Green Production Technology Research Articles

The role of agricultural green production technologies in improving low-carbon efficiency in China: Necessary but not effective

The effects of agricultural green production technologies (AGPTs) on agricultural productivity and the environment have received increasing attention. With the panel data of agricultural production of mainland China from 2000 to 2017, this study investigates the role of AGPTs adoption rates in improving low-carbon efficiency by adopting a random-effects panel Tobit model. Results indicate that average adoption rates of AGPTs are less than 20% and unbalanced adoptions vary between the main and non-main grain-producing areas, as well as the northern and southern main grain-producing areas. Furthermore, AGPTs adoption reduces low-carbon efficiency at nationwide and main grain-producing areas. In the northern main grain-producing areas, water-saving irrigation and no-tillage seeding reduce low-carbon efficiency, while mechanized returning straw crushing promotes it. In the southern main grain-producing areas, deep tillage with fertilizer application and no-tillage seeding decrease low-carbon efficiency, while mechanized deep ploughing and scarification increases it. We also find that AGPTs can promote low-carbon efficiency through comprehensive mechanization level and mechanical input density. To improve low-carbon efficiency, we suggest that the improvement and diffusion of applicable AGPTs should be adapted to the local production conditions, and the agricultural machinery service, research and development system should be improved as well.

Strategic Analysis of Dual-Channel Green Supply Chain with an Unreliable and Competitive Supplier

With the increasing public awareness of environmental issues, green production has become an important issue for supply chain management. This study proposes an analytical model to investigate the dual-channel green supply chain decisions of a retailer and a competitive supplier; the latter suffers from unreliable production yield. The retailer’s environmental responsibility is considered as a two-echelon supply chain in which the retailer promotes the green product in their marketplace through green marketing. This problem is analyzed and modeled under three available channel strategies, considered in the order in which channel selections are made: a single online channel strategy, a single retail channel strategy, and a dual-channel strategy. The results show that the wholesale price of the manufacturer and the green-marketing effect of the retailer increase with the improvement in the level of the green production technology. Interestingly, the result reveals that a retailer’s expected profit is unimodal in the production technology level under the dual-channel strategy, which suggests that the retailer may not be incentivized to encourage the manufacturer to improve its production technology once a threshold has been reached. Further, we develop the channel selection: the retailer is strictly better off in the single retail channel scenario than that in the dual-channel scenario; however, while the unreliable supplier is better off in the single online channel scenario than that in the single retail channel scenario, its best option is still the dual-channel strategy. Additionally, numerical results illustrate that the expected profits of supply chain parties decrease with the improvement in customer acceptance of the online channel.

Sugar industry waste-derived anode for enhanced biohydrogen production from rice mill wastewater using artificial photo-assisted microbial electrolysis cell

Microbial Electrolysis Cell (MEC) is a promising green technology for energy production from wastewater. This study attempts to investigate the biohydrogen production from rice mill wastewater using artificial photo-assisted microbial electrolysis cell (APAMEC) with an inexpensive anode prepared from carbonaceous material disposed by sugar industry. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analyses confirmed the presence of carbon on the electrode surface. Cyclic Voltammogram analysis indicated that the carbonaceous anode has higher reduction peak at 0.7 V compared to control (plain carbon cloth) electrode. The experimental results showed a maximum hydrogen production of 220 mL on 5th day of fermentation and the production rate observed was 3.6 ± 0.4 mL/l/h. The effect of pH and acid concentration used in the acid hydrolysis of rice mill wastewater and the effect of artificial light on biohydrogen production were investigated. The optimum pH and acid concentration of 6 and 1.5%, respectively, gave better biohydrogen production and COD removal. The results demonstrated that the development of inexpensive anode from the waste disposed by sugar industry would pave the path to scale-up MECs.

