Utilization In China Research Articles

CHINA’S REFERENCE TO THE EXPERIENCE OF EU WASTE DISPOSAL AND MANAGEMENT

With the development of global economy, the more and more domestic waste comes from human beings, the management level and efficiency of waste disposal affect the economic development of the region and the living standard of the people, and the garbage disposal mode of the European Union is advanced and efficient. It is of great reference significance for China with a large population. This paper proposes to improve the ability of garbage disposal and waste utilization in China through advertising, charging by quantity, encouraging recycling, subsidizing environmental protection enterprises, and perfecting environmental legislation.

Recent Initiatives and Developments in the Ecological Utilization of Marine Resources (EUMR) in China

Zhou, L.; Bao, X.; Yu, J.; Zhang, Y., and Feng, R., 2019. Recent initiatives and developments in the ecological utilization of marine resources (EUMR) in China. In: Guido-Aldana, P.A. and Mulahasan, S. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources and Exploration. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 93, pp. 443–449. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Since the 1990's, China's marine management has undergone a series of developments. It has progressed from lawlessness to the rule of law, from blind development to a rational planning and from over-exploitation to ecological use of marine resources. Based on the ecological conditions and the characteristics of the marine utilization in China, this paper describes the concept of the “ecological utilization of marine resources (EUMR)” and its development, connotation and foundation. Furthermore, it presents the new regulations on China's regional infrastructural planning for marine utilization, protection and utilization of the coastline, marine ecological red line, and others. Lastly, this paper proposes some suggestions on the implementation of the EUMR from four aspects, namely, the ecological development, ecological protection, resource conservation and remediation. Adhering to the EUMR has become the new principle of marine management in China, and this principle provides a direction for solving the problems regarding the excessive consumption of the marine resources and deteriorating ecological environment. Furthermore, it can act as a healthy base of marine management experiences for other coastal countries to study and follow them.

Estimating Capacity Utilization of Chinese State Farms

As the most populous country in the world, China has one of the largest agricultural systems in the world, which plays an important role in ensuring China’s food security. The state farms comprise an integral part of China’s agricultural system. However, there have been few studies evaluating the efficiency and capacity utilization of China’s state farms. In this paper, we estimate the efficiency and capacity utilization of state farms across 27 Chinese regions by applying the data envelopment analysis method. Performance of the overall state farm system and its three sub-industries is taken into consideration simultaneously. Over the period of 2013–2017, the technical efficiency fluctuated in between 0.74 and 0.84, whereas the capacity utilization fluctuated around 0.85. The regional differences were observed. The regional differences were also observed.

Captive breeding of wildlife resources-China's revised supply-side approach to conservation.

ABSTRACTThe conservation and utilization of wild animals in China often raises public concerns. Thus, the Chinese government is increasingly exploring sustainable development of wildlife resources, and has implemented a series of measures, such as the modification of the Wildlife Protection Law (WPL), implementation of captive breeding licenses, an animal marking system, forest certification, and other actions to regulate captive breeding and utilization of wildlife. At the same time, the government tries to meet the Chinese traditional demand for wildlife products. We first introduce wildlife utilization as an internationally accepted conservation tool, and describe market‐based wildlife farming as a legal substitute for wild‐hunted animals. Second, we highlight the importance of wildlife products in Chinese culture and economy and review some successful examples of wildlife utilization in China, showing that the supply‐side approach is a viable alternative to classical conservation. Subsequently, we outline benefits of, and drawbacks to, China's ‘conservation through utilization’ approach, resulting in the implementation of China's new, revised WPL. We discuss merits and shortcomings of China's revised WPL and respond to recent national and international criticism on China's supply‐side approach to conservation. We strongly propose that captive breeding is a feasible approach to China's wildlife conservation–utilization dilemma, and much work is needed to promote the progress, such as legislation restructure, government attention, duties clarification, and so on. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.

Does environmental heterogeneity affect the productive efficiency of grid utilities in China?

China's electric power industry has experienced a reform whereby the generation sector is being opened up to competition but the transmission and distribution sectors are still under regulation. Efficiency and benchmarking analyses are widely used for improving the performance of regulated segments. The impact of observable environmental factors, together with unobservable characteristics, on efficiency has gained increasing attention in recent years. This study uses alternative stochastic frontier models combined with input distance functions to measure the productive efficiency of 29 grid firms of China over the period of 1993–2014 and investigates whether the observed environmental and unobserved heterogeneity factors affect the productive efficiency. The results indicate that adverse environmental conditions may bring negative influence to the production of grid utilities while the number of customers and the network length have positive impacts on the utilities' efficiency; Besides, the efficiency is sensitive to the model specification, which illustrates the presence of observed and unobserved heterogeneity; Moreover, there is no significant efficiency improvement in the grid utilities after the unbundling reform of 2002; Finally, the regional grids differ significantly in efficiency, and there is room for improvement, which could be achieved by incentive regulation taking due account of environmental heterogeneity.

