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China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide. The logistics industry is the second largest source of CO 2 emissions, second only to the manufacturing industry. Therefore, developing effective environmental regulations to achieve low-carbon transformation in the logistics industry is an urgent task for government managers. Based on the 2005–2021 panel data of China's 30 provinces, this article adopts a data-driven nonparametric additive model to investigate the role of environmental regulations in CO 2 emission reduction in the logistics industry. The results display that overall, environmental regulations contribute to carbon reduction in the logistics industry (an inverted N-shaped effect). After endogeneity test and various robustness tests such as replacing the variable value of core variable, this conclusion still has good reliability. Further heterogeneity analysis indicates that the carbon reduction effect of mandatory environmental regulations fluctuates frequently (a W-shaped impact). However, the carbon reduction impact of incentive environmental regulations has gradually shifted from insignificant in the early stages to prominent in the later stages (an inverted U-shaped pattern). Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of environmental regulations on carbon reduction in the eastern, central, and western regions also has significant nonlinear characteristics. Finally, this article verifies that technological innovation and energy consumption structure are effective intermediate mechanisms for environmental regulations to affect emission reduction. The research findings provide practical inspiration for the government to formulate relevant environmental policies and promote the green development of the logistics industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, financial development and renewable energy technologies have become new tools to stimulate wind power development, attracting attention from the government and academia. However, most existing literature uses linear methods to investigate wind power, masking the nonlinear relationship between these factors and wind power development. The objective of this study is to reveal the nonlinear relationships between these economic factors and wind power development, providing a basis for the government to design differentiated phased policies. Compared to traditional linear methods, the nonparametric models can truly simulate the nonlinear relationship between these economic factors and wind power development. Given this, this article uses the nonparametric additive regression model to investigate these links. The result of this study shows: (1) financial decentralization produces a U-shaped impact on wind power, indicating that expanding the autonomy of local financial institutions has driven wind power development in the later stage. (2) The impact of renewable energy technologies demonstrates an inverted U-shaped pattern, signifying that the driving effect of green technology has shifted from being prominent in the early stage to being reduced in the later stage. (3) Energy subsidies also exert an inverted U-shaped effect, meaning that its driving role is prominent in the early stage. (4) In addition, the impacts of CO 2 emissions, wind power prices, environmental governance investments, and urbanization on wind power development also exhibit non-linear characteristics. Finally, this article proposes policies in response to the stage where economic tools don't play a role in driving wind power development. [Display omitted] • Financial decentralization has a U-shaped impact on the wind power industry. • The impact of renewable energy technologies is an inverted U-shaped pattern. • Energy subsidies exert an inverted U-shaped effect on wind power. • Wind power prices produce a positive U-shaped influence. • Environmental governance investments impose a W-shaped effect on wind power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nickel catalyzed ammoniacal thiosulfate leaching-resin adsorption recovery, an environmentally friendly and cost-effective process, was developed to extract gold from a gold concentrate calcine. The catalytic mechanism was presented based on thermodynamic analysis that NH 3 catalyzed the anodic dissolution of gold, and Ni 3 O 4 catalyzed the cathodic reduction of O 2. The leaching result indicates that thiosulfate consumption reduced considerably under nickel-ammonia catalysis, whilst gold leaching percentage was comparable with that under conventional copper-ammonia catalysis. The kinetics study demonstrates that the reaction orders of initial nickel (II), ammonia and thiosulfate concentrations were separately 0.21, 0.37 and 0.28. The apparent activation energy calculation shows that the catalytic efficiencies of nickel-ammonia and copper-ammonia were close, and gold leaching with nickel-ammonia catalysis was possibly diffusion controlled that was supported by the XPS analysis result. For the gold recovery from its actual leach solution by ion-exchange resin, the resin and desorbent dosages were less, and loaded gold could be desorbed by a simple one-step desorption process because nickel did not co-adsorb with gold on resin surface. Besides, gold leaching percentage only declined 1.8% after the leach solution was recycled five times, and thiosulfate consumption decreased 5.8 kg/t-calcine. • Nickel-ammonia catalysis can substitute copper-ammonia catalysis for gold leaching. • The catalytic mechanism is proposed for Ni–NH 3 –S 2 O 3 2− system. • The reaction order and activation energy are obtained for Ni–NH 3 –S 2 O 3 2− system. • Gold leaching reaction is controlled by the diffusion through passivation coating. • Gold loaded on the resin can be eluted by a one-step process for Ni–NH 3 –S 2 O 3 2-system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China currently is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in the world. Moreover, total energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in China will continue to increase due to the rapid advance of