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The importance of energy in the economic development of countries in transition is almost vital, especially in countries with large coal mineral resources, such as our country, Kosovo. Quantification and accurate analysis of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from lignite power plants are done to inform environmental stakeholders, improve regulatory compliance, protect public health, improve emission control technologies, and support environmental practices. sustainable energy. This study investigated the quantification and accurate analysis of SO2 emissions from lignite power plants to inform environmental stakeholders, improve regulatory compliance, protect public health, improve emission control technologies, and support sustainable energy practices. The laboratory analyses performed with standard methods have resulted in different values for the parameters: Moisture, ash, and sulfur content in lignite is up to 45%, 20%, and 1.2% during the year 2023, through these results we have calculated the SO2 emission that resulting in an average value of 777.4 kg/h. The realized correlation o between the SO2 emission and parameters such as Moisture, sulfur in lignite (total and organic), and High thermal, has increased the accuracy of SO2 emission estimates, the components that are active components during the coal combustion process. Better estimates facilitate a more accurate assessment of the environmental impact of organic SO2 emissions, such as their role in acid rain formation and ecosystem damage. This assessment reflects the poor state of current lignite combustion technologies and suggests their improvement in terms of controlling SO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine dimethylsulfide (DMS) is an important source of natural sulfur to the atmosphere, with potential implications for the Earth's radiative balance. Coral reefs are important regional sources of DMS, yet their contribution is not accounted for in global DMS climatologies or in model simulations. This study accounts for coral-reef-derived DMS and investigates its influence on the atmosphere of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia, using the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator Atmospheric Model version 2 (ACCESS-AM2). A climatology of seawater surface DMS (DMSw) concentration in the GBR and an estimate of direct coral-to-air DMS flux during coral exposure to air at low tide are incorporated into the model, increasing DMS emissions from the GBR region by 0.02 Tg yr-1. Inclusion of coral-reef-derived DMS increased annual mean atmospheric DMS concentration over northeastern Australia by 29%, contributing to an increase in gas-phase sulfate aerosol precursors of up to 18% over the GBR. The findings suggest that the GBR is an important regional source of atmospheric sulfur, with the potential to influence local-scale aerosol-cloud processes. However, no influence on sulfate aerosol mass or number concentration was detected, even with a reduction in anthropogenic sulfur dioxide emissions, indicating that DMS may not significantly influence the regional atmosphere at monthly, annual or large spatial scales. Further research is needed to improve the representation of coral-reef-derived DMS in climate models and determine its influence on local, sub-daily aerosol-cloud processes, for which observational studies suggest that DMS may play a more important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental tax policy plays an important role in promoting economic efficiency, but it is unclear whether the taxation is well-designed and effective. The differentiated environmental tax and fee policy in China has come a long way in the past 20 years, along with the aim of high-quality economic development that focuses on the harmony of environment and productivity, so it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the differentiated environmental tax and fee policy. This paper constructs a pollution and environmental tax model based on the new economic geography framework to simulate the effect of environmental tax and technological innovation in the eastern and western region on pollution, output, and productivity. Using China's provincial panel data from 2005 to 2020 with difference-in-difference method, empirical evidence shows that differentiated environmental tax and fee adjustments generally boost industrial high-quality development by the industrial sulfur dioxide emission deduction and green total factor productivity improvement. When the adjustment is more differentiated between treatment and control, the effect is greater and more significant. Additionally, high environmental tax standard in high SO2 emission provinces significantly contributes to high-quality development. Progressive adjustments in 2007, 2014, and 2018 lead to heterogeneous policy effect. Technological innovation plays a mediating effect between differentiated environmental tax and high-quality economic development. The results above provide theoretical analysis and empirical study of China's differentiated environmental taxes and high-quality economic development for policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ex ante cost analysis of its 1995 Large Municipal Waste Combustor (MWC): New Source Performance Standards and Emissions Guidelines rule to an ex post assessment of its cost. Unlike many retrospective cost analyses, where ex post assessments are limited due to lack of data on compliance costs, this case study is unique because we located and used plant-level survey data from the U.S. Department of Energy and Governmental Advisory Associates in a comparison of ex ante and ex post costs of individual MWCs. We find the ex post capital expenditures for nitrogen oxide control systems are typically lower than the EPA ex ante estimates, while the ex post capital expenditures for mercury control systems tend to be higher than the EPA ex ante estimates. Finally, while we find a few outliers, the average ratio of ex post to ex ante capital expenditures for particulate matter and sulfur dioxide emissions control is near unity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste biomass generated during agricultural production is a popular source of energy used in many developed and developing countries, due to economic factors and easy availability. Pellets produced from waste biomass generated during the cultivation of plants for industrial purposes are a good substitute for fossil fuels, the consumption of which should decrease for environmental reasons. This article presents the results of research on the use of waste biomass generated during the cultivation of plants for industrial purposes, such as sunflower, tobacco, and Jerusalem artichoke for the production of pellets. In addition, coniferous sawdust was used for the production of pellets. Mechanical, calorimetric, and thermogravimetric properties were tested. It was noted that pellets made of Jerusalem artichoke biomass (1591.45 N) were the most resistant to mechanical damage. The calorific value of the tested fuels ranged from 16.35 to 17.70 MJ·kg−1, and the ash content was below 5%. In addition, during the combustion of pellets, the lowest emissions of nitrogen oxides were recorded for pellets made of tobacco stalks—45.56 mg·m−3 and sulfur dioxide for pellets consisting of a mixture of coniferous sawdust and tobacco stalks—1.88 mg·m−3. The addition of coniferous sawdust to each type of biomass tested resulted in a reduction in the emission of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide, and an increase in the emission of nitrogen oxides. Based on the research, we found that the waste biomass generated during the cultivation of the tested plants for industrial purposes is a suitable raw material for the production of pellets used for industrial and non-industrial purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the pervasive issue of air pollution, its health impacts, and the necessity for effective management strategies. Topics discussed include high-resolution urban air pollution mapping, the health disparities caused by policy-induced pollution, and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic regarding indoor air quality and ventilation.

