Volume 9 (2012): Issue 2012 (September 2012)

Extreme climate events are increasingly recognized as a threat to human health, agriculture, forestry and other sectors. To assess the occurrence and impacts of extreme climate events, we have investigated the changes of indexes characterizing positive and negative temperature extremes and extreme precipitation as well as the spatial heterogeneity of extreme climate events in Latvia. Trend analysis of long-term changes in the frequency of extreme climate events demonstrated a significant increase in the number of days with extremely high air temperatures and extreme precipitation, and a decrease in the number extremely cold days.

Development of soil and groundwater remediation technologies is a matter of great importance to eliminate historically and currently contaminated sites. Stabilization/solidification (S/S) refers to binding of waste contaminants to a more chemically stable form and thus diminishing leaching of contamination. It can be performed using cement with or without additives in order to stabilize and solidify soil with the contamination in matrix. A series of experiments were done to determine leaching properties of spiked soils of different texture bound with cement. Results of experiments showed, that soil texture (content of sand, silt and clay particles) affects the leaching of heavy metals from stabilized soils.

Water allocation to crops has always been of great importance in the agricultural process. In this context, and under the current conditions, where Cyprus is facing a severe drought the last five years, the purpose of this study is basically to estimate the needed crop water requirements for supporting irrigation management and monitoring irrigation on a systematic basis for Cyprus using remote sensing techniques. The use of satellite images supported by ground measurements has provided quite accurate results. Intended purpose of this paper is to estimate the Evapotranspiration (ET) of specific crops which is the basis for irrigation scheduling and establish a procedure for monitoring and managing irrigation water over Cyprus, using remotely sensed data from Landsat TM/ ETM⁺ and a sound methodology used worldwide, the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL).

Energy plans of many countries anticipate an increased use of biomethane for energy supply, i.e., in power and heat production as well as in the transport sector. Existing infrastructure of natural gas storage, supply and application provides a good platform to facilitate transfer to biomethane utilization on a larger scale. One key element of the biomethane system is the upgrade of the biomass-derived synthesis gas originating from different sources, to a quality of natural gas (SNG - Synthesis Natural Gas) via the methanation process for further injection into the natural gas grid.. The maximisation of efficiency of the methanation process is of critical importance in order to make biomethane technology viable for wider application. The aim of the study was to improve efficiency of the methanation process by finding the optimum temperatures and pressure. Theoretical modelling of adiabatic and isothermal methanation processes by using thermodynamic equilibrium calculations was introduced as a method for the study. The results show the impact of temperature and pressure changes on the overall efficiency of methane production. It can be concluded from the study that knowledge about the relation between temperature, pressure and the efficiency of the methanation process makes it possible to optimize the process under various biomass synthesized gas input conditions.

The paper is dedicated to review the combustion efficiency in low capacity wood dust suspension burners. Fuel quality is reviewed as the main contributor to the combustion efficiency. Wood dust moisture content, particle size and shape, amount of volatiles are discussed as the main contributors. Some additional aspects like burner ignition, fuel and combustion air feeding are reviewed to increase the efficiency.

A brief overview of particle combustion process is provided followed by an identification and discussion of combustion efficiency influencing parameters. The significance of fuel feeding and air supply is discussed at the end of the paper.

The goal of this study was to elaborate a methodology of sustainability assessment for developing advanced mining technologies. Last year sustainability assessment methods were conducted for Estonian deposits of dolostone and limestone. The elaborated sustainability assessment methods have shown that a three - level risk matrix monitoring scale gives a structured analysis results. The paper introduces with comparison of new Module Analysis (three - level risk matrix) and earlier used Module Analysis (simplest risk scale).

The objective of this study is the comparison of green roof systems with conventional isolated and non-isolated ones in order to identify the potential energy savings of green roofs and the benefits provided in comparison with the cost of construction to the buildings. The region of interest is the Watergraafsmeer area in the city of Amsterdam. The method evaluates literature reports - mostly from 2003 to 2010 - that present the advantages of green roofs. Examples in real implementation of green roofs in USA, UK and Germany, retention of rainfall and a Life Cycle Assessment from a residential construction in Madrid will be introduced, showing the energy savings from insulation and heating/cooling that can be gained. All the reports have shown a reduction in energy costs and in runoff of water. Hence, costs and retrofitting potential completes the research. The age of buildings and the absence of insulation make green roofs an ideal alternative project for the retrofit of Watergraafsmeer.