industrialization and urbanization. Therefore, vigorously developing the high–tech industry becomes an inevitable choice to reduce CO 2 emissions at the moment or in the future. However, most of the existing literature analyzes the impact of the high–tech industry on emission mitigation from an aggregate perspective. Few studies have focused on regional differences in China. Based on 1999–2015 panel data of China's 30 provinces, this study uses the STIRPAT model to explore the influence of the high–tech industry on CO 2 emission reduction in China from a regional perspective. The results show that the high–tech industry is beneficial to reduce CO 2 emissions. Moreover, the impact intensity of the high–tech industry in the eastern region is higher than those in the central and western regions due to significant differences in R&D funding, R&D personnel investments and high–tech purchase expenditure. The study's findings not only contribute to the existing literature, but also worthy of adequate attention from China's policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission in China is currently the largest in the world. Considering that the transport sector, it is one of the major contributors, its CO2 emissions and their main driving factors have become the focus of many scholars. However, majority of the existing studies usually investigates CO2 emissions using the averaging method (i.e., ordinary least squares method). In fact, the data distribution of socio-economic variables is often non–normal, with the tail having hidden important information. In order to overcome the shortcomings of existing research, this paper uses a quantile regression approach to explore the main driving forces of the difference in CO 2 emissions under high, medium and low level of development. The results show that the effect of economic growth on CO 2 emissions in the 25th–50th quantile provinces is higher than those in the other quantile provinces due to the differences in fixed–asset investment and motor vehicles. Energy intensity has a similar story owing to different R&D funding and R&D personnel investments. The influences of urbanization in the upper 90th and 75th−90th quantile provinces are higher than those in the other quantile provinces because of the differences in human capital accumulation and patented technology. Freight turnover produces the same effect, which is due to the differences in freight transportation and transport mode. However, the impacts of passenger turnover in the lower 10th and 10th−25th quantile provinces are the highest in all the quantile provinces. Therefore, in the process of emission reduction, the relevant departments should be concerned about the heterogeneous effects of these driving forces on the different quantile provinces, rather than adopting the “one–size–fits–all approach”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has become one of the most heavily polluted countries in the world with China's air pollution attracting claims from some international media of its spread to neighboring countries such as Korea and Japan, in order to bring to the concern of the international community. PM 2.5 (fine particles) pollution is one of the main sources of China's air pollution. The detrimental effect PM 2.5 pollution poses on health of residents and its hindrances to transportation has attracted the attention of many scholars who have conducted a wide range of investigations on PM 2.5 pollution. However, in spite of the avalanche of research on PM 2.5 pollution in China, majority of the existing studies in terms of methodology has usually investigated air pollution using the averaging method. In fact, the data distribution of socio-economic variables is often non-normal, with the tail having hidden important information. In order to overcome the shortcomings of existing research, this paper uses a quantile regression approach to explore the main driving forces of the difference in PM 2.5 pollution under high, medium and low emission levels. The results show that the effect of economic growth on PM 2.5 pollution in the upper 90th quantile provinces is the highest in all the quantile provinces due to the differences in fixed–asset investment and export trade. The impacts of energy efficiency in the 75th–90th and upper 90th quantile provinces are stronger than those in the lower 10th, 10th–25th, 25th–50th, and 50th–75th quantile provinces because of a big differences in research and development (R&D) funding and R&D personnel investment. The case of industrialization was similar on account of the differences in the industrial and building sectors. However, the empirical evidence showed that influences of urbanization in the 25th–50th and 50th–75th quantile provinces were lower than those in the other quantile provinces owing to the differences in motor vehicle and real estate industry. Thus, the heterogeneous effects of these driving forces on the different quantile provinces should be taken into consideration when discussing the mitigation of PM 2.5 pollution in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, China's carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions ranked first in the world. Moreover, the CO 2 emissions in the manufacturing industry accounted for 55.0% of total CO 2 emissions. Thus, investigating the main driving forces of CO 2 emissions in this industry is crucial for reducing China's CO 2 emissions. The traditional estimation method can only get the “global” and “average” parameter estimation, but obscures the difference in the “local” parameter estimation across region. Geographically weighted regression embeds the latitude and longitude of the sample data into the regression parameters, and uses the local weighted least squares method to estimate the parameters point–by–point. To reveal the nonstationary spatial effects of driving forces, geographically weighted regression model is employed in this paper. The results show that economic growth has a positive impact on CO 2 emissions, and the impact continuously declines from the eastern region to the central and western regions. However, the impact