Industrial hydrogen production technology and development status in China: a review

This paper reviews the status of the research on industrial hydrogen production technology and development in China. The pros and cons of different hydrogen production technologies are compared. In addition, it is also conducted a comprehensive analysis of hydrogen production technology from economic and environmental aspects. Finally, the opportunities and challenges faced by the development of China’s hydrogen production technology are analyzed. In China, hydrogen production technology from fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas is relatively mature. Among them, hydrogen production by coal gasification and/or methane steam reforming have achieved large-scale applications. But its biggest problem is large carbon emissions, which does not meet China’s the development plan of "peaking carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality." Hydrogen production technology through water electrolysis has many advantages, such as cleanness, pollution-free, and high purity of the hydrogen. However, it has the disadvantages of large power consumption and high hydrogen production cost. China has abundant renewable resources, but the technology for hydrogen production from renewable energy is still in its infancy and its development is not yet mature. Through comprehensive analysis, we believe that China should continue to develop new technologies while maintaining the advantages of traditional fossil fuel hydrogen production technologies. At the same time, China should also make full use of China’s remaining wind, light, electricity and biomass resources to develop green hydrogen production technologies such as electrohydrolysis. Through the above-mentioned various measures, it will effectively promote the transformation of China’s energy structure and realize the diversification of the hydrogen industry in the true sense.

Pricing rules of Green Supply Chain considering Big Data information inputs and cost-sharing model

Big Data provide an opportunity for decision makers to implement green production and order plans with accurate and timely consumer demand information. Thus, many enterprise begun to invest in consumer preference information based on big data (CPIBD) and green production technology. These will add their extra costs, and cost-sharing model is an effective way to improve chain members’ benefits. However, in the new environment, how to price can improve their outcomes in different cost-sharing models? And which model is the best? Aims of this paper are to solve the proposed issues considering CPIBD input and the green technology R&D cost. We chose a green supply chain with one green manufacturer and one retailer as study subject. Then, based on game theory, we proposed three cost-sharing models, and their benefit functions were developed. Using the reverse induction, we analyzed and discussed the change rules of the retail price and the wholesale price with the product green degree and the unit CPIBD cost. Then, using Matlab2014, a numerical example based on actual data was implemented. Findings: (1) with the increase of the unit CPIBD cost, the optimal retail prices will grow in the proposed three models, and the change trend of the wholesale price has a relationship with the situation whether the retailer undertakes the unit CPIBD cost or the green technology R&D cost. (2) With the growth of the product green degree, the optimal retail price and the optimal wholesale price in the three models will decrease. (3) With the increase of the unit CPIBD cost and the product green degree, benefits of supply chain members in the proposed three models will reduce. If the retailer can undertake the unit CPIBD cost or the green technology R&D cost, benefits of supply chain will be higher.

Revisiting the effects of prefabrication on construction waste minimization: A quantitative study using bigger data

Prefabrication has long been recognized as a green production technology to minimize construction's adverse environmental impacts such as waste, noise, dust, and air pollution. Previous studies reported the effects of prefabrication on construction waste minimization. However, these studies relied primarily on small data obtained by ethnographic methods such as interviews and questionnaire surveys. Research to evaluate the effects using bigger, more objective quantitative data is highly desired. This research aims to re-evaluate the effects of prefabrication on construction waste minimization by exploiting a quantitative dataset stemmed from 114 sizable high-rise building projects in Hong Kong. It was discovered that the average waste generation rates of conventional and prefabrication building projects were 0.91 and 0.77 ton/m² respectively. Compared with conventional construction, prefabrication logged a 15.38% waste reduction. Further probing into specific prefabricated components adopted in the samples, it is discovered that precast windows and walls are more conducive to waste minimization. This is coincident with the fact that these components are also widely adopted in the sample buildings. This study reconfirms the positive effects of prefabrication on waste minimization and articulates that two types of prefabricated components play relatively bigger role in minimizing construction waste. The strengths of this study lie in its statistical analyses of a valuable and objective quantitative dataset measuring prefabrication and waste generation rates. Future studies are recommended to prove the corollary - it is not what category of prefabricated component, but the actual proportion of prefabrication in the total construction volume that matters to waste minimization.

