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A critical evaluation is made of the chemical weapon destruction technologies demonstrated for 1 kg or more of agent in order to provide information about the technologies proven to destroy chemical weapons to policy-makers and others concerned with reaching decisions about the destruction of chemical weapons and agents. As all chemical agents are simply highly toxic chemicals, it is logical to consider the destruction of chemical agents as being no different from the consideration of the destruction of other chemicals that can be as highly toxic—their destruction, as that of any chemicals, requires the taking of appropriate precautions to safeguard worker safety, public health, and the environment. The Chemical Weapons Convention that entered into force in 1997 obliges all States Parties to destroy any stockpiles of chemical weapons within 10 years from the entry into force of the Convention—by 2007—with the possibility of an extension for up to 5 years to 2012. There is consequently a tight timeline under the treaty for the destruction of stockpiled chemical weapons and agents—primarily held in Russia and the United States. Abandoned or old chemical weapons — notably in Europe primarily from World War I, in China from World War II as well as in the United States—also have to be destroyed. During the past 40 years, more than 20,000 tonnes of agent have been destroyed in a number of countries and over 80% of this has been destroyed by incineration. Although incineration is well proven and will be used in the United States to destroy over 80 % of the U.S. stockpile of 25,800 tonnes of agent, considerable attention has been paid particularly in the United States to alternative technologies to incineration because of several constraints that are specific to the United States. Much of the information in this report is based on U.S. experience—as the United States had, along with the Russian Federation, by far the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons and agents anywhere in the world. The United States has made much progress in destroying its stockpile of chemical weapons and agents and has also done more work than any other country to examine alternative technologies for the destruction of chemical weapons and agents. However, the national decisions to be taken by countries faced with the destruction of chemical weapons and agents need to be made in the light of their particular national conditions and standards—and thus may well result in a decision to use different approaches from those adopted by the United States. This report provides information to enable countries to make their own informed and appropriate decisions.

Pure & Appl. Chem., Vol. 74, No. 2, p. 187–316, 2002
© 2002 IUPAC
IUPAC permission is acknowledged

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The transformation of non-natural compounds by enzymes-generally referred to as ‘biocatalysis’-has evolved as a trend-section of organic synthesis during the mid-eighties. As a consequence, a remarkable number of reliable biochemical techniques have been developed during the last decade, which constitute powerful tools for modem organic synthesis. In this report, the state of the art of biotransformations as well as future developments are critically reviewed with respect to strengths and weaknesses of the existing methods.

Pure & Appl. Chem, Vol. 69, No. 8, p. 1613-1632, 1997

© 1997 IUPAC

IUPAC permission is acknowledged

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During trilateral discussions in 2006, the Government of Brazil, the European Commission (representing the European Union) and the Government of the United States of America affirmed their belief that the current market for biofuels is viable, the market will continue to grow within regions, and that international trade in biofuels would increase significantly by the end of the decade. In February 2007, a conference was organized by the European Commission and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), with the active participation of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Brazil’s National Institute of Metrology, Standardization, and Industrial Quality (INMETRO). This meeting, held in Brussels, convened a broad range of private-sector biofuels experts and government representatives from the EU, US and Brazil. The participants identified that differing standards for biofuels were a potential handicap to the free circulation of biofuels among the three regions. To support the global trade of biofuels, representatives of Brazil, the EU and the U.S. agreed to promote, whenever possible, the compatibility of biofuels-related standards in their respective regions. Such compatibility would not only facilitate the increasing use of biofuels in each of the regional markets, but also would support both exporters and importers of biofuels by helping to avoid adverse trade implications in a global market.

CNEN – Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear

2007 – Boletim de Energia – Acesso livre

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The Society convened a working group of leading experts to consider the science and technology prospects of delivering efficient biofuels for transport in the broader context of the environmental protection and sustainability.
The working group concluded that biofuels have a potentially useful role in tackling the issues of climate change and energy supply. However, important opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from biofuels, and to ensure wider environmental and social benefits, may be missed with existing policy frameworks and targets. Unless biofuel development is supported by appropriate policies and economic instruments then there is a risk that we may become locked into inefficient biofuel supply chains that potentially create harmful environmental and social impacts. New technologies need to be accelerated that can help address these issues, aided by policies that provide direct incentives to invest in the most efficient biofuels.
The report makes a series of recommendations about policies and research needs in order to help develop sustainable biofuels for transport.