Research progress, problems and prospects of mine water treatment technology and resource utilization in China

The National Development and Reform Commission and the Energy Bureau jointly issued the ‘Plant Water Utilization Development Plan’ on January 29, 2013, which requires that China should gradually establish a more complete legal system, macro management and technical support system for mine water in 2015. But so far, due to the influence of geological conditions and other factors, the impurity composition and content of mine water is very different. Based on the comprehensive summary of the theory, method, application technology, practical engineering and processing technology of mine water disaster and its reutilization in China. This article systematically analyzed the latest research progress and achievements, which include basic theory, hydrogeology (supplement) exploration, advanced detection and monitoring as well as early warning. These can further promote application of current technology, develop new technology and methods, point out the challenges and the existing problems of the mine water field, the gaps with requirements of fast, intensive, and large-scale development of the coal industry in China. Finally, the development trends, future important scientific innovation and key technology were discussed. The prospects of the industry and technology were also forecast.

The Effect of an Innovative Financing and Payment Model for Tuberculosis Patients on Health Service Utilization in China: Evidence from Hubei Province of China.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major social and public health problem in China. The “China–Gates TB Project” started in 2012, and one of its objectives was to reduce the financial burden on TB patients and to improve access to quality TB care. The aims of this study were to determine if the project had positive impacts on improving health service utilization. Methods: The ‘China–Gates TB Project’ was launched in Yichang City (YC), Hubei Province in April 2014 and ended in March 2015, lasting for one year. A series of questionnaire surveys of 540 patients were conducted in three counties of YC at baseline and final evaluations. Inpatient and outpatient service utilization were assessed before and after the program, with descriptive statistics. Propensity score matching was used to evaluate the impact of the China–Gates TB Project on health service utilization by minimizing the differences in the other characteristics of baseline and final stage groups. Focus group discussions (FGDs) were held to further enrich the results. Results: A total of 530 patients were included in this study. Inpatient rates significantly increased from 33.5% to 75.9% overall (p < 0.001), with the largest increase occurring for low income patients. Outpatient visits increased from 4.6 to 5.6 (p < 0.001), and this increase was also greatest for the poorest patients. Compared with those who lived in developed counties, the overall increase in outpatient visits for illness in the remote Wufeng county was higher. Conclusions: The China–Gates TB Project has effectively improved health service utilization in YC, and poor patients benefited more from it. TB patients in remote underdeveloped counties are more likely to increase the use of outpatient services rather than inpatient services. There is a need to tilt policy towards the poor, and various measures need to be in place in order to ensure health services utilization in undeveloped areas.

Multi-Level Social Health Insurance System in the Age of Frequent Employment Change: The Urban Unemployment-Induced Insurance Transition and Healthcare Utilization in China.

Job tenure has been significantly shortened with the prevalence of the gig economy around the world. Workers are faced with a new age of frequent employment change. This emerging situation is out of expectation of social health insurance policymakers. As the multi-level social health insurance system in China is closely associated with employment status; urban workers cannot enjoy the urban employee basic medical insurance (UEBMI) during the unemployment period. At this time, unemployed rural-to-urban migrant workers can only rely on the new cooperative medical scheme (NCMS) and unemployed urban residents can only rely on the urban resident basic medical insurance (URBMI). This study provides a preliminary analysis on healthcare utilization change triggered by the unemployment-induced social health insurance transition that has never been investigated. Using the data of a nationwide survey, empirical results show that the unemployment-induced social health insurance transition can significantly deteriorate the healthcare utilization of insurance beneficiaries experiencing the transitions from the UEBMI to the NCMS (or from the UEBMI to the URBMI). Specifically, the outpatient service quality and the conventional physical examination become worse, and the out-of-pocket expenditure increases. Therefore, the multi-level social health insurance system currently in effect can expose workers to a high risk of insufficient health security in the age of frequent employment change.

Main challenges of closed/abandoned coal mine resource utilization in China

ABSTRACT China launches large-scale coal mines closure plan. This paper discusses the utilization of underground space and the redevelopment of energy resources after mine closure and points out main challenges. Suggestions are made: Chinese government needs to make the top-level planning, design, and guidance to balance economic, social, and environmental interest. Researchers and engineers need to investigate the underground available space characteristics and guarantee the underground space safety; deal with mechanism, basic theories, and key technologies for domestic unconventional natural gas development and utilization; develop a mature underground gasification development and utilization technology system; reveal the groundwater contamination mechanism and improve the water resource quality; and pay attention to microbial community shifts in response to pollution during the process of closed/abandoned coal mines restoration.

