High Energy-consuming Industries Research Articles

Construction and Application of Relationship Model between Development of Mining Industry and Carbon Emission of Energy Consumption

With the world’s consensus on low‐carbon emission reduction, all walks of life have formulated low‐carbon development goals. As a high‐energy consumption industry, it is urgent for mining industry to implement the development strategy of low‐carbon emission reduction. Therefore, this study tries to provide reasonable suggestions and references for the low‐carbon development of the mining industry. Firstly, this study analyzes the industry development, energy consumption, and carbon emission of mining industry from 2000 to 2020. Then, using the Tapio theory, this study constructs the analysis model of decoupling between carbon emission of mining industry and industry growth. The analysis method of decoupling state assignment is proposed for the first time in the model. At the same time, the energy efficiency decoupling index and energy structure decoupling index are introduced to explain the causes of carbon emission decoupling. The research shows that the carbon emission of energy consumption in China’s mining industry peaked in 2013, and the energy efficiency decoupling in 2001–2014 is the main driver of carbon emission decoupling. The sharp growth of industrial output value leads to the decoupling of energy efficiency. At present, the improvement of energy efficiency of China’s mining industry faces great resistance. At the same time, the inhibition effect of energy efficiency on carbon emissions is limited, and the energy structure will be the main factor to inhibit carbon emissions.

High Energy-Consuming Industrial Transfers and Environmental Pollution in China: A Perspective Based on Environmental Regulation.

Environmental regulation and industrial restructuring are highly relevant to environmental governance and green development in China. A dynamic game model was used to analyse the mechanisms behind the role of environmental regulation in promoting the restructuring of energy-intensive industries. A dynamic spatial Durbin model was constructed to empirically test the dynamic spatial effects and regional heterogeneity of the transfer of high energy-consuming industries on environmental pollution under environmental regulation with panel data. Thus, the study found that the environmental emission effect of a single high energy-consuming industry transfer and environmental regulation is significant, while the combined effect of both exhibits a negative environmental effect. Environmental regulation and the concentration of high energy-consuming industries have a positive spatial spillover effect on environmental pollution, and the long-term effect is greater than the short-term effect; high energy-consuming industries are gradually transferred from the more developed regions in eastern and central China to the less developed regions in western China.

The gaps and pathways to carbon neutrality for different type cities in China

Cities play critical roles in achieving carbon-neutrality, and the pathways to the carbon-neutral goal are different because of cities’ various developmental levels. On the basis of the industrial structure and energy intensity, “2 + 26” cities were classified firstly. With LEAP-city model built, the gaps and pathways to carbon neutrality for different city types (SCJ, CCL, CCX, and ICZ) are analyzed under the policy (PO) and low-carbon (LC) scenarios. Results show that CCL and CCX would be carbon-neutral without carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in the LC scenario. If SCJ and ICZ apply the CCS for the power and heating plants, they can be carbon neutral in 2049 and 2050, respectively. Regarding CO2 emissions, the industry sector in all energy demand sectors is always the most key sector for CCX and ICZ from 2016 to 2030, which means optimizing production processes and reducing surplus output are very important. After high energy-consuming industries are moved out CCL and SCJ, CO2 emissions from transportation and buildings are the challenges. Therefore, instead of fuel vehicles, zero-carbon vehicles are the first option. Electrification and zero-carbon energy used in buildings are the priorities combined with the decarbonization of electricity, which would also be a highly efficient measure in the industry sector after 2030.

Construction and Application Analysis of Carbon Emission Influence Factor Model of Energy Consumption in Mining Industry

With the proposal of China’s “double carbon goal,” as a high energy‐consuming industry, it is urgent for the mining industry to adopt a low‐carbon development strategy. Therefore, in order to better provide reasonable suggestions and references for the low‐carbon development of mining industry, referring to the methods and parameters of the 2006 IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Guidelines and China’s Provincial Greenhouse Gas Inventory Preparation Guidelines (Trial), a carbon emission estimation model is established to estimate the carbon emission of energy consumption of China′s mining industry from 2000 to 2020. Then, using the extended Kaya identity, the influencing factors of carbon emission in mining industry are decomposed into energy carbon emission intensity, energy structure, energy intensity, industrial structure, and output value. On this basis, an LMDI model is constructed to analyze the impact of five factors on carbon emission from mining industry. The research shows that the carbon emission and carbon emission intensity of energy consumption in China’s mining industry first rise and then fall and then rise slightly. The carbon emission intensity in recent three years is about 2 tons/10000 yuan. The increase in output value is the main factor to increase carbon emission. The reduction in energy intensity is the initiative of carbon emission reduction. The current energy structure of mining industry is not conducive to carbon emission reduction.

