Pollution Abatement Equipment Research Articles

Environmental regulation and worker earnings: Evidence from city-level air quality standards in China

This study delves into the influence of environmental regulations on worker earnings, employing China's City Air Pollution Prevention and Control Program (CAPPCP) as a quasi-experimental framework. We employ a difference-in-differences (DD) approach and match two unique firm-level data sets that include information on firm's economic indicators, and various emissions and abatement equipment. The results show that CAPPCP causes an average of 3.2% reduction in worker earnings, which amounts to CNY 6.1 billion (USD 803.4 million) in forgone earnings. The estimated result is less than that of comparable US studies. In addition, the reduction in earning tends to be attributed at bonuses rather than regular wages, and firms pay more unemployment insurance for employees. In the channel test, CAPPCP leads to an increase of 4.7% in firm's pollution abatement equipment and 6.4% in pollution treatment capacity, which significantly increase firm's production costs. We also find different types of firm responses to the regulations, where high-polluting, smaller, labor-intensive and non-SOE firms show a higher reduction in worker earnings than their counterparts. A cost-benefit analysis suggests that the health benefits gained through CAPPCP significantly outweigh that of earning losses.

Impacts of Environmental Certificate and Pollution Abatement Equipment on SMEs’ Performance: An Empirical Case in Vietnam

Increasing global warming and intensity of disasters recently have made improving environmentally-conscious enterprises pivotal, as well as consumer demand for green products and the achievement of green strategies in some enterprises. This study explores the impact of environmental certificates and the cost of pollution abatement equipment on firm performance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this research, the linear regression method examines the effect of environmental-related certificates and technology on SMEs’ performance using Stata version 14.0 software. The training dataset comprises 3504 manufacturing SMEs in Vietnam during 2011–2015. The results highlight the positively considerable impacts of environmental-related certificates and the cost of pollution abatement equipment on SMEs’ performance. More importantly, the findings also highlight the excessive availability of pollution abatement equipment and whether it adversely impacts enterprises’ performance. The equipment cost positively impacts firm performance while, at an extreme value, the result shows a negative correlation. Furthermore, this study enriches the current literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and suggests SMEs approach and embrace more environmental-related certificates and technology to increase productivity.

Modelling and simulation of a Single Cyclone for Optimal Efficiency for a Batch-Type Fixed-Bed Down-Draft Gasifier using CFD

Modelling and optimization have long been established as a means of achieving efficiency in energy systems also in sustaining the environment. In Nigeria, where environmental pollution have become a challenge, the problem of pollution and safety has become a global concern whereby sustainable power generation systems with zero greenhouse emission will serve as a better way of sustaining the environment. Simulation been a basic similitude tool to real life engineering design enable the engineers to understand the interactive flow process within an operating systems, postulating operation results, designing process systems or optimizing the operating system with optimum accuracy. This tool enables an engineer to establish the geometrical parameters for the actual design of the system. Cyclones, which are widely used as air pollution abatement equipment, are used in processing industries for removal of particulate matter (PM). A 1D2D centrifugal fan power driven cyclone is attached to a batch-type fixed-bed downdraft gasifier was modelled and simulated to determine the behaviour of the gasification products and the optimal efficiency of the cyclone. Applying mathematical modeling and CFD tools to understand the effect of the gas stream on the cyclone performance and a new optimized cyclone geometrical ratios based on the mathematical model was attained. Establishing the cyclone modelling was done by applying the heat content simulation tool (MATLAB-Software package) and using the response surface methodology (RSM) approach. The geometrical parameters in cyclone separators significantly affected the flow field and performance parameters. Analysis of the experimental design informed the researcher on the relationship between the effects of inlet dimensions and the vortex finder diameter on the performance of the cyclone. The cyclone design and simulation of the cyclone has shown that it can effectively remove solid particles from a gas stream (syn-gas). The calculation shows that collection efficiency for particle size of 13.18 μ m is obtained for the cyclone separator assuming all the particles leaving the cyclone is at that size. The designed simulated cyclone show that the new design when compared with the Stairmand design have a better performance over the later.

