Life cycle assessment of biogas from sewage treatment sludge; Livscykelanalys av biogas fraan avloppsreningsverksslam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palm, David; Ek, Mats (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Inst., Stockholm (Sweden))

2010-08-15

This report analyses the environmental impact from 1MJ of biogas (as vehicle fuel) produced by anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge. Data are primarily taken from Kaeppala sewage treatment plant, but have been complemented with data from literature. As a base case, the biogas has only been given the environmental burden from upgrading and purification of raw gas. This is because the anaerobic digestion is an inherent part of the waste water treatment in Sweden, biogas being produced regardless of its chosen end utilization. Calculations have also been performed with system expansion where the anaerobic digestion, sludge treatment and replaced mineral fertilizer have been included in the analysis, as well as calculations based on economic and energy allocation. The results have been characterised in accordance to CML (2007) for the potential of global warming on a 100 year perspective, eutrophication, acidification, photochemical oxidation creation and particles. The study represents a Swedish state-of-the-art plant for biogas production but also includes a sensitivity analysis that cover a Swedish average plant and a worst case plant. The sensitivity analysis shows a major impact on the results from methane leakage during anaerobic digestion and upgrading. The electricity consumption and choice of Swedish average electricity versus Swedish marginal electricity is of less importance for the outcome of the study

Survey on non-nuclear radioactive waste; Kartlaeggning av radioaktivt avfall fraan icke kaernteknisk verksamhet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-11-01

On request from the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, the Swedish government has in May 2002 set up a non-standing committee for non-nuclear radioactive waste. The objective was to elaborate proposals for a national system for the management of all types of non-nuclear radioactive wastes with special consideration of inter alia the polluter pays principle and the responsibility of the producers. The committee will deliver its proposals to the government 1 December 2003. SSI has assisted the committee to the necessary extent to fulfill the investigation. This report is a summery of SSI's background material concerning non-nuclear radioactive waste in Sweden.

Aggregation of experience from converted forest industrial fluidized bedboilers; Erfarenhetssammanstaellning fraan konverterade fluidiserad-baeddpannor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broden, Henrik; Berntsson, Mikael; Herstad Svaerd, Solvie; Kjoerk, Anders

2011-04-15

This report compiles operating experience from eight forest industrial boilers converted to BFB technology. The conversion has in all cases been driven by the need by increasing the solid fuel capacity and an increased interest in electricity generation as rising electricity prices. Conversion of an existing boiler has proven to be a cost effective alternative which by responding plant owners is described as being equivalent to new construction in terms of reliability. The studied boilers exhibit run times of between 350 and more than 360 days per year. The choice of BFB is justified by the boiler type's good opportunities to burn wet fuel and its ability to cope with rapid load changes. In terms of emission it turns out that these boilers, as compared with NO{sub x}-register, are somewhat better than average for the forest industrial boilers and slightly worse than the average for boilers in total. Analysis of data of studied boilers shows that there is a clear correlation between high fire load and high emissions. Construction owners report a few cases of corrosion and erosion. Sintering and bed agglomeration occur, but is not a major problem. Most problem have been fuel related

Sieving of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash; Siktning av askor fraan avfallsfoerbraenning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Todorovic, Jelena

2010-07-01

Waste-to-Energy is steadily increasing in Sweden and more than 46 % of municipal solid waste (MSW) is being incinerated. Solid residues from MSW incineration (MSWI) mainly constitute of bottom ash and air pollution control (APC) residues. Bottom ashes from MSWI amounted to 0.7 millions of tons and APC residues to 0.2 millions of tons in 2008. Bottom ashes from MSWI contain pollutants like metals (e.g. Pb, Zn, Cu), metalloids (e.g. As, Se), elements forming oxyanions (e.g. Sb, Cr, Mo) and easily soluble salts like chlorides and sulphates. These constituents can leach out polluting the environment if ash comes in contact with water. Treatment methods for decreasing the amount of pollutants in ashes or their mobility are therefore needed. Sieving was investigated as a separate or a complementary treatment method for MSWI ashes. Hypothesis was that the large share of pollutant concentrations could be removed from the ashes through separation of the finest fractions. The rest is less harmful to the environment, more acceptable as secondary construction material or less costly to landfill. Investigation included three MSWI ashes, namely bottom ash from Boraas Energy och Miljoe's plant with fluid bad, boiler ash from the same plant and bottom ash from Renova's stocker grate type plant. Ashes were sieved in 2-4 size fractions. Total content of pollutants and their leachability (batch leaching test, L/S=10 l/kg) was assessed for each of the fractions. Leaching results were compared to limit values stipulated by Swedish Environmental Protection Agency for acceptance of waste at landfills as wells as to recommendations for reuse of waste as a construction material. Results from bottom ash from the stocker grate type incinerator and from the boiler ash confirm the hypothesis that pollutants leach out in higher concentrations from the finer fractions. A large amount of pollutant could be removed from the ashes through sieving, but the goal to produce a fraction that could be landfilled at the landfill of a lower class was not achieved. A much polluted fine fraction was produced through sieving of bottom ash from the stocker grate type incinerator, not fulfilling criteria for landfilling at landfills for non-hazardous waste. Bottom ash from the fluid bad plant could not be improved from the environmental point of view if some of the size fractions where removed. Leaching of sulphates increased while that of chlorides decreased with increased particle size, making coarser fractions reach in sulphates if the finer were removed. A more effective treatment method than sieving is needed if MSWI ashes are to fulfill criteria for landfilling at landfills for inert waste or recommendations for their reuse as secondary construction materials. Sieving is recommended as a complementary to another method e.g. treatment with cement. In order to optimize a sieve size, an analysis should be made on the amount of ashes to be removed by sieving, leaching properties of resulting fractions as well as costs for landfilling, transport, treatment etc

Patient doses from x-ray examinations in Sweden - a compilation of the results from the reports from the Swedish health care 1999; Patientdoser fraan roentgenundersoekningar i Sverige - sammanstaellning av resultaten fraan sjukvaardens rapportering 1999

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leitz, W.; Joensson, Helene

2001-01-01

In early 1999 the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute (SSI) requested data on patient doses and frequency of x-ray examinations from the 30 licensees with the largest activities. This was comprising five conventional x-ray examinations, mammography and six computed tomography examinations. Patient doses and other relevant data from roughly 400 x-ray stands with an average of 20 patients each were reported. The average of the patient doses was calculated for each x-ray stand and examination type. The average values for the twelve types of examinations varied with a factor up to 15. It must be emphasized that a judgement of x-ray examinations based on one single parameter, the patient dose, is not fair. Low doses may imply poor diagnostic accuracy, high doses may be justified when the patient sample is representing many unusual clinical problems which are leading to more excessive examinations, which might be the case in e. g. university hospitals. Another problem is that the various examination types are not defined unambiguously, meaning that the clinical problem to be solved and hence the extent of the examination may differ between various clinics. Some parameters that are directly influencing the spread in patient dose have been identified, e. g. different sensitivities of the image receptors, different numbers of projections, differences in patient anatomy and different fluoroscopy times. It became obvious that the large dose variations cannot be accounted for by merely medical reasons. This is supported by the response from clinics after being informed that their doses were high. Straight forward countermeasures for dose reduction could be taken as e. g. changing the (insensitive) image receptor, increasing the filtration or modifying the examination methodology. Based on these results SSI will continue with the work of introducing diagnostic reference levels. In addition to numerical values and instructions on how and how often assessments have to be performed examples on good medical practice will be given, a task that will involve also representatives from various medical professions.

Final report of the drive of the TASS-tunnel; Slutrapport fraan drivningen av TASS-tunneln

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karlzen, Rickard; Johansson, Emmeli (Svensk Kaernbraenslehantering AB (Sweden))

2010-05-15

When building the Final repository for spent Nuclear Fuel it is of importance for Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co (SKB) to be able to show that long term safety can be obtained by the three barriers that are included in the KBS-3 final repository. The backfill refers to the material that will be installed in deposition tunnels in order to backfill them and its purpose is to maintain the multiple barrier function by keeping the buffer at place and minimize the water inflow to the tunnel. This means that it is of importance to achieve good contour with minimal dispersal of excavation damaged zone (EDZ). The hydrological properties of the backfill and the EDZ will affect the large scale hydrological conductivity of the deposition tunnels. From the end of 2007 to the end of 2008 SKB excavated an approximately 90 m long and 19 m2 cross cut tunnel named TASS at the Aespoe Hard rock laboratory. The excavation of the tunnel was made by the project 'Sealing of tunnel at great depth'. The ambition in the two subprojects that controlled the excavation of the tunnel was to excavate a tunnel in the best possible way. Earlier research and experiences in tunnel excavation has been used to place demands on performance and how it should be documented. By doing so it has been possible to ensure that the excavation of the tunnel was done in a controlled and traceable way so it can be repeatable and that it has been possible to estimate contour and minimize EDZ. The system that was developed during the excavation of the tunnel to maintain motivation, ensure traceability within the documentation and quality of performed work has worked well and are recommended to be used in future projects. The parameters that are important for the performance should be follow-up with short intervals and the feedback shall be fast and precise, which will increase the motivation at the same time as mistakes won't be systematic in the production. The administrative work with controlling documents has given continuous improvements. The knowledge of the aim for the project and the achievements of those involved have played an important role in detecting, documenting and handling of aberrations. In the purchasing of the contractor a strong emphasis were placed on the knowledge and skills of the management and workers together with the quality of equipment and machinery for tunnelling. This has given good dividends and improved the quality of work performed considerably. The contract in its entirety, including how its aim has been passed on into the practical work, gave the client the ability to control the execution and the contractor the opportunity to complete a quality-assured work without conflicts regarding compensation. This has been a major contributing factor to the good cooperation. When the client takes a more distinct performance responsibility, the role of the entire organization is changing. Among other things are the demands increasing on the availability in quickly maintaining the communication between the client and the contactor in the field and that all understand and accept the client's intentions in the instructions given. The work to achieve a good tunnel contour has been very successful and the contour encounters the controlling requirements of the production line of the backfilling method. The average over break in the tunnel was approximately 16% with small amounts of under break. The area variations of the tunnel shows that the tunnel area never reaches the theoretical area and the largest area is reached approximately 0,7 m before the border of the next round. The introduction of electronic detonators improved the tunnel contour and increased the proportion of visible drill holes. The average amount of visible drill holes identified in the tunnel contour was 78%. With the drilling pattern that were used and the introduction of electronic detonators it has been possible to use contour explosives in the tunnel floor, with good result of visible drill holes. The introduction of electronic detonators also took care of the problem of cut-off holes, which pretty much disappeared and re-blasting was minimized. The EDZ was evaluated in /Olsson et al. 2009/ and shows that no continuous EDZ was found. The performed drilling has been evaluated by looking at the drilling accuracy and precision. Geodetic surveying was performed of the collaring of 15-20 evenly distributed drill holes in the contour; all the drill holes in the floor and a varying amount of helpers and stope holes in each round. Afterwards the endpoints were calculated. The resulting data has then been evaluated and even compared with obtained data of the location of collaring and endpoints from the jumbo

Experience from a number of larger surface earth heating systems. Erfarenheter fraan naagra stora ytjordvaermesystem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sundberg, J.

1987-01-01

The heat pump systems investigated in this project supply heat to the following loads: the Adult High School in Oestra Grevie, a cycle factory in Vandsbro, detached houses in Surte and detached houses in the Sandhed area of Orsa. The heat pumps in all four have operated reasonably well. As far as design is concerned the systems are of monovalent type with low-temperature heating systems. Although the Oestra Grevie installation incorporates an oil-fired boiler for supplying heat during the winter to an older part of the school, there is no load-sharing between the boiler and the heat pump. The Vansbro installation incorporates an eletric boiler, but is has not been necessary in practice to use it. As a result, the systems have not suffered from what would normally be the relatively common problems encountered in bivalent systems from joint operation. Total heat and energy demands are generally over-estimated, which has meant that heat pumps are larger than was originally intended. In purely physical terms, specific heat abstraction from the ground in kWh/m/sup 2/ per year for the various systems could be increased by 100-700%, although abstraction should also be related to the intended use of the ground. However, it is clear that it could be higher in the systems investigated here. If building these systems today, optimum system design would enable capital costs to be reduced by 10-35%. However, there does not appear to be any scope for general cost reductions per m of hose in large collector systems: the decisive factors are ground conditions and the distance between the collector and the heat pump in each individual case.

Particulate emissions from biomass combustion in small district heating plants; Partikelemissioner fraan biobraensleeldade mindre fjaerrvaermecentraler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Persson, Henrik; Johansson, Linda; Tullin, Claes; Oesterberg, Stefan; Johansson, Mathias [Swedish National Testing and Research Inst., Boraas (Sweden); Leckner, Bo [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Energy Conversion

2001-12-01

In recent years, negative health effects associated with increased levels of PM{sub 10} and PM{sub 2.5} (particles less then 10 and 2.5 {mu}m, respectively) in the ambient air have been highlighted. The development towards a sustainable society will lead to an increased use of biomass in Sweden. Conversion from oil to biomass can lead to increased local levels of particulate matter. In smaller district heating plants (up to a few MW), the dust reduction often is restricted to the use of cyclones/multicyclones having limited separation efficiency for submicron particles (particles less than 1 {mu}m). The emissions are often in the range 100 Mg/nm{sup 3} or higher but very few data regarding particle size distributions from district heating plants have been reported in the literature. In addition to the particle size, a number of other properties might be important for the health effects but the knowledge in this area is limited. It is therefore important to characterise the particles in detail regarding physical and chemical qualities. The objective with the present investigation is to measure and characterise the particulate emissions from two biomass based smaller district heating centrals for different fuel qualities (pellets, briquettes, forest residues and wood chips) and operating parameters such as load and excess air. In addition to analyses of dust and particulates, extensive measurements of the flue composition have been performed. Measurements were performed downstream the multicyclones. The dust emissions were found to be in the range 20 to 120 mg/MJ supplied fuel depending on operating condition and fuel quality. At normal operation, the dust emissions were about 35 to 40 mg/MJ supplied fuel. The particle size distributions were measured using an ELPI (Electric Low Pressure Impactor). The number size distributions were found to be dominated by submicron particles with maxima at diameters between 0. 1 and 0.3 gm. Additional measurements indicated that also the mass size distributions were dominated by submicron particles. Smaller displacements of the particle size distributions were observed depending on load and air supply, i.e. the particle sizes increased slightly at conditions where the combustion was incomplete. SEM/EDX-analyses show that the particle shapes varied from spherical and cubical shapes to more complex structures and that the small particles consisted of potassium, sulphur, chlorine and oxygen. Using a state of the art TOF-SIMS instrument, it could be shown that the chemical compounds were sulphates, chlorides and carbonates of potassium as well as sodium. The most important component was potassium sulphate. Regarding the gas emissions, it was found that the emissions of unburnt (total hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide) were low at normal conditions. As expected, the emissions increased at lower load and lower excess air ratios where also emissions of ethane and benzene could be observed. A calculation of the internal reduction of nitrogen oxides in the boilers showed that about 25% of the nitrogen contained in the fuel was converted to nitrogen oxides during combustion of pellets and briquettes. The investigation shows that submicron particles, measured as aerodynamic number as well as mass size distributions, dominate the emissions. As conventional cyclones have a limited separation efficiency for submicron particles, it is consequently necessary to employ other techniques to decrease the emissions substantially.

Biofertilizer manual - biofertilizer from large-scale bio-gas plants; Biogoedselhandbok - Biogoedsel fraan storskaliga bio-gasanlaeggningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2010-09-15

Biofertilizer from biogas plants must be managed in a cost effective manner based on current legislation and certification requirements from the food industry. This manual focuses on liquid biofertilizer and the requirements and costs associated with this product. At an early stage analyze market (beneficiaries of biofertilizers), dissemination area and thus the disposal of biofertilizer is very crucial to reduce the costs of the whole biofertilizer management. Certifying biofertilizers under Swedish Waste Management system of 'Certified recycling' (SPCR 120) increases the possibility of outlets and thus the value of biofertilizer. Nutrient and heavy metal content of biofertilizer affects the size (ha) on the estate. Maximum of phosphorus may not exceed 22 kg / ha. Often, the contents of plant nutrients limit the distribution size, but sometimes even the heavy metals are the limiting factors (for certified biofertilizers). Normally, the distribution size is 20-40 tonnes / ha, but must be adapted to crop needs, soil conditions and the diffusion limitations mentioned above. Biofertilizers are typically handled in three stages: storage, distribution and dissemination. Storage containers must have a stable floating crust or roof and the storage volume to cope with 80-10 months of production of biofertilizer. The cost of storage varies between 15 and 40 SEK/m{sub 3} storage volume depends on storage technology. Distribution of biofertilizer from the larger biogas plants is usually by truck, but there are also a few examples where the fertilizer is pumped out to the farm. The cost of distribution by truck is somewhat lower when compared with pumping and ranges between 20 and 30 SEK/m{sub 3} within a radius of 10-20 km. If conditions (high proportion of arable land, high interest, low level of infrastructure, etc.) are right pumping can be more cost effective than truck. Spreading cost is usually about 20-28 USD / tonnes and is done either with a tractor and fertilizer barrel or via the supply tube system to reduce soil compaction damage. The value of biofertilizer is primarily affected by the nutrient content and price of fertilizer. The absolute nutrient value of an average biofertilizer in the current situation is about 40 EUR / tonne. However, expenses for management are usually significantly higher than nutrient value and less than (USD / t) at larger volumes of organic residues. This must be considered in the total investment estimate for the biogas project

Envirotoxins from waste incineration - how does the supervision work?; Miljoegifter fraan avfallsfoerbraenningen - hur fungerar tillsynen?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-02-01

Incineration of household wastes has increased rapidly in Sweden during the last few years, and new plants are being built. The volume of residues from waste incineration is expected to grow from 450,000 tons in 1999 to 1,100,000 tons in 2008. The National Audit Office (SNAO) has made an inquiry into the supervision by responsible authorities of incineration plants and landfills in order to how the environmental legislation is applied in practise. The investigation includes case studies of six incineration plants and seven landfills where the residues from the plants are disposed. The supervision is part of a complex system made up of state, local and private actors who all have a responsibility for applying the environmental legislation. SNAO has found serious shortcomings in the operational supervision of all incineration plants studied and several landfills concerning the risk of toxins leaching into the environment. SNAO also points at the lack of knowledge at the Swedish EPA regarding the potential environmental problems of incineration residues and the need for evaluation of the supervisory function. SNAO recommends that the government take an initiative for making more detailed demands in the environmental legislation, and that the Swedish EPA should improve its knowledge about the quality of the operational supervision in accordance with the legislation.

Artificial photosynthesis - Energy from the sun and water; Artificiell fotosyntes - Energi fraan sol och vatten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-04-15

One of the greatest challenges facing humanity today is to find ways to convert energy into forms that we can make use of without unnecessary burdens on our environment or affect earth's climate. An example of this is the transport sector, which is currently facing a major adjustment when Sweden has set a national target of a fossil-free vehicle fleet by 2030. Furthermore, greater opportunities for energy storage will be a prerequisite for increased use of renewable energy sources in the community. The Swedish Energy Agency supports research, development, demonstration and commercialization of products and services that help to create a sustainable energy system. The ambition behind the bets are that the results will be utilized to achieve a desired societal impact. This brochure presents one of the Agency's far-reaching initiatives, namely the research within the Consortium for Artificial Photosynthesis. This is the third edition of the booklet, which has been revised, as new research has been conducted and the horizon of what can be possible to do in this area has been moved forward. With continued development, this can be a useful contribution to future sustainable energy systems.

Alternatives for handling of digestate from large biogas plants; Foeraedling av roetrest fraan storskaliga biogasanlaeggningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aarsrud, Peter (Kretsloppskontoret Goeteborg (Sweden)); Bisaillon, Mattias (Profu (Sweden)); Hellstroem, Hanna; Henriksson, Gunilla (SP, Boraas (Sweden)); Jakobsson, Emma; Jarlsvik, Tisse; Martinsson, Ulf (Goeteborg Energi (Sweden)); Jensen, Carl (Renova (Sweden)); Johansson, Lars-Gunnar (Biogas Vaest/LRF (Sweden)); Kanerot, Mija (Boraas Energi och Miljoe (Sweden)); Ling, Daniel (Laeckeby Water (Sweden))

2010-07-01

Biogas plants located in city environments are becoming increasingly common in Sweden. More and more municipalities are electing to collect food waste for treatment in a biogas plant. The environment target of treating 35 % all organic waste biologically try to obtain from municipalities. Certain demands are placed on biogas plants and their system environments if they are to be able to treat food waste successfully. Firstly, there needs to be a use for the nutrient-rich biofertilizer product, and secondly it must be possible to clean the reject water before it is released to the recipient. The goal of the project is to conduct a system analysis from the economic and environmental perspectives to investigate what is the best alternative for dealing with the digestate and reject water for two biogas plants located in city environments. The plants used as the point of departure for the study are a planned biogas plant in Gothenburg and an existing biogas plant in Boraas. The plant in Boraas is planned to be included in an energy combine with ethanol production. The target group for the project comprises biogas plants built in city environments with the purpose of treating food waste, but also other plants that treat organic waste in a digester, e.g., sludge from sewage treatment works. Table 1 below shows the results for each technology studied. [Table 1 Results from system analysis.] The results of the system analysis show that the best alternative for Gothenburg, both from an economical point of view and when considering the climate impact, is to transport and spread the un-dewatered digestate directly onto arable land. On the basis of acidification and eutrophication potentials, the best alternative is to treat the reject water with the DeAmmon process. From the economic perspective, the best alternative for Boraas is to continue with the treatment method used today at the plant, that is, SBR. From the perspective of climate impact, the best alternative is to spread the un-dewatered digestate directly onto arable land. On the basis of acidification and eutrophication potentials, the best alternative is to treat the reject water with some form of stripping method, or SBR. The news value of the project is deemed to be high, since demands on the treatment of organic waste are growing strongly. The results of this project are free to use, however specific input data has been used in our system analysis, and a separate analysis should be conducted for each specific plant

Leachates from wood ash - effects of storage on soil; Lakvatten fraan skogsbraensleaska - markpaaverkan av lagring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valeur, Inger; Thelin, Gunnar (EkoBalans FenixAB, Lund (Sweden))

2012-02-15

In this study we monitored leachate from wood ash stored in a pile in an outdoor environment during six months. Our aim was to contribute with knowledge about leaching behavior and risks connected to storages of wood ash, and more generally leaching from piles affected by various weather conditions. Impacts on soil from storage of wood ash was also included in the study as well as different transport scenarios for recycling wood ash to the forest. Bioenergy output from Swedish forests has more than doubled the last 10 years and as nutrient rich parts as needles and branches (grot) is also taken out, the nutrient export from the forest site has increased by a factor of three to five. To counteract depletion of nutrients in forest soils, wood ash is returned to the forest. Apart from nitrogen, wood ash contains all the nutrients and trace elements that were in the wood before combustion. The wood ash must be hardened before spreading to make it less reactive. The ash self hardens when stored in an outdoor environment for 3 to 6 months and according to the waste act this should be done on a paved area. However, wood ash which is meant to be recycled to the forest has naturally very low amounts of polluting elements and shall also fulfill limit values, set up by the Swedish Forest Agency. As it is so that the storage is during a limited period of time and the ash shall be transported, not only to one place but too several smaller areas, this has given rise to the thought of storing the ash closer to the spreading area. However, the ash would then probably be stored in a non paved area, as the number of paved areas in forests is scarce. If storage close to the spreading area could be done, the distance for transports connected to recycling the ash would presumably be decrease by a factor of two or three. To get permission to store ash on a non paved area, there must be enough data available which can ensure that there are no environmental risks associated to the storage. Most risk assessments are done from standardized extractions methods, which are based upon addition of excess water to the ash. This process is fairly different from what happens when ash is stored in a pile and rained upon. Thus it is difficult, or not yet shown, how a figure given from an extraction with excess water should be translated to the total amount of leached elements from ash storages. Collecting leachates from landfills where ash is stored also has its problems, as it often is contaminated with elements from other wastes being stored at the landfill

Renewable fuels from agricultural sources - ethanol, biodiesel, biogas; Foernybara drivmedel fraan jordbruket - etanol, biodiesel, biogas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tolke, Camilla L; Einarson, Elin; Ekloef, Patrik

2011-07-01

In this report we give a status report of the biofuels market. We describe some of the issues which are linked to environmental and land use. We also explain why different actors reach different assessments regarding the greenhouse gas emissions, land use and food security. Biofuels have been highlighted as a way to reduce the transport sector large emissions of greenhouse gases and thus as a climate measure. But when several countries have increased their production and consumption and set targets for bio-renewable fuels the biofuels impact has been questioned. Are emissions really reduced? What happens to the direct and indirect land use? How does the production of more biofuels affect the security in food production?

People's experiences of noise from wind power plants; Maenniskors upplevelser av ljud fraan vindkraftverk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pedersen, Eja; Persson Waye, Kerstin (Goeteborg Univ., Sahlgrenska Academy, Goeteborg (Sweden). Inst. of Medicine. Dept. of Public Health and Community Medicine); Forssen, Jens (Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Applied Acoustics)

2009-04-15

The erection of wind turbines is preceded by an Environmental Impact Assessment which involves an estimation of the impact of wind turbines on people living nearby. One impact to be assessed is sound. It is important to generate scientifically based knowledge in order to describe how the sound will be perceived in order to ensure that the sound from wind turbines will not have an adverse health effect on the residents in the area. The objective of a joint analysis of the results from two field studies was to show the relationship between sound levels from wind turbines at the dwelling and the perception of the sound, as well as to describe factors influencing this relationship. The objective of a diary study, where the participants reported how often they were home and if so, if they were outdoors, was to describe how often the sound from wind turbines is heard and at which meteorological conditions. The results of long term sound measurements were compared with calculated values applying different models in order to study the accuracy of the sound propagation model used today. Another aim was to see if variations of meteorological factors influenced the sound propagation to such a degree that they should be included in the calculations of sound levels. The joint analyses of the two studies of annoyance confirm and strengthen previous reported data. The proportion that notices wind turbine sound as well as the proportion that were annoyed by the sound increased with increasing sound levels. The probability to be annoyed by the noise was larger if the turbines were visible from the dwelling and for people living in an agricultural landscape, whereas differences in terrain had no impact. The only association between sound level and health related variables other than annoyance was that of being disturbed in the sleep. Participants in the diary study more often reported that they could hear sound from the wind turbines when the electrical power increased, i.e. the electricity production increased. A statistically significant relationship between how often the sound was heard and the calculated sound level at the dwelling was found, even though the amount of time the participants spent outdoor varied substantially; the higher calculated sound level, the more often the sound was heard. The diary study also gave some insight in the relationship between hearing and wind speed. The results indicate that the wind turbine sound could be heard also at relatively high wind speeds when the sound is expected to be masked. Long term measurements of wind turbine sound at 550 meters from a modern turbine showed that the calculated levels agreed well with the measured. Sound levels calculated with a parabolic equation model, which takes into account the variation of meteorological factors, did not give a better prediction in comparison with the model commonly used at environmental permit proceedings. Meteorological variations are probably only of importance for sound propagation at longer distances. Meteorological circumstances could however be of importance for estimation of the source sound levels; the largest uncertainty in the calculations. The studies show that the sound levels vary also within the same wind speed, and indicate that the wind turbine sound could be heard also at wind speeds when it should be masked by other wind induced sounds. This implies that the description in the Environmental Impact Assessment of the sound that the neighbours possibly will hear should be extended, even though the sound propagation model used today is sufficient. Further studies regarding the possibility to hear the sound at high wind speed are needed as the number of participants in the diary study was small. Data also suggest that the risk for sleep disturbance should be further explored

Disposal of residue from sifting of combustible waste; Avsaettning av siktrest fraan foerbehandling av braennbart avfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niklasson, Fredrik

2012-11-01

In waste to energy plants, unwanted species in the fuel may cause corrosion, deposits, agglomeration in the fuel bed, and emissions of pollutants. Countermeasures to such problems are often costly. For at least some of the waste, the fuel properties can be improved by introducing a pretreatment system in which the fine fraction is separated from the waste by sifting. This method has been studied in an earlier Waste Refinery project, WR-06. That study pointed at advantages in performance of the boiler plant and a rough economical analysis indicated substantial benefits. The drawback of the pretreatment was that the residue (the fine fraction) showed as high content of total organic carbon (TOC) as 37 %, by weight. Such a waste fraction is not allowed to be landfilled in Sweden. High TOC content is also a limiting factor for usage as a secondary construction material. To become an applicable pretreatment method, it is necessary to find an appropriate disposal method for the residue material. Present work investigates different possibilities to handle the sifting residue, assuming it has the same properties as in previous study. The residue from sifting needs further treatment, preferably with energy recovery. There are some alternatives, such as combustion, gasification, anaerobic or aerobic digestion. To reduce problems associated by combustion, the waste may be burnt in another more suitable furnace. An alternative is gasification, but that treatment method is not yet an established process for waste fuels. Another option is treatment by anaerobic or aerobic digestion. The high concentrations of metals, however, limit the use of the biologically treated waste to landfilling sites, where it may be utilized as a construction material. The high metal concentrations in the sifting residue imply that it must be kept separate from other biodegradable wastes which are used to produce fertilizers. Thus, this treatment alternative will likely require substantial new investments. Instead of treating the fine residue thermally or biologically, an alternative is to extend the pretreatment system in order to separate a fraction containing less combustible material. This could be accomplished by, for example, passing the fine fraction through a density classifier, such as a wind sieve or a ballistic sieve. Hopefully, the light fine fraction will consist mainly of combustible material while the denser fine fraction will contain a sufficiently low amount of carbon to allow utilization as filling or construction material at landfill sites. Full-scale tests are required to determine if the proposed pretreatment method is applicable in practice.

