Industrial Park In Taiwan Research Articles

Multivariate analysis of carcinogenic equivalence (CEQ) to characterize carcinogenic VOC emissions in a typical petrochemical industrial park in Taiwan

Large industrial emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the petrochemical industry are a critical concern due to their potential carcinogenicity. VOC emissions vary in composition depending on the source and occur in mixtures containing compounds with varying degrees of toxicity. We proposed the use of carcinogenic equivalence (CEQ) and multivariate analysis to identify the major contributors to the carcinogenicity of VOC emissions. This method weights the carcinogenicity of each VOC by using a ratio of its cancer slope factor to that of benzene, providing a carcinogenic equivalence factor (CEF) for each VOC. We strategically selected a petrochemical industrial park in southern Taiwan that embodies the industry's comprehensive nature and serves as a representative example. The CEQs of different emission sources in three years were analyzed and assessed using principal component analysis (PCA) to characterize the major contributing sectors, vendors, sources, and species for the carcinogenicity of VOC emissions. Results showed that while the study site exhibited a 20.7 % (259.8 t) decrease in total VOC emissions in three years, the total CEQ emission only decreased by 4.5 % (15.9 t), highlighting a potential shift in the emitted VOC composition towards more carcinogenic compounds. By calculating CEQ followed by PCA, the important carcinogenic VOC emission sources and key compounds were identified. More importantly, the study compared three approaches: CEQ followed by PCA, PCA followed by CEQ, and PCA only. While the latter two methods prioritized sources based on emission quantities, potentially overlooking less abundant but highly carcinogenic compounds, the CEQ-first approach effectively identified vendors and sources with the most concerning cancer risks. This distinction underscores the importance of selecting the appropriate analysis method based on the desired focus. Our study highlighted how prioritizing CEQ within the analysis framework empowered the development of precise control measures that address the most carcinogenic VOC sources.

Characteristics and influencing factors of economic resilience in industrial parks

Economic resilience has been a popular issue in recent years. Along with the consideration of severe shocks caused by the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and globalization of industry and the upgradation of knowledge and technology, economic resilience has brought in much attention. About 50 years of development of planned industrial parks in Taiwan has resulted in considerable economic scale; however, due to changes in interior demands and the exterior environment with time, rearrangement and industrial transformation have made the development of industrial parks difficult. Accordingly, the resilience of planned industrial parks in Taiwan, when encountering a variety of shocks, need to be reviewed and examined. This study selects 12 planned industrial parks from Tainan and Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan, as subjects and had a complete understanding of economic resilience and factors that influence economic resilience from literature reviews. Four quadrant model constituted by the indicators of economic resistance and recovery as well as discriminant analysis are implemented to analyze the resilience of industrial parks with different backgrounds and various shocks, as well as the elements influencing the resilience. Analytical results indicate that planned industrial parks with industrial structures based on specialized variety or with a steady input of knowledge and innovation to research and development benefited the industrial parks in better resilience, while complete infrastructure planning and governance are fundamental conditions for resilience.

ESG-Based Performance Assessment of the Operation and Management of Industrial Parks in Taiwan

The development of industrial parks plays an important role in the economic development of developed and developing countries, but it has recently been affected by globalization and the rise of environmental protection awareness, as 2050 net-zero carbon emissions are being pursued by the world’s major economies. To make their development more sustainable, this study evaluates the operational management performance of industrial parks in Taiwan from the perspective of ESG, to inform future industrial development strategies and policy research. First, 61 industrial parks managed by the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) were selected and underwent a fuzzy Delphi expert questionnaire to screen the ESG-oriented performance indicators; performance was evaluated through the data envelopment analysis (DEA) undesirable outputs model and the window analysis method. The results indicate that the New Taipei Industrial Park performed best in terms of ESG, followed by the Feng-Shan and Anping industrial parks, with the worst performance from the Mei-Lun, Yun-Lin Island, and Hu-Pin industrial parks. Regarding factors affecting the performance of operation management, a Mann–Whitney U test showed that the northern industrial parks performed significantly better than those in the eastern region, those in the municipalities significantly outperformed the nonmunicipalities, and the industrial parks with more clustered industries and those in areas with convenient transportation performed substantially better. Finally, this study summarizes the important issues facing Taiwan’s industrial parks, and it makes policy recommendations, including promoting ESG sustainable development objectives in their operation and management, as well as increasing the investment of government resources and the clustering of industries and transportation.

