Search

There has been controversy regarding the air pollutants emitted from sources closely related to the activities of daily life in China, such as cooking, setting off fireworks, sacrificial incense and joss paper burning, and barbecue (which have been named the five missing sources – FMSs), and the extent to which they impact the outdoor air quality. To date, due to the lack of both an activity dataset and emission factors, there have been no estimations of the emission of air pollutants from FMSs. In this work, we have attempted to combine questionnaire data, various statistical data, and data on points of interest to obtain a relatively complete set of activity data. The emission factors (EFs) of carbonaceous aerosols were tested in our lab. Emission inventories of carbonaceous aerosols with a high spatial–temporal resolution for FMSs were then established, and the spatial variation trend and driving forces were discussed. From 2000 to 2018, organic carbon (OC) emissions were in the range of 4268–4919 t. OC emissions from FMSs were between 1.5 ‰ and 2.2 ‰ of the total emissions in China. Black carbon (BC), elemental carbon (EC), and brown carbon (BrC) absorption cross-section (ACS BrC) emissions from FMSs were in the ranges of 22.6–43.9 t, 213–324 t, and 14.7–35.6 Gm 2 , respectively. Their emissions tended to be concentrated in certain periods and areas. The OC emission intensities in central urban areas were 3.85–50.5 times those in rural areas (due to the high density of human activity), while the ACS BrC emissions in rural regions accounted for 63.0–79.5 % of the total emissions (resulting from uncontrolled fireworks). A mass of fireworks led to much higher ACS BrC and EC emissions on Chinese New Year's Eve, with respective values that were 1444 and 262 times their corresponding yearly averages. Significant (p<0.01) correlations between the population's income and pollutant emissions were also found: these correlations were positive (r=0.94) and negative (r=-0.94) for urban and rural regions, respectively, indicating the necessity to regulate residents' lifestyles and increase residents' income in respective urban and rural regions. This study provides firsthand data to identify emissions, variation trends, and impacting factors from the FMSs. This is helpful for modeling works on air quality, the climate effect, and human health risks during specific periods or in specific regions as well as for modifying emission control policies. The data compiled in this work can found at 10.6084/m9.figshare.19999991.v2 (Cheng et al., 2022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been controversy about the air pollutants emitted from sources closely related to people's daily life (such as cooking, fireworks burning, sacrificial incenses and joss paper burning, and barbecue, named as five missing sources, FMS) impacting the outdoor air quality to what extent. Till now, there is no emission estimation of air pollutants from FMS, as the missing of both activity dataset and emission factors. We attempted to combine the questionnaire data, various statistical data, and data of points of interest to obtain a relatively complete set of activity data. The emission factors (EFs) of carbonaceous aerosols were tested in our lab. Then, the emission inventories of carbonaceous aerosol with the high spatial-temporal resolution for FMS were established firstly, and the spatial-variation trend and driving forces were discussed. From 2000 to 2018, organic carbon (OC) increased from 4268 t to 4919 t. The OC emission from FMS was 1.48-2.18 - of its total emission in China. The emissions of black carbon, element carbon (EC), and brown carbon absorption cross-section (ACSBrC) emissions from FMS were in the ranges of 22.6-43.9 t, 213-324 t, and 14.7-35.6 Gm2, respectively. Their emissions tended to concentrate in special periods and areas. The OC emission intensities in central urban areas were 3.85-50.5 times that of rural areas due to the high density of human activities. While the ACSBrC emissions in rural regions accounted for 63.0-79.5% of the total emission result from uncontrolled fireworks burning. A mass of fireworks burning led to extremely higher ACSBrC and EC emissions on Chinese New Year's eve, as 1444 and 262 times their corresponding yearly average values. Interestingly, significant (p<0.01) correlations between human incomes and pollutant emissions were found, but they were positive (r = 0.94) and negative (r = -0.94) for urban and rural regions, indicating the necessity of regulating human lifestyle and increasing income for urban and rural peoples, respectively. This study provided the first-hand data for identifying the emissions, variation trends and impacting factors of FMS, which is helpful for modeling works on air quality, climate effect, and human health risks at specific periods or regions and for modifying their emission control policies. The data in this work could be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19999991.v1 (Cheng et al., 2022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Non-invasive multi-analytical approach for characterizing Japanese papers. • SPME-GC/MS provides information on the organic substances emitted by papers and fibers. • Acetic acid and 1-butanol emission are related to the papermaking process. • N-N dimethyl formammide was emitted exclusively by industrial papers. Ketones, aldehydes and heavier alcohol were preferentially emitted by fibers and homemade papers. • Higher furfural emission from fibers place further question about the use of this compound for evaluating degradation of the paper. Abstract Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can have a strong effect on cellulose degradation, contributing in decreasing the lifetime expectancy of the paper materials, widely employed in the field of conservation. In this work, we investigated several industrial and homemade Japanese papers, as well as fibers, evaluating VOCs emission by using solid-phase micro extraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS). Acetic acid and 1-butanol were highly detected in industrial and homemade papers rather than fibers, suggesting that the emission of these compounds is influenced by the production process more than by the raw material itself. Conversely, N-N dimethyl formammide was peculiar of industrial processes. Ketones, aldehydes and heavier alcohols were preferentially emitted by fibers and homemade papers. The higher emission of furfural from fibers rather than on papers place new questions about the use of this compound to evaluate the degradation state of the paper material that should be carefully evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Using waste paper as fuel for domestic heating is a beneficial recycling option for small island developing states where there are lacks of resources for energy and waste treatment. However, there are concerns about the impact of air pollutants emitted from the burning of the self-made paper briquettes as household air pollution is recognised as the greatest environmental risk for human. In this study, combustion tests were carried out for paper briquettes made in one Pacific island and three commercial fuels in Australia including wood briquettes, kindling firewood and coal briquettes in order to: 1) characterise the emissions of three criteria air pollutants including particulate matters, CO and NO x including their emission factors (EF) from the tested fuels; and 2) compare the EFs among the tested fuels and with others reported in the literature. The results showed that waste paper briquettes burned quickly and generated high temperature but the heat value is relatively low. Paper briquettes and coal briquettes produced higher CO concentration than the others while paper briquettes generated the highest NO x level. Only PM 2.5 concentration emitted from paper briquettes was similar to kindling firewood and lower than wood briquettes. Burning of paper briquettes and wood briquettes produced particulate matter with large average count median diameter (72 and 68 nm) than coal briquette and kindling firewood (45 and 51 nm). The EFs for CO, NO x and PM 2.5 of paper briquettes were within the range of EFs reported in this study as well as in the literature. Overall, the results suggested that using paper briquettes as fuel for domestic heating will not likely to generate higher level of three major air pollutants compared to other traditional fuels. Highlights • The first attempt to report emission of key air pollutants from waste paper briquettes. • Burning of paper briquettes emitted relatively high CO and NO x concentration. • Burning of paper briquettes emitted PM with large average particle size. • Waste paper could be recycled as briquettes for domestic use like other common fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental pollution has become an important obstacle on the path of ecological civilization construction, and it is urgent to control environmental pollution. By establishing an evolutionary game model, this thesis focuses on analyzing how paper-making enterprises choose their own emission reduction strategies under the reward and punishment mechanism. It further analyzes how social welfare changes under the reward and punishment mechanism, and finally through simulation research, this thesis analyzes the evolutionary paths of paper-making enterprises' pollution emission strategies under the reward and punishment mechanism. The results of the reward and punishment mechanism are as follows: under the static reward and punishment mechanism, the game system will repeatedly oscillate around a point. There is no stable equilibrium point at this time. However, under the dynamic reward and punishment mechanism, the game system will tend to a stable equilibrium point. The results of social welfare analysis show that high-intensity rewards will reduce the amount of pollution discharged by paper-making enterprises, thereby maximizing social welfare. On the contrary, when paper-making enterprises discharge a large amount of pollution, they will be subject to high-intensity penalties. When facing high-intensity punishments, paper-making enterprises will tend to not to discharge. So social welfare is also maximized. The simulation research results show that reasonable punishment strategies are more effective than reward ones. Based on this, the author proposes countermeasures, such as establishing a reasonable reward and punishment mechanism, reasonably determining the