This study examines the effects of domestic environmental regulations on import activity. Using a panel of firm-product-level data and variations in regulatory stringency across products established by China's Eleventh Five-Year Plan for Environmental Protection (covering 2006–2010), it reveals that tougher regulations on emission-intensive industries at home led to increases in downstream manufacturers' imports of emission-intensive intermediate inputs. Specifically, a 1% increase in sulfur dioxide emission intensity resulted in a 0.026% increase in intermediate imports after the implementation of the regulation. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that, although the regulation increased emissions in source countries, it reduced global emissions of sulfur oxides and carbon dioxide. This is because the increases in imports caused by the regulation mainly came from countries with lower emission intensity than China. The regulation did not disproportionately increase imports from or emissions in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emissions trading system, a crucial and fundamental system reform in the environmental resources field of China, was established to promote the continuous and effective reduction of total emissions of major pollutants. In this context, based on the panel data of 285 Chinese cities (except Tibet) from 2004 to 2018, this paper uses the quasi-experimental method of Difference in Difference to assess the effect of the emissions trading system introduced on sulfur dioxide emissions of China and the transmission mechanism. The article generates several intriguing findings. (1) The emissions trading system has a significant suppressive effect on sulfur dioxide emissions. (2) Mechanistic tests show that the emissions trading system can effectively suppress sulfur dioxide emissions by reducing government intervention, stimulating green patent innovation, and improving resource use efficiency, in which green utility patents have a masking effect. (3) From the east, central and west divisions, the emissions trading system has a significant suppression effect on sulfur dioxide emission in the eastern and central regions, and the eastern region is better than the central region. (4) In terms of factor endowment, the emissions trading system has a significant suppression effect on sulfur dioxide emissions in both resource-based and non-resource-based cities, with non-resource-based cities outperforming resource-based cities; while within resource-based effect exists only in regenerative cities. (5) The emissions trading system has a significant suppression effect on sulfur dioxide emissions in old and non-old industrial base cities in industrial base zoning. The suppression effect in non-old industrial base cities is better than that in old industrial base cities. This paper provides empirical evidence for evaluating the emissions trading system at the provincial level in China and suggests policy recommendations for selecting government tools to effectively curb sulfur dioxide emissions. Although the emissions trading system has made an outstanding contribution to sulfur dioxide emissions reduction, there is still much space for further development of potential emission reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low-carbon transformation of China' s power industry, as one of the major carbon emission sectors, plays an important role in tackling climate change. However, most existing studies focus on the analysis of a single low-carbon power policy, and few have comparatively analyzed the macroeconomic impact of multiple low-carbon policies. Therefore, this study constructed a computable gen⁃ eral equilibrium model with a detailed electricity technology module and evaluated the socio-economic, energy, and environmental ef⁃ fects of using carbon pricing revenue to subsidize three mitigation ways in the power industry (including subsidies for CCS technology, hydropower, and nuclear power, as well as wind, solar, and other new ways of energy power generation) so as to achieve the same carbon reduction target. The results showed that: ① Subsidizing new energy generation such as wind and solar power was a relatively optimal use of carbon tax revenue. This could achieve the same reduction target with the lowest carbon price and cause the least loss to the over⁃ all macro-economy and the profits of the key power-consuming sectors. Meanwhile, it could also significantly promote the proportion of renewable energy and electrification rate and have the best synergistic emission reduction effects for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX). ② The second best way was to subsidize hydropower and nuclear power. This way could have a relatively moderate nega⁃ tive impact on the overall macro-economic and key power-consuming sectors, and better promote the share of renewable energy, the electrification rate, and the synergistic emission reduction effects of SO2 and NOX. ③ Subsidizing carbon capture and storage technology was the least advantageous way, which could cause the greatest loss to the whole macro-economic and key power-consuming sectors. Meanwhile, it had a weak promotion effect on the share of renewable energy, electrification rate, and the synergistic reduction effect of SO2 and NOX. This study provides the following policy recommendations: ① In the short term, China' s power industry should take the lead in vigorously developing clean power, especially giving priority to the use of carbon pricing revenue to subsidize wind and solar power. ② To achieve carbon neutrality, the large-scale deployment of CCS in the power industry should be considered in the long run. Under the combination of subsidized CCS and carbon pricing, if the sectoral indirect tax is reduced, the GDP loss can be better mitigat⁃ ed. ③ The policy efforts for SO2 and NOx can be moderately relaxed in the short term, while the measures for SO2 and NOX cannot be re⁃ laxed in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government has implemented environmental regulations to address the deterioration of air quality associated with rapid industrialization. However, there is no consensus on whether environmental regulations are beneficial to environmental performance. The technical challenges related to endogeneity and spatial correlation may bias the estimation of the emission reduction effect of regulations. In this study, we comprehensively evaluate the environmental performance of sulfur dioxide regulations in Chinese cities using a novel stochastic frontier model that introduces the single control function to correct estimation errors caused by spatial spillovers and endogeneity. Our analysis emphasizes that insufficient resolution of endogeneity or spatial spillovers may lead to underestimation or neglect of the environmental performance improvements achieved by these regulations. On the contrary, our revised research results indicate that regulations aimed at reducing sulfur dioxide emissions not only successfully control sulfur dioxide emissions, but also have a positive impact on reducing carbon emissions. In addition, we conduct in-depth research on the mechanisms by which environmental regulations improve performance by stimulating green technology innovation and promoting industrial structure upgrading. Based on our research findings, we propose policy recommendations to establish a city cooperation mechanism of technology exchange to achieve synergistic emission reduction and strengthen regional factor circulation. • Reassess the environmental performance of China's environmental regulations. • Handle endogeneity and spatial spillover problems in Stochastic Frontier Analysis. • Air pollution regulation enables synergistic management of carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present top-down SO 2 emission estimates from four large point sources, including two power plants, a steel mill, and a petrochemical industrial facility in Taean, South Korea. The airborne observations were conducted over two years, with three intensive observations in Fall 2019, Fall 2020, and Spring 2021. During this period, an active policy implementation to reduce air pollutant emissions from large industrial point sources in the region had been exercised, in addition to activity disruptions from the global COVID-19 pandemic. We quantify the observed SO 2 emission reduction over the time period resulting from the policy implementation. The Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) datasets from the coal power plants were 1) validated by comparing them with emissions calculated using a top-down airborne mass balance method and 2) compared with the annual bottom-up national SO 2 emission inventory. The comparisons illustrate that the policy implementation resulted in a 35% reduction in SO 2 emissions from increased implementation of SO 2 reduction technologies such as scrubbers. