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Climate change issues and building energy use implications in subtropical Hong Kong were examined. A total of 40 years (1961–2000) of measured hourly temperature data were gathered and analysed. Three different parameters were examined, namely mean temperature, cumulative frequency of occurrence and cooling degree days (CDD). It was found that there was an underlying trend of temperature rise in recent years. Such temperature increase tended to occur more frequently during the winter period and mid-season than the summer months. The slight increase in CDD during the last 20 years suggested that cooling requirements and, hence, energy use for air conditioning might be affected if the trend persisted. The frequency of occurrence analysis, however, revealed no significant changes in the outdoor design conditions, and peak building cooling loads were expected to remain unchanged. This paper presents the work and discusses the energy use implications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Emissions reduction in industrial processes, i.e. clean production, is an essential requirement for sustainable development. Fossil fuel combustion is the main emission source for gas pollutants, such as NOX, SO2 and CO2, and coal is now a primary energy source used worldwide with coal combustion being the greatest atmospheric pollution source in China. This paper analyzes flue gas cleaning by ammonia scrubbing (FGCAS) for power plants to remove gaseous pollutants, such as NOX, SO2 and CO2, and presents the conceptual zero emission design for power plants. The byproducts from the FGCAS process can be used in agriculture or for gas recovery. Experimental results presented for SO2 removal from the simulated flue gas in a continuous flow experiment, which was similar to an actual flue gas system, showed that the effectiveness of the ammonia injection or scrubbing depends on the temperature. The FGCAS process can effectively remove SO2, but the process temperature should be below 60 °C or above 80 °C for SO2 reduction by NH3 scrubbing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]