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• A distribution dynamics approach is employed to examine the converge of TFEE across Chinese PAA level cities. • The findings show a clear convergence in TFEE. • Convergence comes more from efficiency drops in high TFEE cities than from efficiency gains in low TFEE cities. • The environmental protection polices in key cities improved energy efficiency. • Large-sized cities show better performance in energy efficiency than small- and medium-sized cities. Improving energy efficiency is considered the most direct route to reducing carbon emissions on a massive scale. To examine the long-run trend of China's energy efficiency, this paper employs a distribution dynamics approach to analyze the convergence of total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) across 286 Chinese cities between 2002 and 2014. The result suggests the existence of convergence, which comes more from the efficiency declines in the high TFEE cities rather than the efficiency gains in the low TFEE cities. Despite the fact that a few cities have performed well in energy efficiency, the majority of cities have converged to a low-efficiency point. Further analyses show that the inefficiency was attributed to inefficient energy use in small- and medium-sized cities. Our analysis provides strong scientific support for China's ongoing energy conservation and environmental protection policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of China's economy has driven the growth of energy consumption. However, the domination of the energy structure by fossil energy not only increases carbon emissions but is also an important source of fog and haze in China. This will cause global warming and increase people's lung diseases. To alleviate these problems, renewable energy (RE) development is crucial in reducing CO 2 emissions, promoting economic development, and reducing fog and haze in China. Industry accounts for the highest proportion of energy consumption, so an efficient adjustment of the industrial structure will greatly contribute to overall energy development, economic development, and environmental protection. By analyzing the sales output value of China's industrial subsectors, together with energy consumption and CO 2 emissions, this paper determines which industries should be encouraged and which industries should be restricted in China. Finally, RE strategies and industrial policies are proposed for Chinese government references. The contributions of the paper are three-fold: (1) propose a novel framework for the development of China in the aspects of energy, economy, and environmental policies; (2) provide valuable information for the Chinese government to enable it to understand which industries should be encouraged to improve its economic competitiveness; and (3) use hybrid methods (e.g., entropy method and weighted sum method) to rank the energy and CO 2 productivity, and the recommendations will provide strategic guidance for China's energy development. [Display omitted] ● China's Renewable Energy Strategy and Industrial Policy. ● Which industries should be encouraged or discouraged in China. ● Energy Productivity and CO 2 Productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental issues are closely related to the economic development of human society, and reducing environmental pollution during production is of great significance for environmental protection. This paper utilizes data from Chinese industrial enterprises (2001–2010), and establishes a fixed effects model to examine whether minimum wage standards are important in reducing non-clean energy consumption by enterprises. The results indicate that an increase in the monthly minimum wage leads to a significant reduction in coal consumption by firms, while the change in the hourly minimum wage do not exert a statistically significant influence on coal consumption by firms. The above empirical results remain robust after conducting a series of endogeneity tests. The mechanism test shows that innovation and exports serve as mediating variables between the minimum wage and coal consumption. Specifically, raising the minimum wage can incentivize enterprises to innovate in production and expand their exports, resulting in a decrease in the consumption of non-clean energy. Finally, through the heterogeneity test, we observe that increases in the minimum wage have varying effects on coal consumption among firms with different numbers of employees and different ages. Based on the research findings of this paper, we propose that the government should comprehensively consider and improve relevant systems, formulate scientifically-based minimum wage standards, take into account both workers' rights and interests as well as enterprises' profits, actively promote energy transformation in enterprises, and ultimately achieve long-term development of the social environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using panel data of 11 provinces in the western region of China, the paper empirically analyzes the influence of public environmental participation on the effectiveness of pollution governance. Based on documents from provincial governments in Western China, the paper uses Nvivo software to extract keywords about local governments' attention to the environment and examines its mediating effect between public environmental participation and pollution governance. Furthermore, a classifiable analysis of government environmental attention is carried out, and the effect of local governments' attention to the environment on pollution governance is studied. The results show that public environmental participation promotes pollution governance by increasing the governments' attention to the environment. Additionally, local governments' environmental attention also has a promotive effect on pollution governance, and the increase in environmental decision-makers' attention to environmental pollution and energy consumption is conducive to the improvement of environmental quality, but the effect of environmental protection and collaborative attention on environmental quality improvement still needs to be explored further. • Local governments' attention to the environment is estimated. • Public environmental participation promotes pollution governance. • Local Governments' Environmental Attention plays mediating role. • Local Governments' Environmental Attention has a promotive effect on environmental quality. • The effect of collaborative attention on environmental quality improvement still needs to be explored further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasingly fierce competition in the chemical industry and the increasing attentions paid to environmental protection by human beings around the world, the development of green and efficient industrial purification technology has become an inevitable trend, and the crystallization purification method has attracted the attentions of industry due to its good purification effect. Melt crystallization is widely used in industrial production due to its advantages of green, high efficiency and low energy consumption. This paper introduces the classification and principle of melt crystallization, and compares it with rectification and solution crystallization. Next, the influencing factors of the crystallization process are systematically summarized from three aspects: crystallization, sweating and external factors. Then, the coupling methods of melt crystallization with other techniques are reviewed. Finally, the prospect of melt crystallization is discussed. [Display omitted] • The classification and principle of melt crystallization were introduced. • The factors affecting the separation effect of melt crystallization were discussed. • The coupling methods of melt crystallization with other techniques were reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated energy systems (IES) have become a popular direction in the field of energy research due to their economic, efficient and environmental friendly advantages. Among them, multi-region integrated energy systems (M-RIES) are more valuable than single-region integrated energy systems (S-RIES) due to their low energy loss, high economy and reliability. At present, there is a lack of an optimisation method that integrates station-network synergy, inter-station interaction, shared energy storage configuration, overall planning of equipment configuration and multi-timescale rolling for the multi-faceted performance enhancement of M-RIES. Therefore, this paper proposes an M-RIES with station-storage interaction and inter-station interaction under the consideration of station-network synergy, and conducts a study on the optimal configuration of M-RIES from the viewpoint of economy and environmental protection. The final analysis is based on a northern region. The results show that the system achieves an energy efficiency of 1.07, a 16.9% reduction in total station equipment configuration, a 3.87% reduction in cost and a 0.76% increase in new energy consumption rate compared to a stand-alone operating system. Taking one of the energy stations as an example, under the operating conditions of 10% intra-day and 5% real-time error, the multi-timescale rolling optimisation method significantly improves the energy supply rate compared to the day-ahead dispatching method, where the error rates for the three typical days of transition, winter and summer are only 0.43%, 2.56% and 0.06%, corresponding to a reduction of 5.02%, 2.49% and 5.06%, and a smaller cost error than