Non-metallic Mineral Products Industry Research Articles

Analysis of the Potential Impacts on China’s Industrial Structure in Energy Consumption

Industrial structure is one of the main factors that determine energy consumption. Based on China’s energy consumption in 2015 and the goals in 13th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China (The 13th Five-Year Plan), this paper established an input–output fuzzy multi-objective optimization model to estimate the potential impacts of China’s industrial structure on energy consumption in 2015. Results showed that adjustments to industrial structure could save energy by 19% (1129.17 million ton standard coal equivalent (Mtce)). Second, China’s equipment manufacturing industry has a large potential to save energy. Third, the development of several high energy intensive and high carbon intensive sectors needs to be strictly controlled, including Sector 25 (electricity, heat production, and supply industry), Sector 11 (manufacture of paper and stationery, printing), and Sector 14 (non-metallic mineral products industry). Fourth, the territory industry in China has a great potential for energy saving, while its internal structure still needs to be upgraded. Finally, we provide policy suggestions that may be adopted to reduce energy consumption by adjusting China’s industrial structure.

Determinants of Electricity Demand in Nonmetallic Mineral Products Industry: Evidence from a Comparative Study of Japan and China

Electricity intensity is an important indicator for measuring production efficiency. A comparative study could offer a new perspective on investigating determinants of electricity demand. The Japanese non-metallic mineral products industry is chosen as the object for comparison considering its representative position in production efficiency. By adopting the cointegration model, this paper examines influencing factors of electricity demand in Japanese and Chinese non-metallic mineral products industries under the same framework. Results indicate that although economic growth and industrial development stages are different between the two countries, major factors that affect the sectoral energy consumption are the same. Specifically, economic growth and industrial activity contribute to the growth of sectoral electricity consumption, while R&D intensity, per capita productivity and electricity price are contributors to the decline of sectoral electricity consumption. Finally, in order to further investigate the development trend of sectoral electricity demand, future electricity consumption and conservation potential are predicted under different scenarios. Electricity demand of the Chinese non-metallic mineral products industry is predicted to be 680.53 TWh (terawatt-hours) in 2020 and the sectoral electricity conservation potentials are estimated to be 118.26 TWh and 216.25 TWh under the moderate and advanced electricity-saving scenarios, respectively.

Energy Consumption and Carbon Dioxide Emissions of China’s Non-Metallic Mineral Products Industry: Present State, Prospects and Policy Analysis

China is the largest non-metallic mineral producer in the world and one of the key consumers of four major non-metallic mineral products, including cement, refractories, plate glass and ceramics. The non-metallic mineral products industry’s rapid growth has brought about a large demand for energy. The present study provides an overview of China’s non-metallic mineral products industry in terms of production, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. In this industry, the energy efficiency is relatively low and the level of carbon dioxide emission is much higher than developed countries’ average. This study interprets the effects of some newly issued policies and analyses the influential factors in achieving energy conservation and emission reduction goals. It also discusses the prospects for saving energy and emission reduction in the industry. Retrofitting facilities and using new production technologies is imperative. Additionally, implementing market-based policies, promoting industrial transformation and effective international cooperation would help decrease carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption.

MANUFACTURING FIRM SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN IRAN EVIDENCE FROM FOOD & BEVERAGES AND NON-METALLIC MINERAL PRODUCTS

Empirical studies have shown that the size distribution of firms can be described as a lognormal or Pareto distribution. However, these studies have focused on developed countries and little attention has been devoted to developing countries. Using the variable of number of employees as a measure of firm size, this paper investigates the shape of firm size distribution in the food & beverages industry and also in the non-metallic mineral products industry over the period of 1997-2005. Our findings show that there is no universality of the size distribution of firms between industries. In other words, the size distribution varies in terms of kind of industry, so that our results make it clear that food & beverages industry follows lognormal distribution, conversely to other industry which a good representation of Pareto distribution. From policy point of view, knowledge about firm size distribution caused new entrance firms to decide wisely and therefore provide improvement on performance after entry.