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic did not cause a meaningful disruption in SO 2 emissions from industrial sectors, such as steel mills and petrochemical manufacturing facilities. • We present an airborne observational SO 2 dataset from large industrial point sources in Taean, South Korea. • We calculated SO 2 emission to verify bottom-up emission inventories and the continuous emission monitoring dataset. • The comparison illustrates ∼40 % SO 2 emission reduction from policy implementation between 2018 and 2020. • We found no noticeable trend in SO 2 emissions from industrial facilities before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used the latest database of Chinese industrial enterprises to make an empirical test of the relationship between the SO2 emissions trading pilot (ETP) policy implemented in 2007 and enterprise performance based on a difference-in-difference (DID) method since the ETP policy tends to be a "quasi-natural experiment." The empirical results show that the ETP policy has a significant promotion effect on enterprise performance, which provides evidence supporting the "Porter hypothesis" in China. Heterogeneous regression results show that ETP policies play a vital role in promoting development in heavily polluting industries, state-owned enterprises, and central regions. The test results of the mechanism demonstrate that the ETP policy has two mechanisms to affect enterprise performance: "improving the total factor productivity of the enterprise" and "increasing the extra cost of the enterprise." There are two policy implications of our research: first, government departments should strive to explore and implement relevant market-based environmental regulations and policies; second, government departments should vigorously support small and medium-sized enterprises and backward areas in the west while focusing on heavily polluting industries and making the best use of environmental regulations in pollution control, which are the key points for China to win the defense of the blue sky. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China's energy consumption, about 50% of coal is used for power generation conversion, and the resulting environmental impact and air pollution problems cannot be ignored. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to improve the level of clean coal utilization. Based on the background that the country currently grants a subsidy of RMB 0.01/kWh for the "near-zero emission" of thermal power, this paper applies system dynamics (SD) modeling to simulate the impact of different policy scenarios on the promotion and effects of "near-zero emission" of thermal power. From the perspective of promotion speed and emission reduction contribution, simulation analysis found that thermal power "near-zero emission" technology can bring more significant environmental benefits and has promotion value. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) After 2020, if the current subsidy of RMB 0.01/kWh continues to be implemented, the "near-zero emission" retrofit of stock units can be fully completed in early 2026. (2) Compared with no policy subsidies, the cumulative emission reduction of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and soot will be approximately 15.13 million tons, 15.13 million tons and 2.37 million tons from the beginning of 2016 to the beginning of 2026, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial sulfur dioxide (SO2) has become an important source of environmental pollution in China, and the regional SO2 emission reduction capacity is a comprehensive reflection of cleaner production capacity, environmental regulation, and economic development. It is obvious that high-tech industries play a crucial role in promoting the cleaner production capacity of the whole industry. Simultaneously, only considering the regional emission and the development of high-tech industry in isolation may deviate from actual economic characteristics. Therefore, by using the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2016, this paper adopts spatial autoregression model (SAR), spatial error model (SEM), and spatial Durbin model (SDM) to analyze the effect of the high-tech industry development on SO2 emission reduction under the spatial adjacency matrix (W1), geographic distance matrix (W2), and economic distance matrix (W3). In addition, this paper selects three indicators, which is SO2 removal rate, SO2 emission, and SO2 removal quantity, as explanatory variables, and R&D investment and number of enterprises in high-tech industry are selected to represent the industrial development level. The major conclusions are as follows: (1) The ability of SO2 emission reduction in the local province is significantly affected by the surrounding provinces, showing the agglomeration characteristics of "high-high" or "low-low." (2) The R&D investment of high-tech industry has a negative impact on SO2 removal rate and SO2 removal quantity, but a positive effect on the SO2 emissions for the local province, and has a positive effect on the emission reduction of surrounding provinces. (3) The expansion of high-tech industry has significantly improved the SO2 emission reduction capacity of the local province and its surrounding provinces. The robustness test supports the empirical conclusions of this paper. Finally, this paper puts forward some policy suggestions for government in environmental governance, such as "joint prevention and control" and the promotion of cleaner production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing literature has extensively examined the impact of green innovations, such as patents, on pollution and carbon emissions. However, there has been comparatively less emphasis on the debt financing of green innovation by using patents as collateral. This oversight may have implications for the realization of pollution and carbon emissions reduction goals. Using a natural experiment based on the patent pledge pilot policy in China, this study investigates the impact of patent pledge on pollution and carbon emissions. We find that a significant reduction in the emissions of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide attributable to the patent pledge pilot policy, particularly in cities with lower initial green patent rates, and these results still hold after an array of robustness checks. We show that the encouragement of green innovation and the stimulation of environmental entrepreneurship are the mechanisms underlying these emission reduction effects. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that the impact of patent pledges on emission reduction is more pronounced in cities characterized by higher levels of government-reported environmental concern, public engagement in environmentally related searches, pollution information transparency indices, and green development evaluation indices. • Patent pledge significantly reduces the air pollution and carbon emissions. • Encouraging green innovation and stimulating environmental entrepreneurship are the underlying mechanism. • The emission reduction effect of patent pledge cannot be realized without the social concern and sectoral regulation. • This study can facilitate the sustainable development through patent pledge and other financial policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since General Secretary Xi Jinping pledged the "30·60" targets to the world, the importance of pollution reduction and carbon reduction has become increasingly prominent. The previous focus on the pollution reduction effects of emission trading systems, while overlooking their carbon reduction impacts, as well as the limitations of research methods and scope, is no longer suitable for the needs of the new era. Therefore, this paper constructs a CGE model to study the synergistic effects, simulating the synergistic emission reduction effects of sulfur dioxide emission trading policies, and comes to the following conclusions: After the implementation of the sulfur dioxide emission trading mechanism, under different sulfur price scenarios, the synergistic reduction amounts of SO 2 and CO 2 vary greatly. As the sulfur price increases, the reduction amount becomes larger. In the five sulfur price scenarios set in this paper, the maximum reduction of SO 2 can reach about 111,400 tons, and the maximum for CO 2 is about 399 million tons. The CO 2 reduction rate is approximately 1.0767 times that of SO 2. This indicates that the sulfur dioxide emission trading policy is a very effective path for synergistic pollution and carbon reduction, with good reduction effects. In addition, sulfur dioxide emission trading will reduce the consumption of fossil energy, decrease industry output, raise product prices, cause GDP loss, and lead to reduced social welfare to varying degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic emissions in China play an important role in altering the global radiation budget. Over the past decade, the strong clean-air policies in China have resulted in substantial reductions of anthropogenic emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and primary particulate matter, and air quality in China has consequently improved. However, the resultant aerosol radiative forcings have been poorly understood. In this study, we used an advanced global climate model integrated with the latest localized emission inventory to quantify the aerosol radiative forcings by the changes of anthropogenic emissions in China between 2008 and 2016. By comparing with multiple observation datasets, our simulations reproduced the considerable reductions of sulfate and black carbon (BC) mass loadings reasonably well over eastern China (the key region subject to stringent emission controls) during the period and accordingly showed a clear decline in both aerosol optical depth and absorption aerosol optical depth. The results revealed a regional annual mean positive direct radiative forcing (DRF) of + 0.29 W m -2 at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) due to the reduction of SO 2 emissions. This positive aerosol radiative forcing was comprised of diminished sulfate scattering (+ 0.58 W m -2), enhanced nitrate radiative effects (- 0.29 W m -2), and could be completely offset by the concurrent reduction of BC emissions that induced a negative BC DRF of - 0.33 W m -2. Despite the small net aerosol DRF (- 0.05 W m -2) at the TOA, aerosol–radiation interactions could explain the surface brightening in China over the past decade. The overall reductions in aerosol burdens and associated optical effects mainly from BC and sulfate enhanced the regional annual mean downward solar radiation flux at the surface by + 1.0 W m -2 between 2008 and 2016. The enhancement was in general agreement with a long-term observational record of surface energy fluxes in China. We also estimated that aerosol effects on cloud radiative forcings may have played a dominant role in the net aerosol radiative forcings at the TOA in China and over the northern Pacific Ocean during the study period. This study will facilitate more informed assessment of climate responses to projected emissions in the future as well as to sudden changes in human activities (e.g., the COVID-19 lockdown). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anthropogenic emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) over China has significantly declined as a consequence of the clean air actions. In this study, we have developed a new emission inversion system based on a four-dimensional local ensemble transform Kalman filter (4D-LETKF) and the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) to dynamically update the SO2 emission grid by grid over China by assimilating the ground-based hourly SO2 observations. Sensitivity tests for the assimilation system have been conducted firstly to tune four system parameters: ensemble size, horizontal and temporal localization lengths, and perturbation size. Our results reveal that the same random perturbation factors used throughout the whole model grids with assimilating observations within about 180 km can efficiently optimize the SO2 emission, whereas the ensemble size has only little effect. The temporal localization by assimilating only the subsequent hourly observations can reveal the diurnal variation of the SO2 emission, which is better than updating the magnitude of SO2 emission every 12 h by assimilating all the observations within the 12 h window. The inverted SO2 emission over China in November 2016 has declined by an average of 49.4 % since 2010, which is well in agreement with the bottom-up estimation of 48.0 %. Larger reductions of SO2 emission are found over the a priori higher source regions such as the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). The simulated SO2 surface mass concentrations using two distinguished chemical reaction mechanisms are both much more comparable to the observations with the newly inverted SO2 emission than those with the a priori emission. These indicate that the newly developed emission inversion system can efficiently update the SO2 emissions based on the routine surface SO2 observations. The reduced SO2 emission induces the sulfate and PM 2.5 surface concentrations to decrease by up to 10 µ g m -3 over central China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Tusen: A thousand lakes in the Norwegian landscape: This article belongs to Ambio's 50th Anniversary Collection. With low base cation concentrations, many of the lakes were sensitive to acidification resulting from high sulfate concentrations related to acidic deposition. Lakes that had the highest sulfate concentrations showed a tendency to lower levels, however, nitrate concentrations were higher, adding to the contribution of sulfate to acidity. The Norwegian lake survey in 1986 made the linkage between acid deposition and lake acidification clear. [Extracted from the article]

Increasing energy and food demands require an understanding of not only the availability and variability of total solar radiation (R) but also its partitioning into direct (Rd) and diffuse (Rf) components, which are key elements for solar power generation and plant photosynthesis, respectively. Potential inhomogeneities in surface solar radiation observations, however, add uncertainties to the published patterns and trends of Rd and Rf over China. To exclude inhomogeneous time series and outliers, a data quality control process has been applied to the surface observations of Rd and Rf. The homogeneous data show that, in response to the global dimming and brightening phenomena in R, decadal changes can also be observed in the Rd and Rf trends over China with the actual transition occurring in the mid‐2000s. Since the 1960s, Rd dimming has mainly distributed over eastern China with intensive anthropogenic activities, with recoveries especially from 2008 onward over regions with high Rd energy potential. Rf, on the other hand, had further enhanced since the 1960s especially over the high Rf proportion areas but has decreased in the recent decade over the northern region. The summer season shows the most significant decadal trends in Rd and Rf. Under clear‐sky conditions, that is, ruling out cloud effects, the transitions in Rd and Rf trends become more remarkable, pointing to atmospheric aerosols as the main driving force. In addition, dramatic Rd and Rf variations are observed in the subsequent years after large volcanic eruptions. The varying Rd and Rf proportions are in line with recent governmental control on SO2 emissions over China. Key Points: Homogeneous observations show a recent transition to brightening in direct radiation and to dimming in diffuse radiation over China since 2008Clear‐sky trends suggest an impact of volcanic eruption on the dramatic changes in solar radiation over China during the early 1990sGovernmental control on pollutant emissions may have contributed to the variations of direct and diffuse radiation proportions over China [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precipitation acidification, often termed as acid rain (pH < 5.6), has been recognized as one of the major environmental issues in China since the 1980s and exerted detrimental effects on terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, we present the first investigation on the evolution of precipitation acidification over China during 2006–2015 based on a long‐term nationwide precipitation observation network and chemical transport model (Weather Research and Forest model coupled with Chemistry) simulations. The observations demonstrate a clearly decreasing trend in precipitation acidification across China from 2006 to 2015. The percentages of the number of the stations experiencing heavy acidic precipitation (annual mean pH < 5.0) decrease from ~50% in 2006 to 20% in 2015, and those with pH < 4.5 decrease from 25% to less than 5%. Our model simulations reproduced this trend and show the notable decrease in the terrestrial area (from 30% to 16%) experiencing the mean precipitation pH < 5.6. The simulation experiments indicate that the mitigation of the acidification issue in China stemmed from the large reduction in SO2 emissions (by about 60% from 2006 to 2015), which would limit the formation of sulfate and also increase the wet scavenging of gaseous ammonia. The contributions of sulfuric acid on precipitation acidification were estimated to decrease from 0.70–0.82 to 0.44–0.60 from 2006 to 2015 over northern, southern, and southwestern China. This study suggests that nitric acid plays a more important role in acidifying precipitation in northern China at present, while sulfuric acid is still the dominant factor in southern areas. Key Points: China experiences a clearly decreasing trend in precipitation acidity over the period 2006–2015 due to the large reductions in SO2 emissionsThe contributions of sulfuric acid on precipitation acidification were estimated to decrease from 0.70–0.82 to 0.44–0.60 from 2006 to 2015The dominant acidifying agent in precipitation evolved from sulfate to nitrate in northern China, and remains sulfate in southern areas [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil recovery, power generation, water desalination, gas flaring, and traffic are the main contributors to SO2 emissions in the Middle East (ME). Satellite observations suggest that the traditional emission inventories do not account for multiple SO2 emission sources in the ME. This study aims to evaluate the most frequently used SO2 emission data sets over the ME by comparing high‐resolution regional model simulations and meteorology/chemistry assimilation products, MERRA‐2 and CAMS, with