the ideal solution The cost error rates for the three typical days are only 1.99%, 3.60% and 3.46%. In summary, the collaborative autonomous planning and operation method proposed in this paper has great advantages in terms of economy, reliability, energy efficiency and environmental protection. • A multi-area collaborative integrated energy system with shared energy storage is proposed. • Day-ahead collaborative, intra-day autonomous multi-timescale rolling optimisation method. • The system has advantages in terms of economy, energy efficiency and the rate of new energy consumption. • The multi-time-optimised rolling method has advantages in terms of both meeting demand and economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with the priorities of the Qatar national vision (QNV) 2030 and its principal pillars, we examine in this paper the energy use – economic growth nexus for Qatar during the period 1970–2014. Using recent development in both unit roots and ARDL bounds testing approach with structural breaks, we found strong evidence for the growth hypothesis. This result indicates that the Qatari policymakers should recognize that energy conservation policies will have adverse effects on economic growth, and therefore alternative means must be undertaken to preserve the environment. This paper presents and discusses a detailed economic, energy and environmental policies that can help Qatari policymakers in achieving the objective of balance between economic growth and environment quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remanufacturing attains much attention from both industrial and academic sectors due to its beneficial roles in energy conservation and environment protection, where disassembly is a crucial part. To reach the comprehensive sustainability and global optimization of disassembling multiple end-of-life products, this paper suggests a multi-objective multi-product disassembly line balancing problem with considering disassembly profit, energy consumption and noise pollution simultaneously. According to the natures of the problem under consideration, a multi-objective integer programming model is constructed. Its goals are to reach maximum disassembly profit and realize minimum energy consumption while observing noise pollution requirements and resource constraints. Accordingly, a multi-objective group teaching optimization algorithm is specially devised. In it, rank and crowding distance methods are employed to partition the population into two groups. Moreover, precedence preserving crossover and mutation methods are severally used on the two groups to realize the teacher phase. Furthermore, to achieve the student phase, an adaptive local search method is applied to refine solutions in an external archive, and thus its exploitation ability is enhanced. By executing contrast experiments between the devised approach and its powerful competitors on a set of real-world test instances, the experimental results validate that it has highly-adaptive and well-superior performance in tackling the problem of concern. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a crucial method for assessing the efficiency of decision-making units (DMUs). In practice, it is common to encounter situations where the performance of a DMU at a certain stage is evaluated, especially in policy effect evaluation. The key to stage performance evaluation is to eliminate the influence of pre-stage inputs (outputs) on stage performance. This paper proposes stage ratio DEA models that consider two types of inputs and outputs: accurate ratio data and interval ratio data. The first form considers the evaluation of stage efficiency when accurate ratios of inputs and outputs are used at the beginning and end of the stage. The second form assesses stage efficiency using interval ratio data for interval inputs and outputs. To verify the validity of the proposed models, the numerical example validates the first form of stage ratio DEA models. And the second form is applied to evaluate the sustainable efficiency of 14 energy saving and environmental protection clean enterprises (ESEPCEs). The empirical results demonstrate that the proposed models provide a more accurate assessment of stage efficiency compared to the traditional DEA-CCR model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current aims regarding environmental protection, like reduction of fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, require the development of new technologies. These new technologies enable the production of renewable energy, which is both cleaner and more abundant in comparison to using fossil fuels for energy production. This necessity encourages researchers to develop new ways to capture solar energy, and if possible, store it for later use. In this paper, the Pavement Solar Collector (PSC), and its use to extract low temperature thermal energy, is studied. Such a system, which harvests energy by flowing water through a heat exchanger embedded in the pavement structure, could have a significant energy output since pavement materials tend to absorb large amounts of solar radiation. The main objective of this paper is to develop a modeling framework for the PSC system and validate it with a self-instructed experiment. Such a model will allow for a detailed parametric study of the system to optimize the design, as well as an investigation on the effect of aging (e.g. decreasing solar absorptivity) on the performance of the system. A long-term energy output of the system that is currently lacking is calculated based on results of the study on weather parameters. This newly acquired data could be the start of a comprehensive data set on the performance of a PSC, which leads to a comprehensive feasibility study of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systematic review of the research literature that applies quantitative techniques to inform incentive programs and policies promoting pro-environmental behavior and technology adoption among individual consumers. The paper points out that, while the number of active incentive programs is large, there is a dire need for scientific advances that could increase their impact in calculated ways. The expertise of the operations research and management science community, as well as industrial, systems, civil, and environmental engineering experience, appears to be particularly well suited to support such effort. The review covers the research work performed in three areas of practical importance: efficient energy consumption, waste management, and stormwater management. The types of analytical models and data analysis techniques developed to support policy-making in each area are summarized, highlighting the imbalance between the descriptive versus prescriptive contributions made to date. • We review the literature on quantitative methods for incentivizing pro-environmental behavior. • We scope and compare contributions in three areas of global concern - energy, waste, and water -. • We classify the efforts by method and impact: descriptive, predictive, or prescriptive. • We justify a dire need for more scientific advances in support of effective distribution of incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase of mine depth, the ventilation is facing great challenges. This paper firstly elaborates the research and status quo of controlled circulating ventilation at home and aboard, and then analyzes its operational principles and introduces application development of the technology in Hongtoushan copper mine. The paper argues that this technology can effectively tackle the problem of ventilation in deep mining and improve the working condition of deep mining by saving energy and reducing consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promotion of modern industrialization has caused heavy environmental pollution. Environmental protection is a basic national policy of China. In 2011, China began to implement the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for National Environmental Protection" (12th FYP_NEP). Using the survey data of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Shandong Province of China, this paper empirically explores the impact of 12th FYP_NEP on the energy utilization and operating efficiencies of SMEs. It is found that the environmental policy "12th FYP_NEP" has a significant incentive effect on both efficiency performance of Chinese SMEs, and has a greater positive impact on operating efficiency. Our heterogeneity analysis showed the following results. The incentive effect is different in different industries and enterprises of different sizes. The policy "12th FYP_NEP" has a greater positive impact on the energy utilization efficiency of SMEs in China's first and second tier cities, but it has no significant impact on their operation efficiency. This shows that SMEs in first and second tier cities are more effective in coping with the national environmental policy reform strategy. It can be seen that the promulgation of China's environmental policies can significantly improve the energy utilization awareness of these SMEs. The incentive effect of the policy on the two efficiency performances of SMEs in cities with "heavy air pollution" is greater, indicating that the implementation effect of "12th FYP_NEP" on SMEs in such cities is better. The enlightenments are as follows: the current situation of Chinese SMEs is that the energy utilization efficiency is low, while the operating efficiency is high. Most enterprises attach great importance to their own operating