of urbanization in the western region is higher than that in the eastern region and the central region. The impact of energy efficiency in the eastern and central regions is stronger than that in western region. The effect of industrialization also has a similar story. Therefore, in order to effectively achieve emission reduction, we need to take full account of spatial differences in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, China's carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions ranked first in the world. Moreover, the manufacturing industry is the biggest contributor to CO 2 emissions. Most of the existing studies use the average estimation method to investigate the main drivers of CO 2 emissions in this industry. However, the data distribution of economic variables is often not normal distribution, and the tail of the data hidden important information. In order to provide a realistic basis for emission reduction in this industry, this paper applies the quantile regression approach to investigate the driving forces of CO 2 emissions under high, medium and low emission levels. The empirical results indicate that the effect of economic growth on CO 2 emissions in the upper 90th and 75th–90th quantile provinces are higher than those in the other quantile provinces. The influence of energy intensity in the 25th–50th quantile provinces is lower than those in the other percentile provinces. The impact of urbanization in the upper 90th quantile provinces is the strongest in all the quantile provinces. However, the influence intensity of energy structure in the lower 10th quantile provinces is the highest in all the quantile provinces. Therefore, policymakers should focus on the heterogeneous effects of driving forces on CO 2 emissions in different quantiles during the process of CO 2 emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing application of porous asphalt pavement in expressways, it is necessary to develop recycling technology for porous asphalt pavement. To this end, the performance of the mineral-oil-based rejuvenating agent of the aged high viscosity modified asphalt for Porous Asphalt Pavement is investigated in this paper. Firstly, the rejuvenating mechanism of the high viscosity modified asphalt used for porous asphalt mixture was analyzed, and a special mineral-oil-based rejuvenating agent RZJ-01 for the high viscosity modified asphalt was developed. Secondly, the rejuvenating effect of the rejuvenated high viscosity modified asphalt with the developed rejuvenating agent was analyzed under different aging degrees. According to the results, the use of rejuvenating agent effectively improved the performance of aged high viscosity asphalt. As the amount of the rejuvenating agent increased, the microstructure of the high viscosity modified asphalt underwent small changes, but its rheological properties also changed to varying degrees. The rutting factor of the recycled asphalt decreased with the increase of rejuvenating agent content, and the creep compliance of recycled asphalt decreased firstly and then increased. At the amount of rejuvenating agent at 4%, the rejuvenated high viscosity modified asphalt exhibited the best creep recovery. Besides, the rejuvenating agent also significantly improved the elastic recovery ability of the aged asphalt. Finally, the analysis of the pavement performance of the recycled porous asphalt mixture, the results showed that the performance of high temperature rutting resistance, water damage resistance, low-temperature crack resistance and raveling resistance of the recycled porous asphalt mixture were significantly improved, and the rejuvenating agent for porous asphalt mixture can reliably prolong the life of porous asphalt pavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is an urgent environmental problem facing the world and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission is the root causes. China is already the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. Thus, investigating the main driving forces of CO 2 emissions has important practical significance for China's emission reduction and global efforts to enhance environmental protection. This study applies vector autoregressive model to investigate the driving forces of the rise in China's CO 2 emissions. The results show that the impact of economic growth supports the Environmental Kuznets hypothesis, due to massive fixed–assets investment and exports. Urbanization produces an inverted “U–shaped” effect owing to population mobility and motor vehicle use. The impact of energy structure also shows an inverted “U–shaped” pattern because of the change in coal consumption. However, the reduction effect of energy efficiency is significant in the medium term, but is limited in the short and long terms. Therefore, the government should pay attention to the different impacts of these driving forces at different stages of development, when formulating emission reduction policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, global warming, frequent occurrence of extreme weather and air pollution are common problems facing the international community. Carbon dioxide emissions are the root causes of these environmental and climate issues. Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization, China has become the world's largest energy consumer and carbon dioxide emitter. Moreover, the manufacturing industry is highly energy-consuming and pollution-intensive, accounting for nearly 60% of China's total energy consumption and over 50% of total carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, identifying the main drivers of the industry's carbon dioxide emissions is vital for China's emission reduction and global efforts to enhance environmental protection. This study uses Vector Autoregressive model to analyze the influencing factors of the changes in carbon dioxide emissions in the industry. The results show that energy efficiency plays a dominant role in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Urbanization also has significant effect on carbon dioxide emissions because of large-scale real estate construction and high rate of vehicle ownership. Energy structure has higher impact on emission reduction than industrialization due to massive coal consumption and industrial structure optimization. Therefore, the Chinese government should increase investment in energy-saving technology, optimize energy structure, promote the production and use of new energy and hybrid vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often difficult to determine the effects of policies at a sectoral level in the overlapping domains of pollution control and energy conservation, making it difficult to consider co-benefits of energy conservation and air pollution reduction and tensions. In China, the industry sector contributes much more carbon and pollution emissions than other sectors. In this paper, Baoshan District (BSD), one of the most important industrial zones in the Shanghai metropolis, is used as a case study to illustrate the situation and to provide information to assess the effectiveness of environmental sustainable development policies in industries. The policies resulting from China's Eleventh Five-year Plan (FYP) are considered at the level of BSD. In particular, the result of implementing local policies of air pollution control and energy are analysed at BSD. Three indicator systems are adopted for quantitatively and qualitatively evaluating energy saving and air pollution reduction achieved by technical, structural and management measures in industrial enterprises of BSD. Analysis made in the paper shows that the co-benefits of pollution cutting and energy conservation have been achieved at certain scopes and degrees in the industry sector in BSD, e.g. SO 2 and Particulate Matter (PM) were reduced by 35.1% and 7.7% respectively, and the energy density was cut by 26.7%. Due to existing barriers of the lack of co-planning and co-operations in the process of designing and implementing the policies, and the overlooking the leakage of emissions in the whole project area, the overall co-benefits cannot be achieved effectively in BSD. Recommendations are made for future detailed studies of this or similar districts to develop an indicator system of co-benefits to help demonstrate the advantages of joint planning and policies for co-benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution emissions have become a matter of public concern in recent years. However, the vast majority of existing researches on PM 2.5 pollution are from the natural science perspective, and few studies have been conducted from an economic point of view. This paper adopts provincial panel data from 2001 to 2012 and panel data models to analyze the key driving forces of PM 2.5 emissions at the regional level in China. The results show that economic growth is a decisive factor of PM 2.5 emissions. The impacts of urbanization on PM 2.5 emissions vary across regions and decrease continuously from the central region to the western and eastern regions. The effects of private cars and coal consumption on PM 2.5 emissions in the eastern region are greater than that in the central and western regions because of significant differences in R&D investment, private car ownership and total coal consumption. Energy efficiency improvement has greater potential to mitigate PM 2.5 emissions in the central and western regions than that in the eastern region due to its low level of technology. Hence, in order to effectively reduce emissions, the Chinese government should consider all these factors as well as regional heterogeneity in developing appropriate mitigation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent surge in vehicle population, particularly private vehicles, the transport sector has significantly contributed to the increase in energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in China. Most existing research utilized linear models to investigate the driving forces of the transport sector's CO 2 emission, but little attention has been paid to a large number of nonlinear relationships embodied in economic variables. This paper adopts provincial panel data from 2000 to 2012 and nonparametric additive regression models to examine the key influencing factors of CO 2 emissions in the transport sector in China. The estimation results show that the nonlinear effect of economic growth on CO 2 emissions is consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. The nonlinear impact of urbanization exhibits an inverted “U-shaped” pattern on account of large-scale population migrations in the early stages and expanding use of non-polluting urban rail public transportation and hybrid fuel vehicles at the later stage. Private vehicles population follows an inverted “U-shaped” relationship with CO 2 emissions owing to early surge in private car ownership and late increased use of electric and hybrid cars. The inverted “U-shaped” effect of cargo turnover is due to different modes of freight transport at different stages. But, energy efficiency improvement follows a positive “U-shaped” pattern in relation to CO 2 emissions because of the different scale of transportation ownership and the speed of technological progress at different times. Hence, the differential dynamic effects of the driving forces at different times should be taken into consideration in reducing CO 2 emissions in China's transport sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of phase change material (PCM) and cool paint (CP) to building envelope is one of the effective solutions to improve thermal comfort of passive buildings. Therefore, the thermal performance of buildings in Hefei, China in autumn is compared and analyzed by integrating PCM and CP into the building envelope. According to the comprehensive analysis of indoor thermal environment and the ability to maintain indoor thermal comfort, it is concluded that the combined application of PCM and CP is better than the application of PCM or CP alone. And the combination of PCM and CP laid on the south wall and roof respectively is the best. It is more suitable for commercial buildings, which can prolong indoor air temperature (T i) in