Sustainable development of sludge disposal and resource utilization in Chinese farms

At present, China’s sludge disposal is in the primary stage of development, and there are still having some significant defects in the terminal treatment of the sludge disposal link. The treatment methods are often extensive, such as incineration and landfill, and the application level of sludge recycling is very low. At the same time, China has large number of farms, which will produce a lot of animal waste every day. Traditional disposal methods such as burning and landfill are difficult to make the waste resource available. There is no denying the fact that there is immeasurable agricultural and economic value in the sludge and excrement, but it is not used properly at present. This paper will analyze the current situation, trend and prospect of sludge treatment, and further explore the new ways of urban sludge disposal and resource utilization in China, which may broaden the possibility of sustainable development of China.

Water safety plans for water supply utilities in China, Cuba, France, Morocco and Spain: costs, benefits, and enabling environment elements

ABSTRACTWater Safety Plans (WSPs) are a management tool to identify and prioritize risks and implement appropriate control measures throughout the water supply chain, from catchment to consumer. WSPs have been implemented in over 90 countries; yet, costs, benefits and the enabling environment elements necessary for WSP implementation are under-studied. To better understand these factors, we conducted interviews with WSP implementation management teams from 20 private urban water utilities in China, Cuba, France, Morocco and Spain in 2014. Collectively, these utilities serve 10.6 million consumers and supply over 2.2 million m3/day of water to consumers. Time for WSP implementation to achieve certification averaged 13 months. The main startup cost was staff time, averaging 16.2 full-time equivalent person-months. Additional costs, averaging €16,777, were for training staff, hiring consultants, purchasing equipment, and certifying WSPs. Benefits commonly reported included improved hazard control, treatment practices, record keeping, and client and health agency confidence.

Opportunities and challenges of natural gas development and utilization in China

In the background that the China government robustly advocates low carbon and green energy, China has turned to focus on natural gas, both production and consumption of which are soaring high these days and the role of which is gradually prominent in energy sources. But it also faces many problems. With the rapid development of natural gas in China, it has gradually formed a system of natural gas industry chain. With the aims to help promote more healthy and sustainable development of natural gas industry in the future, it is very valuable to think deeply about the past development process. This paper reviews and analyzes China’s natural gas resources, pipeline layout, and industry development status. Based on China’s specific conditions and resource characteristics, it analyzes China’s future natural gas development opportunities. Simultaneously, the analysis shows China’s natural gas production will reach 236.5 billion cubic meters by 2030 and the proportion of natural gas in the primary energy structure will reach about 15% in 2030. But in terms of current natural gas production, the supply gap is very large. Moreover, the dependence on foreign natural gas imports has continued to increase in recent years. Thus, China should continue to improve its natural gas layout and utilization system, increase investment in domestic natural gas exploration and development, strengthen core technology research, and improve its relevant laws and regulations in order to better maintain the rapid development of natural gas.

Development and Enlightenment of Performance-based Transmission and Distribution Price Regulation Method

Transmission and distribution price regulation methods in the United States and Europe are now evolving from the cost-based regulation, the cap-based regulation to the performance-based regulation. The performance-based regulation method has already been implemented in the UK, the United States, Denmark and many other countries, which can provide valuable experiences. Firstly, mechanisms and incentives of the cost-based regulation, the cap-based regulation and the performance-based regulation are reviewed and discussed. Then, key modules of the performance-based regulation are discussed from aspects like regulation targets determination, evaluation indices design, performance standards setting and incentive mechanism selection. Thirdly, the UK RIIO model is selected as an ideal example to discuss in detail on how to design the model framework, how to design performance indices, and how to determine permitted revenue under the performance-based regulation. Finally, based on the status quo of transmission and distribution price regulation in China, the opportunity and challenge for utilities in China are discussed.

Straw Utilization in China—Status and Recommendations

As the world’s largest grain producer, China’s straw yield was 700 million tonnes in 2014. With a national utilization rate of 80% in 2015, there is still a large amount of straw burned in open-field, resulting in air pollution and a reduction in the quantity available as a source of bioenergy. This paper conducts a literature review of success stories and major challenges in comprehensive straw utilization in and out of China. It is noted that nationwide long-term feasible and sustainable straw utilization at a high rate is a highly complex operation, involving most societal sectors, many people and facilities often at different regions. Scenarios were analyzed to estimate the energy potential and air emission reductions China would accomplish in 2020 by converting an additional 5 or 10% of straw-yield to biofuel. Currently, the approach to control straw burning in China is primarily administrative, relying heavily on prohibition and penalties, inconsistent across policy areas and geography, and lacking in long-term planning. Consequently, the effectiveness of the current approach is limited. The main cause of burning is a lack of infrastructure, effective preventive measures, and viable alternatives. Recommendations aimed at promoting a circular bio-economy around using crop straw as resources were provided, including improving straw utilization rates and reducing open-field burning.