Recycling of nutrients through struvite precipitation from digestions residues; Aatervinning av naering genom struvitfaellninggsaemnen fraan roetrest

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Fransson, Liisa; Loewgren, Sofia; Thelin, Gunnar (Ekobalans Fenix AB, Lund (Sweden))

2010-05-15

The aim of the project which is described in this report was to gather information about struvite precipitation and studies that have been performed within this area, and also to investigate struvite precipitation in four different digestates through laboratory experiments. Digestates from biogas plants with household waste, beet, manure and distillery residues as raw materials were used in this study. Struvite, MgNH{sub 4}PO{sub 4}-6H{sub 2}O, is a white crystal powder which is soluble at low pH and precipitates at pH 7-11. For struvite to precipitate the solution also has to be over saturated and the influence of other competitive ions has to be low. Many studies in struvite precipitation have been done as laboratory trials and in pilot plants. The experiments were performed on for example digestates from sewage treatment plants. The reactors were stirred or aerated and the solutions were either dewatered or non dewatered. The experiments were performed both with and without the addition of phosphate. A few full scale plants are also described in this report. Most of them consist of a fluidized bed and are connected to sewage treatment plants. Dewatered sewage sludge is most commonly used but there are also examples of non dewatered sludge. Some of the products from the full scale plants are sold as fertilizers. MgCl{sub 2}-6H{sub 2}O is the most common magnesium additive in the studies that have been summarized in this report, but for example Mg(OH){sub 2} has also been used in a few cases. The laboratory experiments in this report were performed on non dewatered and dewatered digestates. The dewatering was performed by filtration in three steps, except for the digestate from distillery residues which was centrifuged. The experiments were performed with and without phosphate addition. First, a few trials on synthetic solutions were performed to verify the chosen experimental conditions. All of the trials, with the synthetic and digestate solutions, were performed in magnetic stirred glass beakers. MgCl{sub 2}-6H{sub 2}O, NaH{sub 2}PO{sub 4}-2H{sub 2}O and NaOH were used as chemical additives. The pH was increased to 8,5 for the dewatered digestates and 9 for the non dewatered digestates. Based on the experiments an estimation of the cost of the chemical additives was done for each digestate. The costs were based on the trials with the dewatered digestates with phosphate addition for all the digestates, and the dewatered digestate from distillery residues without the addition of phosphate. The cost per amount of produced struvite, with the addition of phosphate, was at about the same level for household waste, manure and distillery residues. For the digestate from beet it was a bit higher. The corresponding cost for digestate from distillery residues without phosphate addition was the least expensive. For all of the digestates the cost of MgCl{sub 2}-6H{sub 2}O and H{sub 3}PO{sub 4} (which would be more suitable than NaH{sub 2}PO{sub 4}-2H{sub 2}O in large scale plants) per amount of produced struvite was at about the same level, but the cost of NaOH varied a lot between the different digestates. Since the costs in this comparison are based on merely a few trials in laboratory scale without optimizing the process for any digestate and prices from only one supplier, it is important to emphasize that this is a rough estimation. It is hard to estimate the value of precipitates from digestates as fertilizers since there is no clear correlation between the content of nutrients and the market price for fertilizers. However, the value of struvite fertilizers will most likely increase since phosphorus is an finite raw material and the production of nitrogen fertilizers needs a lot of energy which is connected to the price of oil. It is also possible that the environmental profile can contribute to a higher value

Environmental impact by toxic compounds from waste treatment; Miljoepaaverkan fraan toxiska aemnen vid hantering av avfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loefblad, Gun; Bisaillon, Mattias; Sundberg, Johan (Profu AB (Sweden))

2010-07-01

The study deals with emissions of toxic compounds from waste treatment to the environment with the aim of improving the state of knowledge and to find a way of describing the environmental impact from these substances. Toxicity is one of a number of environmental aspects necessary to address in the planning of waste treatment and in the daily waste treatment routines in order to fulfill the environmental objective A Non-Toxic Environment and other environmental requirements. The study includes waste to incineration, composting and anaerobic digestion. A comparison between methods were made for biological household waste. According to our study, the compounds of importance for waste treatment are metals and persistent organic compounds. These tend to bioaccumulate and enrich in food chains. The substances are important for the environmental objective A Non-Toxic Environment. In a first step the compounds chosen in this study may be suggested for describing toxicity from waste treatment: As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, dioxin, PCB, the phthalate DEHP and the brominated flame retardant HBCDD. Other substances may be added to the list in a next step from up-dated and quality-assured characterisation factors or from other requirements or preferences. There is a limited knowledge on toxic compounds in waste flows and in different environmental compartments. More data are available for metals than for organic substances. There is also a limited knowledge on the fate of the compounds during the waste treatment processes. Most information is found for incineration. During composting and anaerobic digestion the metals will mainly be emitted to the environment by use of the compost and the anaerobic digestion residue. Organic substances will to some extent be degraded during the processes. However, there are gaps of knowledge to fill for the further work on estimating toxic emissions. There is mainly a need for more extensive data on toxic compounds in waste and their variations. A test was made to use a weighted index for toxicity - such as used for climate impact, acidification, etc. in system analyses for waste treatment. The result was not useful due to the limited availability of characterisation factors for the chosen substances. In stead, the toxic impact was assessed by other comparisons, from a local and a national perspective. No acute effects on human health and on the environment are expected to occur from waste processes or from the use of compost and anaerobic digestion residue. The conclusion is that emissions of toxic substances from waste treatment will contribute to the present fugitive levels of pollutants in the environment. The toxic impact is proposed to be quantified as the total emission of metals and persistent organic pollutants, without consideration to the way emissions are made; to air, water and soil. Emissions, even though they are small, contribute to present levels of pollution with the risk of further elevated concentrations and further dispersion in nutrient chains. In all environ metal work it is essential to reduce emissions of toxic persistent compounds. Many activities in society contribute to the total levels. Waste treatment is an unavoidable activity in the society. By massive actions to limit the use and to con tol the emissions of toxic compounds, a cleaner waste is expected to be the result. In addition, measures such as more effective source separation and separation of hazardous waste will make a more optimised treatment of different types of waste possible

Experiences from Swedish demonstration projects with phosphoric acid fuel cells; Erfarenheter fraan svenska demonstrationsprojekt med fosforsyrabraensleceller

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carlsson, Per [Sycon Energikonsult AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Sarkoezi, Laszlo [Vattenfall Utveckling AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

1999-10-01

In Sweden, there are today two phosphoric acid fuel cells installed, one PC25A which have been in operation in more than 4 years, and one PC25C which have been in operation for two years. The aim with this project has been two compare operation characteristics, performance, and operation experiences for these two models.

Analysis of the economic adaptation of Sami reindeer management. Reindeer; source of income or cultural linkage?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niklas Labba

2007-04-01

/ Sammandrag: I denna studie analyseras hur olika renskötarhushålls ekonomier är strukturerad samt hur de tillpassar sig de ekonomiska förutsättningar som existerar för att maximera den ekonomiska avkastningen, i de fall en ekonomisk vinstmaximering är målsättningen. Tidigare forskning visar att renskötselområden uppvisar skilda betingelser. Köttförsäljningvärde, produktionsbidrag och ersättningsstorlek vid förlust av renar skiljer sig åt. Främst mellan Norge och Sverige men även regionalt inom det enskilda landet. Det medför att det existerar olika ekonomiska strukturer hos renskötarhushållen. Genom ett urval av hushåll från olika distrikt och samebyar baserat på geografisk lokalisering, driftsmönster och renskötselsområdesstorlek söks olika ekonomiska strukturer. Hushåll med liknade ekonomisk struktur grupperas i kategorier. Standardavvikelsen bekräftar om hushållen bildar en hushållskategori. Den samiska renskötseln i Norge och renskötseln Sverige har från år 1992/93 till år 2002/03 haft en kvantitetsmässigt jämn köttförsäljningsnivå till godkända slakterier. Det indikerar att det troligtvis är samma faktorer som påverkar ländernas slaktkvantitet. Förhållandet mellan lagervärde av renar och försäljningsvärdet av renkött, i det enskilda hushållet, åskådliggör om det föreligger någon tillväxt i renantalet och tillväxtens storlek. Tillväxten i renantalet beror av den konkurrenssituation som finns mellan hushållen inom distriktet/samebyn. Strävan efter att uppnå ett högre renantal, på grund av konkurrenssituationen, förhindrar hushållet att göra ett maximalt slaktuttag vilket därmed minskar avkastningen från renskötseln. Allt pekar mot att slaktkvantiteten inte påverkas av uppköpspriset på renkött eller av politiska tilltag. Den samiska renskötseln tycks vara en levnadssätt där renantalet står i centrum.

Summary of experience from a large number of construction inspections; Wind power plant projects; Erfarenhetsaaterfoering fraan entreprenadbesiktningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson, Bertil; Holmberg, Rikard

2010-08-15

This report presents a summary of experience from a large number of construction inspections of wind power projects. The working method is based on the collection of construction experience in form of questionnaires. The questionnaires were supplemented by a number of in-depth interviews to understand more in detail what is perceived to be a problem and if there were suggestions for improvements. The results in this report is based on inspection protocols from 174 wind turbines, which corresponds to about one-third of the power plants built in the time period. In total the questionnaires included 4683 inspection remarks as well as about one hundred free text comments. 52 of the 174 inspected power stations were rejected, corresponding to 30%. It has not been possible to identify any over represented type of remark as a main cause of rejection, but the rejection is usually based on a total number of remarks that is too large. The average number of remarks for a power plant is 27. Most power stations have between 20 and 35 remarks. The most common remarks concern shortcomings in marking and documentation. These are easily adjusted, and may be regarded as less serious. There are, however, a number of remarks which are recurrent and quite serious, mainly regarding gearbox, education and lightning protection. Usually these are also easily adjusted, but the consequences if not corrected can be very large. The consequences may be either shortened life of expensive components, e.g. oil problems in gear boxes, or increased probability of serious accidents, e.g. maladjusted lightning protection. In the report, comparison between power stations with various construction period, size, supplier, geography and topography is also presented. The general conclusion is that the differences are small. The results of the evaluation of questionnaires correspond well with the result of the in-depth interviews with clients. The problem that clients agreed upon as the greatest is the lack of self-control of the suppliers. One reason for this may be the desire of suppliers to deliver as soon as possible. This may result in power plants where constructions are not finished when the inspection is carried out. Another common perception among clients is that remarks are not adjusted by suppliers within the agreed time-frame, and that as time goes by the more difficult it becomes to get them adjusted

Dry anaerobic digestion of rejects from pre-treated food waste; Torroetning av rejekt fraan foerbehandling av matavfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bohn, Irene [NSR, Helsingborg (Sweden); Murto, Marika; Bjoernsson, Lovisa [Bioteknik, LTH, Lund (Sweden); Rosqvist, Haakan [Rosqvist Resurs, Klaagerup (Sweden)

2011-11-15

When the organic fraction of source separated municipal solid waste is digested anaerobically in a continuously stirred tank reactor there is a need for a pretreatment to make the waste pumpable and remove contaminants. In one type of pretreatment the material passes through a screw press which separates waste in a liquid fraction and a dry fraction (the reject). At NSR this technique is used and at present the reject is incinerated. A previous study has shown that about 30 % of the methane potential of the incoming organic waste can be found in the reject. The aim of the present project was to investigate the possibilities of realizing the methane potential through batch wise dry anaerobic digestion followed by composting as an alternative to incineration. In the technique used in the present project the material was digested in an anaerobic leach-bed with recirculation of leachate over the bed. It is important that the material is sufficiently porous to let the leachate spread evenly through the leach-bed. Treatment of reject and a mixture of reject and structural material were tested to investigate if the addition of structural material had an effect on the porosity. The flow of liquid through a leach-bed of reject and one of reject mixed with structural material was studied using LiBr as tracer. The digestate from the dry digestion process was composted, and the resulting compost was evaluated. The odor from the digestate, the active compost and the compost product was measured by analyzing the odor in the air of the porous space in heaps of the different materials. This was used to evaluate the risk of odor problems. The dry digestion and the tracer experiment both showed that mixing the reject with structural material had a positive effect on the flow of liquid through the material and the digestion process. Addition of structural material to the reject was needed in order to achieve an efficient digestion process. Using tracers proved to be a useful way of indicating the homogeneity of the flow through the leach-bed. Dry anaerobic digestion of reject mixed with structural material gave a methane yield of 100 Nm{sup 3} methane per ton of mixture treated which was equal to the expected methane yield. When composting the material the requirements for hygienization was achieved and the concentrations of heavy metals in the resulting compost were below the guideline value. The content of visible contaminants larger than 2 mm in the screened compost were above the guideline value, which means that screening the compost on a 15 mm screen is not a sufficient post treatment. The odor potential of the screened compost was approximately 300 OU{sub E}/m{sup 3} and should not lead to any odor problems. However the odor potential of the digestate and the active compost material was higher.

Analyses of copper from a prototype capsule 5 and 6; Analyser av koppar fraan prototypkapsel 5 och 6

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taxen, Claes; Lundholm, Martin; Persson, Dan; Jakobsson, Dan; Sedlakova, Miroslava; Randelius, Mats; Karlsson, Oskar; Rydgren, Pontus; Kimab, Swerea

2012-12-15

'Prototype' is a series of experiments where SKB, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co, expose the full scale copper canisters under conditions intended to be representative of a repository for spent nuclear fuel, however, without radioactivity (SKB 2012) . Copper from one of these installations, deposition 5, has been studied for corrosion . Samples were also taken from the capsule that had been exposed in deposition 6. Drill cores across the capsule wall has been documented regarding microstructure. All samples have been exposed for about seven years in the prototype repository. Studies carried out leads to the following conclusions: Regarding the ring on top of the capsule from the deposition 5; There are local corrosion with a depth of 3-5 microns. The general or uniform corrosion that has occurred can not be quantified. The relatively sharp traces of processing of the material before exposure indicates that the general corrosion was minor. Small amounts of corrosion product has been detected in surface analysis. The surface profile on the copper surface, aside from the grooves after processing and areas of local corrosion, are relatively even. Metallographic examination of cross section shows no tendency to pitting or intergranular corrosion. Analysis for hydrogen by melting a quantity of metal does not show any increased hydrogen content. Regarding the material of the capsule from the deposition 6: The capsule has not been specifically tested for corrosion. Cross sections of drill cores through the copper canister has been documented and metallo graphically exhibits nothing remarkable.

Regional formation of oxidants. Caused by emissions from wood firing; Regional oxidantbildning. Till foeljd av utslaepp fraan vedeldning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson-Skoeld, Y [Swedish Environmental Research Inst., Stockholm (Sweden)

1993-09-01

An atmospheric trajectory model has been used in case studies to calculate the regional ozone formation due to emissions from household wood burning in Sweden. The simulations are conducted in various types of environments and describe a number of different meteorological conditions. The case studies show that the ozone contribution from wood burning is low. The formation of PAN and aldehydes is more pronounced. The concentration of PAN in Sweden is, however, expected to be far below the levels affecting health and environment as are the concentrations of aldehydes. 25 refs, 7 tabs

Management of polluted waters from a repository at Forsmark; Omhaendertagande av foerorenade vattenfloeden fraan ett slutfoervar i Forsmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ridderstolpe, Peter; Straae, Daniel (WRS Uppsala AB, Uppsala (SE)). e-mail: info@wrs.se

2007-05-15

During both the construction and the deposition phase of the final repository, several kinds of polluted waters will occur that must be handled. The waters under consideration in this report are (1) sanitary wastewater, (2) drainage water from the repository, (3) leachate from the rock stockpile and (4) storm water. The aim of this report has been to produce an overview of the different flows of polluted waters and their properties, as well as to propose adequate strategies for their treatment. The report is part of SKB's environmental impact assessment work, but is also meant to be a usable tool in further planning. The sanitary wastewater clearly is the polluted water that possesses the greatest potential risk to human health and the environment. On the other hand it is fully treatable, which means that nuisance and negative environmental impact can be avoided. It is during the construction phase that the largest amounts of both water and pollutants are to be expected. Therefore, the prevailing conditions during construction phase are proposed to be used for dimensioning of technical solutions as well as for environmental impact assessments. The study of different techniques for treatment of sanitary wastewater has included a method called 'open wastewater planning'. The method helps its users to consider the local physical conditions and the prerequisites of the planned activities, as well as the legislative, practical and economical demands. The work comprises three different technical solutions that have been outlined on system level, all of which responds to the national environmental legislation as well as what has been considered as reasonable practical and economical demands. Before the final decision is made, it is recommended that the alternatives are evaluated from a broad perspective by SKB, taking into consideration the value of recycling and goodwill. Discharged leachate from the rock stockpile is expected to contain the greatest amount of nitrogen, at most 6 tonnes a year. Drainage water from the repository will also contain nitrogen and will in addition be slightly saline, but still rather clean. The local physical conditions for construction of outdoor, biological treatment steps for treatment of drainage water and leachate have been found to be good. A total nitrogen reduction of 50 percent in leachate and drainage water is considered reasonable from an environmental, practical and economical point of view. The proposed steps taken, the discharge to the recipient 'kylvattenkanalen' (the cooling water intake channel) is estimated to be restricted to a maximum of three tonnes of nitrogen a year. There is no expected impact on the cooling water quality of relevance to the operation of the nuclear power plant. The possibilities for local storm water control are considered to be good. As long as a thorough planning is carried out, the risks for floods and negative local environmental impact resulting from unwanted substances in storm water will be minimized. It is also the authors' opinion that the proposed ways of resolving the problem locally will save money, considering both the investment and the maintenance costs. The authors' conclusive assessment of the environmental impact of the different polluted waters is that it will be small as long as the suggested measures are taken. Locally, there will be an impact on the small forest lake 'Tjaernpussen'. The water of the lake will be slightly saline, and in the case of a combined tertiary treatment of wastewater with treatment of leachate and drainage water, or a new local treatment facility for wastewater, the nutrient levels of the lake water will increase. This will increase the growth of macrophytes, as well as micro algae. The water will get a greenish colour and decreased clarity, but there is no risk for oxygen depletion or bad smell. Costs for treatment of the polluted waters have been estimated and found reasonable. Investments for treatment of sanitary water will not exceed 2.5 million SEK. Operation and maintenance costs included, the annual cost will approximately reach a 200,000 SEK a year. Costs for treatment of drainage water and leachate are of the same magnitude. Expressed per kg reduced nitrogen, the treatment cost will be about 70 SEK per kg

Management of polluted waters from a repository at Oskarshamn; Omhaendertagande av foerorenade vattenfloeden fraan ett slutfoervar i Oskarshamn

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ridderstolpe, Peter; Straae, Daniel (WRS Uppsala AB, Uppsala (SE)). e-mail: info@wrs.se

2007-05-15

During both the construction and the deposition phase of the final repository, several kinds of polluted waters will occur that must be handled. The waters under consideration in this report are (1) sanitary wastewater, (2) drainage water from the repository, (3) leachate from the rock stockpile and (4) storm water. The aim of this report has been to produce an overview of the different flows of polluted waters and their properties, as well as to propose adequate strategies for their treatment. Several different alternatives of action have been investigated and compared in terms of environmental impact, economy and technical aspects. The report is part of SKB's environmental impact assessment work, but is also meant to be a usable tool in further planning. It is during the construction phase that the largest amounts of both water and pollutants are to be expected. Therefore, the conditions during the construction phase are proposed to be used for dimensioning of technical solutions as well as for environmental impact assessments. The study of different techniques for treatment of sanitary wastewater has included a method called ''open wastewater planning''. The work comprises six different technical solutions that have been outlined on system level, all of which responds to the national environmental legislation, as well as what has been considered as reasonable practical and economical demands. A urine diverting system combined with a local system for treatment of wastewater has been found to be the most interesting solution. The least attractive alternative in relation to the claimed demands is a traditional system for mixed wastewater connected to the existing wastewater treatment plant at the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant. This is mostly due to the high estimated cost for the connection pipe. Discharged leachate from the rock stockpile is expected to contain the greatest amount of nitrogen, at most 6 tonnes a year. Drainage water from the repository will also contain nitrogen and will in addition be slightly saline, but still rather clean. The local physical conditions for construction of outdoor, biological treatment steps as overland flow areas and wetlands for treatment of drainage water and leachate have been found to be good. A total nitrogen reduction of 50 percent in leachate and drainage water is considered reasonable from an environmental, practical and economical point of view. The proposed steps taken, the discharge to the recipient Ekerumsviken (the Baltic Sea) is estimated to be restricted to a maximum of three tonnes of nitrogen a year. The possibilities for local storm water control are considered to be good. As long as a thorough planning is carried out, risks for floods and negative local environmental impact resulting from unwanted substances in storm water will be minimised. It is also the authors opinion that the proposed ways of resolving the problem locally will save money, considering both the investment and the maintenance costs. The authors conclusive assessment of the environmental impact from the different polluted waters is that it will be small as long as the suggested measures are taken. Locally, the creek Oxhagsdiket will change its character in terms of a higher and more even flow. Today the creek is periodically dry; in the future it will lead 20-30 litres/second all year around. The water will be slightly saline and spiked with nutrients, especially in the upper part. This change of character is not necessarily negative; with the proposed ponds and wetlands an interesting water body is expected in terms of biodiversity and aesthetics. There will be no health risks for humans or animals. During summer time, the salinity in the lower part of Laxemaraan may equal that of Ekerumsviken. Situations like these are assessed not to have any negative impact on the water body, neither in the wetland upstream nor downstream of road 743. The annual content of phosphorous in the discharged treated sanitary wastewater has been estimated to a maximum of 25 kg a year. The treated wastewater will be diluted directly after discharge with the drainage water also discharged into Oxhagsdiket. The remaining phosphorous will stimulate biotic growth, but can not lead to algal bloom or other adverse situations in the recipients. Where the tributary Oxhagsdiket meets the stream Laxemaraan, the concentrations of phosphorous will be equal or lower than the ones of the stream water. Considering sampling results from the recipient control program, the primary production in Ekerumsviken is not restricted by nitrogen. Therefore, the discharged amount of nitrogen resulting from the activities of the final repository will not lead to increased algal production. Furthermore, the retention time in the bay is short and the concentration of ammonium is low, which means that the level of dissolved oxygen won't be reduced. Investments for treatment of sanitary wastewater will not exceed 4 million SEK.

Anaerobic degradation of phthalates in unsorted household wastes; Anaerob nedbrytning av ftalater med ymp fraan anaerobt behandlat hushaallsavfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aaberg, H.

1993-10-01

Phthalic acid and diethyl phthalate were tested for their biodegradability in anaerobic, unsorted household wastes. The compounds were analyzed by measuring absorbance after centrifugation of a water suspension. This cheap and rapid method was proven to be applicable. Both phthalic acid and diethyl phthalate disappeared almost completely in 1-3 months, using initial concentrations from 50 to 250 mg/l. The same methodology was used for diethylhexyl phthalate, but did not work. The stoichiometrically expected amounts of methane were not found for any of the compounds, and in case of diethyl phthalate an inhibition of the methane production was observed. (36 refs., 17 figs.)

Farm scale production of combined heat and power from biogas; Gaardsbaserad och gaardsnaera produktion av kraftvaerme fraan biogas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lantz, Mikael

2010-08-15

The Swedish agricultural sector accounts for a significant and unutilized part of the Swedish biogas potential. There is also considerable interest among Swedish farmers to increase the production and utilization of biogas. The purpose of this study is to analyze the prerequisites for the production of combined heat and power (CHP) from biogas based on manure in different scale and with different technologies. The purpose is also to present economic calculations and the conditions required to reach profitability. Based on current economic conditions and with the assumptions made in the assessment, it is difficult to achieve profitability with conventional production of biogas. Levels of investment and operating costs are greatly dependent of scale and a larger biogas plant is normally more profitable than a smaller. There are, however, only marginal differences between a large farm based biogas plant and a much larger plant treating manure from several farms. The reason is that the positive effects of scale regarding investments, comparing the two plants, are reduced by increased costs for transportation and sanitation. However, the sanitation unit adapted at the large plant enables the plant to receive different external substrates such as food industry waste etc. resulting in a much higher biogas production per amount of treated substrate. The following conclusions are drawn in this study: - to achieve profitability in the production of CHP from biogas based on manure it is required, in most cases, that some of the heat produced could be used externally and that the digestate is given an economic value; - there are clear positive effects of scale between the smaller and the larger farm based biogas plant. However, differences are marginal between a large farm based biogas plant and a larger plant treating manure from several farms; - thermophilic operation could improve the profitability if used to increase the amount of substrate treated and especially if it is used to sanitize the substrate when needed; - the current level of investment subsidy is usually not sufficient to reach profitability; - the proposed production based subsidy of 0.2 SEK/kWh (about 0.03 USD/kWh) of biogas would be of significant importance and make most of the plants reach break-even with low or even no utilization of the heat produced. Future studies should make more in-depth analyzes of the qualities and the economic value of the digestate. It is also of great interest to future investigate the feasibility of thermophilic biogas production in practical trials. They should also address the possibility to sanitize the substrate during thermophilic conditions as when needed as an alternative to the conventional method to heat the substrate to 70 deg C

Sludge in the pulp and paper industry in Sweden, part II[Combustion of]; Slam fraan skogsindustrin, fas II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gyllenhammar, Marianne; Herstad Svaerd, Solvie; Kjoerk, Anders; Larsson, Sara; Wennberg, Olle [S.E.P. Scandinavian Energy Project AB, Goeteborg (Sweden); Aamand, Lars-Erik [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden); Eskilsson, David [Swedish National Testing and Research Inst., Boraas (Sweden)

2003-11-01

During part II of this research program combustible sludge from the pulp and paper industry has been studied in detail. 560,000 tonnes of sludge per year (calculated as dry sludge) are produced in Sweden. The energy potential in the produced sludge is about 2 TWh/year. Today 1 TWh/year is produced in the pulp and paper mill's own boilers. This means that additional energy can be utilized from this material. An objective of this program has been to decide whether or not there are sludge types which are favourable respectively difficult to combust. By mixing different sludge types, or other waste products, emissions and/or problems during combustion can be minimized. These possibilities have been studied thoroughly in this program. A lot of sludge samples have been studied in laboratory scale at SP and in full-scale at Chalmers 12 MW CFB boiler. As a complement to the practical tests S.E.P. has done research regarding different aspects of sludge as a fuel; for example handling of sludge and regional drying. The results of 40 sintering tests at SP showed that the sintering temperature during combustion of sludge in a fluidised bed, with silica sand as bed material, varied between <850 deg C and >1100 deg C. The evaluation showed that the alkali content in the ash had the largest influence on the sintering temperature. Other factors were less important. During the tests at Chalmers eleven different sludge samples have been combusted together with wood pellets. Initially there were problems with the feeding to the boiler for some of the sludge samples. When the fuel feeding problems were solved the combustion took place without any problems. When sludge is co-combusted together with a 'clean' base fuel such as wood pellets the sulphur-, nitrogen- and chloride contents in the sludge have a large impact on the emissions. The normal way to reduce sulphur dioxide but also hydrogen chloride is to add lime in different positions into and after the boiler. In the pulp and paper industry there are waste products with high calcium content that could be used for the same purpose. During the tests at Chalmers four different waste products were tested and compared with limestone and slaked lime. All the tested waste products had a reducing effect on the emission of sulphur dioxide. Deinking sludge had the most reducing effect on the emission of SO{sub 2}. The deinking sludge even had a better effect than limestone added to the bed. Dust from an electric precipitator situated after the lime kiln had the best reducing effect (about 40 %) on the emission of hydrogen chloride of the tested waste products. Thus slaked lime was the most effective for the reduction of hydrogen chloride with a reduction of 90%.

Developed feedback from the Swedish CDM and JI program; Utvecklad aaterrapportering fraan det svenska CDM- och JI-programmet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-01

The Swedish Energy Agency is responsible for the Swedish government program for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI). CDM and JI is the Kyoto Protocol's two project-based flexible mechanisms. This program focuses on participation in individual CDM- and JI-projects and on participation in multilateral CDM- and JI- funds. In the report the Swedish Energy Agency, on behalf of the Government, presents a proposal for developed reporting for the CDM- and JI-program. Furthermore, issues related to how CDM and JI can assist in meeting the Swedish climate objective by 2020 are discussed. Also, the role for potential new flexible mechanisms under UN Climate Convention is mentioned.

Treatment of biofuel ashes for forest recycling; Behandling av aska fraan biobraenslen foer spridning paa skogsmark - etapp 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bjurstroem, H.; Sjoeblom, R. [AaF-Energikonsult, Stockholm (Sweden)

1997-03-01

Logging residues are the easiest available fuel for an increased production of energy in Sweden from renewable sources. A consequence of their removal from the forest is that the cycle of mineral nutrients is broken. The purpose of recycling the ash after this fuel to forest land is to compensate for the removal and close again the nutrient cycle. Recycling nutrients and returning the inorganic components of the biomass removed from the forest should be performed in accordance with general principles of environmental protection, health considerations and the good house-keeping of natural resources. The activities should also be carried out in accordance with the needs of the forest and energy plant owners regarding good technology and economy. This implies that functional requirements originating from these principles and needs should be clearly structured and formulated and that such requirements should provide a basis for the continued development work as well as for the implementation of suitable, economical and efficient systems. Returning inorganic constituents implies that the principle of recirculation is followed as well as that nutrients are brought back which improves accretion in the forest. At the same time, the risk of damage to the forest can be assessed as insignificant. Furthermore the risks to human health are also assessed to be insignificant provided that pertinent precautions are taken to avoid dusting. In the present report, technical and economical aspects of importance for the selection of method as well as for the establishment of a system are described and discussed. The need for further development work is identified in the following areas: functional requirements - operational requirements, sampling, testing and quality assurance, granulation, curing processes and drying/sintering. 102 refs, 1 fig, 2 tabs

System and market study of bio-methane (SNG) from bio fuels; System- och marknadsstudie foer biometan (SNG) fraan biobraenslen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valleskog, Martin (CMV Konsult (Sweden)); Marbe, Aasa; Colmsjoe, Linda (Grontmij AB (Sweden))

2008-07-01

This study has examined whether the use of SNG produced from biofuels can constitute an alternative use for biofuel. Gasification technologies are studied: pressurized gasification with oxygen/steam, indirect gasification and hydrogen gasification. The objective of the project is to make a reasonable valuation of the production of SNG and through a market-study see if biofuel-based SNG can be an alternative to competing fuels. The report also discusses the supply and price of biofuels in Sweden. This use was 112 TWh in 2005 and assessed potential in year 2025 is 187 TWh. Biofuel prices show an upward trend and system of incentives affect the development of the biofuels market and price. The main incentives are electricity certificate system, energy and environmental taxes and emissions trading. Current energy and climate policies in Sweden and EU are expected to increase demand for biofuels and thus likely the prices. Increased volumes of waste tend to reduce pressure on the demand for biofuels generally. SNG is compared with natural gas and with other uses for biofuels and other competing fuels, depending on the application. The economic analysis has been conducted for three different cost levels in fuels and incentives, namely the year 2007, scenario in 2012 and scenario in 2020. The economics of SNG is evaluated for the three above-mentioned scenarios, both with respect to its cost of production, and in which market the SNG used (cogeneration, heating, industry and the automotive market). A sensitivity analysis has been conducted on the following parameters: fuel prices, electricity prices, the cost of emissions, taxes and investment. The results show that SNG is not a finished product available on the market today why additional support is required to make SNG competitive so that investment in production is stimulated. The production cost of SNG is between 380 - 410 SEK/MWh and necessary support is estimated to amount to 150 - 200 SEK/MWh on the basis of the current Swedish tax system. From a production standpoint, the industrial and automotive markets are best suited as recipients of SNG because demand is evenly distributed throughout the year, CHP and heat market at least favorable as it is heavily dependent on the variation of the heat demand during the year. By contrast, the biggest economic advantage is achieved when SNG is replacing natural gas and oil for heating. Secondly, in the sectors of power generation and vehicle fuel SNG is favored by subsidies. High electricity certificate prices and high power generation efficiency benefit SNG for cogeneration. The analysis of the current competitive situation leads to SNG require some form of financial support to become a commercially available energy resource. The fastest establishment of SNG facilities will be realized in which the natural gas network already established, as it gives access to the entire natural gas market. Industrial and automotive market has been steady demand over the year and can therefore form the basis for the draft instruments. Politically speaking, there is great interest to find renewable alternatives in the automotive market. If we are to invest in a new cogeneration installation is the most economical to gasify biofuel combustion the gas in a gas turbine with subsequent steam cycle (BIGCC). This is far more economical than to first convert the gas to SNG and then burn it in a combined natural gas plant. It requires, however, that the values on electricity certificate is relatively high, or that prices are high

Evaluation of Co-Digestion of Biosludge from Pulp and Paper Mills; Utvaerdering av samroetningspotential foer bioslam fraan massa-/pappersbruk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berg, Andreas; Karlsson, Anna; Ejlertsson, Joergen; Nilsson, Fredrik

2011-02-15

The biogas potentials from 2 biosludges from the pulp- and paper industry and 10 possible co-digestion substrates have been evaluated. 6 combinations, each including two co-digestion substrates and one biosludge, were evaluated in lab scale biogas reactors. Stable biogas processes were obtained with all combinations and the rawgas potential was higher in the co-digestion processes then for the biosludges alone (0.31- 0.43 compared to 0.21- 0.22 NL/g VS) The investment costs for two production plants were calculated. For a plant using 7 ton biosludge TS/d (total solids per day), co-digested with evaporation condensate (3 m3/d) and fibre sludge (3 ton/d) and thereby producing 850 000 Nm3 CH{sub 4}/yr the investment cost was estimated to 43 MSEK excluding ground works. For a larger plant using 20 ton biosludge TS/d, co-digested with food waste (8 ton/d) and cereal residues (12 ton/d) and producing 2 500 000 Nm3 CH{sub 4}/yr, the investment cost was estimated to 51 MSEK excluding ground works

Quantification and characterization of emissions from small-scale biofuel combustion; Kvantifiering och karakterisering av faktiska utslaepp fraan smaaskalig biobraensleeldning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johansson, Linda; Gustavsson, Lennart; Johansson, Mathias; Oesterberg, Stefan; Tullin, Claes; Persson, Henrik [Swedish National Testing and Research Inst., Boraas (Sweden); Cooper, David; Sjoedin, Aake; Potter, Annika; Brorstroem-Lunden, Eva [Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Goeteborg (Sweden)

2003-09-01

This report is the final report of a project within the BHM research program. A comprehensive set of emission measurements has been conducted on domestic biomass boilers for wood logs and wood pellets. Within the project development of a simple method for field sampling has also been included. During the emission studies, different boilers with respect to age, design, and biomass fuels are included in the study, which also covers two oil-fired boilers for comparison. The total number of measurements cases was 29, from which 25 were measured at the laboratory and the remaining in field. Two of the cases were domestic oil burning, and were included as a comparison. The gas measurements comprised carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2} ), oxygen (O{sub 2} ), total organic carbons (TOC), nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x} ), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and 33 volatile organic compounds (VOC). Particle emissions were characterised by mass concentration, number concentration, and the corresponding particle size distributions. The mass concentration of particles ranged from 13 mg/MJ (wood pellets) up to 2200 mg/MJ for a water cooled wood boiler without heat storage tank. The CO emission increased with increased air ratio, which indicates that air supply was not the limiting parameter for CO burnout. Poor combustion conditions could instead be explained by poor mixing conditions, or that the excess air was that large that it can be suspected to cool the combustion chamber, resulting in high CO emissions. The TOC emission was shown to correlate to the CO emission. TOC varied between 1 and 4800 mg/MJ, presented as methane-equivalents, and CO-emissions between 30 and 16400 mg/MJ. Both TOC and CO are indicators of combustion conditions. The large variations in concentrations can be explained by the large differences in combustion devices, operation of the equipment, and fuel-quality, investigated. Methane made up the largest fraction of the VOC emissions in all of the measurements cases. In general, the pellet burners were more equal in performance with lower emissions than the wood boilers. The lowest emissions from wood boilers were obtained from combustion of dry wood logs in modern, ceramic-lined boilers connected to heat storage tanks. It was also observed that most emissions could be considerably lowered by connecting an old-type wood boiler to a heat storage tank, (however increased flue gas temperature was observed) or by firing small (in relation to the combustion chamber) batches of wood. A simple method for measurement of CO, CO{sub 2} , O{sub 2} , OGC/TOC, NO{sub x} , and VOC has been developed and verified within this project. With the simple method flue gas from the chimney on a roof can be collected in foil balloons. The method does not need electricity.