the thermal comfort zone for more than 10 h during the day. The combination of PCM and CP laid on the roof can prolong T i in the thermal comfort zone for more than 8.05 h, which is more suitable for residential buildings. The purpose is to explore the best combination mode of residential and commercial buildings according to the characteristics of temperature change and building types (according to people's main use time) in the real environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the existing related studies use linear methods to investigate distributed energy resources, ignoring the objectively existing nonlinear relationships. This article makes improvement and uses a nonparametric additive regression model to explore China's distributed energy resources. Estimated results show that technological progress exerts an inverted "U-shaped" nonlinear effect on distributed energy resources, due to the phased changes in R&D expenditures. Energy consumption structure also has an inverted U-shaped impact, which main reason is the changes in natural gas and renewable energy consumption. On the contrary, international oil prices have a positive U-shaped impact on distributed energy resources, because international oil prices are gradually increasing over time. Foreign oil dependence has an N-shaped nonlinear impact, which is mainly due to the changes in oil imports at different stages. The relationship between urbanization and distributed energy resources also presents an N-shaped pattern. This is mainly due to the periodic changes in the growth rate of the number of residents using natural gas. The research results can provide empirical support for the government to formulate targeted distributed energy policies at different stages. Image 1 • Technological progress has an inverted U-shaped effect on distributed energy. • International oil prices have a U-shaped impact on distributed energy resources. • Foreign oil dependence has an N-shaped nonlinear impact distributed energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green development is the direction of China's agricultural sector. Investigating the main influencing factors of the agricultural sector's CO 2 emissions will help plan agricultural development and achieve low-carbon growth. This paper selects 2001–2016 panel data of China's 30 provinces, and uses the nonparametric additive regression models to investigate the agricultural sector's CO 2 emissions. The empirical results show that economic growth, financial capacity, and energy intensity all have a "pull first, then restrict" inverted U-shaped nonlinear effect on CO 2 emissions. However, the influencing mechanisms of these three influencing factors are different and need to be paid attention by relevant government departments. More complicated, the impact of urbanization on CO 2 emission shows a gentle "M-shaped" pattern. In addition, an inverse "N-shaped" nonlinear link exists between trade openness and CO 2 emissions. Therefore, government departments should formulate differentiated emission reduction policies at different stages. • The drivers of CO 2 emissions in China's agriculture sector are investigated. • Financial capacity has an inverse "U-shaped" effect on CO 2 emissions. • The impact of urbanization on CO 2 emission shows a gentle "M-shaped" pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consideration of environment-friendly and low energy consumption tends to control and guide the progress of metal joint manufacturing processes. Variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) welding is an environment-friendly, high quality and efficiency joint method for aluminum alloys due to its characteristics of such as little welding fume, and high energy density etc. However, the three-dimensional morphology and physical phenomena of penetration weld pool in VPPA welding are not clearly understood, which slows down its process development and optimization. This work aims to clarify the three-dimensional keyhole detouring flow of VPPA welding for aluminum alloy. The liquid metal distribution of penetration weld pool was generally obtained by metallographic observation. The measurement results show that the liquid metal layer attached to the three-dimensional keyhole boundary is thin. And the liquid metal mainly distributes in the bottom side of the keyhole. In order to understand the weld pool dynamics, the stereo synchronous imaging of tungsten tracer particles using two sets of X-ray transmission system was adopted, for the first time, to measure the 3D velocity field of convection flow inside weld pool of VPPA welding of aluminum alloy in real time. The flow on the weld pool surface at different locations of keyhole boundary was also measured by tracing zirconia and slag particles. The liquid metal flows simultaneously to the top and around the keyhole. The metal at the bottom of keyhole's front wall, flows around the keyhole towards the backside, then separately flows to top side and bottom side, forming a vertical stationary point. The key to weld and avoid defect proofing are to ensure stable detouring flow on the keyhole bottom and proper stationary point position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thiosulfate is a promising alternative lixiviant to cyanide for leaching gold from its ores/concentrates due to increased environmental and public concern over the use of poisonous cyanide. However, high thiosulfate consumption and high cost for gold recovery from pregnant solution have limited its industrial application. In this work, an innovative process for extracting gold from a roasted gold concentrate is proposed: firstly, gold leaching with thiosulfate under a low mixed potential; then, gold separation and enrichment with an ion-exchange resin to produce concentrated gold solution that can be refined to metallic gold by electrowinning. Compared with traditional thiosulfate leaching, the mixed potential of stable stage of low potential leaching decreased around 30 mV through using low concentrations of reagents and limiting oxygen supply, a slightly higher gold extraction was obtained, whilst