from contaminated soil. For this purpose, we carry out experiments with a relocated shooting range soil as well as with a comparable synthetic soil in order to identify and model the role of sorption and redox processes on Sb mobilization and leaching. Special attention will be given to the speciation of Sb in the soil solution. The results will be relevant beyond providing a scientific basis for the risk assessment of Sb leaching from contaminated soil, as it will also further the mechanistic understanding of how water-logging affects the transport of redox-sensitive solutes in soils in general.
Das Projekt "Man-induced Environmental Risks: Monitoring, Management and Remediation of Man-made Changes in Siberia (ENVIRO-RISKS (CA))" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Danmarks Meteorologiske Institut durchgeführt. Siberia environment has been subjected to serious man-made transformations during last 50 years. Current regional level environmental risks are: direct damages to environment caused by accidents in process of petroleum/gas production and transporting inc luding their influence on water, soil, vegetation and animals; caused by deforestation (cutting and forest fires) variations in Siberian rivers runoffs and wetland regimes; direct and indirect influence of forest fires, flambeau lights and losses of gas and petroleum during their transportation on regional atmosphere composition; deposition of hazardous species leading to risks to soil, water and consequently to risks in the food chain. These regional problems are typical for number of NIS and some Europ ean countries, whose territory are crossed by pipelines and/or are used for petroleum production. Strategic objective of the project is to facilitate elaboration of solid scientific background and understanding of man-made associated environmental risks, their influence on all aspects of regional environment and optimal ways for it remediation by means of coordinated initiatives of a range of relevant RTD projects as well as to achieve improved integration of the European research giving the projects ad ditional synergy in current and future activities and potential for practical applications.Scientific background allowing us to reach this objective is formed by a number of different levels RTD projects devoted to near all aspects of the theme but in vi rtue of synergy lack not resulting in improvement of regional environmental situation. The set comprise coordinated/performed by Partners EC funded thematic international projects , national projects supported by Siberian Branch of RAS, RAS and Russian F oundation for Basic Research and projects performed by NIS Partners under contracts with regional/local administrations and petroleum/gas producing and transporting enterprises/companies.
Das Projekt "Monitoring and forecasting airborne ragweed pollen concentrations in the south-eastern part of its European distribution" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Météo Suisse, Station aérologique durchgeführt. During the last decades, there was an important increase in the prevalence of allergies in most European countries. Pollen related allergy is an important disease, resulting in symptoms of hay fever and asthma in 10Prozent to 20Prozent of the population, with notable higher prevalence rates in some countries, and especially in young age groups. Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) pollen is known as the main and most dangerous allergen in the areas infested by this invasive species. This North-American plant is spreading all over Central, Eastern and Southern Europe since the 1960's from three main infested regions: Hungary, Lyon in France and the Po Valley in Italy. Monitoring airborne ragweed pollen has two main applications: - survey the spread of the plant and the effectiveness of the eradication measures, - provide physicians with necessary data for diagnosis, therapy and prevention of allergic diseases, and allergic persons with information in order to reduce the pollen exposure to a minimum. In all countries of Western Europe, pollen monitoring and forecasting is well developed and has proven to be useful for many groups, allergy sufferers, medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies. In contrast, many Eastern countries have very few pollen monitoring sites and no developed forecast models. This proposal will focus on the following points: - installing pollen monitoring sites in regions where they are lacking - providing complete aerobiological data for these sites to the medical community and the public - developing forecast models of ragweed airborne pollen presence and concentration for allergy prevention - allowing aerobiological survey of ragweed extension in the whole central Balkan region and then recommendation for ragweed eradication - integrate and share results and data above national borders The 2000 - 2003 SCOPES project 'Forecasting of the main allergenic pollen types in Albania and development of the monitoring network' has demonstrated the usefulness of such a network at a national level. Now, the present project focuses on the extension of the use of aerobiological data towards the survey of a dangerous health threatening plant species and the recommendations for preventive or eradication measures, and international collaboration. Existing forecast models need to be adapted to this particular region, and modified to be valid for a larger area. New models will be developed and tested. These models will integrate the pollen situation in the different participating countries and the neighboring ones. For the first time in Europe, pollen forecasting models will be cross-borders.
