Search

Abstract: There has been much debate on the topic of whether stricter environmental regulations can promote environmental performance and economic performance at the same time. Different researchers have used different indicators to measure environmental performance and economic performance in their empirical studies. However, it is a surprise that few studies have checked the relationship between environmental regulation and eco-efficiency, as the latter is widely regarded as a quite powerful tool of considering ecology and economy together. In this study the background is the implementation in 2003 of the Stricter Discharge Standard (SDS) in Shandong Province’s Pulp and Paper Industry (SPPI), compared to the national standards of China. The stricter regulations were intended to promote corporate change from passive management to active control and from end-of-pipe treatment to cleaner production. This study investigated the eco-efficiency trends of SPPI from 2001 to 2008 in three fields: water efficiency, energy efficiency and environment efficiency. A “de-linking” and “re-linking” tool was used to attain a further evaluation. The study showed that with the implementation of stricter regulation most of the efficiency indicators (except CO2 emission and energy consumption) had achieved significant improvements, and the overall environmental performance trends of SPPI showed it to be more sustainable. However, the study also found that it was not enough to address a single indicator in the environmental regulation of the pulp and paper industry. More holistic eco-efficiency indicators need to be further considered and introduced to the industry as the next step to create true sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combined heat and power is an inevitable trend in the development of waste-to-power industry. Many waste incineration power generation projects that have already put into operation in China are waiting for transition and upgrading to combined heat and power projects. From a growth option perspective, this paper considers the irreversible process and uncertainty in economic benefits, introduces carbon emission trading mechanism and develops the growth option theory to design the expansion decision making model of waste-to-energy combined heat and power projects, so as to obtain the project value and find the optimal expansion timing. In this paper, a case study is carried out on the expansion decision making of a waste-to-energy combined heat and power project in Shandong Province in China. And two scenarios with specific and flexible expansion times are developed from European and American options separately, as European options require investors to expand at a certain time but American options not. The results indicate that 1) real option approach successfully improves the project value through considering uncertainty, and American option can achieve the optimal expansion time, 2) under the carbon emission trading mechanism, the carbon price affects the expansion index, which has a positive effect on the project value, 3) the linear nature of the income and cost expansion index can help investors make judgments on expansion investments. The effectiveness of the case study implies the practicality of the expansion option method for similar projects to reach dual carbon targets in cost and benefit analysis. • Real option approach is applied in energy transition in WTECHP projects. • European and American options are proposed for certain and flexible decision times. • Expansion time and triggers of WTECHP are incorporated into life cycle management. • CCER is introduced as an environmental element to evaluate expansion decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of urbanization in China inevitably leads to a sharp increase in building energy consumption, and Passive House (PH) have received much attention in China in recent years. In this paper, the annual energy demand (AED) and summer discomfort hours (SUH) of PH are used as optimization objectives to establish a set of design solutions for multi-objective optimization (MTO) and economic analysis of a PH in Shandong Province, China. It is found that (1) the algorithm based on nearest neighbor component analysis (NCA) feature extraction applies to the sensitivity analysis of multivariate nonlinear high-dimensional data, and the NCA-GA-RBF neural network technique is proposed, which has significantly improved the goodness of fit and generalization ability for AED and SUH. (2) The NSGA-II genetic algorithm is used for the optimization search, and the results show that the overall improvement rates of AED and SUH are 25.5% and 21.6%, respectively, among the nine solutions after comprehensive evaluation; (3) Finally, the optimal scheme of energy saving and the optimal scheme of the economy are selected for economic evaluation. By comparing the economics of the two options and the improvement rates of AEDs and SUHs, the guidelines for design decision-makers are provided. In summary, the design scheme of this paper is forward-looking and reference-oriented and provides some reference suggestions for the development of PH in China. • The NCA algorithm is suitable for multivariate nonlinear sensitivity analysis. • NCA-GA-RBF has stronger and more stable generalization ability and accuracy. • In this paper, climate is the main factor affecting thermal parameters. • Global costs have a stronger economic interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental taxes can play an important role in reducing pollution issues. However, they also have an impact on the entire economy. This paper uses panel data from Shandong Province in China from 2005 to 2016 to analyze the impact of pollutant charges on the economic and environmental performances. The results show that the payment transfer of pollutant charges can influence the output but the effects varies with regions and time. Pollutant charges increase the resource utilization efficiency and promote economic growth. After controlling output and industry structure, pollutant charges on waste gas improve the air quality. This study confirms the existence of the environmental tax double dividend and provides a