RETRACTED: The threshold effect test of human capital on the growth of agricultural green total factor productivity: Evidence from China

This paper constructs a threshold regression model to empirically test the non-linear relationship between rural human capital and agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) with provincial panel data during 1993–2018. The results show that there is a significant double threshold effect between rural human capital and AGTFP under different levels of agricultural material capital (AF)and agricultural economic development (AGDP). When AF and AGDP are at different levels, the relationship between rural human capital and AGTFP presents an inverse N-type trend or an inverted U-type trend. The nonlinear relationship between rural human capital and AGTFP has been verified. It is necessary to attach importance to the promotion of agricultural human capital to the growth of AGTFP. It is suggested to strengthen education on environmental protection and green production technology training for farmers, and urge them to widely adopt the production mode of mitigating climate warming. In addition, it is important to ensure the coordinated development of AF and rural human capital while enhancing the input of AF.

The extended self-identify- based electric product adoption model and airline business strategy: A new theoretical framework for green technology products

ABSTRACT This study developed a framework of the self-identity-based electric product adoption model to comprehend air travelers’ intentions to adopt eco-friendly electric airplanes. Through a quantitative process and survey method, our analysis revealed that the model satisfactorily accounted for the travelers’ eco-friendly airplane adoption intentions. The model comprised the concepts of green self-identity, care for environmental consequences, green moral obligation, attitude, and anticipated feelings. Moreover, we extended the model by considering the moderating impact of perceived risks. Overall, this study successfully provided a sufficient understanding of travelers’ eco-friendly technology product adoption behaviors in the airline context.

Addressing the Differences in Farmers’ Willingness and Behavior Regarding Developing Green Agriculture—A Case Study in Xichuan County, China

The development of green agriculture is an effective way to realize the sustainable development of agriculture, which is of great significance for guaranteeing national food security, improving the supply ability of agricultural products, promoting the healthy development of cultivated land, and realizing green development. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has proposed the establishment of a green-development-oriented agricultural support system, which intends to reverse the worsening of the agricultural ecological environment; however, in 2019, the input of agricultural chemical fertilizer still exceeded the international limit of the safe application of chemical fertilizer. In recent years, agriculture has surpassed industry to become the largest non-point source pollution industry in China, seriously affecting the rural ecological civilization construction and the advancement of green sustainable development coordinated. To analyze the key factors affecting the development of green agriculture, in this study, logistic binary regression analysis was used to measure the main factors affecting farmers’ green agricultural production willingness and green agricultural production behavior. The results show that a farmer’s age, land type, compensation for land transfer, technical service organization, related training, and economic and technological subsidies had significant effects on their green agricultural production willingness. The age of farmers, number of staff, risk of green agricultural production technology, technical service organization, and economic and technological subsidies were shown to have significant effects on the green agricultural production behavior of farmers, where the different factors influenced the behavior to different degrees. Based on the above findings, it is suggested that the Chinese government should help farmers to carry out agricultural green transformation through technical training, policy popularization, economic subsidies, and educational support.

Research on the impact of agricultural green production on farmers' technical efficiency: evidence from China.

Agricultural green production (AGP) and efficiency improvement of smallholders' management are the objective requirements for the development of China's modernized agriculture and the understanding of the rural vitalization strategy. Based on field survey data of 582 rice farmers in Shaanxi Province, this study used the Logit model to analyze the determinants of smallholders' adoption of agricultural green production technology (AGPT) and used the propensity score matching (PSM) method to measure the effect of AGPT on the technical efficiency (TE) of rice production and the heterogeneity of this influence among smallholders. Results showed that the AGPT adoption rate and the mean of rice production TE were 15.1% and 0.312, both had a lot of room for improvement. Furthermore, it was found that household's characteristics, family characteristics, agricultural management characteristics, social characteristics, and cognitive characteristics significantly affect smallholders' AGPT adoption, and the AGPT adoption significantly increased the TE of rice production by 18.8 to 24.5%. Besides, farmers with older age, less education, more specialized planting, more fragmented land, and more off-farm employment adopting AGPT could significantly improve the TE; the increase proportion was 29.8%, 29.5%, 21.3%, 27.2%, and 16.8%. The study also showed that the AGPT could not significantly increase the rice output value of smallholders. In addition, considering the endogeneity problem caused by sample selection bias, the study re-estimated using the endogenous transformation regression (ESR) model which showed that the promotion of AGPT to TE was still robust. The study puts forward policy recommendations on how to further promote the adoption of AGPT and improve the TE by farmers.