Washing of fly ash from combustion of municipal solid waste using water as leachant; Vattentvaett av flygaska fraan avfallsfoerbraenning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steenari, Britt-Marie; Zhao, Dongmei

2010-03-15

Ashes from combustion of municipal solid waste contain a large amount of minerals, salts and other metal compounds that are more or less soluble in water. The metal salts are often enriched in the fly ash which leads to a classification of the ash as hazardous waste. This makes ash management complicated and costly. Many stabilisation methods for Municipal Solid Waste Incineration (MSWI) fly ash have been developed and most of them are based on a removal of chloride and sulfate in addition to a binding of metals in less soluble forms. The aim is to avoid the common situation that the ash does not comply to leaching limit values due to release of harmless salts. The aim of this project was to investigate if a simple washing with water can remove enough of the fly ash content of chloride and sulphate so that the ash can be landfilled in a simpler and less costly way than today. The project was focused on fly ashes from the MSWI units owned by Boraas Energi och Miljoe AB and Renova AB Goeteborg, i.e. a electro filter ash from grate fired boilers at Renova and a cyclone ash from a fluid bed boiler at Boraas. The results show that the main part of the chloride content of the ashes can be removed easily, but the washing with water is less effective in the removal of sulphate. A water-to-ash ratio of 1-2 l/kg removes about 100% of chloride but only 8-16% of the sulphate content. In many cases, the leachability of sulphate increases after the washing step. This is due to the rather complex sulphate chemistry with several possible reactions taking place in the ash-water system. For both the tested ashes the high level of chloride leaching is an important factor that prevents admittance on a landfill for hazardous waste without treatment.. The leaching of certain metals, such as Pb, is also high from both ashes but in the case of the Renova fly ash this is dealt with by treatment of the ash according to the Bamberg method. After a water washing with L/S 1-2 (L/kg dry ash) both ashes the washed ash complies with the landfill directive for hazardous waste that can be landfilled in Sweden. The content of dioxins and furans in the ashes were only marginally affected by the washing process as shown by a 13% increase. However, the results show that this type of washing does not remove dioxins from the solid phase which is an important piece of information.Only a few components were still too leachable for the ashes to comply with criteria for nonhazardous waste (for the Renova ash sulphate and Se and for the Boraas ash only Cr). The leaching of Cr from that ash could perhaps be decreased by chemical reduction to insoluble forms. However, this has not been tested in this project. Calculations of the investments that would be necessary in order to install water washing of fly ash at the two MSWI plants showed that the costs are too high to make it profitable today. The costs were compared to the usual management of these fly ashes which is export to Norway for landfilling (Boraas Energi och Miljoe) and stabilization using the Bamberg method followed by land filling on the company's landfill site in Goeteborg (Renova AB). The results obtained in this project can, however, become useful if the situation changes in a later stage and a washing of the ash becomes interesting again. In that case a more detailed process design must be carried out, especially concerning the filtration step since this was the most costly part of the system

The first Swedish nuclear reactor - from technical prototype to scientific instrument; Sveriges foersta kaernreaktor - fraan teknisk prototyp till vetenskapligt instrument

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fjaestad, M. [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of History of Science and Technology

2001-01-01

The first Swedish reactor R1, constructed at the Royal Inst. of Technology in Stockholm, went critical in July 1954. This report presents historical aspects of the reactor, in particular about the reactor as a research instrument and a centre for physical science. The tensions between its role as a prototype and a step in the development of power reactors and that as a scientific instrument are especially focused.

Knowledge Transfer from the Forestry Sector to the Agricultural Sector concerning Ash Recycling; Kunskapsoeverfoering fraan skogssektorn till jordbrukssektorn angaaende askaaterfoering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olsson, Johanna; Salomon, Eva

2009-02-15

Cultivation of energy crops on arable land is increasing in Sweden. More than half these crops can be used for combustion, increasing the amount of ash that can be recycled to arable land. Ash is an interesting agricultural fertiliser, but more knowledge is needed before it can be applied and handled in a controlled way. Knowledge and experience concerning recycling of ash within the forest sector can be transferred to the agricultural sector. This project examined ways for ash producers to ensure safe long-term disposal of ash and to improve plant nutrient recycling. The overall aims were to identify experiences and knowledge within forestry that could be applied in agriculture; to identify gaps in knowledge and research requirements regarding ash recycling to arable land; and to produce recommendations on how to increase ash recycling. Literature describing the conditions for ash application to arable land and existing knowledge about ash recycling to forestry were reviewed. Nutrient balances were drawn up for phosphorus, cadmium, zinc and copper, which are relevant in biofuel ash recycling to agriculture. Data on ash application, mainly on forest land, were collected through telephone interviews. For ash to be more attractive for farmers, the ash product must be a realistic alternative to artificial fertilisers. Research and demonstration projects are needed to study the effects of ash on yield and quality in different crops. Different biofuel ash products have differing qualities and can thus have different fields of application within agriculture and can be applied in varying amounts. For example, clean straw ash has a low P and Cd content and mainly supplies potassium and lime. The balance calculations showed that the highest quality ash for arable land is bottom ash from grate combustion of forest trash with 2-5 % of willow. There are both differences and similarities between ash application in agriculture and forestry. An important feature is the cultivation period, which is generally 70-80 years for trees (25 years for willow), but 1-3 years for arable crops. Nutrients are supplied more continuously in agriculture than in forestry, which is rarely fertilised. There is an existing quality assurance system for ash application in forestry, and the knowledge available there could be applied in a corresponding system for agriculture. Different types of biofuels are combusted together today, e.g. forest trash and willow chippings. It is important to determine how mixing different ash types can affect ash recycling, e.g. by increasing the levels of Cd in the product. To enable ash recycling to arable land, the relevant authorities, e.g. the Swedish Board of Agriculture and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, will have to formulate requirements or recommendations for all ash recycling, including mixed ash. One quality assurance approach for ash recycling is to have a declaration of content system for ash intended for application on arable land. The authorities should also promote the development of circulation systems where biofuel ash is returned to the land where the biofuel crops were grown

Energy recovery of combustible fraction from shredding of wastes containing metals; Energiaatervinning av braennbar fraktion fraan fragmentering av metallhaltigt avfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gyllenhammar, Marianne [Stena Metall, Goeteborg (Sweden); Victoren, Anders; Niemi, Jere [Metso Power, Tammerfors (Finland); Johansson, Andreas [SP Technical Research Inst. of Sweden, Boraas (Sweden)

2009-01-15

Combustible products from fragmentation are not allowed to be deposited on landfills any more in Sweden. These products have to be material recovered or energy recovered. The combustible fraction from recovered metal scrap, SLF (shredder light fraction), contains metals and the chlorine content is relatively high. Due to this there could be a risk with deposits and corrosion on convection surfaces in combustion plants. Co-combustion with sewage sludge could be a solution for solving problems with the difficult contents in SLF. The aim of the project was to do a theoretical judgment of how sewage sludge could affect deposit formation and corrosion when co-combusted with SLF. Due to the high amount of water in the sewage sludge the percentage of sewage sludge in the fuel mixture was limited. The maximum percentage of energy used was 3.5 % (ca 13% on weight basis). The thermodynamic calculations showed that at combustion with 100% SLF the lead and zinc chlorides in gaseous form increased 5-6 times in comparative with combustion with ordinary waste combustion in Boraas. But as the thermodynamic equilibrium calculations will not consider the kinetics and just calculate independent of time the results should be considered as indicative and not directly comparative to actual boiler conditions. All lead and zinc were assumed reactive which will probably not be the case in a boiler. In the calculations the aluminum was removed from the calculations (not taken into account) and the alkali-phosphor reactions are incomplete due to lack of reliable thermodynamic data. These defiance's should be considered when evaluating the results from the thermodynamic chemical equilibrium calculations as well as the fact that the calculations cannot yet take into account the possible erosive effect the high ash amount could have on the deposits. The calculations showed that co-combusting with SLF (ca 20%) gave high amounts of gaseous lead chlorides. Also high amount of zinc chlorides were formed but the content was in the same range as when firing normal waste. These chlorides condensate at a lower temperature than alkali chlorides do. The deposit and corrosion problems can therefore occur at lower material temperatures at superheaters, economizer and furnace walls. Up to 20% (energy basis) of SLF co-combusted in a boiler at 40 bar without superheater, would not significantly increase the corrosion problems. Combusted in a boiler at 20 bar (without superheater) should decrease the risk for problems with lead chloride (and zinc chloride) deposits on the convection tubes even more.

Radiological effects on plants and animals from Clink during operation; Radiologisk paaverkan paa vaexter och djur fraan Clink under drift

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hallberg, Bengt; Aquilonius, Karin; Skoog, Sofie; Huutoniemi, Tommi (Studsvik Nuclear AB, Nykoeping (Sweden)); Torudd, Jesper (Facilia AB, Bromma (Sweden))

2011-03-15

This report is the basis for the environmental impact study which is submitted in connection with applications for construction and operation of the encapsulation plant and final disposal facility. The report presents the results of calculations of Clabs'/Clinks' contribution to dose rates for biota in the environment around the Simpevarp peninsula. The biota referred to in this report means plants and animals excluding humans. Calculations are for the reported releases from CLAB to air and water, and estimated future emissions from the CLAB and Clink, both for normal operation and any mishaps. For future emissions both so-called realistic and conservative estimates were used

Solid fuels - A round robin test of solid residual products from heating plants. Fasta braenslen - cirkelanalys av fasta restprodukter fraan foerbraenningsanlaeggningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burwall, J; Samuelsson, R [Sveriges Lanbruksuniversitet, Enheten foer Biomassa, Energi- och Fibergroedor, Umeaa (Sweden)

1992-03-01

A round robin test, where six ashes (three coal ashes and three bioashes) were analyzed with respect to 'fuelspecific' parameters, major and minor elements and trace elements, has been carried out. Thirteen laboratories from Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway participated and the purpose of the investigation was to compare and evaluate common methods of analysis for ashes. The standard deviation of the used methods was compared to the precision calculated from the reported reproducability in corresponding standard methods for fuels. The results show that, without taking the significant outliers into account, the precision of the analysis of moisture content, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and the predominant part of major and minor elements was of the order of the corresponding analysis for fuels. The analysis of carbon and calorific value showed a variation somewhat higher than that for fuel analysis, while the results for volatile matter and the tracer elements were considerably less precise. The result for the amount of unburned matter showed significant groupings, not only between the ashes but also between the laboratories. The groupings were explained mainly by the different experimental parameters used during the ashing step. (au) (5 refs., 10 figs., 38 tabs.).

Solid fuels - A round robin test of solid residual products from heating plants; Fasta braenslen - cirkelanalys av fasta restprodukter fraan foerbraenningsanlaeggningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burwall, J; Samuelsson, R [Sveriges Lanbruksuniversitet, Enheten foer Biomassa, Energi- och Fibergroedor, Umeaa (Sweden)

1992-03-01

A round robin test, where six ashes (three coal ashes and three bioashes) were analyzed with respect to `fuelspecific` parameters, major and minor elements and trace elements, has been carried out. Thirteen laboratories from Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway participated and the purpose of the investigation was to compare and evaluate common methods of analysis for ashes. The standard deviation of the used methods was compared to the precision calculated from the reported reproducability in corresponding standard methods for fuels. The results show that, without taking the significant outliers into account, the precision of the analysis of moisture content, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and the predominant part of major and minor elements was of the order of the corresponding analysis for fuels. The analysis of carbon and calorific value showed a variation somewhat higher than that for fuel analysis, while the results for volatile matter and the tracer elements were considerably less precise. The result for the amount of unburned matter showed significant groupings, not only between the ashes but also between the laboratories. The groupings were explained mainly by the different experimental parameters used during the ashing step. (au) (5 refs., 10 figs., 38 tabs.).

Follow-up on analysis of dioxins in residues from Swedish waste incineration; Uppfoeljande undersoekning av dioxin i rester fraan svensk avfallsfoerbraenning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindskog, Aasa (Tyrens, Stockholm (Sweden)) (ed.)

2009-10-15

As a consequence of a debate in the late 1990's, a major study of the residues from waste incineration was performed in Sweden. In 1999, samples were collected from 21 of the 22, at the time, existing plants. Focus of the study was to analyse dioxin in flue gas treatment residue. A few analyses were also done on slag/bottom ash. A new follow-up study was decided to be carried out after some years. The present report present the result from the follow-up study from 2006 where 24 out of 29 waste incineration plants participated. Between 1999 and 2006 a number of changes have taken place in the waste incineration industry. A few new plants have been built, a few have been closed, a new and stricter law has come into force and the technical development has continued. These changes have together led to a positive development for waste incineration. As a result, the dioxin content in the flue gas residues has decreased, when the results from the two studies are being compared. The decrease is even larger for slag/bottom ash. In the 1999 study the dioxin content in the flue gas treatment residues varied from 0,2 ng/g to 18 ng/g (I-TEQ) with an average of 2-3 ng/g. The total amount for all plants was 160 g. The variation between the dioxin content in the flue gas treatment residues in the later study is smaller, the lowest value is 0,3 ng/g and the highest 5 ng/g. The average is 1,6 ng/g and the median is 1,2 ng/g, both lower that the values from 1999. The total dioxin amount for 2006 is larger than for 1999, 185 g. Although, it must be considered that the amount of incinerated waste has almost doubled during the same period. The dioxin content in the slag/bottom ash has decreased since the former study was performed. At 1999, samples of slag/bottom ash from only seven plants were analysed. The median was 0,03 ng/g and the total dioxin amount from all plants was approximated to 10 g. In the 2006 study the median amounted to 0,005 ng/g and the total amount to 9 g (calculated on wet weight). Using the same model for transforming into dry weight as in 1999, the amount equals 7 g

Patient doses from x-ray examinations in Sweden - follow-up of remedial actions; Patientdoser fraan roentgenundersoekningar i Sverige - uppfoeljning av aatgaerder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joensson, Helene; Leitz, W

2002-03-01

In early 1999 the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI) requested data about patient doses etc. for a number of specified x-ray examinations. The aim was on one hand to get a basis for planned regulations on diagnostic reference levels (DRL) and on the other hand to obtain an overview of how the situation is in the country with respect to patient doses. The licensees who reported dose values exceeding (provisional) DRL were asked to perform investigations about the grounds for the high dose and to take remedial actions for reducing the dose. In this report the outcome is presented. The dose reductions were large: on average between 35 and 60 % for the various examinations. A large proportion of the measures taken were simple and cheap, such as increase of radiation quality, improved examination methodology (smaller radiation fields, use of compression, reduced number of images or fluoroscopy time) and optimising the film processing. This is indicating that the planned regulations on diagnostic reference levels have a good chance to succeed with a large reduction of the patient doses in Sweden.

Lithium-ion batteries from environmental and health points of view. A literature study; Litium-jonbatterier fraan miljoe- och haelsosynpunkt. En litteraturstudie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hovsenius, Gunnar

2009-04-15

The global efforts to reduce the emissions of CO{sub 2} must in a near future also involve car traffic. Biofuels can in this context only contribute to a very limited possibility while battery-operated cars have a very good potential supposed that batteries can be developed to cover driving distances of about 200 kilometers. An alternative possibility is plug-in hybrid cars for which electricity is the energy source for transportation in urban areas. Lithium-ion batteries have the best potential to match the above mentioned battery claims. Their technical development has advanced so far that they probably will be utilized commercially in a large scale within a period of about five years. The recovery of the metals in the batteries is in principle a known technology and the goal to recover 70 % is considered as realistic. In the constructions of the cathode cobalt, nickel and manganese are of importance besides lithium. In the future a synthetic application of ferrous phosphate may be used as an alternative. The material in the anode is a crystalline form of graphite. The transport of lithium ions between the two electrodes occurs in an organic solvent. This literature study has covered the global reserves and resources of the four mentioned metals, their actual market, how their applications will be changed if battery-operated cars will take a very dominant market role and if this will have any influences on the health and environmental situations. The knowledge from the literature study is summarized in the following points: The reserves of lithium are concentrated to South and North America and to China. They will be enough to cover the global needs including the battery market for more than 300 years. The reserves of cobalt are in Africa, in Australia and in China. They will only cover the global needs including the battery market for a period of about ten years and consequently the battery technology must rely on other metals. The reserves of nickel and manganese are more wide distributed compared to lithium and cobalt. The known reserves will cover the global needs including the battery market for a period of about 100 respectively more than 200 years. The incomplete recovery of metals will increase their turn-over in environment. In spite of this no negative consequences on the human health and on the environment are apprehended. The explanation is that extra metal burdens not will increase the concentrations to the conservative levels set to protect the environment. The production of batteries will lead to emissions of CO{sub 2}. Supposed that the electricity for charging the batteries corresponds to the Swedish mix of electricity the climate burden of the batteries correspond to driving about 12,100 kilometers. For hybrid cars this limit is only about 2,000 kilometers. No restrictions in the use of crystalline graphite or organic solvents have been found as necessary

Biogas from lignocellulosic biomass - A techno-economic study of pretreatment with NMMO; Biogas fraan lignocellulosa - Tekno-ekonomisk utvaerdering av foerbehandling med NMMO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarvari Horvath, Ilona; Del Pilar Castillo, Maria; Berglund Odhner, Peter; Teghammar, Anna; Mohseni Kabir, Maryam, Olsson, Marcus; Ascue, Johnny

2013-09-01

Biogas has been identified as one of the most cost-effective renewable fuels. In order to increase biogas production, yields from traditionally substrates either need to be improved or other alternative substrates must be made available for anaerobic digestion. Cellulose and lignocellulose rich wastes are available in large amounts and have great potential to be utilized for biogas production. This project focused on the optimization of the pretreatment conditions when using the organic solvent N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) to enhance the methane yield from forest residues and straw. It also focused on a techno-economic evaluation of this pre-treatment technology. NMMO has previously been shown to be effective in dissolving cellulose and, as a consequence, in increasing the methane yield during the subsequent digestion. The goal of this project was to develop a technology that increases energy production from domestic substrates in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way. The treatment works well at lower temperatures (9 C), which means that water from the district heating system can advantageously be used in the treatment. The results showed that treatment with NMMO at 90 deg C doubles the methane yield from forest residues and increases the methane yield from straw by 50 %. For the techno-economic evaluation, the base case was assumed to be a facility with a capacity of 100 000 tones forest residues/year. After a washing and filtration step, the treated material will be utilized in a co-digestion process where 33 % of the incoming material consists of forest residues and the rest is source-sorted household waste. The scale-up, process design, simulation and calculations were made using the software tool Intelligent SuperPro Design. The total investment costs were calculated to be about 145 million, when forest residues or straw are to be used as raw material. Costs for operation (i.e. raw materials, energy, waste management, maintenance and personnel costs) were set against the incomes from the products (i.e. methane, carbon dioxide and the lignin-rich digested residue) to see if the process was profitable. The internal return rate (IRR), a parameter that indicates whether a process is profitable or not, indicated that evaluated processes with capacities over 50 000 tons forest residues/year are profitable. However, co-digestion of forest residues with sewage sludge instead of household waste was not profitable. Both the laboratory results and the energy and economic calculations showed that the washing and filtration step is critical for the proposed process. The energy balance calculation resulted in an EROI value of 0.5, which means that the produced methane from forest residues counted up only the half of the energy needed for the treatment as well as NMMO separation and recycling. It is important to separate the NMMO well after the treatment, since remaining NMMO at concentrations higher than 0.002 % were found to inhibit the subsequent digestion step. Also it was showed out to be important that the washing step operates with small amounts of water to save energy within the NMMO recovery. A rotary vacuum filtration is therefore recommended for the washing and filtration step, and a mechanical vapor design is recommended for the evaporation, saving up to 70 - 90 % energy compared to a conventional design. Treatment of straw with recycled instead of fresh NMMO has also been tested and equal amounts of methane were obtained. After a well-functioning washing and filtration step, NMMO could not be detected in the di gestate residue.

Leachability of antimony from energy ashes. Total contents, leachability and remedial suggestions; Lakning av antimon fraan energiaskor. Totalhalter, lakbarhet samt foerslag till aatgaerder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baeckstroem, Mattias [Oerebro Univ. (Sweden)

2006-01-15

In the current project total concentrations for antimony in 31 energy ashes have been compiled. The average concentration of antimony in boiler fly ash and grate boiler fly ash is 192 and 1,140 mg/kg, respectively. The corresponding antimony concentrations for boiler ashes and grate bottom ashes are 86,5 and 61,8 mg/kg, respectively. Multivariate calculations clearly pointed out waste as the major source for antimony in ashes. The difference between total antimony concentration in fly ash and bottom ash is greatest for grate boilers, in average 18 times higher in the fly ash. The difference for CFB/BFB-boilers is only slightly more than 2. However, based on amount, 75% of the total antimony inventory is recovered in the fly ashes for both CFB/BFB and grate boilers. Eleven (eight of which were bottom ashes) out of the 31 samples exceeded the guidelines for inert waste. It is clear that the higher ionic strength in the solutions from the fly ashes contribute to decrease the solubility for critical minerals retaining antimony. In addition, the fly ashes have considerably larger effective surface able to sorb trace elements. A clear and positive covariance was discovered between aluminium and antimony. Furthermore, it was noted that antimony showed no typical anionic behaviour despite the fact that it according to the geochemical calculations should be present as SbO{sub 3}{sup -}. At L/S 10, a maximum of 1% of the total antimony concentration is leached. This should be compared to chloride that had 94% of the total concentration leached at L/S 10. There was no correlation between the leached antimony concentrations and the total antimony concentrations. The sequential extractions also suggest a low leachability for antimony from the ashes. In average only 9,6% is released at pH 7, 7,3% at pH 5, 3,6% during reducing conditions and 3,2% during oxidising conditions. In total, only 24% of the total antimony concentrations is released during the four extraction steps. The remaining 76% is probably to be found in the silicate matrix. Through multivariate calculations (PCA and MLR) and geochemical calculations (PHREEQC) aluminium and sulphate have been identified as being important for antimony leaching from the ashes. It is thus likely that ettringite governs antimony leachability at alkaline pH. When ettringite is solubilized the leachability of antimony will be dependent on the presence of effective sorbents. To decrease the leachability of antimony from the ashes addition of sulphate solution to the ashes is suggested, to increase the stability of ettringite at alkaline pH. Below the pH-range where ettringite is stable addition of manganese solution would give a new effective sorbent for antimony in solution. It was also noted that all fly ashes with addition of activated carbon did not exceed any guide lines for antimony leaching.

Energy recovery of combustible fraction from fragmentation of metal scrap - Phase 2; Energiaatervinning av braennbar fraktion fraan fragmentering av metallhaltigt avfall - Steg 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gyllenhammar, Marianne (Stena Metall AB (Sweden)); Davidsson, Kent (SP Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut, Boraas (Sweden)); Jonsson, Torbjoern; Pettersson, Jesper (HTC, Chalmers Tekniska Hoegskola, Goeteborg (Sweden)); Victoren, Anders; Andersson, Hans (Metso Power AB (Sweden)); Widen, Christoffer (Lidkoepings Vaermeverk AB (Sweden))

2010-03-15

More recovered fuels have been put on the fuel market since the landfill ban of organic wastes was implemented. SLF (shredder light fraction = fluff) which is a waste from recovery of metal scrap has mostly been put on landfill until now. Due to high chlorine and metal content in this fuel there is a risk of increased deposit and corrosion problems in incineration plants. This project investigated if co-combustion with sewage sludge could reduce these problems. The purpose of the project was also to document the influence of SLF when it comes to deposits and corrosion in an incineration plant. In this project SLF has been co-combusted with normal waste with and without sewage sludge in the 20 MW bubbling fluidized bed boiler in Lidkoeping. Three combustion tests have been performed: - Ref - Reference test (normal fuel mix = 50% household waste/50% industrial waste). - F1 - Test 1 (75% normal fuel mix , 21% SLF and 4% sewage sludge) - F2 - Test 2 (77% normal fuel mix and 23% SLF) The fuel mix is specified as percentage of energy content. The tests lasted 3 days and during the last 24 hours corrosion and deposit probes were exposed inside the boiler. The surface temperatures of the corrosion probes were 280, 350 and 420 deg C in each test. At the same time as the probes were exposed the boiler operation was followed and samples of fuel, ash and flue gas were taken. The results clearly show that sewage sludge initially decreases the deposit and corrosion problems at SLF combustion. Lower amounts of deposits were measured and the deposits were less corrosive when 4% of sewage sludge was added to the fuel mix with normal waste and SLF (F1). Co-combustion of more than 20% SLF and wastes (F2) increase initially the amount of the deposits and the deposits were also initially more corrosive. Long-term consequences are not investigated in this project. The project has not shown a distinct explanation why sewage sludge gives these good effects. Several possible causes, as shown in earlier projects [2][3][4], could be the content of sulphur, aluminium silicates, the high ash content and also the content of phosphorous. The sulphur reacts with the alkaline to sulphates and will be deposited as non corrosive deposits on tubes or go out as fly ash. The aluminium silicates and alkaline can form compounds with high melting temperatures and will leave the boiler as bottom or fly ash. The higher amount of ash in sludge can result in that sticky particles stick to the ash particles and are transported out with the flue gas without being deposited on tubes in the boiler. Phosphorous was found in the ashes (not bottom ash) and in the deposits down stream the convection pass. Increased tube temperature (280 to 420 deg C) increased the initial corrosion. The results indicate chlorine induced corrosion in all tests at all temperatures on the low alloy steel 16Mo3. No or very low content of cupper, lead and zinc were detected close to the corrosion front on the tube metal surface on 16 Mo3. Due to this these elements will not be expected to affect the corrosion attacks. The deposits decrease and the chlorine content in the deposits increase downstream the convection pass in comparison to upstream the convection pass. The alkaline content in the deposits decreased despite of the increase of chlorine. These results were shown in all tests. The ash content in the fuel into the boiler increased by 38% when adding sludge and SLF. When SLF was co-combusted with normal fuel the ash content in the fuel mix increased 19%. This higher ash content in the fuel will increase the cost of ash handling of the bottom ash and the empty pass ash. The analyses made in this project do not show other than that the ashes can be sent to the same places as used for the normal fuel ashes. The dry flue gas cleaning device could successfully handle the variation of emissions as to fulfill the requirements of the permission

The injection of TASS-tunnel. Design, implementation and results from the pre-injection; Injekteringen av TASS-tunneln. Design, genomfoerande och resultat fraan foerinjekteringen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Funehag, Johan (Chalmers university of technology, Goeteborg (Sweden)); Emmelin, Ann (Golder Associates (Sweden))

2011-06-15

The Swedish repository facility for spent nuclear fuel will be placed in crystalline rock at a depth of 400-500 m. In order to limit groundwater inflow to the facility, grouting is planned. To comply with the stringent material, execution and inflow restrictions, a series of research and development projects concerned with rock characterization for grouting, grouting materials and grouting design have been carried out by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co (SKB). The understanding and methods developed were tested in the sealing project carried out at Aespoe Hard Rock Laboratory (Aespoe HRL), Sweden, and presented in this report. The project consisted of the construction of a short tunnel at 450 m depth, the TASS-tunnel. Grouting was conducted as pre-grouting using ordinary grouting fans outside the planned tunnel contour, as well as with grout holes entirely within the planned contour. A cement-based low-pH grout and a silica based grouting agent, silica sol, were used. The methodology used included determination of the fracture transmissivity distribution; identification of the smallest hydraulic aperture that needs to be sealed; grout selection based on fracture aperture and grout penetrability; design of grout hole geometry, grouting pressure and time in order to achieve the penetration length required; and monitoring of the actual execution based on inflow in control holes with subsequent design revision. Special concern was given to equipment and execution due to the high groundwater pressures, 3.5 MPa. Before starting the construction, inflow to core drilled holes along the tunnel position amounted to 45-90 liters/minute. The project showed that it was possible to limit the inflow to the target value 1 liter/minute per 60 m tunnel

Use of ashes from straw and grass on agricultural land. Conditions and recommendations; Spridning av aska fraan straabraenslen paa aakermark. Foerutsaettningar och rekommendationer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadders, G.; Floden, S.

