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Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient in the biosphere. Although N is necessary and beneficial for life, it is also a common pollutant in the atmosphere and hydrosphere as it may be lost to the atmosphere as ammonia (NH3) or nitrous oxide (N2O) gases or to groundwater as nitrate (NO3-) following fertilization. Polymer coated urea (PCU) is one type of N fertilizer which uses temperature-controlled diffusion to control N release to better match plant demand and mitigate environmental losses of N. The objectives of this project were to simultaneously compare the effects of PCU on gaseous (as N2O and NH3) and aqueous (as NO3-) N losses to the environment as compared to uncoated urea in grass systems over the entire PCU N-release period and to investigate the viability of photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy as a method to ascertain N2O and NH3 losses following fertilization. Two field studies were conducted on established turfgrass sites with a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass (KBG; Poa pratensis L.) and perennial ryegrass (PRG; Lolium perenne L.) in sand (Site 1) and loam (Site 2) soils. Each study compared an untreated control to 200 kg N ha-1 applied as either uncoated urea or PCU (Duration 45 CR®). In these studies PCU reduced NH3 emissions by 41-49% and N2O emissions by 16-54%, while improving growth and verdure. Leachate NO3- observations were inconclusive at each site. Glasshouse studies were conducted to compare N2O and NH3 emissions from PCU and uncoated urea to an untreated control utilizing a non-static, non-flow-through chamber in conjunction with photoacoustic infrared spectroscopy (PAIRS) for gas collection and analysis. Three short-term studies (17-21 d) were done with sand, sandy loam, and loam soils and a full-term (45 d) study with the loam soil. Each study was done in maize (Zea mays L.). Volatilization of ammonia was reduced by 72% and 22% in the sandy loam and loam soils, respectively, in 2008-2009 and by 14% in the loam in 2010. Evolution of N2O was reduced by 42% and 63% in the sandy loam and loam soils in 2008-2009 and by 99% in the loam in 2010. Overall, PCU decreased gaseous losses of N following fertilization while providing a steady supply of N to the plant. The utilization of PAIRS is a viable analysis method which gives higher temporal resolution analysis than is typically reported. These considerable decreases in environmental losses of N are major steps toward conserving natural resources and mitigating the negative environmental impacts associated with N fertilization in grass systems.

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Cette these etudie les effets de la conversion de la foret tropicale en parcelles agricoles, sur les emissions de n2o par les sols. Ce travail est realise a l’echelle du cycle cultural sur le dispositif experimental de combi (littoral guyanais), a l’aide de mesures in situ et de simulations (modele noe) des flux de n2o. La foret tropicale a ete comparee a des parcelles de foret converties en terres agricoles par la methode ‘chop-and-mulch’. La methode de deforestation ‘chop-and-mulch’ associe coupe mecanique de la vegetation, broyage puis enfouissement des residus forestiers dans le sol. Les terres agricoles etaient soient des parcelles de prairie non paturee soient des parcelles cultivees (maïs fertilise/soja) conduites en semis conventionnel (semis apres travail du sol, sans plante de couverture) ou en semis direct (sans travail du sol, avec plantes de couverture).Les principaux resultats de cette etude sont : le sol de la foret tropicale de combi est un faible emetteur de n2o ; la conversion par la methode ‘chop-and-mulch’ de cette foret en prairie ne conduit pas a une augmentation significative des emissions de n2o entre le 19eme et le 31eme mois suivant la conversion ; la conversion de la foret en parcelles cultivees induit une augmentation significative des emissions de n2o due a la fertilisation et a la modification des parametres edaphiques (densite apparente, temperature, humidite volumique) ; la technique sans travail du sol n’engendre pas de flux de n2o significativement plus eleves que la technique avec travail du sol ; l’introduction du phenomene d’hysterese hydrique dans le modele noe presente un reel potentiel pour l’estimation des emissions de n2o in situ. / This study investigates the effects of the conversion of tropical forest to cultivation on soil n2o emissions. The study was carried out over a complete crop cycle at the experimental site combi (french guianese coast). Nitrous oxide fluxes were obtained in the field and by conducting simulations with the noe model. Undisturbed tropical rainforest was compared to rainforest that had been converted to agricultural land using the ‘chop-and-mulch’ method. The ‘chop-and-mulch’ method is a fire-free method used for vegetation clearing combining the mechanical felling of trees with the mulching of small vegetation. Agricultural land included either mowed grassland or soybean/fertilised maize crop rotation. For croplands the two cultivation practices employed were: conventional seeding (using an offset disc harrow, without cover plants) or direct seeding (no till, with cover plants).The main results of this study are: rainforest soil at combi produced low n2o emissions; rainforest converted to mowed grassland using the 'chop-and-mulch’ method did not lead to a significant increase in n2o emissions between the 19th and 31st months after conversion; the conversion of rainforest to croplands induced a significant increase in soil n2o emissions due to the application of fertiliser and the modification of soil parameters (bulk density, temperature, volumetric moisture); n2o emissions from agricultural practices with no-till were no higher than those produced by conventional agricultural practices using an offset disc harrow; and, the introduction of an hydric hysteresis into the noe model constitutes a promising improvement to estimate in situ n2o emissions.

