Intensive Industries Research Articles

Decarbonizing the cement industry: Findings from coupling prospective life cycle assessment of clinker with integrated assessment model scenarios

In the race to achieve global climate neutrality, carbon intensive industries like the clinker and cement industry are required to decarbonize rapidly. The environmental impacts related to potential transition pathways to low-carbon systems can be evaluated using prospective life cycle assessment (pLCA). This study conducts a pLCA for future global clinker production, integrating long-term transition pathways from the IMAGE integrated assessment model (IAM) to maintain global consistency. It systematically modifies the ecoinvent v3.9.1 database using the Python library premise to create future database versions representing future clinker production embedded in a future economy according to a 3.5°C-baseline, a 2°C-compliant and a 1.5°C-compliant scenario. Our study indicates that climate change impacts of clinker production may decrease from about 1.03 kg CO2-eq/kg clinker in 2020 to 0.94 (3.5°C-baseline), 0.20 (2°C-compliant), and 0.16 (1.5°C-compliant) kg CO2-eq/kg clinker in 2060 for the global average. This corresponds to a 10% (3.5°C-baseline), 81% (2°C-compliant) and 84% (1.5°C-compliant) decrease by 2060 compared to 2020. Under these scenarios, global clinker production alone would require 5%–11% of the remaining end-of-century carbon budget for the 2 °C and 1.5 °C-target, respectively. While the climate change impacts are substantially reduced, our study also indicates that the transition pathways shift the burden towards other impact categories, such as ionizing radiation, ozone depletion, material resources and land use. Developing IAM-compatible scenarios for more product groups helps to increase the coherence of pLCA studies. As this study is based on an IAM heavily reliant on carbon capture and storage and bioenergy, future research should explore the effects of different technology pathways and alternative mitigation strategies.

Hydrogels Based on Chitosan and Nanoparticles and Their Suitability for Dyes Adsorption from Aqueous Media: Assessment of the Last-Decade Progresses.

Water is one of the fundamental resources for the existence of humans and the environment. Throughout time, due to urbanization, expanding population, increased agricultural production, and intense industrialization, significant pollution with persistent contaminants has been noted, placing the water quality in danger. As a consequence, different procedures and various technologies have been tested and used in order to ensure that water sources are safe for use. The adsorption process is often considered for wastewater treatment due to its straightforward design, low investment cost, availability, avoidance of additional chemicals, lack of undesirable byproducts, and demonstrated significant efficacious potential for treating and eliminating organic contaminants. To accomplish its application, the need to develop innovative materials has become an essential goal. In this context, an overview of recent advances in hydrogels based on chitosan and nanocomposites and their application for the depollution of wastewater contaminated with dyes is reported herein. The present review focuses on (i) the challenges raised by the synthesis process and characterization of the different hydrogels; (ii) the discussion of the impact of the main parameters affecting the adsorption process; (iii) the understanding of the adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamic behavior; and (iv) the examination of the possibility of recycling and reusing the hydrogels.

Między odrzuceniem a uznaniem: podejście do dziedzictwa niemieckiego w Katowicach i Metzu

Katowice and Metz were subject to intensive urbanisation and industrialisation from the second half of the 19th century until the beginning of the First World War. The German authorities were the initiator of the dynamic development of both these cities. The effects of these activities are still visible in the cities’ urban spaces, and constitute part of the cultural heritage. As such, they are becoming a part of the identity narratives jointly shaping the contemporary visions of the cities. Questions posed by this article include that concerning the place that traces of this “German” past occupy in the collective consciousness of these cities’ residents. What processes and stages allowed the gradual integration of these “traces” into the residents’ overall tangible and intangible collective memory? Which social groups, institutions, and organisations are the bearers of the memory of this part of the past? And finally, what needs to be done for German heritage to cease being a difficult heritage, and what role could reference to European heritage play here?

