important region for fishing and salmon farming. The spill occurred when the tanker lost e
I
booms, and other “high-t&h” spill containment equipment could not be used. Chemical dis-
million-gal spill kom the tanker’ Aegean Sea off La Corufia, S Siberian forests is the subjec cooperative project between sian authorities and the Interna tional Institute for Aoolied Svs terns Analysis (IIASi\;Laxenburg, Austria). Siberia has 19% of the world’s forested area-about 5 million km2-containing 17 the world’s standing timber. comes to about 40 billion me tons of carbon, almost 50% o contained in the Amazon basi forests. The Russian-IIASA study is developing databases from the Urals to the Pacific Coast; assessing the role of Siberian forest ecosystems, especially with regard to global warming and biodiversity: and identifying strategies to ensue sustainable economic and social develooment of Siberia. The project includes a case study of the Ust’-Il’imsk industrial complex, which consists of an airport, railroad spur, four-gigawatt hydroelectric plant, and 2000-kmz
k l k l , Dept. 891,325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303;(303)497- . 6125:fax 13031 497-6513:Internet
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s a year among
0013-936W93/0927-423$04.00/0 Q 1993 American Chemical S
I. 27, NO. 3. 1
Clean Air Act permi have to pay to states
A new report urges California officials to establish Aquatic Diversity Management &as (ADMAS]to protect that state’s threatened fish species. The proposed plan would give highest priority to protecting nearly pristine waters, unique ecosystems, habitats that are critical for threatened species, and areas that best represent a particular ecosystem. The broad definitions would also cover fishless habitats. According
are now extinct, 1
listed as threatened or en
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [Chicago, IL) ruled Jan. 12 that federal regulations apply to ash from resource , Envimn. Sa. Techno1
per atmosphere solar radiation;
an
he
I
dian meal moth, the Colorado poteto beetle, and the tobacco budworm amarentlv are showing resistan; to Ba&zs thuringen-
stable uranyl form as it migrates along the fractures. The researchers are trying to learn how the change occurs and over what penod of time. To see how copper alloy waste containers would withstand corrosion, the SwRl team is looking at bronze containers that have been buried for more than 3600 years in an archaeological site on the island of Thera
liquid hydrogen available: the current daily production in Europe is 20 metric tons per day. Just one 5000-km flight would require about 15 toGes.
pose three of five HCFCs. Methanotrophic bacteria that can break down HCFCs also were found inentl
berinsed away with a water solution. He adds that live microbial Drocesses have been tried hut
'
Up lo 80% of the sulfur in coal could be removed by an enym process, says Russel Stanley of Houston Industries [Houston, TXI. Removinn sulfur from coal
still limited, the ' ability of coverage is sign1
Kvaluating their own envimnmental record. the oil industry 426 Envron Scl Techno1 , VOI 27. NO. 3.1983
PI
As many developed countries enact tougher air quality laws, alternative-fueled vehicles (such as those using methanol or natural gas) are being promoted as a key factor in meeting these new standards. However, getting these new vehicles on the road will require expensive changes in the infrastructure that refuels, maintains, and constructs vehicles. One alternative fuel that bypasses this problem is hiodiesel fuel, a fuel made from vegetable oil, which can be burned in standard diesel engines with little or no change in performance. Replacing conventional diesel fuel with hiodiesel fuel significantly decreases the signature black smoke belched out by diesel engines. At full power, levels of smog-producing particulates from hiodiesel fuel drop as much as 66%. Moreover, this alternative fuel is nearly sulfur-he, virtually eliminating SO, exhaust. Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions are also reduced, and the amount of carbon dioxide produced is approximately balanced by the amount of this greenhouse gas taken up by growing the feedstock crop. On the other hand, NO, emissions from bnrning hiodiesel fuel remain essentially the same as those from standard diesel fuel. Biodiesel fuel also offers several healthand safety advantages. It is biodegradable, and the mammalian toxicity of the fuel when ingested is low-two features that would lessen the effect of spills in sensitive marine and wetland environments. (In fact Austria has recently mandated exclusive use of biodiesel fuel in its pristine Alpine regions to prevent contamination of glacier-fed waters.) In addition, the hydrocarbon exhaust from engines running on hiodiesel fuels are virtually free of aromatics and other organics likely to be carcinogens. Finally, because of the fuel's high flash point, it does not produce explosive ai-fuel vapors. Like many ideas, biodiesel fuel is not new. Rudolf Diesel first used peanut oil to power his new engine in about 1900. Over the years, other oilcsunflower, safflower, cottonseed, and even tallow-have been investigated as