1997-12-31

The composition of ashes from straw fuel varies depending on the plant species, any fertilisation during the growing season, and weather conditions during the year in question, etc. The composition of ashes will also vary depending on what type of boiler the fuel has been combusted in. In this report the discussion has been restricted to so-called `grate boilers` with a capacity of <5 MW. In such boilers one can distinguish between the so-called `bottom ashes` from the boiler grate and the `fly-ashes` which are extracted from exhaust gases. Today there are no regulations prescribing how ashes from straw and energy crops shall be handled. However, there is a policy on biofuel ash recycling which was developed by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. In their policy the Environmental Protection Agency states that `whatever is removed may be returned`. Through the use of ashes from straw fuels as plant nutrients, the nutrients removed at harvest are returned. At the same time new supplies of minerals from external sources, and thereby following input of undesirable substances such as for instance cadmium, are avoided. The alternative i.e., dumping the ashes in landfills, results in unnecessary costs. In an explanatory note accompanying the agency document, it is stated that the ashes should preferably be returned to the crop and soil from which they had originated. If the ashes are to be spread on other land, the agency proposes that the restrictions imposed on sludge applications be applied here as well. In our opinion, it would be unreasonable for limitations on the use of ashes from agricultural crops as plant nutrients to be more strict than those concerning the use of fertilizers. Since chemical fertilizers can be used on any type of crop, there is no logical reason why the same should not also apply to ashes from straw fuels. Thus we recommend that the application of such ashes to non-energy crops be allowed. If there is reason to suspect high contents of undesirable metals in the soil, a soil analysis should also be performed. However, this advice applies to the use of all types of plant-nutrient amendments, not just straw fuels. Furthermore, it is unreasonable to expect each individual farm to be responsible for carrying out such an analysis. In a number of limited tests with straw ashes, lime spreaders gave better results than conventional manure-spreaders, according to the operator. However, even with this type of spreader the dose was too large. With two pages summary in English. Tables with text in English. 23 refs, 7 tabs

Feedback of experience from the first passive houses - indoor environment, durability and user friendliness; Erfarenhetsaaterfoering fraan de foersta passivhusen - innemiljoe, bestaendighet och brukarvaenlighet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sikander, Eva; Ruud, Svein; Fyhr, Kristina; Svensson, Owe

2011-07-01

Experience and evaluation of ten-year-old passive houses - indoor environment, durability and user convenience Although many passive houses and low-energy houses were evaluated while they were still newly built, there has not been much evaluation of them after several years' of occupation. This indicates a need to re-visit older passive houses in order to pick up any aspects that could be improved in the interests of operating aspects, good indoor environmental conditions, moisture safety or continued low energy use. The objective of this project has been to provide the building sector with feedback of experience from the first passive houses in Sweden, which were first occupied in 2001. User experiences have been collected through interviews, and indoor environmental conditions and the performance of technical systems have been monitored and measured. Energy use data for the houses has also been obtained. The work has been carried out on ten of the twenty terrace house units that were built outside Goeteborg. As the houses were thoroughly monitored while they were new, we can see if and how they have changed over their first ten years' occupation. The results shows that, in general, the occupants are very satisfied, although they have put forward proposals for certain improvements, linked to the fact that it is they themselves who operate and look after the houses. Similarly, measurement and monitoring of the indoor conditions and the technical systems shows that, in many respects, the houses have aged well, although there is also scope for improvement in order to ensure that the initially low energy consumption does not tend to increase, and to maintain the good indoor environmental conditions. Interviews, follow-up of energy use and measurements of indoor conditions and the performance of technical systems have included indoor thermal conditions, solar collector systems, performance of heat exchangers, air flows, acoustic conditions, airtightness of the building envelope, natural cross ventilation when required, moisture conditions in the building envelope and operating instructions

Conversion of lime kilns from oil firing to biofuel firing: Operating experience and modelling; Konvertering av mesaugnar fraan olje- till biobraensleeldning: Drifterfarenheter och modellering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wadsborn, Rickard; Berglin, Niklas; Richards, Tobias

2007-12-15

Alternative fuels and techniques affect the operation of the lime kiln and the recausticizing plant, as well as the liquor cycle. An important effect is due to the introduction of non-process elements (NPEs), e.g. potassium, phosphorus and magnesium that accumulate in the liquor and lime cycles, respectively. Temperature profile and flame stability in the kiln also tend to change, which may have effects on ring formation. Availability and maintenance requirements for different technical solutions are important for the real saving of fossil fuel that can be reached over a longer period. The project has aimed to compile experience of the type indicated above, and to develop tools that may facilitate conversion to biofuel firing. The objective has been to gain comprehensive knowledge of the biofuels that can be used for lime kiln firing and compare them, focusing on practical experience from the plants that use or have used biofuels. One goal has been to develop validated models that can be used to describe changes that occur in the lime kiln and the chemical recovery cycle when changing fuels. The primary target group for the report is people working with energy and process related tasks in the pulp industry, and those delivering fuels or system solutions to the industry. The project has comprised data collection and modelling, as well as interviews with operations managers and visits to the mills that have several years of experience with firing of biofuels to replace oil in the lime kiln. A compilation of operating experience shows that conversion to biofuel firing is fully possible with both bark and wood powder, or with fuel gas from gasification of bark or wood shavings, and that the biofuel can replace the main part of the fuel oil in the lime kiln. However, the possibility to introduce biofuels into the lime kiln varies from mill to mill, as the mill have different possibilities to handle variations in availability of the kiln and mass flows of lime. In general, maintenance requirements increase considerably, where the major cause of unplanned stops is in the drying, e.g. fires are common. Bed agglomeration is a common cause of shutdowns in the gasifiers. There is a risk for decreased capacity in both the lime kiln and in the white liquor preparation. In general, the availability of the biofuel systems is low or very low compared to other parts of a modern kraft pulp mill. Mass balance calculations show that the amount of make-up lime needed to maintain low concentrations of impurities in the lime mud will increase to a varying extent for different biofuels. Lignin, tall oil, and wood powder give relatively small increases. Firing of bark powder causes an increase in the demand for make-up lime by 2-3 kg/ADt. An increase in the potassium and chloride levels is also to be expected when firing biofuels. These effects may be acceptable in some mills, while other mills have low tolerance towards the increased flows and concentrations. Studies of the effects in mill by mill are thus recommended. Simulation of flows and temperature profiles have been carried out and validated for two cases: bark powder in one mill (A) and gasified bark in another mill (C). When comparing the temperature of the solid material in the kiln at mill A it is pointed out that it is not possible to reach the same hot-end temperatures as with oil and that are needed for proper sintering of the lime particles. Simulation of fuel gas from gasified bark in mill C shows that both capacity and lime quality could stay unchanged when converting from fuel oil. It should be noted that the assumptions regarding flame length have great influence on the maximum temperature and thereby also on the degree of sintering of the reburned lime. Lignin shows a temperature profile similar to fuel oil, provided that it has been dried to the same low moisture content as the bark powder

The future market for biogas from waste - Sub-Project 3; Framtida marknaden foer biogas fraan avfall - Delprojekt 3 inom projektet Perspektiv paa framtida avfallsbehandling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holmstroem, David; Bisaillon, Mattias; Eriksson, Ola; Hellstroem, Hanna; Nilsson, Karolina

2013-09-01

The overall aim of the project was to study the conditions, opportunities and constraints for the development of the market for biogas from waste in Sweden. Seven areas of importance to the development have been identified in previous projects. The areas are: market and competition, supply and demand for waste, environmental benefits of biogas utilization, technology development, economic value of biogas, political instruments and the handling of digestate. The ambition has been to create a fact and market report for these areas for stake holders such as operators, representatives of authorities and decision makers. The project is a sub-project of 'Perspectives on future waste treatment'. The goal achievement of the project is expected to be good. During the project, there has also been considerable interest in the results, which is already used by a number of operators, both within and outside the project. Thereby, the results have a good spread, even before the project is completed.

Ash from Straw and Grain - Chemical Composition, Physical Properties and Technique for Spreading; Aska fraan halm och spannmaal - kemisk sammansaettning, fysikaliska egenskaper och spridningsteknik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marmolin, Christina; Ugander, Joakim; Gruvaeus, Ingemar; Lundin, Gunnar

2008-07-01

Ash is a inorganic solid material with physical properties that are highly dependent upon how well the combustion has progressed and where in the furnace the ash is produced (fly ash or bottom ash). Ash samples from 23 heating plants fuelled by mainly grain but also straw were analysed with respect to their content of plant nutrients, heavy metals and organic pollutants such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (AH), the largest group of carcinogens known today. Overall, the ash samples showed a high content of crop nutrients on a level comparable with artificial fertiliser, with a content of 10% phosphorus (P), 10% potassium (K) and 4% magnesium (Mg). The liming effect was relatively low. The analysis of ash from oats showed consistently low levels of heavy metals and PAH, while 70% of the phosphorus present was in the form of readily soluble phosphate. Ash from barley and wheat grain and oilseed rape and wheat straw showed similar results to those for oats. Ash from straw contained lower levels of phosphorus, which was expected. The low levels of heavy metals and PAH did not impose any restrictions on the use of the ash as a crop fertiliser. However, the plant availability of phosphorus in ash from rape straw needs further investigation. The ash samples contained no undesirable substances that could affect the recycling of ash from grain or straw. The fly ash contained higher levels of heavy metals than the bottom ash but not to such extent that the two fractions would have to be handled separately. Uniform distribution of the ash and relatively low application rates per hectare are prerequisites for a high use efficiency of the crop nutrients available. Doses of ash should not exceed a rate of 1-2 tons/hectare at any one time since that would lead to excessive amounts of phosphorus and potassium in the soil profile. In a long-term perspective, applying an amount of ash equivalent to the amount of grain removed is the most appropriate strategy. For example, five tons of oats produce 150-200 kg of ash. Ash from combusted oats from a 3.5 MW power plant in the region of Uppsala and ash from a 20 kW on-farm plant were analysed with respect to particle size distribution, bulk density, moisture content and angle of repose. The ash from the large power plant was also used in a practical spreading test in which a lime spreader and a manure spreader were evaluated. Moisture content of the ash had a great impact on physical properties. Dry ash directly from the furnace consisted to 70% of particles smaller than 0.4 mm and the ash was very dusty. Ash that had been stored outdoors had a moisture content of about 32-35% and contained large clods up to 40 cm in length and also aggregates of finer particles similar to moist gravel. This ash was dust-free. In the evaluation of the spreaders, the ash was collected using boxes measuring 0.5 x 0.5 m and placed with a c-c spacing of 1-2 m across the full spreading width of the spreaders. The results showed that the ash was difficult to handle in both dry and moist condition. The lime spreader had difficulties in achieving a uniform material flow when presented with the moist ash. The uneven flow from the loading bin to the spreader discs also caused variations in the spreading width. It was evident that appropriate mixing and crushing of large clods in the ash before spreading was crucial if acceptable uniformity of spreading we re to be achieved. The lime spreader had a major drawback in that the speed of the spreading discs was synchronised with the speed of the feeder belt from the loading bin. It was therefore impossible to reduce the spreading rate without affecting the spreading width. Using dry ash with the lime spreader produced an M-shaped spreading pattern that was probably caused by the direction of rotation of the spreading discs, which were set for moist material. Another problem with spreading of dry ash with the lime spreader was that the casting width was limited to 10 m, and the effective working width after overlaps was just 4 m. The manure spreader was less sensitive to large clods in the ash but the uniformity of flow at lower rates must be investigated further since a lower speed of the bottom chains might give uneven flow of material. During the test it was not possible to reach sufficiently low spreading rates in combination with acceptable uniformity of spread. However, the results proved better than those achieved in a similar test with manure spreaders in 1995. With precise settings and modern spreaders equipped with controllers for spreading it should be possible to further improve the outcome

Guidelines for calculating impacts on the Swedish environmental objectives from altered energy use; Vaegledning foer att beraekna paaverkan fraan foeraendrad energianvaendning paa de svenska miljoemaalen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engstroem, Rebecka; Gode, Jenny; Axelsson, Ulrik

2009-01-15

The guidelines in this report have been developed by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, within a project financed by the Environmental Objectives Council, the Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The idea originated from an earlier project for the Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, where the potential of a business model for energy efficiency (Energy Performance Contracting, EPC) to contribute to fulfil the national environmental objectives was studied. When environmental impacts from the studied EPC projects was to be calculated, it was evident how many difficult methodological choices one is faced with when trying to follow up the environmental impacts from projects changing the energy use. A second project was then performed to further analyse the issues involved. The result is this guideline report. The guidelines are on the first hand directed at companies and municipalities performing projects with effects on the energy use, that want to calculate impacts from these on the Swedish environmental objectives. The guidelines can also be useful for county administrations, central authorities and other actors with interest in the issues. A starting point for the recommendations is the Swedish environmental objectives, with focus on those of special interest in relation to energy use and airborne emissions. These are Reduced climate impact, Clean air, Natural acidification only, Zero eutrophication and A good built environment. The environmental objectives are mainly concentrated on what affects the Swedish environment. However, not only emissions in Sweden cause such effects, but also emissions in other countries can be transported by air and fall down and cause impacts in Sweden. Thus, the guidelines focus on Sweden, but include to a certain extent also emissions in other countries. Another starting point is that the guidelines are developed to follow up effects from individual projects or measures. This differs in fundamental aspects from follow up of effects within a geographic unit (for example a municipality) or of environmental impacts from an organisation on a yearly basis. When following up environmental impacts from something other than a project perspective, the recommendations given are not doubtlessly applicable, since what are the most correct methodological choices differ depending on the starting point. The report is called guidelines, and not handbook or manual. This is because of the fact that there are many aspects to consider in the topical methodological choices, and the recommendations are to be considered as approximations. The aim of the report is therefore also to function as a knowledge survey in the area of environmental assessment of energy use, with in-depth background information of the recommendations and references to supplementary literature. The guidelines cover stationary energy use (hence, transport is not covered), with primary energy and life cycle perspectives to embrace total environmental impacts and facilitate comparisons between energy carriers. However, comparisons should always be made with caution, since there are several aspects to consider in conversions between energy carriers. Such aspects are how impacts are transferred between local, national and international levels, between Sweden and other countries, or between different environmental objectives. Weighting between such aspects are very difficult, and measures that reduce impacts in general are therefore preferable, when this is possible

Synthesis of Vaermeforsk's research programme 'Crops from field to energy'; Syntes av Vaermeforsks forskningsprogram 'Groedor fraan aaker till energi'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bubholz, Monika; Forsberg, Maya; Gunnarsson, Carina; Roennbaeck, Marie; Olsson, Johanna

2010-06-15

Vaermeforsk and the Swedish Farmers' Foundation for Agricultural Research (SLF), have jointly run the research programme 'Crops from field to energy'. The long-term aim of the programme is to increase production and utilization of bioenergy from agriculture for combustion and heat and power production in Sweden. About 20 projects have studied different parts of the chain from cultivation, harvest and storage to combustion and recycling of ash to farmland for agricultural fuels (straw, hemp, Reed Canary Grass and short rotation willow crops (Salix)). The aim of this report has been to compile and synthesise progress made during the programme and realization of its aims, as well as to identify the need of further research. The most important progress and conclusions made during the programme are: Cultivation - More knowledge and concrete advice concerning planting and growth of Salix, as well as on suitable length of harvest season, which enables planting cost reductions and increased yields. Increased knowledge on cultivation of Reed Canary Grass and combined cultivation with leguminous plants. Harvest and logistics - Comparisons and costs for different alternatives for harvest, handling and logistics has been produced for all of the agricultural fuels, both via theoretical and practical efforts, which can serve as a basis for direct measures as well as continued research. Processing/combustion/ash - It is possible to produce briquettes made from Reed Canary Grass and peat. New knowledge on combustion of Reed Canary Grass with different boilers is produced. It is now recommended as a fuel for co-combustion with wood and peat in large scale plants. Recommendations on co-combustion of Reed Canary Grass and Salix with peat have also been put forward, based on combustion tests. Experience from Denmark on large scale combustion of straw and production of high quality straw has been compiled. Additional costs that may arise when using agricultural fuels instead of forest fuels have been investigated. Experience and knowledge concerning recycling of ash in the forestry sector has been identified and which may be applied in agriculture. Other topics - A calculation method has been made, which compares annual crops with perennial crops, which shows that Salix has good profitability (in SEK/hectare) and low production costs (in SEK/MWh) in comparison with other crops. The main obstacle for increasing the production and use of energy crops is that the cultivation is perceived to be unprofitable. To improve the competitiveness of energy crops, primarily in relation to wood chips, investment support should be given to farmers cultivating energy crops with high investment costs. Cooperation between farmers and energy users has been studied in the region of Vastra Gotaland in Sweden. Among the conclusions are that there needs to be profitability in all parts of the chain from field to energy plant, that structures for regional cooperation need to be modernized in order to increase the use of agricultural fuels in the plants. An inventory over agricultural fuel quantities available, possible farmers as well as areas for cultivation. Additional results are expected on important factors for increasing farmers interest in growing energy crops. Conclusions are drawn on realisation of the programmes aims. As a conclusion it can be stated that some projects have tackled problems and a broader set of aspects including the whole chain from field to plant, whereas some projects have contributed with parts, which together contribute to a better understanding. Most projects have given suggestions of solutions, but not tested them in reality, which gives rise to a need of more practical experiences in order to determine how problems may be solved in the best way and how obstacles for achieving a well functioning market can be removed. Remaining need of knowledge has been identified, as a result from projects as well as the workshop carried out, and is presented in this report. The need for research which was identified and prioritized at th e workshop includes: Cultivation - type of effort: Field trials regarding cultivation; Recommendations for cultivation of various crops in different geographical regions of the country; Investigation and demonstration of benefits of multifunctional systems and crops. Harvest and logistics - type of effort: Continued development and demonstration of harvest technology and logistical chains for all energy crops; Development of harvesting technology (not for straw), for in particular for Salix; Design and planning of terminals. Combustion - type of effort: Applied research and systematic investigation/verification of knowledge on combustion of agricultural fuels. Other topics - type of effort: Information and data regarding markets and policy instruments, Implementation of a functioning market for agricultural fuels, Demonstration of good examples, Data on sustainability for agricultural fuels

Development of methods for determination of PAH based on measured CO-content; Metodutveckling foer indirekt bestaemning av PAH-halt utgaaende fraan maett momentan CO-halt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ingman, Rolf; Schuster, Robert [AaF Energikonsult Stockholm AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

2001-02-01

The aim of the project 'Development of methods for determination of PAH based on measured CO-content' is to investigate the possibility to develop a method for continuous optimisation of NO{sub x}-emissions by decreased air ratio, without significant increase of polyaromatic hydrocarbons such as PAH. The general idea has been to find a indirect online method to predict the emissions of heavier hydrocarbons by: - creating a correlation between the content of CO and PAH, - controlling the air ratio by the CO-content, and - integrating the calculated PAH-content from CO-content. Today many boilers are operated with a low air ratio to minimise the NO{sub x} content and the NO{sub x}-fee. A low ratio increases the risk of high CO contents in the flue gas as well as increased contents of VOC and PAH. Other boilers are operated with high air ratios in order to minimise the CO content, which in some cases will result in unnecessary high NO{sub x} emissions. One of the main difficulties in optimising the air ratio to the most environmental friendly level is the lack of a suitable and well proven PAH instrument. There are today no available instruments for instantaneous and continuous measurement of PAH. PAH is normally measured as an average value during a period of at least one hour. It is not possible to detect short peaks. The development of the CO-method has been based on data from a CFB-boiler in Korsta in Sundsvall (Vaermeforskrapport 541). The data shows a clear correlation between THC and CO. The correlation seems to be mostly dependent of moisture content and load. The development presented in the report shows that it is possible to find a method to predict the PAH content from the CO-content in the flue gas. The next phase aims to improve and implement the method, by measurements and adaptation in a plant. The practical use of the method is as a tool to optimise the emission of CO, NO{sub x}, THC and PAH and/or to predict the PAH-emission during continuous operation.

Waste treatment in a systems perspective - Summary report -; Systemstudie Avfall - Sammanfattning - Sammanfattning av huvudresultat fraan projektet 'Termisk och biologisk avfallsbehandling i ett systemperspektiv'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sundberg, Johan; Bisaillon, Mattias; Haraldsson, Maarten; Norrman Eriksson, Ola; Sahlin, Jenny; Nilsson, Karolina

2010-07-01

The report 'Waste treatment in a systems perspective - Summary report' summarizes the main results from the studies made within the research project 'Thermal and biological treatment in a systems perspective'. The aim of the project is to develop tools and methodologies for systems analysis of waste management. The tools are used to evaluate waste treatment technologies for both household waste and commercial waste in a systems perspective. The focus is set to the municipal/regional waste and district heating system. However, to generate a full system analysis it is also important to consider effects that occur in the systems environment, such as the transport sector, the electricity production system, the agricultural sector etc. The report describes the benefits of using systems models for waste management planning by illustrating interesting results from the case studies made within the framework of the project. The report also presents the outcome from the whole project on an aggregated level as well as how the results and models have been used in different spin off projects. More thorough descriptions of models, methodologies and results are given in the reports for the two case studies, mainly. These reports presents two different case studies for municipal/regional waste management systems and are published by Waste Refinery, 'A systems study of the waste management system in Gothenburg' and 'A systems study of the waste management system in Boraas'. The models and methodology developed in the research project has been used in several 'spin-off projects'. Some of the main results of these studies will be presented in this report, together with references to more extensive descriptions. We can conclude, after these three years of research, that the results from the system studies have been used for the practical waste management planning in both Boraas and Gothenburg. The models and the results from the two case studies have also been used by other waste management systems in Sweden as well as for national waste management studies. The project has been presented internationally for researchers and practitioners where it has contributed with modelling knowledge and results presenting the effectiveness of integrated waste management combined with district heating systems. The results concerning options for reducing greenhouse gases have also reached the political arena in the EU, e.g. through ISWA to the Copenhagen meeting (COP15)

SCR in biomass and waste fuelled plants. Benchmarking of Swedish and European plants; SCR i biobraensle- och avfallseldade anlaeggningar. Erfarenheter fraan svenska och europeiska anlaeggningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldschmidt, Barbara; Olsson, Henrik; Lindstroem, Erica

2010-11-15

In this report the state-of-art of SCR technology in biomass and waste fired plants is investigated. The aim of the investigation is to answer the question why new Swedish biomass combustion and co-combustion plants often prefer SNCR technology, whilst European waste combustion plants often choose SCR technology. In the report positives and negatives of various types of SCR installations are discussed, high-dust versus tail-end, 'normal' SCR versus low-temperature SCR, etc. Experiences, e g catalyst lifetime, deactivation and maintenance requirement, are discussed. The investigation is based partly on literature, but mainly on interviews with plant owners and with suppliers of SCR installations. The interviewed suppliers are mentioned in the reference list and the interviewed plant owners are mentioned in appendix A and B. The experiences from the Swedish and European plants are quite similar. Tail-end SCR is often operated without serious problems in both biomass and waste fuelled plants. The catalyst lifetimes are as long or even longer than for coal fired plants with high-dust SCR. In waste incineration plants high-dust SCR causes big problems and these plants are almost always equipped with tail-end SCR. In co-combustion boilers, where coal and biomass is co-combusted, high-dust SCR is more common, especially if the boilers were originally coal fired. In plants with both SNCR and high-dust SCR, i.e. slip-SCR, the SCR installation is considered to be much less of a problem. Although the activity loss of the catalyst is as quick as in conventional high-dust SCR, the catalyst can be changed less often. This is due to the fact that installed slip-SCR catalysts often are as large as conventional SCR catalysts, although less NO{sub x} reduction is required after the initial SNCR step. Thus, the catalyst lifetime is prolonged.

The five roads. Main report from the project Energy Crossroads; The roads to a sustainable energy system; De fem vaegvalen. Huvudrapport fraan projektet Vaegval energi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2009-09-15

The energy policy of the future should be based on carbon tax and emissions trading. These can be complemented by market-intervention control mechanisms, but it is important that the start and end dates for such control mechanisms are made clear in advance. Improving energy efficiency is a cost-effective way of achieving lower greenhouse gas emissions. There are many opportunities for greater efficiency in buildings throughout Sweden. Investing in renewable energy is one way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But it is important to aim for a reasonable level to get the most climate benefits for the money. Sweden already has the largest percentage of renewable energy in Europe - around 40 percent. The Government's goal is to increase the percentage of renewable energy to 50 percent by 2020. Plans to achieve these goals include expanding wind power up to 30 TWh. This would require Swedish electricity consumers to subsidise the expansion by SEK 10-15 billion per year through the electricity certificate system. It is unlikely, however, that wind power will be expanded to the extent planned, but instead as and when reserve power and the power grid are expanded. A reasonable expansion of wind power would mean using more resources for measures with a better climate effect, e.g. the introduction of electric vehicles. We also want to highlight the renewable energy potential offered in the form of hydropower and bioenergy. Energy tax is high; the Swedish government collects SEK 68 billion on oil and SEK 40 billion on electricity every year. One question to ask the politicians is if, and in such a case how, they will make up for the reduction in tax revenues from oil as we move into a fossil-free society. In addition to reducing the impact on climate change, there are clearly several other factors shaping Sweden's energy and climate policies. The transition to a sustainable society involves significant opportunities, both for manufacturing and service sector companies. Energy Crossroads is aimed at decision-makers who are in a position to influence energy policy. The main idea has been to use analysis and discussion to identify the measures that provide the most climate benefits for the money. We have identified five areas - or directions - which we believe are the most important. Direction 1. Prioritise energy efficiency as the overall energy policy instrument. Sweden can save 15 TWh by improving energy efficiency with the control mechanisms currently in place. With 'market pricing' for emissions the most cost-effective measures will be implemented first. Instead of detailed regulation and costly initiatives, we will have a long-term reduction in total energy consumption. Energy efficiency improvement is also saleable internationally, profitable from a public finances perspective and a concrete concept for energy consumers. There is still great potential for the use of residual heat by our industries, for both internal and external use. Direction 2. Invest in measures that are the most beneficial for the climate. Increasing the percentage of energy we get from renewable sources does not automatically lower greenhouse gas emissions. We should increase the percentage of renewable energy, but a forced expansion would be unreasonably expensive. If implemented with today's support systems, the renewable energy objective and today's plans for expanding wind power up to 30 TWh would be costly for Sweden's electricity consumers unless alternative financing is found. Expanding wind power requires investment in the power grid, expanding reserve power (hydropower) and raising subsidies. Expanding wind power too much could lead to sur surplus electricity and wind power exporting - paid for by Sweden's electricity consumers. There are more cost-effective ways of reducing greenhouse gases. The renewable energy goal should steer us towards reducing the use of fossil fuels - not a one-sided investment in a single climate-friendly alternative. Direction 3. Make Sweden a pioneer in electric vehicles. The demand for fossil fuels will continue to be high. Fully applying the emissions trading system would force up prices and would be a tough blow for our industries' ability to compete. We therefore propose adding market-intervention measures in the transport sector to stimulate a faster phasing out of fossil fuels. We should invest in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids which could reduce the amount of carbon dioxide from private cars by 20 percent. Direction 4. Preserving nuclear power is probably the single most important measure to reduce costs to reach the climate policy goals. Also, nuclear power meets a number of criteria that are very valuable for industry. Access to secure basic power is of utmost importance. Nuclear power and hydropower will continue to be the foundation of this basic power and will ensure long-term competitive electricity production.

Harvest and logistics for better profitability from small cultivations of Short Rotation Willow Coppice; Skoerdeteknik och logistik foer baettre loensamhet fraan smaa odlingar av Salix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baky, Andras; Forsberg, Maya; Rosenqvist, Haakan; Jonsson, Nils; Sundberg, Martin

2010-06-15

In Sweden, the political desire to increase the amount of short rotation willow coppice (Salix) plantations has been expressed. However, for various reasons interest from farmers has been low. The hypothesis of this study is that the total area of Salix cultivation can be increased by also cultivating fields smaller than those generally considered economic today. In order to lower production costs, machine systems adapted for harvest of smaller fields are required. The possibility of using farmers' existing tractors and more convenient machines, as well as achieving lower machine costs for smaller fields, may increase farmers' interest. The long-term objective is to achieve large-scale deliveries of willow with small-scale solutions at farm level, as an option and complement to today's more large-scale systems for harvesting willow. Costs, energy use and climatic impact (CO{sub 2} emissions) for two harvest and logistical chains suitable for small fields have been calculated from field to energy plant, and methods for minimizing these costs have been analyzed. Comparison is made with the direct chipping system, the most commonly used in Sweden today. The systems studied comprised: 1. Direct bundling harvest system with a tractor-towed harvester, collection of bundles in the field with a trailer-mounted crane, and storage in a pile before delivery. Chipping is performed at the energy plant. 2. Direct billeting with a tractor-towed harvester accompanied simultaneously by a tractor and trailer for collection, and storage in a pile before delivery. 3. Direct chipping with a self-propelled modified forage harvester accompanied simultaneously by a tractor and container for collection, and direct delivery to plant. Both the billet and bundle systems show higher costs than the direct chipping system, irrespective of field size. The analysis of different scenarios and conditions shows possibilities of lowering the costs through certain measures. Furthermore, the billets and bundles can be stored for longer periods at field's edge, unlike chips, which facilitates increased security of supply according to the needs of energy plants. This can motivate a higher payment from the plant. The drying process taking place during storage, delivers a dryer fuel, which may give added value for some customers. Hence, the choice of machine system seems to be more dependent on whether the product needs to be stored or not, rather than on field size. In addition, there are other possible advantages with the two systems that should be taken into account when comparing with the currently-used direct chipping system, such as the possibility of increased rural employment or characteristics that suit smaller fields better. An example of the latter is the fact that harvest and delivery does not need to take place at the same time, i.e. extra costs for disruptions in harvest or delivery are avoided. The most important measure for reducing total system costs for the studied billet system is to increase the harvesters' capacity. For the studied bundle system costs for field- and road transport need to be reduced. These costs can be reduced by using a more efficient system for collection of bundles in the field and by utilizing a lorry's load capacity better during transport to the plant. One way of increasing utilisation of the load capacity is to increase the density of the bundles. However this requires a new or modified construction of the harvesting machine and more knowledge of how the drying process of the bundles is affected by this

Results from measurements of natural radiation in and from filters in some water treatment plants; Maetningar av naturlig radioaktivitet i och fraan filter vid naagra vattenverk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oestergren, Inger; Aakerblom, Gustav [Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, Stockholm (Sweden); Ek, Britt-Marie [Geological Survey of Sweden, Uppsala (Sweden)

2005-07-01

Large water treatment plants often process surface water where the concentration of natural radionuclides is so low that treatment of the water produces no radiation dose or waste problem. The level of natural radionuclides in ground water is higher than in surface water and often so high that mitigation is needed to clean the water. Specific treatment of the filters and filter masses is needed in some cases because the natural radionuclides precipitate in the filters. The radiation doses received by personnel at the ground water treatment plants are often low because of the relatively short time the workers spend inside the treatment plant. The results presented here indicate no need for extra action to insure radiation protection with regard to radioactivity inside the treatment plant or during processing of the filters and waste. A comprehensive discussion of the problems associated with the concentrating of natural radionuclides in water filters is presented in this report.

CO{sub 2}-emissions from future waste incineration - Sub-Project 5; CO{sub 2}-utslaepp fraan framtida avfallsfoerbraanning - Delprojekt 5 inom projektet Perspektiv paa framtida avfallsbehandling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bisaillon, Mattias; Detterfelt, Lia; Edner, Stig; Maartenssson, Paal

2013-09-01

The use of fossil fuels in Swedish district heating systems has fallen sharply. With continued pressure from society to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, it is likely that the use of these fuels will decrease further. The major remaining source of emissions of fossil carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) from district heating systems 2020 is waste incineration with energy recovery in the form of electricity and heat. The aim of this project was, from two perspectives (stack perspective and system perspective), to analyze future emissions of fossil CO{sub 2} from Swedish waste incineration in the Swedish district heating systems. By studying both perspectives at the same time, the results answer whether changes in emissions in one perspective give similar or opposite effects seen from the other perspective. The purpose was also to make cost estimates for emission reduction measures affecting waste, energy and material production system. These costs were related to the price of allowances in the EU ETS and to the Swedish carbon tax. The project was performed in 2012 as a part of the research project 'Perspectives on sustainable waste treatment'.

