scholarly journals Recycled Paper as a Source of Renewable Jet Fuel in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Kubic ◽  
Cameron M. Moore ◽  
Troy A. Semelsberger ◽  
Andrew D. Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Corn Stover ◽  
Lignocellulosic Biomass ◽  
Chemical Conversion ◽  
Cellulose Hydrolysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Jet Fuel ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Cellulose Content ◽  
Recycled Paper ◽  
The Cost

Converting biomass into jet fuel involves more than the core chemical process. The overall process includes the logistics of harvesting and transporting the biomass, handling and preparing the material for processing, and processing and disposal of waste. All of these activities contribute to cost. Controlling cost involves more than developing efficient process chemistry. Choice of feedstock also has a significant impact on process economics. We consider chemical conversion of paper from municipal solid waste as a feedstock for the production of jet fuel and diesel. Paper has a significantly higher cellulose content than raw lignocellulosic biomass such as corn stover, so it requires less pretreatment to convert it into hydrocarbons than lignocellulosic biomass. Our techno-economic analysis showed that the cost of converting paper waste into jet fuel is about $1.00/gal less than jet fuel produced from corn stover. Although the cost of recycling paper into jet fuel is less than producing it from corn stover, the process is not competitive with petroleum. We estimated a minimum selling price of $3.97/gal for paper-derived jet fuel. Our sensitivity studies indicated that the biggest economic obstacle is the cost of cellulose hydrolysis. Direct hydrogenation of paper to sugar alcohols combined with increased economy of scale could make recycling paper jet fuel competitive.

Demonstrating Nutrient Cost Gradients: A Brooklyn Case Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 84 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 244-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Karp ◽  
Gary Wong ◽  
Marguerite Orsi
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Food Selection ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Micronutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Caloric Density ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Introduction: Foods dense in micronutrients are generally more expensive than those with higher energy content. These cost-differentials may put low-income families at risk of diminished micronutrient intake. Objectives: We sought to determine differences in the cost for iron, folate, and choline in foods available for purchase in a low-income community when assessed for energy content and serving size. Methods: Sixty-nine foods listed in the menu plans provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for low-income families were considered, in 10 domains. The cost and micronutrient content for-energy and per-serving of these foods were determined for the three micronutrients. Exact Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparisons of energy costs; Spearman rho tests for comparisons of micronutrient content. Ninety families were interviewed in a pediatric clinic to assess the impact of food cost on food selection. Results: Significant differences between domains were shown for energy density with both cost-for-energy (p < 0.001) and cost-per-serving (p < 0.05) comparisons. All three micronutrient contents were significantly correlated with cost-for-energy (p < 0.01). Both iron and choline contents were significantly correlated with cost-per-serving (p < 0.05). Of the 90 families, 38 (42 %) worried about food costs; 40 (44 %) had chosen foods of high caloric density in response to that fear, and 29 of 40 families experiencing both worry and making such food selection. Conclusion: Adjustments to USDA meal plans using cost-for-energy analysis showed differentials for both energy and micronutrients. These differentials were reduced using cost-per-serving analysis, but were not eliminated. A substantial proportion of low-income families are vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies.

Resource efficiency in deinked pulp production: a review

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
LIISA KOTANEN ◽  
MIKA KÖRKKÖ ◽  
ARI ÄMMÄLÄ ◽  
JOUKO NIINIMÄKI
Keyword(s):  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Resource Efficiency ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Ecological Strategy ◽  
Recycled Paper ◽  
Paper Production ◽  
Recycled Pulp ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Pulp Production

The use of recovered paper as a raw material for paper production is by far the most economical and ecological strategy for the disposal of waste paper. However, paper production from recovered paper furnish generates a great amount of residues, and the higher the demand requirements for the end product, the higher the amount of rejected material. The reason for this is that the selectivity of the deinking process is limited; therefore, some valuable components are also lost in reject streams. The rejection of usable components affects the economics of recycled paper production. As the cost of waste disposal continues to increase, this issue is becoming more and more severe. This paper summarizes the current state of the resource efficiency in recycled pulp production and provides information on the volumes of rejected streams and the usable material within them. Various means to use these reject streams are also discussed, including the main findings of a recent thesis by the main author. This review summarizes current internal and external use of reject streams generated in the deinking operations.

