Industrial Carbon Research Articles

The effect of technological progress and income per capita on carbon dioxide emission: the moderating role of economic freedom.

Climate change in context of environmental issues is pushing most of the countries to set the goals in order to achieve carbon neutrality and sustainable development. The recognition of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) thirteen (13) is aided by the objective of this study which is to take an urgent action to combat climate change. In this context, this study investigates the effect of technological progress, income, and foreign direct investment on carbon dioxide emission by taking into consideration the moderating effect of economic freedom in 165 global countries from 2000 to 2020. The study employed ordinary least squares (OLS), fixed effects (FE), and two-step system generalized method of moments for analysis. The findings reveal that economic freedom, income per capita, foreign direct investment, and industry increase carbon dioxide emission while technological progress reduces emission in global countries. Surprisingly, economic freedom indirectly increases the level of carbon emissions by technological progress; however, economic freedom indirectly decreases the level of carbon emissions by income per capita. In this regard, this study favors clean eco-friendly technologies and seeks methods for development without harming the environment. Furthermore, the findings of this study have considerable policy suggestions for the sample countries.

One-Step Synthesis of Structurally Stable CO2-Philic Membranes with Ultra-High PEO Loading for Enhanced Carbon Capture

Membrane technology has been considered a promising strategy for carbon capture to mitigate the effects of increasing atmospheric CO 2 levels because CO 2 -philic membranes have demonstrated significant application potential, especially, for CO 2 /light gas separation. In this regard, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), which is a representative CO 2 -philic material, has attracted extensive research attention owing to its specific dipole–quadrupole interaction with CO 2 . Herein, we report a facile one-step synthesis protocol via the in situ polymerization of highly flexible polyethylene glycol to overcome the limitations of PEO, including high crystallinity and poor mechanical strength. The robust structure derived from intricate entanglements between short PEO chains and the polymer matrix enables an extremely high loading of linear polyethylene glycol (up to 90 wt%). Consequently, the separation performance easily surpasses the upper-bound limit. Moreover, the high structural stability allows for the concurrent increase of CO 2 permeability and CO 2 /light gas selectivity at high feed pressure (up to 20 bar). This study provides a promising strategy to simultaneously improve the toughness and gas separation properties of all-polymeric membranes, demonstrating significant potential for industrial carbon capture and gas purification.

The Nonlinear Effect of Population Aging and Socio-economic Conditions on Carbon Emission: An Empirical Analysis of 30 Provinces and Regions in China

The central aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the impact of population aging on carbon emissions in China. In order to attain a deeper comprehension of this effect, this study investigates the non-linear relationship between population aging and carbon emissions through empirical analysis of 30 provinces and regions in China from 1997 to 2019 using a panel threshold model. Our primary research findings indicate that the correlation between population aging and carbon emissions demonstrates nonlinearity. Population aging has had an inhibitory effect on carbon emissions; however, as the aging population continues to increase, its effect on suppressing carbon emissions will weaken. Moreover, we have also uncovered non-linear relationships between energy intensity, per capita GDP, industrial structure, and carbon emissions. Notably, despite rapid growth in total fossil energy consumption, energy intensity has shown a decreasing trend in China, which has mitigated the upsurge in carbon emissions attributed to fluctuations in energy intensity. The positive correlation between GDP per capita and carbon emissions is evident, but there is little variation observed across different threshold levels. Finally, the relationship between industrial structure and carbon emissions is considerably intricate, our results show that a U-shaped curvilinear relationship exists between the two variables.

Carbon emissions and the rising effect of trade openness and foreign direct investment: Evidence from a threshold regression model

The relationship between carbon emissions, foreign trade openness, and FDI has been studied in prior studies. The previous studies, however, did not examine the link by focusing on carbon emissions in India's industrial sectors. Using carbon emission intensity as a threshold variable and a threshold regression model, we add to the existing studies by assessing the influence of India's industrial sector on carbon emissions. According to the study's findings, there are three threshold effects of foreign direct investment and foreign trade openness on industrial carbon emissions. FDI harms industrial carbon emissions, as it has a characteristically declining and then rising effect coefficient on industrial carbon emissions. Foreign trade openness, however, affects carbon emissions both positively and negatively. Foreign trade openness encourages carbon emission in sectors of the economy with lower carbon emission intensity. However, it also partially constrains it for sectors with high carbon emission intensity. The number of employees, technological innovation, GDP per capita, and economic activity intensity significantly influence carbon emissions in India's industrial sector. This study can extend further in other countries using the recent innovative methodologies.

