<p>During 40 years of industrial production, from the end of the 1890’s until the end of 1930’s, coal and wood distillation products were manufactured in AB Carbo’s tar factory along the River Gimån in Grötingen, in the county of Jämtland, Sweden. In accordance with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s Methods for Inventories of contaminated sites, MIFO, the site in Grötingen has been identified as a potentially contaminated site. In order to determine whether toxic substances pose a threat to human health and ecological systems in the area, there was a need to investigate the presence of contaminants, their levels and potential for migration. Sensitivity and protection value regarding exposure of man and the environment at the site is high, since people live next to the site and River Gimån is a part of the Natura 2000 network.</p><p>The initial phase of the MIFO method includes a preliminary survey. Information regarding AB Carbo’s activities and production has been obtained by studying map and archive material, as well as by interviews and site inspections. Potential point sources have been identified around the factory forge, storage cellar, distillation building and the wooden channel for the discharge of tar and other condensates into the River Gimån.</p><p>Guided by the information gathered in MIFO phase 1, a preliminary site investigation was carried out at the site. It included sampling of soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water together with sample analysis of heavy metals and organic pollutants. The result of the analysis shows that very high levels of the contaminants PAH, aromatics and lead are found in both soil and groundwater. The sediment contamination level is high while that of surface water is very low. The distribution of contamination levels among the samples indicates a likely point source close to the distillation building due to very high contamination levels in soil and groundwater close to that point. The point source may represent a larger spillage or dumped waste products.</p><p>Two of the contaminants present at the site, phenantrene and phenol, were studied by using the model CHEMFLO-2000. The analysis focussed on mobility in unsaturated soils under conditions that prevail at the site in Grötingen. The adsorption of phenantrene is significantly higher in comparison to that of phenol.</p><p>Comprehensive assessment and risk classification results in risk class 2 for the site in Grötingen, which implies a need for further investigations and measurements. The risk of human exposure could be reduced by removing contaminated soil around the factory forge. Additional studies should focus on finding the location of the point source around the distillation building as well as contaminant migration from the wooden channel and the geographical spreading of heavy metal contamination.</p> / <p>Från slutet av 1890-talet och fram till slutet av 1930-talet tillverkades träkol och trädestillationsprodukter vid AB Carbos kolugnsanläggning i Grötingen, Jämtlands län. En undersökning enligt MIFO-modellen motsvarande fas 1 och fas 2 har genomförts på området med syfte att fastställa vilka föroreningar som förekommer på området, föroreningsnivå, spridningsförutsättningar och sammanfattningsvis bedöma föroreningssituationen på området utifrån de miljö- samt hälsorisker som området ger eller kan ge upphov till. Objektsområdet har hög känslighet och högt skyddsvärde då människor bor permanent alldeles intill objektsområdet samt att det intilliggande vattendraget Gimån ingår i Natura 2000-nätverket.</p><p>Genom de orienterande studier som genomfördes i MIFO fas 1 har kart- och arkivstudier samt intervjuer resulterat i information om kolugnsanläggningens verksamhet samt tillverkade produkter. På fabriksområdet identifierades potentiella punktkällor vid fabrikens smedja, källare, reningsverk samt vid den träränna varigenom spilltjära släpptes ut till Gimån.</p><p>Utifrån den information som erhölls i den orienterande fasen genomfördes en riktad provtagning enligt MIFO fas 2 i såväl mark och sediment som grund- och ytvatten. Bedömning av uppmätta föroreningshalter baseras på riktvärden och skattas från mindre allvarliga till mycket allvarliga. Analysresultaten påvisar allvarliga till mycket allvarliga halter av PAH, aromater och bly i jorden och grundvattnet. Andra föroreningar som påvisas i högre halter på området är alifater och koppar. Föroreningsnivån med avseende på PAH i sedimenten bedöms som allvarlig medan analysresultaten från ytvattenprovtagningen påvisar mycket låga föroreningsnivåer. Provtagningsresultaten påvisar ett mycket förorenat grundvattenflöde från reningsverket, där en punktkälla i form av större spill eller nedgrävda förvaringskärl kan vara lokaliserad. Eventuell spridning av föroreningar från trärännan går inte att fastställa då föroreningsspridning även kan ske från det intilliggande området där kolugnar och kondenseringshus har varit lokaliserade.</p><p>Föroreningarna fenantren och fenol studerades genom modellering i CHEMFLO-2000 med avseende på deras rörlighet i omättad jord under de geohydrologiska förhållanden som råder på objektsområdet i Grötingen. Resultatet visar att fenantren adsorberas i marken i betydligt större grad än fenol. Koncentrationen fenantren i porvattnet minskar nästan lika mycket som den totala koncentrationen fenantren i marken, vilket tyder på att fenantren binds starkt genom adsorbtion i marken.</p><p>Den samlade riskbedömningen av objektet resulterar i att objektet bedöms tillhöra riskklass 2, vilket innebär att objektet ger upphov till en stor risk för människa och miljön. Fortsatta undersökningar på området i Grötingen bör fokusera på att hitta den punktkälla vid reningsverket som bedöms vara orsaken till de höga föroreningsnivåer som uppmättes i grundvattenrör V1. Den geografiska utbredningen av de ytliga föroreningarna som påträffades där smedjan har stått bör också utredas vidare och eventuellt avlägsna förorenad jord eller vidta åtgärder för att minska exponeringen. Vidare undersökningar bör även klarlägga spridningen från trärännan samt orsakerna till de höga föroreningsnivåer av bly som uppmättes på området.</p>

