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China's paper production accounted for nearly a quarter of the world's total paper production in 2010. In this study, 23 energy saving technologies applicable to the pulping and papermaking process in China are identified and analyzed. The conservation supply curve (CSC) method is employed to assess the technical and economic aspects of energy conservation. The fuel CSC for Chinese pulp and paper industry shows the cost-effective and technical fuel conservation potential is 180 PJ and 254 PJ, accounting for 27% and 38% of total fuel used in 2010, respectively. The CO 2 mitigation potential related to the cost-effective fuel efficiency is 17 Mt CO 2 and the technical potential is 24 Mt CO 2 . The electricity CSC shows the technical electricity conservation potential is 2316 GWh, representing 4% of total electricity consumption. All of the electricity efficiency measures are shown to be cost-effective in this study. The CO 2 mitigation resulted from electricity efficiency is around 2 Mt CO 2 . In addition, sensitivity analyses for the parameters of penetration rate, discount rate, and energy price are conducted to assess their influence on the final results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to view innovation policy through the lens of policy mixes has gained momentum given the growing complexity, the dynamics of real-world policy and the wide array of difficulties to address the current great societal challenges, notably the increasing pressure on the ecosystems that support our society. One of the main challenges concerning the transition towards bioeconomy, is to gain a more in-depth understanding on the policy mix to stimulate innovation in sustainability transitions. Our paper aims at enriching the portfolio of empirical case studies on policy mixes for innovation and sustainable transitions, by investigating the development of the policy mix underpinning the sustainability transition of the pulp and paper industry in Sweden. We apply a case study approach which draws on event history analysis, semi-structured interviews with industry and policy makers, literature reviews, a participative workshop with stakeholders from the pulp and paper industry, as well as on the IEA databases on climate change and energy efficiency policies and measures. Our analysis emphasises coordination, timing and scale in policy mixes as important elements to understand how instruments interact to accelerate sustainability transitions. The mapping of the policy mix shows that destabilising policies were crucial for accelerating the transition process of the industry. Prior to novelty creation policies, destabilising policies (e.g. environmental policies) were needed for 'innovation policy instruments' to be effective. More specific instruments (e.g. carbon tax), targeting particular functions of the innovation systems, require 'on-the-ground' policy intelligence and benefit from close interaction with industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulp and paper mill effluent (PPME), a rich cellulosic material, was found to have great potential for biohydrogen production through a photofermentation process. However, pretreatments were needed for degrading the complex structure of PPME before biohydrogen production. The aim of this study was to gain further insight into the effect of an ultrasonication process on PPME as a pretreatment method and on photofermentative biohydrogen production using Rhodobacter sphaeroides NCIMB. The ultrasonication amplitudes and times were varied between 30–90% and 15–60 min, respectively, and no dilution or nutrient supplementation was introduced during the biohydrogen production process. A higher biohydrogen yield, rate, light efficiency and COD removal efficiency were attained in conditions using ultrasonicated PPME. Among these different pretreatment conditions, PPME with ultrasonication pretreatment employing an amplitude of 60% and time of 45 min (A60:T45) gave the highest yield and rate of 5.77 mL H 2 /mL medium and 0.077 mL H 2 /mL h, respectively, while the raw PPME without ultrasonication showed a significantly lower yield and rate of 1.10 mL H 2 /mL medium and 0.015 mL H 2 /mL h, respectively. The results of this study demonstrated the potential of using ultrasonication as a pretreatment for PPME because the yield and rate of biohydrogen production were highly enhanced compared to the raw PPME. Economic analysis was also performed in this study, and in comparison with raw PPME, the highest net saving was $0.2132 for A60:T45. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swedish pulp and paper industry (PPI) must increase energy efficiency to remain competitive on the global market, which has experienced entries from countries with cheaper energy and raw material supplies. Interactions among variables for energy use, production, energy management, electricity price and firm characteristics (FC), in different types of mills, i.e., pulp, paper and integrated mills, in Sweden from 2006 to 2015 indicate that correlations among the studied variables were different in different types of mills. This difference between types of mills seemed to originate partly from varying accessibility to production residue that could be used for energy. For all types of mills, variation of electricity prices did not correlate significantly with energy efficiency during the study period. The studied FC were firm's age, number of employees, number of companies in company group, net sales and profit for the year. Energy efficiency was more affected by the variables characterizing energy and production compared to the variables representing FC. This study also suggested presence of possible discrepancies between FC that were perceived as barriers to energy management towards energy efficiency, according to previous studies, and what was shown by the data combining variables representing energy use, production and FC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The