<p>Ispitivani su dvostruki slojeviti hidroksidi, LDH i me&scaron;oviti oksidi nastali njihovom<br />razgradnjom, sa različitim sadržajem Mg-Al-Fe i pro&scaron;irenom supstitucijom aluminijuma.<br />Koprecipitacione metode male i velike prezasićenosti odabrane su za sintezu LDH op&scaron;te<br />formule [Mg1_-xM(III)_x(OH)₂](CO₃)_x/2 &sdot; mH₂O, gde M(III) pretstavlja Al i/ili Fe, a x udeo<br />trovalentnih anjona, x = M(III) / [M(II) + M(III)], variran u intervalu 0,15 &lt; x &lt; 0,7.<br />Katalizatori na bazi me&scaron;ovitih oksida sa gvožđem pogodni za upotrebu u redoks<br />reakcijama, formirani su nakon termičke aktivacije - razlaganja LDH. Izvr&scaron;ena je<br />karakterizacija me&scaron;ovitih oksida nastalih iz LDH, kao i netretiranih LDH, ispitivanjem<br />kristalne strukture (XRD), termičke stabilnosti (TG-DTA), teksture (adsorpcija N₂), redoks<br />(H₂ TPR) i kiselo-baznih karakteristika (NH₃ TPD), a utvrđena je i priroda prisutnih vrsta<br />gvožđa (Moessbauer spektroskopija). Pokazano je kako metoda pripreme i obim<br />supstitucije M(III) jona utiču na strukturne, povr&scaron;inske i redoks karakteristike LDH i<br />njihovih me&scaron;ovitih oksida u korelaciji sa katalitičkim svojstvima u odabranim test<br />reakcijama (razgradnja N₂O i redukcija sa NH₃). Utvrđeno je da na katalitičku aktivnost<br />dominantno utiču redoks karakteristike i priroda vrste gvožđa u me&scaron;ovitom oksidu, ali<br />takođe i strukturne karakteristike polaznog LDH, pri čemu je povr&scaron;inska struktura aktivnih<br />centara intervalentnog Fe²⁺-Fe³⁺gvožđa ključna za redoks procese ispitivanih reakcija.<br />Kod svih me&scaron;ovitih oksida dobijenih iz LDH aktivni centri imaju relativno jednake jačine,<br />dok razlike u katalitičkom pona&scaron;anju potiču od razlika u dostupnosti aktivnih centara.<br />Najbolje performanse u katalitičkim reakcijama pokazali su uzorci sa najmanjom<br />stabilno&scaron;ću inicijalnih LDH kod kojih je količina supstituisanih M(III) jona bila blizu<br />granice za inkorporaciju u LDH matricu (x = 0,5), a naročito uzorak sintetisan metodom<br />velike prezasićenosti sa malom količinom dodatne Al(OH)₃ faze.</p> / <p>Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) and derived mixed oxides with different Mg-Al-Fe content and extended aluminum substitution were investigated. High and low supersaturation precipitation methods were used for the synthesis of LDHs with general formula [Mg1_-x M(III)_x (OH)₂](CO₃)_x/2 &sdot; mH₂O where M(III) presents Al and/or Fe and x the content of trivalent ions, x = M(III) / [M(II) + M(III)], varied between 0.15 &lt; x &lt; 0.7. Iron-containing mixed oxides, suitable as catalysts for redox reactions, were formed after thermal activation - decomposition of LDH. Both, LDHs and derived mixed oxides were characterized with respect to crystalline structure (XRD), thermal stability (TG-DTA), textural (N₂ adsorption), redox (H₂ TPR) and acid-base properties (NH₃ TPD) as well as the nature of the iron species (Moessbauer spectroscopy). It was demonstrated how preparation method and the extent of M(III) substitution influence the structure, surface and redox properties of LDHs and derived mixed oxides in correlation to catalytic properties in chosen test reactions (N₂O decomposition and reduction with NH3). The catalytic behavior is mainly determined by the redox properties and the nature of the iron species in mixed oxides, but also by the structural properties of initial LDHs. It was confirmed that surface structure of intervalent Fe²⁺-Fe³⁺ iron active sites is crucial for the redox processes in chosen reactions. The strength of active sites is similar for all mixed oxides derived from LDH, but the differences in catalytic behavior arise from the differences in active sites accessibility. The best catalytic results were obtained when the stability of the initial LDH matrix was lowest e.g. when the amount of substituted M(III) was near the limit for the incorporation into LDH matrix (x = 0.5), especially for the sample synthesized with high superasaturation method containing a small amount of additional Al(OH)₃ phase.</p>