Analysis and Optimization of Industrial Structure Based on the Relative Efficiency Index

Based on the theory and method of eco-efficiency, the relative efficiency index (Ri) was constructed in the paper. According to the range of the relative efficiency index, the industrial sectors can be divided into four categories. When Ri≥R+0.5δ , the industry should be encouraged. When R≤Ri<R+0.5δ, the industry should be optimized and updated. When R-0.5δ≤Ri<R, the industry should be transformed and elevated. When Ri<R-0.5δ, the industry should be restricted, even eliminated. Jiaxing City in Zhejiang Province was selected to be the typical base for further analysis. The results showed that from the perspective of saving water and energy, six important industries, including Paper and paper products, Textile, Beverage Manufacturing, Chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry, should be restricted, even eliminated. From the perspective of water pollution control, twelve industries, such as Paper and paper products, Textile, Chemical materials and chemical products manufacturing industry should be restricted, even eliminated. From the perspective of air pollution control, four industries, including Paper and paper products, Chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing, Electricity, heat production and supply, Non-metallic mineral products industry should be restricted, even eliminated. Besides, the Paper and paper products, the Chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry theoretically were the highlight of the industries which should be restricted, even eliminated.

Analysis of energy-related CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions and reduction potential in the Chinese non-metallic mineral products industry

As one of the six highest energy-consuming industries, non-metallic mineral products industry accounts for 9.5% of national energy usage and 9.0% of energy-related CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions in China. In this paper, we evaluate the CO2 emissions change from energy consumption and present a comprehensive picture of the underlying determinants of emissions change in the Chinese non-metallic mineral products industry for the period 1986–2010, based on the LMDI (Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index) method. Results demonstrate that industrial activity is the leading force explaining emission increase while energy intensity is the major contributor to the emission mitigation. Effects of industrial scale and carbon intensity of energy show varying trends interchanging intervals of growth along the study period. Moreover, substitution effect has a small negative impact on the increase of CO2 emissions. Reduction potential of CO2 emissions is predicted to be 99.02 Mt in 2020 under the scenario of moderate emission reduction, which accounts for 0.30% of the world's energy-related CO2 emissions in 2011; and 188.88 Mt under the scenario of aggressive emission reduction, which accounts for 0.58% of the world's total in 2011 and is close to energy-related CO2 emissions of Egypt in 2010. Policy recommendations are thus made for future emission reductions.

Electricity demand and conservation potential in the Chinese nonmetallic mineral products industry

As the high energy-consuming manufacturing industry, electricity consumption of nonmetallic mineral products in China accounted for 7.93% of industrial, 5.84% of national and 1.33% of global electricity consumption in 2010. This study attempts to specify the determinants of sectoral electricity demand, forecast future electricity consumption by creating a model using the Johansen cointegration methodology and estimate the sectoral electricity conservation potential. Results indicate that GDP per capita is the leading force explaining the sectoral electricity consumption increase, while value-added per worker, R&D intensity and electricity price are the main factors contributing to the sectoral electricity consumption decrease. Results demonstrate that sectoral electricity consumption in 2020 will be 369.79–464.83billionkWh under the low-growth scenario and 530.14–666.39billionkWh under the high-growth scenario. Moreover, under the low-growth scenario, the sectoral electricity conservation potential in 2020 will be 33.72–95.03billionkWh, accounting for 0.45–1.26% of China's total electricity demand in 2020; under the high-growth scenario, the sectoral electricity conservation potential in 2020 will be 48.34–136.24billionkWh, accounting for 0.26–0.74% of world's total electricity consumption in 2010 respectively. Finally, we provide some policy recommendations for encouraging energy conservation in China's nonmetallic mineral products industry.

Settlement of particulate matter in a ceramic cluster (NE, Spain) during the years 2000–2005

The economic and industrial development achieved in our society is reducing air quality, with far-reaching effects on health, vegetation, climate, and historic monuments. Air pollution can be caused by factories, heavy traffic, agriculture, or other sources. One of the main pollutants in air is particulate matter. This particulate material includes settleable particles >32μm that remains airborne for relatively short periods of time and can be later sedimented, thus, the effects are most pronounced in the vicinity of the emitting sources. The study area is located in the town of Alcora, which is in the eastern region of the province of Castellón (Spain). The municipality of Alcora has a high density of industry, with a significant number of companies in the chemical and non-metallic mineral products industry. The area has a high traffic density due to the proximity of the town to various roads. These two factors point to a high concentration of atmospheric particulate pollutants. The aim of this study is to conduct a retrospective examination of changes in settleable particulate concentrations (quantify and measure concentrations), in the period between January 2000 and December 2005 and then analyse the particles to determine the mineralogical composition and origin of these particles. The work done indicated that the concentration levels of particulate sediments are within the allowable limits. Only twice were these values exceeded because of high precipitation and particulate intrusion from North Africa. The main mineral phases in the settleable particulate were quartz, illite and kaolinite, resulting from the activities of milling and grinding of raw materials used in the ceramic industry.