profits and economic development, and the awareness of energy utilization needs to be greatly strengthened. "12th FYP_NEP" has obvious positive effect on the energy utilization and operating efficiencies of SMEs, but there are slight differences among different types of enterprises. It is suggested that governments can refine their own environmental regulation standards and implement different environmental regulations for different types of enterprises, so as to enhance the performance of domestic enterprises most effectively. • This paper used the China survey data on SMEs over the period 2010–2013. • It is found that the Chinese "12th FYP_NEP" has a significant incentive effect on efficiency performance of Chinese SMEs. • The incentive effect is different in different industries and enterprises of different sizes. • The policy makes for improving the energy efficiency of SMEs in first and second-tier cities and heavy-polluted cities. • Chinese SMEs should attach great importance to energy utilization rather than operating profits only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyzed the interactions among China’s economic growth and its energy consumption, air emissions and air environmental protection investment during 2000–2007. Conventional energy and emergy are applied to quantify energy consumption and emissions’ impact, respectively. The five indicators based on money, energy and emergy, including ratio of nonrenewable energy to renewable energy (RNR), energy use per unit GDP (EUPG), environmental cost per unit GDP (ECPG), impact of emissions per unit energy consumption (IEPEC), and environmental benefit per unit environmental protection investment (EBPEI), are presented to depict the relationships among economic growth and energy consumption and impact of air emissions and air environmental protection investment. The results show that energy consumption rapidly rises with China’s fast economic growth; however, energy efficiency and environmental loading intensity from energy consumption are reduced simultaneously but their improvements fall far behind economic growth rate. Impact of air emissions, mainly composed of impact of emissions on human health (especially dust), is slightly decreased. The performance of air environmental protection investment is obviously declined in the study period. Generally speaking, the conflict among economy, energy and air environment protection is slightly mitigated but still acute due to great dependence of China’s economy on fossil energy and inefficient environmental protection measures. Finally, this paper discusses the corresponding issues, and then puts forward some related suggestions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Volatile oil price and growing emphasis on environmental conservation have stimulated the development and utilisation of biomass as a vital source of renewable energy. In reducing the global dependency on fossil fuels, rice husk and rice straw which are the widely abundant agricultural wastes from the rice industry have a vital role to play. This paper reviews the key aspects of the utilisation of rice husk and rice straw as important sources of renewable energy. The paper provides some essential background information that includes the physical and chemical characteristics that dictates the quality of these rice biomasses. This paper also describes the various chemical and physical pretreatment techniques that can facilitate handling and transportation of rice straw and husk. Finally, the paper presents the state-of-the-art on thermo-chemical and bio-chemical technologies to convert rice husk and rice straw into energy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The sustainability of Chinese economy has attracted attentions from all over the world since China''s reform & opening up policy. This paper attempted to evaluate the relationships among Chinese economy, energy and its impact of emissions during 1991–2009 using several novel indicators based on emergy, energy and monetary units. The results show that NH3-N in wastewater has taken main responsibility for impact of emissions, the hidden environmental cost per unit economic output has been continuously reduced, education and R & D investment has cut pollutants generating intensity since 1997, and environmental protection investment has cut emission intensity since 1996. Generally speaking, the coordination degree of structure and scale of China''s economy has been improved to different degree from 1991 to 2009. However, the growth of education and R & D investment and environmental protection investment has not prevented impact of emissions from increase caused by economic aggregate growth, and the turning point has not appeared in this period. Finally, this paper discusses some related issues and puts forward the corresponding suggestions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Improving energy productivity is a top priority for China, and funding research projects may be an effective way to achieve the goal. Therefore, how to evaluate and find ways to enhance the promote effect of energy related research funding on energy productivity is urgent and meaningful. This paper uses the TEI@I method. In the first stage, we construct a total-factor energy productivity index (TEPI) based on the global non-radial directional distance function (GNDDF) and Malmquist index to illustrate the dynamic change of energy productivity growth for China during the period 2006–2015. We find that the TEPI shows a rising trend for most of the study period and is mainly driven by the technological progress. In the second stage, we use the econometric approach. The energy related research funding sponsored by the Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has exerted remarkable positive effect on raising the TEPI and the technical progress in the process of energy use. We further propose some policy implications to enhance the promote effect of NSFC funding on raising the TEPI. • We estimate the total-factor energy productivity index (TEPI) in China. • The growth of the TEPI is mainly driven by technological progress. • The energy research funding shows positive effect on raising the TEPI. • Export trade and human capital quality need to be strengthened. • Environmental protection investment and industrial structure need adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses a model of the EU energy system by means of artificial neural networks. This model is based on the prediction of CO 2 emissions until 2050 taking into account the current Energy Policy of the EU. The results show that artificial neural networks model this system very well and that this model has the ability to predict the behaviour of CO 2 emissions. This will also enable timely response and correction of energy and economic strategy by changing the value of the relevant indicators in order to achieve the ambitious planned reductions of CO 2 emissions by 2050. These plans are specified in the Energy Roadmap 2050 document of the European Commission from 2012 and promote economically cost-effective scenarios that will adapt the European Union's economy to the needs of environmental protection and the reduction of energy consumption. Several structures of Artificial Neural Networks were analysed in order to select the best one for modelling large energy systems. It was determined that the model with the Cascade Forward Back Propagation structure with numerous specific indicators can model such energy systems and predict of CO 2 emissions with acceptable accuracy. • Analysis of European Union energy system using Artificial Neural Network is presented. • Based on key indicators, emissions of CO 2 in the year 2050 are estimated. • Influence of energy policy on energy trends is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Energy Strategy of the Republic of Croatia was adopted by the Croatian Parliament in 2009 for the period until 2020 in order to harmonize national energy goals with goals and time framework of strategic documents of the European Union. The adoption of the Energy Strategy Implementation Program with associated measures is still in process. The goal of the Strategy was to create sustainable energy system that will make a balanced contribution to the security of energy supply, competitiveness and environmental protection in Croatia. In this paper an overview of the energy production, final energy consumption and planned development of energy infrastructure is given. The intention of the paper was to research and stress out the abilities and opportunities of Croatian energy system and to give recommendations for Energy Strategy implementation and practical realization of planned energy infrastructure projects for improvement of security of energy supply and competitiveness of energy system of the Republic of Croatia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Continuing to lead the way in the fight against climate change and protecting the environment, Egypt moved little steps towards building regulations for all new construction in the country hopefully to achieve major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, and water use. This paper is an analytical study of unified building regulation and standard buildings cods in Egypt in order to figure out how much they comply with green architecture. The paper also investigates the opportunities and challenges in Egyptian building culture which will affect its movement towards green principles. The paper is concluded with some recommendations to peter involve some green principles within unified building law in Egypt. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper discusses the connection between environmental awareness and metering data on household consumption (electricity, heating, water), and it is based on recent Danish studies. It is discussed, how families'' understanding of environmental awareness and environmental practices relates to their overall household consumption. The paper indicates that residents'' environmental practices in everyday life are often overshadowed by consumption practices in other areas, and that such practices are often rooted in quite different rationales than environmental awareness. These findings are seen as an example of what Pierre Bourdieu calls the “economy of symbolic goods” (; 92), offering an explanation for why some symbolic actions apparently play a larger role than other, more environmentally serious consumption practices. From this, it is argued that the social structures underlying consumption and green behaviour should be recognised in the formulation of environmental policies, and that instead of using sustainable practices such as “environmental awareness” as a sales argument, more reflexive strategies that take consumers'' preferences into account should be considered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Various kinds of SOFC-based systems for building applications were reviewed. • System configurations and characteristics were analyzed and discussed. • Means, by which the system performance was assessed, were detailed. • An all-around performance demonstration of the systems was presented. • Possible strategies for a brighter prospect of development were discussed. Energy consumption in buildings has long been a target for reduction efforts, and in these efforts, adopting advanced technologies to design high efficient energy systems dominates buildings' energy supply side. To date SOFC systems are regarded as one of the most adaptable technologies for building applications in terms of efficiency, flexibility and environmental protection. In this paper, a comprehensive review of SOFC-based energy systems for building applications is presented from the aspect of system layouts and performance assessments. The first half of this review is structured by the way of distinguishing SOFC systems in power capacities, provided energy forms and thermal management, based on which the types of SOFC systems used in buildings are defined and classified, and various system configurations and characteristics are reviewed and analyzed. The latter part gives a thorough review on the performance assessment of SOFC systems designed to be used in buildings. The system-level model widely adopted to predict the system performance is presented. With regard to the SOFC module, a common electrochemical model evolved from the conservation laws of mass and energy is discussed. For performance demonstrations and specific building load features are inextricable, building loads calculations and system matching strategies in relevant literatures are discussed before presenting the review of energy efficiency, and economical and environmental benefits. Guided by the ever-growing environmental concerns, the end of this paper discusses possible strategies for a brighter prospect of SOFC systems for building applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• China has implemented a huge CO 2 capture project, the 150,000 tons/year CO 2 capture and purification project of Shaanxi Guohua Jinjie Power Plant, which is the largest flue gas capture project in China. • The energy consumption level of regeneration reaches the leading level of flue gas CO 2 capture demonstration project. New energy-saving process of "interstage cooling + MVR heat pump + desorption heat energy recovery" is applied, and comprehensive regeneration energy consumption is less than 2.4GJ/tCO 2. • The final research results show that the project has technical feasibility and economic feasibility. The results show that the regeneration energy consumption per unit product is 2.32GJ/tCO 2 , and the loss of absorbent is less than or equal to 1.0 kg/tCO 2. There was little research and demonstration experience in large flue gas carbon projects in China. 150 kt/a flue gas CO 2 capture project in the Guohua Jinjie power plant, which is the largest-scale flue gas carbon capture project in China, effectively solved this technical bottleneck. The performance of the used compound amine absorbent, phase change absorbent, and the ionic liquid was described, and the compatibility of performance was considered in the project; new energy-saving processes integrated mechanical vapor recompression heat pump, interstage cooling, and split flow desorption. The plane layout of the project was put forward, and the utility consumption of the capture system was analyzed. The paper explained the health, safety, and environmental protection instructions, presented test category tables, and developed energy consumption and economic analyses. The results showed that the renewable energy consumption per unit product was 2.32 GJ/t CO 2 , the loss of absorbent was less than or equal to 1.0 kg/t CO 2 , and the total investment (excluding tax) of the project was 13.8398 million yuan. When the CO 2 sales price (excluding tax) was 203.43 Yuan/t, the yield was 0 %, and when the CO 2 sales price (excluding tax) was 260.949 Yuan/t, the yield was 8 %. The feasibility study research conclusions indicated that the project was technically and economically feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a kind of primary energy, the main utilization of coal is combustion. Coal combustion is the greatest atmospheric pollution source in China. In this paper, the authors analyze the evolution of the coal fired power plant/thermal power plant (CFP/TPP, denoted by CFP) in China from the past, when there were no measures taken against pollution, to the present, when the interest is aroused to provide depollution systems and installations. The results indicate that it is more efficient to introduce a desulfur installation rather than to introduce denox or decarbon systems for a CFP burning fuel with relatively high sulfur content. The plant is globally evaluated from the point of view of its energy ecological efficiency in this paper. Using the results of the analysis for the CFP, the authors similarly propose measures to improve the energy ecological efficiency of existing CFPs. To comply with the national norms regarding pollutant emissions for new units and those that are to be continued in use, particular measures should be taken to increase the ecological efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, an interval single-sided fuzzy chance-constrained mixed-integer programming model is developed for the fossil fuel management of a multi-source district heating system under multiple uncertainties, where the heat-supply-capacity expansion planning can also be reflected. The non-dimensional comprehensive equations method is simultaneously improved to quantify the ambiguous heat provisions, utilized as a type of boundary condition inputs to the proposed model. A real-world case study of a heating system located in northeastern China is undertaken to show the feasibility and applicability of the proposed methods. To obtain the reasonable fossil-fuel management schemes, multi-dimensional constraints are incorporated into the model based on a comprehensive consideration in terms of fuel supply and demand, quality and quantity, economic cost and environment protection, as well as their interactions. Results obtained from the case study indicate that the solutions for both continuous and binary variables have been generated, which are useful for identifying suitable fuel-supply patterns and heat-source operational modes for a heating system under different system reliabilities and heating-load distribution states. In addition, the results also reveal that the fossil-fuel management and heating-capacity-expansion pattern, as well as the economic cost and pollutant emission performances are sensitive to the thermal coefficient and system reliability level, which may provide in-depth analyses of tradeoffs for further supporting robust fossil-fuel management under uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between urbanization, energy use, and CO 2 emissions has been extensively studied in recent years, however little attention paid to the differences in urban forms. Previous studies implicitly assume that the urban form is homogenous across different urban areas. Such an assumption is questionable as urban form can have many different facets. This paper investigates the effects of urbanization on the road transport energy use by considering different urban forms from a dataset of 386 Norwegian municipalities from 2006 to 2009. Using the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model with an energy use identity equation, the main findings (1) confirm the well-established result that urban density has a negative and significant influence on road transport energy use, and (2) demonstrate that the effect of urbanization partly depends on the level of urban density. These results imply that additional increases in urbanization in dense areas yield greater decreases in road transport energy use per capita. Additional findings posit that (3) there is a non-linear (quadratic) relationship between road energy use per capita and urban population. This implies that an increase in total municipality population over a specific turning