Comparative evaluation of energy and resource consumption for vacuum carbothermal reduction and Pidgeon process used in magnesium production

With the fast development of the application of magnesium based alloys,the demand for primary magnesium is increasing dramatically all over the world.The Pidgeon process is the most widely used process for producing magnesium in China,but suffers from problems such as high energy,resource consumption and environmental pollution.While the process of vacuum carbothermal reduction to produce magnesium(VCTRM)has attracted more and more attention as its advantages,but it has not been well-practiced in industrial applications and there also is no comprehensive and quantitative analysis of this process.This study quantified the flows of resource and energy for the Pidgeon process and the VCTRM process,then compared and analyzed these two processes with each other from three aspects.The VCTRM process results in 63.14%and 69.16%lower of non-renewable mineral resources and energy consumptions when compared to the Pidgeon process,respectively.Moreover,the low energy consumption(2.675 tce vs.8.681 tce)and material to magnesium ratio(2.953:1 vs.6.429:1)of the VCTRM process,which lead to lower greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions(8.777 t vs.26.337 t)and solid waste generation(0.522 t vs.5.465 t)with a decrease of 66.67%and 90.45%,respectively.Results indicate that the VCTRM process is a more environmentally friendly process for magnesium production with high efficiency but low cost and low pollution,and it shows a good potential to be industrialized in the future after solving the bottleneck problem of the reverse reaction.

Quantitative evaluation of the green production and consumption policies in China

Dual control of energy consumption is an effective method proposed in China to launch and deepen the transition in energy use.It has obtained favorable results;however,the resource consumption and pollution emissions per unit of Gross Domestic Product(GDP)remain high.This article quantitatively studies the current policies’effects to promote the advancement of dual control of energy consumption and develop future policies.Green production and consumption policies promote the development of dual control of energy consumption;therefore,this paper examines these policies through text mining and a quantitative evaluation system.The results suggest strong state demand for developing green production and consumption and the necessity for scientific evaluation;however,the state’s focus on the relevant policy tools is imbalanced.Constraint policy tools have the highest proportion of restricting pollutant emissions but lack comprehensiveness.Incentive and guidance policy tools have the problems of poor targets and low volume.Additionally,by constructing policy modeling consistency(PMC)index models for evaluating green production and consumption policies,six selected policies indicate solid performance,but some still have problems regarding policy timeframe,policy function,and green process.Based on the conclusions,this paper provides some targeted recommendations.

Landscape Design Mode Based on the Integration of Ecology, Production and Life

Taking landscape design of Suburban Park in Yulin City for example, this paper applied the design thoughts of integrating multiple planning, defining concepts and objectives, specified the design strategies of restoring ecology, improving life and promoting production, and disclosed the landscape design mode based on the integration of ecology, production and life in which ecological landscapes, productive landscapes and living landscapes promote and coexist harmoniously with each other.

Research on the Production Efficiency and Utilizing Rate of Potassium Fertilizer for Rape in Yunnan Province

[Objective] This study aimed at investigating the effects of consumption of potassium fertilizer on production and biological characteristics of rape and utilizing efficiency of potassium fertilizer.[Method] Taking 0 kg/hm2 as control,nine consumptions of potassium fertilizer were designed for the experiment using single factor randomized block design with three replications and field experiment in nine rape-producing areas with different ecological types in Yunnan Province.[Result] Appropriately applying potassium fertilizer in Yunnan Province could improve the rapeseed production,the rape production could achieve 3 983-4 151 kg when applied 150-180 kg/hm2 of K2O,which had increased by 4.7-9.1% compared with the control and attained the peak in K165 treatment.When applied 1 kg of K2O,the rapeseed production could enhance 559 kg,the net profit could reach 1 229 yuan/hm2 and the partial productivity of potassium fertilizer could attain 31.32 kg/kg K2O and 3.7 kg/kg K2O,respectively.Applying potassium fertilizer could promote the growth of rape and increase rapeseed production.[Conclusion] The recommended optimal consumptions of potassium fertilizer with high production and high efficiency for rape in Yunnan Province were ranged between 150 and 180 kg K2O/hm2.However,comprehensively considering production and efficiency factors,the consumption of potassium fertilizer in Yunnan Province was around 73.9 kg/hm2,which should be appropriately increased to around 100.0 kg/hm2 in Longchuan,Yulong,Linxiang and other producing areas with similar conditions.