reward and punishment intensity for polluting enterprises. The emission reduction strategies of paper-making enterprises will be affected by the government's reward and punishment mechanism. A deep study of its internal mechanism is not only of great significance for pollution control but also of great significance for the development of a green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract To reduce pollution emissions and achieve a cleaner production in paper industry, it is essential to understand the inner links between concentrations of gaseous pollutants, types of final products and production techniques. In this study, the concentrations of four potential gaseous pollutants, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), formaldehyde (HCHO), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), and hydrocarbon compounds (C x H y), in the ambient air on thirty sampling points of five pulp and paper mills were detected and analyzed. The results were summarized with respect to the following aspects: (1) Levels of four gaseous pollutants on all the sampling points in five mills. It was obvious that the situation of gaseous pollution from pulp mill was much more serious than those from paper mills. (2) Gaseous pollutant distinctions due to different production processes. The levels of gaseous pollutants from five mills were greatly influenced by the utilized raw materials and the applied paper chemical agents (flavor, coating materials and additives) in mills. (3) Gaseous pollution comparisons at common points. At the two common points in five mills, i.e. the wet end of paper machine and the wastewater treatment process, TVOC and HCHO, C x H y and H 2 S were the main gaseous pollutants, respectively. In addition, some feasible measures to realize a cleaner production in pulping and papermaking process were also put forward in the article. Highlights • We analyze the levels of 4 gaseous pollutants on 30 sites of 5 pulp & paper mills. • Gaseous pollution distinctions due to different production processes are studied. • Feasible measures to realize the cleaner production in the processes are suggested. • Gaseous pollution are greatly affected by raw materials and added paper chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accompanying China's accession to the World Trade Organization, the rapid development of the Chinese economy has led to increasingly serious environmental issues. However, the inherent mechanisms underlying the impact of Environmental Information Disclosure (EID) policy and trade on the environmental effects of Chinese paper enterprises remain unclear in the context of the era's requirement for a resource-conserving and environmentally-friendly society. The pollution problem in the papermaking industry has received attention worldwide, and how to balance the environmental and development issues of papermaking enterprises is an urgent issue that needs to be solved in the academic community. This study explores the impact mechanisms of EID policy and trade on the environmental effects of enterprises from the perspective of financial constraints. Utilizing the PSM-DID model, the study investigates the moderating effects of financial constraints on the EID policy and import-export trade. The findings reveal that both external and internal financial constraints have negative, detrimental effects on the environmental effects of the EID policy and trade. These constraints impede research and development investment and technological upgrades, hinder productivity improvement, and hamper the realization of "regulatory and trade innovation effects". This study enriches our understanding of the mechanisms by which trade affects the environmental effects of Chinese paper enterprises and further identifies the impacts of Chinese EID policy and trade on pollution emissions by enterprises, providing a theoretical basis and practical foundation for the government in formulating financial, environmental, and trade policies. • Analyzing the environmental effects of Chinese paper enterprises from the perspective of financing constraints. • This study validated the research hypothesis using three micro databases. • This study decomposes the impact mechanism into three aspects: scale effects, technical effects, and structural effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Despite major improvements in recycling over the last decades, the pulp and paper sector is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental pressures. Further reduction of virgin material requirements and environmental impacts requires a detailed understanding of the global material flows in paper production and consumption. This study constructs a Sankey diagram of global material flows in the paper life cycle, from primary inputs to end‐of‐life waste treatment, based on a review of publicly available data. It then analyzes potential improvements in material flows and discusses recycling and material efficiency metrics. The article argues that the use of the collection rate as a recycling metric does not directly stimulate avoidance of virgin inputs and associated impacts. An alternative metric compares paper for recycling (recovered paper) with total fibrous inputs and indicates that the current rate is at just over half of the technical potential. Material efficiency metrics are found to be more useful if they relate to the reuse potential of wastes. The material balance developed in this research provides a solid basis for further study of global sustainable production and consumption of paper. The conclusions on recycling and efficiency should be considered for improving environmental assessment and stimulating a shift toward resource efficiency and the circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work is to compare the environmental impacts of two production processes of tissue paper using virgin pulp (virgin fiber) or waste paper pulp (recycled fiber). This comparison is based on the materials and energy used as well as emissions and waste resulting from the production of tissue paper. Life cycle assessment (LCA), ReCiPe method, was chosen as the analysis tool. The results of the research proved that electricity has the most considerable participation in the overall environmental impacts in both production processes, followed by either virgin pulp or heat. Consequently, these two production processes are the greatest contributors to the following midpoint environmental impact categories: human toxicity, climate change, human health and ecosystems, and fossil depletion. The analysis based on endpoint impact categories proved that the production process based on waste paper is more environmentally friendly than the one based on virgin pulp in all impact categories: human health, ecosystems, resources. This is largely because of its lower material and energy requirements in the entire life cycle. Due to the fact that the tissue paper is the final use of fiber, using recycled waste paper is strongly recommended. The obtained research results are a valuable source of management information for the decision makers at both company and national levels required to improve the environmental performance of tissue paper production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The aim of this work is to quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings potential in magazine paper production through the application of the innovative manufacturing strategies using advanced sheet structure design and fibre modifications. Methods The study applies Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to two different magazine paper products: supercalendered (SC) paper and light-weight coated (LWC) paper. A cradle-to-gate approach is used aiming to assess the environmental benefits gained through the implementation of new manufacturing strategies in both products. The functional unit of the system was defined as the production of one square meter of finished paper for printing magazines. Conventional and new production processes have been compared. Results and discussion The strategies applied to SC paper resulted in reduction of GHG emissions by 22.9%, with a total of 10.7 gCO 2 eq emissions saved per square meter of SC paper. In the case of LWC paper, GHG emissions are reduced by 20.3%, which are equal to a total of 19.7 gCO 2 eq saved per square meter of LWC paper. The influence of certain methodological approaches -functional unit, electricity mix and avoided impacts- in the final results is also discussed in the paper. Conclusions The manufacturing strategies implemented show a remarkable potential for reducing GHG emissions. Taking into account that the pulp and paper industry is a very energy-intensive sector and one of the main GHG emitters, the potential of the strategies for the improvement of the environmental performance of the papermaking processes is significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By employing historical case study methodology, this paper examines the transition towards renewable energy and increased energy efficiency in the Swedish pulp and paper industry (PPI) during the 1970s and 1980s. Between 1973 and 1990, CO emissions were cut by 80 % in this sector, and this was mainly achieved by substituting away from oil to biofuels in the form of by-products from the pulp manufacturing process. The CO reduction was also a result of energy efficiency improvements and increased internal production of electricity through back-pressure turbine power generation. Sweden was highly dependent on oil at the advent of the first Oil Crisis in 1973, and the increased oil prices put pressure on the Swedish government and the energy-intensive PPI to reduce this oil dependency. Of central importance for the energy transition was the highly collaborative strategy of the PPI, both internally among pulp mills as well as between the sector as a whole and the corporatist Swedish state administration. The Swedish government chose a proactive strategy by emphasizing knowledge management and collaboration with the industry along with the substitution of internal biofuels for oil. The transition was also characterized by a strong focus on unutilized potentials in the PPI; a previous waste problem now could be transformed into energy savings and improved energy efficiency. Energy taxes and fees also played an important role in Swedish energy policy during the 1970s and the 1980s. All in all, the study illustrates the central role of governments and their ability to