Measuring the Operational Efficiency and the Water Resources Management Efficiency for Industrial Parks: Empirical Study of Industrial Parks in Taiwan

The efficiency of an industrial park’s operations is an indicator of how well the park can serve the companies located there. These supports include support for environmental water resources and business operations. In this study, a model for measuring water resources management efficiency is developed at the conceptual level using the management mindset of relative efficiency and management by objectives, and a modified Delphi method is used to determine the feasibility of a measurement model for water resources management efficiency. Furthermore, DEA data envelopment analysis was used to analyze the overall operational efficiency of the park. The results of the study showed that the model developed in this study for measuring water resources efficiency is of practical use. In addition, water resource management efficiency can be used as an indicator to assist in the determination of the operating efficiency of the industrial park when it is derived from the DEA analysis. In this study, among the 31 industrial parks in Taiwan, the operating efficiency values were classified into four categories, and the results show that the operating efficiency of most of the industrial parks need to be improved.

Determinants of pro-environmental behavior among excessive smartphone usage children and moderate smartphone usage children in Taiwan.

IntroductionAlthough there is evidence linking the relationships between smartphone usage with health, stress, and academic performance, there is still inadequate knowledge about the influence on pro-environmental behaviors. This study seeks to bridge this gap by adapting the theory of attribution framework to examine the effects of personal norms, social norms, perceived behavioral control on pro-environmental behavior of smartphone usage in children.MethodsA total of 225 children aged between 11 to 12 from eight selected public primary schools at the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan were surveyed. Two distinct groups (excessive versus moderate usage) were purposefully selected for comparison, of which 96 participants were excessive smartphone users while the remaining 129 were moderate smartphone users.ResultsFindings revealed significant differences between excessive and moderate smartphone usage children groups in personal norms (p < 0.001), social norms (p = 0.002), perceived behavioral control (p = 0.001), and pro-environmental behavior (p = 0.001). Findings for excessive smartphone usage children showed that social norms (β = 0.428, t = 4.096***, p < 0.001) had a direct predictive impact on pro-environmental behavior. In contrast, while there was no direct path established between personal norms and pro-environmental behavior (β = 0.177, t = 1.580, p > 0.05), as well as social norms and pro-environmental behavior for moderate smartphone usage children (β = 0.181, t = 1.924, p > 0.05), but such a relationship could be developed through the mediating effect of perceived behavioral control (β = 0.497, t = 4.471***, p < 0.001).DiscussionThe results suggested that excessive smartphone usage children lack positive perceived behavioral control, and their pro-environmental behavior could only be predicted through explicit social norms, whereas pro-environmental behavior of moderate smartphone usage children was implicitly influenced by personal norms through perceived behavioral control.

Preliminary Evaluation of Potential Induced Seismicity Risk at a Nearshore Carbon Storage Candidate Site