satellite and available ground‐based air‐quality observations. Here, we employ the WRF‐Chem‐3.7.1 regional meteorology‐chemistry model and conduct simulations for the period 2015–2016 with 10 km grid spacing using HTAP‐2.2 emission data sets and the new OMI‐HTAP data, which is based on the combination of the near‐surface SO2 emissions taken from the HTAP‐2.2 inventory with strong (>30 kt/year) SO2 point sources obtained from the satellite Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) observations. We find that conventional emission inventories (EDGAR‐4.2, MACCity, and HTAP‐2.2) have uncertainties in the location and magnitude of SO2 sources in the ME and significantly underestimate SO2 emissions in the Arabian Gulf. The WRF‐Chem, run in conjunction with the new OMI‐HTAP emissions, improves comparisons between the satellite and ground‐based SO2 observations. Our simulations show that SO2 surface concentrations in Jeddah and Riyadh frequently exceed European air‐quality limits. The ME generates about 10% of global anthropogenic SO2 emissions, on par with India. Therefore, the development of effective emission controls and improvement of air‐quality monitoring in the ME are urgently needed. Key Points: Anthropogenic emissions and their vertical distribution are the critical factors for simulating air pollutionFine‐resolution WRF‐Chem simulations with the most accurate SO2 "top‐down" emissions agree well with observationsIn Riyadh and Jeddah, the European SO2 air‐quality limit (125 μg/m 3) is exceeded in about 75 days/year [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploiting the target-based pollutant emissions abatement policy imposed on the Two Control Zones in the post-2000 period as an exogenous shock to the strengthening of environmental regulation, we empirically investigate its causal effect on the green transformation of Chinese manufacturing enterprises with the difference-in-differences identification strategy. The empirical results show that the target-based pollutant emissions abatement policy for the Two Control Zones in the post-2000 period effectively binds regulated enterprises' sulfur dioxide emissions behavior and lowers their sulfur dioxide emissions intensity, indicating that strict environmental regulation contributes to the green transition of enterprises. To avoid the self-selection bias, we re-evaluate the green transition effect of the target-based pollutant emissions abatement policy by employing the propensity score matching with the difference-in-differences technique. Our finding that strict environmental regulation facilitates the green transition of enterprises still holds. Our heterogeneity analyses reveal that enterprises exposed to greater environmental regulation intensity experience a larger reduction in their pollution emissions intensity. State-owned enterprises and those with higher production efficiency are more inclined to achieve green transition under environmental protection pressure. Further mechanism checks confirm that enterprises reduce pollution emissions intensity by upgrading pro-environmental technology rather than increasing expenditure on pollution abatement facilities. • Environment regulation lowers enterprises' sulfur dioxide emission intensity. • Stronger environment regulation favors the fall in pollution emission intensity. • Enterprises reduce pollution emission intensity by pro-environmental technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human life in the earth may be continued without water for few days, without food for few weeks. However the human life in the earth may not be continued for few minutes without air. Air comes under 24×7 in our human system. In such condition, air plus sulphur dioxide is harmful to respiratory system which leads to premature deaths and reduction in life expectancy. It is a big shock to the nation that India becomes the highest emitter of sulphur dioxide of the world, surpassing the giant China. It is not a encouraging trend for us. Under these circumstances MOEF and CC has notified the norms for various pollutants including sulphur dioxide emission from thermal power plants in December 2015. The norms cover various size plants for various periods with various levels of emission, with a time frame of two years as implementation schedule. This notification is a correct notification in right direction, but with some time delay. This notification has put about 1800000. MW in study mode, mainly of coal fired units in nature. The sulphur dioxide emission may be well controlled by installing flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) system in boiler glue gas path. By injecting lime in the flue gas path, sulphur dioxide is converted to calcium sulphite and then by reacting with oxygen, it is converted to calcium sulphate. Thus the flue gas is purified from sulphur dioxide. India has to import this technology. Technology transfer is a difficult task especially on commercial terms. This article narrates the various happenings in the country after the publication of notification. so that the reader gets the overall picture in single presentation. The implementation of the flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) system in Indian thermal power plants as early as possible, may improve the environment prevails in the country. This paper deals with various issues related to sulphur dioxide emission and reduction measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent years, seawater scrubbers have become an interesting option to reduce SO2 emissions in marine engines. In this regard, this paper proposes a numerical model to analyze SO2 absorption in seawater. A single seawater droplet was analyzed, and the developed model was used to predict the influence of several parameters on the desulphurization efficiency, such as the droplet diameter, SO2 concentration, alkalinity and temperature. It was found that a droplet of 200 µm initial diameter can absorb up to 1.77·10-14 mol of S for the parameters analyzed, and this reduction improves when the alkalinity and SO2 concentration are increased and diameter, seawater temperature and gas temperature are reduced. Differences up to of 21.5%, 19.8%, 2.2% and 16.3% in the S reduction were obtaining varying the SO2 initial concentration, alkaline initial concentration, initial liquid temperature and initial gas temperature respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Achieved simultaneous sulfur dioxide mitigation and water contaminant treatment. • Synergy mechanism of electro/Fe(II)/sulfite process was investigated. • Feasibility and energetic analysis indicated it is a viable process. • Procedures to realize the energy-water-environment nexus were proposed. Sulfur dioxide (SO 2) mitigation and water treatment are two key aspects towards a sustainable environment, and simultaneous achievement of these two goals is extremely attractive. Inspired by the iron ion catalyzed auto-oxidation of aqueous SO 2 (i.e., Fe(II)/sulfite process), that generates intermediary sulfate radical able to oxidize organic compounds, we propose a feasible energy-water-environment nexus by using waste SO 2 to alleviate water contamination. As a demonstration, electrolysis is used to assist Fe(II)/sulfite (i.e., electro/Fe(II)/sulfite) process to enhance contaminant removals. Results showed 91% of 10 µM ibuprofen (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) contaminant at neutral pH was removed, due to sulfate radical oxidation. Synergy mechanisms of electro/Fe(II)/sulfite process were revealed. Moreover, the electro/Fe(II)/sulfite process could effectively degrade contaminants in water bodies from fields, indicating its promising practical application. Energetic analysis indicated that electric treatment cost is 8.65 cent/m3, and is affordable by most water treatment plants. Possible procedures to realize the proposed energy-water-environment nexus were also suggested. The strategy proposed in this study adds new value to the waste produced in energy production and will create renewed interest considering its potential use towards environmental treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clean air actions implemented by the Chinese government in 2013 have led to significantly improved air quality in Beijing. In this work, we combined the in situ measurements of the chemical components of submicron particles (PM 1) in Beijing during the winters of 2014 and 2017 and a regional chemical transport model to investigate the impact of clean air actions on aerosol chemistry and quantify the relative contributions of anthropogenic emissions, meteorological conditions, and regional transport to the changes in aerosol chemical composition from 2014 to 2017. We found that the average PM 1 concentration in winter in Beijing decreased by 49.5 % from 2014 to 2017 (from 66.2 to 33.4 µ g m -3). Sulfate exhibited a much larger decline than nitrate and ammonium, which led to a rapid transition from sulfate-driven to