Trade Policy and Productivity Growth: Why Do Sudanese Manufacturing Firms Export Less

This paper aims to study the role of trade policy on industrial development and productivity growth. We analyze the relationship between trade policy and productivity growth of manufacturing firms in Sudan. For this work, we evaluate the previous trade policy instruments that implemented between 2000 and 2022. The study finds that Sudan’s trade policy has significant positive effects on manufacturing firms’ productivity. The study reveals that manufacturing firms offer the largest scope for productivity gains through trade policies aiming at enhancing economic growth. The study also found there was a weak support for investment promotion and tariff protection. This study recommends that building a proper trade policy to support manufacturing firms and adopt new technologies and focusing on labor intensive industries are the key success to sustain productivity growth and enable manufacturing firms’ export.

Corporate digital transformation and supply chain synergy effects

This paper investigates the impact of individual enterprises' digital transformation on the digital transformation level of upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain. The findings indicate that corporate digital transformation significantly enhances the digital transformation level of upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain, demonstrating a synergy effect. Further analysis reveals that the supply chain synergy effect of corporate digital transformation is more pronounced in samples with intense industry competition and high supply chain concentration.

Unleashing China's coal conservation potentials by analyzing efficiency of energy intensive industries: A Logarithm Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model

Considering China's ambitions for carbon peaking as of 2030 to ensure environmental protection and energy security, the present study is intended to explore sustainable pathways to reduce coal consumption by enhancing energy efficiency. The current article estimates coal consumption efficiency and radial super-efficiency by applying DEA-CCR and radial super-efficiency models. In the second stage, the Logarithm Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) and DEA-Malmquist models were used to explore the components of coal consumption in China's six key energy-intensive industries from 2000 to 2020. Findings indicate that (1) there is a substantial coal consumption efficiency gap among these industries, and they are working well below the production frontier. (2) Findings of DEA-Malmquist indicate that technological changes positively contributed to total productivity changes, while technical efficiency negatively impacted coal consumption growth. (3) The results of the LMDI model reveal that industrial output growth and structural changes are the key factors accelerating coal consumption. In contrast, the coal intensity had deaccelerated the coal consumption in the energy intensive industries. The current study provides several policy proposals to enhance coal conservation and consumption efficiency to achieve the aspiring goals of sustainable development.

Product market competition and corporate maturity mismatch: evidence from China

ABSTRACT This paper studies the effect of product market competition on corporate maturity mismatch, aiming to show how market competition influences management decision-making in maturities of financing and investing. Using a sample of non-financial public firms in China over 2007–2021, we find that product market competition is positively associated with corporate maturity mismatch. The motivation for lowering debt costs and the deteriorated firm performance could be potential channels. The effect is more pronounced for non-state-owned firms, firms with higher risk-taking, internationalized firms, and firms in R&D-intensive industries. Firms’ competitive positions are negatively associated with maturity mismatch. Our findings highlight that competition could be an important determinant in maturity mismatch. This study enriches our understanding of maturity mismatch causes and the link to the external business environment and provides implications for management and policymaking.

HGX: the anatomy of high growth exporters

AbstractPrevious work has found that a small number of export superstars contribute disproportionally to the economy’s overall exports. Differently from export superstars, this study is the first to define high growth exporters (HGXs) (that are not export superstars) as a new firm category. We provide their economic importance and depict their micro-level anatomy. By tracking HGXs in Croatia for over a quarter of a century, 44 out of 100 export superstars in 2019 were previously HGXs. HGXs represent only 0.5% of all firms and 18% of high growth firms (HGFs) in the economy, but are responsible for about 25% of new exports and 5% of new jobs. During their growth episode, HGXs hire more employees from technology intensive industries with previous experience in exporting. They often hire on a single year work contract, and more frequently send new employees to work abroad. HGX also increase their presence in more advanced markets, increase the number of new export products and decrease their reliance on the largest product or largest export market. We argue HGXs represent an under-researched category of firms.

Innovation and Growth of a Socialist Economy: New Evidence from Revised Data

ABSTRACT State socialism failed due to its inner contradictions. We compare the two economies that existed in parallel in the two Germanies to shed light on the successes and failures of the socialist system of innovation until its collapse in 1989. Based on newly created indicators from archival data, we show that investments in R&D-intensive industries were much larger in comparison to economic performance in the last decades of the German Democratic Republic than in the Federal Republic of Germany. These achievements, however, could not be fully realized through economic growth due to obstacles related to research priorities, innovation incentives, and knowledge flow.