push industrial sectors into new technological pathways through a wide palette of mutually reinforcing policy instruments. The results further point at the importance of a more holistic understanding of the interplay between different policies and their impacts in the longer run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulp and paper industry is a high energy consuming and polluting sector, and carbon emissions emitted from this sector are worthy of attention. This article, based upon an analysis of China’s Pulp and Paper Industry (CPPI), provides estimates of each of the following: carbon emissions from energy consumption, pre-treatment sector, combustion of condensed black liquor, and methane emitted from incomplete aerobic digestion during sewage treatment of CPPI. During the study period (2005–2012), total CO 2 emissions ranged from 126.0 Mt to 155.4 Mt. Energy consumption was estimated to be the largest source of carbon emissions, however, due to the application of the local emission inventory rather than the IPCC inventory, energy consumption decreased by 4.7%, a lower percentage than was calculated in a previous study. According to this study’s estimation, the emissions caused by the recovery of biomass energy contributed 26–29% of the total CO 2 emissions. CH 4 generated from sewage treatment accounted for 9–11% of the total carbon emissions. The CO 2 intensity dropped during the study period, which reflected the improvement of energy efficiency in the pulp and paper industry. The outcome of this study provides not only detailed information about CPPI’s carbon emissions, but also a calculation framework for studying carbon emissions from pulp and paper sector in the other regions. It suggests that the local carbon emissions inventory should be used for estimating carbon emissions and to reduce the fossil fuel energy, increase energy recovery from biomass, and that promoting cleaner production is essential to achieve a low carbon development of the pulp and paper industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in cement-based construction materials is a key strategy for reducing environmental burdens and the greenhouse gas emissions related to cement production. Supplies of commonly applied SCMs such as fly ash and blast furnace slag are becoming limited, and therefore the search for alternative SCMs is of high significance. The present research investigates the viability of four paper mill ashes collected at different stages from the same incineration process as SCMs at different cement substitution rates (5–30 wt%). The ashes were first classified depending on their mineralogical and chemical composition, and their contribution to strength development of the prepared mortars is examined. Furthermore, the effects of the ashes on the hydration kinetics and the fresh and hardened properties of the prepared mortars were studied. The obtained results showed that a high level of SCM replacement accelerates the early hydration reactions and decreases the setting time. In addition, the incorporation of paper mill ashes increased the bound water depending on the ash type and resulted in strength development of the mortars at low replacement percentages (5–10 wt%). This study shows that the ashes belonging to type C medium acid based on bio ash classification could be incorporated as SCMs at a maximum level of 10 wt%, while those corresponding to type C low acid could be used up to 20–30 wt%. • Four paper mill ashes were characterized and classified based on the chemical and mineralogical composition then used as SCM. • Paper mill ashes corresponding to type C low acid based on bioash classification could be used as SCMs up to 20–30 wt%. • The addition rate of paper mill ashes controls the fresh properties and strength development of the mortars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air emissions from the U.S. pulp and paper sector have been federally regulated since 1978; however, regulations are periodically reviewed and revised to improve efficiency and effectiveness of existing emission standards. The Industrial Sectors Integrated Solutions (ISIS) model for the pulp and paper sector is currently under development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and can be utilized to facilitate multi-pollutant, sector-based analyses that are performed in conjunction with regulatory development. The model utilizes a multi-sector, multi-product dynamic linear modeling framework that evaluates the economic impact of emission reduction strategies for multiple air pollutants. The ISIS model considers facility-level economic, environmental, and technical parameters, as well as sector-level market data, to estimate the impacts of environmental regulations on the pulp and paper industry. Specifically, the model can be used to estimate U.S. and global market impacts of new or more stringent air regulations, such as impacts on product price, exports and imports, market demands, capital investment, and mill closures. One major challenge to developing a representative model is the need for an extensive amount of data. This article discusses the collection and processing of data for use in the model, as well as the methods used for building the ISIS pulp and paper database that facilitates the required analyses to support the air quality management of the pulp and paper sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is emerging as a critical player in transitioning to sustainable and renewable energy systems, serving roles in energy storage, grid balancing, and decarbonization. This paper explores various aspects of hydrogen, including its production through renewable-electricity-driven electrolysis, advanced storage techniques, and incorporation into current energy systems. It highlights primary electrolysis methods like PEM and alkaline, noting their improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Various hydrogen storage methods, such as physical, chemical, and advanced porous materials, are examined for their benefits and limitations. The review further explores hydrogen's integration into grid storage systems and microgrids to enhance energy reliability. It discusses hydrogen's application in fuel cells for electricity generation, focusing on technological advancements that improve efficiency and reduce costs. Additionally, the paper underscores hydrogen's crucial role in reducing CO 2 emissions in industrial processes like steel production and its use in residential and commercial energy supply through combined heat and power systems. Economic aspects and supportive policies from regions are analyzed, highlighting the global efforts and policies supporting the potential hydrogen in renewable energy systems. This analysis emphasizes hydrogen's comprehensive role in enhancing renewable energy systems and achieving global sustainability objectives, providing a thorough review of recent progress and challenges. • Identifies PEM and alkaline as efficient electrolysis methods. • Analyzes varied H 2 storage options for mobility and stationarity. • Highlights advancements in H 2 fuel cells for vehicles. • Discusses global policies supporting H 2 integration. • Reviews economic impacts of scaling H 2 infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warsaw is among European cities with the worst atmospheric air quality, mainly due to very high pollution emitted by the residential sector and road traffic. This results in high concentrations of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, often exceeding WHO standards. The paper discusses the current and expected effects of actions taken by the Warsaw authorities, to significantly improve air quality in the city. The policy directly addresses one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities). The analysis presented in the paper consists of two stages. The first, covering the years 2018–2029, deals with the ongoing Clean Air Program, which assumes primarily the reduction, and ultimately the complete elimination, of coal combustion in all heat sources of the residential sector. This sector is widely identified as the main source of urban air quality degradation, especially in Polish cities due to the dominant share of coal in the fuel mix. The second part of the corrective measures, covering the period 2024–2034, primarily concerns the reduction of nitrogen oxide pollution, mainly from traffic. The latter takes into account the expected effects of the introduction of a Low-emission Zone (LEZ) in the city center (launched in July 2024) and implemented in five two-year stages, in which car emission limits will be gradually tightened. According to the analysis results, the implementation of the Clean Air Program can result in about a 20% reduction in annual average PM2.5 concentrations by 2024, with a small (about 9%) reduction in NOx. At the same time, a significant reduction in NOx levels can be achieved by full implementation of the LEZ, especially within the zone boundaries (more than 50%). An important factor here is the size of the zone. The paper compares the effectiveness of two being considered versions, differing in size zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2023 was a landmark year for climate change, with hundreds of climate records broken around the world concurrent with the conclusion of the IPCC Sixth Assessment (AR6) process and the first United Nations (UN) Stocktake on climate action. This special issue builds on the AR6 with three papers on key global tourism and climate change knowledge gaps (tourism and climate policy integration, pathways to deep emission reductions, tourism demand) and nine in-depth assessments of tourism climate and carbon risk in each of the IPCC regions. These important contributions of 65 different authors from 30 countries also supported the first ever global stocktake of climate action in the tourism sector. The papers in this special issue make clear that global tourism as we know it in the early twenty first century will be transformed by the climate crisis. Based on the collective contributions, this introduction to the special issue summarizes the state of tourism and climate change research, sets out a research agenda related to the low carbon transition, adapting to accelerating climate disruption, and climate justice, and emphasizes the urgent need to mobilize the tourism academy in this decisive decade for climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The relationship of Firms' GVC positioning and CEP is investigated