thiosulfate consumption substantially reduced from 34.6 kg/t-concentrate to 15.8 kg/t-concentrate. The amount of undesirable anions particularly cuprous thiosulfate and polythionates in the pregnant solution significantly dropped owing to the mild leaching conditions. This considerably weakened their competitive adsorption with gold (I) thiosulfate onto the resin, contributing to the decrease of resin dosage used for gold recovery. The eluent dosage also declined because of the less interfering ions on resin surface. Based on these results, low potential thiosulfate leaching followed by resin adsorption recovery is put forward, providing an eco-friendly and efficient process for gold extraction from roasted gold concentrate. Image 10557 • Low potential thiosulfate leaching-resin adsorption recovery process was developed. • Low concentrations of reagents and dissolved O 2 were used for a low potential. • Thiosulfate consumption considerably reduced under a low potential. • Dosages of resin and eluent were less for gold recovery from the pregnant solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently the largest carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emitter in the world, and the iron and steel industry is the main contributor to the growth in CO 2 emissions. Most of the existing studies use the average estimation method to investigate the main drivers of CO 2 emissions in the iron and steel industry. However, the data distribution of economic variables is often not normal distribution, and the tail of the data hidden important information. In order to provide a realistic basis for emission reduction in this industry, this study uses the quantile regression model to explore the driving forces of CO 2 emissions under high, medium and low emission levels. The results show that the effect of economic growth on CO 2 emissions in the upper 90th quantile provinces is stronger than those in other quantile provinces due to the differences in fixed–asset investment and automobile production. However, the impact of energy efficiency in the upper 90th quantile provinces is lower than those in other quantile provinces. The influence of industrialization in the lower 10th quantile provinces is stronger than those in other quantile provinces. The influence intensity of energy structure has a similar story owing to the differences in coal consumption. Therefore, policymakers should focus on the heterogeneous effects of driving forces on CO 2 emissions in different quantiles during the process of carbon reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization has serious implications for the structure and function of ecological networks. Augmenting resilience offers a salient remedy to sustain ecological network stability, thereby leading to heightened ecological efficacy. Nevertheless, extant research pertaining to ecological network resilience predominantly centers around static assessment, disregarding the external dynamic disturbances as well as changes in resilience over long time-series. Furthermore, scant attention has been given to the simultaneous incorporation of both structural and functional attributes in the selection of indicators for resilience assessment. In this study, taking Nanjing as an example, with a five-year interval, we determined the spatial scope of the ecological networks in 2000–2020, used two disturbance scenario simulation methods, probabilistic attack and deterministic attack, and finally optimized the ecological network with the goal of resilience enhancement. The results show that (1) the resilience index thresholds of the ecological networks decreased from 0.43 to 0.37, and the network resilience became progressively worse, but the decline in resilience index thresholds decreased in recent years. (2) The phenomenon of resurgent functional resilience increased, and ecological network redundancy increased. (3) In recent years, critical resilience nodes evinced a trend characterized by a diminishment of significance in the central region and a concomitant enhancement of importance in the southern domain. (4) The functional and structural optimization strategies increased the resilience index thresholds by 0.06 and 0.11, respectively. This study advances the refinement of methodologies and frameworks germane to the dynamic assessment of ecological network resilience, thereby furnishing instructive guidance for the fortification of urban ecosystem resilience and the promotion of sustainable urban governance. [Display omitted] • Developed a spatiotemporal assessment framework for evaluating the ecological network resilience under dynamic perspective. • Identified critical resilience nodes within the ecological network. • Uncovered that urbanization has varying impacts on functional and structural resilience. • Explored protection and land spatial restoration strategies with the objective of enhancing resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interconnectedness between water, energy, and carbon emissions has emerged as a significant topic in mitigating water scarcity, energy usage, and carbon emissions. The search for alternative water sources and low-energy alternative methods has been necessitated especially for drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) operations. The study investigates the inherent relationships between water, energy, and carbon emissions in DWTP operations using the systematic review method. A total of 93 bibliographic records were analyzed. Data shows that research trends have increased in recent years, peaking in 2011 and 2021, with the US, Spain, and Saudi Arabia making significant advances in the research domain. It was noted that the optimal energy consumption and carbon emissions during water treatment depend on water volume, water characteristics, fuel type, and treatment requirements. Reverse osmosis and desalination are characterized as the most energy-intensive processes that emit large amounts of carbon compared to conventional methods. Pumping systems were identified as the most energy-intensive unit of DWTPs, and optimization could save up to 20% of future