Global trade-driven transfer of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emissions and associated human inhalation exposure risk

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are of significant public concern because of their toxicity and long-range transport potential. Extensive studies have been conducted to explore the source-receptor relationships of PAHs via atmospheric transport. However, the transfer of trade-driven regional and global PAHs is poorly understood. This study estimated the virtual PAHs emission transfer embodied in global trade from 2004 to 2014 and simulated the impact of international trade on global contamination and associated human inhalation exposure risk of PAHs. Results show that trade-driven PAHs flowed primarily from developed to less-developed regions, particularly in those regions with intensive heavy industries and transportation. As the result, international trade resulted in an increasing risk of lung cancer induced by exposure to PAHs (27.8% in China, 14.7% in India, and 11.3% in Southeast Asia). In contrast, we found decreasing risks of PAHs-induced lung cancer in Western Europe (63.2%) and the United States (45.9%) in 2004. Our findings indicate that final demand and emission intensity are the key driving factors contributing to rising and falling consumption-based PAHs emissions and related health risk respectively. The results could provide a useful reference for global collaboration in the reduction of PAHs pollution and related health risks.

Strategy for Increasing Exports Through ICT Development and Potential Market Mapping: Case Study of Indonesia Labor Intensive Industries

Purpose: This research aims to specifically identify the role of ICT in the export performance of Indonesia's la-bor-intensive industries and Mapping potential market for Indonesia's labor-intensive industries export.
 Design/methodology/approach: The analysis was carried out by developing a gravity model and estimated using the Pseudo Poisson Maximum-Likelihood (PPML) and Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) methods as robust-ness tests.
 Findings: The estimation results show that ICT, both from the quantity aspect and the quality aspect, has a positive and significant impact on the volume of Indonesian exports. The results of this estimation have been proven to be consistent through several tests by controlling the problems of endogeneity, simultaneity, and auto-correlation.
 Research limitations/implications: The model developed in the study tends to interact with variables from both countries, namely Indonesia as an exporter country and a partner country for importing Indonesian products. The application of this kind of interaction causes the results of the interpretation to be unable to specifically explain the effect of variables in each country.
 Originality/value: This study discussed the impact of ICT through the quality and quantity aspects, this study also used product-level data, so the interpretation results more specifically explained the impact of ICT. Further analysis in this study also contributes significantly to identifying which partner has a potential market as the main destination of Indonesia's exports.

Farm Animal Welfare-From the Farmers' Perspective.

Improvements in the welfare of animals in the intensive production industries are increasingly being demanded by the public. Scientific methods of welfare improvement have been developed and are beginning to be used on farms, including those provided by precision livestock farming. The number of welfare challenges that animals are facing in the livestock production industries is growing rapidly, and farmers are a key component in attempts to improve welfare because their livelihood is at stake. The challenges include climate change, which not only exposes animals to heat stress but also potentially reduces forage and water availability for livestock production systems. Heat-stressed animals have reduced welfare, and it is important to farmers that they convert feed to products for human consumption less efficiently, their immune system is compromised, and both the quality of the products and the animals' reproduction are adversely affected. Livestock farmers are also facing escalating feed and fertiliser costs, both of which may jeopardise feed availability for the animals. The availability of skilled labour to work in livestock industries is increasingly limited, with rural migration to cities and the succession of older farmers uncertain. In future, high-energy and protein feeds are unlikely to be available in large quantities when required for the expanding human population. It is expected that livestock farming will increasingly be confined to marginal land offering low-quality pasture, which will favour ruminant livestock, at the expense of pigs and poultry unable to readily digest coarse fibre in plants. Farmers also face disease challenges to their animals' welfare, as the development of antibiotic resistance in microbes has heralded an era when we can no longer rely on antibiotics to control disease or improve the feed conversion efficiency of livestock. Farmers can use medicinal plants, pro-, pre- and synbiotics and good husbandry to help maintain a high standard of health in their animals. Loss of biodiversity in livestock breeds reduces the availability of less productive genotypes that survive better on nutrient-poor diets than animals selected for high productivity. Farmers have a range of options to help address these challenges, including changing to less intensive diets, diversification from livestock farming to other enterprises, such as cereal and pseudocereal crops, silvopastoral systems and using less highly selected breeds. These options may not always produce good animal welfare, but they will help to give farm animals a better life.