for the first time. • We find a right-side smile curve between firms' GVC positioning and CEP. • The improvement of CEP could be driven by firms' downstream climbing in GVC. • The demand diversity brought about by consumption-downstream GVC positioning promotes CEP. • The higher the export market efficiency, the larger the environmental improvement effect is. How firms' GVC positioning affects their environmental performance is an interesting but under-researched issue. This paper explores the relationship between GVC positioning and environmental performance from the firm level for the first time. Based on the Chinese Industrial Enterprise Pollution Emission Database from 2001 to 2013 combined with OECD's TiVA and China Customs databases, this paper identifies the existence of a right-side smile curve between firms' GVC positioning and Corporate Environmental Performance (CEP, represented by firms' SO2 emission intensity) among firms in developed regions, supported by industrial policies and with large scale, implying that the improvement of CEP could be driven by firms' downstream climbing in GVC. Mechanism analysis reveals that the demand diversity brought about by consumption-downstream GVC positioning expands firms' imported intermediate goods and enhances firms' innovation to promote CEP. The environmental improvement effects are more substantial when the export market is more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a key project of China's western development, the West-East Natural Gas Transmission Project (WENGT) has effectively alleviated China's uneven energy distribution and supply-demand issues. It has promoted the optimization of China's energy structure and sustainable development in the new era, helping to achieve the goal of "double carbon". Based on pollution data from Chinese industrial enterprises from 2000 to 2012, this paper analyzes the impact of the West-East Natural Gas Pipeline Project on the air pollution emissions of industrial enterprises using a difference-in-difference model and explores the moderating role of local government environmental regulations. The findings indicate that the project significantly reduced air pollutant emissions from industrial enterprises in cities along the route, with a more pronounced reduction effect in areas with higher environmental regulation intensity. Additionally, the emission reduction effect varied among different types of enterprises and regions, with private enterprises showing the smallest reduction impact and the eastern coastal region exhibiting the most significant effect. This paper delves into the relationship between sustainable cross-regional energy development and air pollution emissions from industrial enterprises, providing a theoretical basis for energy conservation and emission reduction policies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities, such as mining, industrialization, industrial waste emissions, and agricultural practices, have caused heavy metals to become widespread and excessively accumulated in soil. The high concentrations of heavy metals in soil can be toxic to plants, severely affecting crop yield and quality. Moreover, these heavy metals can also enter the food chain, affecting animals and humans and leading to various serious illnesses. Selenium (Se) is not only an essential element for animals and humans but is also beneficial for plants, as it promotes their ability to respond actively to biotic and abiotic stresses. The global issue of Se deficiency in diets has made plants the primary source for human Se supplementation. This paper comprehensively reviews the effects of heavy metal stress on plant growth and development, physiological responses of plants to such stress, and the intracellular transport processes of heavy metals within plants. It particularly focuses on the mechanisms by which Se alleviates heavy metal stress in plants. Additionally, the study delves into how Se significantly enhances plant tolerance mechanisms against typical heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). This integrative research not only expands the boundaries of research in the field of plant heavy metal stress and Se application but also provides new perspectives and solutions for understanding and addressing complex environmental heavy metal pollution issues. By integrating these aspects, this paper not only fills existing gaps in the literature but also offers comprehensive scientific basis and strategic recommendations for environmental protection and sustainable agriculture development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017, a carbon emissions trading market will be launched nationwide by the China government. Calculating the enterprise carbon emissions is an important prerequisite and basis for trading. This paper discussed types of greenhouse gases, calculation boundaries and methods, energy consumption, carbon emissions, and intensity of a representative integrated pulp and paper mill in China based on China Guidance and Greenhouse Gas Protocol Tools. The results showed that there were 435,000 tonnes (t) of CO2 emissions from that mill in 2014 that did not contain emissions of biomass energy, which was 8 times higher than that of fossil energy. The pulp carbon intensity based on the mill was 0.230 t CO2/Adt, which accounted for 7.50% to 57.4% in other pulps' based on the product. Intensity based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 1.090 t CO2e/1000 USD and accounted for 56.8% intensity in the China paper industry. The intensity based on sales accounted for 52.6% in the firstclass enterprise in the developed country. It also showed that intensity was influenced by the species of raw material, energy, and products, which provided the mill with measures for energy saving and emissions reduction to obtain the redundant carbon emissions in the trading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study firstly investigated the species, concentration variation, and emission factors of mercury emitted from the burning of incenses and joss papers in an Asian temple. Both indoor and outdoor speciated mercury (GEM, GOM, and PHg) were sampled by manual samplers, while ambient GEM at an indoor site was in-situ monitored by a continuous GEM monitor. Field measurement results showed that the total atmospheric mercury (TAM) concentrations in indoor and outdoor environments were in the range of 8.03–35.72 and 6.03–31.35 ng/m 3 , respectively. The indoor and outdoor ratios (I/O) of TAM in the daytime and at nighttime were in the range of 0.64–0.90 and 1.50–2.04, respectively. The concentrations of GEM, GOM, and PHg during the holiday periods were approximately 1–4 times higher than those during the non-holiday periods. GEM was the dominant mercury species in the indoor and outdoor environments and accounted for 63–81% of TAM, while the oxidized mercury accounted for 19–37% of TAM. Burning incenses and joss papers in a combustion chamber showed that the concentration of GEM from joss paper burning ranged from 4.07 to 11.62 μg/m 3 , or about 13.97 times higher than that of incense burning, while the concentration of PHg from incense burning ranged from 95.91 to 135.07 ng/m 3 , or about 3.29 times higher than that of joss paper burning. The emission factors of incense burning were 10.39 ng/g of GEM and 1.40 ng/g of PHg, while those of joss paper burning were 12.65 ng/g of GEM and 1.27 ng/g of PHg, respectively. This study revealed that speciated mercury emitted from worship activities had significant influence on the indoor and outdoor mercury concentrations in an Asian temple. Higher intensity of worship activities during holidays resulted in a higher concentration of speciated mercury in indoor and outdoor air, which might cause health threats to worshipers, staffs, and surrounding inhabitants through long-term exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract\nHIGHLIGHTSUnder the promotion of urban planning and land development policies, the urban spatial structure of China is undergoing a transformation towards polycentricity. The improvement of environmental performance during the process of urban spatial transformation is crucial for urban sustainable development. This paper uses high-resolution population grid data from LandScan for the years 2001–2019 to measure the urban spatial structure of Chinese cities. Then we match the Chinese Industrial Enterprise Database with the Chinese Industrial Enterprise Pollution Emission Database for the years 2001–2014. This paper empirically examines the impact and mechanisms of the polycentric spatial structure of Chinese cities on enterprise pollution reduction at the micro-level. The findings indicate that compared to monocentricity, polycentricity is more conducive to improving enterprise environmental performance. Mechanism tests demonstrate that the improvement in enterprise environmental performance resulting from polycentricity can be achieved through three channels: increasing urban population and density, mitigating urban environmental pollution, and promoting enterprise innovation ability. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that polycentricity is more beneficial for emission reduction among small enterprises, young enterprises and enterprises in regions with higher environmental regulations. This paper provides micro-level evidence and policy implications for further strengthening the aggregation effect of polycentricity and improving enterprise environmental performance in the future.We quantify urban spatial structure using Landscan data in China.Polycentricity is conductive to the enterprise emission reduction of so2.Polycentricity reduces enterprise emission by improving population scale and density.Reliving urban pollution, improving enterprise innovation are also mechanisms.Polycentricity is common in the southeast, southwest and northeast cities of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently focusing on the cooperative control of air pollution and CO2 emissions, as well as the mitigation of economic policy uncertainty (EPU). By using panel data from 282 cities spanning from 2003 to 2017 and a newly constructed city-level EPU index, a spatial Durbin, two-way fixed-effects model is employed, with the aim of estimating the impact of EPU on the synergistic emissions intensity (SEI) of air pollutants and CO2. Additionally, this paper investigates the potential channels through which EPU influences SEI. It also explores how pressures related to environmental protection and economic development affect the impact of EPU on SEI. The results indicate that a unit increase in EPU will result in a rise in the SEI of local cities, adjacent cities, and total cities by 930.9%, 69,162.7%, and 70,093.6%, respectively. Moreover, the channel analysis suggests that EPU exacerbates SEI by undermining the upgrading of the industrial structure, augmenting industrial structure distortion, and escalating labor market distortion. Furthermore, the effect of EPU on SEI may be lessened by an increase in environmental protection pressure, while an increase in economic development pressure may exert a positive influence. Finally, this paper concludes by recommending that policymakers should prioritize the maintenance and stability of economic policies, facilitate the advancement of the industrial structure, enhance the efficiency of labor resource allocation, and underscore the significance of managing urban air pollution and CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While new infrastructure, as a technological extension of traditional infrastructure, has important digital economy attributes, mismatched investment in new infrastructure can still be environmentally damaging. To this end, this paper explores the potential impact of the matching relationship between the new infrastructure investment (NII) and the upgrading of industrial structure (UIS) on environmental pollution from the perspective of coupling and coordination between the two. Through a series of quantitative empirical and robustness tests on China's relevant data from 2011 to 2019, this paper concludes that the coupling coordination level (NUC) of NII and UIS has an inhibitory effect on major environmental pollutants; in terms of mediating effect, NUC can reduce the emission of major environmental pollutants by improving energy consumption structure (ECS) and green innovation level (GII); in terms of nonlinear change characteristics, there is a threshold effect of NUC on the emission of industrial sewage and industrial dust; in terms of spatial properties, NII, NUC, PM2.5 and industrial sewage have positive spatial spillover effects. This study provides theoretical and empirical evidence that can support the government's decision to implement differentiated new infrastructure investment decisions based on environmental protection, and it also provides a certain level of reference for developing countries to make more environmentally friendly new infrastructure investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction of the sulfur emissions reduction directive for maritime transport has become a heavily debated policy issue in Northern Europe from the perspective of the future competitiveness of transport-dependent industries. The scientific value of this study is in its contribution to the scarce literature on the future of pulp and paper industry competitiveness from the tightening environmental regulation perspective, highlighting the complementary role of law-abiding and voluntary regulations. Using a Delphi-foresight method, the study evaluates the effectiveness of environmental regulation by identifying its positive and negative aspects for the future success of the pulp and paper industry, and uses the reduction of sulfur emissions as an example. From a business perspective, the panelists saw tightening regulation as both a threat and an opportunity, and stressed the role of the policy implementation in achieving actual environmental improvement. The strict regulatory measures were generally perceived as environmentally advantageous and more effective in the long term, but a rather divided view was seen in the ability of the sulfur emissions directive to effectively govern environmental sustainability. In discussion, the role of more voluntary alternatives to implementing command-and-control type policy measures is emphasized in complementing government legislation, to gain market benefits from greening the entire pulp and paper supply chain. To conclude, the development of sustainable transportation strategies has the potential to contribute toward long-term competitiveness in the pulp and paper industry, especially if new strategic innovation-oriented cross-sector partnerships develop in the production and use of transportation biofuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current management of solid waste from pulp and paper activities represents an environmental and economic burden worldwide due to pollution emissions. This study investigates the potential of hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) treatment as a sustainable alternative for producing cleaner and energy-dense solid fuel from paper mill sludge. The effect of process parameters (temperature, reaction time and solid load) on hydrochar fuel formation from paper sludge was evaluated and, for the first time, the paper sludge-derived hydrochar was optimised to maximise the mass yield and calorific value using response surface methodology (RSM). The physicochemical characteristics, thermal fuel behaviour, energy recycling efficiency and electricity generation potential were assessed by proximate and ultimate analysis, thermogravimetry, bomb calorimeter, scanning electron microscopy and process energy assessment. Results showed that hydrochar fuel formation and properties were mainly influenced by the process temperature and residence time, and governed by dehydration and decarboxylation reactions which reduced the atomic H/C and O/C ratios by 35.5% and 64%, respectively. The produced hydrochars presented low sulphur, nitrogen and ash content with a maximum calorific value (HHV) of 22.9 MJ/kg, equivalent to the HHV of coal for commercial utility in South Africa. The HHV of the hydrochar corresponded to a 49.80% increase over the HHV of the initial feedstock. The optimum operating conditions were 231 ± 1 °C and 1.99 h for a hydrochar yield of 74.4% and calorific value of 18.5 MJ/kg. The energy assessment showed that up to 58.34% of the energy produced by hydrochar fuel combustion may be recycled as heat or power, while the remaining 41.66% of the combustion energy could be utilised to sustain the HTC treatment of paper sludge. The substantial water demand was concluded to be a drawback. Thus, water recirculation and the potential to catalyse the HTC reactions to increase overall process efficiency will constitute a future study to make the process more environmentally friendly for industrial-scale application. [Display omitted] • Dehydration and decarboxylation were predominant. • Optimum energy yield of 18.5 MJ/kg and 74.4% hydrochar was achieved under 231 ± 1 °C and 1.99 h. • Higher HTC reaction severity enhanced the physicochemical properties of the hydrochar. • Hydrochars produced have low nitrogen and sulphur (<1%) content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reduction of water pollutant emissions and energy consumption is regarded as a key environmental objective for the pulp and paper industry. The paper develops a bottom-up model called the Industrial Water Pollutant Control and Technology Policy (IWPCTP) based on an industrial technology simulation system and multiconstraint technological optimization. Five policy scenarios covering the business as usual (BAU) scenario, the structural adjustment (SA) scenario, the cleaner technology promotion (CT) scenario, the end-treatment of pollutants (EOP) scenario, and the coupling measures (CM) scenario have been set to describe future policy measures related to the development of the pulp and paper industry from 2010-2020. The outcome of this study indicates that the energy saving amount under the CT scenario is the largest, while that under the SA scenario is the smallest. Under the CT scenario, savings by 2020 include 70 kt/year of chemical oxygen demand (COD) emission reductions and savings of 7443 kt of standard coal, 539.7 ton/year of ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) emission reductions, and savings of 7444 kt of standard coal. Taking emission reductions, energy savings, and cost-benefit into consideration, cleaner technologies like highly efficient pulp washing, dry and wet feedstock preparation, and horizontal continuous cooking, medium and high consistency pulping and wood dry feedstock preparation are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen production technology by urea-assisted electrocatalytic water decomposition has become one of the important means to alleviate carbon emissions and water pollution. In this paper, we first doped Sn and Cu element into the Ni 3 S 2 material by hydrothermal method on the Ni foam support. This Cu–Sn–Ni 3 S 2 material exhibits superior urea (potential of 1.42 V at 100 mA cm−2) and water oxidation (potential of 1.63 V at 100 mA cm−2) properties, which is one of the best electrochemical performance reported up to now. Analysis of experiment demonstrate that the increase in catalytic performance is assigned to faster charge transfer, more exposure of reaction centres and smaller resistance owing to doping of Sn and Cu. Density functional theory (DFT) analysis demonstrates that introduction of Sn and Cu increases the adsorption energy of urea and improves the conductivity of the Cu–Sn–Ni 3 S 2 material, and the co-doping of the two changes the electron state density of the active site, thereby promoting the catalytic performance. This work provides insights into the development of efficient bifunctional electrodes for urea oxidation and oxygen evolution reaction through doping strategies. [Display omitted] • Cu and Sn ion co-doped Ni 3 S 2 nanoarrays were prepared by typical hydrothermal processes. • The Cu–Sn–Ni 3 S 2 presents an improved activity with small potentials of 1.63 V at 100 mA cm−2 for water oxidation. • The Cu–Sn–Ni 3 S 2 presents an improved activity with potentials of 1.42 V at 100 mA cm−2 for urea oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction activities are a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. However, the majority of construction‐driven emissions are indirect, meaning that these emissions occur during the manufacturing and transport of construction materials. This is in contrast with direct emissions, which are directly emitted from construction machinery. These indirect impacts are represented as embodied emissions and are difficult to quantify at scale, limiting the effectiveness of climate policymaking in the building sector. This paper presents results from a comprehensive account of embodied emissions within