energy use. Despite the growing volume of literature, the study found that there is a lack of standardized principles for regulating energy usage and carbon emissions. Thus, research focusing on sustainable management practices, renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency, and equipment optimization is essential. The research further identified gaps, potential research areas, and highlighted the need for further investigation in specific areas. The study aims to fill in the gaps in existing knowledge and provide direction for future research. [Display omitted] • Climate change impacts water availability, quality, and treatment requirements. • Conventional treatment methods are low-energy processes compared to advanced methods. • Desalination and reverse osmosis are energy-intensive water treatment processes. • Future DWTP pumping system optimization could save 20% of energy use. • Carbon accounting regulations and policies are lacking in most developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoir operation is a typical combination of engineering and non-engineering measures, and plays an important role in sustainable water resources management. However, reservoir operators always work in uncertain and changing environments, and face various uncertainties arising from criteria weights (CWs) and performance values (PVs), which hinder the application of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods in real-time reservoir operations. To address this issue, this paper proposes a stochastic MCDM framework based on stepwise weight information. The framework consists of five sub-modules/models: (1) formulate a stochastic MCDM problem and determine the stochastic decision matrix; (2) a weight aggregation method based on the game theory allied with feasible weight space is proposed to resolve conflict among multi-stakeholders and estimate the uncertainty of CWs; (3) a novel SMAA-FOM model, i.e., a combination of stochastic multi-criteria acceptability analysis (SMAA) and fuzzy optimization model (FOM), is developed to simulate uncertainties existed in PVs and CWs simultaneously and produces several descriptive measures for robust decision-making; (4) a risk assessment model is used to quantitatively evaluate the robustness and risk of decision-making; (5) a multi-stage decision-making procedure is proposed that enables a stochastic MCDM problem to be solved step by step within acceptable decision-making risks. The effectiveness and superiority of the proposed framework are verified via a multi-objective reservoir operation case study. The results indicate that the framework helps decision makers deal with stochastic MCDM problems with greater confidence and less psychological pressure, and enables a risk-informed decision can be made with higher reliabilities. The stochastic MCDM framework can be extended to other sustainability areas to solve decision-making issues with uncertainties. • Develops a stochastic MCDM framework for reservoir operation under uncertainty. • Proposes an aggregation method for conflict resolution and uncertainty estimation. • Develops a new SMAA-FOM model to consider uncertainties existed in MCDM problems. • Proposes a multi-stage decision-making procedure using stepwise weight information. • Makes a risk-informed reservoir release decision with higher reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aging and rejuvenation behaviors of asphalt rubber (AR) binder are of great importance, while most studies investigated the two processes by regarding the AR binder as a whole. Therefore, the AR binder was regarded as a two-phase system in this study to further clarify the aging and rejuvenation mechanisms behind. The liquid phase and particle phase of AR binders were separated using a physical sieving method, and the liquid effect (LE) and particle effect (PE) were then defined. Results showed that compared with the LE, the PE played a dominant role in affecting the unaged AR binders, especially for those prepared with crumb rubber of larger sizes and higher dosages. After aging, the LE of AR binders remarkably increased while the PE slightly decreased. Specially, at this status, the LE even accounted for a significantly larger proportion of the whole modification effect than the PE. The LE of the rejuvenated AR binders significantly decreased due to the softening effect of the rejuvenator. The PE also slightly reduced after rejuvenation because of the further degradation of crumb rubber. On the other hand, the proportion of asphaltenes and resins increased while the proportion of aromatics and saturates decreased during the aging, and the changes in fractions were on the contrary after the rejuvenation. The statistical analysis revealed that the rheological properties of liquid phases were dominantly affected by chemical fractions for all the unaged, aged and rejuvenated AR binders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The unprecedented resources and energy needed to support the high growth of urbanization with the emerging issues of environmental degradation and GHG emissions is increasingly dramatic in China. A series of national and local policies have been implemented for achieving the co-benefits of reducing emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollution for China's sustainable development. In this paper, the achievement of climate change mitigation and air pollution reduction in different sectors through implementing policies is reviewed. This paper reports on the types of policy measures that have been introduced in two cases (i.e. Tiexi District of Shenyang and Baoshan District of Shanghai) to affect air quality and energy efficiency improvements, which are then collectively examined in terms of their impacts on GHG and air pollutant emissions. Recommendations are made for achieving co-benefits effectively through the integrated approach by comprehensively concentrating on the short and long-term environmental protection and energy conservation at local and national levels based on the analysis made in the paper. The limited coordination and lack of capacity in