Metsäteollisuuden kaatopaikkatoiminnan kehittäminen

Metsäteollisuuden kaatopaikoille läjitetään vuosittain jätteitä yli 400 000 kuiva-ainetonnia. Pääosa jätteestä on peräisin kemiallisen massan valmistuksesta sekä energiantuotannosta. Kaatopaikoille läjitetyn jätteen laatu on muuttunut huomattavasti vuosikymmenien kuluessa. Aikaisemmin kaatopaikoille on läjitetty runsain määrin bioperäistä jätettä, joka anaerobisesti hajotessaan aiheuttaa nykyisin huomattavia biokaasupäästöjä. Inerttien, biohajoamattomien ainesten osuus metsäteollisuuden kaatopaikoille läjitettävän jätteen määrästä on tällä hetkellä noin 75 % ja niiden osuus tullee kasvamaan edelleen. Metsäteollisuuden kaatopaikkakuormitusta pyritään tulevaisuudessa vähentämään prosesseja tehostamalla sivutuotteiden hyötykäyttömahdollisuuksia lisäämällä. Vuonna 1997 voimaan tulleen valtioneuvoston päätöksen mukaan kaatopaikoilla muodostuva biokaasu tulee kerätä ja käsitellä. Tämä koskee kaikkia kaatopaikkoja. Lainsäädäntö antaa kuitenkin mahdollisuuden toteuttaa nämä vaatimukset hieman eri tavoin kaatopaikkojen yksilölliset erot huomioiden. Tässä diplomityössä on kartoitettu voimassaolevaa kaatopaikkalainsäädäntöä ja siinä lähivuosina mahdollisesti tapahtuvia muutoksia. Työssä on esitelty metsäteollisuuden kaatopaikoilla syntyvien päästöjen syntymekanismit ja vertailtu päästöjen hallinnassa käytettäviä vaihtoehtoisia tekniikoita. Tässä työssä on erityisesti keskitytty kaatopaikoilla syntyviin kaasumaisiin päästöihin sekä vertailtu kaasumaisten päästöjen aktiivista ja passiivista käsittelyä. Biokaasun passiivisen käsittelyjärjestelmän aiheuttamat investointi- ja käyttökustannukset ovat vain murto-osa aktiivisen järjestelmän vastaavista kustannuksista. Diplomityön kokeellisessa osuudessa mitattiin erään passiivisen biokaasunkäsittelyjärjestelmän toimivuutta. Saatujen mittaustulosten mukaan biokaasun sisältämä metaani hapettui lähes täysin metrin paksuisessa kuorikerroksessa. Kaasunjakoa parantamalla voidaan kuoripatjan metaaninhapetustehokkuutta vielä hieman nostaa. Mittaustulosten mukaan biokaasun passiivinen käsittely toimii kyseisessä rakenteessa ja on siten varteenotettava vaihtoehto aktiivisille biokaasunkeräily- ja käsittelyjärjestelmille.

New Climate Change Related EC Directives and Their Interrelations to Green Electricity and Certificate Practices

Työn päätavoite on tutkia vihreän sähkön ja sertifikaattien kaupan ja EY:n uusien ilmastonmuutosta koskevien direktiivien ja direktiiviehdotusten välisiä yhteyksiä. Tutkimuksessa käsitellään direktiiviä sähköntuotannosta uusiutuvilla energialähteillä ja direktiiviehdotuksia Euroopan Unionin alueen päästökaupasta sekä yhdistetyn sähkön ja lämmön tuotannon lisäämisestä. Työ keskittyy erään suomalaisen metsäteollisuusyrityksen toimiin ilmastonmuutoksen hidastamiseksi. Tutkimus keskittyy pääosin EU:n suunnitelmaan aloittaa Unionin jäsenvaltioiden välinen päästökauppa, koska tämä järjestelmä tulee toteutuessaan olemaan teollisuuden kannalta merkittävä. Tilannetta on analysoitu neljän sellu- ja paperitehtaan hiilidioksidipäästölaskelmien avulla. Työssä kehitettyjä laskumalleja voidaan käyttää avuksi yhtiön muilla tehtailla. Tämän lisäksi työssä on luotu malli energiainvestointien arvioimiseksi tulevaisuudessa ottamalla päästöoikeuden hinnan vaikutus huomioon. Päästökaupan vaikutukset pohjoismaisilla vapautuneilla sähkömarkkinoilla on analysoity, koska teollinen sähkönhankinta on suuresti riippuvainen tästä markkinasta. Suomen metsäteollisuuden oma yhdistetty sähkön ja lämmön tuotanto erityisesti uusiutuvista energialähteistä tulee olemaan entistäkin tärkeämpää tiukentuvassa toimintaympäristössä. Tällä hetkellä on käynnissä kokeilu lisäarvon saamiseksi omalle sähköntuotannolle. Tällä haetaan kokemuksia ja valmiutta tulevaa päästökauppaa varten.

Analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of Schizophrenia patients by next generation sequencing

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), a maternally inherited 16.6-Kb molecule crucial for energy production, is implicated in numerous human traits and disorders. It has been hypothesized that the presence of mutations in the mtDNA may contribute to the complex genetic basis of schizophreniadisease, due to the evidence of maternal inheritance and the presence of schizophrenia symptoms in patients affected of a mitochondrial disorder related to a mtDNA mutation. The present project aims to study the association of variants of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and an increased risk of schizophrenia in a cohort of patients and controls from the same population. The entire mtDNA of 55 schizophrenia patients with an apparent maternal transmission of the disease and 38 controls was sequenced by Next Generation Sequencing (Ion Torrent PGM, Life Technologies) and compared to the reference sequence. The current method for establishing mtDNA haplotypes is Sanger sequencing, which is laborious, timeconsuming, and expensive. With the emergence of Next Generation Sequencing technologies, this sequencing process can be much more quickly and cost-efficiently. We have identified 14 variants that have not been previously reported. Two of them were missense variants: MTATP6 p.V113M and MTND5 p.F334L ,and also three variants encoding rRNA and one variant encoding tRNA. Not significant differences have been found in the number of variants between the two groups. We found that the sequence alignment algorithm employed to align NGS reads played a significant role in the analysis of the data and the resulting mtDNA haplotypes. Further development of the bioinformatics analysis and annotation step would be desirable to facilitate the application of NGS in mtDNA analysis.

Carbon balance of Fibre-Based Package

Customers are more and more interested in the environmental impacts of the products they purchase. Different labels give the required environmental information to consumers and the labels might affect to the consuming decisions. The European Union has set a plan for sustainable consuming, which encourages industry and commerce to calculate carbon footprints for the products. A term “carbon footprint” means carbon dioxide emissions across the product lifecycle. In this thesis, carbon footprints are calculated for two different fibre-based packages. In the end, greenhouse gas emissions from fibre-package production are compared to greenhouse gas emissions from PET bottle production. The data for mill processes is exact and monitored in the mill. In addition, data was gathered from raw material and material suppliers, customers, official records, KCL-eco databases and literature. The data for PET bottle is sourced from literature. End-of-life operations affect greatly on the carbon footprint of a fibre-based package. The results show that the carbon footprint is smallest when used packages are recycled. Recycling saves also natural resources. If used packages are not recyclable for some reason, it is recommended to use them in energy production. Through waste incineration fossil fuels could be substituted and greenhouse gas emissions avoided.

Direct noninvasive estimation of myocardial tricarboxylic acid cycle flux in vivo using hyperpolarized (13)C magnetic resonance.

BACKGROUND: The heart relies on continuous energy production and imbalances herein impair cardiac function directly. The tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is the primary means of energy generation in the healthy myocardium, but direct noninvasive quantification of metabolic fluxes is challenging due to the low concentration of most metabolites. Hyperpolarized (13)C magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) provides the opportunity to measure cellular metabolism in real time in vivo. The aim of this work was to noninvasively measure myocardial TCA cycle flux (VTCA) in vivo within a single minute. METHODS AND RESULTS: Hyperpolarized [1-(13)C]acetate was administered at different concentrations in healthy rats. (13)C incorporation into [1-(13)C]acetylcarnitine and the TCA cycle intermediate [5-(13)C]citrate was dynamically detected in vivo with a time resolution of 3s. Different kinetic models were established and evaluated to determine the metabolic fluxes by simultaneously fitting the evolution of the (13)C labeling in acetate, acetylcarnitine, and citrate. VTCA was estimated to be 6.7±1.7μmol·g(-1)·min(-1) (dry weight), and was best estimated with a model using only the labeling in citrate and acetylcarnitine, independent of the precursor. The TCA cycle rate was not linear with the citrate-to-acetate metabolite ratio, and could thus not be quantified using a ratiometric approach. The (13)C signal evolution of citrate, i.e. citrate formation was independent of the amount of injected acetate, while the (13)C signal evolution of acetylcarnitine revealed a dose dependency with the injected acetate. The (13)C labeling of citrate did not correlate to that of acetylcarnitine, leading to the hypothesis that acetylcarnitine formation is not an indication of mitochondrial TCA cycle activity in the heart. CONCLUSIONS: Hyperpolarized [1-(13)C]acetate is a metabolic probe independent of pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activity. It allows the direct estimation of VTCA in vivo, which was shown to be neither dependent on the administered acetate dose nor on the (13)C labeling of acetylcarnitine. Dynamic (13)C MRS coupled to the injection of hyperpolarized [1-(13)C]acetate can enable the measurement of metabolic changes during impaired heart function.

Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Function and Fatigability in Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Fatigability increases while the capacity for mitochondrial energy production tends to decrease significantly with age. Thus, diminished mitochondrial function may contribute to higher levels of fatigability in older adults. METHODS: The relationship between fatigability and skeletal muscle mitochondrial function was examined in 30 participants aged 78.5 ± 5.0 years (47% female, 93% white), with a body mass index of 25.9 ± 2.7 kg/m(2) and usual gait-speed of 1.2 ± 0.2 m/s. Fatigability was defined using rating of perceived exertion (6-20 point Borg scale) after a 5-minute treadmill walk at 0.72 m/s. Phosphocreatine recovery in the quadriceps was measured using (31)P magnetic resonance spectroscopy and images of the quadriceps were captured to calculate quadriceps volume. ATPmax (mM ATP/s) and oxidative capacity of the quadriceps (ATPmax·Quadriceps volume) were calculated. Peak aerobic capacity (VO2peak) was measured using a modified Balke protocol. RESULTS: ATPmax·Quadriceps volume was associated with VO2peak and was 162.61mM ATP·mL/s lower (p = .03) in those with high (rating of perceived exertion ≥10) versus low (rating of perceived exertion ≤9) fatigability. Participants with high fatigability required a significantly higher proportion of VO2peak to walk at 0.72 m/s compared with those with low fatigability (58.7 ± 19.4% vs 44.9 ± 13.2%, p < .05). After adjustment for age and sex, higher ATPmax was associated with lower odds of having high fatigability (odds ratio: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.11-1.01, p = .05). CONCLUSIONS: Lower capacity for oxidative phosphorylation in the quadriceps, perhaps by contributing to lower VO2peak, is associated with higher fatigability in older adults.

Bioenergian ja tuulivoiman rooli kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen rajoittamiseksi

Työssä käydään läpi bioenergian ja tuulivoiman osuuksia Suomen energiantuotannossa, sekä niiden mahdollisuuksia kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen vähentämisessä.

Assessment of Environmental Impacts of Power Generation

Through indisputable evidence of climate change and its link to the greenhouse gas emissions comes the necessity for change in energy production infrastructure during the coming decades. Through political conventions and restrictions energy industry is pushed toward using bigger share of renewable energy sources as energy supply. In addition to climate change, sustainable energy supply is another major issue for future development plans, but neither of these should come with unbearable price. All the power production types have environmental effects as well as strengths and weaknesses. Although each change comes with a price, right track in minimising the environmental impacts and energy supply security can be found by combining all possible low-carbon technologies and by improving energy efficiency in all sectors, for creating a new power production infrastructure of tolerable energy price and of minor environmental effects. GEMIS-Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems is a life-cycle analysis program which was used in this thesis to make indicative energy models for Finland’s future energy supply. Results indicate that the energy supply must comprise both high capacity nuclear power as well as large variation of renewable energy sources for minimization of all environmental effects and keeping energy price reasonable.

