Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Green Total-factor Water-use Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors in China

In this study,we developed an evaluation index system for green total-factor water-use efficiency(GTFWUE)which reflected both economic and green efficiencies of water resource utilization.Then we measured the GTFWUE of 30 provinces/municipalities/autonomous regions(hereafter provinces)in China(not including Tibet,Hong Kong,Macao,Taiwan as no data)from 2000 to 2018 using a minimum distance to the strong frontier model that contained an undesirable output.We further analyzed the regional differences and spatial correlations of GTFWUE using these values based on Global and Local Moran’s I statistics,and empirically determined the factors affecting GTFWUE using a spatial econometric model.The evaluation results revealed that the GTFWUE differed substantially between the regions.The provinces with high and low GTFWUE values were located in the coastal and inland areas of China,respectively.The eastern region had a significantly higher GTFWUE than the central and western regions.The GTFWUEs for all three regions(eastern,central,and western regions)decreased slowly from 2000 to 2011(except 2005),remained stable from 2012 to 2016,and rapidly increased in 2017 before decreasing again in 2018.We found significant spatial correlations between the provincial GTFWUEs.The GTFWUE for most provinces belonged to the high-high or low-low cluster region,revealing a significant spatial clustering effect of provincial GTFWUEs.We also found that China’s GTFWUE was highly promoted by economic growth,population size,opening-up level,and urbanization level,and was evidently hindered by water endowment,technological progress,and government influence.However,the water-use structure had little impact on GTFWUE.This study fully demonstrated that the water use mode would be improved,and water resources needed to be used more efficiently and green in China.Moreover,based on the findings of this study,several policy recommendations were proposed from the aspects of cross-regional cooperation,economy,society,and institution.

Forecast of natural gas supply and demand in China under the background of “Dual Carbon Targets”

As a kind of clean energy which creates little carbon dioxide, natural gas will play a key role in the process of achieving “Peak Carbon Dioxide Emission” and “Carbon Neutrality”. The Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System(LEAP) model was improved by using new parameters including comprehensive energy efficiency and terminal effective energy consumption. The Back Propagation(BP) Neural Network–LEAP model was proposed to predict key data such as total primary energy consumption, energy mix, carbon emissions from energy consumption, and natural gas consumption in China. Moreover, natural gas production in China was forecasted by the production composition method. Finally, based on the forecast results of natural gas supply and demand, suggestions were put forward on the development of China’s natural gas industry under the background of “Dual Carbon Targets”. The research results indicate that under the background of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, China’s primary energy consumption will peak(59.4×10^(8)tce) around 2035, carbon emissions from energy consumption will peak(103.4×10^(8)t) by 2025, and natural gas consumption will peak(6100×10^(8)m^(3)) around 2040, of which the largest increase will be contributed by the power sector and industrial sector. China’s peak natural gas production is about(2800–3400)×10^(8)m^(3), including(2100–2300)×10^(8)m^(3)conventional gas(including tight gas),(600–1050)×10^(8)m^(3)shale gas, and(150–220)×10^(8)m^(3)coalbed methane. Under the background of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, the natural gas consumption and production of China will further increase, showing a great potential of the natural gas industry.

Total-factor energy efficiency of ten major global energy-consuming countries

Improving energy efficiency is regarded as a key path to tackling global warming and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs).In 2020,the energy consumption of the world's ten major energy-consuming countries accounted for 66.8%of the global total.This paper applied data envelopment analysis(DEA)to calculate these ten major energyconsuming countries'total-factor energy efficiency(TFEE)at national and sectoral levels from 2001-2020,and explored the infuencing factors of total-factor energy efficiency with the Tobit regression model.The results showed significant difference in the ten countries'energy efficiency.The United States and Germany topped the list for total-factor energy efficiency,while China and India were at the bottom.Meanwhile,the energy efficiency of the industrial subsector has increased significantly over the past two decades,while that of the other subsectors has been relatively fat.The industrial structure upgrading,per capita GDP,energy consumption structure,and foreign direct investment had significant impacts on energy efficiency with national heterogeneity.Energy consumption structure and GDP per capita were determinative factors of energy efficiency.

Urban Energy Efficiency from Cities in China and Policy Implications

Using 1995-2006 panel data for 210 cities,this article firstly measures total factor energy efficiency for Chinese cities with constant return to scale data envelopment analysis model,and then describes the features of regional differences.The results show that the changing trend displays four "reversed U" shapes.A turning point of widening gap occurred among cities in 2000 and there was a certain convergence among four regions.Urban energy efficiency level is unstable.Cities with low efficiency and high energy input will be the focus of energy-saving and reducing emissions.According to Tobit model,resource endowment,temperature,industrial structure,technology level and variety of policy factors should be treated differently in different situations.