hiodiesel feedstocks. Balanc ing cost with energy output, European countries are currently using rapeseed oil (from which canola oil is 1 produced); US.developers have chosen soybean oil. The actual biodiesel fuel is produced hy reacting the raw vegetable oil witk methanol to form the methyl ester. Esterification low ers the viscosity ( the oil, making it more suitable for diesel engines. E7 so, the methyl ester fuel is more viscous than standard diesat fuels. Thus, in cold weather an additive or pre-warming is required to keep the fuel flowing. The hyproduct of the esterification is glycerine, a marketable chemical. The energy value of biodiesel fuel is slightly lower than that of conventional diesel fuel. To perform the same amount of work as a gallon of number 2 diesel fuel requires about 1.04 gallons of soy ester. A bigger problem is cost. According to the American Biofuels Association, based on current costs soy hiodiesel fuel would cost $2.50 per gallon at the pump. Increased production will lower the price, but prohahly not to the current level of conventional diesel fuel. One way to lower costs is to blend biodiesel with conventional diesel fuel. Smoke emissions from city buses in St. Louis, MO, have been lowered by 30% by the use of a 1:3 mixture of soybean to hydrocarhon diesel fuel; fuel mileage is unchanged. Alternatively, environmental regulation pressures could carve out markets for biodiesel fuel. For instance, new European Community standards mandate low sulfur and particulate levels for diesel fuel. In the United States, California will require that by 1996 diesel engines operating in that state must cut visible smoke on average by 20%. However, these laws also specify a 52% reduction in NO,, which could limit the market for biodiesel fuel.
0013-936x/93/0927427$04.00/0 @ 1993 American Chemical Society
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cy
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To encourage adoption of biodiesel fuels and make them ompetitive, several European
so serves na-
how much land is required to fulfill those goals. To replace all the 1 diesel fuel in the s with hiodiesel fuel q u i r e an estimated 65% 's total agricultural land. Given this and other limitations, soy biodiesel fuel is expected to fulfill about 10% of the diesel fuel maket. However, soy diesel fuel does ot lack enthusiasts. Probably the grandest promotion of hiodiesel fuel is the around-the-world, twoand-a-half-year voyage of Sunrider, a 24-foot Zodiac rigid inffatable boat powered by soy diesel fuel and solar panels. Launched in July of last year, the Sum'der expedition is hilled as educational and environmentally heneficial-a first step in creating a market for this biofuel.
Editor Kenneth N. h Texas A& M 1 Associate Editors Henry V. Kehiaian Universi@ofParis "'1CNRS, France Randolph C. Wilhoit Texas Universiti'
international in scope, the Journal of Chemical and €ngineeringData ( I U D )features contributions by distinguished physicists, chemists, chemical engineers, mechanical engineers, biological scientists, and applied mathematicians kom the world over. Their expert reports represent numerical databases for private technical information systems, particularly in industry, that will broaden your scientific horizons and improve the quality of your work.
T h i s unique journal offers you precise, accurate data on physical, thermodynamic, and transport properties of well-defined materials. It also keeps you informed about the latest international standards on symbols, terminology, and units of measurement for reporting data properly. You'll find numerical property data measurements on: pure substances of defined purity well-defined gaseous, liquid, and solid mixtures semi-empirical and theoretical correlations useful in interpolating, extrapolating, and predicting properties of scientific and technological importance new substances - the physical and spectral properties of inorganic, organic, and biochemical substances and other complex substances prepared by established synthetic procedures that may have major scientific and technological applications 1993 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Address your orders to: American Chemical Society Department LOO 1 1 Columbus, OH 43268-001 1 Toll free: (800)333-95 1 1
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nonsustainable? Does it mean that
ample, even people
agreements dealing with biodiver-
sity and global climate changes. These concepts have resulted in changes in programs, approaches, and even the international dialogue between the rich and poor nations. These new terms have become valu-
in a wetland? Does it mean not con-
changes that generate less volume
tainable develo