Evaluation and development of methods for determining methane emissions from biogas plants - Literature Study; Vaerdering och utveckling av maetmetoder foer bestaemning av metanemissioner fraan biogasanlaeggningar - Litteraturstudie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holmgren, Magnus Andreas (SP, Boraas (Sweden)); Willen, Agnes; Rodhe, Lena (JTI, Uppsala (Sweden))

2011-11-15

Previous work in areas such as framework of voluntary commitment shows that there is a need for techniques for measurement of methane and other greenhouse gases from various sources in the handling of organic residuals. There are no established methods for determining for instance emissions of methane from open or partially open tanks and cisterns, typically residue storage and the like. This report gives results from Phase 1 of this project, in which literary studies, market research studies, interviews and site visits have been made to identify a number of methods applied for the determination of emissions from open areas, such as liquid surfaces, but also land. Focus is on methods that can be applied to plants for biological treatment, which also includes the water treatment process at the treatment plants, but also the procedures used in measurements on land, landfills and processing plants are studied. First, the report gives a brief overview of a large number of measurement methods, where more detailed descriptions of four methods are given. The four methods are considered to be the most promising to pursue in the following phases of the project: - chamber technology; - sampling hood; - plume measurement with DIAL (Differential Absorption Lidar); - air input in a covered storage.

Outlet of products of biological treatment- what will be the future problems and opportunities?; Avsaettning av energiprodukter fraan biologisk behandling - vilka fraagestaellningar kommer att bli aktuella?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hellstroem, Hanna

2010-01-15

Biological treatment and related products is a topical subject, which increases year after year, not only in Sweden but all over the world. In this phase of expansion, it is interesting to find out what subjects could become relevant for products from this treatment method in the future. The following products are incorporated in the concept 'energy products' from biological treatment: sludge from sewage treatment plants, digestate from waste digestion plants, biogas, ethanol, and products from biorefinery. Questions regarding the process of these products are not included in this project. The purpose is to bring forward a catalogue of ideas of current and future topics in the field of biological treatment. The goal is to identify development projects which could be of interest for upcoming programs at Waste Refinery. Issues and project proposals for each product have been identified by the writer's network, and in discussions tabled at a workshop arranged by Waste Refinery in the autumn of 2009. At the present time, almost all digestate is sold, but there are problems. Though the plants have found an outlet for their products, they do not receive adequate return on them. Moreover, a lot of water is being transported. Many stakeholders within Waste Refinery, as well as external stakeholders, have requested a project on refining of digestate. Other topical issues regarding digestate are how new, non-food substrates and additives affect the quality of the digestate. Sewage treatment plants have to pay large amounts of money for the disposal of sludge. If Waste Refinery can include sewage sludge in their range of work, there will be several synergies between sludge and digestate. Matters, that need to be solved in the near future, are how to best achieve hygienisation of sewage sludge in order to guarantee salmonella-free sludge. As for biogas, the demand will be determined by factors such as the access of raw material, whether it becomes a vehicle fuel to count on in the future, taxes and means of control (i.e. environmental objectives). Concrete project proposals regarding the gas composition and measurement of raw gas, as well as the minimization of emissions have been received. There are also many questions regarding the distribution of biogas. As for ethanol, the questions primarily regard the process and new substrates identified in interesting fields. Such matters and project ideas have, however, not been considered, as this report is intended to identify questions about the products. Contact with various ethanol producers and researchers has shown that there is, as it seems, no need for further development of ethanol as a product. Waste Refinery has already touched the subject of biorefinery in the WR 20 project, refinement of digestion residue. No project proposals have been identified for products from biorefinery, either by the writer's network or during the workshop. One proposal is to do a more thorough study of biorefinery under the management of Waste Refinery

Biofuels from the forest. A study of environmental impacts and economy of different uses; Biobraensle fraan skogen. En studie av miljoekonsekvenser och ekonomi foer olika anvaendningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ekstroem, Clas; Amnell, Goesta; Anheden, Marie; Eidensten, Lars; Kirkegaard, Gunilla [Vattenfall Utveckling AB (Sweden)

2002-04-01

The energy and environmental council of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences initiated this study of how an additional 30 TWh/year of forest biofuel could be used in the Swedish energy system within a 10-year period. The specifications include that the forest biofuel shall be used in such a manner that the greatest possible reduction in carbon dioxide emissions will be achieved at the lowest cost without risking other environmental goals, such as good quality of local air. The figure chosen as starting point for the study, 30 TWh/year, was selected as it is this amount that available data have suggested could be extracted without negatively affecting the long-term productive capacity of forest land. The long-term potential of biofuel will probably be much larger than the volume used today, together with the additional use of 30 TWh/yr. We therefore studied fields of use that, totally, will be considerably larger than 30 TWh/yr. The starting point for comparisons of different uses for forest biofuel was the available benefit/utility for industrial, transportation and service sectors, together with domestic uses. The reference alternative was the existing uses of fossil fuels. Comparisons of different alternatives were made including differences in fuel consumption, CO{sub 2} emissions, emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust, as well as costs without environmental and energy taxes or subsidies. Monetary estimations of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust in accordance with the EU ExternE Project were included in the costs. In our study, we have used two scenarios as starting points in order to cover the range of results. Summary of results: The largest reductions in CO{sub 2} emissions (generally about 0.6-1 Mtonnes CO{sub 2} /TWh forest biofuel and for heat pumps slightly more than 2 Mtonnes CO{sub 2}/TWh forest fuel) at the lowest cost are obtained when bioenergy replaces electricity produced by coal fired condensing power stations in neighbouring countries. In some of these cases, bioenergy would not imply any additional cost in comparison with the use of electricity produced by coal condensing plants. In most other cases the estimated additional costs will not be higher than about 60 SEK/tonne reduced CO{sub 2} emissions (up to 90 SEK/MWh electricity). If bioenergy in cases with additional costs is to replace electricity from coal condensing plants it is necessary to place a price on the CO{sub 2} emissions by coal power stations and/or submit them to carbon dioxide taxation. This is not the case today. Pellet boilers in multi-family houses can utilise considerable amounts of forest biofuel and provide heating at lower costs than electric boilers. District heating and cogeneration of power and district heating can also utilise large volumes of forest biofuel (up to 20 TWh resulting in more than 12 Mtonnes/year reduced CO{sub 2} emissions) at low added costs (about 60 SEK/tonne reduced CO{sub 2} emissions corresponding to 20-40 SEK/MWh district heating) in comparison with fossil alternatives. Emissions of other air pollutants can then more easily be minimised and will occur further from built-up areas. The amount of electricity that can be produced from forest biofuel at these low added costs in comparison with fossil alternatives is restricted by the level of district-heating production. Today the power transmission systems permit only limited exports of electrical power, and consequently important reductions in CO{sub 2} emissions can be achieved at low cost if electricity from biofuel-fired cogeneration plants, that cannot be exported, is used by new heat pumps in villas. This would also give lower emissions of other air pollutants in urban areas than if pellets or oil were used to fire the villa boilers. Heat pumps and pellet boilers will be the most favourable forest biofuel based heating alternative for villas heated by water radiators. Heat pumps give greater reductions in CO{sub 2} emissions at lower cost provided they can be assumed to be powered by electricity obtained from a forest biofuel based cogeneration plant. If transmission of electricity between Sweden and northern Europe could take place with considerably less physical restrictions than the case today, then the largest CO{sub 2} reductions at the lowest added costs would be obtained through maximal production of district heating and cogeneration electricity, heating of homes and premises that are not linked to the district heating using pellet boilers instead of electric boilers, and by reducing consumption of electricity in villas with direct electric heating by introduction of pellet stoves. In this scenario, the use of heat pumps in villas instead of electric boilers would mean reduced consumption of electricity produced by coal condensing plants and thus result in reduced CO{sub 2} emissions. However, this cannot be related to the use of forest biofuel. (abstract truncated)

Exhaust gas emissions from various automotive fuels for light-duty vehicles. Effects on health, environment and energy utilization; Avgasemissioner fraan laetta fordon drivna med olika drivmedel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahlvik, P.; Brandberg, Aa. [Ecotraffic RandD AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

1999-12-01

The main aim of the investigation has been to assess the effects on health and environment from various alternative fuels for light-duty vehicles. Effects that can be identified and quantified, such as acidification, ozone formation, cancer risk and climate change, have been of primary interest but other effects, such as respiratory diseases, have also been investigated. Data have been collected through literature surveys for subsequent calculation of the mentioned effects in different time-frames. Corrections have been used to take into consideration the influence of climate, ageing and driving pattern. Emissions generated in fuel production have also been accounted for. The most significant and important differences between the fuels have been found for effects as ozone formation cancer risk and particulate emissions. Alternative fuels, such as methanol and methane (natural gas and biogas), significantly decrease the ozone formation in comparison to petrol, while ethanol, methanol and methane are advantageous concerning cancer risk. The particulate emissions are considerably higher for diesel engines fuelled by diesel oil and RME in comparison to the other fuels. In the future, the importance of acid emissions in the fuel production will increase since the NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} emissions will decrease from the vehicles. The emissions of climate gases could be significantly reduced by using non-fossil fuels but the efficiency of the drive train is also of importance. The technical development potential for further emission reductions is considerable for all fuels but the advantage for the best fuel options will remain in the future.

Long-term growth responses of ash addition and liming - Preliminary results from a pilot study; Laangtidseffekter paa skogsproduktion efter askaaterfoering och kalkning - Preliminaera resultat fraan en pilotstudie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sikstroem, Ulf; Jacobson, Staffan (Skogsbrukets Forskningsinstitut (Skogforsk), Uppsala Science Park, SE-751 83 Uppsala (Sweden)); Johansson, Ulf (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, The Unit for field-based forest research, Box 17, SE-310 38 Simlaangsdalen (Sweden)); Kukkola, Mikko; Saarsalmi, Anna (Metla, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa (Finland)); Holt-Hansen, Kjersti (Norsk Institutt for skog og landskap, P.B. 115, NO-1431 Aas (Norway))

2009-04-15

Under this pilot study with preliminary results revealed trends in the experimental material which indicated that the addition of ashes or lime in the coniferous forest on mineral soil can lead to reduced stem growth on land with low fertility, unchanged stem growth in medium productive land, while growth may increase land with high fertility. This applied to both periods of 5-15 years and in the longer term (17-23 years; lime). Hence, the hypothesis, regarding the growth being dependent on soil fertility expressed as fertility, could not be rejected. However, previously reported indications of a similar connection with the C/N ratio in the humus was not confirmed in this first evaluation of the material

Weight reduction, energy loss and gaseous emissions for different collection systems for food waste from households; Viktreducering, energifoerlust och gasemissioner vid olika insamlingssystem av matavfall fraan hushaall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ternald, Olle [and others

2010-09-15

This project investigates the weight reduction of biodegradable household waste for different types of collections systems. The report is based on empirical experiments simulating the path taken by biodegradable waste through the different systems, from kitchen to final treatment. Data from the empirical experiments have been coordinated with existing data covering the quantities of bio waste collection received by final treatment facilities. This project has resulted in updated data, which reflects the quantities of the biodegradable waste generated at household level. Through this data, it has been possible to calculate the effectiveness of the different systems for collecting biodegradable waste, including their effectiveness as a source for biogas and soil conditioner. The results regarding waste weight reduction show that systems that use paper bags give a substantial weight reduction in both the kitchen (12%) as well as in the garbage disposal container, resulting in an average total weight reduction of 27%. For the bio-plastic bag, there is a small, measurable weight reduction of 7% in the kitchen. One-family household containers also show a reduction but for multiple households contains (typically used for apartment blocks) the reduction was much smaller. The average total weight reduction for bio-plastic systems was 10%. The corresponding value for total weight reduction for plastic bags in an optical system was 2%-4%, with an average of 2%. The largest share of the reduction consists of water, but some carbon is also emitted. Another conclusion of the report it that a larger share of the biodegradable waste generated by the Swedish households is collected than previously assumed. The data for generated (collected) biodegradable waste material shows higher levels and larger differences between the different collection systems than the data for the received (weighted) material at the treatment facilities. The data shows the effectiveness of each system and is significant for the biogas extraction levels and soil conditioner qualities. It is desirable that a large share of the biodegradable household waste is collected, both from an environmental perspective as well as in order to meet the Swedish national targets for biodegradable waste collection. Correlating existing data with data from the empirical experiments shows that 185 kg of biodegradable waste is collected from households using a paper bag-based system and 122 kg from household using a plastic bag-based system. This is equivalent to a 50% higher collection level for paper bag systems compared with plastic bag systems. The equivalent amount of bio waste is reduced in the combustible waste. Based on these numbers, the paper bag based systems offers 39% more methane per connected household than an optical plastic bag based system. Per kilogram incoming wet material, the there is a 23% methane advantage for the paper-based system. However, there is no significant difference in methane content per collected amount of bio waste between the methods. The data sample for bioplastic bags is too small in order to be included in the comparison. The carbon dioxide emissions show that a decomposition process of biodegradable waste is occurring in all types of collection systems. The nitrous oxide emissions are most likely negligible from an environmental perspective, although the results are not statistically verified. No measurable emission levels of methane can be detected, which is very encouraging from an environmental perspective

System analyse cellulose ethanol in combines - Combustion characterisation of lignin from cellulose based ethanol production; Systemanalys foer cellulosabaserad etanol i kombinat - Foerbraenningskarakterisering av lignin fraan cellulosabaserad etanolproduktion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindstedt, Jan; Wingren, Anders; Magnusson, Staffan; Wiinikka, Henrik; Westbom, Urban; Lidman, Marcus; Groenberg, Carola

2012-02-15

In this work 3 different hydrolysed lignin fractions produced from Sugarcane Bagasse, Spruce and Wheat Straw were burned in a 150 kW horizontal furnace equipped with a powder burner to assess the combustion behaviour of hydrolysed lignin fuels. The combustion experiments showed that the feeding properties of all three lignin fractions were better compared to ordinary wood powder

Reindeer and Wind Power - Study from the installation of two wind farms in Mala sameby; Renar och Vindkraft - Studie fraan anlaeggningen av tvaa vindkraftparker i Malaa sameby

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skarin, Anna; Nellemann, Christian; Sandstroem, Per; Roennegaard, Lars; Lundqvist, Henrik

2013-05-15

In the track of ever-expanding new infrastructure, such as wind power, roads and power lines, it becomes increasingly important to map and understand how free-ranging animals and wildlife respond. During the past decades, human - rangifer interactions have been assessed in over a hundred studies, with a strong bias on wild reindeer and caribou, although more recently also studies on domesticated reindeer in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia have been done with similar results. To clarify further the possible responses of domesticated reindeer to various disturbance sources, a review was made of over 15 existing disturbance studies of domesticated reindeer, we also discuss the effect of domestication on reindeer. The review shows the same pattern of avoidance in domesticated reindeer as for wild reindeer and caribou despite the domestication process. Sami reindeer husbandry today is an extensive form of pastoralism, which has led to a low degree of tameness among the reindeer. Domesticated reindeer can avoid infrastructure and human activity up to 12 km from the disturbance source and the avoided distance may shift between seasons and years and type of disturbance source, as well as diminish during periods of extreme starvation or insect harassment, similar to observation in wild reindeer and caribou. To get an overall picture of how the reindeer use their grazing land, it is therefore important to study large-scale and long-term habitat use of the reindeer whether they are domesticated or not. In this report, we want to share new information on how existing infrastructure such as roads and power lines in the landscape and construction phase of a new infrastructure for a wind farm affects the free roaming of the reindeer in a summer grazing area in a managed forest in northern Sweden.

Regional monitoring of deposition and effects of air pollution; Regional oevervakning av nedfall och effekter av luftfoeroreningar. Sammanfattande slutrapport fraan ett samarbetsprojekt mellan IVL, laenen och Naturvaardsverket

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akselsson, Cecilia; Ferm, Martin; Hallgren Larsson, Eva; Knulst, Johan; Loevblad, Gun; Malm, Gunnar; Westling, Olle

2000-05-01

Regional programmes in Sweden focused on deposition and effects of air pollutants have been evaluated by IVL, Swedish Environmental Research Institute. Various air quality protection associations and regional environmental authorities initiated the monitoring programmes during the period 1985 to 1990. The result of the evaluation is a revised and coordinated programme with improved methods. The new regional programme combines collection of field data with national model calculations of deposition of air pollutants. The new programme involves collection of deposition on open field (bulk) and in forest stands (throughfall), and soil solution, according to national and international standards. Improved methods for monitoring of base cation and nitrogen deposition have been developed. Ambient air concentrations are measured at some locations. The purpose is to describe environmental conditions, regional differences, and temporal changes. Data on forest stands, such as needle loss, growth, and soil chemistry, are available since most locations are permanent forest plots, established for scientific forest observations. Regional dispersion and deposition of air pollutants will be calculated with a model (SMHI-MATCH), developed for simulating the dispersion and deposition of Swedish emissions in relation to the long-range transport on a relatively fine scale (grid square 11 km). The programme also includes developed methods for data handling, interpretation, evaluation, quality assurance and demonstration of results in written reports and via Internet.

Multivariate clustering of reindeer herding districts in Sweden according to range prerequisites for reindeer husbandry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrik Lundqvist

2009-01-01

samebyar i tio grupper. Den största gruppen, som bestod av 14 samebyar, delades vidare in i 4 undergrupper. Klusteranalyser med 4 olika linkage-varianter användes till att gruppera samebyarna. Principalkomponentsanalys användes för att kartlägga undersökta variabler och de resulterande samebygruppernas karaktär. Samebygrupperna följde inte länsgränser och tre samebyar föll ut som enskilda grupper. Denna undersökning ger underlag för jämförelser mellan samebyar med beaktande av likheter och olikheter i fråga om produktivitet och funktionella särdrag istället för länsgränser och historik. Vi föreslår en ny administrativ indelning i sex områden som skulle kunna fungera som ett alternativt underlag för planering och beslut som rör produktionsaspekter i rennäringen. Resultaten ger också underlag för förutsägelser av förändringar i samebyars produktionsförutsättningar till följd av klimatförändringar.

Water Activities in Forsmark (Part I). Removal of groundwater from final repository for spent fuel; Vattenverksamhet i Forsmark (del I). Bortledande av grundvatten fraan slutfoervarsanlaeggningen foer anvaent kaernbraensle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werner, Kent [EmpTec (Sweden); Hamren, Ulrika; Collinder, Per [Ekologigruppen AB (Sweden)

2010-12-15

The construction, operation and decommissioning of the repository for spent nuclear fuel in Forsmark are associated with a number of measures that constitute water operations according to Chapter 11 in the Environmental Code. This report is an appendix to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and describes water operations in the form of groundwater diversion from the repository (the report is also included in the permit application according to the Nuclear Activities Act). The main objective of the report is to describe hydrogeological and hydrological effects and the consequences that may arise in the surroundings of the repository due to the groundwater diversion. Moreover, the report presents prevention measures to reduce the effects of the groundwater diversion and mitigation measures that aim at its consequences

Pre-study - compilation and synthesis of knowledge about energy crops from cultivation to energy production; Foerstudie - sammanstaellning och syntes av kunskap och erfarenheter om groedor fraan aaker till energiproduktion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berg, Magnus; Bubholz, Monika; Forsberg, Maya; Myringer, Aase; Palm, Ola; Roennbaeck, Marie; Tullin, Claes

2007-06-15

Energy crops constitute a yet not fully utilized potential as fuel for heating and power production. As competition for biomass hardens the interest for agricultural fuels such as straw, energy grain, willow, reed canary grass and hemp increases. Utilization of the potential for energy crops as fuels demands that cultivation and harvest are coordinated with transportation, storage and combustion of the crops. Together, Vaermeforsk and Swedish Farmers' Foundation for Agricultural Research (SLF), have taken the initiative to a common research programme. The long-term aim of the programme is to increase production and utilization of bioenergy from agriculture to combustion for heat and power production in Sweden. The vision is that during the programme, 2006 - 2009, decisive steps will be taken towards a working market for biofuels for bioenergy from agriculture. This survey has compiled and synthesized available knowledge and experiences about energy crops from the field to energy production. The aim has been to give a picture of knowledge today, to identify knowledge gaps and to synthesize knowledge of today into future research needs. A proposal of a research plan has been developed for the research programme.

Efficient recovery and upgrading of waste heat from humid air in the forest industry. Pre-feasibility study; Energieffektivisering inom skogsindustrin genom spillvaermeaatervinning fraan vaatluft. Foerprojektering och loensamhetsbedoemning av anlaeggningsalternativ

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ingman, Daniel; Gustafsson, Maria; Westermark, Mats

2007-12-15

Within the pulp and paper and saw mill industries there are large quantities of waste heat in the form of moist air or humid flue gases. The temperature and dew point are generally too low for the streams to be useful as process heat. Waste heat can be recovered from humid gas streams e.g. outgoing gas from paper machines, lumber dryers, green liquor flash tanks, flue gases from power and recovery boilers, lime kilns etc. In general, this waste heat is available around 50-65 deg C. One way to utilise the heat on a higher temperature level is by means of heat pumping. The present project studies the possibility to use a recently developed absorption heat pump technology for upgrading waste heat to district heating or process steam. Via direct contact between the absorbent and humid gas stream, the moisture is condensed in the absorbent and the latent heat simultaneously increases the liquid's temperature. A number of process solutions have been calculated in terms of technical and economic performance. The process can be designed for production of hot water or process steam from upgraded waste heat. The end product is indirectly governed be the selection of absorbent or working medium. Investigated absorbents are solutions of potassium formate, sodium hydroxide and phosphoric acid, of which the former two have been included in the techno-economic calculations. The upgraded heat can either save costs by replacing primary fuel or result in increased revenues by exporting produced heat. Internally, the produced heat often replaces oil or electricity on the margin. The choice of regeneration method for the used and diluted absorbent is governed by the mill's energy situation. Industries with large waste heat resources, high value on process steam and use of heat on district heat level, waste heat driven regeneration is advisable. Industries with similar value on MP and LP steam should use back-pressure regeneration with MP steam for optimum cost and energy efficiency for the heat upgrading process. The project was started with a questionnaire to the forest industry, including questions on temperature requirements for the upgraded heat. Out of 16 addressed and evaluated industries, three were selected for a more in-deep assessment. The following mills were selected: Braviken, Froevi and Malaa saw mill. Cost effective process solutions production of both process steam and district heating were studied for a number of waste heat sources. Upgraded waste heat is primary considered on the level of 85-90 deg C, but also hot water and process steam on 1-3 bar level. Waste heat sources evaluated in the techno-economic assessment are paper machine outlet, flue gases from power and recovery boilers as well as from lumber dryers. The results within every category are considered to be relatively general for similar companies in the forest industry. For all cases, a heat factor (coefficient of performance) 1.5-1.7 is calculated, i.e. the relation between upgraded waste heat (when applicable also incl. process steam) and the driving steam. A feasibility study for the three industries was carried out for four different process solutions for a pre-fabricated module of approximately 5 MW upgraded waste heat capacity. The investment cost for these modules was calculated to MSEK 14-19 on a +-30% level. The specific investment cost in relation to the upgraded waste heat capacity, varies between SEK 2,700 and 3,700 per kW of useful heat. The economic assessment shows a payback time under 2 years for three of the four processes that produce hot water and LLP steam. The forth process, for upgrading waste heat to LP steam (3 bara) via steam compression, is not profitable with the present assumptions. With the current energy costs there are no incentives to upgrade waste heat to LP steam with an absorption heat pump and steam compression. The study has shown that this novel absorption heat pump technology has technical and economical potential to increase the competitiveness of the forest industry. The profitability has been shown to be very good for a number of typical sources of waste heat in moist air within the forest industry

Decision support system on line to minimize the NO{sub x} emission. Results from Oerebro Energi; Beslutsstoed on line foer minimering av NO{sub x}. Resultat fraan Oerebro Energi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergdahl, B G; Liao, B; Sieurin, J [EuroSim AB, Nykoeping (Sweden)

1996-05-01

A Decision Support System to reduce NO{sub x} emission from combustion processes with SNCR system have been developed and tested in full scale at Oerebro Energy. The boiler is a 165 MWh{sub th} CFB and have been fired with a mixture of biomass, peat and coal. The results proves that the EuroSim method works to calculate the derivative included in the Decision Support System. The Decision Support System is a tool for the operator of the plant, he will be informed of the advantage of making an increase or decrease of the ammonia flow or excess air. The trend curves that are presented to the operator includes information about the economic value to make an adjustment of the ammonia flow. The derivative dNO{sub x}/dO{sub 2} shows the advantage of making a reduction in the excess air level, concerning the fee for NO{sub x}. In this case it is important to take into consideration the risk for understoichiometric combustion and corrosion. The results from the full scale test in the Oerebro Plant shows that during some time periods it is economical to shut off the ammonia flow. The derivative dNO{sub x}/dAF is under the profitability limit. This indicate that the cost for the ammonia is higher than the fee for the NO{sub x} emission. If the ammonia flow is added in excess, the emission of ammonia and N{sub 2}O will increase. During other time periods the Decision Support System shows that it is profitable to increase the ammonia flow, the derivative is lower than -0,2. The derivative dNO{sub x}/dO{sub 2} is normally between 10 and 20 (ppm/%). This indicate that it is a great potential to reduce the NO{sub x} fee by decreasing the excess air level in the boiler. 3 refs, 23 figs

Deregulation of the electric power market. Results from the pioneering countries Chile, England, Norway and Argentina; Avreglering av elmarknaden. Facit fraan de fyra pionjaerlaenderna Chile, England, Norge och Argentina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berglund, B; Sannebro, N [Lund Univ. (Sweden)

1996-12-31

In Sweden the goal of the deregulation is to reach a more efficient utilization of the resources through increased competition, and to guarantee the customers flexible deliveries to lowest cost. This need free transition rights on the Swedish transmission grid. If the Swedish deregulation follows the pattern seen in the other countries, the deregulation will show effects also in related areas. 18 figs, 2 tabs

Combined environmental impacts from production and use of the products. An EIS-application project for refineries; Sammanvaegd miljoepaaverkan fraan produktion och anvaendning av produkterna. Ett MKB-tillaempningsprojekt foer raffinaderier

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kindbom, K; LoevbIad, G.; Stripple, H.

2001-12-01

At European refineries a change in production is planned in order to obtain better qualities of gasoline and diesel, from an environmental point of view. This change will, however, lead to higher emissions at the refineries. The present study of the combined effects of emissions at the refineries and the use of the products gives the opportunity for considering the entire system and gives a stronger positive signal than the traditional EIS would do. Three different methods were used: Net change in emissions to air; Exposure of men and ecosystems for air pollutants; and Exceeding norms and critical levels. The results for the Swedish refinery at Lysekil shows that the emissions from using the products are much higher than the emissions from the refinery for all cases studied. The net emissions from production and use of the products will be reduced for the new products compared to the present situation. Risks for exceeding norms and critical levels due to the changes at the refinery exist for emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides, but a lower background load will probably mean that the total future load will be reasonably close to the critical level in the area affected by the refinery. In the urban environment, reduced risks for exceeding the levels for benzen and low levels for toluene and xylene give greater advantages than the increased emissions of sulfur and nitrogen close to the refinery.

Evaluation of hearings. Results from reviews of the nuclear waste issue in the Swedish site candidate municipalities; Utvaerdering av utfraagningar. Resultat fraan genomlysningar av kaernavfallsfraagan i de svenska foerstudiekommunerna

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drottz-Sjoeberg, B.M. [NTNU, Trondheim (Norway). Dept. of Psychology

2001-10-01

The purpose of this report was to present an evaluation of the public hearings that took place in February of 2001 in the Swedish municipalities of Oesthammar, Tierp, and Aelvkarleby in Norduppland, Hultsfred and Oskarshamn in Smaaland, and Nykoeping in Soedermanland. These municipalities had participated in feasibility studies conducted by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co (SKB). A company report on the results of these studies had been published shortly before the hearings (FUD-K). The regulatory authorities, i.e. the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI) and the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute (SSI), organized the hearings for additional information and aid in their ongoing evaluation of the SKB report. Representatives of the municipalities participated in the planning of the events, and a large meeting in Tierp in January 2001, that also involved the authorities, consultants and interested parties, agreed on the aims and practical arrangements. The authorities furthermore ordered a report for a summary and evaluation of the events, and the results are presented here. The aim of, and the preparations for, the hearings were based on a theoretical model developed within the RISCOM project, i.e. the RISCOM-model of transparency, which postulates three basic elements, i.e. technical/scientific issues, normative issues and authenticity. These elements combine to achieve an optimal clarification on the interaction between scientific and value-laden components in decision-making. An assumption is that the quality of decisions would improve given that transparency can be increased. The hearings were designed to 'stretch' the implementer by means of asking essential questions and to clarify what was achieved and known so far in the process, as well as to clarify what matters required further attention. The content covered technical, legal and social aspects on issues of nuclear waste management and the choices involved in the process towards building a future high level nuclear waste repository. The recently published report by SKB (FUD-K) contributed the main foundation for the program content, which was structured into the two parts of (a) the choice of methodology and (b) the choice of municipalities for the forthcoming site investigations. This report is based on the content of the actual hearings, e.g. questions, answers and comments from the proceedings and group discussions, as well as responses to three questionnaires. The report states that the majority of the participants at the hearings were those already involved, in one way or another, in the municipalities organized work related to the nuclear waste issue. Thus, the hearings did not attract a large number of novices or uninitiated individuals from the general public. The wide scope of considered aspects and the high level of knowledge among the participants were reflected by the questions put to the panel. The questionnaire responses also indicated high initial involvement in the hearings, and that the participants came well prepared to the meetings. The main preparation being studies of available reports and other materials, but also e.g. participation in information seminars or in meetings organized by the municipalities. Their reasons for participation often involved a desire to learn more in relation to specifically formulated questions and / or to gain a better understanding of the work and the overall process. The participants wanted to achieve a result that outlined pros and cons of various methodologies regarding waste management, and which stated the degree of reliability regarding the proposed technological solutions. Furthermore, to reach a substantial level of clarity regarding what can be considered as established facts in contrast to what remains uncertain or problematic. The results indicated that a majority of the participants preferred the proposed KBS-3 method to other alternatives with respect to the construction of a final repository. However, the need for a continuous awareness of current research and the developments of alternative methods was underlined. The participants were generally positive to the kind of hearings they had participated in, and they concluded that they had received responses to a substantial degree to the questions they had brought. The content of the hearings had to a large extent corresponded to their expectations, and they had not significantly changed their opinions. Ratings of central actors' credibility showed that the authorities enjoyed the highest trustworthiness and the local critics groups the lowest. The report points out that this result can only be related to the groups of participants at the hearings, and since that group can be considered relatively homogeneous and consisting of interested and active persons, any generalization to the larger population of the municipalities could be erroneous. (abstract truncated)

Deregulation of the electric power market. Results from the pioneering countries Chile, England, Norway and Argentina; Avreglering av elmarknaden. Facit fraan de fyra pionjaerlaenderna Chile, England, Norge och Argentina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berglund, B.; Sannebro, N. [Lund Univ. (Sweden)

1995-12-31

In Sweden the goal of the deregulation is to reach a more efficient utilization of the resources through increased competition, and to guarantee the customers flexible deliveries to lowest cost. This need free transition rights on the Swedish transmission grid. If the Swedish deregulation follows the pattern seen in the other countries, the deregulation will show effects also in related areas. 18 figs, 2 tabs

Cesium-137 in ash from combustion of biofuels. Application of regulations from the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority; Cesium-137 i aska fraan foerbraenning av biobraenslen. Tillaempning av Straalsaekerhetsmyndighetens regler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sjoeblom, Rolf (Tekedo AB, Nykoeping (SE))

2009-03-19

The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, SSM, has issued an ordinance on ash contaminated with Cesium-137. It implies amongst other things that ash containing 0,5 - 10 kBq/kg Cesium-137 (so-called contaminated ash) can be used for geotechnical purposes provided that the content in a near-by well does not exceed 1 Bq/litre and that the increase in a near-by fish producing recipient does not exceed 0,1 Bq/litre. The initial plan with the presently reported work was to provide a compilation of how the ordinance for Cesium-137 can be applied in practical work. It became evident, however, in the course of the work that issues related to the co-variation between potassium and Cesium needed further investigation. As a result, the present report comprises also a compilation of this extended information search. Cesium-137 is present in ash as a result of the accident in a nuclear power reactor in Chernobyl in 1986 during which material having a very small grain size was spread to a high altitude. A few days later, Cesium-137 was deposited during rains over large parts of Sweden. This activity penetrated to a depth of one or a few decimetres during the course of the subsequent few days and weeks, after which it was partially taken up by plants and spread in the ecosystem. Section 2 has the character of a handbook. It provides basic information on radiation, and also about the ordinance and other material from the SSI. Section 3 comprises compilations of relevant international status of knowledge. This regards how potassium and Cesium behave in soil and ash, and also how spreading of Cesium can be modelled. Cesium behaves similarly to Potassium but with the difference that Cesium is bonded much more strongly to mineral soil and ash. Potassium and Cesium appears in soil in four different forms: dissolved in the pore water, exchangeable, non-exchangeable and as bonded to minerals. The amount dissolved in the pore water is the smallest and that bonded to minerals is the largest. The differences are large. The transitions between Cesium/Potassium in the pore water and in the exchangeable positions are rapid. Other transitions are slow. Over the course of a few years, Cesium becomes bonded as non-exchangeable and after a few decades, the content of non-exchangeable and mineral Cesium may be comparable in magnitude. The migration rate depends on the availability. Before Cesium-137 in fallout becomes absorbed, it is transported with the water, and this is the reason for the initial rapid penetration into soil on the order of a decimeter. When most of the Cesium-137 has become non-exchangeable and mineral, the migration rate may be as low as on the order of a millimetre per year. There is an interesting finding to report about clay. For short term migration, i e shortly after a fallout, clay provides a retention that is far superior to that of sand. This is probably related to the fact that clay contains many more positions for ion exchange as compared to sand. After some time when most of the Cesium appears in non-exchangeable and mineral positions, clay and sand are comparable. It might be tempting to assume that organic soils would provide a good retention since they can absorb nutrients from artificial fertilizers and keep them available to plants. Measurements have shown, however, that Cesium-137 may migrate rapidly in soils that lack a mineral component, e g soils consisting of peat. This can be assumed to relate to the fact that the bonding to the many exchangeable positions is much weaker as compared to those in non-exchangeable and in mineral positions. The data on ash are scarce. The data found indicate that the availability of Cesium-137 is high in fresh ash, but that the bonding is remarkably strong already after a few years. It cannot be taken for granted without further information that fresh water conditions apply also when the salt content in the pore water is high. Investigations have shown, however, that the solid mineral phase prefers Cesium before potassium also in such cases. Although the difference between potassium and Cesium is smaller, it is nevertheless sufficient for separation of Cesium from chloride in a migration situation. After such a separation has taken place, the distribution coefficients for fresh water conditions may be applied. In section 4, techniques that have been developed previously in the Swedish Ash Programme are applied to Cesium-137 in soil containing some mineral matter. The result is that the content of Cesium-137 in near-by wells and lakes become insignificant and far below the limits issued by the SSM. Exceptions to this are pure organic soils, soils made up entirely of lime, and water that drains on the surface. The results of this analysis are utilized in Section 5 as a basis for suggestions for a simple control programme as well as practical advice.

