A historical view of nitrogen metabolism and its driving forces in China's chemical industry: Implications for cleaner production policy and practice

China’s industry accounts for 46.8% of the national gross domestic product (GDP) and plays an important strategic role to its economic growth, but it is also the main water pollution sources. In order to identify the relationship between the underlying driving forces and various environmental indicators, two critical industrial wastewater pollutant discharges over 2001-2009, including Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N), were decomposed into three factors, i.e., production effect (caused by change in the scale of economic activity), structural effect (caused by change in economic structure) and intensity effect (caused by change in technological level of the sector), using a logarithmic mean Divisia index I (LMDI I) decomposition method. Results showed that: (1) the average annual effect changes of industrial wastewater changes of COD discharges in China is -2.99% with the production effect, structural effect, and intensity effect as 14.64%, -1.39%, and -16.24%, respectively. Similarly, the average effect changes of industrial wastewater changes of NH4-N discharges is -4.03% with production effect, structural effect, and intensity effect as 16.18%, -2.88%, and -17.33%, respectively. (2) production effect was the major factor responsible for the rise of COD and NH4-N discharges, accounting for 45% and 44% of the total contribution. (3) structural effect contributed to the decrease of COD and NH4-N discharges with a small effect of 4% and 8% in total contribution. (4) intensity effect had an dominant decremental effect in COD and NH4-N discharges, accounting for 50% and 48% of the total contribution; intensity effect could be further decomposed in cleaner production effect and pollution abatement effect, and cleaner production effect of COD and NH4-N accounts for 60% and 55% in pollution reduction. (5) the main contributors to incremental COD and NH4-N discharges among industrial sub-sectors were manufacture of paper and paper products, processing of food from agricultural products, manufacture of textile and so on. These sectors should be the top priorities for policy makers to reduce pollutants discharges, and the potential measures are industrial restructuring and related regulation.

Download Full-text

Corrigendum to ‘Disparities in driving forces behind energy-related black carbon emission changes across China's provinces’ [Journal of Cleaner Production 330 (2022) 129849]

Journal of Cleaner Production ◽

10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.130345 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 336 ◽

pp. 130345

Author(s):

Ping Kang ◽

Zhongci Deng ◽

Xiaoling Zhang ◽

Zhen Wang ◽

Weijie Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Carbon ◽

Carbon Emission ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Cleaner Production ◽

Emission Changes

Download Full-text

Tackling Root Causes Upstream of Unhealthy Urban Development (TRUUD): Protocol of a five-year prevention research consortium

Wellcome Open Research ◽

10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16382.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 30

Author(s):

Daniel Black ◽

Sarah Ayres ◽

Krista Bondy ◽

Rachel Brierley ◽

Rona Campbell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Urban Development ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Large Scale ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Economic Valuation ◽

Poor Quality ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Policy And Practice

Poor quality urban environments substantially increase non-communicable disease. Responsibility for associated decision-making is dispersed across multiple agents and systems: fast growing urban authorities are the primary gatekeepers of new development and change in the UK, yet the driving forces are remote private sector interests supported by a political economy focused on short-termism and consumption-based growth. Economic valuation of externalities is widely thought to be fundamental, yet evidence on how to value and integrate it into urban development decision-making is limited, and it forms only a part of the decision-making landscape. Researchers must find new ways of integrating socio-environmental costs at numerous key leverage points across multiple complex systems. This mixed-methods study comprises of six highly integrated work packages. It aimsto develop and test a multi-action intervention in two urban areas: one on large-scale mixed-use development, the other on major transport. The core intervention is the co-production with key stakeholders through interviews, workshops, and participatory action research, of three areas of evidence: economic valuations of changed health outcomes; community-led media on health inequalities; and routes to potential impact mapped through co-production with key decision-makers, advisors and the lay public. This will be achieved by: mapping system of actors and processes involved in each case study; developing, testing and refining the combined intervention; evaluating the extent to which policy and practice changes amongst our target users, and the likelihood of impact on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) downstream. The integration of such diverse disciplines and sectors presents multiple practical/operational issues. The programme is testing new approaches to research, notably with regards practitioner-researcher integration and transdisciplinary research co-leadership. Other critical risks relate to urban development timescales, uncertainties in upstream-downstream causality, and the demonstration of impact.

Download Full-text

Cleaner production in the chemical industry

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2000.0487 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 42 (5-6) ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

C. Alzamora Rumazo ◽

A. Pryor ◽

F. Ocampo Mendoza ◽

J. Campos Villareal ◽

J.M. Robledo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

International Development ◽

Chemical Industry ◽

The United States ◽

Cleaner Production ◽

Organic Chemicals ◽

Chemical Plants ◽

Plastic Materials ◽

Oil Plant ◽

Tax Savings ◽

Reduction Of Co2

A cleaner production demonstration study was developed in 1998 for the chemical industry by the Mexican Center for Cleaner Production with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project's objective was to develop cleaner production assessments for chemical plants by identifying and evaluating process and energy cleaner production opportunities for technical feasibility, economic benefit and environmental impact. Four plants in the chemical industry groups of inorganic and organic chemicals and plastic materials and synthetic resins were involved. The main results are: (1) a reduction of solid toxic residues in the organic chemicals plant of 3,474 kg/year with after-tax savings of US$ 318,304/year; (2) an increase in plant capacity of 56%, and 10% reduction in VOCs emissions in the plasticizers and epoxidated soybean oil plant with after-tax savings of US$ 2,356,000/year; (3) a reduction of 31,150 kg/year of ethylene oxide emissions with after-tax savings of US$ 17,750/year in the polyethylene glycol plant and (4) a reduction of CO2 emissions of 9.21% with after-tax savings of US$ 44,281/year in the inorganic chemicals plant. The principal areas for improvement in the chemical industry are process control and instrumentation, process design, maintenance programs and providing adequate utilities for the plants.

Download Full-text