point can result in a decrease in road energy use per capita. However, (4) the ratio of urban residential buildings with private gardens has a negative and significant influence on road transport energy use. This implies that there may be a trade-off between compact and sprawl city development strategies, highlighting that sustainable energy use requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, many industrial parks promote the local economic growth, causing environmental pollution and waste of resources. Based on analyzing the 23 factors affecting industrial parks’ building energy efficiency and environmental protection by conducting a questionnaire survey and applying the principal component analysis (PCA) with SPSS 19.0 software as auxiliary tool, this paper identifies the 6 key influencing factors such as energy resources of the industrial park, energy recycling (waste heat) of the industrial park, renewable energy utilization of the industrial park, investment in the aspect of energy efficiency and environmental protection of industrial park, technology development and introduction in energy efficiency and environmental protection of industrial park. Some countermeasures and suggestions for promoting the industrial parks’ building energy efficiency and environmental protection are put forward, such as perfecting laws, incentive policies and implementation mechanisms of energy efficiency and environmental protection, and optimizing the parks’ energy structure and effectively utilizing resources. The research results are helpful to promote high-quality economic growth of Shenyang’s industrial parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, PM 2.5 is still one of the most serious air pollution issues in China. By empirically testing the actual inhibitory effect of China's total factor energy efficiency progress on PM 2.5 , this paper can provide a new evaluation index for energy conservation in China and help Chinese cities understand the beneficial environmental effect of total factor productivity (TFP) progress under the constraint of energy consumption to point out an effective path of energy conservation and emission reduction that is highly in line with China's current high-quality development strategy. Based on the panel data of 105 key environmental protection cities in China, this paper evaluates total factor energy efficiency with range directional model (RDM) and global Malmquist (GM) productivity index based on data envelopment analysis (DEA); it then uses spatial econometric models to test the impact of energy efficiency progress on PM 2.5 concentration. The efficiency evaluation results show that the total factor energy efficiency of 105 key environmental protection cities has increased by an average of 35.9% from 2004 to 2015, with an average annual progress rate of 2.2%. Compared with Eastern and Central China, the progress of energy efficiency in the western region during 2004–2015 is relatively lagged. The average energy efficiency progress rate of higher administrative hierarchy cities and super cities with more than 10 million permanent residents is much higher than that of other cities. The results of GM index decomposition show that technological progress is the main driving force of energy efficiency progress. The spatial econometric analysis results show that there is a significant positive spatial autocorrelation in the concentration of PM 2.5 in sample cities, and the energy efficiency progress can significantly inhibit the PM 2.5 pollution in local and adjacent cities. The influence of each explanatory variable on PM 2.5 concentration is mainly composed of the spatial spillover effect. Image 1 • DEA-based RDM and Global Malmquist index are used to evaluate energy efficiency. • The energy efficiency of 105 cities has increased by an average of 35.9% in 12 years. • Technological progress is the main driving force of energy efficiency progress. • Energy efficiency progress can significantly reduce PM2.5 concentration. • The impact of each factor on PM2.5 is mainly composed of spatial spillover effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The battery charging and swapping station project has good environmental benefits, but poor economic benefits. • This paper compares three different power purchase models. • Direct power trading model can reduce the cost well and increase the NPV by 13,519,070.47 RMB. • This model can be used in the economic evaluation of battery charging and swapping station projects and other charging facilities. Battery charging and swapping station (BCSS) has great assistance for the development of Electric vehicles (EVs) and environmental protection, but its economic performance is poor. This paper aims to explore the feasibility of direct power trading in the charging and swapping market by comparing the economic benefits of BCSS under three different power purchase models. Firstly, this paper summarizes the differences between the three power purchase policies. Then, the environmental benefits of clean energy and coal power generation are compared. Finally, based on the cost-benefit theory, a pure electric bus BCSS in North China is taken as an example to analyze the benefits of the three power purchase models. The results show that compared with coal power generation, the use of clean energy has good environmental benefits. Compared with the other two models, the direct power trading model can significantly increase the project's NPV and IRR, which demonstrates that it can make up for the investment cost well. Some suggestions are put forward to improve the economic benefits of BCSS enterprises and promote the development of EVs. The research results can provide a reference for decision-makers and investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy-water-environment nexus is very important to attain COP21 goal, maintaining environment temperature increase below 2 °C, but unfortunately two third share of CO 2 emission has already been used and the remaining will be exhausted by 2050. A number of technological developments in power and desalination sectors improved their efficiencies to save energy and carbon emission but still they are operating at 35% and 10% of their thermodynamic limits. Research in desalination processes contributing to fuel World population for their improved living standard and to reduce specific energy consumption and to protect environment. Recently developed highly efficient nature-inspired membranes (aquaporin & graphene) and trend in thermally driven cycle's hybridization could potentially lower then energy requirement for water purification. This paper presents a state of art review on energy, water and environment interconnection and future energy efficient desalination possibilities to save energy and protect environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As environmental protection greatly influences the social development, for the multi-energy systems (MES) equipped with a cluster of energy devices, the economic dispatch (ED) problem should not only be considered but also the environmental protection problem should be considered in energy utilization. To address this issue, a multi-objective dispatch model of MES using a linear weighted sum algorithm (LWS) is developed in this paper, which considers the environmental and economic costs. On this basis, a fully distributed algorithm with the coupled control mechanism of power and heat is presented to realize coordination optimization between the environmental and economic benefits. Furthermore, an event-triggered communication strategy is implemented in the fully distributed algorithm, which can be effectively applied to the multi-objective dispatch model, to reduce the communication burden. Finally, the simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed distributed control strategy. • A multi-objective dispatch model of MES using a LWS algorithm is given. • The coupled control mechanism based on the consensus protocol is proposed. • An event-triggered strategy is implemented in the fully distributed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy consumption of metros has widely been concerned with respect to their economy and environmental protection. To analyze the complex dynamic relationship between metro energy consumption and its influencing factors and provide a reference for metro energy conservation control, this paper uses the monthly energy consumption, passenger flow and operating distance statistical data for Wuhan Metro Line 2 from 2018 to 2019. First, metro energy consumption and its influencing factors are qualitatively analyzed and identified. Then, based on cointegration theory and an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, a correlation hypothesis between metro energy consumption and its influencing factors is constructed, and a method for analyzing the influencing factors of metro energy consumption is proposed. The total energy consumption of a metro (TEC), train traction energy consumption (TTEC), environmental control energy consumption (ECEC), station lighting energy consumption (SLEC), station equipment energy consumption (SEEC) and the operating distance (OD) and passenger flow (PF) variables are analyzed. Using cointegration and an impulse response function, the dynamic relationships between the various energy consumption factors and operating distance and passenger flow are evaluated. The results show that there are substantial differences in the effects of OD and PF and their degree of influence on metro energy consumption. (1) OD