The economic–environmental trade-off of growing apple trees in the drylands of China: A conceptual framework for sustainable intensification

Agricultural intensification has turned the drylands-dominated Loess Plateau (LOP) of China into the world’s largest apple production area, which has greatly contributed to increasing farmer’s income and reducing rural poverty in the past two decades. However, substantial environmental trade-offs are evident, including (i) severe deep soil desiccation, which lowers resistance to extreme droughts; (ii) low soil organic carbon sequestration, which undermines apple tree’s ability to mitigate climate change; (iii) high soil erodibility, which increases the risks for orchards suffering serious erosion; and (iv) severe residual nitrate pollution, which threatens drinking water and planetary health. We propose a conceptual framework for addressing those environmental externalities, which will incorporate a nexus of scientists and technicians, policymakers, social enterprises, and smallholder farmers (SPES) to emphasize good governance, green-production technologies (GPTs), and collaboration as the route toward sustainable intensification and the realization of SDG 1 (alleviation of rural poverty), SDG 6 (reduction of soil and water pollution), SDG 13 (provision of important carbon sinks), and SDG 15 (positive water cycling and soil and water conservation). This framework may also offer insight into the sustainable development of orchards in dryland areas with similar environmental issues.

Carbon reduction decisions under progressive carbon tax regulations: A new dual-channel supply chain network equilibrium model

Since the production process in manufacturing industry is one of the main sources of carbon emissions, most governments have enacted relevant carbon policies to encourage manufacturers to invest in green production technology and reduce carbon emissions. However, the effectiveness of the carbon policy deserves further investigation because the manufacturers focus more on economic profits in actual operations. For this purpose, this paper proposes a dual-channel supply chain network (DCSCN) equilibrium model based on variational inequality theory to examine progressive carbon tax mechanism design of the government and its impacts on the production/pricing and abatement level decisions of the manufacturers in the DCSCN. In addition, this paper also examines the influences of the online channel introduction on supply chain network equilibrium decisions, carbon emissions and profits. We employ the modified projection and contraction algorithm to obtain the numerical solutions for several examples, and analyze the impacts of the key parameters on the equilibrium decisions and derive several managerial insights. The results show that if the government sets the high-level carbon tax and the cut-off value in progressive carbon tax policy appropriately, it can induce the manufacturers to improve abatement level actively; meanwhile the profit maximization goal of the manufacturer and the whole DCSCN can be consistent with the government's low-carbon emission target. Moreover, the introduction of online channel may depress the economic activities and lead to profit loss for the supply chain network but contributes to reducing the carbon emissions under progressive carbon tax policy. The conclusions may be useful for reference in the study of the low-carbon supply chain and the design of carbon emission reduction policy for government.

A Grey Multi-Level Evaluation of Industrial Park Ecology Based on a Coefficient of Variation-Attribute Hierarchy Model

China entered a new era, and the construction of an ecological civilization and green development has been raised to a new strategic height. As the lifeblood of the national economy, industrial parks significantly contribute to economic growth. However, they also generate significant pollution, damaging the ecological environment. It is urgent to ecologically transform traditional industrial parks. This requires identifying methods to correctly and objectively evaluate the ecological level of industrial parks, and provide ecological construction proposals for the government and industrial parks. In this study, the comprehensive evaluation weight was determined by introducing a variation coefficient and an Attribute Hierarchy Model (AHM). The ecological level of four representative eco-industrial parks was then quantitatively evaluated using a grey multi-level evaluation method. The ecological construction level of the four industrial parks was as follows. The Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) was rated at a “very good” level; and the Suzhou industrial park, Dalian economic and technological development zone, and Fushun mining group were rated at a “good” level. Six dimensions were studied. Of these, policy management had the highest weight, and the total weight of policy management and economic development approached 50%. The result shows that industrial parks can attract innovative enterprises and talents through the policy guidance of local government to improve the level of green innovation technology and cleaner production technology. Then, the ecological level of the industrial parks will be improved. This study enriched the theory and practice of ecological evaluation of industrial parks and provided a reference for the ecological construction of traditional industrial parks.