CNEN – Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear

2008 – Boletim de Energia – Acesso livre

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The United States consumes more than 20 million barrels of oil each day, two-thirds of which is imported, leaving the nation vulnerable to rising prices. Oil combustion produces emissions linked to health problems and global warming. In January 2003, the administration announced a 5-year, $1.2 billion Hydrogen Fuel Initiative to perform research, development, and demonstration (R&D) for developing hydrogen fuel cells for use as a substitute for gasoline engines. Led by the Department of Energy (DOE), the initiative’s goal is to develop the technologies by 2015 that will enable U.S. industry to make hydrogen-powered cars available to consumers by 2020. GAO examined the extent to which DOE has (1) made progress in meeting the initiative’s targets, (2) worked with industry to set and meet targets, and (3) worked with other federal agencies to develop and demonstrate hydrogen technologies. GAO reviewed DOE’s hydrogen R&D plans, attended DOE’s annual review of each R&D project, and interviewed DOE managers, industry executives, and independent experts.
DOE’s hydrogen program has made important progress in all R&D areas, including both fundamental and applied science. Specifically, DOE has reduced the cost of producing hydrogen from natural gas, an important source of hydrogen through the next 20 years; developed a sophisticated model to identify and optimize major elements of a projected hydrogen delivery infrastructure; increased by 50 percent the storage capacity of hydrogen, a key element for increasing the driving range of vehicles; and reduced the cost and improved the durability of fuel cells. However, some of the most difficult technical challenges lie ahead, including finding a technology that can store enough hydrogen on board a vehicle to achieve a 300-mile driving range, reducing the cost of delivering hydrogen to consumers, and further reducing the cost and improving the durability of fuel cells. The difficulty of overcoming these technical challenges, as well as hydrogen R&D budget constraints, has led DOE to push back some of its interim target dates. However, DOE has not updated its 2006 Hydrogen Posture Plan’s overall assessment of what the department reasonably expects to achieve by its technology readiness date in 2015 and how this may differ from previous posture plans. In addition, deploying the support infrastructure needed to commercialize hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles across the nation will require an investment of tens of billions of dollars over several decades after 2015. DOE has effectively involved industry in designing and reviewing its hydrogen R&D program and has worked to align its priorities with those of industry. Industry continues to review R&D progress through DOE’s annual peer review of each project, technical teams co-chaired by DOE and industry, and R&D workshops. Industry representatives are satisfied with DOE’s efforts, stating that DOE generally has managed its hydrogen R&D resources well. However, the industry representatives noted that DOE’s emphasis on vehicle fuel cell technologies has left little funding for stationary or portable technologies that potentially could be commercialized before vehicles. In response, DOE recently increased its funding for stationary and portable R&D. DOE has worked effectively with hydrogen R&D managers and scientists in other federal agencies, but it is too early to evaluate collaboration among senior officials at the policy level. Agency managers are generally satisfied with the efforts of several interagency working groups to coordinate activities and facilitate scientific exchanges. At the policy level, in August 2007, DOE convened the inaugural meeting of an interagency task force, composed primarily of deputy assistant secretaries and program directors. The task force is developing plans to demonstrate and promote hydrogen technologies.

CNEN – Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear

2008 – Boletim de Energia – Acesso livre

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The report presents facts, findings and models regarding biofuels in a broad context. It points out the associated uncertainties.

The document identifies scenarios which may evolve in either a predictable or non predictable way in the future but which in turn may considerably influence the debate.

Finally, this study has identified open issues which should be addressed in priority.

CNEN – Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear

2008 – Boletim de Energia – Acesso Livre

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Dwindling Supply of Non-Renewable Energy Resources Supplying adequate clean energy to a rapidly industrializing world is one of the 21st century’s greatest challenges. Worldwide energy consumption is expected to increase 54% from 2001 to 2025.5 The challenge of providing energy is compounded by concurrent efforts to reduce energy-related pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2003 and 2025, the United States’ population will grow by 58 million people,6 subsequently causing an increase in new building construction. With this growth comes the inevitable growth in consumption of energy, water, food and other non-renewable supplies—unless we change the way we design new communities. The Renewable Energy Community concept is about advocating innovation—looking at a way to reinvent communities to meet untapped customer needs for shelter and transportation with minimal environmental impacts, stable energy costs, and a sense of belonging.

