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This paper aims to provide a holistic analysis of the role of hydrogen for achieving greenhouse gas neutrality in Germany. For that purpose, we apply an integrated energy system model which includes all demand sectors of the German energy system and optimizes the transformation pathway from today's energy system to a future cost-optimal energy system. We show that 412 TWh of hydrogen are needed in the year 2045, mostly in the industry and transport sector. Particularly, the use of about 267 TWh of hydrogen in industry is essential as there are no cost-effective alternatives for the required emission reduction in the chemical industry or in steel production. Furthermore, we illustrate that the German hydrogen supply in the year 2045 requires both an expansion of domestic electrolyzer capacity to 71 GW H2 and hydrogen imports from other European countries and Northern Africa of about 196 TWh. Moreover, flexible operation of electrolyzers is cost-optimal and crucial for balancing the intermittent nature of volatile renewable energy sources. Additionally, a conducted sensitivity analysis shows that full domestic hydrogen supply in Germany is possible but requires an electrolyzer capacity of 111 GW H2. • 412 TWh of hydrogen demand in a greenhouse gas neutral Germany in the year 2045. • Hydrogen usage is crucial for defossilization of chemical and steel industry. • 47% of hydrogen is imported from other European countries and Northern Africa. • 71 GW H2 of electrolyzer capacity in Germany with flexible operation. • 35 TWh of hydrogen storage in salt caverns for security of supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lake Tegel (Berlin, Germany) is controlled by two main inflows: inflow #1 (River Havel) is heavily phosphorus-laden, whereas inflow #2 is an artificial confluence that includes discharge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant distinguished by high levels of phosphorus and pharmaceuticals. To reduce the phosphorus load on the lake, a phosphorus elimination plant (PEP) is situated at inflow #2. Moreover, the two inflows are short-circuited by a pipeline that transfers part of the inflow #1 water to the PEP and finally releases it into inflow #2. The pipeline and the PEP have contributed to a continuous reduction in the total phosphorus concentration of Lake Tegel in the past 25 years. We investigate the question of whether the existing lake pipeline can also be used to reduce the amount of pharmaceuticals in Lake Tegel originating from inflow #2 by dilution with water from River Havel, by diverting part of inflow #2 around the lake, or by a combination of both strategies. The circulation pattern of Lake Tegel is complicated by complex bathymetry and numerous islands and is therefore highly sensitive to winds. We tested seven different management scenarios by hydrodynamic modeling for a period of 16 years with the two-dimensional version of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM). None of the scenarios provided a strategy optimal for both pharmaceuticals and phosphorus. Nonetheless, compound regimes, such as alternating the pipe flow direction or adding another pipeline, allowed the most abundant pharmaceutical (carbamazepine) to be reduced while maintaining the current phosphorus level. This study demonstrates the ability of immediate lake regulation measures to maintain water quality. In the case of Lake Tegel, the pipeline can be fully effective with regard to pharmaceuticals only in combination with additional efforts such as advanced pharmaceutical treatment of wastewater and/or phosphorus reduction in the River Havel catchment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The feasibility and influence of co-combustion of woody biomass on the fuel side costs is discussed for three hard coal power plants located in Berlin, Germany. Fuel side costs are defined as the costs resulting from flue gas cleaning and by-products. To have reliable data, co-firing tests were conducted in two power plants (i.e. slag tap furnace and circulating fluidising bed combustion). The amount of wood which was co-fired varied at levels below 11% of the fuel heat input. Wood chips originating from landscape management were used. The analyses show that co-combustion of woody biomass can lower the fuel side costs and that the co-combustion at a level below 10% of the thermal capacity is technically feasible without major problems. Furthermore, a flexible spreadsheet tool was developed for the calculation of fuel side costs and suggestions for operational improvements were made. For example, the adaptation of the Ca/S ratio (mass ratio of calcium in limestone to sulphur in the fuel) in one plant could reduce the fuel side costs up to 135k€yr−1(0.09€MWh−1). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The herbicide Glyphosate was detected in River Havel (Berlin, Germany) in concentrations between 0.1 and 2 μg/L (single maximum outlier: 5 μg/L). As the river indirectly acts as drinking water source for the city’s 3.4 Mio inhabitants potential risks for drinking water production needed to be assessed. For this reason laboratory (sorption and degradation studies) and technical scale investigations (bank filtration and slow sand filter experiments) were carried out. Batch adsorption experiments with Glyphosate yielded a low K F of 1.89 (1/n = 0.48) for concentrations between 0.1 and 100 mg/L. Degradation experiments at 8 °C with oxygen limitation resulted in a decrease of Glyphosate concentrations in the liquid phase probably due to slow adsorption (half life: 30 days). During technical scale slow sand filter (SSF) experiments Glyphosate attenuation was 70–80% for constant inlet concentrations of 0.7, 3.5 and 11.6 μg/L, respectively. Relevant retardation of Glyphosate breakthrough was observed despite the low adsorption potential of the sandy filter substrate and the relatively high flow velocity. The VisualCXTFit model was applied with data from typical Berlin bank filtration sites to extrapolate the results to a realistic field setting and yielded sufficient attenuation within a few days of travel time. Experiments on an SSF planted with Phragmites australis and an unplanted SSF with mainly vertical flow conditions to which Glyphosate was continuously dosed showed that in the planted SSF Glyphosate retardation exceeds 54% compared to 14% retardation in the unplanted SSF. The results show that saturated subsurface passage has the potential to efficiently attenuate glyphosate, favorably with aerobic conditions, long travel times and the presence of planted riparian boundary buffer strips. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Understanding the dynamics of metals and radionuclides in soil environments is necessary for evaluating risks to pristine sites. An iron-rich creek soil of a former uranium-mining district (Ronneburg, Germany) showed high porewater concentrations of heavy metals and radionuclides. Thus, this study aims to (i) evaluate metal dynamics during terminal electron accepting processes (TEAPs) and (ii) characterize active microbial populations in biostimulated soil microcosms using a stable isotope probing (SIP) approach. In biostimulated soil slurries, concentrations of soluble Co, Ni, Zn, As, and unexpectedly U increased during Fe(III)-reduction. This suggests that there was a release of sorbed metals and As during reductive dissolution of Fe(III)-oxides. Subsequent sulfate-reduction was concurrent with a decrease of U, Cu, Ni, and Zn concentrations. The relative contribution of U(IV) in the solid phase changed from 18.5 to 88.7% after incubation. The active Fe(III)-reducing population was dominated by δ-Proteobacteria (Geobacter) in 13C-ethanol amended microcosme. A more diverse community was present in 13C-lactate amended microcosms including taxa related to Acidobacteria, Firmicutas, δ-Proteobacteria, and β-Proteobacteria. Our results suggested that biostimulated Fe(III)-reducing communities facilitated the release of metals including U to groundwater which is in contrast to other studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fischer–Tropsch catalysts, based on cobalt, are complex materials containing the catalyst support and reduction and structural promoters in addition to the cobalt metal itself. While this basic description covers both modern FT catalyst and those first commercialised, in Germany in 1930s, modern FT catalysts have vastly improved performance. While such improvements owe much to modern materials and manufacturing methods, the role of advanced characterisation techniques cannot be underestimated. Modern techniques discern details of catalyst structure that were not available during the early pioneering work, they guide current developments and offer the prospect of designing tailored catalysts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Wetlands have important filter functions in landscapes but are considered to be the biggest unknowns regarding their element dynamics under global climate change. Information on sink and source function of sulphur, nitrogen, organic matter and acidity in wetlands is crucial for freshwater regeneration. Recent results indicate that redox processes are not completely controlled by the sequential reduction chain (that is electron acceptor availability) but that electron donor availability may be an important regulator. Our hypothesis was that only sites which are limited in their electron donor availability (low concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)) follow the concept of the sequential reduction chain. We compared the results of two freshwater wetland systems: 1) three forested fens within a boreal spruce catchment in a low mountain range in southern Germany (high DOC regime) and 2) three floodplain soils within a groundwater enrichment area in the Rhein valley in northwest Switzerland (low DOC regime). Micro scale investigations (a few cm3) with dialyse chambers as well as soil solution and groundwater concentrations at the forested fens (high DOC regime) indicated simultaneous consumption of nitrate and sulphate with release of iron, manganese and methane (CH4) as well as an enrichment in stable sulphur isotopes indicating a co-existence of processes attributed to different redox gradients. Soil and aquifer gas measurements down to 4.6 m at the groundwater enrichment site (low DOC regime and carbon limitation) showed extreme high rates of metabolism with carbon dioxide (CO2), dinitrous oxide (N2O) and CH4 concentrations reaching fifty, thirty and three times atmospheric concentrations, respectively. Simultaneously, groundwater oxygen (O2) saturation was between 50 and 95%. We concluded that independent of DOC regime the sequential reduction chain was not a suitable concept in our systems. Instead of electron acceptor or donor availability micro site variability might explain the co-existence of redox processes within our sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Cr(VI) removal below 0.5 µg L−1 with RCF combined with biological iron removal (RCbF). • RCbF is robust against variations of pH, filtration velocity or Cr(VI) concentration. • Fe(II) dosage is the key parameter for low target Cr(VI) concentrations. • Chromium is strongly immobilized as co-precipitated Cr(III) solid solution. • The technical effort for RCbF is considerably decreased compared to conventional RCF. Cr(VI) is identified as highly toxic, therefore a far-reaching limitation of total chromium or Cr(VI) in drinking water was proposed by the Germany Environment Agency. There is a lack in efficient treatment processes to reach Cr(VI) concentrations below 1 µg L−1. In this study, the combination of chemical reduction, coagulation and filtration (RCF) was further developed by adding biological iron removal as filtration step (RCbF). The aim of this enhancement was to reach lower effluent concentrations and a higher robustness regarding process parameters. The effectiveness of Cr(VI) removal was investigated using two-stage pilot-scale waterworks. RCbF reaches Cr(VI) effluent concentrations below 0.5 µg L−1 despite variations of pH, filtration velocity, or Cr(VI) influent concentrations. Fe(II) dosage and hence molar excess of Fe(II) over Cr(VI) was identified as the key parameter for Cr(VI) removal. Low oxygen dosage for biological iron removal improved the efficiency of RCbF compared to RCF. The co-precipitation of Cr(III) and Fe(III) as solid solution in the supernatant of the filter bed was promoted by low oxygen concentrations making Cr(VI) the preferred oxidant. RCbF was shown to be a suitable treatment process for reaching a low limit value for total chromium or Cr(VI) concerning technical feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the life and works of professor Konrad Hayek. His main research interests were the nucleation and growth of metal nanoparticles, surface science and catalytic processes on surfaces. He further made interesting research on heterogeneous catalysis, oxidation and reduction of metal particles. Hayek was born in Merseburg an der Saale, Germany and studied Chemistry at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. He was a founding chairman of the Austrian Catalysis Society.