We study the possibility that the gamma ray emission in the Fermi bubbles observed is produced by cosmic ray electrons with a spectrum similar to Galactic cosmic rays. We argue that the cosmic ray ...electrons steepen near 1 TeV from \(E^{-3}\) to about \(E^{-4.2}\), and are partially secondaries derived from the knee-feature of normal cosmic rays. We speculate that the observed feature at \(\sim 130\) GeV could essentially be due to inverse Compton emission off a pair-production peak on top of a turn-off in the \(\gamma\) ray spectrum at \(\sim 130\) GeV. It suggests that the knee of normal cosmic rays is the same everywhere in the Galaxy. A consequence could be that all supernovae contributing give the same cosmic ray spectrum, with the knee feature given by common stellar properties; in fact, this is consistent with the supernova theory proposed by Bisnovatyi-Kogan (1970), a magneto-rotational mechanism, if massive stars converge to common properties in terms of rotation and magnetic fields just before they explode.
A techno-economic assessment and environmental and social sustainability assessments of novel Fischer–Tropsch (FT) biodiesel production from the wet and dry gasification of biomass-based residue ...streams (bark and black liquor from pulp production) for transport applications are presented. A typical French kraft pulp mill serves as the reference case and large-scale biofuel-production-process integration is explored. Relatively low greenhouse gas emission levels can be obtained for the FT biodiesel (total span: 16–83 g CO2eq/MJ in the assessed EU countries). Actual process configuration and low-carbon electricity are critical for overall performance. The site-specific social assessment indicates an overall positive social effect for local community, value chain actors, and society. Important social aspects include (i) job creation potential, (ii) economic development through job creation and new business opportunities, and (iii) health and safety for workers. For social risks, the country of implementation is important. Heat and electricity use are the key contributors to social impacts. The estimated production cost for biobased crude oil is about 13 €/GJ, and it is 14 €/GJ (0.47 €/L or 50 €/MWh) for the FT biodiesel. However, there are uncertainties, i.e., due to the low technology readiness level of the gasification technologies, especially wet gasification. However, the studied concept may provide substantial GHG reduction compared to fossil diesel at a relatively low cost.
