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Abstract This paper aimed at identifying the factors that influence truck fleets' willingness to purchase alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in China. An investigation was conducted in Jiangsu province to evaluate the truck fleets' characteristics and preferences by structured questionnaire survey of 288 truck fleets. By establishing logistic regression models, this paper analyzed the factors that influence the willingness of truck fleets to purchase AFVs, their purchase time and their acceptable price. Policy recommendations on improving AFVs market based on survey results and current policies in China are proposed. These findings provide significant insights into truck fleets' demand for AFVs and contribute to the promotion of AFVs implementation in Chinese road freight industry. Highlights • Logistic regression models on truck fleets' preference on AFVs, their purchase time and their acceptable price. • Estimation based on truck fleets' stated choice in Jiangsu province, China. • Policy recommendations on improving AFVs market based on survey results and current policies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste cooking oil (WCO)-for-biodiesel conversion is regarded as the “waste-to-wealthy” industry. This paper addresses the design of a WCO-for-biodiesel supply chain at both strategic and tactical levels. The supply chain of this problem is studied, which is based on a typical mode of the waste collection (from restaurants’ kitchen) and conversion in the cities. The supply chain comprises three stakeholders: WCO supplier, integrated bio-refinery and demand zone. Three key problems should be addressed for the optimal design of the supply chain: (1) the number, sizes and locations of bio-refinery; (2) the sites and amount of WCO collected; (3) the transportation plans of WCO and biodiesel. A robust mixed integer linear model with muti-objective (economic, environmental and social objectives) is proposed for these problems. Finally, a large-scale practical case study is adopted based on Suzhou, a city in the east of China, to verify the proposed models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to design a robust waste cooking oil- (WCO-) for-biodiesel supply chain under WCO supply and price as well as biodiesel demand and price uncertainties, so as to improve biorefineries’ ability to cope with the poor environment. A regional supply chain is firstly introduced based on the biggest WCO-for-biodiesel company in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, and it comprises three components: WCO supplier, biorefinery, and demand zone. And then a robust mixed integer linear model with multiple objectives (economic, environmental, and social objectives) is proposed for both biorefinery location and transportation plans. After that, a heuristic algorithm based on genetic algorithm is proposed to solve this model. Finally, the 27 cities in Yangtze River delta are adopted to verify the proposed models and methods, and the sustainability and robustness of biodiesel supply are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • GDC coated LSCF fiber material is successfully synthesized. • Continuous O2– transport paths and three-phase interfaces are constructed by GDC. • Sr segregation of LSCF cathode is inhibited by the applying of GDC coating. • GDC coating in LSCF nanorods inhibits the formation of SrCrO 4. The low catalytic activity and poor long-term stability of cathode at intermediate temperatures are one of the bottlenecks hindering the application of solid oxide fuel cells. In this work, the highly active and robust La 0.8 Sr 0.2 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ (LSCF) nanofibers based composite cathodes with core-shell structure is prepared applying electrospinning combined with sol-gel method. Owing to the favorable oxygen ion transport capability of Gd 0.2 Ce 0.8 O 1.9-δ (GDC) nanoparticle coating layer, the GDC coated LSCF nanorods composite cathode with GDC:LSCF mass ratio of 0.51:1 obtains the optimal electrochemical performance, reaching a polarization impedance of 0.03 Ω cm2 at 800 °C. Meanwhile, the composite cathode exhibits no obvious degradation for constant operating 200 h. Remarkably, XPS and Raman characterizations imply that the applying of GDC coating inhibits the formation of SrO and SrCrO 4 during the long-term operating in Cr containing atmosphere, thereby endowing the higher long-term operation stability and Cr poisoning tolerance to LSCF based cathode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The taxi industry has boomed over the years, both in street-hail and dispatch market. However, few studies focus on comprehensive perspectives, which make decisions such as implementing regulative or incentive policies difficult. As an economic community working in the value-oriented process, the taxi industry requires a holistic performance evaluation to determine how to adapt strategies to survive and grow. Methods: This paper proposed the concept 'Taxi Industry Health degree' based on the theory of Business Ecosystem and the evaluation of its health. A four-layer criteria set is developed from aspects of robustness, productivity and sustainability, and weights are determined through Analytic Hierarchy Process. Results: A synthetic evaluating model combining Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation and Artificial Neural Network is used to maintain the goal of multi-criteria decision-making. With the GPS and Taximeter dataset of taxicabs in the whole taxi industry in Wuxi, the model is applied to empirical studies. Conclusions: This paper provides sensibility analysis on not only the company's order volatility, revenue growth and utilization of resources, but also influence on citizen's welfare, energy consumption and environmental pollution, which enables practical regulations and policies within taxi industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cr poisoning has been regarded as a significant reason for the degradation of La 0.8 Sr 0.2 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ (LSCF) cathode in practical application. In recent years, protective coating on cathode surface has been recognized as an effective approach to improve the Cr poisoning resistance of cathode. In this work, Ce 0.8 Gd 0.2 O 1.9−δ (GDC) layer is successfully coated on LSCF nanoparticles by sol-gel method, endowing the GDC coated LSCF (LSCF@GDC) composite material with excellent electrochemical properties and Cr poisoning tolerance. The LSCF@GDC0.32 composite cathode exhibits a lower total impedance increase of 0.20 Ω cm2 per 200 h and 0.31 Ω cm2 per 200 h for open circuit and constant current test with SUS430 as Cr source, respectively, compared with the bare LSCF cathode (0.90 Ω cm2 per 200 h and 1.53 Ω cm2 per 200 h, respectively). In addition, according to energy dispersion spectrum (EDS) and tip enhanced Raman characterization, the enhanced Cr poisoning tolerance of composite cathode can also be verified through the alleviated SrCrO 4 formation and Cr deposition on LSCF cathode. [Display omitted] • GDC coating is successfully applied to LSCF cathode through sol-gel method. • The Cr tolerance of LSCF cathode is improved by GDC coating. • The generated of SrCrO 4 was inhibited by GDC coating. • Polarization can promote the deposition of Cr in LSCF cathode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The market demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has increased in recent years. Suitable models are necessary to understand and forecast EV sales. This study presents a singular spectrum analysis (SSA) as a univariate time-series model and vector autoregressive model (VAR) as a multivariate model. Empirical results suggest that SSA satisfactorily indicates the evolving trend and provides reasonable results. The VAR model, which comprised exogenous parameters related to the market on a monthly basis, can significantly improve the prediction accuracy. The EV sales in China, which are categorized into battery and plug-in EVs, are predicted in both short term (up to December 2017) and long term (up to 2020), as statistical proofs of the growth of the Chinese EV industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]