Comprehensive Utilization of Seawater in China: A Description of the Present Situation, Restrictive Factors and Potential Countermeasures

China is a maritime power. However, as its economy develops rapidly, China lacks freshwater resources. The water resources per capita are low in China and are less than a quarter of the global mean value. The development and utilization of desalination, a new unconventional water resource in coastal areas, has gradually attracted the attention of the central and local governments. This paper introduces three aspects of the comprehensive utilization of seawater in China, including the desalination of seawater, the direct use of seawater, and the use of seawater as a chemical resource. Based on the recent status (2017) of comprehensive seawater utilization in China, the prospects for optimizing the utilization of seawater resources are presented. Furthermore, the restrictive factors and potential countermeasures for the increased use of seawater desalination are investigated. Several recommendations are presented, specifically, improving the laws, using regulations and standards related to desalination, strengthening the policies that support enterprises that use desalination, gradually improving the localization rate of key technologies and equipment, and devoting additional attention to the problems associated with brine processing. Seawater is expected to become an important supplemental source of water in coastal areas of China, and the resources needed for its use will be developed as a strategic and influential industry.

Understanding the Capacity Utilization Rate and Overcapacity of China’s Coal Industry and Interprovincial Heterogeneity

The overcapacity of China’s coal industry is mainly caused by the inefficiency of the production processes and the imbalance between market supply and demand (effective supply shortage). Due to the particularity of China’s overcapacity, traditional capacity utilization rates do not well represent the real situations of China’s overcapacity in coal industry. Based on the differences of production conditions in coal-producing provinces in China, this article quantitatively estimates the coal production capacity utilization rates of 24 coal-producing provinces and regions in China from 2001 to 2016 by using the heterogeneous stochastic frontier analysis method. It Evaluates China’s coal industry overcapacity index by introducing a correction factor of the demand-supply ratio, which takes into consideration of the supply-demand imbalance characteristics of Chinese overcapacity. The research findings show that the overall level of capacity utilization in China’s coal industry is not high, and regional differences are significant. In addition, it is observed that the production capacity utilization rate is lower in northeast and east China than that in west and central China. Coal capacity utilization rate and its heterogeneity are affected by exogenous variables such as economic development and other variables. The coal overcapacity index has obvious cyclic characteristics, and there are still opportunities for improvement in the western production areas and the provinces with large-scale production capacity.

Analysis and Development Forecast of Water Resources in China

Based on the background of water shortage in Ningxia region, this paper studies the current situation and development prediction of water resources in China and establishes a regression analysis mode. Firstly, the current situation and major problems of water resources development and utilization in China were analyzed with Excel. Secondly, the regression model is established to predict the total national water consumption in 2020 and 2030, the results of the model prediction are compared with the national goals of 2020 and 2030. Finally, the ARIMA model was established by SPSS software to predict the time series and obtain the national and provincial water resource management and control and development trends in 2020 and 2030.

A brief history of wheat utilization in China

A brief history of wheat utilization in China

A comprehensive evaluation of the development and utilization of China's regional renewable energy

This study proposes comprehensive evaluation criteria, involving aspects of energy, economy, environment, technology, and society (E3TS), for the development and utilization of renewable energy (RE). The criteria consist of 22 indicators. The comprehensive performance, from 2011 to 2015, of 30 provincial regions in China with respect to renewable energy development and utilization (REDU) was evaluated on the basis of the E3TS criteria, using an analytic network process (ANP). The results show that the total comprehensive performance (2011–2015) of all the 30 provincial regions of China improved in general. There was a marked improvement in technology performance. Qinghai, Yunnan, and Sichuan ranked the top three in comprehensive performance of REDU, while the comprehensive performance of Shaanxi, Hainan, and Henan were the lowest. During the study period, while the comprehensive performance of most provincial regions such as Ningxia and Xinjiang increased, that of five provincial regions, including Tianjin and Hainan, decreased. The regional comprehensive performance was severely affected by the installed capacity and power generation of RE.

Integrated decision-making model for community-based rehabilitation service utilisation among persons with severe mental illness in China: protocol for a cross-sectional, mixed-methods study

IntroductionA common problem low-income and middle-income countries face is the scarcity of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) resources and low service utilisation among persons with severe mental illness (SMI). Despite this problem,...