Browsing by Author "Du Toit, Jessica"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemA Critical Evaluation of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) Section 24G: Retrospective Environmental Authorisation(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03) Du Toit, Jessica; Rabie, Marinus Andre; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.ENGLISH SUMMARY: After the publication of groundbreaking texts such as “Silent Spring” (Rachel Carson, 1962), “The Tragedy of the Commons” (Garrett Hardin, 1968), and “The Population Bomb” (Paul Ehrlich, 1970), environmental issues came to the forefront of society’s concern. In response, many governments began enacting strong environmental protection laws. South Africa is no exception, with the promulgation of the Environment Conservation Act (ECA), Act 73 of 1989, and subsequently the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), Act 107 of 1998. Despite thorough environmental framework legislation, non-compliance with environmental law remains common in South Africa. The controversial Section 24G of NEMA, entitled “Consequences of unlawful commencement of activity” attempts to address environmental non-compliance. S 24G allows individuals and companies who illegally commenced with an environmental activity prior to obtaining the necessary environmental authorisations to apply for retrospective authorisation. The provision made for ex post facto (after the fact) environmental authorisation by s 24G is controversial, and a number of concerned individuals and environmental organisations have contested it. Concerns surrounding s 24G include the perception that s 24G leads to guaranteed environmental authorisation, and that s 24G can be used to save time by bypassing the traditional Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. S 24G has been misused by companies who simply budget for the administrative fine and commence with illegal activities. In addition, many have argued that the administrative fine associated with s 24G is too low to constitute an effective deterrent. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether s 24G is an effective deterrent to prevent non-compliance with environmental law. Past research, as well as information obtained from the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) is used to analyse trends in s 24G applications and make recommendations for improving the deterrence potential of this legislation. The findings of this research show that despite a consistent increase in the average administrative fine, the number of s 24G applications received by DEA&DP increases every year. However, it is argued that the number of s 24G applications received does not necessarily reflect an increase in environmental non-compliance, but an improved detection of environmental crimes. Most s 24G applications arise from ignorance. Therefore, although s 24G should be amended to increase its effectiveness as a deterrent, ignorance of environmental laws and regulations should be improved through compliance promotion.
- ItemHollow carbon nanospheres: a structural integrity investigation.(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Du Toit, Jessica; Blaine, Deborah; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Hollow carbon nanospheres (HCNSs) have high strength, thermal and electrical conductivities which allow for applications in electrochemical capacitors, lithium ion battery anodes and catalyst supports. When used as a catalyst support, a HCNS encapsulates a nanoparticle, preventing sintering and increasing the catalyst lifespan. The structural integrity of the HCNS is of importance since failure of the HCNS shell will result in the sphere no longer fulfilling its purpose. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the structural integrity and to link synthesis conditions to the structural integrity of HCNSs. HCNSs were synthesised using two different coating methods: chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) treatment. The synthesis variables significantly affected the spherical shell. At best, the CVD synthesis method produced only partial spheres. Unlike the CVD method, the RF method successfully produced HCNSs with whole, unbroken shells. A bulk powder compaction testing method was developed for the nanospheres where the Heckel yield pressure, a qualitative powder parameter, was extracted from fitting the Heckel equation to the experimental data. The Heckel yield pressures for the silica nanospheres showed a clear decrease with increasing sphere diameter. An inverse relationship between Young’s modulus and nanosphere diameter is reported in literature for both polystyrene nanospheres and amorphous HCNSs. Additionally, a proportional correlation between Young’s modulus and Heckel yield pressure is reported in literature. This relationship extended to include a similar relationship between nanosphere diameter and failure stress. Therefore, the size dependency of Heckel yield pressure for the silica nanospheres studied here is supported. In this investigation, the Heckel yield pressure was used as a qualitative parameter to determine the structural integrity of the nanospheres.