nitrate-driven aerosol pollution during the wintertime. Organic aerosol (OA), especially coal combustion OA, and black carbon also showed large decreasing rates, indicating the effective emission control of coal combustion and biomass burning. The decreased sulfate contribution and increased nitrate fraction were highly consistent with the much faster emission reductions in sulfur dioxide (SO2) due to phasing out coal in Beijing compared to reduction in nitrogen oxides emissions estimated by bottom-up inventory. The chemical transport model simulations with these emission estimates reproduced the relative changes in aerosol composition and suggested that the reduced emissions in Beijing and its surrounding regions played a dominant role. The variations in meteorological conditions and regional transport contributed much less to the changes in aerosol concentration and its chemical composition during 2014–2017 compared to the decreasing emissions. Finally, we speculated that changes in precursor emissions possibly altered the aerosol formation mechanisms based on ambient observations. The observed explosive growth of sulfate at a relative humidity (RH) greater than 50 % in 2014 was delayed to a higher RH of 70 % in 2017, which was likely caused by the suppressed sulfate formation through heterogeneous reactions due to the decrease in SO2 emissions. Thermodynamic simulations showed that the decreased sulfate and nitrate concentrations have lowered the aerosol water content, particle acidity, and ammonium particle fraction. The results in this study demonstrate the response of aerosol chemistry to the stringent clean air actions and identify that the anthropogenic emission reductions are a major driver, which could help to further guide air pollution control strategies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a method to forecast pollution episodes using measurements of the pollutant concentration along time. Specifically, we use a backfitting algorithm with local polynomial kernel smoothers to estimate a semiparametric additive quantile regression model. We also propose a statistical hypothesis test to determine critical values, i.e., the values of the concentration that are significant to forecast the pollution episodes. This test is based on a wild bootstrap approach modified to suit asymmetric loss functions, as occurs in quantile regression. The validity of the method was checked with both simulated and real data, the latter from SO 2 emissions from a coal-fired power station located in Northern Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Toxic and hazardous sulfur dioxide (SO 2) residue reduction is not only one of the core issues in the preservation process with SO 2 solid antistaling agents in actual table grapes cold chain, but also one of the important ways to improve the cleaner production efficiency of the table grapes. The aim of this paper is to propose an improved preservation process for the table grapes in cold chain by combining the fumigation treatment with the slow-release SO 2 solid antistaling agent. The process was performed to reduce the toxic and hazardous SO 2 residue of the table grapes, improve the cleaner production efficiency of the cold chain, guarantee the quality and safety of the table grapes, and finally enhance the human health. The slow-release SO 2 solid antistaling agent was developed with no pricking holes and relatively stable release rate of the SO 2. According to the comprehensive analysis of the fumigation treatment condition determination, the slow-release SO 2 solid antistaling agent performance, the table grapes quality performance, the SO 2 residue performance and the evaluation on improved preservation process, the proposed improved preservation process with SO 2 residue reduction could effectively reduce the bleaching injury, the decay rate, the threshing rate and the toxic and hazardous SO 2 residue of the table grapes. There was no bleaching injury after the fumigation treatment at the optimal fumigation treatment conditions with 5000 ppm fumigation concentration and 20 min fumigation time. The maximization reduction range of the average decay rate and the average threshing rate of the table grapes was about 91.3% and 44.8%, while the maximization reduction range of the average SO 2 residue in table grapes peels was about 44.7%. The proposed improved preservation process could be extended for other cold chain applications to reduce their SO 2 residue and improve their cleaner production efficiency. Highlights • Proposing an improved preservation process for table grapes cleaner production in cold chain. • Reducing the toxic and hazardous SO 2 residue of table grapes. • Reducing the bleaching injury, decay rate, threshing rate of table grapes. • Improving the efficiency of the cleaner production to guarantee the quality of table grapes. • Enhancing the human health caused by the toxic and hazardous SO 2 residue of table grapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • SO 2 content and quality/efficacy/toxicity of sulfur-fumigated ginseng were examined. • SO 2 content did not necessarily correlate with the quality, efficacy and toxicity. • SO 2 content cannot characterize the quality, efficacy and toxicity variations. • SO 2 content alone may be inadequate for quality control of sulfur-fumigated herbs. • Other indicators that can exactly reflect herbal efficacy and safety are necessary. Abstract Sulfur dioxide (SO 2) is a hazardous residue in sulfur-fumigated herbs. Standards limiting SO 2 content have been adopted worldwide for quality control of sulfur-fumigated herbs, and herbs with less SO 2 are believed to be better. However, the standards are based only on the safe dose of SO 2 and may not characterize changes in herbal quality, thereby the efficacy and toxicity, resulting from sulfur fumigation. To confirm this, here the correlation of residual SO 2 content with the quality/efficacy/toxicity of sulfur-fumigated herb was investigated, and ginseng was selected as a pilot study object. Four sulfur-fumigated ginseng samples with different SO 2 contents were systemically compared regarding their quality, anti-inflammatory, anti-shock and anti-stress efficacies, as well as acute and chronic toxicities. The results demonstrated that the SO 2 content did not correlate with the quality, efficacy and toxicity changes of ginseng; more specifically, less SO 2 residue did not indicate higher quality, better efficacy nor weaker toxicity. This fact suggests that SO 2 content cannot characterize the variations in quality, efficacy and toxicity of sulfur-fumigated herbs. Therefore, the standard limiting SO 2 content alone may be inadequate for quality control of sulfur-fumigated herbs, and new standards including other indicators that can exactly reflect herbal efficacy and safety are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste fibrous biomass (flax) has been processed using non-woven textile techniques to produce a fibrous fabric material. The biomass fabric was then processed to produce activated carbons which retained their structure and flexibility. The carbons produced in a range of process conditions possessed a range of different surface areas and porosities. The activated carbons produced by chemical activation at different temperatures had high surface areas, ranging from 126 m² g-1 for the activated carbon produced at 450 °C to 1177 m² g-1 produced at 800 °C activation temperature. At increased hold times at 800 °C the surface areas increased further, for example reaching 1656 m² g-1 at 2 h hold time. The activated carbons were found to be very microporous, containing very small micropores. The produced activated carbons were then investigated in terms of the removal of sulphur dioxide in a bench scale continuous flow reactor. The SO2 adsorption results showed that for the waste biomass fibre carbons, uptake of SO2 from the gas stream was found to be dependent on the degree of activation. As the micropore volume and surface area of the samples increased, the SO2 adsorption capacity also increased, observing a linear relationship. The adsorption of SO2 by the waste derived activated carbons was significantly higher when compared to commercially obtained activated carbons. This appeared to be related to the pore size distribution of the samples, with the waste biomass activated carbons possessing a greater number of ultra-micropores than the commercial samples. Increase in the temperature of the activated carbon bed led to a marked decrease in the adsorption of SO2. Uptake of SO2 was also shown to be dependent on the concentration of the SO2 inlet feed gas, where higher SO2 concentrations led to enhanced uptake. The advantages of using textile processing techniques to produce a non-woven fabric activated carbon enabling different forms to be produced related to the end-use application has great potential for resource recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reduction of the SO2 