CO2 abatement feasibility for blast furnace CCUS retrofits in BF-BOF steel plants in China

As one of the energy and carbon intensive industries, the steel industry's low-carbon transition will contribute to the achievement of China's carbon neutrality goal. In this study, a comprehensive source-sink matching-trinomial tree real option evaluation model for China's steel industry was established by combining the database of carbon emissions from blast furnaces of BF-BOF process steel plants, and onshore and offshore CO2 storage potential and injection capacity rate database. By using this model, we investigate the CO2 abatement potential and investment decisions for blast furnace CCUS full-chain projects in China's BF-BOF process steel plants. The results show that a total of 420.07Mt/a of CO2 reductions can be achieved, attributed to 111 steel plants screened for source-sink matching. If no extra incentive policy was included, the current carbon market only supported immediate investment in 14 steel plant CCUS retrofit full-chain projects, which could achieve 36.47Mt/a of CO2 reductions, with a critical carbon price ranging from 6.96 to 202.98USD/t, averaged at 86.97 USD/t. Technological advances, rising carbon prices and government incentives would all contribute to the development of CCUS full-chain projects in the steel industry. The findings provide a strategy for the deployment of blast furnace CCUS retrofit in China's steel industry.

Microplastics Prevalence in Different Cetaceans Stranded along the Western Taiwan Strait.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution is of global concern, which poses serious threats to various marine organisms, including many threatened apex predators. In this study, MPs were investigated from nine cetaceans of four different species, comprising one common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), two pygmy sperm whales (Kogia breviceps), one ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens), and five Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) stranded along the western coast of the Taiwan Strait from the East China Sea based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. Mean abundances of 778 identified MPs items were 86.44 ± 12.22 items individual-1 and 0.43 ± 0.19 items g-1 wet weight of intestine contents, which were found predominantly to be transparent, fiber-shaped polyethylene terephthalate (PET) items usually between 0.5 and 5 mm. The abundance of MPs was found at a slightly higher level and significantly correlated with intestine contents mass (p = 0.0004*). The MPs source was mainly likely from synthetic fibers-laden sewage discharged from intense textile industries. Our report represents the first study of MPs in pelagic and deep-diving cetaceans in China, which not only adds baseline data on MPs for cetaceans in Asian waters but also highlights the further risk assessment of MPs consumption in these threatened species.

Analyzing energy intensity of Indian Chemical industry: A panel data approach

The chemical industry is directly or indirectly connected with almost every industrial process and holds a crucial place in the economic and social advancement of India. At the same time it is however, the second highest energy intensive industry in the country. Thus, we attempt to look into the factors that affect the energy intensity of Indian chemical industry. We collect a panel dataset including a total of 2613 chemical firms for the period 2010 to 2021 for our analysis. We carry out our empirical testing under both linear and non-linear framework by employing fixed effect regression and panel quantile regression methods respectively.We find that energy intensity for the sample chemical firms increases due to poor labour productivity, huge plant and machinery, outsourcing operations, and more use of IT-enabled services. On the other hand, use of better quality raw material and advanced technology can help optimising the energy intensity. We also discover that profitable firms and firms larger in size are energy efficient. Based on the findings, we suggest professional training programs and vocational skill development programs for enhancing labour productivity. Profitable firms are suggested to invest in technological up-gradation and energy saving technology. We believe the findings of the study can provide a portfolio of variables to the managers and policy makers in order to diversify their attention to find all possible ways to reduce energy intensity of the Indian chemical firms.