pulp and paper industry is one of the most energy-intensive industries worldwide. In 2007, it accounted for 5% of total global industrial energy consumption and 2% of direct industrial carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. An energy audit is a primary step toward improving energy efficiency at the facility level. This paper describes a plant-wide energy audit aimed at identifying energy conservation and CO2 mitigation opportunities at a paper mill in Guangdong province, China. We describe the energy audit methods, relevant Chinese standards, methods of calculating energy and carbon indicators, baseline energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the audited paper mill, and nine energy-efficiency improvement opportunities identified by the audit. For each of the nine options, we evaluate the energy conservation and associated CO2 mitigation potential. The total technical energy conservation potential for these nine opportunities is 967.8terajoules (TJ), and the total CO2 mitigation potential is equal to 93,453tonnes CO2 annually, representing 14.4% and 14.7%, respectively, of the mill’s total energy consumption and CO2 emissions during the audit period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents a comparison between four gasification-based biorefineries integrated with a pulp and paper mill. It is a continuation of 'Transportation fuel production from gasified biomass integrated with a pulp and paper mill - Part A: Heat integration and system performance'. Synthesis into methanol, Fischer-Tropsch crude or synthetic natural gas, or electricity generation in a gas turbine combined cycle, were evaluated. The concepts were assessed in terms of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and economic performance. Net annual profits were positive for all biofuel cases for an annuity factor of 0.1 in the year 2030; however, the results are sensitive to biofuel selling prices and CO 2,eq charge. Additionally, GHG emissions from grid electricity are highly influential on the results since all biofuel processes require external power. Credits for stored CO 2 might be necessary for processes to be competitive, i.e. storage of separated CO 2 from the syngas conditioning has an important role to play. Without CO 2 storage, the gas turbine case is better than, or equal to, biofuels regarding GHG emissions. Efficiency measures at the host mill prior to heat integration of a gasification process are beneficial from the perspective of GHG emissions, while having a negative impact on the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The paper drying process has the highest level of energy consumption in the pulp and paper production process. Analysis and optimization of the energy system during the paper drying process is critical for improving the energy efficiency of the entire paper mill. In the existing model for the paper drying process, the solution requires accurate boundary conditions such as the air temperature and humidity of the pocket area and the cylinder surface temperature, which are very difficult to obtain in the papermaking process. This can result in significant deviations between the model solution and the actual production process. This paper focuses on the single-tier dryer cylinder-based paper drying process that has been widely used with high-speed papermaking machines in recent years. A mathematical model is proposed based on real-time data. The verification via industrial production demonstrates that the proposed model is reliable for the paper drying process. Based on the simulation results, two optimization operations have been proposed. The energy consumption decreases from 1.51 t steam/t paper to 1.44 t steam/t paper, 4.6% of the steam and 1.26 × 106 RMB can be saved for a medium-scale paper mill with the annual production capacity of 105 t paper. Highlights • Mathematical model for the single-tier cylinder based paper drying process is proposed. • Both the steam-condensate system and the paper drying process are considered. • The simulation results are verified by the industrial data from a papermaking enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an inclusive approach with focus on energy use and recovery in wastewater management, including wastewater treatment (WWT) and sludge handling. Process data from three Swedish mills and a mathematical model were used to evaluate seven sludge handling strategies. The results indicate that excess energy use in WWT processes counters the potential energy recovery in the sludge handling systems. Energy use in WWT processes is recommended to aim for sufficient effluent treatment, not for sludge reduction. Increased secondary sludge production is favourable from an energy point of view provided it is used as a substrate for heat, biogas or electricity production. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Green energy has become one of the most recurrent topics of the last decade, with a clear ascending trend in terms of popularity and strategic relevance. Although the term has been a fundamental element in the energy, environmental science, or engineering domains, we can now observe frequent linkages with the highly dynamic and versatile economic context. With this in mind, in the current paper, we aim to present the related literature approaches that integrated green energy in economics, while also identifying the evolutionary differences of perspectives and frameworks. Therefore, the methodology will start by showcasing the clear evolution of the concept, with statistical overviews that confirm its increasing frequency. Afterward, we will limit the review to the papers that integrated green energy in the title, in an endeavor to illustrate the main connections and synergies found within the economic and business area. A selection of 50 papers will be made, 25 being published in the 2010-2019 period and 25 starting in 2020. Consequently, a classification framework will