Seismicity or microseismicity events induced by geologic carbon storage (GCS) operations are a major concern for a carbon storage project. The level of induced seismicity risk can be evaluated prior to the site operation and well managed during the injection stage through carefully designed operational procedures and monitoring programs. In this study, we developed a coupled hydro-mechanical model to evaluate the potential induced seismicity risk for carbon storage in a deep saline aquifer at a nearshore candidate site located in a coastal industrial park in Taiwan. For considering the uncertainty of site geology and operations, various geologic and injection scenarios were simulated to obtain the possible ranges of pressure buildup and stress change at the nearest major fault for the site as well as the estimated impact area of the site. In this study, the numerical simulations were carried out by the GEM simulator. The GHG and rock mechanical modules were coupled in the GEM simulator to simulate the simultaneous fluid flow and rock deformation caused by CO2 injection. Several CO2 injection scenarios were simulated using the GEM simulator to obtain the pressure and CO2 plume distributions due to the injection activity. The calculated values of pressure and CO2 saturation were then used to estimate the possible impact locations in the reservoir and compared with the previous study results of injectivity risk. At this candidate site, the nearest major fault, about 17 km far from the injection well, was selected for the preliminary induced seismicity risk evaluation. One million metric tons of CO2 were injected annually by 1-km horizontal well for a period of 50 years with a post-injection observation period of 450 years. In addition to the pressure buildup, the indicators of the potential induced seismicity risk, including stress responses and rock deformation, were estimated using the coupled geomechanical model. The results show that even if the large injection and high response scenario is considered, the simulated CO2 plume is mostly centered around the injection well, gradually spreading upward and moving toward the north-western due to the geologic formation structure. As expected, the corresponding maximum pressure and stress changes occur at the injection well, and the pressure and the effective stress responses propagate further away from the injection well, compared with the CO2 plume. Our highest-risk scenario shows that the pressure increases by about 20 percent at the injection well area while the pressure increases only about 1 percent at the major fault. The values of maximum change in the maximum and minimum principal stresses are -3300 kPa and -1700 kPa, respectively, all occurred around the injection well. The maximum vertical displacement is around 1.2 cm, located close to the bottom of the caprock, and there is very tiny displacement occurred at the location of the fault. Therefore, we suggest that if the operations, such as injection pressure and injection rate, can be properly managed at the source injection well, the GCS induced pressure and stress changes at the fault will remain very low.

Research on eco-efficiency of industrial parks in Taiwan

In the current global industrial development trend, creating economic benefits is no longer the sole objective of industrial development. Increasing emphasis is being placed to the concept of compatible and perpetual development of economy, environment, and society, and it has begun to advocate using “eco-efficiency” to measure the relation between economic value and environmental impact. Furthermore, the eco-industrial park has also become the best channel for realizing industrial perpetual development. Looking back on the development path of the industrial park in Taiwan, over the decade of building eco-industrial parks, we have attached more importance to building Recycling Eco-Town-and-Country as our industrial development vision on a macroscopic level, besides our efforts in the industrial ecology on microscopic and intermediate levels. Local and international policy recommendations have also called for the eco-efficiency of industrial parks. Through reviewing literature, that past indicative system and evaluation method for the eco-efficiency, without considering the three aspects of sustainability, is not applicable for the comparison between industrial parks. Therefore, the research aims to demonstrate the sustainability of the industrial park through a set of objective and comprehensive evaluation model.This research aims to build an economy and environment eco-efficiency measurement model. The research evaluates the industrial eco-efficiency based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model by using panel date of 60 industrial parks in Taiwan, assessing the Technical Efficiency(TE), Pure Technical Efficiency(PTE) and Scale Efficiency(SE), and taking regional exploration and comparison.According to the research result, there remains a big improvement space for many industrial parks about eco-efficiency. Overall, in the event of excessive power consumption, only 15 industrial parks have reached the most appropriate scale and developed relative eco-efficiency; other industrial parks are all in an inefficient status and require identifying possible improvement directions and degrees through slack variable analysis, making improvement strategy to enhance their eco-efficiency.

Evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions from industrial parks using criteria air pollutants: a case study of Taiwan

An innovative greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory using criteria air pollutants (CAPs) was constructed to evaluate GHG emissions from industrial parks. The inventory included both on- (CAPs from air quality monitoring stations) and off-site GHG emissions from waste generation, wastewater treatment, electricity consumption and transportation. According to the inventory, the total GHG emissions from the industrial parks in Taiwan were ranged from 899.41 to 1,329.69 ppmv CO2-eq yr–1 for on-site emissions and 2.19 × 104 to 1.22 × 107 t CO2-eq yr–1 for off-site emissions. Electricity consumption was the most important factor contributing to higher GHG emissions in the industrial parks. Methane was found to contribute the highest GHG emissions in the wastewater treated. GHG emissions from transportation can be expected to undergo a 1.9–15.4% reduction from the industrial parks in this study. The results of this study have great implications for low-carbon development in other industrial parks worldwide.

Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Industrial Parks Using Criteria Air Pollutants: A Case Study of Taiwan

An innovative greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory using criteria air pollutants (CAPs) was constructed to evaluate GHG emissions from industrial parks. The inventory included both on- (CAPs from air quality monitoring stations) and off-site GHG emissions from waste generation, wastewater treatment, electricity consumption and transportation. According to the inventory, the total GHG emissions from the industrial parks in Taiwan were ranged from 899.41 to 1,329.69 ppmv CO2-eq yr–1 for on-site emissions and 2.19 × 104 to 1.22 × 107 t CO2-eq yr–1 for off-site emissions. Electricity consumption was the most important factor contributing to higher GHG emissions in the industrial parks. Methane was found to contribute the highest GHG emissions in the wastewater treated. GHG emissions from transportation can be expected to undergo a 1.9–15.4% reduction from the industrial parks in this study. The results of this study have great implications for low-carbon development in other industrial parks worldwide.

The influences of cognition of institutional logics and triple helix relations on innovation performance: An empirical study of firms in industrial park in Taiwan

Abstract. The present study set out to investigate into the influences of cognition of institutional logics and triple helix relationships (i.e., the industry-university-government linkages) on firm innovation performance in the context of Taiwan industrial parks. The data from 131 organizational-level questionnaires collected from firms located in different industrial parks were analyzed. The results showed that cognition of institutional logics is positively associated with firms’ innovation performance. Furthermore, such positive relationship is strengthened by the number of triple helix relationships in the form of mediation but not moderation effect. Theoretical and practical implications were elaborated. Keywords. Cognition of institutional logics, Triple helix, Innovation performance, Industrial park. JEL. M10, M14.

Physical Outdoor Activity versus Indoor Activity: Their Influence on Environmental Behaviors.

There are strong evidences linking physical outdoor activity and health benefits; however, little is known about the impact on environmental behaviors. Thus, this study aims to close this gap by investigating the influence of physical outdoor activity on environmental behaviors. A total of 416 surveys were distributed to students in eight public primary schools located near the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in Taiwan. Findings from the analysis revealed that subjective norms had a more influential effect on environmental behaviors for participants who engaged in physical activity at outdoor parks. In contrast, descriptive norms had a direct predictive impact on environmental behaviors for participants whose main physical activity venue was at the indoor after-school centers. Research results also highlighted attitude as the strongest predictive variable influence on environmental behaviors for children who engaged in physical indoor and outdoor activities.

Developments in interactive relationships and knowledge between KIBS firms and their clients in Taiwan

Researchers have in the last decade highlighted the increasing importance and continuing expansion of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in developed economies. This study investigates the role of KIBS in the evolution of an innovation system. Interactions between KIBS firms and their clients, and the roles of KIBS in these interactions, are analyzed by examining the evolution of local innovation systems in the Hsinchu and Tainan Science-Based Industrial Parks in Taiwan. Analytical results reveal that cumulative interactions have raised demand for and reliance upon KIBS, and have increased the need for specialized support with various functions. Consequently, KIBS firms are becoming increasingly important in the industrial interface by gradually transforming from being primarily knowledge carriers into influential and symbiotic partners of their clients.

Performance of electrodialysis reversal and reverse osmosis for reclaiming wastewater from high-tech industrial parks in Taiwan: A pilot-scale study

