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The park-level integrated energy system characterized by electricity heat cooling storage is regarded as a viable solution to energy and environmental crises due to its cleanliness and high efficiency. However, decision-makers encounter challenges in picking the optimum construction scheme. The paper introduces the matter element extension into the investment decision-making of the park-level integrated energy system. To begin, the paper analyzes the composition of the evaluation index system from the basic composition of the park-level integrated energy system, and establishes a standard system for comprehensive performance analysis, including economic, environmental, energy, security, and intelligence. Second, the subjective weight is calculated using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, the objective weight is calculated using the entropy weight. The matter element extension is used to evaluate the alternatives' performance. Finally, an industrial park in Jiangsu Province of China is selected as a case to verify. The results show that good comprehensive performance can be obtained by using photovoltaic, wind turbines, electric energy storage, ice storage, and heat pumps. The decision-making results will not be affected by the change in subjective and objective weight and the change in index weight within 20 %, but changes in matter-element classification would. • Intelligent performance criterion is introduced. • The evaluation system includes economy, environment, energy, security, intelligence. • A decision-making framework for the park-level integrated energy system is established. • A variety of sensitivity analyses were performed. • Using renewable energy and energy storage can obtain good comprehensive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) is a mandatory institutional change to promote low-carbon energy transformation and renewable energy development. Its successful implementation requires the scientific design of relevant incentive mechanisms and rules. To make up for the defects in the current RPS mechanism design and the problems exposed in the Tradable Green Certificate (TGC) market, this paper takes China as an example and uses the system dynamics method to study the supply side incentives. The results show that: (1) Scientific setting the relevant system parameters of RPS (such as quota, benchmark price and penalty) and promoting the electricity market reform will effectively stimulate the power generation and investment on the supply side, and improve manufacturers' profit. (2) Higher quotas and lower benchmark prices can increase the manufacturers' power generation, profit and investment, and stimulate the supply side to conduct TGC transactions. However, when the penalty is set at different multiples of the benchmark price, the incentive effect on supply side power generation, investment and profit differ. (3) Marketed on-grid prices can significantly stimulate the supply side and promote renewable energy development. This paper can provide reference for the design of RPS incentive mechanism and institutional parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ever-increasing attention to environmental pollution and the greenhouse effect, together with the need to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere, has led to a general enforcement of stricter legislation worldwide which imposes the adoption of more efficient and sustainable solutions in many different fields. The use of traditional fossil fuels must be reduced, favoring both renewable energy sources and alternative fuels. This paper outlines a procedure for calculating the environmental advantages of using liquified natural gas (LNG) instead of traditional fossil fuels in terms of reduced emissions: it is based on the choice and application of emission factors (EFs), available through a dedicated and extensive database managed and updated by the European Environmental Agency (EEA). Whenever the EF database lacks data, additional literature studies and databases are used to integrate the missing information. The proposed methodology is then applied to the Sardinia Region: starting from data regarding regional energy needs, the emissions deriving from the current situation are calculated to define a reference point to be compared with two forecast scenarios. These assume that, over a 10-year horizon, certain shares of fossil fuels will be substituted by LNG. Comparisons are made between the emission levels of six different compounds (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , CO, CO 2 , NO X , SO X) showing that, overall, LNG adoption can be considered effective in reducing air pollution for the compounds considered. In particular, as an example, reductions of up to 70 % of PMs and 38 % of CO 2 can be achieved for the thermoelectric sector, whereas for the transportation sector the reductions of the same compounds can be respectively 15 % and 10 %. • Environmental benefits evaluation of a transition to LNG • Emission factors based methodology developed and applied to two forecast scenarios • Emission levels for six pollutants calculated for the different scenarios • Simple and replicable approach to define energy strategies and transition policies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of improved control strategies for the standard environmental conditions in a fed-batch bioreactor used for monoclonal antibody cell culture. The consequences of relying on fixed parameter PID based controllers are considered and poor performance is demonstrated as a consequence of non-linearity and loop interactions. The benefits from adopting a more sophisticated control strategy are considered. Model Predictive Control (MPC) relies on a process model that can be identified from small system perturbations. It considers the predicted longer-term response and consequently can deliver improved control and satisfy user defined constraints. Results from experimental trials demonstrate the capability of MPC and the merits are discussed with regards to industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An evolutionary game model is developed to explore the application of deposit-return system(DRS) in the recovery of waste PV modules. • DRS can restrict the photovoltaic power plant recycling behavior and improve the recovery rate. • DRS is effective when the deposit amount is higher than a certain condition. • The present value of the deposit amount returned shall not be higher than the present value of the deposit amount originally collected. China's PV module scrapping tide