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Urbanization in Central and Western China has attracted increasing attention in the advent of new-type urbanization in China and the age of 'Global Urbanism'. Although land urbanization is at the epicenter of Chinese urbanization, its process and driving forces in counties beyond the Eastern coastal areas are less known. This paper therefore seeks to investigate the spatial expansion and driving forces of land urbanization in Feixi county, a relatively advanced county neighboring Hefei city proper in Anhui province in Central China. Based on the land-use change survey data, remote sensing interpretation data, and statistical yearbook data of Feixi county from 2002 to 2016, it is revealed that the overall scale of urban land in Feixi county increased remarkably, though with obvious temporal and geographical variants. The year 2009 appears to be the cutting line between quantity-based land urbanization and quality-based land urbanization. Land urbanization rate is sensitive to both geographical distance and traffic accessibility to Hefei city proper. Driving forces of land urbanization in Feixi county are summarized as: (1) central city expansion, (2) government-led industrial park construction, and (3) large industrial projects along traffic corridors. A better understanding of urbanization in Feixi county cannot be fulfilled without taking into account the wider spatial process in Hefei city and the Yangtze River Delta city-region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's urbanization has taken a unique course with carefully planned economic growth, since last four decades. Economic development zones are exclusive spaces, representing the intimate connection between political authority and urbanization. The imbalanced spatial development of China's economy leads to transfer of industries among different regions of Anhui province. This inter-regional transferring of industries is not only reflecting the dynamic changes of factor endowments among the regions but also an important way to promote the development of under-developed regions. The Wanjiang Demonstration Area (WDA) was selected to undertake industrial transfer, and it results in industrial transfer rely on synergistic effect of technology and local talent. This study analyzed the synergistic effect of technology and local talent of WDA industry transfer by using entropy value method and coupling coordination degree model based on discussing the talent factors that influence the technical level. The result indicates that talent level index (66,190.23, Uj) is much higher than technology level index (1793.65, Ui); coordination degrees of technology and talent in WDA with the values ranging from 0.09 to 2.16 were found and also manifesting low coupling coordination and system imbalance. As per the coupling method, synergistic effects of technology and talent of industry transfer in WDA are basically in a low coupling stage, and the coupling degree ranges were from 0.10 to 0.19. There were regional variations in the metrics that measure talent and technology including (composite index, coupling degree and coordination degree). All indices in the Hefei city are much greater than those in other nearby areas; with the exception of the coupling degree, in resulting regional barriers should be avoided and unrestricted exchanges of talent and technology should be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of vertical distribution of air pollutants is important for understanding the mechanisms underlying haze pollution. In this paper, we characterize the vertical structure of air pollutants based on ground-based Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements in the wintertime in Hefei, East China. Both NO 2 and aerosol show exponentially decreasing profile with high concentrations concentrated close to the surface, suggesting the major emissions are at ground level. SO 2 profiles extend to slightly higher altitudes than NO 2 , which might be due to the SO 2 emissions from elevated point sources (e.g., power plants). Elevated HCHO was observed in the middle layer during noon time, probably indicating that the larger effect of the photochemical formation of atmospheric HCHO rather than direct HCHO emissions. Potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) models were used to evaluate the potential sources of Hefei's air pollution in the lower, middle and upper boundary layer. The results revealed that the major regional source of NO 2 and aerosol were located in the northern and eastern part of Anhui and the transport mainly occured in the lower layer. Transported SO 2 from the northwestern regions in the middle layer made great contribution to SO 2 in Hefei. HCHO was mostly produced locally while the transport of HCHO from potential source areas was negligible. To further explore the potential source contributions affecting haze pollution, PSCF and CWT analysis for heavy haze episodes suggested that the potential source areas for aerosol were almost located in the northern region, the northwestern region, and the YRD region. Our findings provide a more comprehensive understanding for regional transport through the study on potential sources at different altitudes, which are useful for designing collaborative air pollution control strategies on a regional scale. • Vertical distribution of air pollutants is investigated to identify potential sources at different altitudes during winter. • Both NO 2 and aerosol show exponentially decreasing profile with high concentrations concentrated close to the surface. • SO 2 and HCHO profile typically extended to higher altitudes than NO 2 and aerosol did during winter. • The main potential sources for aerosol were located in the northern region, the northwestern region, and the YRD region. • This study is useful for designing collaborative air pollution control strategies on a regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal-fired thermal power plants that meet the huge energy demand of China largely contribute to carbon emissions, environmental pollution, and human health issues. To investigate the impact of coal-fired power plants on the environment in the most developed region of eastern China, samples of feed coal, limestone, slag, fly ash, and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum were collected from two coal-fired power plants in Hefei City, Anhui Province, China. The concentrations of trace elements in these samples were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results show that the feed coal was slightly rich in V, Cr, Se, In, Sb, Pb, and Ga compared to common Chinese coal. Most trace elements were concentrated in fly ash, especially in the fine particles. Only Sc, Cr, Rb, and Ba were enriched in slag. The smaller the particle size of the fly ash, the higher the fraction of volatile trace elements. The elemental concentrations of old fly ash, which was precipitated in the well of the flue gas pipeline, did not show noticeable differences from fresh fly ash. In addition, the short-time storage of fly ash did not influence the trace elements. To understand the possibility of recovering rare earth elements from coal combustion by-products, the outlook coefficients (Coutl) of coal combustion by-products for the Wanneng (WN) and Tianyuan (TY) power plants were calculated, and they were found to be promising for rare earth elements plus yttrium (REY) recovery. However, as per the evaluation diagram of cut-off grade and Coutl values, all feed coal and its by-products from these two coal-fired power plants are projected to be 'unpromising'. Therefore, the coal combustion by-products from the WN and TY coal-fired power plants were not candidates for REY recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]