Environmental Regulation and Worker Benefits: Evidence from City-Level Air Quality Standards in China

This study identifies the effect of environmental regulation on worker earnings using China’s “City Air Pollution Prevention and Control Program” (CAPPCP), which is a new city-level air quality, as a quasi-experiment. CAPPCP provides variations in regulatory intensity across years and cities for polluting firms, we use a difference-in-differences (DD) strategy to examine this variation and to compare the earnings in polluting firms before and after the program’s implementation. We match two unique firm-level datasets that include information on firm’s economic indicators, various emissions and abatement equipment. CAPPCP did not significantly decrease firm employment but caused an average of 3% reduction in worker earnings, which amounts to CNY 6.63 billion (USD 871.99 million) in forgone earnings. The estimated result is less than that of comparable US studies. In addition, the reduction in earning tends to be attributed at bonuses rather than regular wages, and firms pay more unemployment insurance for employees. In the channel test, CAPPCP led to an increase of 5.9% in firm’s pollution abatement equipment and 6.3% in pollution treatment capacity, which significantly increased firm’s production costs. We also find different types of firm responses to the regulations, where high-polluting, smaller, labor-intensive, low-tech, non-SOE, non-exporting firms and firms without labor union show a higher reduction in worker earnings than their counterparts. A cost-benefit analysis suggests that the health benefits gained through CAPPCP significantly outweigh that of earning losses.

Identification and characterization of bilgewater emulsions.

Literature on bilgewater focuses on empirically determined treatment methods and lacks specific information on emulsion characteristics. Therefore, this review discusses potential emulsion stabilization mechanisms that occur in bilgewater and evaluates common approaches to study their behavior. Current knowledge on emulsion formation, stabilization, and destabilization is outlined to provide researchers and bilgewater treatment operators with the knowledge needed to determine emulsion prevention and treatment strategies. Furthermore, a broad assessment of bilgewater emulsion characterization techniques, from general water quality analysis to advanced droplet stability characterization methods are discussed in detail. Lastly, a survey of typical bilgewater characteristics and information on standard synthetic bilgewater mixtures used in the testing of oil pollution abatement equipment are presented. Overall, the goal of this article is to provide a better understanding of physical and thermodynamic properties of emulsions to help improve bilgewater treatment and management.

Ex ante and ex post cost estimates of the Cluster Rule and MACT II Rule

Abstract:This paper compares EPA’s ex ante cost analysis of the Cluster Rule, EPA’s first integrated, multi-media regulation, and MACT II Rule to an ex post cost assessment. The goal of this assessment is to determine if actual costs diverged from ex ante costs and, if so, what factors caused this divergence. We find the EPA ex ante costs overestimated the ex post capital costs for the Cluster Rule by 30 to 100%. Contributing factors appear to be use of cleaner technology, flexible compliance options, site-specific rules, shutdowns and consolidations. Ex ante estimates for the MACT II Rule are found to be overestimated by 25% for capital costs and 200 or more percent for annual costs. The primary reason for the overestimate is the use of the bubble compliance strategy that required fewer paper mills to install pollution abatement equipment than anticipated by EPA.

Unemployment, environmental policy, and international migration

In this paper, we investigate the effects of an increase in emission tax, a decrease in fixed manufacturing wage rate, and an increased inflow of foreign workers on competitive wages, the environmental stock, the economic welfare of the representative consumer, and employment in the presence of a pollution abatement equipment sector and unemployment. Our main findings are that an increase in emission tax and a decrease in the urban minimum wage rate decrease unemployment, and international immigration may increase the competitive wage rate, employment rate, stock of environmental capital, and economic welfare of the representative worker.

The Energos gasification plant: early performance assessment

As one of the Defra-funded advanced thermal treatment demonstration technologies, the gasification/oxidation plant on the Isle of Wight started operation in December 2008. As a requirement of the demonstrator project the plant was subjected to an independent assessment of its performance. This paper is based on the report of that assessment, undertaken by AEA Technology and provides an overview of the early operation of the plant in respect of its performance, availability, reliability and maintainability. The period of monitoring spanned the early operation of the plant. The new gasification technology has been retrofitted into a former waste incinerator. Much of the existing energy recovery and pollution abatement equipment downstream of the combustion chamber has been retained, which has resulted in lower than optimal efficiency and availability. During the monitoring period a number of significant unplanned and protracted outages occurred, largely, but not exclusively related to the legacy pollution abatement and energy recovery equipment.

Pollution Abatement Equipment and International Migration

By introducing a pollution abatement equipment industry into the Copeland and Taylor (1999) model, we find that the real wage rate will be higher in a developed country with a superior pollution abatement technology. On the other hand, the effects of environmental tax policies on the real wage rate would not clear. Migration has positive effects on the wage rate, the stock of the environmental tax and welfare of the worker in at least one country. Finally we show the possibility that both countries gain from international migration.