content by ammonia scrubbing in the incinerator of the Isfahan Refinery complex was investigated. An experimental continuous setup was designed to study the underlying process parameters affecting SO2 capture from air. The effects of various parameters was analyzed by a systematic experimental design based on response surface methodology with central composite design. The developed response surface model was found to be useful and robust to predict the degree of desulfurization of ammonia wet flow gas disulfurization reactors. The ammonia concentration had the most significant influence on the efficiency of the desulfurization process. The square of temperature affected the efficiency more than the temperature, whereas the gas flow rate had a minor influence on the separation efficiency. The SO2 content reduction in an incinerator by ammonia scrubbing was investigated by a systematic experimental design based on response surface methodology with central composite design. The developed model predicts the degree of desulfurization of ammonia wet flow gas disulfurization reactors, with the ammonia concentration having the most significant influence on the process efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract A win-win strategy: SO 2 was oxidized on nanoporous BiVO 4 photoanode, which facilitates the PEC CO 2 reduction on Cu-In nanoalloy cathode. Highlights • Photoelectrochemical CO 2 reduction and SO 2 removal realized simultaneously. • BiVO 4 and Cu-In nanoalloy were used as photoanode and cathode, respectively. • The introduction of SO 2 into the electrolytes obviously improved CO 2 reduction. Abstract SO 2 and CO 2 emitted from using of fossil fuels are causing serious environmental issues. Herein we put forward a promising strategy to realize CO 2 reduction and SO 2 removal simultaneously through a photoelectrochemical (PEC) process based on nanoelectrodes. In the present work, SO 2 was oxidized to SO 4 2− on BiVO 4 photoanode after being absorbed by NaHCO 3 solutions. At the same time, CO 2 reduction occurred on nanoflower-like copper-indium alloy cathode. The absorption efficiency of SO 2 was greater than 95%, and SO 3 2− was oxidized to SO 4 2− with oxidation efficiency about 50% in 3 h. Moreover, the energy of SO 2 was recycled to assist the CO 2 reduction on the cathode, consequently, the photocurrent densities were increased at least 3 times after introducing SO 2. CO 2 reduction with CO and HCOOH as main products was improved significantly when SO 2 removal was conducted simultaneously. In-situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) experiments were also performed to study the adsorption and conversion of SO 2 on BiVO 4 nanoparticles. The proposed approach could efficiently remove SO 2 and recycle the energy of it to reduce CO 2 into useful chemicals. This work provides a sustainable strategy for dealing with CO 2 and SO 2 in the flue gas by combining desulfurization and CO 2 reduction in one PEC cell using nanoelectrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • High-resolution spectra of emission from hot SO gas on Io are presented. • Models with SO gas reservoirs at both high and low temperatures are preferred. • Spectra from different dates suggest atmospheric cooling during eclipse. • Models indicate a change in gas density of only ∼ 50% during eclipse. • The SO emission appears uncorrelated with volcanic activity or Io's orbit. Abstract Jupiter's moon Io hosts a dynamic atmosphere that is continually stripped off and replenished through frost sublimation and volcanic outgassing. We observed an emission band at 1.707 µm thought to be produced by hot SO molecules directly ejected from a volcanic vent; the observations were made with the NIRSPEC instrument on the Keck II telescope while Io was in eclipse by Jupiter on three nights in 2012–2016, and included two observations with 10 × higher spectral resolution than all prior observations of this band. These high-resolution spectra permit more complex and realistic modeling, and reveal a contribution to the SO emission from gas reservoirs at both high and low rotational temperatures. The scenario preferred by de Pater et al. (2002) for the source of the SO gas – direct volcanic emission of SO in the excited state – is consistent with these two temperature components if the local gas density is high enough that rotational energy can be lost collisionally before the excited electronic state spontaneously decays. Under this scenario, the required bulk atmospheric gas density and surface pressure are n ∼ 1011 cm − 3 and 1–3 nbar, consistent with observations and modeling of Io's dayside atmosphere at altitudes below 10 km (Lellouch et al., 2007; Walker et al., 2010). These densities and pressures would be too high for the nightside density if the atmospheric density drops by an order of magnitude or more at night (as predicted by sublimation-supported models), but recent results have shown a drop in SO 2 gas density of only a factor of 5 ± 2 (Tsang et al., 2016). While our observations taken immediately post-ingress and pre-egress (on different dates) prefer models with only a factor of 1.5 change in gas density, a factor of 5 change is still well within uncertainties. In addition, our derived gas densities are for the total bulk atmosphere, while Tsang et al. (2016) specifically measured SO 2. The low-temperature gas component is warmer for observations in the first 20 min of eclipse (in Dec 2015) than after Io had been in shadow for 1.5 h (in May 2016), suggesting cooling of the atmosphere during eclipse. However, individual spectra during the first ∼ 30 min of eclipse do not show a systematic cooling, indicating that such a cooling would have to take place on a longer timescale than the ∼ 10 min for cooling of the surface (Tsang et al., 2016). Excess emission is consistently observed at 1.69 µm, which cannot be matched by two-temperature gas models but can be matched by models that over-populate high rotational states. However, a detailed assessment of disequilibrium conditions will require high-resolution spectra that cover both the center of the band and the wing at 1.69 µm. Finally, a comparison of the total band strengths observed across eight dates from 1999 to 2016 reveals no significant dependence on thermal hot spot activity (including Loki Patera), on the time since Io has been in shadow, nor on the phase of Io's orbit at the time of observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper, a Volterra series nonlinear equalization (NLE) scheme and two kinds of neural network equalization (NNE) schemes are presented to compensate the nonlinear distortions in vector mm-wave system over fiber link. The principle of NLE, two-layer forward neural network (FNN) and radial basis function neural network (RNN) scheme are presented and their performance are compared through a 5Gbaud 16QAM over 40 GHz RF carrier simulation system. The presented NLE and NNE scheme are both proved to be feasible in nonlinearity mitigation in vector mm-wave system, and NNE scheme outperforms the conventional nonlinear equalization using statistics algorithm. Highlights • Volterra based NLE, FNN and RNN are investigated in vector mm-wave system. • FNN and RNN shows similar performance and feasibility for nonlinearity compensation. • NN class schemes outperform the conventional NLE using statistics algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological innovation is an important solution that can help improve environmental efficiency. However, the role of technological renovation in enhancing environmental efficiency has been ignored. This study provided initial evidence of the effects of cleaner production audits in China on manufacturing firms' environmental efficiency, which was measured by the emissions of sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand per total output. Cleaner production audits were used as exogenous shocks. Their impact was estimated using the staggered difference-in-difference method combined with samples of ever-treated or never-treated firms using propensity score matching. The findings showed that firms that conducted cleaner production audits (vs. those that did not) experienced 4.7% and 11.9% reductions in the emission intensities of sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand, respectively. Cleaner production audit implementation significantly improved firms' environmental efficiency. Additionally, a heterogeneous analysis showed that non-heavy polluters, small and medium-sized firms, and non-state-owned firms demonstrated the most improvement in environmental efficiency. Finally, the mechanism analysis results showed that firms' technological renovation in the production process is the main solution for improving environmental efficiency. This is a feasible and cost-effective way of reducing resource consumption and pollutant emissions. Accordingly, a cleaner production audit plan for different countries should be formulated with a focus on