Need for development of low carbon economy in China using analysis of Guangdong textile industry as case study

Textile industry is a high energy-consuming industry, which depends on oil, coal and other energy resources. This paper takes Guangdong textile industry as case study and analyses its current carbon emission from the statistical yearbook. Chinese textile industry should transform and develop a low-carbon economy model. Firstly, the government should strengthen the top-level design and improve the relevant legal system. Secondly, new energy and renewable materials needs to be vigorously explored to save energy. Thirdly, the textile enterprises must speed up the industrial transformation and upgrade to enhance the added value in the industrial chain. Finally, consumers are required to update their concept of low-carbon consumption. These ways are helpful to ensure the minimization of “carbon footprint”. Only by developing a circular economy and low-carbon economy, can we build a resource-saving, environment-friendly and low-carbon-oriented society.

The effect of industrial structure adjustment on China’s energy intensity: Evidence from linear and nonlinear analysis

Given that the sustainable economic development in China is severely restrained by a rapid increase in energy consumption, an industrial structure adjustment can act as an effective and feasible measure to reduce China’s energy intensity.This study empirically analysed the linear and nonlinear relationships between industrial structure adjustment and energy intensity, using a Chinese provincial panel dataset for 1997–2016. In case of the linear analysis, the regressions suggest that a 1% increase in the tertiary industry’s proportion could lead to an approximately 0.03% decline in energy intensity, whereas a 1% increase in industrial structure optimisation could lead to an approximately 0.02% decline. Unfortunately, the development of high energy-consuming industries has contributed towards an increase in energy intensity. In case of the nonlinear analysis, we used the industrial structure optimisation as a threshold variable in the dynamic threshold panel model. The results indicate that a change in the industrial structure optimisation leads to a change in the relationships among the industrial structure adjustment, technological progress, and energy intensity. This study also shows that the energy intensity in China’s central and western regions has a huge potential downside, through the optimisation of industrial structure. These results provide valuable information for reducing energy intensity from the perspective of industrial structure adjustment.

A Study on the Application Characteristics of the Insoluble MMO (Mixed Metal Oxide) Electrode for Energy Reduction of Zinc Electrowinning Process

Objective : The zinc electrowinning industry is one of the high energy consumption industries where energy saving is required. In the zinc electrowining process, electrode is a high energy consuming part. In order to reduce energy use in the electrolytic smelting industry, a comparative study was conducted on the current usage of Pb+Ag alloy electrode and insoluble composite metal oxide (MMO) electrode.Methods : In this study, a comparative evaluation of energy consumption was conducted between the generally used Pb+Ag alloy electrode and an insoluble MMO electrode. Aluminum was used as a reducing electrode. The actual on-site zinc electrowinning solution and ZnSO₄ simulated solution were prepared to estimate the electrode potential, voltage, zinc deposition efficiency, and lifetime characteristics under the current density of 500 A/m².Results and Discussion : The overvoltage of the insoluble MMO electrode was 28.9% lower and the voltage was 15.0% lower than that of Pb+Ag alloy electrode. The zinc deposition efficiency of the insoluble MMO electrode was higher 1.9% in the actual on-site zinc electrowinning solution and 6.3% in the simulated solution. Compared with the Pb+Ag alloy electrode in use, the insoluble composite metal oxide electrode exhibited low overvoltage, good voltage characteristics, and high current efficiency characteristics.Conclusions : When the energy consumption of the Pb+Ag alloy and the insoluble MMO electrodes was compared, The insoluble MMO electrode showed 17.0% lower energy consumption in the actual on-site zinc electrowinning solution and 23.8% lower in the ZnSO₄ simulated solution than Pb+Ag alloy electrode.