Running buses on banana skins - Good examples of the municipalities that make biogas from food waste; Koera buss paa bananskal - Goda exempel fraan kommuner som goer biogas av matavfall

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franke, Ulrika; Steinwig, Caroline (BioMil AB, Lund (Sweden))

2011-07-01

The municipalities are responsible for taking care of food waste from households, commercial kitchens and restaurants. So there is ample supply of waste that municipalities can produce biogas, but the path is not easy. In this report we highlight some good examples of municipalities that have come a long way in terms of collecting food waste for anaerobic digestion to produce biogas. The idea is that you will be inspired by these examples and perhaps find new ideas and approaches on how more of the food waste could be biogas and biofertilizer in your community

A study of the influence of noise from offshore wind power plants on the marine bottom fauna; En studie om hur bottenlevande fauna paaverkas av ljud fraan vindkraftverk till havs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wikstroem, Andreas; Granmo, Aake

2009-09-15

The aim of this study was to examine changes of behaviour and activity patterns in marine soft bottom fauna under the influence of low frequent noise. Controlled experiments were performed at Kristineberg Marine Research Station in Fiskebaeckskil. The experiments were performed utilizing generator and vibrator techniques producing frequencies of 61, 178 and 721 Hz with an average sound pressure around 99 dB re 1 muPa. The selection of frequencies was based upon the sound profile measured at Utgrunden offshore wind farm in Kalmarsund (Ingemansson Technology, 2003) with the aim of recreating natural conditions. In order to quantify the sound exposure, measurements on both sound pressure and water particle acceleration in the test tanks were performed. In total four different marine soft bottom species were studied: a common little white mussel (Abra nitida), brittle star (Amphiura filiformis), brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) and juvenile plaice (Pleuronectes platessa). For the white mussel its burrowing ability was studied. First the speeds of burrowing down into the sediment and thereafter, the burrowing activity in the surface layer of the sediment for the duration of 96 hours were registered. During the experiments with the brittle star Amphiura filiformis the number of arms active in gathering food were observed shortly after the sound had started and for a period of 72 hours. When the brown shrimp was exposed for sound the number of prey items consumed during one day and after 4 days were observed. The study on juvenile plaice was only a shorter pilot study where the fish were exposed for sound during 15 minutes. During this restricted time swimming activity and burrowing activity were observed and after the initial 15 minutes also the respiration frequency during measurement for one minute were documented. The study showed that the burrowing activity increased for the white mussel compared to the controls during exposure of frequencies around 178 Hz after 24 hours exposure. The burrowing activity returned to normal after 48 h of exposure when the difference was not significantly different from the controls anymore. The observed change of behaviour could be interpreted as a response towards the artificially introduced sound and that an adaptation occurred towards the sound. A trend towards an increased activity also occurred during exposure to 61 Hz after the final measurement after 96 hours. Neither effects on activity nor behaviour in food collecting or consumption for brittle stars or brown shrimps could be established in this study. The pilot study on juvenile plaice revealed an increase in respiration during exposure to frequencies around 178 Hz and also a trend towards an increased respiration during exposure of 61 Hz. The effects on juvenile plaice during a long time exposure are uncertain. To sum up the results, this study showed that frequencies around 178 Hz seems to have an influence on certain soft bottom fauna at sound pressures of 99 dB re 1 muPa and with a maximal particle acceleration of 0,29 . 1,28 m/s2. Whether this is a common behavioral or only a species specific pattern has yet to be surveyed

Guidelines for methodological choices when calculating impacts on the Swedish environmental objectives from changing the energy use; Vaegledning till metodval vid beraekning av paaverkan fraan foeraendrad energianvaendning paa de svenska miljoemaalen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engstroem, Rebecka; Gode, Jenny; Axelsson, Ulrik

2009-01-15

The guidelines in this report have been developed by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, within a project financed by the Environmental Objectives Council, the Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The idea originated from an earlier project for the Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, where the potential of a business model for energy efficiency (Energy Performance Contracting, EPC) to contribute to fulfil the national environmental objectives was studied. When environmental impacts from the studied EPC projects was to be calculated, it was evident how many difficult methodological choices one is faced with when trying to follow up the environmental impacts from projects changing the energy use. A second project was then performed to further analyse the issues involved. The result is this guideline report. The guidelines are on the first hand directed at companies and municipalities performing projects with effects on the energy use, that want to calculate impacts from these on the Swedish environmental objectives. The guidelines can also be useful for county administrations, central authorities and other actors with interest in the issues. A starting point for the recommendations is the Swedish environmental objectives, with focus on those of special interest in relation to energy use and airborne emissions. These are Reduced climate impact, Clean air, Natural acidification only, Zero eutrophication and A good built environment. The environmental objectives are mainly concentrated on what affects the Swedish environment. However, not only emissions in Sweden cause such effects, but also emissions in other countries can be transported by air and fall down and cause impacts in Sweden. Thus, the guidelines focus on Sweden, but include to a certain extent also emissions in other countries. Another starting point is that the guidelines are developed to follow up effects from individual projects or measures. This differs in fundamental aspects from follow up of effects within a geographic unit (for example a municipality) or of environmental impacts from an organisation on a yearly basis. When following up environmental impacts from something other than a project perspective, the recommendations given are not doubtlessly applicable, since what are the most correct methodological choices differ depending on the starting point. The report is called guidelines, and not handbook or manual. This is because of the fact that there are many aspects to consider in the topical methodological choices, and the recommendations are to be considered as approximations. The aim of the report is therefore also to function as a knowledge survey in the area of environmental assessment of energy use, with in-depth background information of the recommendations and references to supplementary literature. The guidelines cover stationary energy use (hence, transport is not covered), with primary energy and life cycle perspectives to embrace total environmental impacts and facilitate comparisons between energy carriers. However, comparisons should always be made with caution, since there are several aspects to consider in conversions between energy carriers. Such aspects are how impacts are transferred between local, national and international levels, between Sweden and other countries, or between different environmental objectives. Weighting between such aspects are very difficult, and measures that reduce impacts in general are therefore preferable, when this is possible

Effects of liming and ash recycling on the outflow of mercury from forest soils - a theoretical study; Inverkan av kalkning och askaaterfoering paa utfloedet av kvicksilver fraan skogsmark - en teoretisk studie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson, Arne; Nilsson, Ingvar [Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden). Dept. of Soil Sciences

1994-12-31

In this report, a theoretical review is made of the probable effects that spreading of lime and woodash in forests will have on the turnover of mercury in soil and on the outflow of mercury into water systems. As a result of historic emissions of mercury into the atmosphere, a large proportion of Swedish forest land has significantly increased concentrations of mercury, which is gradually leaching into lakes and watercourses. If an increased application of lime or woodash to forest soils were to result in a major change in the outflow of mercury, it could in time have a considerable effect on the mercury concentrations in lake fish. The fish in a large number of lakes in the southern part of Sweden already have mercury concentrations which are so high as to make them unsuitable for use as food. In conclusion, the theoretical assessment indicates in general that any effects on the mercury situation in lakes as a result of liming or woodash treatment of forest land are marginal or towards the positive side. It is not likely that these treatments increases the outflow of organic matter from soil. Any worsening of the mercury situation in lakes and watercourses will therefore hardly be the result of soil changes, but rather of processes in lakes and streams. Most of the evidence, however suggests that liming/ash treatment has predominantly positive effects with regard to the lake processes that control mercury levels in fish. At this juncture, available experience indicates that the mercury situation in the environment is in no way a decisive factor in determining where and how lime or ash should be applied to forest land. 64 refs, 2 figs

Removal of groundwater from final repository in Forsmark. Description of consequences for nature values and forest production; Bortledande av grundvatten fraan slutfoervarsanlaeggningen i Forsmark. Beskrivning av konsekvenser foer naturvaerden och skogsproduktion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamren, Ulrika; Collinder, Per; Allmer, Johan (Ekologigruppen AB (Sweden))

2010-11-15

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co (SKB) has chosen Forsmark in the Municipality of Oesthammar as site for the final repository for spent nuclear fuel. This report describes consequences for nature values and forestry due to groundwater diversion during construction and operation of the repository. The report concerns nature values that depend on, or are favoured by, a groundwater table close to or above the ground surface

UP-report. The power system. Basis of the Development platform. Power to Swedish Energy Agency's strategy work FOKUS; UP-rapport. Kraftsystemet. Underlag fraan Utvecklingsplattformen. Kraft till Energimyndighetens strategiarbete FOKUS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-01

The report serves as input to to Swedish Energy Agency's strategies and priorities for research and innovation in the power system for the period 2011 - 2016. The report has been compiled by members of the development platform Kraft. This report provides background and circumstances for the power system theme, and proposed priorities and activities for future efforts in this area. The development platform has contributed with valuable experience and skills that enabled the Swedish Energy Agency to then develop a strategy that meets the needs of society and business.

The Vaendoera test road, Sweden: A case study of long-term properties of roads constructed with MSWI bottom ash; Projekt Vaendoera: En studie av laangtidsegenskaper hos vaegar anlagda med bottenaska fraan avfallsfoerbraenning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bendz, David; Arm, Maria; Westberg, Gunnar; Sjoestrand, Karin; Lyth, Martin; Wik, Ola [Swedish Geotechnical Inst., Linkoeping (Sweden); Flyhammar, Peter [Lund Inst. of Technology (Sweden). Dept. of Water Resources Engineering

2006-03-15

The accumulated effects of leaching and aging in a subbase layer of bottom ash were investigated in this study. The paved test road were constructed in 1987 in Linkoeping, Sweden, and has been used until the start of this study. The objective of this study was to investigate: (i) the accumulated effects of leaching and aging (ii) the accumulated effects of load and aging on the geotechnical properties (iii) the prerequisites for separate excavation of the bottom ash for possible reuse. The study started in September 2003 and included tests with falling weight deflectometer, triax testing on undisturbed core samples of bottom ash, sampling for chemical analysis. Three trenches were excavated in the test road, samples of the subbase layer and the subgrade were taken in the shaft walls and brought to the laboratory for leaching tests (EN 12457-2) and extraction, respectively. The extraction procedure was used to estimate extractable and chemically available fractions. It was found that the steady increase of stiffness which had been detected by falling weight deflectometer during the first years after construction had ceased. The undisturbed samples showed stiffness comparable with recently produced bottom ash from the same incineration plant, but lower stiffness if compared with the reference material of crushed rock. The permanent deformation was significantly larger for the samples compared with the crushed rock and recent (1999-2001) bottom ash from other incineration plants. The spatial distribution patterns of leachable easily soluble constituents reveal the existence of horizontal gradients, directed from the center of the road towards the shoulders of the road. This implies that horizontal transport by diffusion is the rate limiting leaching process for all easily soluble constituents underneath the pavement in a road. The bottom ash that was used in the sub-base layer was fresh at the time of the construction of the test road with a pH of about 11. Measured pH values in the collected bottom ash samples also show horizontal gradients with decreasing values towards the shoulder slopes and a pH front propagating from the road shoulders towards the center of the road. This indicates reaction with atmospheric carbon dioxide. The spatial distribution of leachable trace elements in the subbase layer was found to reflect the distribution of pH and the aging process. No evidence of significant leaching where found with exception for the easily dissolvable elements SO{sub 4}, Ca, K, Na, Cl, Mg and Mo. The criteria for sensitive land use was only exceeded in a few sampling points in the subgrade. However, the origin of the subgrade is not clear which makes the interpretation of that data difficult. It turned out to be easy to excavate the different layers in the road construction separately which is favorable for future reuse.

UP-report. Energy systems studies. Basis of the Development platform. System to the Swedish Energy Agency's strategy work FOKUS; UP-rapport. Energisystemstudier. Underlag fraan Utvecklingsplattformen. System till Energimyndighetens strategiarbete FOKUS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ingelstam, Lars; Alm, Maria

2012-11-01

The report serves as input to the Swedish Energy Agency's strategies and priorities for research and innovation in the thematic area Energy systems studies for the period 2011 - 2016. The report has been compiled by members of the the Development platform System. This report provides background and circumstances for the energy system studies theme, and proposed priorities and activities for future efforts in this area. The development platform has contributed with valuable experience and knowledge that enabled the Swedish Energy Agency to then develop a strategy that meets the needs of society and business.

Environmental monitoring at the nuclear power plants and Studsvik 1994. Results from measurements of radionuclide concentrations in environmental samples; Omgivningskontroll vid kaernkraftverken och Studsvik 1994. Resultat fraan maetningar av radionuklidhalter i miljoeprover

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bengtson, P.; Larsson, C.M.; Luening, M.

1996-04-01

As expected, marine samples from the vicinity of the power plants show detectable radionuclide concentrations, caused by the discharges from the plants. Very low concentrations are noted in the terrestrial samples. At several locations, the effects of the Chernobyl disaster still dominate. 12 refs, tabs.

BECCS as a climate measure. A report on carbon dioxide storage from biomass in a Swedish-Norwegian perspective; BECCS som klimataatgaerd. En rapport om koldioxidlagring fraan biomassa i ett svensk-norskt perspektiv

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karlsson, Henrik; Bystroem, Lennart; Wiklund, Josef

2010-09-15

As the economic costs for combating the threat of climate change are considerable, accurate priorities have to be set and economic efficiency must be sought. On this basis, this report aims at examining the Swedish and Norwegian opportunities and potential for geologic storage of carbon dioxide from biomass, or BECCS (Bio Energy with Carbon Capture and Storage). So-called biogenic carbon dioxide is part of the renewable carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is extracted from the atmosphere into trees and crops as they grow, and is released when they are combusted or decompose. Therefore, biogenic carbon dioxide does not contribute to the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. On the contrary, these emissions may become part of the solution to the climate problem. When carbon dioxide that has been captured from the atmosphere by biomass is stored geologically, a flow of carbon from the atmosphere into the underground is created. With a scientific term, this is called negative emissions, or permanent carbon dioxide sinks. Since we already today have a level of 390 ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and this level is rising by 2 ppm per year, negative emissions are vital if we are to achieve climate targets such as 350 or 400 ppm. Due to the large amount of biomass that is processed in the pulp industry as well as the use of biomass for energy production, there are several and large point sources of biogenic carbon dioxide emissions in Sweden. The 61 largest Swedish plants are together emitting more than 31 million tons of biogenic carbon dioxide per year. In Norway, these industries are significantly smaller with the major point emissions of biogenic carbon amounting to less than 2 million tons per year. Because of this the continued analysis focuses on Swedish emissions. However, there are very good opportunities for carbon dioxide storage in the Norwegian part of the North Sea. This is not the case in Sweden. Suitable conditions for carbon dioxide storage are limited to the very south of Sweden. The storage potential in the Norwegian formations is equivalent to thousands of years of Swedish biogenic emissions. Using existing technology, carbon dioxide from Swedish biogenic sources can be separated and shipped by boat to Norwegian storage formations. Storage in the North Sea has been successfully tested for more than ten years and carbon dioxide is shipped by boat across the Baltic Sea already today. At a cost of 700-900 Swedish crowns (approx. Euro 75-95) per ton, 27.5 million tons of carbon dioxide from Swedish biogenic sources could be stored annually by 2020. The potential amount increases to 30.0 million tons per year by 2030, while the cost is estimated to decrease by several hundred crowns per ton. There is are also a possibility to achieve costs below 500 crowns (approx. Euro 45) per ton already by 2020 for the smaller amounts of carbon dioxide of 400 000 to 2 million tons which can be captured from ethanol production and black liquor gasification. From an international perspective, the costs of climate action in Sweden are relatively high. In this report we compare BECCS with three earlier studies to put the costs and potentials into context. Compared with the measures presented in a report by Svenskt Naeringsliv and management consulting firm McKinsey, BECCS is a larger measure than all other Swedish measures combined. In addition, the technology allows for fulfillment of the climate goals of both political coalitions, and this at a cost of less than one thousand crowns per ton. In comparison to a study published by the think tank Fores, it is deemed unlikely that BECCS in Sweden could be financed by the European Union emission trading scheme. However, it is a very competitive method for achieving domestic climate targets. The cost of BECCS falls below today's gasoline tax and is far below the future costs of carbon dioxide emissions in the transport sector. Compared with the costs of alternative measures to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide in the transport sector, BECCS can save 20-50 billion crown s per year according to Fores' calculation method. The third study that we have included in our comparison is a report released by IVA (the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences), in which a path to zero emissions by 2043 is outlined for Sweden. When BECCS is introduced into the model, Sweden can reach net zero emissions already by 2030. Thereafter, a number of measures in combination with BECCS can make Sweden achieve net negative emissions, i.e. that Sweden as a nation is removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Finally, it should be noted that there are currently no measures, initiatives or incentives to exploit BECCS technology in Sweden. If we are to achieve the necessary climate goals, reach them faster and with the best economic efficiency, serious and determined investments in BECCS in Sweden are needed soon

Now we know this. Environmental impacts from wind power - results from research in the Vindval project 2005-2009; Nu vet vi det haer. Vindkraftens miljoepaaverkan - resultat fraan forskning 2005-2009 inom Vindval

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2010-03-15

This report, directed to the general public, summarizes five years of research on wind power environmental impact. The 20 research projects to date have been in Vindval has studied how wind affects interests of human populations, marine life and birds and bats. We know for example that few people are disturbed by noise from wind turbines, that the foundations of offshore wind power plants form reefs that provide protection and food for fish, that birds flying over the sea veer at the turbines and that bats are reluctant to hunt insects at sea in strong winds. In the report, experts compile the results from Vindvals research. Researchers, planners and administrators talk about results and experiences. There are also descriptions of ten recently started projects

UP-report. Energy intensive industry. Basis of the Development platform. Industry to the Swedish Energy Agency's strategy work FOKUS; UP-rapport. Energiintensiv industri. Underlag fraan Utvecklingsplattformen. Industri till Energimyndighetens strategiarbete FOKUS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-01

The report serves as input to the Swedish Energy Agency's strategies and priorities for research and innovation under the thematic area of energy intensive industry for the period 2011 - 2016. The report has been compiled by members of the Development platform Industry. This report provides background and conditions for the energy intensive industry, and proposed priorities and activities for future efforts in this area. The development platform has contributed with valuable experience and knowledge which enabled the Swedish Energy Agency to then develop a strategy that meets needs of the society and business.

Open absorption heat pump for waste heat utilization in the forest industry. A study of technical and economic potential; Oeppen absorptionsvaermepump foer uppgradering av spillvaerme fraan skogsindustrin. Studie av teknisk och ekonomisk potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Westermark, Mats; Vidlund, Anna

2006-02-15

Waste heat from the forest industry is mainly humid air or humid flue gases with somewhat too low dew point for direct use as district heating or for other qualified purposes. Upgrading of the temperature by heat pumps is thus often necessary for the full use of the waste heat. This study evaluates an open absorption heat, based on hygroscopic condensation. The hygroscopic condenser has the potential to replace mechanical heat pumps or conventional absorption heat pumps (based on lithium bromide) for the upgrading of heat from humid gases. The goal for the project is to evaluate technology and potential for an open absorption heat pump for heat recovery from humid gases in the forest industry. In an open heat pump the humid gas is brought in direct contact with the hygroscopic liquid (whereas a conventional heat pump uses an intermediate circuit with evaporation of water in the evaporator). The direct contact makes it possible to recover the heat at a higher temperature than the dew point of the humid gas without the use of evaporator. The target group for the study is the forest industry and its suppliers of technology and knowledge. The study has been carried out in cooperation with representatives from the forest industry and from suppliers of equipment. The study shows that the forest industry has good potential to upgrade waste heat from humid air to district heating. The waste heat can be extracted from various humid gases such as exit air from paper machines, wood driers, green liquid quenchers and flue gases from soda boilers, mesa kilns, bark-fired boilers and gas engines. Hygroscopic condensation is considered to give economic and environmental advantages compared to conventional absorption heat pumps due to much less consumption of driving heat. An interesting special case is the regeneration of the hygroscopic medium by direct contact with hot flue gases and for this application a patent application has been filed. Upgrading of waste heat to process steam (for use in pulp and paper plants) is technically more advanced. The high temperature level demands absorption liquids with high boiling point elevation (sodium hydroxide) and driving steam at 25 bar. The example studied uses waste heat at 50 deg C for production of low pressure steam at 1.2 bar, i.e. slightly above atmospheric pressure. Such low pressure steam can be used for steam injection in paper machines or upgraded to process steam of higher pressure by steam compression.

Deletion of groundwater from a disposal facility in Laxemar. Description of the consequences for nature values and production land; Bortledande av grundvatten fraan en slutfoervarsanlaeggning i Laxemar. Beskrivning av konsekvenser foer naturvaerden och produktionsmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamren, Ulrika; Collinder, Per; Allmer, Johan (Ekologigruppen AB, Stockholm (Sweden))

2010-10-15

SKB has chosen Forsmark in the municipality of Oesthammar as site for the repository for spent nuclear fuel. This report describes consequences for nature values, agriculture and forestry due to groundwater diversion from a repository at the non-chosen Laxemar site in the municipality of Oskarshamn. The report concerns nature values that depend on, or are favoured by, a groundwater table close to or above the ground surface. Laxemar is a valuable area from a nature conservation point of view, primarily associated to the cultural- and forest landscape and its prior use for pasture and hay-making. Hence, these values depend on factors other than the level of the groundwater table. Except for old pastures and haymaking areas, many high nature values consist of hardwood-forest groves and old solitary deciduous trees. 67 groundwater-dependent or groundwater-favoured nature objects (wetlands, pieces of forest and surface water) are identified in the investigated area. No nature object is judged to have national value (class 1). 15 nature objects (pieces of forest) are judged to have regional value (class 2), 18 have municipal value (class 3) and 34 local value (class 4). It is judged that a drawdown of the groundwater table only would result in small consequences for the nature values of the area in its entirety. The nature objects that would be affected by the largest groundwater-table drawdown have relatively low nature values and consist of small wetlands with local value (class 4). The low nature values of these objects imply that the consequences of the groundwater diversion would be small. Nature objects with higher nature values (regional or municipal value) consist of forest key habitats and ancient pastures on previously argued land. The nature values of these objects are hence dependent on factors other than the level of the groundwater table, which implies that the consequences would be small also for these objects. The consequences would be largest (noticeable) for the stream Laxemaraan, due to reduced stream discharge and drier conditions along parts of the stream. The groundwater diversion would not cause any consequences for protected areas. The investigated area does not contain any known red-listed species associated to wetlands or wet forest areas. It is judged that the groundwater diversion would lead to insignificant to small consequences for protected frogs. There is a proposal concerning restoration of a wetland in Laxemaraan. This measure would partly counterbalance the consequences for frogs of the groundwater-table drawdown in Laxemar. It is judged that the groundwater diversion would lead to a harvest reduction of slightly more than 10% and a forest-yield reduction of approximately 20 % in the influence area of the groundwater table drawdown. These are rough judgements that provide upper reduction limits

Review of results from SKB R and D on grouting technology for sealing the rock, years 1996-2000; Oeversikt av resuItat fraan SKB:s FoU inom injekteringsteknik foer bergtaetning aaren 1996-2000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boden, A. (ed.) [Swedpower AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Eklund, D. [Vattenfall Utveckling AB, Aelvkarleby (Sweden); Eriksson, Magnus [Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden). Div. Soil and Rock Mechanics; Fransson, Aasa [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Inst. of Geology; Hansson, Paer [Vattenfall Utveckling AB, Aelvkarleby (Sweden); Lagerblad, B. [Swedish Cement and Concrete Research Inst., Stockholm (Sweden); Lindblom, U. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Geotechnical Engineering; Wilen, P. [Swedpower AB, Goeteborg (Sweden)

2001-05-01

In order identify the current state of the art and developments needs, SKB assembled a group of experts from universities and other research organisations. Internal plans were written for the subprojects 'Characterisation of rock for grouting purposes', 'Mechanisms that control the spreading of grout in jointed rock' and 'Cement based grouting material'. Later internal plans for the subprojects 'Demands on grouting' and 'Stabilising and sealing effect of pre-grouting' were written. The aims, which were set for the different subprojects, were in short, to summarise the technological advances, establish a method for rock characterisation from a grouting point of view, develop conceptual and numerical models for simulation of the grouting course, characterise grout in a relevant way, develop understanding and theoretical know-how of durability and chemical influence, identify and develop a number of grouting materials for different situations, develop a specification of requirements for grouting and to verify the theories in laboratory. In the subproject 'Demands on grouting' a literature review was carried out. One important conclusion from the study is that the concept is not very well dealt with in the literature. SKB are currently investigating the prerequisites for the construction of the deep repository. One part of that work is to further specify demands on maximum allowed volume of leakage water for the repository as a whole and also for each part of the deep repository. In the subproject 'Characterisation of rock for grouting purposes', the possibilities of using hydraulic tests for predictions and design have been studied. The idea of this study was to investigate correspondences and deviations to increase the understanding of what is measured in a water-loss measurement. One can draw the conclusion that hydraulic tests are useful when describing the fracture geometry. Numerical modelling and experiments indicate that the specific capacity, Q/{delta}h, (flow/head) is a robust parameter and that the distribution of specific capacities and calculated apertures pictures the geometric variations within the fracture. This distribution may, together with the area, also give an estimate of the fracture volume. The distribution of specific capacities and apertures within a fracture may help when choosing grouting strategy like choice of grout and order of grouting. The work in the subproject 'Mechanisms that control the spreading of grout in jointed rock ' has dealt with laboratory tests, numerical modelling and a summarising conceptual model. The results of the laboratory tests are a number of phenomenological studies of the spreading mechanisms. Preliminary attempts to take care of filtration and separation while grouting are incorporated in a numerical model. Software that generates fracture geometry, calculates penetration with respect to filtration and separation and evaluates the effect of grouting has been developed. A conceptual model has been developed, describing how to calculate the sealing efficiency and how a prediction of the leakage into a tunnel can be done. The subproject 'Stabilising and sealing effect of pre-grouting' has aimed to create a theoretical base for the modelling of the behaviour of weakness zones under the influence of different reinforcement systems in combination with pre-grouting of the zone. Freezing of a zone weathered down to gravel has also been studied. By, analytically or graphically, putting the ground reaction curve (GRC) together with the reaction curve of the reinforcement, the tunnel wall deformation is obtained in the current case. The studies show that, when using modern software for rock mechanical analyses, it is possible to create the necessary theoretical base for a decision on driving through a weakness zone in good bedrock. When driving, the great difficulty is probably to, fast enough, obtain relevant material parameters as input in the model. Therefore field investigations and rock mechanical analyses should be carried through already at the planning stage. The subproject 'Cement based grouting material' is divided into three parts. The part 'Inventory and characterisation of material' has mainly dealt with finely ground cements and different types of super plasticizers. The biggest durability problem regarding cement-based grouts is that they contain water-soluble components. Durability will mainly be a function water penetration through the grouted zone. This will, in turn, depend on the coefficient of fullness in the fracture system and the permeability of the stiffened grout. Therefore, a valuation of leaching and durability has to be based on studies of grout in fractures in the rock and calcium content of the penetrating water. Grout based on granulated blast-furnace slag and/or silica fume contains less calcium hydroxide, which decreases the leaching. These cements are, however, very slow if they aren't accelerated.(abstract truncated)

UP-report. Fuel-based energy systems. Basis of the Development platform. Fuel to the Swedish Energy Agency's strategy work FOKUS; UP-rapport. Braenslebaserade energisystem. Underlag fraan Utvecklingsplattformen. Braensle till Energimyndighetens strategiarbete FOKUS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-01

The report serves as input to the Swedish Energy Agency's strategies and priorities for research and innovation in the fuel-based energy system for the period 2011 - 2016. The report has been compiled by members of the development platform Fuel. This report provides background and conditions for the fuel based energy system, and proposed priorities and activities for future efforts in this area. The development platform has contributed with valuable experience and knowledge which enabled the Swedish Energy Agency to then develop a strategy that meets the needs of the society and business.