Use of cold tolerant eucalyptus species as a partial replacement for southern mixed hardwoods

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER W. HART ◽  
DALE E. NUTTER
Keyword(s):  
Potential Method ◽  
The United States ◽  
Partial Replacement ◽  
Growth Time ◽  
Eucalyptus Species ◽  
Cold Tolerant ◽  
Hardwood Pulp ◽  
Time Required ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Operational Data

During the last several years, the increasing cost and decreasing availability of mixed southern hardwoods have resulted in financial and production difficulties for southern U.S. mills that use a significant percentage of hardwood kraft pulp. Traditionally, in the United States, hardwoods are not plantation grown because of the growth time required to produce a quality tree suitable for pulping. One potential method of mitigating the cost and supply issues associated with the use of native hardwoods is to grow eucalyptus in plantations for the sole purpose of producing hardwood pulp. However, most of the eucalyptus species used in pulping elsewhere in the world are not capable of surviving in the southern U.S. climate. This study examines the potential of seven different cold-tolerant eucalyptus species to be used as replacements for, or supplements to, mixed southern hardwoods. The laboratory pulping and bleaching aspects of these seven species are discussed, along with pertinent mill operational data. Selected mill trial data also are reviewed.

The Unusual Cruelty of Nursing Homes Behind Bars

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 264-271
Author(s):  
Rachel E. López
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Trained Staff ◽  
State Prisons ◽  
The Cost

The elderly prison population continues to rise along with higher rates of dementia behind bars. To maintain the detention of this elderly population, federal and state prisons are creating long-term care units, which in turn carry a heavy financial burden. Prisons are thus gearing up to become nursing homes, but without the proper trained staff and adequate financial support. The costs both to taxpayers and to human dignity are only now becoming clear. This article squarely addresses the second dimension of this carceral practice, that is the cost to human dignity. Namely, it sets out why indefinitely incarcerating someone with dementia or other neurocognitive disorders violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. This conclusion derives from the confluence of two lines of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. First, in Madison v. Alabama, the Court recently held that executing someone (in Madison’s case someone with dementia) who cannot rationally understand their sentence amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Second, in line with Miller v. Alabama, which puts life without parole (LWOP) sentences in the same class as death sentences due to their irrevocability, this holding should be extended to LWOP sentences. Put another way, this article explains why being condemned to life is equivalent to death for someone whose neurodegenerative disease is so severe that they cannot rationally understand their punishment.

scholarly journals Autism Tsunami: the Impact of Rising Prevalence on the Societal Cost of Autism in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Blaxill ◽  
Toby Rogers ◽  
Cynthia Nevison
Keyword(s):  
Forecast Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Projections ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Total Base ◽  
Cost Categories ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe cost of ASD in the U.S. is estimated using a forecast model that for the first time accounts for the true historical increase in ASD. Model inputs include ASD prevalence, census population projections, six cost categories, ten age brackets, inflation projections, and three future prevalence scenarios. Future ASD costs increase dramatically: total base-case costs of $223 (175–271) billion/year are estimated in 2020; $589 billion/year in 2030, $1.36 trillion/year in 2040, and $5.54 (4.29–6.78) trillion/year by 2060, with substantial potential savings through ASD prevention. Rising prevalence, the shift from child to adult-dominated costs, the transfer of costs from parents onto government, and the soaring total costs raise pressing policy questions and demand an urgent focus on prevention strategies.

Constructing Images of Deviance: A Look at State Intervention into the Problem of Wife-Battery

1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 60-76
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Social Problem ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
Structural Position ◽  
Wife Battering ◽  
The Social ◽  
Class Context ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Cost

Patricia Morgan's paper describes what happens when the state intervenes in the social problem of wife-battering. Her analysis refers to the United States, but there are clear implications for other countries, including Britain. The author argues that the state, through its social problem apparatus, manages the image of the problem by a process of bureaucratization, professionalization and individualization. This serves to narrow the definition of the problem, and to depoliticize it by removing it from its class context and viewing it in terms of individual pathology rather than structure. Thus refuges were initially run by small feminist collectives which had a dual objective of providing a service and promoting among the women an understanding of their structural position in society. The need for funds forced the groups to turn to the state for financial aid. This was given, but at the cost to the refuges of losing their political aims. Many refuges became larger, much more service-orientated and more diversified in providing therapy for the batterers and dealing with other problems such as alcoholism and drug abuse. This transformed not only the refuges but also the image of the problem of wife-battering.