Wastewater reclamation is considered an absolute necessity in Taiwan, as numerous industrial parks experience water shortage. However, the water quality of secondary treated effluents from sewage treatment plants generally does not meet the requirements of industrial water use because of the high inorganic constituents. This paper reports experimental data from a pilot-plant study of two treatment processes—(i) fiber filtration (FF)-ultrafiltration (UF)-reverse osmosis (RO) and (ii) sand filtration (SF)—electrodialysis reversal (EDR)—for treating industrial high conductivity effluents from the Xianxi wastewater treatment plant in Taiwan. The results demonstrated that FF-UF was excellent for turbidity removal and it was a suitable pretreatment process for RO. The influence of two membrane materials on the operating characteristics and process stability of the UF process was determined. The treatment performance of FF-UF-RO was higher than that of SF-EDR with an average desalination rate of 97%, a permeate conductivity of 272.7 ± 32.0, turbidity of 0.183 ± 0.02 NTU and a chemical oxigen demand of <4.5 mg/L. The cost analysis for both processes in a water reclamation plant of 4000 m3/d capacity revealed that using FF-UF-RO had a lower treatment cost than using SF-EDR, which required activated carbon filtration as a post treatment process. On the basis of the results in this study, the FF-UF-RO system is recommended as a potential process for additional applications.

Robust economic optimization and environmental policy analysis for microgrid planning: An application to Taichung Industrial Park, Taiwan

This study aims to provide economical and environmentally friendly solutions for a microgrid system with distributed energy resources in the design stage, considering multiple uncertainties during operation and conflicting interests among diverse microgrid stakeholders. For the purpose, we develop a multi-objective optimization model for robust microgrid planning, on the basis of an economic robustness measure, i.e. the worst-case cost among possible scenarios, to reduce the variability among scenario costs caused by uncertainties. The efficacy of the model is successfully demonstrated by applying it to Taichung Industrial Park in Taiwan, an industrial complex, where significant amount of greenhouse gases are emitted. Our findings show that the most robust solution, but the highest cost, mainly includes 45% (26.8 MW) of gas engine and 47% (28 MW) of photovoltaic panel with the highest system capacity (59 MW). Further analyses reveal the environmental benefits from the significant reduction of the expected annual CO2 emission and carbon tax by about half of the current utility facilities in the region. In conclusion, the developed model provides an efficient decision-making tool for robust microgrid planning at the preliminary stage.

Groundwater Molybdenum from Emerging Industries in Taiwan

This study determined the influence of emerging industries development on molybdenum (Mo) groundwater contamination. A total of 537 groundwater samples were collected for Mo determination, including 295 samples from potentially contaminated areas of 3 industrial parks in Taiwan and 242 samples from non-potentially contaminated areas during 2008-2014. Most of the high Mo samples are located downstream from a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel factory. Mean groundwater Mo concentrations from potentially contaminated areas (0.0058mg/L) were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those from non-potentially contaminated areas (0.0022mg/L). The highest Mo wastewater concentrations in the effluent from the optoelectronics industry and following wastewater batch treatment were 0.788 and 0.0326mg/L, respectively. This indicates that wastewater containing Mo is a possible source of both groundwater and surface water contamination. Nine samples of groundwater exceed the World Health Organization's suggested drinking water guideline of 0.07mg/L. A non-carcinogenic risk assessment for Mo in adults and children using the Mo concentration of 0.07mg/L yielded risks of 0.546 and 0.215, respectively. These results indicate the importance of the development of a national drinking water quality standard for Mo in Taiwan to ensure safe groundwater for use. According to the human health risk calculation, the groundwater Mo standard is suggested as 0.07mg/L. Reduction the discharge of Mo-contaminated wastewater from factories in the industrial parks is also the important task in the future.

How to facilitate inter-organizational knowledge sharing: The impact of trust

In this era of the network economy, inter-organizational knowledge sharing is one key driving force required to streamline value chain activities and maximize operational benefits. Knowledge sharing can be realized when the involved business partners successfully develop trust and build long-term partnerships. In this study, a model of knowledge sharing across the supply chain is constructed. Factors such as shared goals, social relational embeddedness, and influence strategy are investigated to determine whether they act as major driving forces to develop inter-organizational trust among the various supply chain members. The survey is based on 226 managers located in major industrial parks in Taiwan; the results suggest that trust is enforced when organizations develop shared goals, form social relational embeddedness, and initiate influence strategies. In addition, inter-organizational trust leads to better inter-organizational collaboration and knowledge sharing. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Enhancing total nitrogen removal from wastewater of a science and industrial park using entrapped biomass