Forecasts and restrictions on vibrations from rock excavation and transportation. Encapsulation Plant and Repository for spent nuclear fuel, Laxemar; Prognoser och restriktioner foer vibrationer fraan bergschaktning och transporter. Inkapslingsanlaeggning och slutfoervar foer anvaent kaernbraensle, Laxemar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lind, Carl; Johansson, Sven-Erik (Nitro Consult AB (Sweden))

2010-12-15

This study describes the impact on the surroundings that may occur during rock excavation activities for the final repository for spent nuclear fuel in Laxemar and the encapsulation facility in Simpevarp. The study also includes vibrations created by heavy shipments related to activities at the final repository. The study will provide input to the environmental impact assessment and future design work. The survey area for buildings and facilities covered by the study extends approximately 1,000 metres from the proposed location of the final repository. For the encapsulation facility the survey area has been limited to residential buildings and summer houses within 1,000 metres of the proposed location. In addition, residential buildings along road 743 have been surveyed with regard to the impact of heavy shipments between Laxemar and Faarbo. The results of the surveys and information on planned rock excavation activities have been used to formulate preliminary restrictions and predictions of vibrations and air shock waves from blasting, as well as noise from rock drilling. Predictions have also been made of vibrations from heavy shipments, and a reference survey has been carried out in a residential building near road 743. The predictions of vibrations from blasting rounds reveal low or very low levels. No risk of damage to buildings or equipment is expected. Vibrations from blasting may, however, be perceptible within large parts of the study area, since the human perception threshold for vibration is very low. They will hardly be regarded as disturbing, however. When the accesses to the final repository have been built and rock excavation continues at repository level, the impact on the surroundings is expected to be minimal. The main reason for this is that the blasting will then occur at a depth of about 500 metres, at an ample distance to buildings at surface level. Predictions of air shock waves from blasting rounds indicate low levels. There is no risk of damage but air shocks may be audible at great distances during the first few years when surface facilities are being built and blasting is being done for the ramp and sunk shafts. They are not expected to be perceived as disturbing, since the blasting will be limited to a few times per day during the most intensive period. Structure-borne noise from rock drilling for the repository will not be audible due to large distances to buildings. Noise from above-ground drilling may be audible, but below guideline values. Also, the drilling is limited to a relatively short period of time. In Clab, indoor guideline values may be exceeded during drilling for the encapsulation facility. There is no risk of flyrock from blasting that could cause damage to the surroundings. The scope and nature of flyrock protection will be determined at a later stage, but as a general rule the initial blasting rounds, when the risk of flyrock is the greatest, will be carried out as controlled blasting. Vibrations in surrounding buildings caused by heavy shipments to and from the final repository are not expected to cause any damage, mainly due to the fact that the supporting ground along the transport routes is dominated by rock or till. The reference survey carried out in Oevrahammar verifies this and shows low vibration levels. If the future status of the concerned parts of road 743 is the same as today, disturbing vibrations are unlikely to occur, even if the heavy shipments increase in number. In summary, it is concluded that the guideline values and limit values stipulated in applicable standards, recommendations and guidelines for vibrations, air shock waves and noise from blasting activities, as well as noise from drilling and boring will be met by ample margin. The impact on the surroundings from blasting activities during the construction of the final repository and the encapsulation facility is therefore expected to be very limited

Swedish nuclear power. A review of the legislation in the nuclear energy field from the second world war til the new millennium; Svensk kaernenergi. En expose oever lagstiftningen paa kaernenergiomraadet fraan andra vaerldskriget till millennieskiftet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blomstrand, Edward [Uppsala Univ. (Sweden). Faculty of Law

2005-02-01

This thesis covers the history of the legislation regarding the production of nuclear energy in Sweden. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, it became apparent that enormous amounts of energy could be harnessed from uranium nuclei. Among the first Swedish laws written regarding nuclear energy was one enabling the Government to take control of the abundant uranium deposits in Sweden, using a licence-based system. Thereafter, the Government tried to direct what type of nuclear technology should be developed by means of political decisions. However, this objective was not realized for reasons beyond the Government's control. Sweden passed the Atomic Energy Act in 1956. This act was also licence based. Twelve commercial reactors were constructed, making Sweden one of the world's largest producers of nuclear energy per capita. Until the 1970s, there was little political disagreement about nuclear reactors. This changed drastically and after the Three-Mile-Island incident, a referendum concerning nuclear energy was held. The results were and remain difficult to interpret. Nevertheless, certain political decisions were made based on these results leading to legislation prohibiting the Government from licensing new reactors, and even criminalizing preparations for new reactors in Sweden. The struggle then turned to when and how Sweden's nuclear reactors should be phased-out. A law regarding this issue was implemented in 1997 which resulted in the first shutdown of a commercial reactor, Barsebaeck 1, in 1999. It has been argued that this case, RAa 1999 ref. 76, regarding the legality of the shutdown might be the most controversial and comprehensive of the century in Sweden.

Deposition and effects on some aquatic organisms of particulate matter emitted from some peat fuelled power plants in Finland. Deposition och effekter paa naagra vattenlevande organismer av emitterat stoft fraan naagra torveldade kraftverk i Finland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bengtsson, C; Fischer, S; Hellstroem, T; Notini, M; Steen, B; Waltersson, E; Landner, L

1982-01-01

At three different peat fuelled plants in Finland, environmental studies have been carried out with the aim of obtaining part of the background data necessary for the formulation of environmental guidelines in relation to the future use of peat for energy and heat production in Sweden. The present project was comprised of (a) field studies of the composition pattern of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and of heavy metals in the surroundings of some existing peat fuelled power plants, and (b) laboratory tests with a few aquatic organisms to check the possible biological effects induced by emitted particles. The results of these studies indicate that the deposition of (PAH) in the surroundings of three power plants (measured by snow sampling and by analysis of kale grown in the area) did not exceed the background level, whereas the deposition of heavy metals emitted from one power plant resulted in increased concentrations of Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn and possibly of Hg, compared to the assumed background level. Biological tests with particles originating from two different peat fuelled power plants showed that only weak, but obvious, effects could be detected at concentrations corresponding to realistic deposition levels. These effects are supposed to be due to the metal content of the particles rather than to the PAH content. When evaluating the lab results, it should be considered that a certain fixation of metals dissolved in the snow melting water may take place in the soil surface. Therefore, the biological effect studies, carried out so far, do not indicate that peat combustion at the investigated power plants, using efficient flue gas cleaning systems, cause any considerable biological effects in the surroundings of the plants. However, it is evident that the present set of data does not allow a general evaluation of the over-all environmental impact of peat combustion.

From energy resource to riddance problem. The issue of nuclear waste handling in the public dialogue in Sweden, 1950-2002; Fraan energiresurs till kvittblivningsproblem. Fraagan om kaernavfallets hantering i det offentliga samtalet i Sverige, 1950-2002

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anshelm, Jonas [Linkoeping Univ. (Sweden)

2006-10-15

Which risks are associated with the handling of high level radioactive wastes? Where should they be kept? Who is responsible for their safe keeping? How should a repository for safe final disposal be designed? Is there, at all, a safe solution for all future time? How could we possibly know that? These questions and many more have been given much attention in the public debate in Sweden, ever since the plans for a Swedish nuclear power program were approved by the parliament in the 1950s. If the questions largely have remained the same, the answers have varied a lot. Representatives for both the nuclear industry and the environmental movement have changed their attitudes and claims for knowing the truth as the technological, political, economical, scientific and cultural circumstances change. This report examines the changes in value base and what was held for truth regarding the plans for a Swedish repository for high-level radioactive waste. E.g. in the 1950s the waste was regarded as an energy resource for the future breeder reactors - in contrast to the conflict-ridden debates of the 1970s when the possibility to manage the waste by any means was questioned. The opposing views on how to select a site for the repository and the diverging opinions on risks, responsibilities, knowledge, technologies, science and nature during the 1980s and 1990s are also analyzed.

Environmental impacts from the EPSPEX-system. Part 1. Life-cycle analysis of a District Heating System with PEX-pipes insulated by expanded polystyrene; Miljoebelastning fraan EPSPEX-systemet. Del 1: Livscykelanalys av Polystyrenisolerat Fjaerrvaermesytem med PEX-mediaroer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johansson, Kristin; Olsson, A. Maria; Froeling, Morgan [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Chemical Environmental Science

2005-07-15

The EPSPEX system is a distribution system for district heat with media pipes of cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) insulated by blocks of expanded polystyrene (EPS). In this low-pressure distribution system two pipes are used for a space heating circuit, having layers of EVAL to hinder oxygen diffusion, whereas two pipes without diffusion barrier are used for delivery of hot tap water and warm water circulation. The four pipes are placed in the insulating blocks of EPS. Environmental impacts from production, laying and use of an EPSPEX district heat distribution system have been investigated using life cycle methodology. The distribution system is a secondary system developed specially for areas with low heat density. The case studied is the installation and use of an EPSPEX system in Vraaen, Vaernamo, Sweden. The environmental impacts are described in four categories: climate change, acidification, eutrophication and use of finite resources. Four weighting methods have also been used in the evaluation: EPS2000, Ecoscarcity, ExternE and EcoIndicator99. While carefully considering the precise circumstances of this study, the findings can be adapted for using the EPSPEX district heat distribution systems in other areas. During this study the question was raised of how this district heat delivery system compares with systems that use conventional district heating pipes. This has been further investigated and is reported in the second part of this report. In the second part the environmental impacts from the EPSPEX system have been compared with the impacts from conventional twin pipes (polyurethane insulated steel media pipes) used in a comparable setting. A discussion on the environmental choice between media pipes of PEX and steel can also be found in the second part. It should be noted that the two systems for district heat distribution are not fully comparable in function. The EPSPEX system has stricter limitations regarding pressure and temperature compared with the conventional system. The EPSPEX system is also limited in use for well drained ground conditions above the water table. Conventional district heating pipes do not have this limitation. The most important possibility to decrease the environmental impacts from the EPSPEX system is to increase the insulation, this even though the distribution system is comparably well insulated to start with. The environmental life cycle impacts of the distribution pipe system - production, laying and use - are dominated by the extra heat that has to be generated to cover the heat losses from the system. When this report was written, measurements from systems in use to confirm the model calculation of heat losses are still lacking. More fine-tuned results can be achieved when studies of the EPSPEX system in use have been concluded. Among different components in the EPSPEX system the impacts from production and transport of EPS-blocks make the major impact. Thus, it is important to utilize the polystyrene material as efficiently as possible, minimizing spillage, and to ensure that unavoidable spillage is recycled as material. However, the environmental impacts from production of the insulating blocks are well outweighed by the decreased environmental impacts gained by using the insulation. In product development it is thus important to ensure that the insulating capacity of the EPSPEX system is never decreased. Machines used for excavating the pipe trenches combust diesel oil, and the production and use of this diesel oil generates a substantial part of the environmental impacts by several of the assessment methods used. If possible, it is desirable to further minimize the excavation work and to use 'mini excavators' and low emitting machines (especially regarding nitrous oxides). The brass swaged coupling used to connect the PEX-pipes, gives a strong impact regarding acidification and the two weighting methods EPS2000 and Ecoscarcity, especially when compared to the very small volume fraction these devices constitute. It would be advisable to study if the devices could be made from other material or from recycled material.

Reed canary grass as an energy crop. Experiences from full-scale tests at BTC, Umeaa during the period 2000-2004; Roerflen som energigroeda. Erfarenheter fraan fullskalefoersoek vid Biobraensletekniskt Centrum (BTC) i Umeaa under aaren 2000-2004

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsson, Sylvia; Oerberg, Haakan; Kalen, Gunnar; Thyrel, Mikael

2006-07-01

In the years 2000-2004, reed canary grass (RCG) has been cultivated, harvested, stored, upgraded, and combusted at Umeaa Biofuel Technology Center (BTC), SLU Roebaecksdalen, Umeaa. The entire chain from the field to hot water has been handled by personnel at BTC. Data and experiences from the different handling stages have been continuously collected. In this time period, RCG has been harvested each spring. The mean harvest level on SLU properties has been approximately 4 ton DM/ha and the dry matter content at harvest has been on average 11-12 %. Winter and harvest losses has been determined to approximately 44 %, by a comparison of harvest levels in spring and harvest levels in sample squares in late fall. An alternate method of cutting in late fall, where the crop is left in the field until spring, has been tested. With this method, the risk for cutting of green shoots is eliminated and the isolating effect of the cut ley is decreasing the frost depth in the field. Three different techniques of baling have been tested: large and small square baling, and round baling. Round baling is most suitable for the conditions at BTC, because of the low availability of large square baling equipment in the area. Otherwise large square baling is more time efficient. Thus, the low weight of round baling equipment is advantageous and gives rise to less ground damages. On BTC, the RCG bales are stored outside on an asphalt area, covered with ensilage plastic on a layer of pallets. This handling procedure is working satisfactory with relatively low material losses, but when larger quantities are stored inside storage is to prefer. The economy of RCG cultivation is, as for all agricultural crops, dependent of subsidies within EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Subsidies can be received for RCG cultivation on ordinary farmland and on fallow farmland. An extra energy crop subsidy can be received for RCG cultivation on ordinary farmland if the energy crop is utilised as energy feedstock. In comparison to other agricultural crops, RCG cultivation only to receive subsidies but without harvesting is probably the most economically competitive alternative to RCG production for energy purposes. To reach the same profitability as that alternative, the fuel price for RCG feedstock at farmgate has to be at least 62-79 SEK/MWh (ordinary farmland) and 75-107 SEK/MWh (fallow farmland) when the harvest level is 9-4 ton DM/ha (storage costs excluded). Large scale storage of RCG, at for instance a pellet production site, has to be estimated from a point of view where the warehouse also have other uses ( i.e. storage of other feedstock and pellets). Storage in a newly built warehouse where RCG storage is assumed to use half of the storage time amounts to a cost of approximately 35 SEK/MWh. Both briquette and pellet production of RCG have been performed at BTC. Briquettes are produced continuously and constitute an essential part of the fuel required for the commercial boiler. Pelletizing has been performed within different projects with an acceptable result, but fine tuning of the technique is desirable to increase the production capacity. Combustion of RCG pellets and briquettes is working well if the boilers are adapted to ash rich fuels. Due to the large amounts of ashes, an automatic ash handling equipment with high capacity is needed. It is also important that the dwell time for RCG fuel in the combustion chamber is long enough to ensure a complete combustion and to avoid high levels of uncombusted material in the ashes. Compared to wood pellet combustion, emissions of NO{sub x} and SO{sub x} are higher in RCG combustion due to a higher amount of nitrogen and sulphur in RCG feedstock

UP-report. Buildings in the energy system. Basis of the Development platform. Build to the Swedish Energy Agency's strategy work FOKUS; UP-rapport. Byggnader i energisystemet. Underlag fraan Utvecklingsplattformen. Bygg till Energimyndighetens strategiarbete FOKUS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-01

The report serves as input to the Swedish Energy Agency's strategies and priorities for research and innovation in the thematic area buildings in the energy system for the period 2011 - 2016. The report has been compiled by members of the development platform Build. This report provides background and the conditions of the area buildings in the energy system, and proposed priorities and activities for future efforts in this area. The development platform has contributed with valuable experience and knowledge which enabled the Swedish Energy Agency to then develop a strategy that meets the needs of the society and business.

From crucial issue to additional question. A study of the political debate about nuclear waste in Sweden 1976-2009; Fraan oedesfraaga till oevrig fraaga. En studie av den politiska debatten om kaernavfallet i Sverige 1976-2009

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nord, Lars; Stur, Elisabeth (Mid Sweden University (Sweden))

2010-11-15

The overall purpose of this paper is to investigate how the premises for the political decision processes in the issue of final disposal of the Swedish nuclear waste are affected by changes in the public opinion climate and global events. The paper therefore focuses on questions concerning how the national political debate leading up to decisions interacts with the media debate, and the public opinion dynamic that arises when the two debates relate to each other. Particular interest is devoted to the arguments and standpoints that occur in politics and media and how they refer to the prevailing public opinion situation and to conditions in the surrounding world of a political, legal, economic, ecological and technological nature. An analysis of the arenas and actors involved in the debates ought to provide valuable knowledge regarding how the political agenda has been formed at different points in time. The following questions are of central interest to the study: - What characterizes the parliamentary and the party political debate in the nuclear waste issue, and in what way have actors, standpoints and arguments changed over time? - What characterizes opinion formation and news reporting in the media in the nuclear waste issue and in what way have actors, standpoints and arguments changed over time? The course of the debate at four different times and in connection with four parliamentary elections during the period 1976-2009 is analyzed in the study. The subject of the analysis includes the four parliamentary parties the Centre Party, the Liberal Party, the Moderates and the Social Democrats. These four parties have been chosen because they have been represented in the Swedish Parliament during the entire period studied and are therefore reasonable to compare. The study has mainly been conducted as a qualitative textual analysis of public print, party documents and media content. The qualitative text analysis is complemented to some extent by other existing written documentation such as political memoirs and debate books. The results of the study show that the nuclear waste issue was at the centre of the domestic political debate during the 1970s, but then gradually lost ground in political importance during the following decades. What can most accurately be described as a make-or-break political issue at the start of the studied period was by the end of the same period at most a back-burner issue that was of limited interest and had virtually been removed from the political sphere. The nuclear waste debate serves as a good illustration of the life cycle of a political issue and illustrates the circumstances under which an issue can be politicized at one stage only to be marginalized and struck from the political agenda at a later stage. This metamorphosis in importance is seldom as clear-cut as in the analysis of the change undergone by the nuclear waste issue in the Swedish public debate. For example, six times as much was written on this subject in the four leading daily newspapers during the last three weeks of the 1976 election campaign as during the 1998 election campaign. When it comes to the number of parliamentary motions pertaining to nuclear power and nuclear waste, there were less than half as many during the parliamentary year 2009/10 compared with ten years earlier. In other words, this is an issue that is gradually declining in opinion-related importance, both in politics and in media coverage. The position of nuclear waste in the Swedish political debate can generally be explained by reference to an opinion-related interaction between politics and media, where in general political actors make rational judgements and take standpoints to maximize their own influence and to win voters, keep their party together or promote cooperation with other parties. Such judgements can explain why nuclear power and its environmental consequences were such a big issue in the 1976 election (when the Centre Party wanted to politicize the issue), as well as why it was such a small issue in the 1998 election (when all political actors contributed to depoliticizing the issue). The interesting point is how the media coverage during these elections reflects the political positions and how compliantly the media's interpretations of the political positions are formed. The nuclear waste issue is characterized not only by the willingness of the parties to politicize or depoliticize during different periods, but also by the existence of other environment-related issues that compete for the attention of the parties, the media and the voters. The 1980s debate about algal blooms and mass seal deaths and the last decade's debate about the global climate threat are issues that probably influence the stand taken by public opinion-makers on the waste issue.

Environmental impacts from the EPSPEX-system. Part 1. Life-cycle analysis of a District Heating System with PEX-pipes insulated by expanded polystyrene; Miljoebelastning fraan EPSPEX-systemet. Del 1: Livscykelanalys av Polystyrenisolerat Fjaerrvaermesytem med PEX-mediaroer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johansson, Kristin; Olsson, A Maria; Froeling, Morgan [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Chemical Environmental Science

2005-07-15

The EPSPEX system is a distribution system for district heat with media pipes of cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) insulated by blocks of expanded polystyrene (EPS). In this low-pressure distribution system two pipes are used for a space heating circuit, having layers of EVAL to hinder oxygen diffusion, whereas two pipes without diffusion barrier are used for delivery of hot tap water and warm water circulation. The four pipes are placed in the insulating blocks of EPS. Environmental impacts from production, laying and use of an EPSPEX district heat distribution system have been investigated using life cycle methodology. The distribution system is a secondary system developed specially for areas with low heat density. The case studied is the installation and use of an EPSPEX system in Vraaen, Vaernamo, Sweden. The environmental impacts are described in four categories: climate change, acidification, eutrophication and use of finite resources. Four weighting methods have also been used in the evaluation: EPS2000, Ecoscarcity, ExternE and EcoIndicator99. While carefully considering the precise circumstances of this study, the findings can be adapted for using the EPSPEX district heat distribution systems in other areas. During this study the question was raised of how this district heat delivery system compares with systems that use conventional district heating pipes. This has been further investigated and is reported in the second part of this report. In the second part the environmental impacts from the EPSPEX system have been compared with the impacts from conventional twin pipes (polyurethane insulated steel media pipes) used in a comparable setting. A discussion on the environmental choice between media pipes of PEX and steel can also be found in the second part. It should be noted that the two systems for district heat distribution are not fully comparable in function. The EPSPEX system has stricter limitations regarding pressure and temperature compared with the conventional system. The EPSPEX system is also limited in use for well drained ground conditions above the water table. Conventional district heating pipes do not have this limitation. The most important possibility to decrease the environmental impacts from the EPSPEX system is to increase the insulation, this even though the distribution system is comparably well insulated to start with. The environmental life cycle impacts of the distribution pipe system - production, laying and use - are dominated by the extra heat that has to be generated to cover the heat losses from the system. When this report was written, measurements from systems in use to confirm the model calculation of heat losses are still lacking. More fine-tuned results can be achieved when studies of the EPSPEX system in use have been concluded. Among different components in the EPSPEX system the impacts from production and transport of EPS-blocks make the major impact. Thus, it is important to utilize the polystyrene material as efficiently as possible, minimizing spillage, and to ensure that unavoidable spillage is recycled as material. However, the environmental impacts from production of the insulating blocks are well outweighed by the decreased environmental impacts gained by using the insulation. In product development it is thus important to ensure that the insulating capacity of the EPSPEX system is never decreased. Machines used for excavating the pipe trenches combust diesel oil, and the production and use of this diesel oil generates a substantial part of the environmental impacts by several of the assessment methods used. If possible, it is desirable to further minimize the excavation work and to use 'mini excavators' and low emitting machines (especially regarding nitrous oxides). The brass swaged coupling used to connect the PEX-pipes, gives a strong impact regarding acidification and the two weighting methods EPS2000 and Ecoscarcity, especially when compared to the very small volume fraction these devices constitute. It would be advisable to study if the devices could be made from other material or from recycled material.

'Finnova Development Group'. Comb Configurated Costumer-close Network Installations with Underground Service Boxes. From project objectives to main solutions; 'Finnova' Innovativ Montage och Systemloesning foer Fjaerrvaermeanslutning av Villaomraade. Fraan projektmaal till huvudloesningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gudmundson, Tommy [AaF-Process AB, Stockholm (SE)] (and others)

2006-07-15

The overall goal for a project, presented in this report, together with and three additional ones, is to produce at least one new, economically competitive solution for distribution of DH in residential areas with low heat demand density - which normally means distribution in villa areas. As a built in sub goal, the work was anticipated to end up in one demo project. The report presents how both goals are achieved. The presentation gives exhaustive descriptions of the system technologies, of the foreseen installation methods but also of working procedures used by the Finnova Development Group to reach the goals. A great deal of work has been dedicated to the issue of harmonizing system design and layout and methods for construction. The report gives, based on through literature studies both regarding Sweden and internationally, together with many decades of personal experiences for the members of the Finnova Development Group, an enveloping presentation of branch experiences related to system design, choice of materials and methods of installation and operation. Having this as a background, the report highlights on one hand which problems has to be dealt with on the other what should be avoided - if you want to avoid high installation costs and future problems - when designing a DH distribution system. Parallel to this, the success factors for distribution DH in low heat density areas are crystallized and discussed. Consequently, the work presented in this report has three 'foundation bolts': What should be avoided, what we want to achieve and success factors that are there to be used. With these identified and used a generally fit for use foundation for innovative solution can be built. This structure for innovative solution is thoroughly scrutinized with respect to material as well functional issues. The rather great complexity of a DH system, with all its components and functional requirements, are clearly demonstrated. Two main solutions are presented in the report. For the first one, 'Finnova AF', evidence is given that the overall goal is fulfilled. The goal being investment costs lower than SEK 50,000 per costumer - VAT not included and in the cost level of 2003/2004. The possibilities for the second one, 'Finnova LTH', may in the long run be even more promising, with respect to economy as well as functionally. The fulfilling of this requires, however, investigations and research and the time for these are not to be found within the time schedule given for this project. Other important issues dealt with regarding the two solutions are: estimated technical life length, need for and accessibility at maintenance and heat losses The two main solutions are named Comb Configurated Costumer Close Network (Finnova AF) and Villa Connection with Distribution Chambers (Finnova LTH). Both are in general terms presented in this report and fully and more detailed in reports no 2 and 3. A demo for the Finnova AF approach is right now being built in a villa area in the Granlunda suburb of Trelleborg in south Sweden. The system decisive features of the Finnova AF are three: The conventional DH substation is abandoned and replaced with a service and connection box in the garden at the site boundary, no pipe joints directly in ground are to be found, and almost all needed working moments can be performed by anyone of a working crew of 5 people. Among the identified success factors, especially the following should be mentioned: Maximum continuity. No 'extern specialists' needed, the civil works contractor should be able to perform 'almost' all working procedures with his own crew. One-step finished backfilling must be applied. And to obtain continuity, flexible coiled pipes and cold installation of network are necessary. The DH substation moved out of the customer's house. The DH supplier is supposed to be the owner of the service and maintenance box replacing the FC. This box contains a prefabricated, standardised, easily replaceable cassette. This cassette contains all necessary functions needed to deliver, measure and check the quality of heating and tap water being delivered. A new philosophy for the supply of tap hot water. Two pipes instead of one are used for the hot tap water supply. The smaller one normally is used for mere circulation. At higher sudden demands, both pipes serve as forward pipes, increasing the capacity. A high degree of standardization. A high degree of standardization, with respect to components as well as to interfaces, is necessary to minimize the gross working time, including periods of waiting during construction. And more time used can be directly transformed into higher costs for more than half of the working steps that sums up into a contract like this. Adding to this, standardisation and systemisation make life much easier for the DH supplier, when it comes to such things as future maintenance and renewal of the network as well as connecting new costumers in the area in question. As a spin-off, and as a result of the methodology of the Finnova Development Group, the report series can be used as a well of knowledge for further innovative solutions. In appendices, the following is presented: Definitions of technical and economical expressions used in the reports Rules of design for fluid pipes A market survey for machinery and other equipment suitable for the installation of DH piping in residential areas with low heat density.

Noise annoyances from wind power: Survey of the population living close to a wind power plant. Final report: Part 3 Main study; Stoerningar fraan vindkraft: undersoekning bland maenniskor boende i naerheten av vindkraftverk. Slutrapport: Del 3 Huvudstudie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pedersen, Eja [Halmstad Univ., Halmstad (Sweden). School of Business and Engineering; Persson-Waye, K. [Goeteborg Univ., Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Environmental Medicine

2002-02-01

To evaluate the occurrence of annoyance from wind turbines, a study was performed in Laholm in May 2000. The aim was to obtain dose response relationships between calculated sound levels and noise annoyance and appropriate sound description as well as analysing the influence of other variables on noise annoyance. A questionnaire survey was performed in 6 areas comprising 16 wind turbines, of which 14 had an effect of 600 kW. The purpose of the study was masked. Among questions on living conditions in the countryside, questions directly related to wind turbines were included. The study population (n=518) comprised one randomly selected subject between the ages of 18 to 75 years in each household living within a calculated wind turbine sound level of 25 to 40 dBA. The response rate was 68.7% (n=356). Calculated distributions of A-weighted sound level were performed for each area and plotted on geographical maps in 2.5 dBA steps. Each dwelling could thus be given a sound level within an interval of 2.5 dBA. The most frequently occurring source of noise annoyance was noise from rotor blades. The proportions of respondents annoyed by noise increased with calculated sound level. Among respondents exposed to sound levels of 35.0-37.5 dBA, 43% responded themselves to be rather or much annoyed. A-weighted sound level was only one variable explaining annoyance. Annoyance was correlated to a larger extent by the intrusiveness of the sound character swishing. Noise annoyance was interrelated to the respondents' opinion of the visual impact of wind turbines, while attitude towards wind power in general had no greater influence. Disturbance of spoilt view was reported to a similar degree as noise disturbance. Further investigations are needed to clarify factors of importance for the disturbance of view. All the wind turbines in the study had constant rotation speed. The greater wind turbines that are now erected often have variable speed, which may lead to a sound comprising other characteristics. The influence of this on noise annoyance is not known. Topography as well as type of ground surface probably has an impact on noise annoyance and visual disturbance, and the study should therefore be repeated in other areas with broken ground.

Noise annoyances from wind power: Survey of the population living close to a wind power plant. Final report: Part 3 Main study; Stoerningar fraan vindkraft: undersoekning bland maenniskor boende i naerheten av vindkraftverk. Slutrapport: Del 3 Huvudstudie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pedersen, Eja [Halmstad Univ., Halmstad (Sweden). School of Business and Engineering; Persson-Waye, K [Goeteborg Univ., Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Environmental Medicine

2002-02-01

To evaluate the occurrence of annoyance from wind turbines, a study was performed in Laholm in May 2000. The aim was to obtain dose response relationships between calculated sound levels and noise annoyance and appropriate sound description as well as analysing the influence of other variables on noise annoyance. A questionnaire survey was performed in 6 areas comprising 16 wind turbines, of which 14 had an effect of 600 kW. The purpose of the study was masked. Among questions on living conditions in the countryside, questions directly related to wind turbines were included. The study population (n=518) comprised one randomly selected subject between the ages of 18 to 75 years in each household living within a calculated wind turbine sound level of 25 to 40 dBA. The response rate was 68.7% (n=356). Calculated distributions of A-weighted sound level were performed for each area and plotted on geographical maps in 2.5 dBA steps. Each dwelling could thus be given a sound level within an interval of 2.5 dBA. The most frequently occurring source of noise annoyance was noise from rotor blades. The proportions of respondents annoyed by noise increased with calculated sound level. Among respondents exposed to sound levels of 35.0-37.5 dBA, 43% responded themselves to be rather or much annoyed. A-weighted sound level was only one variable explaining annoyance. Annoyance was correlated to a larger extent by the intrusiveness of the sound character swishing. Noise annoyance was interrelated to the respondents' opinion of the visual impact of wind turbines, while attitude towards wind power in general had no greater influence. Disturbance of spoilt view was reported to a similar degree as noise disturbance. Further investigations are needed to clarify factors of importance for the disturbance of view. All the wind turbines in the study had constant rotation speed. The greater wind turbines that are now erected often have variable speed, which may lead to a sound comprising other characteristics. The influence of this on noise annoyance is not known. Topography as well as type of ground surface probably has an impact on noise annoyance and visual disturbance, and the study should therefore be repeated in other areas with broken ground.