International innovation and diffusion of air pollution control technologies: the effects of NO X and SO 2 regulation in the US, Japan, and Germany

Using patent data from the United States, Japan, and Germany, this paper examines both innovation and diffusion of air pollution control equipment. Whereas the United States was an early adopter of stringent sulfur dioxide (SO 2) standards, both Japan and Germany introduced stringent nitrogen dioxide (NO X ) standards much earlier than the US. Nonetheless, in both cases, tightened standards in the US led to more domestic patenting, but not more foreign patenting. Overall, the data suggest that inventors respond to environmental regulatory pressure in their own country, but not to foreign environmental regulations. Moreover, any technology transfer that occurs appears to be indirect. Domestic innovation occurs even for technologies that have already experienced significant innovative activity abroad and utilities purchase pollution abatement equipment from domestic firms. However, patent citation data from the US do show that earlier foreign patents are an important building block for NO X pollution control innovations in the US.

Financial sustainability of environmental investment under an empirical pollution abatement policy instrument in India: the case of wastewater treatment

Abstract The objective of this study is to investigate the financial viability of private sector investment in effluent treatment plants (ETPs) in India by employing an assumed abatement policy instrument. The policy instrument proposed in this study is framed on a deposit–refund system. The focus of the study is to gauge the economic benefit of the investment in ETPs under the proposed policy instrument and also to compare the economic benefit with the abatement cost using standard cost–benefit analysis, including conversion of money flows to net-present-value at a real discount rate. Results show that a firm will be financially benefited under the proposed policy instrument if it invests in implementing and operating the pollution abatement equipment.

The Clean Air Act Amendments and Firm Investment in Pollution Abatement Equipment

The command-and-control approach to environmental regulation requires that firms install prescribed technologies to meet specified goals. However, environmental regulations change frequently; in addition, the enforcement agency cannot perfectly monitor firm compliance. We examine the impact of uncertainties surrounding the enactment and the enforcement of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 on firm investment in air pollution abatement equipment. We find that our measures of the likelihood ofCAAA passage clearly affect a firm’s investment in pollution equipment. Enforcement actions also affect a firm’s investment, but these effects are weaker and are statistically significant only after enactment.

The accuracy of financial report projections of future environmental capital expenditures: a research note

Financial report environmental disclosure has been widely criticized because the extent of disclosure both varies in response to exposures facing the firm and because it is not an accurate measure of firm environmental performance. This study suggests there are at least two potential problems that need to be addressed before this disclosure can be completely condemned as meaningless. A first potential problem is the earlier studies' focus on broad measures of environmental disclosure. Hidden within those broader measures may be pieces of meaningful information. Second, while the disclosure examined previously may not correspond well with past environmental performance, it, or at least parts of it, may still provide meaningful information for assessing future environmental action. This study attempts to address these shortcomings by examining one specific, but potentially useful, category of environmental disclosure: projections of future spending for pollution abatement and control equipment. Based on 355 sets of projected/actual spending drawn from 10K reports filed with the US's Security and Exchange Commission between 1993 and 2002, inclusive, results suggest that the projections may be more misleading than meaningful. Actual spending was lower than the projected amount for more than 75% of the observations, and the mean projection error (the difference adjusted for the size of the projection) was a negative 16.4%. Analysis of projection errors for a 2-year, rather than a 1-year window revealed a similar distribution. In contrast to the accuracy of the environmental capital expenditure projections, the actual/projection difference for total capital expenditures was very small, suggesting that it is not a difficulty in estimating future capital spending that is driving the error results. The projection errors also did not appear to be a function of changes in company revenues or profitability. Overall, therefore, it appears that, similar to broader measures of corporate environmental disclosure, projections of future spending on environmental control lack value.

Emission Tax, Subsidy to Input of the Pollution Abatement Equipment and Intenational trade

In this paper, we construct the two sector model which consists of sectors producing a final good and a pollution abatement equipment, then, we examine the effects of an emission tax and a subsidy to input of the equipment (input subsidy). The pollution abatement equipment is the intermediate goods that are not used for the production activity but are used for the abatement activity in the final goods sector.Hence, if the final goods sector is capital intensive relative to the equipment sector, we can derive the following results: (a) A raise in the emission tax makes the domestic products of the equipment increase and its imports decrease. On the other hand, a raise in the input subsidy decreases the domestic production and increases its imports.(b) A raise in the emission tax definitely decreases the total pollution in the country concerned. However, a raise in the input subsidy may increase the total pollution under some conditions. Moreover, in such the case, (c) if the emission tax dose not fully internalize the external diseconomy, an introduction of the input subsidy may worsen the domestic welfare.