CNEN – Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear

2008 – Boletim de Energia – Acesso livre

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Este livro foi organizado em capítulos, com a sua própria bibliografia de modo a facilitar a leitura, e foi direcionado principalmente aos Químicos, Físicos, Engenheiros Químicos e Engenheiros de Materiais e Técnicos de segundo grau. Os Engenheiros Mecânicos e de outras especialidades talvez tenham um pouco mais de dificuldade para entendê-lo porque, infelizmente, os conteúdos de Química nos seus cursos de graduação são menos abrangentes. Quando necessário, cada capítulo tem uma pequena introdução ao tema a ser tratado.
Assim, o primeiro capítulo é uma introdução geral, onde se procura discutir os conceitos básicos da ciência dos polímeros sob a óptica da degradação. No segundo capítulo discutem-se as reações químicas que ocorrem durante os processos de degradação dos polímeros em geral, de modo a poderem ser referidas nos capítulos subseqüentes. O terceiro e o quarto capítulos tratam das formas como essas reações se iniciam. No terceiro, apresentam-se as formas de iniciação que ocorrem de maneira isolada e no quarto abordam-se aquelas que sempre ocorrem de maneira associada. Neste quarto capítulo há também uma discussão sobre o stress-cracking, uma forma de degradação conhecida há muito tempo, porém ainda pouco compreendida. Por outro lado, como a degradação das blendas é diferente da degradação dos polímeros e co-polímeros puros, discute-se este fenômeno no capítulo 5, juntamente com o caso dos compósitos e nanocompósitos. Para poder entender os processos de degradação e selecionar o melhor tipo de aditivo estabilizante, ou combinação deles, é preciso escolher o método de ensaio mais adequado e o método de acompanhamento dos resultados destes ensaios. Sem querer suplantar a literatura já existente, no capítulo 6 procura-se discutir estes métodos, novamente sob a óptica da questão da degradação e estabilização. Depois de se saber como a degradação começa e como se pode acompanhá-la, é preciso discutir a forma de atenuá-la: são os estabilizantes, discutidos nos capítulos 7 e 8. Como a biodegradação é um caso diferente dos processos de degradação usuais de polímeros sintéticos, é tratada à parte, no capítulo 9. No capítulo 10 são discutidos alguns casos importantes relacionados à questão da degradação e estabilização de polímeros, assim como alguns procedimentos que devem ser tomados em pendências judiciais relacionadas com o tema.

2008 – Chemkeys

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An interdisciplinary MIT faculty group examined the role of coal in a world where constraints on carbon dioxide emissions are adopted to mitigate global climate change. This follows “The Future of Nuclear Power” which focused on carbon dioxide emissions-free electricity generation from nuclear energy and was published in 2003. This report, the future of coal in a carbon-constrained world, evaluates the technologies and costs associated with the generation of electricity from coal along with those associated with the capture and sequestration of the carbon dioxide produced coal-based power generation. Growing electricity demand in the U.S. and in the world will require increases in all generation options (renewables, coal, and nuclear) in addition to increased efficiency and conservation in its use. Coal will continue to play a significant role in power generation and as such carbon dioxide management from it will become increasingly important. This study, addressed to government, industry and academic leaders, discusses the interrelated technical, economic, environmental and political challenges facing increased coal-based power generation while managing carbon dioxide emissions from this sector.
Generous financial support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Energy Foundation, the Better World Fund, the Norwegian Research Council, and the MIT Office of the Provost is gratefully acknowledged.

CNEN – Comissão Nacioanl de Energia Nuclear

2007 – Boletim de Energia – Acesso livre

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Energy policy is facing major challenges. Industrial countries are increasingly dependent on imports of oil and gas, and global warming is becoming more of a reality. In order to address these challenges, a sustainable energy system must be developed. This document presents an outline of a sustainable energy situation for Europe in the year 2050. The research institutes ECN and NRG hope that this vision will guide energy research and inspire both businesses and governments. The authors describe a consistent development path that leads to a reduction in CO₂ emissions in Europe to 60% below 1990 levels, and to a signifi cantly reduced level of oil and gas imports. However, in 2050 the energy system will not be completely sustainable. The authors have formulated additional sustainability conditions for the reliable use of nuclear energy, biomass, and CO₂ capture & storage in a sustainable energy system. If these conditions are complied with, the overall picture will meet realistic criteria of sustainability. Despite this, continued energy conservation and further development of renewables should be pursued after 2050. In the vision for 2050 presented here, much weight is given to new technologies, new resources and new energy infrastructure. In addition to such innovation, new ways of decision-making and new patterns of behaviour are essential. With respect to technological developments that result in, for instance, affordable solar cells, the deployment of second-generation biofuels and reliable CO₂ capture & storage, realistic judgements have been made as to the timing of their commercialisation. The technology policy required to bring about such technological developments is briefly outlined.

CNEN – Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear

2007 – Boletim de Energia – Acesso livre