Genetic modification of acetogens and optimization of fermentation process in C1-gas bioconversion

The current linear economy model relies on fossil energy and increases CO2 emissions, which contributes to global warming and environmental pollution. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop and deploy technologies for carbon capture and utilization to establish a circular economy. The use of acetogens for C1-gas (CO and CO2) conversion is a promising technology due to high metabolic flexibility, product selectivity, and diversity of the products including chemicals and fuels. This review focuses on the physiological and metabolic mechanisms, genetic and metabolic engineering modifications, fermentation process optimization, and carbon atom economy in the process of C1-gas conversion by acetogens, with the aim to facilitate the industrial scale-up and carbon negative production through acetogen gas fermentation.

Removal behaviors of phenol from aqueous solution using industrial coal sludge-derived porous carbon sorbent

Porous activated carbon was prepared from industrial coal sludge (CS) by one-step pyrolysis and KHCO3 activation, and applied to remove phenol from aqueous phase. The effects of activation parameters on the characteristics of activated carbon and phenol adsorption performance were investigated. CSAC-900 (obtained at 900 °C) has abundant pores and shows three-dimensional porous structure. The adsorption process of phenol on CSAC-900 are controlled by various mechanisms, such as π-π interaction, hydrogen bond and pore filling. The isotherm fitting agrees with Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity of phenol on CSAC-900 is 305.83 mg/g. The positive ΔH and negative ΔG illustrate the adsorption of phenol onto CSAC-900 is a spontaneous endothermic reaction. Compared with commercial activated carbon materials, the adsorption of phenol by CSAC-900 exhibits significant advantages in adsorption capacity and adsorption rate, and it can also be regenerated and recycled.

Treatment of cadmium-contaminated soil using ladle slag with and without CO2

Cement and lime are widely used to stabilize/solidify (S/S) contaminated soils, however, the production of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and lime causes CO2 emission and consumption of energy and non-renewable resource. In this context, this study proposes a sustainable S/S approach by utilizing an industrial by-product, ladle slag (LS), and carbon dioxide (CO2), to substitute cement and lime for treating cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soil. In laboratory investigation, contaminated soils spiked by Cd with concentrations of 0–32,000 mg/kg were treated by LS with a binder content of 10 % and subjected to conventional curing and carbonation curing for different periods varying from 3 hours to 112 days. The results showed that LS with conventional curing could reduce the leaching of Cd, however, it was still less effective than OPC in S/S of Cd-contaminated soils under the same curing period of 28 days. When CO2 was introduced, LS with CO2 rapidly decreased the leaching of Cd in soils by five orders of magnitude, using only 104 hours to achieve better S/S efficacy than OPC with conventional curing for 28 days. The LS with carbonation curing also sequestered CO2 up to 16 % of LS mass and yielded higher strength than that without CO2.

Constraint Mechanism of Environmental Regulation on Carbon Emission of Heavy Industry in Chengdu-Chongqing Region of China

Regional differences and development heterogeneity lead to an unbalanced distribution of heavy industry in Chengdu-Chongqing region of China. Under the background of low-carbon development, clarifying the constraint mechanism of environmental regulations on carbon emissions of heavy industry becomes more important to solve prominent problems of resources and the environment. In this work, literature analysis, comparative analysis and statistical induction are carried out to illustrate a constraint mechanism of environmental regulation on carbon emission. Based on literature reports and government yearbook data, the impacts of environmental regulations on carbon emissions of heavy industry in Chengdu-Chongqing region are studied. Analysis and demonstration are carried out from four dimensions: corporate identity, technological progress, policy constraints, and government supervision. The predicament of environmental regulation affecting heavy industry carbon emission reduction is expounded and puts forward reasonable policy suggestions. The research results can enrich the theory of environmental regulation, and provide policy suggestions for optimizing the green transformation of heavy industry.

Carbon allowance allocation based on comprehensive performance of carbon emissions: Case of typical industries in Zhengzhou.