Production and trade trend of oils and oilseeds in BRICS countries

In order to promote agricultural production and trade cooperation among BRICS countries,and ensure the security and stability of the oils and oilseeds industrial and supply chains in China and the world,the production,consumption,trade trend,and cooperation potential of oils and oilseeds in BRICS countries were expounded,and relevant policy recommendations were put forward.Most of the BRICS countries are major agricultural producers,and they are also important agricultural product consumption markets in the world.In 2023/2024,the production and consumption of oilseeds in BRICS countries account for nearly half of the world's total;the production of vegetable oils exceeds a quarter of the world's total,and the consumption of vegetable oils accounts for 40%of the world's total.In 2023/2024,the import and export volume of oilseeds exceeds half of the world's total;vegetable oil imports account for 40%of the world's total,and exports account for about one tenth of the world's total.China's imports of oilseeds and oils from BRICS countries account for 68%and 29%of its global imports in 2023,respectively.BRICS countries are rich in agricultural land resources,have great potential for oils and oilseeds production,obvious complementary advantages in trade structure,and huge space for future cooperation.It is suggested that Brazil should be included in the"Belt and Road"co-construction category to promote the continuous deepening of agricultural cooperation between China and Brazil.It is suggested to explore regional agricultural trade agreements among BRICS countries,promote currency settlement and exchange among BRICS countries,and enhance the facilitation and stability of BRICS trade.It is suggested that China should increase its investment in BRICS countries and export advanced technology and management experience to benefit local agricultural development and achieve a mutually beneficial and win-win situation.

Coupling analysis of social-economic water consumption and its effects on the arid environments in Xinjiang of China based on the water and ecological footprints

In arid areas,ecological degradation aroused by over-exploitation of fresh water,expansion of artificial oasis and shrinkage of natural oasis,has drawn attention of many scholars and officials.The water and ecological footprints can be used to quantitatively evaluate the water consumption of social-economic activities and their influence on the eco-environments.In addition,increase of the water footprint indicates the expansion of artificial oasis,and the influence on the natural oasis could be reflected by the variation of the ecological footprint.This study was conducted to answer a scientific question that what is the quantitative relationship between the expansion of the artificial oasis and the degradation of the natural oasis in the arid environments of Xinjiang,China.Thus,based on the social-economic data,water consumption data and meteorological data during 2001–2015,we calculated the water and ecological footprints to express the human-related pressure exerted on the water resources and arid environments in Xinjiang(including 14 prefectures and cities),and explore the relationship between the water and ecological footprints and its mechanism by using the coupling analysis and Granger causality test.The results show that both the water and ecological footprints of Xinjiang increased significantly during 2001–2015,and the increasing rate of the ecological footprint was much faster than that of the water footprint.The coupling degree between the water and ecological footprints was relatively high at the temporal scale and varied at the spatial scale.Among the 14 prefectures and cities examined in Xinjiang,the greater social-economic development(such as in Karamay and Urumqi)was associated with the lower coupling degree between the two footprints.Increases in the water footprint will cause the ecological footprint to increase,such that a 1-unit increase in the consumption of water resources would lead to 2–3 units of ecological degradation.The quantitative relationship between the increases of the water and ecological footprints,together with the intensities of water consumption both in the natural and artificial oases of Tarim River Basin,have approved the fact that the formation and expansion of 1 unit of the artificial oasis would bring about the degradation of 2 units of the natural oasis.These conclusions not only provide a technical basis for sustainable development in Xinjiang,but also offer a theoretical guide and scientific information that could be used in similar arid areas around the world.

The Effect of Toxic Sulfide Exposure on Oxygen Consumption and Oxidation Products in Urechis unicinctus(Echiura:Urechidae)

To investigate sulfide detoxification in Urech＆ unicinctus, oxygen consumption rate and sulfide detoxification products were analyzed during sulfide exposure under controlled laboratory conditions. The results showed that oxygen consumption rates were elevated significantly during 3 h sulfide exposure compared to the control （P〈0.05）. The concentration of sulfite in body wall and hindgut of experimental worms increased significantly （P〈0.05） when exposed to 50 μmolL^-1 sulfide, reached a maximum at 24 h and then decreased. Similar result was observed in worms exposed to 150 μmolL^-1 sulfide except that sulfite concentration reached a maximum at 12 h. Contents of thiosulfate in body wall and hindgut of U. unicinctus exposed to sulfide were also significantly higher than that of the control without sulfide exposure. In conclusion, during short-time sulfide exposure U. unicinctus may raise oxygen consumption to detoxify toxic sulfide into sulfite and thiosulfate. Sulfide detoxification was restrained when the exposure time was prolonged or sulfide concentration was increased, which was indicated by decrease of sulfite, the intermediate product of sulfide detoxification.