Presentation of safety after closure of the repository for spent nuclear fuel. Main report of the project SR-Site. Part I; Redovisning av saekerhet efter foerslutning av slutfoervaret foer anvaent kaernbraensle. Huvudrapport fraan projekt SR-Site. Del I

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2011-07-01

The purpose of the safety assessment SR-Site is to investigate whether a safe repository for spent nuclear fuel by KBS-3 type can be constructed at Forsmark in Oesthammar in Sweden. The location of the Forsmark has been selected based on results of several surveys from surface conditions at depth in Forsmark and in Laxemar in Oskarshamn. The choice of location is not justified in SR-Site Report, but in other attachments to SKB's permit applications. SR-Site Report is an important part of SKB's permit applications to construct and operate a repository for spent nuclear fuel at Forsmark in Oesthammar. The purpose of the report in the applications is to show that a repository at Forsmark is safe after closure

Presentation of safety after closure of the repository for spent nuclear fuel. Main report of the project SR-Site. Part II; Redovisning av saekerhet efter foerslutning av slutfoervaret foer anvaent kaernbraensle. Huvudrapport fraan projekt SR-Site. Del II

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2011-07-01

The purpose of the safety assessment SR-Site is to investigate whether a safe repository for spent nuclear fuel by KBS-3 type can be constructed at Forsmark in Oesthammar in Sweden. The location of the Forsmark has been selected based on results of several surveys from surface conditions at depth in Forsmark and in Laxemar in Oskarshamn. The choice of location is not justified in SR-Site Report, but in other attachments to SKB's permit applications. SR-Site Report is an important part of SKB's permit applications to construct and operate a repository for spent nuclear fuel at Forsmark in Oesthammar. The purpose of the report in the applications is to show that a repository at Forsmark is safe after closure

Presentation of safety after closure of the repository for spent nuclear fuel. Main report of the project SR-Site. Part III; Redovisning av saekerhet efter foerslutning av slutfoervaret foer anvaent kaernbraensle. Huvudrapport fraan projekt SR-Site. Del III

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2011-07-01

The purpose of the safety assessment SR-Site is to investigate whether a safe repository for spent nuclear fuel by KBS-3 type can be constructed at Forsmark in Oesthammar in Sweden. The location of the Forsmark has been selected based on results of several surveys from surface conditions at depth in Forsmark and in Laxemar in Oskarshamn. The choice of location is not justified in SR-Site Report, but in other attachments to SKB's permit applications. SR-Site Report is an important part of SKB's permit applications to construct and operate a repository for spent nuclear fuel at Forsmark in Oesthammar. The purpose of the report in the applications is to show that a repository at Forsmark is safe after closure

Hydrological and hydro-geological effects on wetlands and forest areas from the repository at Forsmark. Results from modelling with MIKE SHE; Hydrologiska och hydrogeologiska effekter paa vaatmarker och skogsomraaden av slutfoervarsanlaeggningen i Forsmark. Resultat fraan modellering med MIKE SHE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maartensson, Erik; Gustafsson, Lars-Goeran; Gustafsson, Ann-Marie; Aneljung, Maria; Sabel, Ulrika (DHI Sverige AB, Goeteborg (Sweden))

2010-06-15

This report provides background material for investigations and associated impact assessments concerning water operations in terms of withdrawal of groundwater from the final repository for spent nuclear fuel at Forsmark. The report presents detailed modelling results in the form of supplementary sensitivity analyses and detailed hydrological and hydrogeological analyses of specific nature objects in Forsmark. The sensitivity analyses aim to investigate the sensitivity of the modelling results to i) the meteorological conditions, ii) impervious surfaces and iii) the model description of the present SFR (final repository for short-lived radioactive waste). A number of simulation cases aim to study cumulative effects of groundwater withdrawal from an extended SFR. The simulations are evaluated with respect to the groundwater table drawdown and head changes in the bedrock. The report analyses the hydrogeological and hydrological conditions for a number of selected wetland objects and forest objects. The selection of objects aims to cover different types of valuable nature objects at different geographical locations in relation to the influence area of the groundwater table drawdown. The analysis comprises groundwater levels at all nature objects, whereas wetlands with particularly high nature values have been studied in detail with respect to surface water levels, the need for water supply and object-specific water balances. These studies have been performed for different meteorological conditions in the form of a type (2006) and a statistically normal, dry and wet year, respectively, with a return period of 100 years for the dry- and wet years. All simulations for disturbed conditions with a fully open repository are done with a hydraulic conductivity of K{sub inj} = 10-7 or 10-8 m/s in the grouted zone. The results show that time-dependent precipitation and snow melt have large influence on the temporal variations of the depth to the groundwater table for undisturbed conditions. Precipitation and snow melt also have large influence on the drawdown of the groundwater table due to the groundwater withdrawal from the repository. For a normal year, based on precipitation data from the reference normal period 1961-1990, the annual average size of the influence area is 1.15 km2 for a grouting level of K{sub inj} = 10-7 m/s. Compared to the normal year, the size of the influence area is 17% larger during a dry year and 19% smaller during a wet year. The groundwater table drawdown also varies during individual years. For the type year 2006, the size of the influence area is approximately three times larger in November than in May. Implementation of the present SFR underground facility in the modelling tool MOUSE yields a groundwater inflow to SFR of 6.7 L/s, compared to a measured inflow of some 6 L/s. According to model calculations, the groundwater withdrawal from SFR causes groundwater table drawdown in an area with a size of 0.17 km2. The influence area is concentrated to the SFR pier and areas with vertical fracture zones in the rock, located north and northeast of Lake Bolundsfjaerden. The head change in the bedrock at the level 50 m b s l reaches the model boundary in the northeast. An extension of the SFR facility is planned. According to the modelling results, the extension will only yield small additional groundwater table drawdown and head changes in the bedrock. For the wetland objects, even a relatively small drawdown of the groundwater table may cause vegetation changes and ultimately overgrowth. The forests are not as sensitive to a drawdown of the groundwater table. According to the model calculations, the groundwater withdrawal from the repository yields a groundwater table drawdown that exceeds 0.1 m as an annual average for a normal year in one fifth the studied wetland objects and in half of the forest objects. The fraction of objects with a groundwater table drawdown is higher during a dry year and lower during a wet year. The surface-water depth in the studied wetland objects ranges from a few centimetres to half a metre. It is judged that a number of wetland objects may require water supply in order to maintain an undisturbed water level during groundwater withdrawal from the repository. According to the modelling results, the water-supply requirements are largest during spring and autumn. In one of the wetland objects, the water requirement is 3 L/s as an annual average for the type year 2006. Object-specific water balances and particle tracking calculations show that the inflow to the wetland objects mainly takes place through the Quaternary deposits. This is in accordance with the conceptual model, according to which there is a shallow groundwater flow system with many local recharge and discharge areas. The groundwater withdrawal from the repository implies that the water balance is changed for some of the studied wetland objects.

Nuclear Energy, Geothermal Energy and the Environment. Reports to the Energy Commission's Expertgroup for Safety and Environment. Kaernenergi, geotermisk energi och miljoe. Underlagsrapporter till rapport om miljoeeffekter och risker vid utnyttjandet av energi fraan Expertgruppen foer saekerhet och miljoe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-01-01

This volume contains reports on uranium mining, working conditions in the different stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, risks at storage of spent fuel elements, environmental impact of future reactor technology, effects of waste heat disposal and risks at geothermal energy extraction in Sweden. These reports have been use by the expert group to produce their final paper.

Noise and noise disturbances from wind power plants - Tests with interactive control of sound parameters for more comfortable and less perceptible sounds; Buller och bullerstoerningar fraan vindkraftverk - Foersoek med interaktiv styrning av ljudparametrar foer behagligare och mindre maerkbara ljud

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Persson-Waye, K.; Oehrstroem, E.; Bjoerkman, M.; Agge, A. [Goeteborg Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Environmental Medicine

2001-12-01

In experimental pilot studies, a methodology has been worked out for interactively varying sound parameters in wind power plants. In the tests, 24 persons varied the center frequency of different band-widths, the frequency of a sinus-tone and the amplitude-modulation of a sinus-tone in order to create as comfortable a sound as possible. The variations build on the noise from the two wind turbines Bonus and Wind World. The variations were performed with a constant dba level. The results showed that the majority preferred a low-frequency tone (94 Hz and 115 Hz for Wind World and Bonus, respectively). The mean of the most comfortable amplitude-modulation varied between 18 and 22 Hz, depending on the ground frequency. The mean of the center-frequency for the different band-widths varied from 785 to 1104 Hz. In order to study the influence of the wind velocity on the acoustic character of the noise, a long-time measurement program has been performed. A remotely controlled system has been developed, where wind velocity, wind direction, temperature and humidity are registered simultaneously with the noise. Long-time registrations have been performed for four different wing turbines.

Consequences of increased extraction of forest fuel - A synthesis from the Energy Agency fuel program 2007-2011 Summary of the Synthesis Report; Konsekvenser av ett oekat uttag av skogsbraensle - En syntes fraan Energimyndighetens braensleprogram 2007-2011 Sammanfattning av syntesrapporten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-07-01

This report summarizes the findings of a research synthesis of forest fuels. The full report (de Jong et al 2012) can be ordered from the Swedish Energy Agency (report number: ER 2012:08), or downloaded from www.energimyndigheten.se. The Energy Agency's research program 'Sustainable supply and refining of biofuels', also known as 'Fuel program', ran from 2007-01-01 to 2011-06-30. The results of the program are reported in synthesis reports for various program areas. The purpose of the synthesis reports is to compile the knowledge in various areas, to identify knowledge gaps that need to be elucidated further, and to place and discuss the aggregated research results in a larger energy- and societal perspective, including relations to environmental quality and forest policy environmental- and production goals. This report covers sub-project 'Forest fuel and environmental impacts', conducted during the years 2007-2011. The report covers projects within the program 'Sustainable supply and refining of biofuels', adjacent individual projects funded by the Energy Agency and certain other national related activities.

Site selection for disposal of nuclear waste - on what grounds? A report from hearings at the Council June 4-5 2008; Platsval foer slutfoervar av kaernavfall - paa vilka grunder? En rapport fraan kaernavfallsraadets utfraaning den 4-5 juni 2008

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2009-07-01

As part of the Nuclear Waste Council's own knowledge-building on site selection, the Council organized a hearing on the what grounds site selection will be made. The public hearing, had several objectives: to contribute to knowledge building on site selection for Nuclear Waste Council and other actors, to contribute to an improved basis for site selection by clarifying the factors and values of importance, to clarify the different actors' expectations SKB's future accounting, to highlight how to deal with different aspects (safety, geological, environmental, infrastructural, socio-economic and democratic) instruments for site selection, and to identify operators of critical issues. The report is divided into the following sections: The Government's View on the upcoming Site Selection; the Site Selection Process, The View of the Local Communities on the Site Selection; the Current Status of the Selection Process, SKB's plans, the Site-Selection Factors; he Authorities' perspective; the Environmental Organizations perspective; Reflections of the Council on the Hearings; Discussion and Analysis of Key Issues related to Groundwater Flow, Final Discussion

Environmental impacts from the EPSPEX-system. Part 2: Conventional Twinpipes or EPSPEX for District Heat Distribution - Which is best from an Environmental Standpoint?; Miljoebelastning fraan EPSPEX-systemet. Del 2: Konventionella Twinroer eller EPSPEX foer Fjaerrvaermedistribution - Vad aer baest ur Miljoesynpunkt?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johansson, Kristin; Olsson, A. Maria; Froeling, Morgan [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Chemical Environmental Science

2005-07-15

In this study the life-cycle environmental impacts from an EPSPEX system for distribution of district heat (a four-pipe system with centrally generated hot tap water) are compared with the environmental impacts of a twin-pipe system with steel media pipes, if installed in the same area. A life cycle assessment of the EPSPEX system constructed in Vraaen, Vaernamo, Sweden, has been reported in FVF-FOU--2005-20. In that study the question was raised of how the EPSPEX system compares with a conventional twin-pipe system with polyurethane-insulated steel media pipes. In the present study the EPSPEX system in Vraaen is compared with a hypothetical construction of a conventional twin pipe system in the same area. Two different fuel mixes for district heat generation have been studied to increase the understanding of the environmental performance of district heat distribution systems; the fuel mix used in Vraaen (heat delivered from Vaernamo Energi) and Swedish average district heat. How media pipes from the two different materials (PEX and steel) compare is discussed in a separate part. There are technical differences that must be kept in mind when the systems are compared in this way. The EPSPEX system is designed for low-pressure district heat systems and could only be used in such context. It is unadvisable to install the EPSPEX system below the ground water table; this is not a restriction for the twin pipe system. Under the conditions of this study the environmental performance of the EPSPEX system is better than the twin pipe system. The heat loss from the EPSPEX system is approximately 60% of the heat loss for a comparable twin pipe system. This is caused by a combination of thick insulation for the EPSPEX system and the possibility to summertime shut down the district heating circuit for this system and only use the hot tap-water circuit. Note, however, that the heat loss from the EPSPEX system is more uncertain compared to the twin-pipe system. From the characterization methods used, the production of the EPSPEX system gives a higher environmental impact compared to the twin pipe system. This heavily depends on the large amount of insulating material used. However, the environmental impacts from production of the insulation are more then outweighed by the emissions avoided from heat generation due to lower heat loss. District heating sub centrals generates a notable part of the total environmental impact when using the weighing method EPS2000. Note that sub centrals are not technically necessary in low-pressure district heat systems, as the EPSPEX system. The comparison between different fuel mixes for heat generation indicates clearly that the heat generation is an important parameter for environmental performance for all district heating. It is further indicated that also biofuels must be used with sensible and environmentally friendly methods. The media pipes of PEX seem to give lower environmental impacts compared with media pipes of steel. However, the results differ between assessment methods used.

Greenhouse gases during storage and after application of digested and non-digested dairy cattle slurry including ammonia emissions and barley yield; Vaexthusgaser fraan roetad och oroetad noetflytgoedsel vid lagring och efter spridning, samt bestaemning av ammoniakavgaang och skoerd i vaarkorn

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodhe, Lena; Ascue, Johnny; Tersmeden, Marianne; Willen, Agnes; Nordberg, Aake; Salomon, Eva; Sundberg, Martin

2013-07-01

Given that the manure-based biogas production is likely to increase in the coming years , it's important to find a proper handling of digested manure that have low emissions of both climate gases methane (CH{sub 4}) and nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}O ) as ammonia (NH{sub 3}) , which indirectly contributes to emissions of N{sub 2}O. The project have; Quantified GHG emissions, from undigested and digested manure during storage in winter and summer, and during land application in autumn and spring. Examined the effect on GHG emissions of covering digested manure during storage in winter and summer, and quantified NH{sub 3} emissions, yield and apparent nitrogen (N) recovery in spring barley.

Aerobic effluent treatment with lower electric power consumption. Survey of results from questionnaire sent out to Swedish pulp and paper mills with biological effluent treatment plants; Aerob rening med laegre elfoerbrukning. Sammanstaellning av enkaetsvar fraan svenska skogsindustrier med biologisk rening

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sivard, Aasa; Simon, Olle

2010-12-15

A survey of the energy situation at 23 Swedish pulp and paper mills with aerobic effluent treatment plants has been performed. The electricity consumption for aeration equipment is about 80 % of the total electricity consumption. Proposed measures to increase energy efficiency are regular measurements of energy consumption, better control of the oxygen level in some mills and evaluation of measures to use the heat in process effluent before and after biological treatment

CHAIRMEN'S PREFACE AND EDITORS' NOTE: Unification of Fundamental Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Brink, Lars; Nilsson, Jan S.; Salomonson, Per; Skagerstam, Bo-Sture

1987-01-01

Vainshtein. We had hoped that the Nobel Symposium should be a signal for improved relations between East and West, but in this respect we failed. The Symposium was held in the small town of Marstrand, a summer resort on an island outside Göteborg. The idea was to have it relatively close to home and to show the participants perhaps the best part of the local nature. Another motive was to keep the participants semi-isolated to provide ample time for discussions. With the somewhat heavy programme we found that even so, the days were not long enough. This Symposium was the second Nobel Symposium on elementary particle physics. The first one, also organized by our group, was held in 1968. We hope and believe that the next one need not be awaited another 18 years! The Symposium was made possible by a generous grant from the Nobel Foundation. An additional grant from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was also essential. A grant from Nordita made it possible to invite some ten Nordic observers. We also gratefully acknowledge help with the organization of the Symposium from the city of Goteborg, the city of Kungälv, Volvo, Skandinaviska Enskilda banken, Ericsson AB and IBM Sweden. We thank all the participants for all their efforts, to come to our remote part of the world, to give excellent talks, to write up their talks astonishingly quickly and to share with us so much of their knowledge and expertise. Last but not least we are indebted to the members of the organizing committee, members of the group and the secretarial staff. Goteborg, August 1986 Editors' NoteIn these Proceedings the lectures are given in the order of their oral presentation at the Symposium. Regrettably, a few contributors could not participate (V. Gribov, A. Linde, V. Ogievetsky, M. Shifman and A. M. Polyakov). Their contributions have been placed close to the end of the Proceedings. As these authors did not have the opportunity of correcting the proofs, responsibility for printing errors must rest with

House owners' views on investing in district heating - a study of applied sales strategies and the customers choice at conversion from electric heating; Smaahusaegarnas syn paa att koepa fjaerrvaerme - en studie av tillaempade foersaeljningsstrategier och kunders val vid konvertering fraan direktverkande el

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sernhed, Kerstin; Pyrko, Jurek [Div. of Efficient Energy Systems, Dept. of Energy Sciences, Lund University, Lund (Sweden)

2006-07-15

This report presents results from the project 'Converting direct resistive electric heating into district heating - customer related aspects'. The main objective of this study was to investigate how specific households within one housing area (Sandsbro in Vaexjoe with 110 one-family houses) experienced the conversion process, in order to understand the reasons behind 'yes' or 'no' responses to the utility's offer. A qualitative approach with semi-structured in-depth interviews with a specially selected sample of households from 10 converted and 13 not converted houses was chosen as the main method. The investigation led to the following conclusions and recommendations: Household reactions to the terms of sale and conversion: Many households felt that the decisions were rushed - there is a need for better planning, especially for the older households. The information provided was evaluated as detailed and sufficient. The 'demonstration villa' was a good idea but the installation should be done more professionally - aesthetics are very important here. Home visits were the only personal contact and should be conducted in all houses in order to answer questions and explain problems. Co-ordination of excavation should be better in order to limit the time the ground is open. A few of the households undertook some of the works themselves to reduce costs but the compensation was often considered as too low to motivate customers. Household opinions on the product and/or service: Almost all households felt that the thermal comfort was better than before - more stable indoor temperature, no problems with overheated radiators or smell of burning dust. On the other hand, hot water comfort was worse - longer waiting time for hot water and too low water temperature during summer. Aesthetics were considered very important and could be crucial for the decision to convert the heating system. Many of the interviewed households were uncertain how to adjust and take care of the system - there is a notable need for information here. Household understanding of the economic terms of the district heating conversion: It was clear that many of the interviewed households did not have a view about the change of energy costs after conversion. It was also difficult for them to make a profitability analysis before the decision. However, the offer was considered to be very favourable in this specific case. It is important that the offer and investment comes at the right time for the households - regardless of the price. One argument raised against district heating conversion was fear of monopoly and high energy costs. All households, even those not converted, were convinced that the investment would be paid back in the future because of an increased property value following conversion. Household reasons to say 'no' to district heating conversion: The household has recently invested in a new heating system or in a secondary system, Negative views about aesthetics of the waterborne system, It's too labour intensive to convert, Wrong facts or misunderstanding. Household reasons to say 'yes' to district heating conversion: Improved thermal comfort, Convenience, Low investment costs, Expectations about lower energy costs, Few alternatives to direct resistive space heating, Better than electricity from an environmental point of view. Statistical analysis proved that variables such as 'age', 'type of household' and 'energy use level' could, to some extent, be related to the decision to convert from electric radiators to district heating.

Clearance of materials from dismantling of nuclear facilities in Sweden - a study on whether the EU recommendations are applicable in Sweden; Friklassning av material fraan rivning av kaerntekniska anlaeggningar i Sverige - en utredning om EU:s rekommenderade regler aer tillaempbara i Sverige

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamrefors, Gunilla [Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB, Vaesteraas (Sweden)

2004-02-01

The report presents a study on whether the EU recommendations on clearance of metals, buildings and building rubble from the dismantling of nuclear facilities are applicable in Sweden. Analyses are made to estimate the amounts of waste that would be released from dismantling of the Swedish nuclear power plants and to what degree the costs of the licence holders would be influenced. A summary and evaluation of different methods and equipments for measurement is also given. The main conclusion is that the EU recommendations are applicable in Sweden.

Environmental monitoring at the nuclear power plants and Studsvik 1992-1993. Results from measurements of radionuclide contents of environmental samples, and from random checks by SSI; Omgivningskontroll vid kaernkraftverken och Studsvik 1992-1993. Resultat fraan maetning av radionuklidhalter i miljoeprover, samt SSIs stickprovsmaetningar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bengtson, P.; Larsson, C.M.; Simenstad, P.; Suomela, J.

1995-09-01

Marine samples from the vicinity of the plants show elevated radionuclide concentrations, caused by discharges from the plants. Very low concentrations are noted in terrestrial samples. At several locations, the effects of the Chernobyl disaster still dominates. Control samples measured by SSI have confirmed the measurements performed by the operators. 8 refs, 6 tabs, 46 figs.

House owners' views on investing in district heating - a study of applied sales strategies and the customers choice at conversion from electric heating; Smaahusaegarnas syn paa att koepa fjaerrvaerme - en studie av tillaempade foersaeljningsstrategier och kunders val vid konvertering fraan direktverkande el

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sernhed, Kerstin; Pyrko, Jurek [Div. of Efficient Energy Systems, Dept. of Energy Sciences, Lund University, Lund (Sweden)

2006-07-15

This report presents results from the project 'Converting direct resistive electric heating into district heating - customer related aspects'. The main objective of this study was to investigate how specific households within one housing area (Sandsbro in Vaexjoe with 110 one-family houses) experienced the conversion process, in order to understand the reasons behind 'yes' or 'no' responses to the utility's offer. A qualitative approach with semi-structured in-depth interviews with a specially selected sample of households from 10 converted and 13 not converted houses was chosen as the main method. The investigation led to the following conclusions and recommendations: Household reactions to the terms of sale and conversion: Many households felt that the decisions were rushed - there is a need for better planning, especially for the older households. The information provided was evaluated as detailed and sufficient. The 'demonstration villa' was a good idea but the installation should be done more professionally - aesthetics are very important here. Home visits were the only personal contact and should be conducted in all houses in order to answer questions and explain problems. Co-ordination of excavation should be better in order to limit the time the ground is open. A few of the households undertook some of the works themselves to reduce costs but the compensation was often considered as too low to motivate customers. Household opinions on the product and/or service: Almost all households felt that the thermal comfort was better than before - more stable indoor temperature, no problems with overheated radiators or smell of burning dust. On the other hand, hot water comfort was worse - longer waiting time for hot water and too low water temperature during summer. Aesthetics were considered very important and could be crucial for the decision to convert the heating system. Many of the interviewed households were uncertain how to adjust and take care of the system - there is a notable need for information here. Household understanding of the economic terms of the district heating conversion: It was clear that many of the interviewed households did not have a view about the change of energy costs after conversion. It was also difficult for them to make a profitability analysis before the decision. However, the offer was considered to be very favourable in this specific case. It is important that the offer and investment comes at the right time for the households - regardless of the price. One argument raised against district heating conversion was fear of monopoly and high energy costs. All households, even those not converted, were convinced that the investment would be paid back in the future because of an increased property value following conversion. Household reasons to say 'no' to district heating conversion: The household has recently invested in a new heating system or in a secondary system, Negative views about aesthetics of the waterborne system, It's too labour intensive to convert, Wrong facts or misunderstanding. Household reasons to say 'yes' to district heating conversion: Improved thermal comfort, Convenience, Low investment costs, Expectations about lower energy costs, Few alternatives to direct resistive space heating, Better than electricity from an environmental point of view. Statistical analysis proved that variables such as 'age', 'type of household' and 'energy use level' could, to some extent, be related to the decision to convert from electric radiators to district heating.

Radioactive waste from non-licensed activities - identification of waste, compilation of principles and guidance, and proposed system for final management; Radioaktivt avfall fraan icke tillstaandsbunden verksamhet (RAKET) - identifiering av aktuellt avfall, sammanstaellning av relevanta regler och principer, foerslag paa system foer omhaendertagande

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, C.; Pers, K. [Kemakta Konsult AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

2001-07-01

Presently national guidelines for the handling of radioactive waste from non-licensed activities are lacking in Sweden. Results and information presented in this report are intended to form a part of the basis for decisions on further work within the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute on regulations or other guidelines on final management and final disposal of this type of waste. An inventory of radioactive waste from non-licensed activities is presented in the report. In addition, existing rules and principles used in Sweden - and internationally - on the handling of radioactive and toxic waste and non-radioactive material are summarized. Based on these rules and principles a system is suggested for the final management of radioactive material from non-licensed activities. A model is shown for the estimation of dose as a consequence of leaching of radio-nuclides from different deposits. The model is applied on different types of waste, e.g. peat ashes, light concrete and low-level waste from a nuclear installation.

Particle dispersion at road building using fly ash - model review, investigation of influence of humidity content for dust emission and fly ash particle characterisation; Partikelspriding vid byggnation av vaeg med aska - modelloeversikt, undersoekning av fuktighetsgradens betydelse foer damning och karaktaerisering av partiklar fraan flygaska

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gustafsson, Mats; Wik, Ola; Frogner-Kockum, Paul

2009-03-15

Ashes from incineration may have very good properties, such as building materials in roads. This use assumes that the ashes do not have serious environmental and health effects. Since ash might generate large amounts of dust in handling the issue on the extent of dusting and dust properties has proved to be important to assess the risks of environmental impacts during use. Inhalable particles in the ambient air are a problem that has attracted much attention and is regarded as one of the most serious health related air pollutants. The present project has aimed to: describe appropriate models for calculating the emission and dispersion of dust in the air during the construction of ash containing roads, evaluate a new method to examine the importance of moisture for dusting from fly ash and investigate the properties of fly ash, making it possible to identify ash in samples of airborne particles. The target audience is ash manufacturers, contractors and consultants with a need for knowledge of ash dusting. Project modules have included: a literature review to identify appropriate modelling tools to describe the emission and dispersion of dust from road building with ash a method study in which a piece of equipment called Duster, have been evaluated for assessing the significance of the ash humidity to dusting, and an electron microscope study where morphology and composition of some ashes, cement and Merit have been studied to find ways to identify ash particles in dust samples. The results show that there is a lack of overall model tools that can describe the emissions from all the management operations of ashes at road building and that existing models sometimes lack key variables. Also, because of high silt content of ashes, some models are deemed inferior compared to when used for ordinary mineral material. Furthermore, attempts with the Duster shows that the method works, but with limited precision, and that dusting from the ash samples was reduced significantly at moisture contents above about 15%. The particle characterization study showed that ash specific chemical signal elements are preferred in the characterization. Important signal elements of ash can be S, Hg, Cd, and the ratio Mg/Al, but elements most appropriate might vary between specific types of ash and applications. The project has brought new knowledge about the possibilities to characterize ash particles and on the moisture needed to avoid dusting from ash. A method to try dusting from ash surfaces has been evaluated in laboratory and the project has also shown available, but in some respects inadequate, models for emission and dispersion of dust from handling of ash

Water Activities in Laxemar Simpevarp. Clab/encapsulation facility (Clink) - removal of groundwater, collection of cooling water from the sea and the construction of day water pond; Vattenverksamhet i Laxemar-Simpevarp. Clab/inkapslingsanlaeggning (Clink) - bortledande av grundvatten, uttag av kylvatten fraan havet samt anlaeggande av dagvattendamm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werner, Kent (EmpTec (Sweden))

2010-09-15

This report is an appendix to an Environmental Impact Assessment that accompanies a permit application according to the Swedish Environmental Code. The report concerns water operations (Chapter 11 in the Environmental Code) associated with construction of an encapsulation plant in direct connection to SKB's existing Clab facility on the Simpevarp peninsula in the Municipality of Oskarshamn (the report is also included in the permit application according to the Nuclear Activities Act). Moreover, the report deals with water operations associated with the operation of the integrated facility, which is named Clink. Specifically, the water operations that are treated in the report include diversion of groundwater, withdrawal of cooling water from the sea, and construction of a storm-water treatment pond. There are valid permits regarding diversion of groundwater and withdrawal of cooling water for the current facility and activities at Clab. It is presupposed that the cooling-water withdrawal from the sea to Clink can be handled within the limits of the valid Clab permit. The diversion of groundwater from Clink may be somewhat larger compared to the present diversion from Clab. The increase is due to a relatively small, additional rock shaft for the encapsulation plant, adjacent to the current surface facility and above one of the two existing rock caverns (Clab 1). Based on the location of the planned rock shaft (above one of the existing rock caverns) and its small volume, it is judged that the inflow of groundwater during operation of Clink will be only 5-10 percent larger compared to the inflow to the current Clab facility. It is possible that the inflow will be larger during the construction phase, prior to grouting of the shaft. Based on the limited increase of the groundwater inflow and results from the ongoing Clab monitoring programme, it is judged that the construction of the encapsulation plant and the operation of Clink will only lead to very small additional changes of groundwater levels in rock, directly adjacent to the facility. Calculations indicate that water saturation of rock caverns and recovery of groundwater levels in rock around the facility will require less than ten years subsequent to decommissioning of the facility and termination of the groundwater diversion. To sum up, the groundwater diversion is judged not to lead to any negative consequences for private wells or nature values. Water that is pumped from the rock shaft during the construction will pass a temporary oil separation and sedimentation facility, before it is discharged to recipient. The shaft will be grouted in order to reduce the inflow of groundwater. A number of measures are planned that will improve the storm-water handling at Clink compared to the present situation. One of these measures is to construct a new storm-water treatment pond in the vicinity of Clink. The purpose of the treatment pond is supplementary flow flattening and sedimentation in the existing storm-water system at Clab. It is judged that the construction of the storm-water treatment pond only causes insignificant ecological consequences. During operation of the storm-water treatment pond, heavy metals and other substances will accumulate in the bottom sediments of the pond, which will reduce the contaminant load on the storm-water recipient (the sea bay Herrgloet) compared to the present situation. Existing vegetation will be taken into consideration at construction of the storm-water treatment pond and improvement of the storm-water outlet to Herrgloet

A model for analyzing influence of timber production on lichens for reindeer grazing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olof Eriksson

1987-06-01

¥r som renarna bedoms ha behov av detta foder. De tvÃ¥ senare uppgifterna grundas pÃ¥ uppskattningar av personer med stor erfarenhet av renskotsel. Den Ã¥rliga produktionen av trÃ¥dlavar bestÃ¥r dels av lavtillvÃ¥xten i det betningsbara hojdintervallet, dels av trÃ¥dlav som faller ner pÃ¥ snon. Barrdominerade bestÃ¥nd aldre Ã¥n hundra Ã¥r antas vara trÃ¥dlavbÃ¥rande, men Ã¥ven denna areal reduceras med hÃ¥nsyn till praktisk tillgÃ¥nglighet. Ã…rlig produktion av trÃ¥dlav inom rÃ¥ckhÃ¥ll for renen skattas som produkt av mÃ¥ngden trÃ¥dlav, dess tillvÃ¥xtprocent och arealen. Av den trÃ¥dlav som Ã¥rli-gen faller ner pÃ¥ marken antas en fjÃ¥rdedel vara tillgÃ¥nglig under vÃ¥rvintern. EfterfrÃ¥gan pÃ¥ trÃ¥dlav berÃ¥knas pÃ¥ i princip samma sÃ¥tt som efterfrÃ¥gan pÃ¥ marklav, men antal betningsda-gar per Ã¥r Ã¥k lÃ¥gre eftersom trÃ¥dlav huvudsakligen Ã¥r ett visserligen hogkvalitativt och lÃ¥ttillgÃ¥ngligt, men dock nodfoder. Resultaten Ã¥r osÃ¥kra av tvÃ¥ huvudorsaker. Dels pga inverkan av faktorer som inte ingÃ¥r i modellen, dels osÃ¥kerhetejn i de faktorer som ingÃ¥r i modellen. Modellen innehÃ¥ller uppenbart forenklingar av verkliga samband. Dessa forenklingar beror huvudsakligen pÃ¥ viss brist pÃ¥ grunddata. Mojligheterna att dra sÃ¥kre slutsatser kommer att oka i takt med bÃ¥ttre kunskap om utnyttjade samband och uppgifter. Den geografiska indelningen i lÃ¥nsdelar beror pÃ¥ utformningen av riksskogstaxeringen. ForhÃ¥llandena kan givetvis variera inom dessa lÃ¥nsdelar, som var och en bestÃ¥r av ett flertal samebyar. Resultaten fÃ¥r sÃ¥ledes inte tillÃ¥mpas pÃ¥ enskilda samebyar. Studien visar pÃ¥ en metod for att belysa hur renskotselns lavbete kommer att utvecklas i relation till virkes-produktionen. Resultaten Ã¥r dock allt for osÃ¥kra for att man skall kunna dra nÃ¥gra sÃ¥kra slutsatser. Resultaten antyder emellertid att for vissa omrÃ¥den finns redan i dag en brist pÃ¥ lavbete for den renpopulation som kalkylerats med i denna studie. BerÃ¥kningarna antyder att