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In the context of carbon neutrality, energy conservation and carbon reduction in the heating industry have become the focus of attention. However, severe heat loss is currently occurring in the secondary heating system due to hydraulic imbalance, which is unable to supply heat according to users' needs. In view of this, a thermodynamic-hydraulic model of users' demand for heat and flow rate for the heating system is established. Then, a novel method to regulate hydraulic imbalance is proposed, with the dynamic heat demand satisfied by regulating the valve opening based on NSGA-II. The optimization results show that the comprehensive hydraulic imbalance coefficient has been reduced from 23.08 to less than 0.019, which means that almost 100% of users can get heat supplies corresponding to their needs, while the energy consumption is reduced by about 30%. Additionally, when there are 1000 population and iteration steps, good convergence and high speed are presented using this method. In summary, an on-demand optimized model of hydraulic balance for the secondary heating network is put forward, which provides powerful engineering support and guidance for intelligent heating construction. • This paper presents a method to regulate the hydraulic balance of network using NSGA-II according to the heat demand. • This paper combines the demand flow regulation of users with the resistance analysis of the heating network. • The hydraulic balance can be implemented greatly by using the hydraulic imbalance coefficient as the optimization goal. • The number of iteration steps in the algorithm has an effect on the optimization results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Towards the target of carbon neutrality, the need for deep decarbonization in iron and steel industry is increasingly recognized. Existing studies rarely mention the effects of collaboration with its source industries for carbon emission reduction in ISI. Furthermore, the fundamental laws of CO 2 emission reduction capacity with cost change of source substitutions for various steel production routes under market economics are unclear. To avoid the blind substitution of clean sources for meeting the urgent requirements for decarbonization in China's steel industry, which may result in increased carbon emissions and uneconomical carbon reduction from a lifecycle perspective. This paper integrates the production and utilization processes of source resources into the steel production process, establishes coupling models of carbon and value flows for four main types of steel production routes, and aims to quantitatively analyze the specific CO 2 emission reduction potential and costs. Three economic market development scenarios from 2021 to 2060 are set, and the marginal carbon prices of various source substitutions are determined. Subsequently, decarbonization pathways with the goal of minimizing production costs are developed. Finally. The future resource demand and the carbon emission reduction contributions of source industries collaborated are predicted. The results show that (1) about 81.7–89.9 % of CO 2 emissions could be reduced in the scenarios; (2) the demands of electric power and hydrogen energy will reach 54.48–511.90 BkWh and 7.47–10.31 Gt in 2060, respectively; and (3) collaboration with source industries could make 18.3–18.3% of CO 2 emission reduction contributions. All in all, this study could provide scientific support for the low-carbon transformation of China's steel industry. • Carbon and value flows of BF-BOF, Scrap-EAF, DRI-EAF, MOE-EAF routes are analyzed. • CO 2 emission reduction potential with marginal carbon price is determined. • Decarbonization paths during 2021–2060 for China's steel industry are developed. • Quantify the contribution of collaborative carbon reduction with source industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the objective of carbon neutrality stated by the global climate conference, the iron and steel industry, a major carbon emitter, must transition to green and low-carbon development as quickly as feasible. Hydrogen metallurgy direct reduction technology has attracted much attention because of its low emission. However, the current study on hydrogen metallurgy shaft furnace lacks a comprehensive in-depth analysis of gas consumption, gas utilization, and exergy intensity. To tackle these problems, a material and energy optimization model including intermolecular chemical reaction is established. The original process is optimized by this model, the gas utilization is enhanced by 26.7%, gas consumption is decreased by 906.34 m3/t-DRI, and exergy intensity is reduced by 8.8 GJ/t-DRI. Furthermore, the impacts of gas composition, gas temperature, and ore temperature on gas consumption, gas utilization, exergy structure, and exergy intensity, as well as their interactions, are investigated thoroughly. The analysis highlighted that properly reducing hydrogen content and increasing gas and ore temperature can improve gas utilization and reduce gas consumption. Simultaneously, lowering gas consumption can effectively lower exergy intensity. And furnace top gas exergy is closely related to gas utilization. On the whole, it is advantageous to promote the development of hydrogen metallurgy by conducting in-depth and systematic analyses. [Display omitted] • An NLP model including intermolecular chemical reactions is established. • The accuracy of the model is verified by actual production data. • The material and energy assessments are presented considering the exergy of energy. • Relationships of gas utilization, exergy intensity are thoroughly considered. • Suggestions are proposed to improve the energy utilization in actual production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]