Comparison of energy consumption and economic performance of organic and conventional soybean production——A case study from Jilin Province, China

Modern agriculture heavily depends on energy consumption, especially fossil energy, but intensive energy input increases the production cost for producers and results in environmental pollution.Organic agricultural production is considered a more sustainable system, but there is lack of scientific research on the energy consumption between organic and conventional systems in China.The analysis and comparison of energy use between the two systems would help decision-makers to establish economic, effective and efficient agricultural production.Thus, the objectives of the present study are to analyze energy inputs, outputs, energy efficiency, and economic benefits between organic and conventional soybean（Glycine max（L.） Merrill） production.A total of 24 organic farmers and 24 conventional farmers in Jilin Province, China, were chosen for investigation in 2010 production year.Total energy input was 71.55 GJ ha–1 and total energy output was 96.18 GJ ha–1 in the organic system, resulting in an energy efficiency（output/input） of 1.34.Total energy input was 9.37 GJ ha–1 and total energy output was 113.4 GJ ha–1 in the conventional system, resulting in the energy efficiency of 12.1.The huge discrepancy in energy inputs and respective efficiencies lies in the several times higher nutrient inputs in the organic compared to the conventional production system.Finally, the production costs ha–1 were 33% higher, and the net income ha–1 25% lower in the organic compared to the conventional soybean production system.It is recommended to improve fertilizer management in organic production to improve its energetic and economic performance.

Development of Productive Forces and the Changes of Rural President's Consumption Concept

The developmental status of productivity in Chinese rural area is introduced. Since the implementation of the agriculture supporting policies in 2004, the productive forces in rural areas have been improved greatly. It is reflected on the following aspects: great enhancement of rural labors' cultural quality; the quantity of agricultural machines has been increased; the level of production management and decision has been increased greatly. The paper analyzes the promotion role played by the development of productive forces to rural residents' consumption conception. The development of productive forces has laid a solid foundation for changing rural residents' consumption concept; changed rural residents' consumption structure and improved the socialized degree of rural residents' consumption. Countermeasures on cultivating new consumption fields in rural areas are put forward including leading rural residents to foster the modern consumption conception; intensifying the governmental support and leading rural residents to set up healthy consumption concept.

Modeling and Analysis on Production Yield and Energy Consumption of Pelleting Process

The existing studies on the pelleting process were reviewed, and then the forming process of pelleting was introduced. Furthermore, the models describing the production yield and energy consumption of pelleting were presented. Based on the models, the influence of the pelleting structure parameters, die speed on the production yield and energy consumption were discussed. The results showed that larger pellet mill was preferred and the proper speed of the die should be selected to increase the production yield and reduce the energy consumption.

Empirical Analysis of Binary Logistic Model for the Influencing Factors of the Chinese Urban and Rural Residents' Woolen Products Consumption—Based on Questionnaires of 513 Urban and Rural Residents in 16 Provinces

Consumption of woolen products is the last link of wool industry chain,and it concerns whether the value of woolen products can be realized smoothly. Based on 513 questionnaires, it uses descriptive statistical analysis and binary logistic model to analyze the consumption and influencing factors of woolen products. The results indicated that residents in the middle region were more inclined to purchase woolen sweater compared to the residents in the east region. Urban residents were more inclined to purchase woolen sweater compared to the rural residents. Personal income,satisfaction degree of quality, and style have significant positive impact on whether residents purchase woolen sweater, and purchasing quantity of cotton sweater has significant negative impact on whether residents purchase woolen sweater.

The Cultural Ecology Protection and Management of Urban Forests in China

Forests have economic,ecological,social and cultural functions.Forests Cultural ecology,the counterpart of forest ecology,is the integration of human spirit formed on the basis of natural forest and living systems.In recent years,China's urbanization rate has increased from 28%in 1993 to 45.68%in 2008,and ecological protection of urban forest has made great progress,but insufficient attention was paid to the forest cultural ecology protection and the relevant regulatory was not well performed.In order to strengthen the protection of forest cultural ecology and the management,the study showed that the social economic development of China has become mature and entered the consumption phase,besides,cultural ecology protection of forest will be the essence of urban forestry development in the future,so more and more attention will be paid to the protection of urban forest cultural ecology,especially with the enhancement of urbanization in China.The study suggests that protection of urban forest cultural ecology should be included into the forest legislation and management.The development planning of urban forest development should be strengthened to highlight the organic combination of material wealth production and spiritual wealth production,and finally promote protection of urban forest culture and the development of green culture.

From Less or No Waste Manufacturing and Cleaner Production to Recycle Economy -- A Review on the Theoretical Research and Practice of Ecological Enterprises in China

Based on systematical research on the conception evolution of ecological enterprise, theoretical and practical development of constructing ecological enterprise, the paper makes conclusion that ecological enter- prises are developing into a new stage in which governments are launching some pilot projects about construct- ing ecological enterprises. And after that, governments should make policies to spread construction of ecological enterprises, to construct ecological enterprises in legal system and conforming to the standard as soon as possibly. So that, the basic units of ecological economy that fit to the conditions of China will be set up.