Energy and Emissions Intensive Industries (DOE)

Energy and Emissions Intensive Industries (DOE)

Contamination Status and Acute Dietary Exposure Assessment of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in Shellfish in the Dalian Area of the Yellow-Bohai Sea, China

The Yellow-Bohai Sea is an important semi-enclosed continental shelf marginal seas with an intensive aquaculture industry in China. The current study analyzed the contamination status and the time variations of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) in shellfish between 2019 and 2020 from the Yellow-Bohai Sea in the Dalian area and estimated the acute health risks to consumers in China. A total of 199 shellfish samples (including 34 Pacific oysters, 25 Mediterranean blue mussels, 34 Manila clams, 36 bay scallops, 34 veined rapa whelks and 36 bloody clams) were analyzed from four representative aquaculture zones around the Yellow-Bohai Sea in Dalian. Among the samples, scallops and blood clams were the shellfish species with the highest detection rate of PSTs (94.4%), and the highest level of PSTs was detected in scallops with 3953.5 μg STX.2HCl eq./kg (μg STX.2HCL equivalents per kg shellfish tissue), followed by blood clams with 993.4 μg STX.2HCl eq./kg. The contents of PSTs in shellfish showed a time variation trend, and autumn was the season of concern for PST contamination in Dalian. For general Chinese consumers, the probability of acute health risks to shellfish consumers from dietary exposure to PSTs was around 13%. For typical consumers in coastal areas of China, especially those with higher shellfish intake, there was an acute health risk associated with exposure to PSTs through shellfish consumption during the occurrence of harmful algal blooms. It is suggested that the government continue to strengthen the monitoring of the source of PSTs and the monitoring of harmful algal blooms and give reasonable advice on shellfish consumption for consumers in coastal areas, such as not eating scallop viscera.

Mercury distribution in the coastal zone of Central Chile, Southeast Pacific: A comprehensive assessment of seawater, sediment, and biota

This study examines the mercury content in the marine matrices water column, surface sediment and benthic invertebrates of Coronel and Coliumo bays, central Chile, under winter and summer conditions. Coronel Bay has been subject to intense industrialization in the last three decades, while Coliumo Bay remains as a fisherman's cove and a popular summer tourism destination. Our results reveal significantly higher mercury concentrations in the three environmental matrices analyzed for Coronel Bay, while Coliumo Bay exhibits levels within the range considered natural. Moreover, the mercury levels in Coronel Bay exceed the optimal criteria for aquatic life, indicating a deterioration in environmental quality of this locality. Industrial development is identified as main factor explaining the differences observed between these two coastal water bodies. This study presents the most updated record of mercury levels in the Southeast Pacific and represents the first comprehensive evaluation of marine environmental matrices in two bays with divergent activities.

Factors influencing US equity-crowdfunded companies’ ability to survive

ABSTRACT This study investigates the factors being associated with equity-crowdfunded companies’ likelihood of survival in the US. We focus on factors observable to crowdinvestors, either being set by entrepreneurs (signals) or being non-alterable (determinants), at least in the short run. Such observable factors at the time of crowdinvesting include company and campaign characteristics, growth potential, and company riskiness. Cox proportional hazards model is used on a sample of 429 US equity-crowdfunded companies. We find that 89% of the companies survived for a minimum of three years after a successfully funded initial equity offering. This survival rate is around ten percentage points higher than in Europe. We document that equity retention, funding goal, and current year revenue estimate are associated with the likelihood of building an enduring business. Higher proportion of equity offered to crowdinvestors signals lower investment quality and thus lower probability of survival. In contrast, companies with higher funding target and current year revenue have better prospects for survival after a successful equity offering. The funding goal affects the probability of survival through the capital intensity channel; if a company in a capital intense industry has been successfully funded, the threat from the competitors is lower given the high entry barriers.

EU-DEMO vacuum vessel port closure plate fastening developments

The EU-DEMO project, which has been in the Concept Design phase since 2021, is already focusing on the integration of the main system components but is also analysing variants to simplify this process. One of these is the fastening and sealing of vacuum vessel closures, known as port closure plates, in order to simplify the execution of the work with the aid of remote maintenance. Recognising the key role of industry, the fusion programme roadmap foresees intensive industry involvement in specific tasks. To provide a starting point for such collaboration, the Fusion Technology Department (FTD) has developed an initial design for a mechanical fastening solution based on the design of ship bulkhead doors. This could be combined with a welded seal, also developed to an early stage in FTD, which could cope with all load cases without additional measures. This system of easy to use fastening and reliable welded seal could be a significant simplification compared to other established technical solutions to this function. This paper presents the above issues and describes the current state of development. It also outlines initial plans to involve experienced industrial partners in these tasks.