scholarly journals SWK-11. ASSESSMENT OF THE INDIRECT COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PROTON THERAPY TREATMENT FOR ALBERTA PATIENTS REFERRED OUT OF COUNTRY

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii466-iii466
Author(s):  
Karina Black ◽  
Jackie Middleton ◽  
Sunita Ghosh ◽  
David Eisenstat ◽  
Samor Patel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Proton Therapy ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Indirect Costs ◽  
The United States ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Opportunity Costs ◽  
Proton Treatment ◽  
Out Of Pocket Expenses ◽  
The Cost

Abstract BACKGROUND Proton therapy for benign and malignant tumors has dosimetric and clinical advantages over photon therapy. Patients in Alberta, Canada are referred to the United States for proton treatment. The Alberta Heath Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) pays for the proton treatment and the cost of flights to and from the United States (direct costs). This study aimed to determine the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by patients or their families (indirect costs). METHODS Invitation letters linked to an electronic survey were mailed to patients treated with protons between 2008 and 2018. Expenses for flights for other family members, accommodations, transportation, food, passports, insurance, and opportunity costs including lost wages and productivity were measured. RESULTS Fifty-nine invitation letters were mailed. Seventeen surveys were completed (28.8% response rate). One paper survey was mailed at participant request. Nine respondents were from parent/guardian, 8 from patients. All patients were accompanied to the US by a family member/friend. Considerable variability in costs and reimbursements were reported. Many of the accompanying family/friends had to miss work; only 3 patients themselves reported missed work. Time away from work varied, and varied as to whether it was paid or unpaid time off. CONCLUSIONS Respondents incurred indirect monetary and opportunity costs which were not covered by AHCIP when traveling out of country for proton therapy. Prospective studies could help provide current data minimizing recall bias. These data may be helpful for administrators in assessing the societal cost of out-of-country referral of patients for proton therapy.

Measuring the air pollution cost of shale gas development in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1098-1111
Author(s):  
Zhengwei Ma ◽  
Yuanjun Pang ◽  
Dan Zhang ◽  
Yuqi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Social Cost ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Recoverable Reserves ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Gas Fields ◽  
Ecological Cost

Shale gas is one of the most promising unconventional hydrocarbon resources in the 21st century. In recent years, economically recoverable reserves have achieved explosive growth, and drilling techniques have made large breakthroughs. As a clean unconventional energy, shale gas is given substantial consideration by governments. However, the cleanliness of shale gas has been questioned for causing serious air pollution during production. To further measure the air pollution cost during the exploration and transportation of shale gas, this article establishes an economic measurement model of the air pollution cost from the three aspects of human health, social cost and ecological cost by reviewing the relevant literature in the United States and China. This study lays a foundation for further calculating the cost of air pollution around shale gas fields.

scholarly journals The Effect of Massachusetts' Health Reform on Employer-Sponsored Insurance Premiums

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
John F Cogan ◽  
R. Glenn Hubbard ◽  
Daniel Kessler
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Reform ◽  
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey ◽  
Private Insurance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Expenditure ◽  
Insurance Premiums ◽  
Reform Plan ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Cost

In this paper, we use publicly available data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) to investigate the effect of Massachusetts' health reform plan on employer-sponsored insurance premiums. We tabulate premium growth for private-sector employers in Massachusetts and the United States as a whole for 2004 - 2008. We estimate the effect of the plan as the difference in premium growth between Massachusetts and the United States between 2006 and 2008—that is, before versus after the plan—over and above the difference in premium growth for 2004 to 2006. We find that health reform in Massachusetts increased single-coverage employer-sponsored insurance premiums by about 6 percent, or $262. Although our research design has important limitations, it does suggest that policy makers should be concerned about the consequences of health reform for the cost of private insurance.

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