This study employed entrapped biomass technology to augment the conventional activated sludge process with anoxic–oxic (AO)/anaerobic–anoxic–oxic (A2O) functions for the removal of total nitrogen (TN) from wastewater of a science and industrial park in Taiwan. The entrapped biomass unit was fabricated in the format of carrier plates on which microbial cells were entrapped. Due to mass transport limitations, anoxic and anaerobic conditions were created within the bioplates that enabled denitrification to occur. The treatment basin incorporated an equivalent amount of 1300–2400 mg MLSS/L of activated sludge on the bioplates at packing ratios of 10–30% (volume ratio of bioplates to basin) operating with the addition of sodium carbonate for alkalinity and methanol for the electron donor. The results showed nearly 90% of ammonia nitrogen being converted to nitrate and 63% of TN removal, in comparison with typically 10% of TN removal in traditional activated sludge process of domestic wastewater plants.

Knowledge intensive business services and client innovation

Innovative activities, driven by a knowledge economy era, globalization, and pressure of global competition, have profoundly impacted local economies since the late 1980s. Relevant studies in the recent decade have gradually emphasized the increasing importance and continuous expansion of knowledge intensive business services in current economic development. This topic represents a major trend impacting industrialized economies. Therefore, this study elucidates the roles and functions of knowledge intensive business services as an area innovation system evolves. Exactly how technology-based firms and knowledge intensive business services interact with each other, as well as the roles of knowledge intensive business services, is also analyzed by examining how the area innovation system centered in Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park in Taiwan has evolved. Results of this study demonstrate that knowledge intensive business services function in an intermediary role in the innovation system. These services enhance their customers’ capacity for specialization, subsequently improving their evolutionary capabilities and producing tangible innovative cycles.

Assessment of Aquifer Salinization Beneath an Offshore Industrial Park Based on Solute Transport Calculation

The purpose of this study is to assess aquifer salinization in the coastal area of an Offshore Industrial Park in Taiwan. Study area belongs to the new Delta Holocene alluvium, which is composed of clay, silt, sand, gravel and their mixture. Groundwater quality measurements including electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, chloride and sulfate were used as indicator to evaluate aquifer salinization. Regional groundwater flows from the middle of study area to the embracing beach, which is the typical island-type-like distribution of groundwater lens. Temporal variations of chloride concentrations in monitoring wells were simulated based on the calculation of solute transport. The simulation result matched with the observation that rainfall leaching could cause dilution of chloride concentration and lessen aquifer salinization. Solute exchange at the interface of fresh water and saline water strongly affected desalinization rate in groundwater, and thus desalinization rate was dependent on its distance from the seashore. According to the calculation of solute transport, it might take about 14 years for complete desalinization through continual rainfall leaching.

Methodology and System of Total Quantity and Sustainability Management for Industrial Parks

Although they create considerable economic benefits, industrial parks emit tremendous amounts of pollution and consume significant environmental resources. This investigation examines problems associated with managing an industrial park. It begins by defining an industrial park system and its sustainability. Next, using systems thinking, managing for results, driving-force-pressure-state-impact-response, and system dynamics, we develop a management framework and an indicator system. A framework with triple decision layers is established to link the management of an industrial park with its manufactories. Based on this framework, proposed indicators and their driving force–pressure–state–impact–response relationships are integrated into an optimization model to maximize sustainability, so that sustainability of an industrial park is assessed as total quantity management is performed. A prototype of a total quantity and sustainability management strategy for industrial parks is developed, based on a geographic information system, Visual Basic, and Microsoft Excel. Effectiveness of the proposed methodology and system is demonstrated in a case study of Jhongli Industrial Park in Taiwan. Analytical results demonstrate that management strategies for Jhongli Industrial Park as a whole and for its manufactories can be implemented simultaneously. Furthermore, the critical factor for trading environmental, social, and economic influences to optimize sustainability can be obtained by performing a sensitivity analysis. Analytical results indicate that the proposed methodology and total quantity sustainability management system can assist administrative organizations in developing practical strategies for managing total quantities of pollution discharge and resource use of an industrial park.