The effect of air pollution on corporate social responsibility performance in high energy-consumption industry: Evidence from Chinese listed companies

The sharp contradiction between environment and economy arouses stronger expectancy that corporates should engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Unfortunately, there is little empirical evidence that explains CSR from an air-pollution perspective. Based on this research gap, adopting 482 Chinese listed companies from 2014 to 2017 as sample, this study explores the effect of air pollution on CSR performance in Chinese high energy-consumption industry. The results show that worse air pollution significantly increases the CSR performance. And this relationship is stronger under higher executive political ties, firms’ better prior performance, and higher market development level. Our conclusions provide plentiful theoretical contributions to CSR and clean production field, as well as some implications for enterprises and governments.

Factors behind CO2 emission reduction in Chinese heavy industries: Do environmental regulations matter?

As the most energy intensive industries, heavy industries are decisive for the realization of energy saving and emission reduction commitments. This study investigates factors behind CO2 emissions mitigation in China's heavy industries based on the system generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) model. Results indicate that industrial structure (IS), fixed asset investment (F) and historical emissions are drivers for sectoral CO2 emission increase, while energy efficiency (EE) is a key factor for carbon emissions reduction. In order to further explore the effect of environmental regulations, we treat 2011 mandatory emission trading scheme (ETS) in high energy-consuming industries as a quasi-natural experiment, and conduct a Propensity Score Matching and Difference-in-Difference (PSM-DID) approach to analyze the policy effect. We find that the implementation of the mandatory emission reduction policy can reduce CO2 emissions of heavy industries, and the results are robust by testing the randomness of the policies. The policy implications are put forward to optimizing industrial structure and enhancing the environmental regulations in China's heavy industries.

Impact of Global Value Chain Embedding on Total-Factor Energy Productivity of Chinese Industrial Sectors

In the four decades since China’s reform and opening up, China has been playing an active role in global value chain (GVC) due to its abundant resources. China has gained enormous benefits from opening up, but has also suffered huge energy costs in the process. In this study, we incorporated global value chains and energy consumption into a unified analysis framework and calculated the energy total-factor productivity (ETFP) of China’s industry and the degree of participation in GVC. In addition, in order to discover the contradictions and problems between China's participation in global value chains and the improvement of total energy factor productivity, the panel smooth transformation model (PSTR) was used to empirically test the nonlinear relationship between the ETFP and the degree of participation in GVC in China. From the analysis results, GVC participation, as well as the subdivided shallow GVC participation and deep GVC participation, first promoted the effect on ETFP and then suppressed it, showing an inverted U-shaped single threshold characteristic. The results indicated that in the progress of starting to participate in the GVC, the effect of technological progress of the GVC overweighed the scale effect of energy consumption, resulting in the growth of ETFP. However, due to the gradual reduction of technology dividends and the “low-end lock-in” situation, China was placed in the value chain by the developed countries, and the technological effect was gradually smaller than the scale effect of energy consumption. As a result, the increase in the total-factor productivity of energy was inhibited. At the same time, in the further examination of industry heterogeneity, the inverted U-shaped influence trend was more significant in high energy-consuming industries. The conclusions of this study can provide a new perspective and policy focus for China's participation in GVC to achieve the goal of increasing ETFP.

Regional differences in carbon emission of China’s industries and its decomposition effects

In order to better achieve the goal of carbon emissions, this paper combined the theory of gravity center and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model to analyze the regional emission differences in China. Researches have shown that the difference in economic development levels between the eastern and western regions is an important factor that causes the shift of the center of gravity of carbon emission and its intensity to the west. In decomposition effects, the economic output effect has the largest contribution (56%) to emissions, and the energy intensity effect has the best effect in suppressing emissions. Except for some industries in the East and Central South of China, energy structure in other regions is still dominated by high-carbon energy. In the energy intensity effect, the suppression effects in the East and Central South of China have reached −83,440 Mt and −78,850 Mt respectively, while the Northeast and Northwest of China areas are not significant. Vigorously developing low-carbon technologies and promoting clean energy can effectively reduce carbon intensity. It is recommended to implement the policy of adapting to local conditions according to the current situation of the region, and gradually phase out high energy-consuming industries under the guidance of the government, so as to strive to implement the emission reduction target.