Pienen mittakaavan CHP-laitokset osana hiilineutraalia maaseutuyhteiskuntaa

Maapallon ilmasto lämpenee koko ajan kasvihuonekaasujen määrän lisääntyessä ilmakehässä. Merkittävin ihmisten aiheuttama päästöjen lähde on fossiilisten polttoaineiden käyttö energiantuotannossa ja liikenteessä, jonka vuoksi on tärkeää lisätä uusiutuvien energialähteiden käyttöä. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena oli selvittää esimerkkialueena olevan maaseutuyhteiskunnan mahdollisuutta olla energiaomavarainen ja materiaalikierroiltaan suljettu, jos alueen tarvitsema sähkö ja lämpö tuotettaisiin paikallisilla biomassavaroilla kahdella rinnakkaisella pienen mittakaavan CHP-laitoksella. Tarkastellut laitokset olivat anaerobisen mädätyksen ja polttokennojen yhdistelmä sekä termisen käsittelyn ja ORC-prosessin yhdistelmä. Työssä tehdyt laskelmat osoittivat, että esimerkkialue saisi tuotettua omilla biomassavaroillaan tarvitsemastaan sähköstä 75 % ja lämmöstä 90 % esimerkkilaitosten avulla. Laskelmissa ei kuitenkaan huomioitu kesä- ja talvikuukausien välistä eroa lämmön kulutuksessa, jonka vuoksi molemmat laitokset eivät voisi toimia koko ajan täydellä teholla. Lisäksi tuotetun lämmön hyötykäyttöä rajoittaa riittävän laajan kaukolämpöverkon puuttuminen esimerkkialueelta. Nykyisen kaukolämpöverkon avulla saataisiin hyödynnettyä vain kolmasosa ORC-prosessilla tuotetusta lämpöenergiasta. Laskelmat osoittivat myös, että alueen kasvihuonekaasupäästöt pienenisivät 21 % eli noin 6 000 hiilidioksidiekvivalenttitonnia vuodessa, jos suurin osa energiasta tuotettaisiin omista biomassavaroista CHP-laitosten avulla ja mädätyksen seurauksena syntyvä reaktorijäännös korvaisi kemiallisten lannoitteiden käytön.

Optimised Utilization of Bioenergy in Poland

The aim of the study was to ford out the availability of biomasses, which are available for energy production, in Poland. Biomasses which were examined were forest residues and surplus straw. Availability was examined by 16 Polish voivodeships, which are provinces in Poland. After fording out the amounts of biomasses for energy production was examined the need of biomass in the biggest CHP plants in Poland. It was expected that all the plants uses 15 % of biomass as the fuel. In the first parts of the report are explained the legislation which effects to biomass use in energy production in EU level and in Polish level. Also the combustion methods best for biomasses are explained by examples. After this, is studied the general situation of renewable energy use in Poland and the facts about the country. In the last parts it's explained the calculations and is shown the example cases. When it was found out the needs and supply of biomass it was examined by examples how it could be transported to the plants from the producers. Also was examined costs effected, if there were logistical terminals between the producer and the end user. The estimation was done by setting prices for the biomass, and fording out average costs for producing and transporting biomass. There are a lot of surplus biomasses in Poland which could be used for energy production, and this is a one way to reach the goals that EU has set of renewable energies. But because biomasses doesn't have such a good calorific value, it isn't worth able to transport it very long distances. In the research was set the prices for producer 9€/MWh and for end user 15€/MWh, the maximum transportation distance for forest residues was 52 km and for straw 56 km. These are example estimations and it has to be remembered that there are a lot of factors that makes inaccurate. The model is really sensitive and by changing one parameter the results change a lot.

Research of wood fuel market in Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus

The goal of the present work was to describe the wood fuel market of Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus, to estimate wood fuel potential and to research opportunities of wood fuel trading. Nowadays the wood waste, wood residues and by-products are becoming more and more potential raw materials for energy production. Against the background of unstable prices of traditional energy sources and environmental degradation, European States are planning to get 12% of energy from alternative sources already in 2010. Wastes of wood-working and agricultural productions are such sources. At present time the most popular wood biofuels are wood pellets, briquettes, wood chips and logs. Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus have a rather big potential of wood fuel resources. But wood fuels markets of these countries are on the entry level and quite disorganized. There is almost no domestic usage of wood biofuel. All produced pellets, briquettes as well as wood chips and logs go to the export, but the volumes are not high at present time. Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus have a very suitable geographical location. The most promising directions of wood fuel trading are developed wood fuel markets of Northern countries, Austria, Germany as well as actively developing markets of Poland and Hungary. At the long distance truck and sea transportation are the most appropriate. At a short distance cheap transportation by rail is more suitable. Thereby export is a potential opportunity for development of wood fuel production and in the future for usage in the researched countries.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase as a moonlighting protein in bacteria

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is considered a housekeeping protein that is present in virtually all organisms, where it performs metabolic functions essential for survival. GAPDH plays an essential role in the process of energy production, and is also involved in numerous biological processes. GAPDH belongs to a subset of proteins called moonlighting proteins, in which different functions are associated with a single polypeptide chain. The multifunctionality of GAPDH has been described in pathogenic and probiotic microorganisms, in mammals and in plants. In this review, we summarize the moonlighting role of GAPDH in bacteria.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase as a moonlighting protein in bacteria