Studying the comprehensive performance of industrial carbon emission has profound significance for improving carbon allowance allocation scheme and achieving the carbon neutrality target. The paper selects 181 enterprises in Zhengzhou as the case, a comprehensive carbon emission performance indicator system and a carbon allowance allocation model were established, and compared with other allocation schemes (historical/baseline method). The results showed that the overall differences in the comprehensive performance evaluation indicator of carbon emissions in typical industries in Zhengzhou were obvious, and there was a correlation with the characteristics of industrial production activities. The overall emission reduction of Zhengzhou was 244.33×103t, and the emission reduction ratio was 7.94% by simulating carbon allowance allocation under the comprehensive performance. The carbon allowance allocation method based on the comprehensive performance has the strongest restraint on the "high emission, low performance" industry, which is more equitable and more conducive to carbon emission reduction. In the future, it will be recommended to give full play to the leading role of the government, implement industrial carbon allowance allocation based on the comprehensive performance evaluation of carbon emissions, to achieve multi-objectives of resource conservation, environmental pollution abatement, and carbon reduction.

Preferences for climate change policies: the role of co-benefits

ABSTRACT Policies mitigating climate change provide a global public good but are also likely to imply local co-benefits where implemented. This may affect citizens’ preferences for what policy to implement as well as where to implement it. This aspect remains understudied despite its relevance for international climate negotiations, national policies, and the development of voluntary carbon credit markets. The results of a discrete choice experiment show that citizens in five countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) have quite similar mean willingness to pay for carbon emission reductions and agree on the ranking of policies targeting different sectors. Specifically, policies targeting renewable energy use, are preferred over policies targeting industrial energy efficiency or carbon sequestration and biomass production in forests. Applying follow-up questions shows that concerns over co-benefits, notably air pollution, is linked to preferences for implementation in the home country. In the absence of co-benefits, citizens are indifferent or prefer policies implemented in other countries. Key policy highlights Citizens in five European countries share preferences for climate change mitigation policies, though significant intra-national heterogeneity in preferences exist Policies targeting increased use of renewables are preferred over policies targeting improved energy efficiency in the industry. Citizens express preferences for policies implemented in their own country. This is associated with their perception of co-benefits. In particular, consideration of reduced air pollution as a side effect of investing in renewable energy and in energy efficiency in the industry are important determinants of preferences for national implementation of policies. Preferences for national co-benefits may both enhance policy acceptance and reduce willingness to support policies implemented in other countries. The latter aspect may reduce cost-effectiveness across countries but ease effort-sharing negotiations.

Study on the influence of industrial intelligence on carbon emission efficiency-empirical analysis of China's Yangtze River Economic Belt.

How to achieve the goal of "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" and explore the compatibility of industrial and ecological civilization is a major challenge for China today. This study analyzes the impact of industrial intelligence on industrial carbon emissions efficiency in 11 provinces of China's Yangtze River Economic Belt, measuring the efficiency of industrial carbon emissions through the non-expected output slacks-based measure (SBM) model, selecting industrial robot penetration to measure the level of industrial intelligence, establishing a two-way fixed model to verify the impact of industrial intelligence on carbon emission efficiency, and testing for intermediary effects and regional heterogeneity. The results show that: (1) the industrial carbon emission efficiency of the 11 provinces shows year-over-year improvement, with significant differences between upstream, midstream, and downstream, where downstream is the highest and upstream is the lowest. (2) The development of industrial intelligence is highly uneven, with the upstream level being the weakest. (3) Industrial intelligence can improve the efficiency of industrial carbon emissions by enhancing green technological innovation and energy use efficiency. (4) The effect of industrial intelligence on industrial carbon emission efficiency also shows regional heterogeneity. Finally, we present policy recommendations. This research provides mathematical and scientific support for achieving carbon reduction targets at an early stage and helps accelerate the construction of a modern, low-carbon China.

Can the application of artificial intelligence in industry cut China's industrial carbon intensity?

As an emerging technology, industrial intelligence focus on the integration of artificial intelligence and production, which creates a new access to achieve the goal of carbon emissions reduction. Using data on provincial panel data from 2006 to 2019 in China, we empirically analyze the impact and spatial effects of industrial intelligence on industrial carbon intensity from multiple dimensions. Results show an inverse proportionality between industrial intelligence and industrial carbon intensity, and the mechanism is to promote green technology innovation. Our results remain robust after accounting for endogenous issues. Viewed from spatial effect, industrial intelligence can inhibit not only the industrial carbon intensity of the region but also the surrounding areas. More strikingly, the impact of industrial intelligence in the eastern region is more obvious than that in the central and western regions. This paper effectively complements the research on the influencing factors of industrial carbon intensity and provides a reliable empirical basis for industrial intelligence to reduce industrial carbon intensity, as well as a policy reference for the green development of the industrial sector.