U.S. Has Spent Billions To Cut Pollution

Chemical manufacturers spend more than any other industrial sector to purchase and operate pollution abatement equipment, according to a recent survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Pollution Abatement Costs & Expenditures (PACE) survey estimates that in 1999 U.S. chemical companies spent about $3.8 billion to operate and buy new pollution abatement equipment. That breaks down to $2.81 billion to operate pollution-control equipment and $991 million in capital spending. Looking at all U.S. companies, $11.86 billion was spent to operate pollution-abatement equipment and $5.81 billion for capital expenditures for new equipment. The survey also examined power generation and mining, but manufacturing accounted for most pollution-control spending. Despite its size, pollution-abatement spending amounted to just 0.37% of the value of 1999 manufacturing shipments. The survey also examined pollution-prevention spending and found chemical companies again led in spending, allocating $368 million. In all, U.S. compani...

Diagnostic Study of Critical Circuits of the Kraft Pulp Production Process Considering the Environmental Aspects

This paper describes systematic work undertaken in the field of atmospheric emissions from Portuguese Kraft pulp mills. The study led to the determination of emission factors from stationary sources, which proved to be an important tool for assessing the need for investment in air pollution abatement equipment, specifically for malodorous gases.

Atmospheric emissions of Kraft pulp mills

This paper describes systematic work done in the field of atmospheric emissions from Portuguese Kraft pulp mills. This study results in the determination of emission factors from stationary sources that proved to be an important tool to assess the need for investment on air pollution abatement equipment, particularly with respect to mal-odorous gases, which were identified as hydrogen sulphide, methyl–mercaptan, deimethyl–mercaptan and dimethyl–disulphide.

ENERGY POLICY AND DIRTY AIR

THIS SUMMER, A FEW PARAGRAPHS in the Bush Administration's national energy plan will be the subject of a national debate that is as much about polluted air and environmental regulations as energy. The energy plan calls for a government-led examination of an environmental provision written into law nearly a quarter of a century ago. Called source review (NSR), the provision stretches back to the 1977 Clean Air Act and covers some 20,000 large factories of all types. It requires these plants to install modern air pollution control equipment when making significant capital expenditures to improve operations if the changes increase air pollution from the plant. The idea was to give companies added time and a means to soften the cost of installing pollution controls that are required by the law It allowed them to couple installation of new pollution abatement equipment with other improvements needed to increase production. Sounds pretty simple, but you'd be ...

Pollutant atmospheric emissions from Portuguese Kraft pulp mills

This paper describes systematic work done in the field of atmospheric emissions from Portuguese Kraft pulp mills. This study led to the determination of emission factors from stationary sources that proved to be an important tool in assessing the need for investment in air pollution abatement equipment.

Control of dioxin emissions from waste combustors

An understanding of the mechanistic aspects of dioxin foration in combustors enables them to be designed, engineered and operated in a manner that ensures consistently low emissions of PCDD/ Fs [polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans]. From a study of the knowledge base in this field, the following general philosophy is identified: (1) Design the combustion chamber and associated waste handling equipment to suit the waste type and combustor type, to ensure combustion of the waster is optimised; (2) Apply suitable design principles to minimise the potential for PCDD/F formation in the post-combustion zone, and, if required, apply appropriate end-of-pipe abatement or control systems, again ensuring that design principles minimising PCDD/F formation are followed; (3) Develop and implement an operating and control regime based on monitoring of operating variables and selected plant emissions, the selection of which should be optimised on a plant-by-plant basis. In practice this requires an operator to both maintain good combustion conditions in the furnace and operate the pollution abatement equipment such that the propensity for post-combustion formation of PCDD/Fs is minimised. The mixing and flow characteristics of the furnace play an important role in ensuring optimum combustion conditions. It is also essential that PCDD/F control strategies are underpinned by interactive monitoring of furnace conditions (and, by extension, post-combustion operating conditions) if consistently low PCDD/F emissions are to be achieved and maintained.