Simultaneous syngas production with different H_2/CO ratio in a multi-tubular methane steam and dry reformer by utilizing of CLC

For syngas production, the combustion of fossil fuels produces large amounts of CO2 as a greenhouse gas annually which intensifies global warming. In this study, chemical looping combustion （CLC） has been utilized for the elimination of CO2 emission to atmosphere during simultaneous syngas production with different H2/CO ratio in steam reforming of methane （SR） and dry reforming of methane （DR） in a CLC-SR-DR configuration. In CLC-SR-DR with 184 reformer tubes （similar to an industrial scale steam reformer in Zagros Petrochemical Company, Assaluyeh, Iran）, DR reaction occurs over Rh-based catalysts in 31 tubes. Also, SR reaction is happened over Ni-based catalysts in 153 tubes. CLC via employment of Mn-based oxygen carriers supplies heat for DR and SR reactions and produces CO2 and H2O as raw materials simultaneously. A steady state heterogeneous catalytic reaction model is applied to analyze the performance and applicability of the proposed CLC-SR-DR configuration. Simulation results show that combustion efficiency reached 1 at the outlet of fuel reactor （FR）. Therefore, pure CO2 and H2O can be recycled to DR and SR sides, respectively. Also, CH4 conversion reached 0.2803 and 0.7275 at the outlet of SR and DR sides, respectively. Simulation results indicate that, 3223 kmol.h-l syngas with a H2/CO ratio equal to 9.826 was produced in SR side of CLC-SR-DR. After that, 1844 kmol.h-1 syngas with a H2/CO ratio equal to 0.986 was achieved in DR side of CLC-SR-DR. Results illustrate that by increasing the number of DR tubes to 50 tubes and considering 184 fixed total tubes in CLC-SR-DR, CH4 conversions in SR and DR sides decreased 2.69% and 3.31%, respectively. However, this subject caused total syngas production in SR and DR sides （in all of 184 tubes） enhance to 5427 kmol-h-1. Finally, thermal and molar behaviors of the proposed configuration demonstrate that CLC-SR-DR is applicable for simultaneous syngas production with high and low Hx/CO ratios in an environmental friendly process.

Complement C3a signaling mediates production of angiogenic factors in mesenchymal stem cells

A major portion of the beneficial effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) is due to the production of trophic and angiogenic factors by these cells, and one of the efforts to improve the therapeutic efficacy of these cells lies in enhancing this capacity. Since there is complement activation in all areas of tissue injury, and both C3a and C5a activate MSC, it was asked whether stimulation with C3a or C5a would upregulate the production of trophic factors by MSC. C3a caused significant up-regulation of various angiogenic factors, including VEGF, CXCL8/IL-8 and IL-6. In contrast there was no detectable production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β in spite of nuclear translocation of NFκB. Although C5a also caused moderate up-regulation of angiogenic factors, the effect was borderline significant. Furthermore the production of angiogenic factors induced by C3a was of physiological relevance: Supernatants of MSCs cultured under serum-free conditions induced minimal tube formation of HUVECs as an in vitro measure of angiogenesis;tube formation was considerably enhanced, when supernatants from C3a-stimulated MSC were used, while C3a itself had no direct angiogenic effect on HUVECs. The signaling cascade responsible for the production of angiogenic factors by C3a or C5a could be defined as activation of the rho cascade which was necessary for nuclear translocation of NFκB p65 and of phospho-ERK1/2. Although rho was only transiently activated, inhibition of the rho or “downstream of it” of the NFκB pathway, prevented C3a-and C5a-induced up-regulation of angiogenic factors.

Regional characteristics of industrial energy efficiency in China： application of stochastic frontier analysis method

This paper analyzed regional industrial energy efficiency in China with Total-Factor Energy Efficiency （TFEE）. The East region has the best energy efficiency and the Central and the West regions stand as the second and the third respectively. However, it is found that industrial energy efficiency of all regions increased from 1998 to 2006. This result is consistent with level of economic development of every region. The industries of all provinces in China are not yet at the frontier efficiency position, therefore, to the frontier as target, their technol- ogy levels and production processes should be adjusted accordingly. Compared with the conventional energy efficiency, the inverse of energy intensity, which is defined as the ratio of actual output to energy input, is regarded as Single-Factor Energy Efficiency （SFEE） index. Although TFEE ranks are not changed for each region, they are different for each province. The comparative result also shows that the substitution among inputs （labor, capital stock, and energy） to produce the output is significant. The SFEE scores could be over-estimated if energy is taken as the single input in the production. Finally, we identified determining factors affecting industrial energy efficiency using Tobit model. The results indicate that an increase of per capita Gross Domestic Product （GDP）, the percentage of output value of industry invested by Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and abroad, energy price and investment of scientific and technological activities for industry could be possible contributors and drivers to the industrial energy efficiency. However, increasing of heavy industry will lead to worse industrial energy efficiency.

Analysis of value of flexibility in Japan’s power system with increased VRE

The growth of renewable energy has accelerated globally toward a low-carbon economy since the Paris Agreement entered into force in 2016.As a result of the increase of variable renewable energy(VRE),namely solar PV and wind,power systems require more flexibility from conventional power plants with less power generation to regulate increased variability.There are sources of flexibility other than conventional power plants,including enhanced power networks,storage capacity and demand response.To maximize economic utilization of VRE power generation,it is necessary to use the flexibility potential from all these sources.In Japan,the share of VRE has increased since the introduction of a feed-in tariff(FIT)and,in parallel,power market reform is underway.Japan has a unique power system of nine grids connected like a fish bone,making the uptake of an increasing share of VRE challenging.This paper assesses the value of flexibility by source in Japan’s power system in 2030.An analysis of different VRE scenarios is undertaken based on a newly developed production cost model.The result of the simulation shows the quantitative impact of each source of flexibility to the generation cost and VRE curtailment and demonstrates the mechanism by which flexibility works to impact VRE curtailment.