reference for new environmental protection taxes. • The effects of pollutant charges on economics and environment are tested. • There are heterogeneity of the effect of pollutant charges on industry structure. • Pollutant charges improves the resource utilization efficiency in Shandong. • Pollutant charges promotes economic growth and improves the environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the combustion of fossil fuel became the largest contributing factor of greenhouse gas emissions in China, the growth of energy consumption caused by urbanization has led to significant increase in carbon emissions. Applying both the carbon-emissions-coefficient and the sector-energy-consumption method, we predicted the energy consumption and carbon emissions, explored the characteristics of energy consumption and carbon emissions in different urbanization stages, and analyzed the energy crisis in Shandong which is a typical province in China. The results indicate that in 2015 and 2020, the total primary energy consumption will be 1.57 times and 1.85 times higher than that of in 2009, and the carbon emissions are estimated to be 1.48 times and 1.67 times respectively. The urbanization has distinct positive effects on energy consumption and carbon emissions, and the influence is more obvious in the intermediate-stage than in the early-stage. From a policy perspective, this paper could provide valuable information for planners and decision makers to formulate feasible and practical polices with a view to optimize energy structure and mitigate carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of Cleaner Production (CP) is a strategy for achieving a corporate's sustainable development and therefore is an important instrument for improving environmental performance. Due to the rapid economic development and urbanization in China, the stone processing industry is developing fast, resulting in several environmental problems. The stone processing sector has begun to implement the CP technologies and practices to tackle with environmental problems caused by the production process. However, the evaluation methodologies of the effectiveness of CP implementation in this sector have rarely been examined in the literature. This paper proposed a CP evaluation system that enables decision-makers to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of CP in the stone processing industry. A three-level framework was structured with 6 first-grade indicators and 24 sub-indicators according to the context and characteristics of the stone processing production. And the evaluation criteria were closely related to the laws, rules, regulations and discharge standards in China as well as the current CP technology level. Using analytical hierarchy process and fuzzy membership degree analysis, the weights of each indicators were determined, and evaluation results were achieved. Moreover, the evaluation methodology was verified to be reasonable and practical in the case study of a stone processing firm in Shandong Province. The entire and detailed assessment results demonstrate that the evaluation methodology is helpful in providing guidelines for the implementation of CP strategy in the industry of stone processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There has been an increasing level of attention to sustainability issues in higher education by academic leaders, students and by policy makers and the public, at large due to significant impacts of university activities have upon society environmentally and socially in the short and long-term. The last decade has witnessed the promotion of “Green University” in China with an aim of fostering sustainable development in higher education. This paper was developed, based upon research designed to investigate the awareness of faculty, alumni and student's parents on sustainable development and their perceptions on the ‘Green University’. A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted with representatives of each of these three groups of stakeholders in the Shandong University, one of the largest academic institutions in China. The main focus of this study was placed on exploring the most important factors that contribute towards achieving ‘Green University’ goals from different stakeholders' points of view. These factors were broadly grouped into seven categories, i.e. management systems, environmental sustainability, sustainable curricula, research and development, staff development and rewards, student opportunities and social responsibility. This research compared the perceptions of these three stakeholder groups with those of the student's perspectives, which were also researched several months earlier at Shandong University. Implications on the ‘Green University’ development are presented. The research findings provide a useful reference to improve both the sustainability performance in higher education at Shandong University as well as for ‘Green Universities’ more broadly throughout China and other parts of the world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Due to the rapid economic development and urbanization in China, the ornamental stone industry is developing fast, resulting in several environmental problems. Compared with the marble, granite is more difficult to be processed with greater environmental impacts. At present, many advanced and clean technologies are emerging in granite processing field, such as new processing technologies, wastewater treatment system and solid waste reusing technologies. Therefore, a reasonable clean technology planning is crucial for granite processing companies to achieve cleaner production (CP) mode. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for evaluating sawability of ornamental granite and constructing the relational model between sawability and environmental impacts from sawing process. The relation model can be used to predict key environmental impacts and support the clean technology planning. This paper firstly develops a characterization mechanism to describe the granite sawability based on Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) theory. The characterization mechanism provides a specialized score system as uniform metric of sawability for ornamental granite. Secondly, definition of sawability function is proposed in this paper to make sawability evaluating process with better operability and applicability. The method for developing the sawability function is investigated combining the characterization mechanism with the design of experiment (DOE) theory. Thirdly, relational models between the granite sawability and the key environmental impacts are investigated by numerical fitting. The uncertainty analysis method for the modeling process is also provided in this paper. The methodology has been applied in a granite processing plant in Laizhou stone industrial park in Shandong province of China. Energy consumption, water consumption and solid waste generation of the plant have been estimated based on the relational models. The models have been proved to be helpful in providing basis for the cleaning technology planning in the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of urbanization and economic growth, urban agglomerations have become an effective way to realize resource sharing and reduce environmental dependence. This paper focuses on the cities within an urban agglomeration and analyzes the spatial characteristics of green development and its influencing factors. Considering the spatial correlation and dependence of green development, this paper proposes a methodology for the spatial analysis of area green efficiency (AGE) and total factor productivity change (TFPC) using a two-level hierarchical framework including diversity and correlation. This approach was tested using an urban agglomeration in China, and the results reveal that AGE varies greatly among cities and that the changing trend is related to the government's regional planning. TFPC presents a significant negative spatial correlation, indicating that the heterogeneity between cities is obvious. The serious problems in the green development of the Shandong Peninsula are due to the improper structure of export products and the insufficient contribution of tertiary industry. Proper policy instruments could improve area green development within an urban agglomeration, including policies promoting closed networks among cities, measures readjusting the industrial structure, and strategies for optimizing the development of tertiary industry according to the characteristics and advantages of each city. • A methodology is put forward for the spatial analysis of area green development. • Area green development in urban agglomeration shows significant spatial correlation. • The importance of influencing factors varies in different regions and time periods. • Optimizing spatial structure and factor input could improve area green development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development for the straw utilization industry, studying the sustainability of different straw utilization industries and the realization of the optimal distribution of regional straw utilization industries has become an important issue. This paper studied the straw utilization industry in Shandong through field investigation and literature research, and comprehensively evaluated these industries through emergy analysis. Results showed that the emergy-based sustainability indexes (ESI) of straw biogas (SBP) and feed productions (SFP) are both high, 1.61 and 1.49 respectively, which should be encouraged. ESIs of straw-based particleboard (SBPP) and straw-bioethanol production (SP) are low, 0.61 and 0.54 respectively, which should be restricted, and other ways could be developed appropriately. Moreover, a methodology combining emergy analysis and multi-objective programming was constructed to solve optimization of regional straw comprehensive utilization scheme. The results suggested that if the main goal was to improve the regional economy, the proportion of straw returning to the field (SRF) should be reduced and that of the SBP should be increased. If the environmental impact was the main optimization goal, then SRF should be the main straw treatment method. Furthermore, to avoid adverse effects on environmental benefits and sustainable development, it was recommended that more attention should be paid to avoid blindly pursuing the increase in the scale of straw utilization. [Display omitted] • Emergy analysis is applied to compare nine main straw utilization methods. • A methodology is developed to solve straw utilization scheme optimization. • Optimization schemes of straw utilization under three priorities are proposed. • Suggestions for development of China's straw utilization industry are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is essentially a practice way. A great number of the National Sustainable Development pilot Zones (NSDPZs) has been rapidly developed in recent years in China, which is a practice to explore the road of sustainable development. In order to regulate and promote their better development, suitable comprehensive measurement of sustainability is essential. However, few efforts have been made in this regard. This paper aims to fill such a gap by using grey relational analysis to evaluate the development performances, principal component analysis to discuss the influencing factors of 13 pilot zones in Shandong Province from 2009 to 2015. The results showed that the development performances of pilot zones had generally improved, while there were obvious differences between subsystems after years of development. The spatial variations revealed a gradually decreasing trend from east to west as well as from north to south. The development performances of pilot zones were subject to the influence of various factors such as technology, efficiency, and industry. According to the leading factors and their development performances, the 13 pilot zones could be divided into six different types. The difference of dominant influencing factors among pilot zones caused to the difference of development performances. The technological innovation was the endogenous driving force in stimulating high-quality development of pilot zones. These results would not only provide theoretical reference for the establishment of efficient management mechanism of pilot zones in Shandong Province, but also provide practical reference for the effective implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, more than 14 million tons of edible oils are consumed each year, which could result in a staggering amount of waste cooking oil that needs to be discharged. Converting the waste cooking oil to biodiesel can reduce environmental emissions and achieve economic value. As the recycling supply chain is not matured, the Chinese government is trialing various policies to improve the management of waste cooking oil. However, evidence shows that current policies have shortcomings, which reduce the efficiency and sustainability of the supply chain, recycling and biorefineries capacities. It is not trivial to quantify the impacts of policies and only limited amount of research has reported the supply and value chain of waste cooking oil to be used as biodiesel. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes an optimization-based model to quantify the likely impacts from policy interventions, i.e. integrating and opening the third party take-back supply chains, motivation policies, subsidy policies and demand adjustments due to policy changes. A case study, which includes 63 stakeholders in Shandong Province, China, is selected to demonstrate the impacts such changes can have. The new research method and computational results of the economic and environmental assessments show that the integration of stakeholders and markets increase efficiency and sustainability. Whilst the opening markets option does make fairer profit allocations across the stakeholders, but does not increase efficencies to the same level. In addition, and to the best of authors' knowledge for the first time, it is shown that unfair profit allocations will decrease the amount of recycled materials. This research has wider applications to policy developments and governmental interventions that aim to promote cleaner production of goods and services. For example, the optimization model can be applied to other circumstances such as electricity supplies, raw material extraction or the recycling of other materials like construction and demolition wastes or plastics. Image 1 • A policy evaluation approach is proposed for the WCO-to-biodiesel supply chain. • Cooperative game theory is considered in the optimization model. • Integrating and opening markets and management modes are compared. • Four different policy interventions are evaluated. • A real case in Shandong province is studied to validate the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) mining is widely applied in coal mines throughout China, where gangue rock is commonly used as an aggregate. However, some mining areas do not have an abundant supply of gangue. This paper proposes a sand-based cemented paste backfill material (SCPB) with widely distributed and low-cost Yellow River sand as the filling aggregate with cement and fly ash as the binders based on the mining conditions of the Zhaoguan Coal Mine located in the Shandong province of China. The conveying and mechanical properties of the material were tested and optimized. This study found that (i) the initial SCPB have a large bleeding rate, while the early and late strengths are generally low; (ii) simultaneously adding polycarboxylate and quicklime can significantly improve the engineering performance of the filling material, where the bleeding rate is 3.2%–3.9%, the early strength is 0.2–0.39 MPa, and the late strength is 7.53–8.86 MPa; and (iii) the optimal mixing ratio of the SCPB concentration is 78%, the F/S ratio is 0.6, the C/S ratio is 0.2, the P/S ratio is 0.004, and the L/S ratio is 0.15. Furthermore, the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results show that the optimized SCPB was denser than the initial SCPB and exhibited a greater degree of fly ash hydration. Image 10755 • Engineering performance metrics of cemented paste backfill materials were given. • Weaknesses of sand-based cemented paste backfill materials and their causes were analyzed. • Best ratio of sand-based cemented paste backfill material was obtained. • Microstructural features of sand-based cemented paste backfill materials were analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an interval multi-stage robust programming model for regional low-carbon electric power system planning with energy-water nexus. The model integrates interval programming and multi-stage stochastic programming to handle uncertainties with different probability distribution information. In addition, under the framework of robust programming, the optimal solutions could provide tradeoff information between system cost and decision maker's risk preference. The hybrid programming method is tailored for a case study of Shandong Province, China to validate its applicability and provide useful managerial insights, where energy-water interactions are gain great concerns. The model helps to make robust strategies associated with risk control for capacity expansion, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology retrofitting, power generation, imported electricity, and water allocation for electricity generation, with the goal of minimizing total cost. Besides, considering the variation of water resource conditions and environmental policies under climate change, the impacts of water resource availability and carbon emission caps on regional electric power system planning are explored and discussed. It is found that stricter carbon emission cap policy would facilitate the investment on CCS devices but have little impact on the installed capacity structure, meanwhile it would increase water consumption per power generation. However, scarcer water resource situation would promote the development of renewable energy generation, and limit the investment on CCS technology. • Low-carbon power system management optimization with energy-water nexus under uncertainties. • Impact analysis of various water resource availability and carbon emission cap on optimal strategies. • Useful managerial insights on energy system planning from energy-water nexus perspective. • Robust solutions with risk-cost tradeoff information to reflect different risk preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]