be constructed to allocate each paper based on the general subject and the main methodology used. After profiling the periods and extracting valuable comparisons, the papers will be curated through the computation of different text-mining techniques, resulting in insightful statistics on the most common words, complementary concepts, and general sentiment. The study's main conclusion will be the observed prevalence of a new economic framework, based on economic growth and sustainability: green growth. Therefore, in terms of contribution, by using data mining and sentiment analysis, we have extracted valuable information from a large volume of text, methodically proving that green energy is frequently linked with economic development, and evolving conceptually throughout the last decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Will climate action be synergic to China's other socio-economic goals, such as poverty alleviation, healthy aging society, etc.? What kind of structural changes are needed to reduce carbon emissions in the most efficient and effective way? Paper 3: Development of the Electric Vehicle Industry in China by Jianwei Xing, Xiyuan Liu, Yushuai Zhang This paper aims to unravel the past decade's development story of the EV industry in China. Papers in this special issue are works resulted from a research project organized at the National School of Development, Peking University, and sponsored by the Energy Foundation (China). [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: Energy conservation is a central concern of the current industrial world, where increasing efficient energy usage is the only way of reducing a high energy demand. In the present study the optimization of a pulp and paper mill with a cogeneration plant has been carried out. The optimization was realized with a methodology which includes exergy, exergoeconomics, thermoeconomics and pinch analysis. The proposed methodology was useful in determining not only the best plant operating conditions but also establishing the components or subsystems with the highest irreversibilities. As a result of the study, operation changes in the recovery boiler, the turbogenerator, the thermal treatment and the deaerator were realized. Due to the higher irreversibility in the actual evaporator line, a new line of evaporators was proposed. Also, an innovative heat recycling technology as to the use of heat transformers was proposed in order to reduce waste heat discharged to the atmosphere. The results obtained with the proposed methodology, which integrates the different optimization methods, allowed reaching higher efficiencies and lower operational costs than those obtained with the optimization methods working separately. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using a discounted cash flow methodology, we have performed a detailed analysis of the current costs of electricity from two Indian nuclear reactors. We compare these costs to that from a recently constructed coal-based thermal power plant of similar size. Our results show that for realistic values of the discount rate, electricity from coal-based thermal power stations is cheaper than nuclear energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Hacettepe University Journal of Economics & Administrative Sciences / Hacettepe Üniversitesi Iktisadi ve Idari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Hacettepe University, Faculty of Economic & Administrative Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: The heat recovery system (HRS) is a vital part in a paper machine when it comes to the overall energy economy in papermaking. For a typical newsprint machine more than 60% of the exhaust energy from the dryer section can be recovered, resulting typically in a regain of about 30MW. The synthesis task of a HRS is a decision process where the target is on the one hand to achieve maximal energy recovery and on the other hand to obtain it with minimal investment costs. These goals are contradictory and thus the problem is to find a solution minimizing the overall costs, considering simultaneously both energy and investment costs. One further challenge is how to take into account known variations in the parameters so that the design is robust, i.e. it is capable of handling all evolving situations and furthermore the design should be the most economical one when also considering the duration of all expected operational situations. In this work a hybrid method based on evolutionary programming and non-linear programming for the synthesis of robust and optimal heat recovery systems (HRS) for paper machines is presented. Variations and uncertainties on process parameters are modeled with probability distributions and the cost of the utilities are thus obtained as an integrated value of all different situations expected to evolve. The importance of obtaining a robust design is shown in a case study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

10.3390/en14102947 3 Pilatowska M., Geise A., Wlodarczyk A. The effect of renewable and nuclear energy consumption on decoupling economic growth from CO2 emissions in Spain. The last article, "Empirical Research on the Relationship amongst Renewable Energy Consumption, Economic Growth and Foreign Direct Investment in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan", is authored by [[3]]. This editorial paper presents a brief review of the 11 selected papers recently published: nine from I Energies i and two from other journals, and their citations are compared. They examine the associations between foreign direct investment, economic growth, and renewable energy consumption in the case of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. [Extracted from the article]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including the inclusion of six empirical papers, economic disparities between small E.U. member countries with differing development levels post-2004 E.U. accession, and promoting hotel employees.