This thesis has, commissioned by Dräger, an international company at the forefront of medical and safety technology, examined how the use of inhalational anesthetics affects the climate and environment. The purpose of this work is to examine how the Swedish healthcare sector currently works with inhalational anesthetics, how different anesthetic machines affect the emissions, as well as alternatives available to reduce anesthetic gases emissions. Climate change is a current issue in today’s society, but the impact of anesthetic gases on the climate is not widely known, despite their everyday use in the healthcare sector. Through data collection from two Swedish hospitals; Linköping University Hospital and Örebro University Hospital, an interview with medical and medical engineering staff, as well as a literature study the main question of the thesis could be answered; How do the most common anesthetic gases affect the environment? The results are presented in the form of diagrams showing the amount of anesthetic gas used in the aforementioned hospitals during surgeries. The results have been analyzed and discussed based on the research questions, and the different results from each hospital have been compared to each other. It can be seen that Dräger’s anesthesia machines have a relatively low consumption of sevoflurane, but it is impossible to draw any definitive conclusions due to lack of data, and lack of access to machines from other manufacturers. / Detta examensarbete har, på uppdrag av Dräger, ett internationellt företag i framkant inom medicin- och säkerhetsteknik, undersökt hur användning av inhalationsanestetika påverkar miljön. Målet med arbetet är att undersöka hur den svenska sjukvården för närvarande arbetar med inhalationsanestetika, hur olika anestesimaskiner påverkar utsläppen, samt alternativ som finns tillgängliga för att minska dessa utsläpp. Klimatförändringar är en aktuell fråga i dagens samhälle men påverkan av anestesigaser på klimatet är inte allmänt känt, trots att dessa används dagligen i hälsovården. Genom datainsamling från två svenska sjukhus; Linköpings Universitetssjukhus och Örebro Universitetssjukhus, intervjuer med medicinsk- och medicinteknisk personal, samt en litteraturstudie har arbetets problemställning besvarats; Hur påverkar de mest frekvent använda anestesigaserna miljön? Resultaten visar i diagramform hur mycket anestesi gas som använts i tidigare nämnda sjukhus under operationer. Resultaten har analyserats och diskuterats utifrån forskningsfrågorna, dessutom har de olika resultaten från respektive sjukhus jämförts med varandra. Det kan ses att Drägers anestesimaskiner har en relativt låg konsumtion av sevofluran, men brist på data samt brist på tillgång till maskiner från andra producenter gör det omöjligt att dra en konkret slutsats.

107 Summary The Ozone layer of the Earth located in the stratosphere in an altitude of 20 to 50 kilometres is the important part of the gases surrounding the planet Earth. Its purpose is to absorb UV radiation that otherwise very negatively affects life on the Earth. During the twentieth century, this ability was weakened by the emission of substances proven much later to be very dangerous in this way. Until 1987, by various chemical reactions, in particular of chlorine atoms, the ozone hole has been formed over the South Pole of the Earth, not fully healed yet. In 1985, risk to human life led using the precautionary principle to the adoption of the Vienna Convention and subsequently of its implementing protocol including specific obligations especially the control measures of the production and consumption of ozone depleting substances and of the trade with them in 1987. The protocol was later modified by amendments and adjustments. This diploma thesis describes these acts with respect to their evolution and actual state of knowledge. At European level, it shows the evolution of the European environmental law in focus on the protection of the ozone layer and on the process of incorporation of international instruments in this area of environmental law. It describes these European acts and compares the...