Nanocrystalline ZnO quantum dot-based chemiresistive gas sensors: Improving sensing performance towards NO2 and H2S by optimizing operating temperature

Nanocrystalline ZnO quantum dots (QD) with a diameter of 10 nm was synthesized and tested toward eight different toxic industrial chemicals (i.e., nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ammonia (NH3), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), ethanol (C2H5OH), acetone (CH3)2CO, and toluene (C6H5CH3)) with a broad concentration range at five different operating temperatures. Systemic studies allow to determine the kinetics of gas sensing as well as the competing reactions of analytes with sensing material and adsorbed oxygen. ZnO QD showed an excellent sensing performance toward NO2 and H2S in comparison to other target analytes. The selectivity can be further improved by controlling the operating temperature (i.e., higher selectivity toward NO2 and H2S were achieved at 300 °C and 450 °C, respectively). Moreover, the optimal temperature was found to be analyte dependent.

How Does the Industrial Digitization Affect Carbon Emission Efficiency? Empirical Measurement Evidence from China’s Industry

Based on the panel data of China’s industrial carbon emissions from 2015 to 2022, the S-SBM model is scientifically used to measure the industrial carbon emission efficiency, and a spatial model is constructed to empirically analyze the spatial effect of industrial digitalization on carbon emission efficiency. From the regional perspective, it is interesting to find that industrial digitization has shown an overall downward trend of the central, western and northeastern regions showing a roughly N-shaped trend of change. From an industry perspective, we also find that industrial digitization has a relatively high overall impact on the carbon emissions performance of the mining industry with significant changes in the performance of electricity and heat and gas and water production and supply industries. Therefore, the experimental results effectively provide the substantive empirical evidence for policy makers on how to best promote the development of industrial digitization and strengthen the effective application of digital technology affecting carbon emission control in China.

Utilisation of Industrial Carbon Dioxide Gas as the Main Raw Material

Abstract: Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil is the primary cause of CO2 emissions. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere as a result of this. Neither CO2 has any colour or smell. It is created by plants through the natural process of photosynthesis and is necessary for life on Earth. CO2 enters the atmosphere as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels. Due to the low solubility of CO2 in water, it is difficult to detect CO2 at sea since it does not dissolve readily in saltwater. Removing CO2 from the atmosphere has several positive effects for civilization as a whole, but it also has numerous negative effects. These issues will be looked at in this article, along with a potential solutions for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Direct air capture is undoubtedly the strategy that has the best chance of eliminating carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This entails directly removing CO2 from the air via a chemical process and storing it as a liquid or solid. Direct air capture is undoubtedly the strategy that has the best chance of eliminating carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

How does market-oriented allocation of industrial land affect carbon emissions? Evidence from China

Industrial land serves as the fundamental basis for urban economic development and significantly contributes to carbon emissions. Effective market mechanisms are crucial for reducing carbon emissions. As such, investigating the impact of market-oriented allocation of industrial land (MAIL) on carbon emissions and its pathways is of substantial practical importance for global low-carbon development. This study constructs a theoretical framework examining the influence of MAIL on carbon emissions, focusing on 285 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2020. The spatial econometric model is employed to analyze the impact of MAIL on carbon emissions. The results show that: first, from a national perspective, MAIL not only reduces carbon emissions within a region but also in neighboring regions. Higher MAIL leads to more effective carbon emission reductions, which are persistent and hysteresis in time. Path analysis demonstrates that MAIL reduces carbon emissions by promoting industrial upgrading and technological innovation. Second, there are differences in the timeliness of carbon emission reduction effects in cities of different scales and regions. For cities of different scales, the carbon reduction effect of MAIL is more stable in large and medium cities compared to megacities and small cities, but in the short term, MAIL will hinder the industrial upgrading of megacities and thus is not conducive to carbon reduction. For different regional cities, the carbon reduction effect of MAIL is more stable in other regions except northeast region, and in the short term, MAIL will inhibit technological innovation in northeast region, which is not conducive to carbon reduction. Consequently, it is essential not only to design a top-level reform plan for MAIL in China but also to establish differentiated reform policies for MAIL, tailored to the unique characteristics of cities with different scales and regions, to effectively reduce carbon emissions.

