Web-based reference databases and subject gateways to locate current research information in agricultural and food sciences : a Finnish perspective

Selostus: Maatalous- ja elintarviketieteiden www-pohjaiset viitetietokannat ja aihehakemistot - suomalaisen tiedonetsijän näkökulma

Foreign Direct Investment, Clean Development Mechanism, and Environmental Management: A case of Sub-Saharan Africa

This doctoral dissertation explores the contribution of environmental management practices, the so-called clean development mechanism (CDM) projects, and foreign direct investment (FDI) in achieving sustainable development in developing countries, particularly in Sub- Saharan Africa. Because the climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious global environmental challenges, the main focus is on the causal links between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, energy consumption, and economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the dissertation investigates the factors that have affected the distribution of CDM projects in developing countries and the relationships between FDI and other macroeconomic variables of interest. The main contribution of the dissertation is empirical. One of the publications uses crosssectional data and Tobit and Poisson regressions. Three of the studies use time-series data and vector autoregressive and vector error correction models, while two publications use panel data and panel data estimation methods. One of the publications uses thus both timeseries and panel data. The concept of Granger causality is utilized in four of the publications. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the Granger causality relationships between CO2 emissions, energy consumption, economic growth, and FDI in different countries. It appears also that the causality relationships change over time. Furthermore, the results support the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis but only for some of the countries. As to CDM activities, past emission levels, institutional quality, and the size of the host country appear to be among the significant determinants of the distribution of CDM projects. FDI and exports are also found to be significant determinants of economic growth.

Reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy and agriculture in Finland

Selostus: Euroopan unionin yhteisen maatalouspolitiikan uudistaminen ja Suomen maatalous

Agricultural phosphorus and water quality : sources, transport and management

Selostus: Maatalous, fosfori ja veden laatu: alkuperä, kulkeutuminen ja vesistökuormituksen hallinta

Forest insects and environmental variation in stand edges

Summary

Land use response to agricultural policy and market movements on Finnish dairy-farms

Selostus: Tuki- ja hintamuutosten vaikutus maitotilojen pellon käyttöön

Environmental requirements and environmental management system of boiler plant supplier

Työn tärkeimpänä tavoitteena oli edistää ympäristöjärjestelmän laatimista Kvaerner Pulping, Power divisioonan Kattilat-liiketoimintayksikölle. Lisäksi tavoitteena oli tarkastella yritykseen kohdistuvia ympäristövaatimuksia ja niiden vaikutusta yrityksen toimintaan. Aluksi työssä tarkasteltiin ympäristöjärjestelmästandardien sisältöjä ja niiden eroja. Työssä käsiteltiin myös erilaisia elinkaarijohtamisen malleja, joita voidaan hyödyntää yrityksen kokonaisvaltaisessa ympäristöjärjestelmässä. Työssä tarkasteltiin myös sidosryhmien vaikutusta yrityksen ympäristötoimintaan. Kattilalaitostoimittajan tärkeimpiä asiakkaita ovat sellu- ja paperiteollisuus. Näihin yrityksiin on kohdistunut runsaan kymmenen vuoden aikana paineita ympäristötoiminnan tehostamiseksi. Tämän kehityksen seurauksena vastaavat tehostamispaineet ovat siirtymässä myös alihankkijoille, kuten kattilaitostoimittajille. Tehokkaan ympäristöjohtamisen takaamiseksi työssä määriteltiin ympäristövastuut ja –valtuudet sekä ympäristöpäämäärät ja –tavoitteet. Lisäksi tunnistettiin yrityksen toimintaan liittyvät ympäristönäkökohdat ja –riskit. Työn yhteydessä laadittiin ympäristöjärjestelmän luonnos, ja se sisältää jatkuvan parantamisen periaatteen. Työn yhteydessä laadittiin lisäksi Kvaerner Pulping Oy:n koelaitokselle ympäristölupahakemus. Työssä on kuvattu koelaitosta ja sen ympäristölupahakemukseen liittyviä asioita esimerkkinä parantuneesta ympäristöasioiden hoidosta.

Financial and Environmental Impacts of a Dry Port to Facilitate Competitiveness of Two Major Transit Seaports of Finland

Environmental problems and issues have received more and more attention during the last decades. Reasons for this are different increased external costs such as congestion, CO2 emission, noise and accident costs. Transportation sector is the only sector with increasing external costs. The EU will increase its attention in decreasing the external costs of transport. Aim of this research was to find out if a dry port solution could decrease costs of transport, especially external costs. Dry port concept is an intermodal transport system, where inland transport between port and dry port is performed by rail transport instead of traditional road transport. In addition, dry ports offer similar services as ports. Research is conducted by performing a literature review about dry port concept and costs of transport, especially external costs of transport. Financial and environmental impacts of the dry port concept are studied by comparing costs of road and rail transport by cost accounting and with a simulation model. Location of dry port is researched with gravitational models. Results of the literature review are that rail transport is environmentally friendlier mode of transport than road transport. Cost model and simulation model show that if only costs of freight movement are considered, rail transport is more inexpensive transport mode than road transport in terms of internal and external costs. Because of that dry port concept could decrease costs of transport, especially external costs. Results of gravitational models are that city of Kouvola is in a good position to be a dry port. Russian transit traffic through Finland improves location of Kouvola to be a dry port.