affects mainly TTEC and TEC. The degree of influence of OD on TTEC reaches 97.8%, and the degree of influence of OD on TEC reaches 65.9%. (2) PF affects mainly ECEC and SEEC, and the degrees of influence of PF on ECEC and SEEC are 32.2% and 41.3%, respectively. (3) Considering that OD is the key factor affecting TTEC and TEC, train marshaling schemes, train running intervals and train stopping scheme optimization countermeasures are proposed, which can provide decision support for metro energy consumption management and control. • The monthly energy consumption and operation indexes are used as statistical data. • Hypotheses of metro energy consumption and its influencing factors are proposed. • An ARDL model is used to conduct a cointegration test on multiple variables. • Providing an effective method for metro energy consumption management and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development and environmental protection are key concepts in the European energy policy. The Europe 2020 Strategy establishes the necessity of reducing environmental pressure and resource consumption to increase sustainable development in the EU. In this context, the aim of this paper is to develop an Environmental and Resource Pressure Aggregated Index that considers these two dimensions. This index provides information about the achievement of the targets in the member states as well as the achieved effects of the environmental policies on energy policy and sustainable development. Therefore, it would help policy-makers to plan future policy actions. The results show that, among EU countries, Portugal, Latvia, Italy, Austria and France have low environmental and resource pressure. Recommendations are made for member states with the worst results (Estonia, Poland, Cyprus, Czech Republic and Luxembourg) in order to improve their actions in climate change and energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the self-declared energy and environmental protection objectives of many car manufacturers responsible companies must use energy-efficient production technologies. The running costs of production sites are a decisive factor in the overhead of automotive production. Therefore, it is important for many operators to reduce those costs in a sustainable way. For this purpose, they attempt to reduce both the energy consumption costs and CO 2 emissions of production systems. However, most components of the energy costs are determined during the very early phases of the product creation process. To achieve an estimation of the energy consumption in this early planning stage, a new suitable forecasting method is required. Therefore, this paper presents an approach for determining the prospective energy consumption by using Methods-Energy Measurement combined with defined energy reference cycles for manufacturing technologies. With this approach, key performance indicators are defined, and the production technologies are divided into basic energy consumers. The average energy values will be determined empirically by using the defined energy reference cycles. With these data, the energy demands for different scenarios are calculated. Thereby, it is possible to estimate the potential energy consumption of complex manufacturing cells. The designed method is validated within a case study of a modern automotive body shop. In summary, the approach contributes to identify and realize sustainable solutions in advance and thus increase the profitability of a factory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper makes an empirical analysis of the effect of producer services agglomeration on China's energy efficiency under environmental constraints (EEE) by using spatial Durbin model. The results show that at the national level, the urbanization agglomeration of producer services not only improves the local EEE significantly, but also has an obvious spatial spillover effect on the surrounding regions, while the localization agglomeration of producer services is only beneficial to the improvement of the local EEE. From the regional perspective, both the urbanization and localization agglomeration of producer services show significant promotion effect and spatial spillover effect on China's EEE in the east region, and the promotion effect of the urbanization agglomeration of producer services is greater, while the improvement of EEE in the central and west regions mainly depend on the MAR externality of producer services agglomeration, and its spatial spillover effects are not obvious. Moreover, the above empirical results exhibit strong robustness. Based on these empirical findings, this paper puts forward some specific suggestions for improving China's EEE so as to achieve the multi-win of economic growth, energy conservation and environmental protection. The study contributes to improving the environmental quality and speeding up the construction of Beautiful China. • Use spatial Durbin model to analyze the effect of producer services agglomeration on China's EEE. • Localization agglomeration of producer services is only beneficial to the local EEE. • Urbanization agglomeration not only improves China's local EEE, but also has an obvious spatial spillover effect. • Regional differences in the effect of urbanization and localization agglomeration of producer services on China's EEE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The study presents the comparison between planned and realized energy savings. • The actual energy consumption is often much higher than the calculating. • The insufficient funds for investment lead the project astray. • Only through integral design with consistent realization, the expected savings can be achieved. • A regulatory framework that integrates actual energy consumption is suggested. Improvements in the energetic efficiency of a building bear the greatest potential in terms of saving energy and reducing the emission of toxic gases. One of the most efficient energetic efficiency improvement measures is replacement of old coal boilers for central heating with new pellet boilers. The study presents the comparison between planned savings before replacement of boilers and realized savings after their replacement. The theoretical approach was based on the analysis of the energetic characteristics of this object in the investment planning stage by applying mathematical modeling. It was published as a part of the research paper "Revitalization of architectural objects by means of energy efficiency improvement: An economic case analysis" [1]. However, the decisions made in the phase of boilers replacement were different compared to the planned investment. Between theory and practice, this paper analyzes the difference between parameters envisaged in precalculations and those achieved later. Rational energy consumption and environmental protection are the crucial elements of energy policie, as well as the key elements of national growth and development. A great contribution to solving this crucial development problem would be made by accurate investment planning and its consistent implementation, thus establishing harmony between theory and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing waste agricultural straw into iron ore sintering is a promising approach to realize efficient energy utilization and environmental protection. In this paper, the characteristics of four types of straw-based fuels including raw straw (RS), preformed straw (PS), straw char (SC) and preformed straw char (PSC) were assessed. The results indicate that RS and PS mainly consisted of volatile matters, which was pyrolyzed in the downstream of combustion zone. This property of RS and PS led to lower fuel utilization and then decreased the bed temperature for minerals melting. Recommended replacement percentage of RS and PS to coke breeze was restricted at 10%. Compared with RS and PS, SC had the advantage of improving fuel utilization and ensuring higher bed temperature. But SC showed considerably faster combustion speed than coke breeze, which accelerated sintering speed excessively when SC replacing coke breeze exceeded 20%, and the suitable replacement percentage of SC to coke breeze was 20%. PSC ingeniously integrated the advantages of PS and SC by joint preformation-carbonization process. Comparable sintering performance was achieved when improving the replacement percentage of PSC to coke breeze to 40%, and its capacity for reducing CO 2 , SOx and NOx emissions achieved 24.5%, 26.6%, and 28.2% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy is an important factor in achieving a low-carbon economic development path in China. This paper investigates the factors influencing renewable electricity consumption in China. Specifically, the factors that influence the share of renewable electricity in total electricity consumption in China is investigated using data from 1980 to 2011 and employing the Johansen cointegration technique and vector error correction model. The result of the analysis shows that there is a long run relationship between renewable electricity consumption and GDP per capita, trade openness, foreign direct investment, financial development and share of fossil fuel in energy consumption. Economic development and financial development promotes renewable electricity consumption while foreign direct investment, trade openness and the lobby of conventional energy sources undermine the share of renewables in total electricity consumption in China. While the effects of shocks to the other variables appear to die out over time, the “lobby effect” is persistent and explosive. The results also show that there is a uni-directional short run causality from financial development to renewable electricity consumption and from renewable electricity consumption to trade openness. The Chinese government should pursue policies that not only increase the amount of renewable electricity, but also increase the share of renewables in total electricity consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection is one of the main concerns of the international community. Countries show meticulous attention to environmental issues by considering eco-efficiency. The eco-efficiency evaluation of countries is a complex and multidisciplinary topic. Data envelopment analysis has widely been applied to measure the eco-efficiency of organization for economic co-operation and development countries. In previous studies, energy inputs have not been contemplated. The subject becomes more important when there are non-discretionary factors. In this paper, the eco-efficiency of countries in the organization for economic co-operation and development is assessed given energy inputs, undesirable outputs, and non-discretionary factors. To this end, slack-based and range-adjusted measures are extended. Also, new environmental indices are introduced. The relationship between consumption of energy inputs and production of undesirable outputs can be addressed by two new environmental indices. Spearman correlation test indicates a direct and positive relationship between potential of energy saving and potential of undesirable output abatement. France, Germany, Luxemburg, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom are recognized as eco-efficient countries. South Korea and Italy have the highest and lowest potential for energy saving, respectively. Poland and Iceland are countries with the highest and lowest potential for undesirable output abatement, respectively. It can be concluded that countries producing high undesirable outputs may not operate eco-efficiently and thus have an extreme potential to save the optimum energy. Moreover, countries consuming low energy may operate eco-efficiently and have a low potential to reduce undesirable outputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The iron and steel industry has some of the highest levels of carbon emissions and energy consumption in Europe. At the same time, this sector is of great economic importance for the European Union. In this paper we investigate the technological, market and policy factors that are associated with a reduction in the specific energy consumption in iron and steel production. In addition, we analyze whether achieving more environmentally friendly production is accompanied by a decrease or an increase in production levels. We base our analysis on technical information about cost factors of steel production routes, historical data for prices of energy carriers, on prices for the feedstock in the iron and steel sector, on political framework conditions, and the demand for steel. As we find out, higher energy prices tend to raise energy efficiency (or tend to reduce specific energy consumption) in the steel sector. Yet, because lower specific energy consumption is related to higher total steel production, energy price increases might cause a kind of rebound effect, bringing about an increase in total production as a consequence of induced energy efficiency improvements. Taking this effect into account, the negative relation between input prices and total steel production is not very strong. In the short run, the wages of employees in the steel sector tend to have the biggest influence on total steel production. In the long run, GDP and investment climate exert the biggest influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving the peak of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions requires a large amount of green and low-carbon investment. Whether the green finance system can efficiently support the capital need for achieving the CO 2 emissions target in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic is a matter of concern. This paper constructs a system dynamics model (SD model) to illustrate the quantitative relationship between the green finance system and CO 2 emissions and introduce the COVID-19 epidemic as a variable to analyze ten simulation scenarios regarding the carbon emissions commitment realization under different green finance and economic growth status. It is shown that: (1) Regardless of the impact of COVID-19, China can meet its commitment by reaching its CO 2 emissions peak in 2030 and realizing a 20% non-fossil energy proportion in 2025; (2) Under the impact of the epidemic, the goal can not be obtained in all energy consumption scenarios when the government expenditure on the environment is low. The target year of reaching CO 2 emissions peak becomes 2033, 2037, and 2040. The results indicate that reducing government expenditure on environment protection makes the CO 2 emissions peak target less likely to be achieved within a given time frame. We also concluded with important policy implications according to the result of the simulations. Overall, this study makes a reference for other economies and researchers to quantitatively predict the interaction relationship between the green finance system and CO 2 emissions in the context of COVID-19, which provides policymakers with insights into a joint power of energy consumption upgrading and green capital guidance. • Providing empirical studies regarding the mechanism of the inhibitory effect of green finance on CO 2 emissions. • Using systems dynamics model to address the missing data problem. • Making solid suggestions under COVID-19 Epidemic. • Building the relationship between the green finance system and CO 2 emissions and making forecasts for "3060" mission result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rising demand for renewable energy and environmental protection, anaerobic digestion of biogas technology has attracted considerable attention within the scientific community. This paper presents a comprehensive review of research achievements on anaerobic digestion developments for biogas production. The review includes a discussion of factors affecting efficiency (temperature, pH, C/N ratio, OLR and retention time), accelerants (greenery biomass, biological pure culture and inorganic additives), reactors (conventional anaerobic reactors, sludge retention reactors and anaerobic membrane reactors) and biogas AD processes (lignocellulose waste, municipal solid waste, food waste, livestock manure and waste activated sludge) based on substrate characteristics and discusses the application of each forementioned aspect. The factors affecting efficiency are crucial to anaerobic digestion, because they play a major role in biogas production and determine the metabolic conditions for microorganism growth. As an additive, an accelerant is not only regarded as a nutrient resource, but can also improve biodegradability. The focus of reactor design is the sufficient utilization of a substrate by changing the feeding method and enhancing the attachment to biomass. The optimal digestion process balances the optimal digest conditions with the cost-optimal input/output ratio. Additionally, establishment of theoretical and technological studies should emphasize practicality based on laboratory-scale experiments because further development of biogas plants would allow for a transition from household to medium- and large-scale projects; therefore, improving stability and efficiency are recommended for advancing AD research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the feasibility of constructing multi-energy complementary systems in rural areas of China is examined. First, the rural energy structure and energy utilization in the eastern, central, and western regions of China are analyzed, and the development and utilization modes of multi-energy complementary systems in different regions are evaluated based on the differences in the resource endowment in different regions. Second, the input-output status of the multi-energy complementary mode in different regions is analyzed. Then, based on the assumption of technical feasibility, the feasibility of the multi-energy complementary system is analyzed in terms of various dimensions, such as economic, energy conservation, environmental protection, and social benefit. Finally, an empirical study is conducted by comparing the proposed multi-energy complementary system with traditional energy supply system. The results show that the development of a multi-energy complementary system in each region is feasible from the perspective of multiple dimensions to reduce environmental pollution, create employment opportunities, and improve the economy. Moreover, the system can significantly reduce the peak-valley difference and improve energy efficiency. • This paper analyzes the differences in energy structure in the different regions of China. • Construct a multi-energy complementary system in each region. • Demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a multi-energy complementary system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A 4-dimension plan selection index system is constructed. • A BWM-CRITIC-VIKOR framework under intuitionistic fuzzy environment is proposed. • Initial investment and utilization rate have the greatest influence. • The energy adequacy index should be given the lowest consideration. An applicable and scientific plan of integrated energy system is