Status of China's Refined Oil Products Consumption and Forecast on Demand During the“11th Five-Year Plan”Period

The author used two common methods in this industry, i. e. the ＂Consumption Coefficient Method＂ and the ＂Elasticity Coefficient Trend Method＂, to forecast the refined oil product demand in 2010. Through analyzing and comparing the two forecast results, it is projected that the demand for finished product oils in 2010 will be in the range of 220 to 240 million tons a year. In addition, out of concern about the total oil products consumption to exceed 600 million tons/year in 2020, the author puts forward suggestions and measures aimed at conservation of oil products and application of alternative fuels.

Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Baltic Sea Region

Economic activity always has an impact on the environment, but the potential degree of this impact depends on consumption and production pattems. The aim of this paper is to analyse the environmental and well being impacts of consumption and production systems in Baltic Sea Region and draw conclusions about transferring of best practises in Latvia. This study is based on indicator analyses, focusing on data of environmental impacts from consumption and production in the region, and analyses drivers behind these impacts. The paper concludes two trends--Scandinavian countries and Germany which have more advanced economies demonstrate much higher ecoefficiency and environmental management practices compared to the new EU member states. The example of the Baltic Sea region shows that high income levels and a stable development path in the old EU member states provide grounds for technology advancement to reduce the environmental impact of production. However Baltic States and Poland on average demonstrate much more sustainable consumption patterns. But the trends in these countries are negative--they try to copy lifestyles and consumption patterns of more advanced economies with higher ecological footprint. Challenge for Latvia is to improve its ecoefficiency but at the same time develop more sustainable consumption patterns.

The Consumption Preferences of Milk and Dairy Products of Undergraduate Students

Human has different stages in their life as from babyhood to adult. The healthy and balanced diet preferences of people play an important role in each human life parts. Especially milk and dairy products are necessary for human health because of their nutrition value and body functions. One of the parts of people life is university life. Starting university is a turning point in terms of eating habits, since food choices responsibility of university students increases in this period. According to the researches, increasing availability of fast foods, changes in living arrangements, life experiences, expectations, preferences and beliefs related with food selections are most common reasons regarding dietary choices in this young adults group. University students had drinking milk habits in primary school but most of them lose their habits during university life. The students＇ first preferences were cheese and then yogurt and finally milk. A very little part of university students consume milk and dairy products regularly. The consumption habits and milk and dairy product catering of university students were examined. The consumption preferences of milk and dairy products of the students in different Universities are reviewed in this review.

Elasticity Ratio of Resource Consumption and the Resource Consumption

Today the resources are becoming scarcer, which should not be regarded as unexhausted any more. Correspondingly, the production would be constrained by the scarcity of resources clearly. Then the economic researchers would pay much more attention to reducing the consumption of natural resources in the future. Therefore this paper brings foreword the conception of elasticity ratio of resource consumption based on the concept of elasticity and analyzes the relationship between the parameters. For the certain relationships between the elasticity ratio of resource consumption and resource consumption, this paper will try to reveal, to keep economy growing while resource consumption reducing, what conditions should be met as to the relationships among resource productivity, its growth rate, energy saving efficiency, economic growth rate and elasticity ratio of resource consumption. This paper proves the relationship between the China＇s energy consumption and economy growth using statistic data from 1978 to 2003.

Ecological Geochemistry of Selenium in the Production Base of Zhangqiu Green Chinese Onion

Based on the achievement of local ecological geochemical survey,the selenium in surface layer soil of Zhangqiu green Chinese onion within production area is systematically studied in this study.And the ecological geochemical characters of selenium both in surface layer soil and in green Chinese onions are analyzed,and the relationship between the selenium in plant and soil is discussed.The results show that soil in Zhangqiu is rich in selenium,and it is suitable to develop the selenium-rich green Chinese onion products.

Spatial-Temporal Changes in Grain Production, Consumption and Driving Mechanism in China

The spatial-temporal patterns of grain production and consumption have an important influence on the effective national grain supply on condition of tight balance in the total grain amount in China. In this paper, we analyze the spatial-temporal pattems of grain production, consumption and the driving mechanism for their evolution processes in China. The results indicate that both gravity centers of grain production and consumption in China moved toward the northern and eastern regions, almost in the same direction. The coordination of grain production and consumption increased slightly from 1995 to 2007 but decreased from 2000 to 2007. There is a spatial difference between the major districts of output increase and the strong growth potential in grain consumption, which indicates an increasing difficulty in improving the regional coordination of grain production and consumption. The movement of the gravity center of grain production is significantly correlated with regional differences in grain production policy, different economic development models, and spatial disparity of land and water resource use. For grain consumption, the main driving factors include rapid urbanization, the upgrade of food consumption structure, and distribution of food industries.