will arrive in 2025, but the recycling market has not been regulated, and the recycling rate and reuse rate of waste PV modules are low. From the perspective of self-interest, photovoltaic power stations tend to abandon and illegally dump waste PV modules in informal channels that do not meet environmental protection standards. This seriously hinders the recycling of scrapped photovoltaic modules. In order to restrict the photovoltaic power plant recycling behavior and improve the recovery rate, this paper explores the application of recovery deposit-return system(DRS) in the recovery of s waste PV modules, constructs an evolutionary game model between PV power stations and government, and simulates it with actual data. The results are as follows: (1) DRS is effective when the deposit amount is higher than a certain condition. It can not only restrict the behavior of PV power plant from the angle of interests, but also enhance the government's credibility and bring economic benefits. (2) The present value of the deposit amount returned shall not be higher than the present value of the deposit amount originally collected, otherwise it shall become invalid. In addition, this paper calculates the minimum value of the recycling deposit, analyzes the factors affecting the recycling choice of power stations, and puts forward policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient and equitable allocation scheme for renewable portfolio standard (RPS) quota is of great significance to renewable energy (RE) development and the improvement of the electricity trade market. This study establishes a quota allocation model based on the lowest cost of RE generation to determine the RPS targets (LC-RPS) of 30 Chinese provinces. Subsequently, an index system based on energy consumption, RE resource endowment, historical responsibility, and transmission facilities is constructed to determine the RPS targets (IN-RPS). Finally, the two scenarios mentioned above are compared with the RPS target allocation scenario published by the Chinese government (GM-RPS) and with the NO-RPS scenario. The results show that: Compared with those of GM-RPS and IN-RPS, the power generation cost associated with the LC-RPS is reduced by 8.5% and 49.4%, respectively, and the unit power generation cost is reduced by 9.4 and 39.7 RMB/MWh, respectively; the fairness of the LC-RPS is marginally worse than that of the other three scenarios, but the fairness of the power generation cost is still relative average, thereby demonstrating distribution fairness. This paper appeals to the Chinese government for the perfection of a national renewable energy certificates (REC) trade market and offering additional REC for solar generation. •Least-cost quota (LC-RPS) and index system allocation schemes are proposed. •The renewable energy (RE) generation capacity of 30 Chinese provinces is determined. •The power generation cost of the LC-RPS is reduced compared with other schemes. •The LC-RPS scheme is more efficient and meets national RPS targets. •The generation resources are diversified with the improvement of the national REC trade market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses Italian official survey data collected in 2012 from more than 20 thousand households to shed light on the determinants of people's pro-environmental behavior, more specifically the differentiation of domestic waste disposal. A rich interdisciplinary literature has developed to explain why people may make eco-friendly choices, which come at a personal cost and provide benefits accruing largely to other people. The paper contributes to this investigation by jointly considering non-economic (a declared general interest in environmental issues), economic (easy access to recycling bins) and contextual (the perceived condition of the local environment) determinants of recycling. The results show that a higher general interest in environmental issues is associated with an increase in recycling of 7.5 percentage points, while easy access to facilities is associated with an increase in recycling of 5.3 percentage points. More educated households are also more inclined to behave pro-environmentally: a university degree or a Ph.D. is associated with an increase in the probability of recycling of 5.2 percentage points. Finally, the paper provides evidence that locally perceiving environmental degradation is associated with a 5.8 percentage points decrease in the likelihood of recycling. This last result may be explained by bounded rationality and/or conditional social cooperation, which both may lead to an environmental poverty trap. The final message is that the evidence gathered is difficult to reconcile with the "homo oeconomicus" hypothesis still prevailing in standard economic theory and that non-economic determinants have to be properly considered in the formulation of effective environmental policies. • Being interested in environmental issues is found to be associated with more recycling. • Lower perceived opportunity costs increase the probability of recycling. • Intrinsic motivation is more successful as a driver for recycling when people are confronted with external limitations than when they are not. • Perceiving environmental degradation decreases the probability of recycling. • The effect of environmental degradation on recycling does not vary with the level of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The current Chinese Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) for DEHP (8 μg/L) in China does not provide adequate protection for D. magna populations. • Whereas 8 µg/L DEHP reduced D. magna populations by 27 %, DnOP caused a 37 % decline over the same exposure period. • DEHP, DIOP and DnOP can cause D. magna populations to collapse at environmental relevant concentrations. • To protect aquatic organisms, environmental management and toxicological studies should pay attention to DnOP. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most commonly used phthalate and is ubiquitous in surface water. Based on its well-established toxicological profile, many countries and regions have adopted specific environmental quality standard (EQS) for DEHP. In China, the EQS value for DEHP is 8 μg/L. However, information on isomers structurally similar to DEHP is limited. Among the isomers of DEHP, di-isooctyl phthalate (DIOP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP) have received limited attention. The goal of this paper was to study effects and toxic potencies of DEHP, DIOP, and DnOP to individuals and predict effects on populations of female Daphnia magna (cladoceran crustacea) in media containing environmentally relevant concentrations of single PAEs for three consecutive generations (21 days for every generation). Exposure to all three PAEs resulted in reduced survival and reproduction and cause collapse of populations at the highest concentrations. DnOP was the most potent for causing adverse effects followed by DIOP, while DEHP was the least potent. 