Large opencast coal mines require a complex infrastructure to fulfill production demand and quality values. The distinct specifications required by each customer are achieved by blending adjustments. There is limited control in variability. With only partial information available, operation controllers blend coal by empirical approximation, trying to keep quality between acceptable ranges in order to avoid penalizations, shipment rejections or even contract suspensions. When a decision support system (DSS) centralized in a control room is used for blending control, crew operators visualize enhanced displays of the different sources of information, obtaining a holistic perspective of operations. Using a simulator to reproduce the blending sequence, crew operators can experiment with diverse what-if scenarios and develop blending strategies for an entire working shift, in which they also incorporate their own expertise and the knowledge obtained after interpreting the simulation results. The research focuses on the empirical analysis of the effectiveness of the DSS by studying the performance of crew users in different operating scenarios produced with a simulator. The development of a methodology for measuring this effectiveness and its impact in the quantification of controlling the variability of blending represents a significant contribution in the area of quality improvement for coal production. The effectiveness of the DSS for controlling the blending and load out processes has been numerically measured after experimenting diverse simulated scenarios, proving that the difference between estimated and actual quality delivered is narrower when using a DSS, in comparison with the BTU variability obtained from historical data. The strategies that produced better results in terms of control of coal quality variability, maximization of infrastructure utilization, time spent in making decisions and the minimization of risk for penalizations and rejections, were scored proportionally to the benefits obtained.

Eighteen stands of bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.) and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) were sampled and analyzed using dendrochronological methods to study the potential effects on tree growth of emissions from a 132 MW coal-fired generating station. Sixteen stands were sampled within a 16-km radius of the station, and two control stands were sampled outside of the range of influence, at distances . 40 km. All stands showed similar radial growth patterns from 1960-2001, regardless of distance from or direction relative to the generating station, and a number of stands, including the controls, had below average growth after 1970. Both species were significantly affected by climatic factors, showing decreased radial growth with increasing June temperature. The species differed in their growth responses to spring precipitation and temperature in the previous October. One bur oak site displayed marked radial growth decline beginning in the mid-1970s, strongly pronounced following 1977. This decline does not appear to be related to emissions from the station, but is suspected to be a result of poor site conditions (shallow soil developed over calcareous till), confounded by a change in drainage (a road was built adjacent to the stand in 1977, perpendicular to the direction of drainage). The below average growth seen in 1970-2001 across most stands is likely attributable to stand dynamics and age effects.

No description available.

No description available.