Application of Distributed Energy System in Iron and Steel Industry and Its Policy Impacts

After years of development, the concept and connotation of Distributed Energy System (called as DES) are gradually unified. As a way of energy supply in the demand, a revolution of traditional energy system, DES is a new concept of energy conservation in the iron and steel industry, which has been vigorously advocated by the state, and warmly supported and concerned by the international environmental protection work. Iron and steel industry is a high energy consumption industry. With a large number of complex energy conversion and utilization, the production process has developed or is developing a certain amount of DES. According to the definition of the World Alliance for Decentralized Energy (WADE), this paper describes the most representative several DESs in China, and discusses its influences on the energy system of iron and steel enterprises. Finally, some policy suggestions for distributed energy system utilization in iron and steel industry are put forward for the developing countries.

Study on the industrial structure optimization under constraint of energy intensity

This study establishes a multi-sector dynamic computable general equilibrium framework that integrates energy intensity module to explore the reverse feedback effect of energy intensity control on industry structure. The results indicate that (1) the tightening effect of energy intensity constrains on the Industrial sector is most significant, followed by the Tertiary Industry, with the least impact on Agriculture; (2) when there is no technological progress in the departments, the change of industrial structure is mainly reflected in the sharp decline in the proportion of Industry and the significant increase in the proportion of Tertiary Industry. When technological progress exists in high energy-consumption departments, the tightening effect of energy intensity constraints on the industrial sector will be reduced; when there is technological progress in all departments, the industrial structure will have a smaller change, and the technology progress can alleviate the tightening effect of the energy intensity target on various sectors; (3) under the constraint of energy intensity, the high energy-consuming industry shifts to the Equipment Manufacturing with low energy-consumption and high-added value. The increasing proportion of Tertiary Industry mainly comes from two industries including Wholesale, Retail, Hoteling and Catering, and Transportation, Storage, and Post.

Multi-criteria comprehensive energy efficiency assessment based on fuzzy-AHP method: A case study of post-treatment technologies for coal-fired units

Given the positive effects of high-temperature precipitator on downstream equipment in steel industry and power plant, a new control route using high-temperature precipitator was proposed for meeting ultra-low limits now issued in China, where the precipitator is installed before the SCR reactor to reduce the negative effects on the catalyst of high concentration fly ash. The energy efficiency plays a key role in the system evaluation, and the competition between alternatives can be evaluated by some kinds of energy efficiency indicators on a macro-level especially for high energy-consuming industries. However, the current assessment system usually was limited in ability to the single indicator such as environment and economy. Motived by this purpose, this study applies a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to construct a multi-criteria comprehensive energy efficiency assessment system including techniques, environmental protection, economy and social benefits. The most important asset is that it developed and implemented an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to determine weights of indicators that gives an extra strength and credibility to the results. A case study involving this new route and two existing routes can be proven useful to the engineers and practitioners working on the decision-making processes of advanced post-treatment technologies for coal-fired units.

China’s energy intensity change in 1997–2015: Non-vertical adjusted structural decomposition analysis based on input-output tables

Energy saving is essential to sustainable development and has been a major target set by the Chinese government. This study analyzes China’s energy intensity change during 1997–2015. This paper applies non-vertical adjusted structural decomposition analysis method to build comparable input-output tables and decomposes China’s energy use according to technical change, demand structure, import structure, import quantity, and export quantity for five types of energy. The results show that: (1) Both technical changes and demand structure changes are important driving forces for China’s energy intensity decrease; (2) Technical changes have played an increasingly important role in energy intensity decrease over time since 2002; (3) Technical change effect has caused the energy intensity of traditional high energy-consuming industries to decrease; (4) The results are robust under different degrees of non-vertical adjustments. Although technical change has played a critical role in China’s energy saving, the increase in demands will become increasingly important factors in changes to energy intensity and will require continued future research.

Analysis and prediction of industrial energy conservation in underdeveloped regions of China using a data pre-processing grey model

Abstract: As industrialisation continues to accelerate in China, underdeveloped regions are required to reduce their energy consumption. In this study, we examined industrial energy conservation in China's policy guidance and formulation, and the development of industrial energy conservation in the 12th Five-Year Plan period. Using a pre-processing grey model GM(1, 3), we forecast the energy consumption per unit of industrial added-values during the 2015–2020 period with higher accuracy than the untreated model. To comprehensively understand the energy consumptions of the primary products of six high energy-consuming industries, we established pre-processing GM(1,1) for the 2017–2024 period. The results show that the ecological development path not only promotes economic and industrial developments but also significantly reduces energy consumption. Moreover, the annual reduction rate of energy consumption per unit product is projected to be moderate during the 2015–2020 period than during the 12th Five-Year Plan period. Finally, we investigate and analyse the existing problems of industrial energy conservation and the development of the six industries. This study offers policy suggestions for industrial energy conservation in underdeveloped regions.