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is considered a housekeeping protein that is present in virtually all organisms, where it performs metabolic functions essential for survival. GAPDH plays an essential role in the process of energy production, and is also involved in numerous biological processes. GAPDH belongs to a subset of proteins called moonlighting proteins, in which different functions are associated with a single polypeptide chain. The multifunctionality of GAPDH has been described in pathogenic and probiotic microorganisms, in mammals and in plants. In this review, we summarize the moonlighting role of GAPDH in bacteria.

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase as a moonlighting protein in bacteria

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is considered a housekeeping protein that is present in virtually all organisms, where it performs metabolic functions essential for survival. GAPDH plays an essential role in the process of energy production, and is also involved in numerous biological processes. GAPDH belongs to a subset of proteins called moonlighting proteins, in which different functions are associated with a single polypeptide chain. The multifunctionality of GAPDH has been described in pathogenic and probiotic microorganisms, in mammals and in plants. In this review, we summarize the moonlighting role of GAPDH in bacteria.

Methods for assessing the sustainability of integrated municipal waste management and

The general striving to bring down the number of municipal landfills and to increase the reuse and recycling of waste-derived materials across the EU supports the debates concerning the feasibility and rationality of waste management systems. Substantial decrease in the volume and mass of landfill-disposed waste flows can be achieved by directing suitable waste fractions to energy recovery. Global fossil energy supplies are becoming more and more valuable and expensive energy sources for the mankind, and efforts to save fossil fuels have been made. Waste-derived fuels offer one potential partial solution to two different problems. First, waste that cannot be feasibly re-used or recycled is utilized in the energy conversion process according to EU’s Waste Hierarchy. Second, fossil fuels can be saved for other purposes than energy, mainly as transport fuels. This thesis presents the principles of assessing the most sustainable system solution for an integrated municipal waste management and energy system. The assessment process includes: · formation of a SISMan (Simple Integrated System Management) model of an integrated system including mass, energy and financial flows, and · formation of a MEFLO (Mass, Energy, Financial, Legislational, Other decisionsupport data) decision matrix according to the selected decision criteria, including essential and optional decision criteria. The methods are described and theoretical examples of the utilization of the methods are presented in the thesis. The assessment process involves the selection of different system alternatives (process alternatives for treatment of different waste fractions) and comparison between the alternatives. The first of the two novelty values of the utilization of the presented methods is the perspective selected for the formation of the SISMan model. Normally waste management and energy systems are operated separately according to the targets and principles set for each system. In the thesis the waste management and energy supply systems are considered as one larger integrated system with one primary target of serving the customers, i.e. citizens, as efficiently as possible in the spirit of sustainable development, including the following requirements: · reasonable overall costs, including waste management costs and energy costs; · minimum environmental burdens caused by the integrated waste management and energy system, taking into account the requirement above; and · social acceptance of the selected waste treatment and energy production methods. The integrated waste management and energy system is described by forming a SISMan model including three different flows of the system: energy, mass and financial flows. By defining the three types of flows for an integrated system, the selected factor results needed in the decision-making process of the selection of waste management treatment processes for different waste fractions can be calculated. The model and its results form a transparent description of the integrated system under discussion. The MEFLO decision matrix has been formed from the results of the SISMan model, combined with additional data, including e.g. environmental restrictions and regional aspects. System alternatives which do not meet the requirements set by legislation can be deleted from the comparisons before any closer numerical considerations. The second novelty value of this thesis is the three-level ranking method for combining the factor results of the MEFLO decision matrix. As a result of the MEFLO decision matrix, a transparent ranking of different system alternatives, including selection of treatment processes for different waste fractions, is achieved. SISMan and MEFLO are methods meant to be utilized in municipal decision-making processes concerning waste management and energy supply as simple, transparent and easyto- understand tools. The methods can be utilized in the assessment of existing systems, and particularly in the planning processes of future regional integrated systems. The principles of SISMan and MEFLO can be utilized also in other environments, where synergies of integrating two (or more) systems can be obtained. The SISMan flow model and the MEFLO decision matrix can be formed with or without any applicable commercial or free-of-charge tool/software. SISMan and MEFLO are not bound to any libraries or data-bases including process information, such as different emission data libraries utilized in life cycle assessments.