8 μg DnOP/L were found to reduce the population size by 37 % in the F 2 generation. These findings demonstrate that PAE isomers other than DEHP can cause adverse effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Official promotion assessment standards are an important factor affecting the environmental governance of local governments. The study of the Chinese government adding the evaluation of ecological civilization to the official promotion assessment standards is of great significance to promote China's environmental pollution control and eco-environmental protection. Therefore, it is necessary to explore diversified ways of environmental governance from the perspective of improving the assessment standards for official promotion. Based on this background, this paper uses a variety of econometric models to compare the impact of traditional assessment standards and new assessment standards, including environmental factors on environmental quality. The results show that: (1) Different from the negative environmental impact brought by traditional assessment, when the official promotion assessment standards change, that is, when it is included in the environmental assessment, the official promotion incentive can actively promote the improvement of regional environmental quality, and this result has a more significant effect on the improvement of environmental quality in economically underdeveloped areas and vulnerable areas. (2) The mechanism test shows that the change of assessment standards will force officials to improve environmental quality by improving regional productivity. (3) the promotion of environmental supervision, represented by the development of information technology, helps strengthen the positive effect of the transformation of official assessment standards on the environment. However, it is unstable. This paper provides a useful reference for improving official promotion assessment standards, exploring diversified ways of environmental governance, and clarifying the effectiveness of the Chinese government's ecological environment reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, countries have actively promoted green economic transformation. Formulating reasonable and effective environmental regulation policies is an important way to realize this transformation. Based on a policy of raising standard sewage charges in China, this paper selects the panel data of 30 provinces from 2000 to 2018 and adopts the multi-time Differences-in-Differences (DID) method to empirically examine the effect of raising environmental costs on industrial green total factor productivity (GTFP). This paper finds that industrial GTFP is significantly increased by raising standard sewage charges. The conclusion is still valid after alleviating the endogenous problem and conducting robustness tests. The policy gives a boost to industrial GTFP in Eastern and Western regions, but not significantly in Central regions, according to the heterogeneity test. Further analyses of its transmission process reveal that raising environmental costs can promote industrial green growth, mostly via technological and structural effect. As a result, if all provinces can optimize and upgrade their industrial structures and improve their levels of technological innovation when faced with increasingly strict environmental regulations, they will be able to better change the model of economic growth and realize green industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The local institutionalization of RSPO standards shifts national and sub-national structures of environmental governance, power, and authority. • In Ecuador, palm oil governance is increasingly driven by a transnational regime of private and public institutions of governance. • The state has pursued an alternative model of governance that harmonizes private regulatory instruments with national economic plans. • Standards entrenchment has influenced community-company dynamics, public–private governing coalitions, and scalar approaches to landscape governance. • New arrangements bring about novel governance coalitions and approaches while reinscribing the exclusionary nature of palm oil governance. The expansion of Latin America's palm oil frontier has spurred an explosion of interest in the social and environmental impacts of palm oil production. Researchers have been particularly focused on the effectiveness of global sustainability certification standards in addressing induced vulnerabilities. Only a small fraction of this research, however, analyzes how the local institutionalization of global standards has shaped national and sub-national structures of environmental governance, or regional conceptualizations of authority. It also fails to examine how the entrenchment of global standards has reworked local social relations inhering within formal and informal palm oil governing arrangements. To address these gaps, this paper draws on the case of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in Ecuador to answer the following research questions: 1) How does the local introduction and institutionalization of RSPO standards (re)shape national and sub-national environmental governance structures and relations? 2) How do RSPO standards reconfigure long-standing notions of power and authority? Drawing on extended fieldwork, the paper finds that the introduction of RSPO standards has prompted three major shifts in domestic palm oil governance. These shifts are: 1) technicalization of community-company relations, 2) hybridization of governance coalitions 3) regionalization of governance efforts. Taken together, these transformations point to an emerging transnational hybrid governance regime that blends public laws with private guidelines to reach national and international sustainability objectives. The regime has enabled the emergence of new palm governance authorities in the sector yet at the same time, it has reinscribed the uneven power relations of palm oil governance. The study concludes that future research and policy efforts must go beyond simply evaluating RSPO standards in local spaces, and instead aim to improve the social relations that exist within agro-commodity chains in order to make the governance of sustainable palm oil more socially-inclusive and just. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of indoor microclimates is an important function of museum operations, a topic that has recently received growing attention. The way in which museum microclimates are specified is still not well documented universally, particularly in developing countries where a significant part of the global 'movable' heritage is situated. Most of the current contributions come from scholars covering climate control practices in developed nations. The bibliography related to museum environmental and climate management in other regions is comparatively limited. Heritage institutions have varying levels of resources, funding mechanisms, management protocols and expertise. In the absence of shared best practices, great variability in the environmental management practice exists across different institutions and countries. This paper brings together 96 studies that were selected and critically evaluated to review publications in the field over the last two decades and trace the variations in climate control practice across regions. The findings of the review confirmed the gaps in research in the field and identified the relevance to the implementation of regulatory frameworks particularly in regions where little or no research of museums' indoor environments is taking place. The paper also shows that the fragmentation of tools and methods to assess the indoor environment in museums has contributed to variations in practices across the sector. Moreover, the paper provides evidence of the struggle to comply with the strict, and in cases exaggerated requirements, that aim at satisfying a varying range of conflicting criteria to provide indoor comfort to visitors while continuing to protect artefacts. • The paper reviews current research in visitor comfort and preventive conservation requirements in museum environments. • It explores research gaps in the literature relating to the global distribution of case studies and authorship of the work. • The paper examines the call to revise the various current standards that govern the indoor environment of museums. • The authors highlight the importance of localisation of standards to carefully reflect comfort and conservation needs. • It provides an insight into current trends and possible future directions for research on museum environmental management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Predetermined calibration volume limits magnetometer calibration error. • Coil assembly parts influence field amplitude and distribution with frequency. • Correction with frequency requires parameterization of coil multi-resonant circuit. • Verification of field correction uses wideband induction sensor with amplifier. In this paper, we present the establishment of a magnetic flux density standard in the national calibration laboratory in Croatia. A single-layer Helmholtz coil was constructed as a magnetic field source at frequencies from 25 Hz to 100 kHz to calibrate magnetic field meters up to field limits for occupational exposure. First, the calibration error margin was determined for probes up to 100 cm2 of the cross-sectional area with respect to the predefined calibration volume inside the coil. Next, the equivalent electrical model of the assembled standard was parameterized as a multiple resonance circuit to estimate the correction of the reference field with frequency. Finally, the calculated correction was experimentally verified using a single-turn induction loop with an amplifier. The resulting uncertainty budget of the standard confirms the laboratory's capability to calibrate environmental magnetometers with the best relative uncertainty of 0.8 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Three types of PCMs suitable for agricultural system are summarized. • The integration of PCMs into agricultural cold chain logistics are summarized. • Agricultural cold chain logistics system future development offers some insights. The agricultural cold-chain logistics system is significant for agricultural product preservation and reducing losses. Moreover, it meaningfully promotes the income of farmers and rural revitalization in China, to a certain extent. The energy-storage technology as an emerging distributed solution has been attracting increasing attention over recent years. However, because of the low performance of energy-storage materials and lack of integration methods, many agricultural products rot during transportation. The current challenge resides in how the agricultural cold-chain logistics system can meet the requirements of stable and efficient continuous operation and reduce rot during the transportation of agricultural products. For this purpose, it is necessary to consider improving the performance of energy-storage materials and achieve their more-efficient integration into the entire agricultural cold-chain logistics system. Future trends in the agricultural cold-chain logistics system involve the high performance and low carbon footprint of energy-storage materials, which are key to meeting environmental standards and changing market demands. Advances in renewable energy technologies and energy-storage solutions have significantly accelerated the industrialisation of this system. The agricultural cold-chain logistics system will become the main force in promoting rural revitalisation in the future, which is a necessary condition for narrowing the development gap between China and other developed countries in this context. Therefore, this paper reviews the properties of the energy-storage materials that are suitable for the agricultural cold-chain logistics system and how to integrate these materials into that system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing concern about the shift of trade in more polluting products to countries with less restrictive environmental standards, popularly known as pollution havens. This paper explores whether institutional quality affects trade composition and fosters a transition towards cleaner products. Applying a gravity model to a sample of 140 countries for the period 2002–2018, our results show a negative link between institutional quality and trade in products classified as dirty. In addition, the results show a non-linear pattern, with the effects being stronger for countries with high levels of institutional quality. We also examine which dimensions of institutional quality play a more prominent role. Finally, we find that part of the effect of institutional quality is channelled through higher environmental stringency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]