Study on the decoupling relationship between energy consumption, pollution emission and economic growth in Tianjin and its cause

Based on decoupling index, the decoupling of energy consumption, waste gas and waste water emissions and economic growth in Tianjin from 2006 to 2016 was comprehensively compared, and the factors behind each situation were analyzed. The research shows that the average growth rate of energy consumption in Tianjin from 2006 to 2016 is 7.62%. Energy consumption is mainly consumed by the secondary industry. Energy consumption intensity is the main restraining factor to reduce pollution emissions, and the restraining effect is increasing year by year. Economic intensity factors have a positive impact on carbon emissions. Therefore, Tianjin emission reduction can be controlled in such aspects as strictly controlling high-energy consumption industry, increasing technical input and using economic leverage.

Heat Transfer and Energy Utilization of Waste Heat Recovery Device with Different Internal Component

Steel industry is high energy-consuming industry, and its waste heat recovery is critically important for energy utilization. In this study, pipeline bundle is used to enhance heat transfer in waste heat recovery device, and associated gas-solid heat transfer and energy utilization performance with different pipeline arrangement, pipe diameter and shape of internal component are further analyzed. The temperatures of gas and particle in device with pipeline bundle periodically fluctuate in horizontal direction, and those in staggered system distribute more uniformly than those in paralleled system. Compared with paralleled device, exergy and waste heat utilization efficiency of staggered device have been improved, and they are both higher than those without pipeline. As pipe diameter increases, exergy and waste heat utilization efficiency first increases and then decreases, and they reach the maxima with optimal pipe diameter. As the width of internal component keeps constant, influence of its shape on heat transfer is very little.

Quantitative assessment of factors affecting energy intensity from sector, region and time perspectives using decomposition method: A case of China’s metallurgical industry

As a typical high-energy consumption industry, the metallurgical industry has brought great challenges to energy saving and emission reduction in the whole China. Reducing the energy intensity of this crucial sector is of great importance to China’s green transition. This paper seeks to determine the drivers of the energy intensity change in China’s metallurgical industry during 2000–2016. To serve this purpose, we construct a comprehensive framework which combines Index Decomposition Analysis (IDA) and Production Decomposition Analysis (PDA) methods to fully decompose the change of energy intensity, and in this way more complete and in-depth insights can be provided. The results showed that the technological progress effect made the greatest contribution to the decline in energy intensity, with a cumulative reduction of 72.32%, while the labor-energy substitution is the greatest obstacle to the energy intensity reduction. As to the provincial contribution, except for Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, all the other provinces make positive contributions to the energy intensity reduction in China’s metallurgical industry. Therein, Hebei, Hunan and Shannxi provinces rank the top one contributor in Eastern, Central, and Western China, respectively. Based on the empirical results, some targeted recommendations to formulate energy-saving policies for China’s metallurgical industry are put forward.

The market-linkage of the volatility spillover between traditional energy price and carbon price on the realization of carbon value of emission reduction behavior

Abstract Establishing a carbon market is widely regarded as an effective means of controlling global carbon emission. Purchasing carbon emission right will increase the cost of enterprises, especially for high-energy consumption industry. The volatility of carbon market will undoubtedly affect the behavior of these enterprises. It has been well recognized that there is significant interaction between the carbon market and the fossil energy (crude oil, natural gas and coal) market. This paper employs recurrence plot (RP) method and recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) method to investigate the volatility spillover between the three different energy futures markets and carbon emission market. The result shows that the volatility spillover between the coal market and carbon emission market is strongest. Based on this, in order to avoid the risk from the carbon emission market, industries should switch from coal to natural gas or oil, and this behavior will lead to the reduction of carbon emission. Industries will change their energy consumption structure to a much cleaner one which will reduce air pollutant and the emission of carbon dioxide on the realization of carbon value.