Many historians have presented the narrative of Canada’s Second World War experience as a “good” war. Individuals and communities came together in patriotism and a common purpose to furnish the national war effort with military manpower, labour, financial contributions, and voluntary efforts. As the dark years of the Great Depression gave way to unprecedented levels of industrial and economic growth, falling unemployment rates, increased urbanization, and a wealth of social programs, Canada’s future was bright. However, this optimistic picture is not representative of Canada as a whole. Some regions fared better than others, and industrial Cape Breton was one of those that benefited the least from the opportunities presented by the war. Glace Bay, Cape Breton’s largest mining town and long-time hotbed of industrial strife and labour radicalism, serves as an ideal case study of the region’s largely unprofitable and unchanging wartime experience. Long plagued by poverty, poor living conditions, and underdeveloped industry, and desperately seeking to break free of its destitution, Glace Bay tried and failed to take advantage of wartime opportunities for industrial diversification and local improvement.

The rehabilitation of degraded soils, such as those associated with post-mining sites, requires knowledge of the soil ecosystem and its physical, chemical, and biological composition in order for rehabilitation efforts to fulfil the long-term goal of reconstructing a stable ecosystem for rehabilitated mine soil. This study addresses the need for appropriate assessment criteria to determine the progress of rehabilitation and subsequently the success of management practices. Significant contributions made by this investigation included the establishment of minimum and maximum values for microbial community measurements from two case studies of rehabilitated coal discard sites. Furthermore, it was shown that there was no relationship between changes in microbial community function and structure and the rehabilitation age of the sites. Following this, the considerable impact of management practices on microbial communities was illustrated. The first part of the study investigated the temporal changes in microbial community function and structure in a chronosequence of rehabilitated coal discard sites aged 1 to 11 years. The most important observation made during the investigation of the microbial communities in the different aged soil covers of the rehabilitated coal discard sites, was that there was no relationship between rehabilitation age and microbial activity or abundance of certain microbial groups. What was responsible for a clear differentiation between sites and a shift in microbial community attributes was the management practices applied. A comparison of two chronosequences of rehabilitated coal discard sites was achieved by an application of the 'space-for-time' hypothesis. Sites of different ages and at separate locations ('space') were identified to obtain a chronosequence of ages ('time'). The two chronosequences included sites aged 1 to 11 years (chronosequence A) and 6 to 17 years (chronosequence B), respectively. Sites in the same chronosequence were managed identically, while there was a distinct difference in management practices applied to each chronosequence. The long-term effect of the different management regimes on the soil microbial community function and structure was investigated. Again, there was no relationship between rehabilitation age and microbial community measurements. Fluctuations of selected microbial properties occurred in both chronosequences and similar temporal trends existed over the rehabilitation periods. However, the less intensively managed chronosequence (8) seemed more stable (less fluctuation occurred) over the rehabilitation period than the more intensively managed chronosequence (A). It was therefore concluded that the microbial communities in the less managed sites maintained their functional and structural integrity within bounds in the absence of management inputs or disturbance. While there was similarity in the trends over time for individual microbial community measurements, the seemingly more stable conditions in chronosequence 6 are important in terms of the goal of rehabilitation. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

In Canada, coal-fired power plants are the largest anthropogenic point sources of atmospheric CO₂. The most promising near-term strategy for mitigating CO₂ emissions from these facilities is the post-combustion capture of CO₂ using MEA (monoethanolamine) with subsequent geologic sequestration. While MEA absorption of CO₂ from coal-derived flue gases on the scale proposed above is technologically feasible, MEA absorption is an energy intensive process and especially requires large quantities of low-pressure steam. It is the magnitude of the cost of providing this supplemental energy that is currently inhibiting the deployment of CO₂ capture with MEA absorption as means of combatting global warming. The steam cycle of a power plant ejects large quantities of low-quality heat to the surroundings. Traditionally, this waste has had no economic value. However, at different times and in different places, it has been recognized that the diversion of lower quality streams could be beneficial, for example, as an energy carrier for district heating systems. In a similar vein, using the waste heat from the power plant steam cycle to satisfy the heat requirements of a proposed CO₂ capture plant would reduce the required outlay for supplemental utilities; the economic barrier to MEA absorption could be removed. In this thesis, state-of-the-art process simulation tools are used to model coal combustion, steam cycle, and MEA absorption processes. These disparate models are then combined to create a model of a coal-fired power plant with integrated CO₂ capture. A sensitivity analysis on the integrated model is performed to ascertain the process variables which most strongly influence the CO₂ energy penalty. From the simulation results with this integrated model, it is clear that there is a substantial thermodynamic advantage to diverting low-pressure steam from the steam cycle for use in the CO₂ capture plant. During the course of the investigation, methodologies for using Aspen Plus?? to predict column pressure profiles and for converging the MEA absorption process flowsheet were developed and are herein presented.