The research problem of this paper is related to numerous open questions in the field of energy, its understanding, its use, and the challenges of the energy future. After the introductory part, in which a brief historical overview of energy literacy is provided, the paper focuses on energy literacy, its emergence, and the different approaches to its definition and measurement. The paper analyzes the energy literacy of students at the Faculty of Economics in Rijeka based on their cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills. Their knowledge about energy, energy processes, and the energy efficiency of the objects they encounter on a daily basis is examined. Their personal attitudes and values are examined through various forms of personal initiatives and active participation in energy sustainability projects. Finally, the habits and behavioral patterns that the respondents have in their daily lives and their tendencies to save energy resources and find energy-efficient solutions are examined. Despite some positive findings, the current results are not satisfactory and point to the creation of adequate public policies with a particular focus on education and the role of the corrective mechanisms of the state, but also the need for joint negotiations between policy makers, regulators, scientists, representatives of civil society, and the business community. The particular contribution of this work is reflected in being the first research of its kind conducted among Croatian economics students, as well as among Croatian students in general; in the creation of a research instrument that is conceptually consistent with the findings from the existing literature, but with an original set of questions within each energy literacy skill adapted to the cultural and sociological background of the respondents; and in a kind of progress from previous research by taking into account the quantitative aspect (in addition to the qualitative) assessment of the respondents' energy literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Invest Journal of Sharia & Economic Law is the property of Invest Journal of Sharia & Economic Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: With heterogeneous findings dominating the growth and natural resources relations, there is a need to explain the variances in Africa's growth process as induced by robust measures of factor endowments. This study used a comprehensive set of data from the updated database of the World Bank to capture the heterogeneous dimensions of natural resource endowments on growth with a particular focus on establishing complementary evidence on the resource curse hypothesis in energy and environmental economics literature in Africa. These comprehensive data on oil rent, coal rent and forest rent could provide new and insightful evidence on obscure relations on the subject matter. Design/methodology/approach: This paper considers the panel vector error correction model (PVECM) procedure to explain changes in economic growth outcomes as induced by oil rent, coal rent and forest rent. The consideration of the PVECM was premised on the panel unit root process that returns series that were cointegrated at the first-order differentials. Findings: The paper found positive relations between oil rent, coal rent and economic development in Africa. Forest rent, on the other hand, is inversely related to economic growth in Africa. Trade and human capital are positively related to economic growth in Africa, while population growth is negatively associated with economic growth in Africa. Research limitations/implications: Short-run policies should be tailored towards the stability of fiscal expenditure such that the objective of fiscal policy, which is to maintain the condition of full employment and economic stability and stabilise the rate of growth, can be optimised and sustained. By this, the resource curse will be averted and productive capacity will increase, leading to sustainable growth and development in Africa, where conditions for growth and development remain inadequately met. Originality/value: The originality of this paper can be viewed from the strength of its arguments and methods adopted to address the questions raised in this paper. This study further illuminated age-long obscure relations in the literature of natural resource endowment and economic growth by taking a disaggregated approach to the component-by-component analysis of natural resources factors (the oil rent, coal rent and forest rent) and their corresponding influence on economic growth in Africa. This pattern remains underexplored mainly in previous literature on the subject. Many African countries are blessed with an abundance of these different natural resources in varying proportions. The misuse and mismanagement of these resources along various dimensions have been the core of the inclination towards the resource curse hypothesis in Africa. Knowing how growth conditions respond to changes in the depth of forest resources, oil resources and coal resources could be useful pointers in Africa's overall energy use and management. This study contributed to the literature on natural resource-induced growth dynamics by offering a generalisable conclusion as to why natural resource-abundance economies are prone to poor economic performance. This study further asks if mineral deposits are a source or reflection of ill growth and underdevelopment in African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FOUNDATIONS AND EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF SANITARY POLICIES The first section of this special issue tackles a number of important research questions related to the foundations and design of epidemic control policies. It particularly focuses on the comparison between the herd immunity policies (as followed in Sweden in the first COVID wave) and lockdown policies under the capacity constraints of the health system (and in particular, the capacity of intensive care units, the so-called ICU constraint), more commonly conducted in Europe in this period of time. Another nice feature of the paper is to provide an accurate introduction to the theory of herd immunity policies (in particular to the inherent concept of overshooting), not at all accounted for in the first wave of COVID-related literature which was overwhelmingly focused on lockdown and testing policies. While the entire planet seems to coexist with COVID without major problems at present, as almost all the preventive measures have been lifted, there is increasing concern among epidemiologists and expert scientists that the worse of COVID-19 might not yet be over. [Extracted from the article]