the Canadian construction sector, at a resolution far higher than existing global accounts, as well as novel analyses of flows and intensities of embodied emissions. It has the specific goal of serving as a baseline for future analyses of decarbonization scenarios and the more general goal of highlighting the importance of a consumption‐based approach to climate policymaking in the sector. The accounts are produced via an environmentally extended input–output analysis based on Canadian supply–use tables for the year 2018, and results are presented for the 13 provinces and territories as well as 19 categories of buildings and infrastructure. Results show that demand from construction drives 13% of Canada's consumption‐based emissions, residential construction is by far the largest driver of emissions, and at 0.28 kgCO2eq per Canadian dollar of GDP, the efficiency of Canadian construction is roughly in line with the OECD average. A disproportionate share of emissions is driven by construction in provinces that are growing fast in terms of their populations, feature significant extractive industries, and feature higher emissions intensities. The construction sectors of western provinces are highly interconnected and receive a disproportionate proportion of embodied emissions from Alberta, whose high level of emissions promises to complicate decarbonization efforts. This article met the requirements for a gold‐gold JIE data openness badge described at http://jie.click/badges [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas emissions, as one of the primary contributors to global warming, present an urgent environmental challenge that requires attention. Accurate prediction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the industrial sector is crucial for the development of low-carbon industries. However, existing time series models often suffer from severe overfitting when data volume is insufficient. In this paper, we propose a carbon emission prediction method based on meta-learning and differential long- and short-term memory (MDL) to address this issue. Specifically, MDL leverages Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) to capture long-term dependencies in time series data and employs a meta-learning framework to transfer knowledge from multiple source task datasets for initializing the carbon emission prediction model for the target task. Additionally, the combination of differential LSTM and the meta-learning framework reduces the dependency of the differential long- and short-term memory network on data volume. The smoothed difference method, included in this approach, mitigates the randomness of carbon emission sequences, consequently benefiting the fit of the LSTM model to the data. To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed method, we validate it using carbon emission datasets from 30 provinces in China and the industrial sector in Xinjiang. The results show that the average absolute error (MAE), Coefficient of Determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) of the method have been reduced by 61.8% and 63.8% on average compared with the current mainstream algorithms. The method provides an efficient and accurate solution to the task of industrial carbon emission prediction, and helps environmental policy makers to formulate environmental policies and energy consumption plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenolic compounds (PhCs) are aromatic compounds with benzene rings that have one or more hydroxyl groups. They are found or formed in the atmosphere due to various factors such as combustion processes, industrial emissions, oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other photochemical reactions. Due to properties such as relatively high Henry's law constants and moderate/high water solubility, PhCs are vulnerable to reactions in atmospheric liquid phase conditions with high relative humidity, fog or cloudy conditions. PhCs can lead to the formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs), which can have negative effects on atmospheric conditions and human health. Changes in the optical properties of PhCs impact solar radiation absorption and scattering, potentially influencing climate. Additionally, PhCs may interact with other atmospheric constituents, potentially affecting cloud or fog formation and properties, which in turn can impact climate and precipitation patterns. Therefore, monitoring and controlling the emission of PhCs is essential. This paper discusses the transformation processes of PhCs in the atmosphere, including direct conversion of phenol, nitrate-induced and nitrite-induced reactions, hydroxylation reactions and oxidation processes involving triplet excited state organics, also providing a detailed analysis of the transformation processes. The findings lay a theoretical foundation for the future monitoring and control of atmospheric pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change represents the state of knowledge of anthropogenic disruption to the climate system, its diverse ecosystem and societal impacts, and the imperative for and challenges of mitigation and adaptation responses. It is foundational for global climate policymaking. This paper examines the place of tourism in AR6 and reviews its key findings for tourism's future. Overall, tourism related content declined relative to previous assessments. While notable improvements in content occurred for Africa, visible knowledge gaps remain in the tourism growth regions of South America, Middle East, and South Asia. There remains limited discussion of many impacts, and very limited understanding of integrated impacts and the effectiveness of adaptation strategies at the destination scale. The contribution of tourism to global emissions was omitted, however tourism was discussed in the context of luxury emissions and just transitions. Tourism is repeatedly identified in solution space discussions, particularly for ecosystem protection, but without consideration of the future of tourism in a rapidly decarbonizing and climate disrupted economy. With only 21% of published climate change and tourism literature in the AR6 review period cited, tourism academics should elevate tourism content and engagement in future assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) represent an eco-friendly means of transportation, acknowledged for their potential to curtail gasoline consumption, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. The conjoint analysis approach is employed in this paper to comprehend consumers preferences for HFCVs across multiple Chinese cities. Through an online survey questionnaire, car usage and transport policy attributes are identified as crucial factors to establish choice preference models. Results indicate the pivotal role of purchase price and cruising range as the most influential attributes shaping consumer preferences for HFCVs, with rankings varying by geographical location. Market share insights and simulation analysis confirms the significance of attributes and describes the impact of cross-changes on HFCV choice behaviors. These findings offer crucial insights for automakers and policymakers, outlining priorities and optimal policy combination when introducing HFCVs in multiple Chinese cities. • Conjoint analysis was employed to unveil pivotal attributes in Chinese market. • Purchase price and cruising range of HFVCs dominate consumer choices. • HFCV attribute significance varies across Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and others. • Optimal HFCV policies encompass financial subsidies, low fuel cost, and expanded refueling infrastructure. • Provide valuable insights for automakers and policymakers navigating the diverse Chinese market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-rotor drones, a kind of unmanned equipment which is widely used in the military, commercial consumption and other fields, have been developed very rapidly in recent years. However, their short flight time has hindered the expansion of their application range. This can be addressed by utilizing hydrogen fuel cells, which exhibit high energy density, strong adaptability to ambient temperature, and no pollution emissions, as the power source. Accordingly, the application of hydrogen fuel cells as the power source in multi-rotor drones is a promising technology that has attracted significant research attention. This paper summarizes the development process of hydrogen fuel cell multi-rotor drones and analyzes the key obstacles that need to be addressed for the further development of hydrogen fuel cell multi-rotor drones, including structural light weight, hydrogen storage methods, energy management strategies, thermal management, etc. Additionally, prospects for the future development of hydrogen fuel cell multi-rotor drones are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global attention to climate change has surged since the advent of the Paris Agreement, intensifying the importance of measuring and managing carbon productivity indicators on a national level. Nevertheless, concerns persist regarding the reliability of such measurements because of inherent discrepancies in implementing and operating national-level carbon productivity indicators, coupled with their inherent uncertainty. This study proposes a multiple regression model to address these issues aimed at refining national-level carbon productivity indicator metrics, accounting for factors such as the gross domestic product and total greenhouse gas emissions by sectors. The objective was to offer insights into enhancing and effectively utilizing current indicators, enabling a more nuanced interpretation of the variation in the carbon productivity indicators across diverse industrial landscapes. This study showed that adjustments of the carbon productivity metrics reflect disparities in emissions across industrial structures, with countries characterized by high emissions from non-service industries showing improving trends. In addition, this paper proposes an auxiliary indicator estimating method for carbon productivity that, when utilized with current methodologies, is more usable to interpret productivity indicators within the context of varying industrial compositions across OECD countries. Moreover, by elucidating the nuances of industrial structures, this study advocates for more sophisticated approaches to interpreting and managing the productivity indicators tailored to the unique economic landscape of each