The study was done to understand the direction in which South Africa’s mining model is developed and the changes required for South Africa to take its rightful place in the mainstream spheres of economic and commercial affairs. The huge demand for African commodities is creating new opportunities for African governments to realise the hopes of their people for a better life. The objective of this study is to analyse the South African mining model to determine the sustainability of mining in South Africa. It was done by analysing Chrome, Coal and Platinum as selected minerals and metals. A literature study was conducted and the focus was on the reserves and resources that South Africa has in these minerals and metals, the current supply and demand factors and estimates were done on the future demand. The last part was to determine the state of and planned expansions of infrastructure like Electricity supply, Shipping Ports, Rail transport, Road transport and Water supply that mining operations require. Following the literature study, a survey was conducted in order to support the findings of the literature study and to determine the most important factors that can influence investment decisions in the mining sector by evaluating the investor’s acceptability of South Africa’s mineral and resource industry. It was concluded that the South Africa mining module is well developed with the required skills and knowledge for sustainable mining in the future. It was determined that there would be a future market to maintain a sustainable mining module. The major risk for the sustainable mining module is the reliance on infrastructures required in the mining environment, which is under governmental management. Survey results concluded that South Africa is not an investor-friendly country mainly because of its ineffective administration processes to perform mining. Investors are also seeking for independence of regulatory institutions. A recommendation for future research would be to determine the optimum South African Governmental needs of the investment in infrastructure capital to ensure that the country’s economy will be able to grow.The study was done to understand the direction in which South Africa’s mining model is developed and the changes required for South Africa to take its rightful place in the mainstream spheres of economic and commercial affairs. The huge demand for African commodities is creating new opportunities for African governments to realise the hopes of their people for a better life. The objective of this study is to analyse the South African mining model to determine the sustainability of mining in South Africa. It was done by analysing Chrome, Coal and Platinum as selected minerals and metals. A literature study was conducted and the focus was on the reserves and resources that South Africa has in these minerals and metals, the current supply and demand factors and estimates were done on the future demand. The last part was to determine the state of and planned expansions of infrastructure like Electricity supply, Shipping Ports, Rail transport, Road transport and Water supply that mining operations require. Following the literature study, a survey was conducted in order to support the findings of the literature study and to determine the most important factors that can influence investment decisions in the mining sector by evaluating the investor’s acceptability of South Africa’s mineral and resource industry. It was concluded that the South Africa mining module is well developed with the required skills and knowledge for sustainable mining in the future. It was determined that there would be a future market to maintain a sustainable mining module. The major risk for the sustainable mining module is the reliance on infrastructures required in the mining environment, which is under governmental management. Survey results concluded that South Africa is not an investor-friendly country mainly because of its ineffective administration processes to perform mining. Investors are also seeking for independence of regulatory institutions. A recommendation for future research would be to determine the optimum South African Governmental needs of the investment in infrastructure capital to ensure that the country’s economy will be able to grow. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

M.Phil. (Mineral Economics) / The energy crises in the seventies and eighties had led to an awareness in the world's business community about the profit potential in the energy mineral supply market. All the sectors in this industry came under scrutiny, also the coal export sector. This awareness and rising interest in the world's coal export market caused amongst others, two major developments : a) a significant rise in investments in coal exporting ventures b) a higher expectation by shareholders with respect to capital returns and future growth Most companies participated in this expansion campaign, and committed resources to achieving the higher objectives. The downturn in'the world's economy , and the resultant diminished demand for energy minerals, caused the coal export market to come under pressure. The long lead time existing in the establishment of mining projects, and the fact that mines under construction cannot be mothballed until times improve, also contributed to the over-capacity situation that eventuated in the coal export industry worldwide. Many companies faced a battle for survival, and participants in the industry had to re-appraise their long term strategies. Established coal producing companies had to determine which strategies would best answer their requirements : a) whether it be to divest from coal production b) whether they should diversify their operational base and many others...