Das Projekt "Quantification of ice content in mountain permafrost based on geophysical data and simulated annealing" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von University of Fribourg, Geosciences Departement, Geography Unit durchgeführt. Current and future global warming will cause the degradation of mountain permafrost, which may strongly influence the stability of permafrost slopes or rock walls with potentially hazardous consequences. Due to the strong heterogeneity of both the thermal regime and the ground composition of mountain permafrost, its response to atmospheric forcing can however be highly variable for different landforms and within short distances. The spatial distribution of ice and liquid water is important for determining the sensitivity of a specific permafrost occurrence to climate change because of their large influence on the pace of temperature changes (by effects of latent heat) and their importance for geotechnical properties of the ground. Detailed knowledge of the material properties and internal structures of frozen ground is therefore an important prerequisite to determine the sensitivity of permafrost to climate change. Except for the active layer ice and water contents and their temporal and spatial variability usually cannot be measured directly. Geophysical methods are sensitive for the ice and liquid water content in the ground. With the proposed collaboration, two similar but complementary approaches to quantify the composition of the ground based on 2D sections of geophysical data will be combined for an improved determination of ice and water contents in permafrost regions. The so-called 4-phase model (4PM) is based on two simple petrophysical relationships for electrical resistivity and seismic velocity and estimates volumetric fractions of ice, water, and air within the pore volume of a rock matrix by jointly using complementary data sets from electric and seismic measurements. Due to inherent ambiguities in the model it is still restricted to specific cases and often allows only a rough estimation of the phase fractions. Major drawbacks of the current 4PM comprise the unsatisfactory discrimination between rock and ice and its under-determinedness, requiring the prescription of the porosity and further parameters. The so-called RSANN model (developed and used by the host institution) uses the technique of simulated annealing (a Monte-Carlo-type stochastic simulation approach) as an optimization tool for the integration of electrical resistivity and P-wave velocity to derive 2D sections of porosity, water saturation and volumetric water content. The simulated annealing technique allows - due to its iterative procedure - more parameters to be predicted instead of being prescribed as in the 4PM. The objective of the proposed collaboration is to combine the advantages of the two algorithms (4PM and RSANN) to overcome the shortcomings of the 4PM in order to improve the reliability of the determined ice and liquid water contents. (...)
Das Projekt "Quantification of climate uncertainty for deep mitigation scenarios" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Institut für Atmosphäre und Klima durchgeführt. International climate policy anticipates sharply declining emissions and the possibility to even extract greenhouse gases from the atmosphere in the coming decades to avoid dangerous climate change. This project explores the uncertainties in climate projections for such a possible future. As anthropogenic climate change and its ecological, societal and economic impacts are becoming increasingly significant, nations are aiming at curbing global emissions onto a downward trajectory to avoid dangerous climate change. The climate negotiations reality points towards a peak in global emissions in the next couple of decades with a steep decline afterwards. This comes with the assumption that technologies to actively extract greenhouse gases from the atmosphere will be available. Climate models are valuable to inform policy. However, the focus of these models has been on high emission scenarios and little attention has been given scenarios with sharply declining emissions. Yet, because of the highly non-linear behaviour of the climate system, the behaviour of the climate system can differ significantly between scenarios that assume either high or very low emissions in the future. This project aims at exploring and probabilistically quantifying the future climate system response to very low emission scenarios. In order to gain an understanding which is as robust as possible, a suite of climate models with varying complexity and strengths is used. Particularly the climatic response in terms of global greenhouse gas concentrations and temperature increase will be assessed, as they are key climatic indicator in the international negotiations. The quantification of climate projections for extremely low emission scenarios will help to elucidate the feasibility of such scenarios from a physical science perspective. This project hence aims at informing international climate policy about possible physical limitations and constraints imposed by the climate system on future climate change, even with very sharp emission reductions.
Das Projekt "Water Detoxification Using Innovative vi-Nanocatalysts (CLEAN WATER)" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von National Center for Scientific Research Demokritos durchgeführt. Objective: The concept of the project is based on the development of innovative nanostructured UV-Visible photocatalysts for water treatment and detoxification by using doped TiO2 nanomaterials with visible light response. The project aims at an efficient and viable water detoxification technology exploiting solar energy and recent advances in nano-engineered titania photocatalysts and nanofiltration membranes for the destruction of extremely hazardous compounds in water. To this aim, the UV-vis responding titania nanostructured photocatalysts will be stabilized on nanotubular membranes of controlled pore size and retention efficiency as well as on carbon nanotubes exploiting their high surface area and unique electron transport properties to achieve photocatalytically active nanofiltration membranes. This will be the crucial component for the fabrication of innovative continuous flow photocatalytic-disinfection-membrane reactors for the implementation of a sustainable and cost effective water treatment technology based on nanoengineered materials. Comparative evaluation of the UV-visible and solar light efficiency of the modified titania photocatalysts for water detoxification will be performed on specific target pollutants focused mainly on cyanobacterial toxin MC-LR and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC) in water supplies as well as classical water pollutants such us phenols, pesticides and azo-dyes. Particular efforts will be devoted on the analysis and quantification of degradation products. The final goal is the scale up of the photocatalytic reactor technology and its application in lakes, tanks and continuous flow systems for public water distribution.
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