Exploring the Impact of Trading Green Technology Products on the Environment: Introducing the Green Openness Index

Environmental degradation has constantly increased over the years, and has become one of the main contributors to climate change. For this reason, researchers are increasingly on the lookout for parameters that positively impact environmental quality. Green Products are widely accepted as one of the vital tools to minimize the environmental degradation. This paper introduces a new index which is called the Green Openness Index. The index represents the importance of Green Products in a region by means of a measure of trade in Green Products. This new index revisits the trade-environment nexus in a case study of 31 Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the period 2007-2017. The empirical findings provide evidence that Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis is valid, by means of Fully modified and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis. As such, the new index also opens up a wide span of opportunities for future research, as the index can be used as explanatory variable in numerous different research questions and fields of research. Additionally, the results demonstrate that the presence of Green Products in trade reduces a country’s ecological footprint. This is essential information for practitioners and policy makers involved in the design of sustainable development policies.

Wage distortion and green technological progress: A directed technological progress perspective

In this paper, we construct a theoretical model considering that wage distortion is exogenous and endogenous, respectively, to explore the effect of wage distortion on green technological progress. Furthermore, using the panel data of China's industrial sector, we investigate the direct influence and mediating effect of wage distortion on green technological progress. We find that the green technological progress of China's industrial sector continued to rise from 2002 to 2012. However, the green technological progress of China's manufacturing sub-sectors is relatively slow. The wage distortion phenomenon that the labor's real wage level is less than the labor's marginal product level is widespread, especially in manufacturing sub-sectors. Moreover, green technological progress has a path-dependence characteristic. Wage distortion plays an important role in the changes in the direction of green technological progress. Green technological progress is more likely to appear in the sub-sectors which experience low wage distortion degree, while the sub-sectors with severe wage distortion experience a lower green technological progress rate. Wage distortion increases industrial profit margins by deliberately suppressing the rise of wages. In addition, increased industrial profit margins reduce the incentives of the green technological innovation of equipment suppliers and inhibit the improvement in green production technology. Therefore, alleviating wage distortion can benefit the green development of industrial sector.

Active substrate as a tool to improve the efficiency of green technology for seeds production

The most common and important method of agricultural products processing is drying. The quality of finished product, energy intensity and material intensity of the entire processing depend on the drying process. Drying the seeds of different crops is influenced by many factors: the structure, size, properties and condition. We studied the process of drying oil-bearing small-seeded crops taking rapeseeds as samples. Rapeseed is covered with a hard shell that prevents the release of moisture; in this case the seeds should be dried at low temperatures. High temperature causes rapeseeds to have low quality indicators. Analysis of the existing equipment has shown that nowadays there are no special systems for drying small-seeded crops, and the drying process is carried out on grain dryers which are characterized by large seeds losses, considerable energy costs and high temperatures. The main advantages of the developed infrared dryer of conveyor cascade type are the lack of hot zones, the uniform heating and the minimum percentage of seeds losses because of their blowing out and removal. In addition, the heat carriers used in the dryer of conveyor cascade type help to perform the drying process at the required wavelength, that can affect only the moisture in the seeds.

Superfine pulverisation pretreatment to enhance crystallinity of cellulose from Lycium barbarum L. leaves

Superfine pulverisation (SFP) pretreatment of Lycium barbarum L. leaves was performed to obtain highly crystalline cellulose. Compared with other common pulverisation methods, SFP enhanced cellulosic crystallinity by 18.3 % and 8.4 %, with and without post-acid treatments, respectively. XRD and solid-state NMR analyses showed that SFP facilitated the exposure of amorphous substances (i.e., hemicellulose and lignin) to NaOH and H2O2. Large amounts of silicon (5.5 %) and aluminium (2.1 %) were found to incorporate into the crystalline regions of SFP-produced cellulose. Further FTIR and thermogravimetric analyses revealed that SFP-produced cellulose contained large amounts of hydroxyl groups, affecting the cellulosic crystallinity and thermal stability. These findings demonstrate the potential for SFP to serve as a green technology for production of highly crystalline and mineral-rich cellulose.