Microstructural and environmental effects on the mechanical properties of porous particle-polymer composites

Papper kan anses vara ett av de mest använda materialen i det dagliga livet. Tidskrifter, tidningar, böcker och diverse förpackningar är några exempel på pappersbaserade produkter. Papperets egenskaper måste anpassas till användningsändamålet. En tidskrift kräver t.ex. hög ljushet, opacitet och en slät yta hos papperet, medan dessa egenskaper är mindre viktiga för en dagstidning. Allt tryckpapper behöver vissa mekaniska egenskaper för att tåla vidarebearbetning såsom kalandrering, tryckning och vikning. Man kan bestryka papper för att förbättra dess optiska egenskaper och tryckbarhetsegenskaper. Vid bestrykning appliceras en dispersion av mineralpigment och polymerbindemedel som ett tunt lager på papperets yta. Bestrykningsskiktet kan ses som ett komplext, poröst kompositmaterial som även bidrar till papperets mekaniska egenskaper och dess processerbarhet i diverse konverteringsoperationer. Kravet på framställning av förmånligt papper med tillräckliga styrkeegenskaper ställer allt högre krav på optimeringen av pappersbestrykningsskiktets egenskaper och produktionskostnader. Målet med detta arbete var att förstå sambandet mellan pigmentbestrykningsskiktets mikrostruktur och dess makroskopiska, mekaniska egenskaper. Resultaten visar att adhesionen i gränsytan mellan pigment och bindemedel är kritisk för bestrykningsskiktets förmåga att bära mekanisk belastning. Polära vätskor är vanliga i tryckfärger och kan, eftersom de påverkar syra/bas-interaktionerna mellan pigment och latexbindemedel, försvaga denna adhesion. Resultaten tyder på att ytstyrkan hos bestruket papper kan höjas genom användning av bifunktionella dispergeringsmedel för mineralpigment. Detta medför inbesparingar i pappersproduktionen eftersom mängden bindemedel, den dyraste komponenten i bestrykningsskiktet, kan minskas.

Deinking sludge utilization possibilities: technical, economic, and environmental assessments

This report introduces the ENPI project called “EMIR - Exploitation of Municipal and Industrial Residues” which was executed in a co-operation between Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), Saint Petersburg State University of Economics (SPbSUE), Saint Petersburg State Technical University of Plant Polymers (SPbSTUPP) and industrial partners from both Leningrad Region (LR), Russia and Finland. The main targets of the research were to identify the possibilities for deinking sludge management scenarios in co-operation with partner companies, to compare the sustainability of the alternatives, and to provide recommendations for the companies in the Leningrad Region on how to best manage deinking sludge. During the literature review, 24 deinking sludge utilization possibilities were identified, the majority falling under material recovery. Furthermore, 11 potential utilizers of deinking sludge were found within the search area determined by the transportation cost. Each potential utilizer was directly contacted in order to establish cooperation for deinking sludge utilization. Finally, four companies, namely, “Finnsementti” – a cement plant in Finland (S1), “St.Gobian Weber” – a light-weight aggregate plant in Finland (S2), “LSR-Cement” – a cement plant in LR (S3), and “Rockwool” – a stone wool plant in LR (S4) were seen as the most promising partners and were included in the economic and environmental assessments. Economic assessment using cost-benefit analysis (CBA) indicated that substitution of heavy fuel oil with dry deinking sludge in S2 was the most feasible option with a benefit/cost ratio (BCR) of 3.6 when all the sludge was utilized. At the same time, the use of 15% of the total sludge amount (the amount that could potentially be treated in the scenario) resulted in a BCR of only 0.16. The use of dry deinking sludge in the production of cement (S3) is a slightly more feasible option with a BCR of 1.1. The use of sludge in stone wool production is feasible only when all the deinking sludge is used and burned in an existing incineration plant. The least economically feasible utilization possibility is the use of sludge in cement production in Finland (S1) due to the high gate fee charged. Environmental assessment was performed applying internationally recognized life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies: ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. The results of a consequential LCA stated that only S1 and S2 lead to a reduction of all environmental impacts within the impact categories chosen compared to the baseline scenario where deinking sludge is landfilled. Considering S1, the largest reduction of 13% was achieved for the global warming potential (GWP), whereas for S2, the largest decrease of abiotic depletion potential (ADP) was by 1.7%, the eutrophication potential (EP) by 1.8%, and a GWP of 2.1% was documented. In S3, the most notable increase of ADP and acidification potential (AP) by 2.6 and 1.5% was indicated, while the GWP was reduced by 12%, the largest out of all the impact categories. In S4, ADP and AP increased by 2.3 and 2.1% respectively, whereas ODP was reduced by 25%. During LCA, it was noticed that substitution of fuels causes a greater reduction of environmental impact (S1 and S2) than substitution of raw materials (S3 and S4). Despite a number of economically and environmentally acceptable deinking sludge utilization methods being assessed in the research, evaluation of bottlenecks and communications with companies’ representatives uncovered the fact that the availability of the raw materials consumed, and the risks associated with technological problems resulting from the sludge utilization, limited the willingness of industrial partners to start deinking sludge utilization. The research results are of high value for decision-makers at already existing paper mills since the result provide insights regarding alternatives to the deinking sludge utilization possibilities already applied. Thus, the research results support the maximum economic and environmental value recovery from waste paper utilization.

Economic and environmental evaluation of renewable energy systems

The main objective of this thesis is to evaluate the economic and environmental effectiveness of three different renewable energy systems: solar PV, wind energy and biomass energy systems. Financial methods such as Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR) were used to evaluate economic competitiveness. Seasonal variability in power generation capability of different renewable systems were also taken into consideration. In order to evaluate the environmental effectiveness of different energy systems, default values in GaBi software were taken by defining the functional unit as 1kWh. The results show that solar PV systems are difficult to justify both in economic as well as environmental grounds. Wind energy performs better in both economic and environmental grounds and has the capability to compete with conventional energy systems. Biomass energy systems exhibit environmental and economic performance at the middle level. In each of these systems, results vary.