The Impact of Ecological Governance on Industrial Structure Upgrading under the Dual Carbon Target

Under China’s goal of “carbon neutrality”, appropriate ecological governance is crucial for upgrading the industrial structure, and too strict or loose governance will have a negative effect. In order to find the optimal range for ecological governance efforts, the concept of the industrial low-carbon index was defined based on the comparison of industrial carbon emissions and output value. The industrial structure was measured from two dimensions: overall upgrading and internal optimization of the industry. We innovatively use multiple indicators to represent the core explanatory variables and use the coefficient of variation method to calculate them. A threshold regression model for ecological governance and industrial structure based on the above indicator system was built, using indicator data from 288 cities in China over the past 15 years for empirical analysis. The study found that (1) ecological governance has a threshold effect on the overall upgrading and internal optimization of the industrial structure, and overall efforts need to be increased for ecological governance; (2) the governance intensity for different cities needs to be determined according to their economic levels and local conditions; and (3) the industrial structure gap among cities will gradually narrow, and the overall development tends to be balanced.

A prospective approach to separate industrial carbon dioxide and flue gases

ABSTRACT As the industrial revolution progresses, carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are major concerns because they are the main contributors to greenhouse gases. The concentration of these harmful gases in the industry is very high, which is emitted by workers and industrial materials. Therefore, it is required to maintain a safe percentage of CO2, SO2, and other harmful gases in the air of industry and ensure safety from fire accidents. This paper presents a compressor driven system that could capture harmful gases including CO2 and SO2 from the polluted air of different industries and households. The captured and separated CO2 works as a fire extinguishing agent to safeguard fire accidents for large industries and households. Thus, this system ensures a protected working place and a healthy atmosphere for industrial workers. Besides, this system can be applied in place of the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system in small industries and for a four-wheeler, internal combustion engine, as this system could capture and separate the harmful carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. This paper also presents a developed model of different polymeric membranes to simulate the separation of carbon dioxide after the post-combustion process. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has been performed by COMSOL 5.5 to observe the carbon dioxide separation by polymeric membranes like polycarbonate (0.07 mol/m3) and polytetrafluoroethylene (0.1 mol/m3) polymeric membranes for specific pore sizes which is comparable to experimental data (0.05 mol/m3).

CO2-Philic Imidazolium-Based Poly(Ionic Liquid) Composite Membranes for Enhanced CO2/N2 Separation

Poly(ionic liquid) (PIL)-based membranes for CO2 removal attract increased interest due to the tunability of their chemical structure and processability of polymers. In this work, the IL cation of 1-vinylimidazole was selected as the polymeric backbone to connect the cyano- and carboxyl-based side chains to explore their effects. The synthesized PILs were blended with polyacrylamide (PAM) to prepare composite membranes by coating the mixed solutions on polysulfone (PSF) membranes. The CO2 permeance and CO2/N2 selectivity of these prepared PIL-based membranes were tested to evaluate their CO2 separation performance. The results demonstrate that the cyano-based side chain showed better CO2 separation performance compared to a carboxyl-based side chain of PILs. The best membrane performance for CO2 permeance increased by 200% and CO2/N2 selectivity increased by 195%. Here, the prepared PIL-based membranes provide a potential prospect for improving the CO2 separation performance by adjusting the chemical structure of PILs. However, optimization related to cation, anion, and side chain groups should be conducted to break through the CO2/N2 separation performance for industrial carbon capture.

Turning black to green: Circular economy of industrial carbon emissions

Industrial carbon emissions represent both a problem and an opportunity. As part of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) strategies, they can be used as raw materials to produce value-added products. Depending on the final product, the CCU approach could delay, reduce, or completely eliminate carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Although technically feasible, the barriers to commercial sustainability of such low-carbon or net-zero circular economy models are not sufficiently explored in the literature. To bridge this gap to a certain extent, I will discuss five key areas where circular economy-based CCU ecosystems producing net-zero synthetic fuels face challenges: supply-chain security, value-chain innovation, stakeholder cooperation, supply–demand market dynamics, and policy and regulation. To overcome some of these challenges, I will share opinions on how collaboration between government, private investors, and industries could help in developing relevant policies to close cost gaps in the short- and medium-term. Finally, I will explain how public–private partnership models could be used to pool resources, share risks, and how regulatory de-risking could be used to promote alignment between regulation and private investor for circular economy-based CCU projects for producing net-zero methanol.