conducive to the improvement of system operation efficiency and project investment profits. Different from the industrial park integrated energy system, the urban integrated energy system (UIES) is more closed to residents' life with limited available energy resources, and concern more about energy efficiency and environmental protection characteristics. However, there are few studies focusing on plan selection of UIES investment or considering UIES actual requirements. Therefore, this paper innovatively proposes an intuitionistic fuzzy framework for UIES plan selection. Firstly, based on project demands and characteristics, a comprehensive evaluation index system is constructed from 4 dimensions of economic cost, energy utilization, environmental impact and social recognition. Secondly, under the consideration of method characteristics and calculation rules, a novel combined weighting method integrating the Best-worst Method and the CRITIC are proposed to determine index weights. Thirdly, drawing a balance between group utility and individual regret, decision-making information is aggregated and alternative plans are sorting. Lastly, a case of UIES in Shanghai is applied to verify the proposed framework. Results show that the initial investment, the utilization rate of renewable energy, and the comprehensive utilization rate have the greatest influence on UIES plan selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Power consumption has became a critical concern in modern computing systems for various reasons including financial savings and environmental protection. With battery powered devices, we need to care about the available amount of energy since it is limited. For the case of supercomputers, as they imply a large aggregation of heavy CPU activities, we are exposed to a risk of overheating. As the design of current and future hardware is becoming more and more complex, energy prediction or estimation is as elusive as that of time performance. However, having a good prediction of power consumption is still an important request to the computer science community. Indeed, power consumption might become a common performance and cost metric in the near future. A good methodology for energy prediction could have a great impact on power-aware programming, compilation, or runtime monitoring. In this paper, we try to understand from measurements where and how power is consumed at the level of a computing node. We focus on a set of basic programming instructions, more precisely those related to CPU and memory. We propose an analytical prediction model based on the hypothesis that each basic instruction has an average energy cost that can be estimated on a given architecture through a series of micro-benchmarks. The considered energy cost per operation includes both the overhead of the embedding loop and associated (hardware/software) optimizations. Using these precalculated values, we derive a linear extrapolation model to predict the energy of a given algorithm expressed by means of atomic instructions. We then use three selected applications to check the accuracy of our prediction method by comparing our estimations with the corresponding measurements obtained using a multimeter. We show a 9.48% energy prediction on sorting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

whether political resource endowment affect regional low-carbon economic development has attracted the attention of many relevant stakeholders. Given that, by using remote sensing data such as nighttime light data and introducing the spatial econometric models, this paper selected 519 counties covering 69 prefecture-level cities in China's 14 provinces to explore the impact of political resource endowment on carbon productivity at the county level. The results showed that regional carbon productivity along the Long March areas was more 12% higher than that along non-Long March areas. Moreover, a series of robustness tests also verify that political resource endowment can effectively promote regional carbon productivity. Additionally, regional industrial structure is the most significant influencing factor in reducing carbon productivity. Our results also showed economic benefits generated from per unit carbon emissions in these counties along the Long March areas were obviously higher than those of counties along the non-Long March areas, indicating that counties along non-Long March areas should pay more attention to improving the balanced development of economic growth and environmental protection. Finally, for counties along the Long March areas and their surrounding regions, their carbon productivity spatially presents the typical spatial autocorrelation trend. Therefore, it is necessary to combine the transformation of industrial structure with the optimization of industrial spatial layout, and formulate the targeted improvement plan on carbon productivity for counties along the Long March areas to achieve coordinated low-carbon development. • The impact of political resource endowment on regional carbon productivity is explored; • Carbon productivity of counties along the Long March areas is higher than that of other counties; • Industrial structure hindered the growth of carbon productivity along the non-Long March areas; • Carbon productivity of counties benefitted from the endowment of political resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy shortage, greenhouse effect and environmental pollution are the three major crises faced by mankind. How to solve these three problems effectively has become the focus of all countries. Therefore, this paper proposes an innovative LNG cold energy utilization method that can simultaneously alleviate these three problems. This method includes an improved structure of the organic Rankine cycle, CO 2 capture cycle and supercritical CO 2 extraction of wastewater. In addition, automated machine learning based on data-driven approach is effectively used for modeling the wastewater extraction. Then, after verifying the accuracy of the proposed model, some parameters have great influence on the system performance. For instance, the temperature of supercritical CO 2 and working fluid water affect the local exergy efficiency and their regression coefficients are −0.29%/°C and 0.13%/°C, respectively. These parameters in wastewater extraction process are studied. Finally, under the optimization of genetic algorithm, the maximum wastewater treatment can reach 62.7 t/h increasing by 14.0%, and the LNG cold energy generation can reach 110.1 kWh/tLNG with an increase of 28.9%, while the exergy efficiency of the system is 50.4% increasing by 24.1%. Thus, organic Rankine cycle power generation, carbon capture and wastewater treatment play the roles of energy saving, emission reduction and environmental protection. At the same time, the results are compared with those of other scholars to verify the superiority of the proposed scheme. [Display omitted] • LNG cold energy reuse covering electricity, CO 2 capture and extraction is proposed. • Automated machine learning approach is used to build wastewater extraction model. • Reasonable arrangement of regenerative heat exchanger enhances system performance. • The maximum wastewater treatment reaches 62.7 ton/h utilizing genetic algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents an interactive fuzzy satisfying method, which is based on Hybrid Modified Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm, and should solve the problem of the Multi-objective optimal placement and sizing of DG (distributed generation) units in the distribution network. Minimizing total electrical energy losses, total electrical energy cost and total pollutant emissions produced are the objective functions in this problem. Also, the improvement of the voltage profile is considered as a constraint in determining the optimal placement. In the proposed method, the objective functions are modeled with fuzzy sets. The multi-objective problem is transformed into a mini–max problem, which is then handled by the proposed evolutionary algorithm. Finally, the proposed algorithm is tested on a 69-bus distribution test system based on technical, economical and environmental protection considerations. The simulation results illustrate the good performance and applicability of the proposed method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents the essential features of an efficient and environmentally attractive pyrolysis for used tyres valorisation with energy and material recovery. The problem of tyres management strongly affects not only the environmental protection but even the resources maintenance, since problems related to the depletion of resources, energy demand and waste management, are strictly connected and required an integrated approach. A general guideline for EU member states, aims to reach a zero post-consumer amount of tyre disposal in landfills before the end of 21st century, to optimize and expand the already well studied ways of their treatment and find new ones, in order to accomplish a balance between economy and environmental protection. In this context, thermal treatment of end of life tyres could play a relevant role for the recovery of resources (matter and/or energy). During the past 10–15 years, several fundamental and applied studies showed that if carefully controlled, tyre pyrolysis can produce a number of valuable products. The final destination of the pyrolysis solid residue largely influences the industrial applications of pyrolysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]