technological renovation in the production process. It should entail clean-cut incentives to stimulate firms to perform technological innovation, thereby continuously improving firms' environmental efficiency. This study sheds light on the environmental impact of cleaner production audits and regulated firms' choices between technological renovation and innovation. [Display omitted] • Effects of cleaner production audits on firms in China are investigated. • Cleaner production audits significantly improve firms' environmental efficiency. • Technological renovation in production processes improves environmental efficiency. • It is a cost-effective way to reduce resource consumption and pollutant emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Propose a new sustainable system integrated with geothermal energy, consisting of upgrading heavy oil in hot compressed water and generating electricity. • Multi-objective optimization using genetic algorithms based on artificial neural networks. • Exergy efficiency and total cost rate of the optimal point system are 23.85% and 2.62$/s, respectively. • The effect of geothermal energy on reducing the cost of CO 2 emission by 11.5 M$/year. • Desulfurization in this system prevents 177.86 kton/year of SO 2 emission. In this study, a combined cycle of geothermal energy and heavy oil upgrading in hot compressed water (HCW) is investigated for electricity generation. The proposed approach offers efficient desulfurization and reduced carbon dioxide emissions, as renewable energy supplies part of the energy needed for the upgrading process. The performance of the superstructure is analyzed through energy, exergy, economic, exergoeconomic analysis and environmental assessments, revealing improvements in cycle exergy efficiency (21.67%) and total system cost rate (3.79 $/s). Additionally, a multi-objective optimization of the system is conducted using artificial neural network coupled with genetic algorithm, resulting in optimal values of 23.85% for cycle exergy efficiency and 2.62 $/s for total system cost rate. The integration of geothermal energy in this system leads to a reduction of global carbon dioxide emissions by 479.16 kton/year, resulting in savings of approximately 11.5 M$/year in environmental costs. Finally, a case study demonstrates a mitigation of local sulfur dioxide emissions caused by heavy oil consumption by approximately 177.86 kton/year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Feasibility of sulfur dioxide (SO 2) reduction from a coal fired power plant using fly ash and bottom ash as solid sorbents is evaluated. The study integrates inventory data from experiments, process simulation, published studies, and real plant operation for comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA). The experimental results exhibit the capability of free lime contained fly ash and bottom ash to react with SO 2 under the least efficient conditions. The scenario-based LCA results show that fly ash/bottom ash utilization can lower the SO 2 load of untreated flue gas by 3.7–4.7% before an existing wet limestone flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) system. The combined desulfurization process with SO 2 reduction saves the annual energy consumption by 4.0–5.0%, the environmental impacts by 3.0–5.0%, and the annual operating cost by 3.1–4.5%, compared to the existing WFGD process. The uncertainty analysis evaluates the probability of scenarios, and the sensitivity analysis recommends the parameter variations to further improve the combined desulfurization process and possible applications of the post SO 2 capture fly ash. The approach can also be applied in other coal fired power plants for more environmentally-benign WFGD operation and cleaner electricity production. Highlights • Coal fly ash and bottom ash utilization for SO 2 reduction from coal power plants. • Comprehensive LCA integrates experiments, process simulation, and real plant data. • Case of an existing WFGD system for a scenario-based feasibility assessment. • Reduction of energy consumption by 4.0–5.0% and environmental impacts by 3.0–5.0%. • Possible applications for post SO 2 capture fly ash based on the SO 3 content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, palm oil mill sludge was used as a precursor to prepare biochar using conventional pyrolysis. Palm oil mill sludge biochar (POSB) was prepared at different preparation variables, i.e., heating temperature (300-800 °C), heating rate (10-20 °C/min) and holding time (60-120 min). The prepared biochars were tested for sulfur dioxide (SO2) adsorption in a fixed bed reactor using 300 ppm of SO2 gas at 300 ml/min (with N2 gas as balance). Response surface central composite experimental design was used to optimize the production of biochar versus SO2 removal. A quadratic model was developed in order to correlate the effect of variable parameters on the optimum adsorption capacity of SO2 gas. The experimental values and the predicted results of the model were found to show satisfactory agreement. The optimum conditions for biochar preparation to yield the best SO2 removal was found to be at 405 °C of heating temperature, 20 °C/min of heating rate and 88 min of holding time. At these conditions, the average yield of biochar and adsorption capacity for SO2 gas was reported as 54.25 g and 9.75 mg/g, respectively. The structure of biochar and their roles in SO2 adsorption were investigated by surface area, morphology images, infrared spectra, and proximate analysis, respectively. The characterization findings suggested that POSB adsorbs SO2 mainly by the functional groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa (SA) is influenced by anthropogenic SO 2 emissions, however, no studies exist detailing the atmospheric or climatic effects resulting from volcanic eruptions at this location. In this work, the Calbuco volcano situated in southern Chile (41.79°S, 73.13°W), was used as a case study to investigate the transport of volcanic SO 2 plumes over SA in 2015. The Calbuco volcano underwent a series of eruptive phases starting from 22 April 2015. In this study, HYSPLIT forward trajectories and cluster analysis were carried out in order to estimate the altitude level of air parcels entering the SA subcontinent. These analyses along with Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) assessments confirmed that trajectories beginning in Calbuco arrived in SA during the last few days of April (∼28 April 2015) and stayed until the 1st week of May 2015 (∼2 May 2015). In order to estimate the rise in SO 2 columnar concentrations at various altitudes and surface SO 2 levels, OMI data and 19 ground-based (GB) monitoring stations (situated throughout SA) were utilized. A comparative analysis employing SO 2 data from pre-2014 and post-2016 volcanic eruption periods were also included in this study. Results showed that a major increase in SO 2 concentration was observed at the Planetary Boundary Layer ( ∼ 2 DU) when compared to its upper layers during April and May 2015. Although some GB stations in North West province namely Damonsville, Mmabatho and Phola showed a moderate increase in SO 2 values during April and May 2015, there was no significant rise in GB measurements at the surface in other locations However, we are not certain due to data gaps in the measurements and non-availability of ground-based measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) as a kind of gaseous pollutant has a strong effect regarding atmospheric environment, air quality, and climate change. As one of the most polluted regions in China, air quality in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region has attracted more attention. This paper aims to study the characteristics of SO2 distribution and variation over BTH. Spatial and temporal variations for a long term (2006–2017) over BTH derived from OMI PBL SO2 products were discussed. The temporal trends confirm that the SO2 loading falls from average 0.88 DU to 0.16 DU in the past 12 years. Two ascending fluctuations in 2007 and 2011 appeared to be closely related to the economic stimulus of each five-year plan (FYP). The spatial analysis indicates an imbalanced spatial distribution pattern, with higher SO2 level in the southern BTH and lower in the northern. This is a result of both natural and human factors. Meanwhile, the SO2 concentration demonstrates a decreasing trend with 14.92%, 28.57%, and 27.43% compared with 2006, during the events of 2008 Olympic Games, 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and 2015 Military Parade, respectively. The improvement indicates that the direct effect is attributed to a series of long-term and short-term control measures, which have been implemented by the government. The findings of this study are desirable to assist local policy makers in the BTH for drawing up control strategies regarding the mitigation of environmental pollution in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]