different government bodies may be the main barriers to the implementation of a co-benefits approach. Enhancing the cooperation and capacity building could overcome these obstacles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study proposed to combine wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM), dry WEDM and wear-variation EDM together. This combined technology could be used for economical and effective fabrication of a long-laminated electrode (LLE) with a significantly strong anti-interference ability and long service life, which subsequently were utilized for the sustainable mass production of deep-narrow blind microgrooves by EDM on the surface of difficult-to-cut/grind materials. A disadvantageous factor of the electrode wear in EDM was successfully converted into key process for fabricating the LLE and blind microgrooves. Formation of the remelting connection layer (RCL) on the sidewalls of the LLE was studied, and the RCL was analyzed and characterized by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The results show that dry WEDM was prerequisite to the formation of the RCL, and the homogeneity and thickness of the RCL were primarily affected by the removal thickness of dry WEDM. Additionally, the effects of the electrode length and machining depth on the EDM performance of the LLE were discussed, which revealed that the two parameters mentioned above did not significantly impact on the machining performance. Finally, under the experimental conditions utilized, the LLE was employed to perform the EDM on a Ti–6Al–4V alloy workpiece, a blind multi-microgroove of depth and width approximately 250 μm and 74 μm, respectively, and a crisscross blind microgroove structure were produced. This study demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed method for the sustainable mass production of deep-narrow blind multi-microgrooves by EDM with the prefabricated LLEs. • A low-cost method for fabricating long-laminated electrode (LLE) with a long service life is proposed. • The LLE can be used to mass produce blind microgrooves. • Formation and significance of remelting connection layer on LLE sidewalls are studied. • Disadvantageous phenomenon of electrode wear in EDM is turned into a beneficial process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonaceous matter (CM) is one of the main reasons for the decrease of gold recovery in refractory gold ores. Bio-pretreatment of carbonaceous gold ores makes the reduction the preg-robbing of gold, and has attracted significant attention recently due to its economic feasibility and environmental friendliness. In this study, the graphite was used as surrogate material to investigate the effect of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans) and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans (L. ferrooxidans) on the gold adsorption by graphite in thiourea system. The results showed that graphite had a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of A. ferrooxidans and L. ferrooxidans. After bio-oxidation, the lamellar structure of graphite surface was blurred, and there was the formation of jarosite. In addition, some oxygen-containing groups such as O–H, S O and Fe–O appeared on the surface, but the C C bond cleaved. The adsorption capacity of graphite to gold decreased from 35.8% to 16.6% (A. ferrooxidans) and 18.4% (L. ferrooxidans) respectively. It can be concluded that the bio-oxidation by A. ferrooxidans and L. ferrooxidans can passivate and erode graphite, and contribute to decrease preg-robbing of gold from thiourea leaching solution. • The reduction of preg-robbing of gold by bio-oxidizing graphite was investigated. • Graphite can inhibit the growth of A. ferrooxidans and L. ferrooxidans. • The effect of A. ferrooxidans and L. ferrooxidans for deactivating CM was testified. • Preg-robbing of gold from thiourea leaching solution was reduced by bio-oxidization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioleaching pre-treatment of arsenopyrite (FeAsS), a common mineral occurring in deposits of gold ore that makes the extraction of gold difficult, has attracted significant attention recently due to its simple operation and environmental friendliness. A critical impedance of bioleaching to its large scale industrial application is the slow leaching kinetics. Several metal cations have previously been found to accelerate the leaching process. This paper reports results from an in-depth investigation into the bioleaching of arsenopyrite including leaching experiments, thermodynamic analysis of the leaching system and physicochemical analyses of the materials. The results suggest that a passivating film consisting mainly of As 2 S 2 , As 2 S 3 and S0 formed on the arsenopyrite surface in the initial bioleaching of 36 h in the 9K culture containing Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. This film disappeared when Cu2+ was added to the system. The bioleaching of arsenopyrite was efficiently improved at the Cu2+ level of 0.05 g/L with its leaching period significantly shortened from 19 d to 13 d. Based on the results, the paper also proposes possible leaching mechanisms and the role of Cu2+ in improving the rate of the leaching process. Specifically, Cu2+ is found to facilitate the oxidative dissolution of the passivating species of As 2 S 2 , As 2 S 3 and S0 by forming Cu 2 S/CuS that can be rapidly oxidised by Fe3+ back to Cu2+. A catalytic cycle of Cu2+/(Cu 2 S/CuS) is thus likely established on the Fe3+/Fe2+ catalytic cycle, resulting in the elimination of the passivating film. The bacteria utilised the two synergistic cycles to catalyse the leaching of arsenopyrite. Image 1 • Bioleaching of FeAsS is slow due to a passive film of mainly As 2 S 2 , As 2 S 3 and S0. • Addition of Cu2+ to leaching solution prevented the formation of the film. • Cu2+ enables synergies among bacteria, Cu2+/(Cu 2 S, CuS) and Fe3+/Fe2+ in solution. • Optimal Cu2+ amount is 0.05 g/L, shortening leaching period from 19 d to 13 d. • Lab experiments, SEM-EDS, XPS and thermodynamic analyses used to develop mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]