country. Nevertheless, the limitations stemming from data availability underscore the need for further research, particularly in refining the national-level carbon resource productivity indicators analyses and exploring the thematic productivity variations in greater depth. By addressing these gaps, future studies will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of national-level carbon resource productivity indicators dynamics and reveal targeted strategies for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile observation has been widely used in the monitoring of air pollution. However, studies on pollution sources and emission characteristics based on mobile navigational observation are rarely reported in the literature. A method for quantitative source analysis for industrial air pollutant emissions based on mobile observations is introduced in this paper. NOx pollution identified in mobile observations is used as an example of the development of the method. A dispersion modeling scheme that fine-tuned the meteorological parameters according to the actual meteorological conditions was adopted to minimize the impact of uncertainties in meteorological conditions on the accuracy of small-scale dispersion modeling. The matching degree between simulated and observed concentrations was effectively improved through this optimization search. In response to the efficiency requirements of source resolution for multiple sources, a random search algorithm was first used to generate candidate solution samples, and then the solution samples were evaluated and optimized. Meanwhile, the new index S m a t c h was established to evaluate the quality of candidate samples, considering both numerical error and spatial distribution error of concentration, in order to address the non-uniqueness of the solution in the multi-source problem. Then, the necessity of considering the spatial distribution error of concentration is analyzed with the case study. The average values of NOx emission rates for the two study cases were calculated as 69.8 g/s and 70.8 g/s. The S m a t c h scores were 0.92–0.97 and 0.92–0.99. The results were close to the online monitoring data, and this kind of pollutant emission monitoring based on the mobile observation experiment was initially considered feasible. Additional analysis and clarifications were provided in the discussion section on the impact of uncertainties in meteorological conditions, the establishment of a priori emission inventories, and the interpretation of inverse calculation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental/economic dispatch (EED) of power systems addresses the environmental pollution problems caused by power generation at the operational level, offering macroscopic control without requiring additional construction and remediation costs, garnering widespread attention in recent years. This paper undertakes a comprehensive review of existing EED models, categorizing them according to the control of atmospheric pollutants into total air pollutant control (TAPC) and control considering the spatial and temporal diffusion (STD) of atmospheric pollutants. In addition, various methods employed to address the EED problems, as well as the current state of research on multi-area EED models, are presented. Finally, this paper analyzes and summarizes the literature on existing EED models, highlighting the deficiencies of the current work and future research directions. Through these explorations, the authors find that controlling the EED model by considering TAPC is more suitable for general macro planning, whereas the EED model considering the STD of air pollutant emissions enables more precise and effective control. Summarizing such models and techniques is conducive to developing dispatch plans adapted to local conditions, which is significantly beneficial for public welfare and government management, promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly power system dispatch methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their key role in integrated waste management, direct (incineration) and indirect (gasification/pyrolysis) waste combustion processes are still opposed by some of the general public due to the past emission levels of air pollutants. In fact, although the release of air pollutants (especially dioxin) to the atmosphere from waste combustion processes has gradually decreased over the years, thanks to the introduction of stricter regulations and more advanced removal technologies, there is still an unsolved problem regarding the public acceptance of waste-to-energy facilities. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art air pollution control (APC) technologies used in waste combustion facilities. Air pollution control technologies are designed to reduce or eliminate the emissions of harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. These technologies are important for safeguarding public health, protecting ecosystems, complying with regulations, and promoting a more sustainable and resilient future for both local and global communities. This paper will highlight the complexity behind emission control and the efforts made by this sector over the years. This paper will also propose suggested configurations based on the interactions/complementarity between different APC technologies and recent findings to improve their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the web crawler method to obtain information on the distribution of commercial bank branches in China and uses the multidimensional fixed-effects model to explore the impact of commercial bank expansion on firm pollution emissions and its mechanism. The findings reveal that commercial bank expansion significantly reduces firms’ pollution emissions and that there is an optimal geographical radius for this suppression effect. The number of commercial bank branches within 20 km of the firm has the biggest inhibiting influence on the firm’s pollution emission, which diminishes as geographical distance increases. This dampening effect remains robust after testing using the instrumental variable method and the Difference-In-Differences method. Examination of heterogeneity demonstrates that the influence of commercial bank expansion on firm pollution emission depends on the degree of regional low-carbon policies and laws, the level of pollution in the industry, and capital intensity of the industry, as well as the firm’s size and ownership. The mechanism test proves that commercial bank expansion reduces firm pollution emissions by promoting technological progress and increasing their investment in pollution reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clean heating transformation and photovoltaic (PV) promotion gradually have become the keys to realize dual carbon strategy goals. Based on this, the combined application of building-integrated PV (BIPV) systems and air-source heat pump (ASHP) systems has received widespread attention. However, the current combined system still presents problems such as the mismatching in time between PV output and heating load. Therefore, in this paper, a novel BIPV and ASHP coupling system is proposed, and the operation parameters were optimized using low-carbon community as an example. A conventional PV and heat pump (HP) combined system, ASHP heating, and coal-fired heating were employed as the baseline and compared with the novel system. The results show that the optimized system can improve the PV power local accommodation rate by 43% compared with a conventional PV and ASHP coupling system. In terms of economic and environmental benefits, the operating cost of the optimized system is 50% of the cost of the ASHP system. Compared with coal-fired heating system, the annual air pollutant and carbon emissions can be reduced by 92% and 57%, respectively. The system also can improve the stability of power grid operation. The demand for power capacity can be improved by 62% and the annual load balance of the power grid can be improved by 29.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the goals of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality", this paper puts forward the connotation and measurement method for the carbon emission intensity of urban industrial land and conducts an empirical study with the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as an example. We defined the carbon intensity of urban industrial land as the industrial carbon emissions per unit area of land, which is a spatial mapping of urban industrial economic development and carbon spillover and a key indicator for urban and territorial spatial planning oriented towards the "dual carbon" goal. Findings: The carbon emission density of industrial land in the YREB varied greatly between cities and exhibited significant positive spatial autocorrelation. In addition, the geographical pattern and spatio-temporal evolution model of the urban industrial land carbon emission density had a very complex driving mechanism, and different factors had significant synergistic effects. Therefore, it is suggested that while striving towards the goal of "dual carbon", the government should incorporate the carbon emission density indicator of urban industrial land into the urban and territorial spatial planning system, and based on the threshold of the medium suitable density, they should design differentiated management policies according to concrete urban policies and encourage cooperation among cities to jointly promote carbon emission management of urban industrial land. In policy design, emphasis should also be placed on highlighting the interactive effects of foreign direct investment, fiscal expenditure, and the number of patent authorizations as well as constructing a combination of policies centered around them to better leverage the impacts of globalization, government intervention, and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant emissions, it is of utmost importance to understand where emissions occur. In the real world, atmospheric pollutants are produced by various human activities from point sources (e.g. power plants and industrial facilities) but also from diffuse sources (e.g. residential activities and agriculture). However, as tracking all these single sources of emissions is practically impossible, emission inventories are typically compiled using national-level statistics by sector, which are then downscaled at the grid-cell level using spatial information. In this work, we develop high-spatial-resolution proxies for use in downscaling the national emission totals for all world countries provided by the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR). In particular, in this paper, we present the latest EDGAR v8.0 GHG, which provides readily available emission data at different levels of spatial granularity, obtained from a consistently developed GHG emission database. This has been achieved through the improvement and development of high-resolution spatial proxies that allow for a more precise allocation of emissions over the globe. A key novelty of this work is the potential to analyse subnational GHG emissions over the European territory and also over the United States, China, India, and other high-emitting countries. These data not only meet the needs of atmospheric modellers but can also inform policymakers working in the field of climate change mitigation. For example, the EDGAR GHG emissions at the NUTS 2 level (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics level 2) over Europe contribute to the development of EU cohesion policies, identifying the progress of each region towards achieving the carbon neutrality target and providing insights into the highest-emitting sectors. The data can be accessed at 10.2905/b54d8149-2864-4fb9-96b9-5fd3a020c224 specifically for EDGAR v8.0 (Crippa et al., 2023a) and 10.2905/D67EEDA8-C03E-4421-95D0-0ADC460B9658 for the subnational dataset (Crippa et al., 2023b). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a multi-objective solving indicator-based evolutionary algorithm (IBEA) to solve the optimal power flow (OPF) problem with multiple and competing objectives. The objective functions for the multi-objective OPF (MOOPF) are active power loss, aggregate voltage deviation, total generation cost, and emission pollution. This algorithm combines the shift-based density estimation method with a weighted sum approach to produce a set of non-dominated solutions on each objective space. Moreover, an S-shaped fuzzy membership approach is used to extract the best compromise solution from the obtained non-dominated solutions. To validate the IBEA's performance, standard IEEE 30-bus and IEEE 57-bus test systems with nine different cases are being used. This paper also presents a stochastic optimal power flow problem for two-objective optimization with load demand and wind power uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the energy efficiency of enterprises is one of the key means to solve the problem of energy shortage. It is of great significance to investigate how environmental information disclosure (EDI) promotes the green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) of enterprises. Based on this, this study calculates the GTFEE of enterprises by combining the database of Chinese manufacturing and the pollutant emission of industrial enterprises and investigates the impact of EDI on the GTFEE of manufacturing industries by using a difference-in-difference model. The following is found: (1) EDI can significantly promote the manufacturing enterprises' GTFEE, and the results are still valid after a series of robustness tests; (2) Mechanism analysis shows that EDI can improve the GTFEE of manufacturing enterprises by promoting technological innovation and optimizing energy structure; (3) The heterogeneity analysis shows that EID is more positive on firms' GTFEE in the eastern than western regions. The positive impact is greater for non-state-owned, low-energy consumption, export, and polluting enterprises. The findings of this paper provide a theoretical basis and practical enlightenment for the government to promote the green development transformation of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing air quality management systems to control the impacts of air pollution requires reliable data. However, current initiatives do not provide datasets with large spatial and temporal resolutions for developing air pollution policies in Brazil. Here, we introduce the Brazilian Atmospheric Inventories (BRAIN), the first comprehensive database of air quality and its drivers in Brazil. BRAIN encompasses hourly datasets of meteorology, emissions, and air quality. The emissions dataset includes vehicular emissions derived from the Brazilian Vehicular Emissions Inventory Software (BRAVES), industrial emissions produced with local data from the Brazilian environmental agencies, biomass burning emissions from FINN – Fire INventory from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and biogenic emissions from the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) (10.57760/sciencedb.09858, Hoinaski et al., 2023a; 10.57760/sciencedb.09886, Hoinaski et al., 2023b). The meteorology dataset has been derived from the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) (10.57760/sciencedb.09857, Hoinaski and Will, 2023a; 10.57760/sciencedb.09885, Hoinaski and Will, 2023c). The air quality dataset contains the surface concentration of 216 air pollutants produced from coupling meteorological and emissions datasets with the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ) (10.57760/sciencedb.09859, Hoinaski and Will, 2023b; 10.57760/sciencedb.09884, Hoinaski and Will, 2023d). We provide gridded data in two domains, one covering the Brazilian territory with 20×20 km spatial resolution and another covering southern Brazil with 4×4 km spatial resolution. This paper describes how the datasets were produced, their limitations, and their spatiotemporal features. To evaluate the quality of the database, we compare the air quality dataset with 244 air quality monitoring stations, providing the model's performance for each pollutant measured by the monitoring stations. We present a sample of the spatial variability of emissions, meteorology, and air quality in Brazil from 2019, revealing the hotspots of emissions and air pollution issues. By making BRAIN publicly available, we aim to provide the required data for developing air quality policies on municipal and state scales, especially for under-developed and data-scarce municipalities. We also envision that BRAIN has the potential to create new insights into and opportunities for air pollution research in Brazil.​​​​​​​ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increase in population and movement between cities, the number of flyovers has increased to facilitate the move between different areas in cities that led to high car traffic. As a result, carbon emissions and pollution have increased, affecting the air temperature and quality in urban areas. Therefore, this paper studies how to improve the environmental performance under the flyovers in cities. The research’s aim can be fulfilled through biophilic design that works on the vitality of urbanization and integration with nature, as it promotes green infrastructure. This paper deals with the study of flyovers, their characteristics, and the necessary criteria for obtaining effective areas below them, biophilic design for urbanization, and the principles and criteria for its use to improve environmental performance under the areas of flyovers, with an analysis of examples of effective handling of flyovers. The paper focuses on a case study at the areas under the flyovers in Alexandria Square in Tanta city and its analysis before and after the biophilic treatment using the environmental simulation program Envi-met. The proposed design can reduce the value of PMV by about 35% from its current state during the hours of solar presence to achieve thermal satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of industrial robots is considered a significant factor affecting environmental pollution. Selecting industrial wastewater discharge, industrial SO2 emissions and industrial soot emissions as the evaluation indicators of environmental pollution, this paper uses the panel data model and mediation effect model to empirically examine the impact of industrial robots on environmental pollution and its mechanisms. The conclusions are as follows: (1) Industrial robots can significantly reduce environmental pollution. (2) Industrial robots can reduce environmental pollution by improving the level of green technology innovation and optimizing the structure of employment skills. (3) With the increase in emissions of industrial wastewater, industrial SO2, and industrial dust, the impacts generated by industrial robots are exhibiting trends of a "W" shape, gradual intensification, and progressive weakening. (4) Regarding regional heterogeneity, industrial robots in the eastern region have the greatest negative impact on environmental pollution, followed by the central region, and the western region has the least negative impact on environmental pollution. Regarding time heterogeneity, the emission reduction effect of industrial robots after 2013 is greater than that before 2013. Based on the above conclusions, this paper suggests that the Chinese government and enterprises should increase investment in the robot industry. Using industrial robots to drive innovation in green technology and optimize employment skill structures, reducing environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change imposes significant challenges on the ecological environment and human sustainability. Industrial parks, in line with the national climate change mitigation strategy, are key targets for low-carbon revolution within the industrial sector. To predict the carbon emission of industrial parks and formulate the strategic path of emission reduction, this paper amalgamates the benefits of the "top-down" and "bottom-up" prediction methodologies, incorporating the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) decomposition method and long-range energy alternatives planning (LEAP) model, and integrates the Tapio decoupling theory to predict the carbon emissions of an industrial park cluster of an economic development zone in Yancheng from 2020 to 2035 under baseline (BAS) and low-carbon scenarios (LC1, LC2, and LC3). The findings suggest that, in comparison to the BAS scenario, the carbon emissions in the LC1, LC2, and LC3 scenarios decreased by 30.4%, 38.4%, and 46.2%, respectively, with LC3 being the most suitable pathway for the park's development. Finally, the paper explores carbon emission sources, and analyzes emission reduction potential and optimization measures of the energy structure, thus providing a reference for the formulation of emission reduction strategies for industrial parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]