Mechanisms of Green Development of Urban Agricultural Production in a Large Industrial City

A city’s potential for food self-sufficiency is expected to increase through the distribution of innovative, high-tech, green agricultural practices of producing food in an urban environment, which can improve the city’s food security due to increased food accessibility in terms of quantity and quality. Aim. Based on the systematization of theoretical approaches and analysis of institutional aspects, the study aims to propose ways to strengthen the city’s food security by improving food supply in urban areas, increasing the socio-economic and environmental sustainability of urban food systems, and changing the diet of urban residents.Tasks. The authors propose methods for the development of urban agricultural production in a large industrial city based on the principles of green economy and outline the range of strategic urban activities aimed at implementing green agricultural production technologies associated with the formation and development of the culture of modern urban agricultural production.Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition to examine the specificity of objectives of strengthening a city’s food security by improving the quality of food supply to the population. Methods of comparison, systems analysis, systematization of information, and the monographic method are also applied.Results. A strategic project for the development of urban agricultural systems through the implementation and green development of advanced urban agricultural technologies is described. Green development mechanisms will create conditions for the city’s self-sufficiency in terms of organic and safe products, functioning of short supply chains, and green urban agriculture.Conclusions. Managing the growth of urban agriculture will promote the use of highly effective, easily controlled, resource-efficient, eco-friendly, weather- and season-independent, multi-format urban agricultural technologies. The study describes actions aimed at creating conditions for stabilizing a city’s high-quality food self-sufficiency with allowance for the growing differentiation of citizen needs.

Effect of carbon on isothermal reduction of high-strength steel oxide scale in 30%H2–N2 atmosphere

To replace the traditional pickling process, an environmentally friendly gaseous reduction method was used for the removal of the oxide scale of steel in this work. Isothermal hydrogen reduction of high-strength steel was investigated in the temperature range from 500 °C to 800 °C in 30%H2–N2 atmosphere. The obtained results revealed a clear relationship between the oxide phase composition and the holding temperature during the heating stage, prior to hydrogen reduction. With increasing temperatures, the Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 components of the oxide scale gradually transform into FeO. When the sample was reduced under H2–N2 atmosphere, the surface morphology of the high-strength steel was different from that of the traditional hot-rolled steel strip. It was observed that the surface pore size and porosity increased with increasing temperatures and internal and external oxidation occurred simultaneously in the reduction layer. The addition of carbon to the reduction system decreased the water pressure and clearly promoted the reduction at 800 °C. The surface of the sample was reduced to irregular but uniformly distributed small particles of pure iron. Defects in the oxide scale such as cracks and gaps and carbon reacting with water play a vital role in the reduction process. Since the use of hydrogen reduction of hot-rolled strip eliminates the need for the acid pickling pollution process and the pre-oxidation process in the annealing of cold-rolled strips, it can significantly reduce the energy consumption of steel production and improve the production line efficiency. Thus, this approach is a promising green production technology in hot-dip galvanizing.

Multi-Criteria Comparative Analysis of Clean Hydrogen Production Scenarios

Different hydrogen production scenarios need to be compared in regard to multiple, and often distinct aspects. It is well known that hydrogen production technologies based on environmentally-friendly renewable energy sources have higher values of the economic indicators than methods based on fossil fuels. Therefore, how should this decision criterion (environmental) prevail over the other types of decision criteria (technical and economic) to make a scenario where hydrogen production only uses renewable energy sources the most attractive option for a decision-maker? This article presents the results of a multi-variant comparative analysis of scenarios to annually produce one million tons of pure hydrogen (99.999%) via electrolysis in Poland. The compared variants were found to differ in terms of electricity sources feeding the electrolyzers. The research demonstrated that the scenario where hydrogen production uses energy from photovoltaics only becomes the best option for the environmental criterion weighting value at 61%. Taking the aging effect of photovoltaic installation (PV) panels and electrolyzers after 10 years of operation into account, the limit value of the environmental criterion rises to 63%. The carried out analyses may serve as the basis for the creation of systems supporting the development of clean and green hydrogen production technologies.