Will polycentric cities cause more CO2 emissions? A case study of 232 Chinese cities

From 2000 to 2010 China experienced rapid economic development and urbanization. Many cities in economically developed areas have developed from a single-center status to polycentricity. In this study, we used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to identify the population centers, which identified 232 cities in China as having urban centers. COMP was used to represent urban agglomeration, and POLYD (representing how far is the city's sub-centers to the main center), POLYC (representing the number of a city's centers), and POLYP (representing the population distributed between the main center and the sub-centers) were used to indicate urban polycentricity. Night light data were used to determine the CO₂ emissions from various cities in China. A mixed model was used to study the impact of urban aggregation and polycentric data on the CO₂ emission efficiency in 2000 and 2010. The study found that cities with higher compactness were distributed in coastal areas, and the cities with higher multicentricity were distributed in the Yangtze River Delta and Shandong Province. The more compact the city was, the less conducive it was to improving CO₂ emission efficiency. Polycentric development of the city was conducive to improving the CO₂ emission efficiency, but the number of urban centers had no significant relationship with the CO₂ emission efficiency. Our research showed that the compactness and multicentricity of the city had an impact on the CO₂ emission efficiency and provided some planning suggestions for the low carbon development of the city.     

Ozone pollution characteristics and sensitivity analysis using an observation-based model in Nanjing, Yangtze River Delta Region of China

Ground-level ozone (O₃) has become a critical pollutant impeding air quality improvement in Yangtze River Delta region of China. In this study, we present O₃ pollution characteristics based on one-year online measurements during 2016 at an urban site in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Then, the sensitivity of O₃ to its precursors during 2 O₃ pollution episodes in August was analyzed using a box model based on observation (OBM). The relative incremental reactivity (RIR) of hydrocarbons was larger than other precursors, suggesting that hydrocarbons played the dominant role in O₃ formation. The RIR values for NO_X ranged from –0.41%/% to 0.19%/%. The O₃ sensitivity was also analyzed based on relationship of simulated O₃ production rates with reductions of VOC and NO_X derived from scenario analyses. Simulation results illustrate that O₃ formation was between VOCs-limited and transition regime. Xylenes and light alkenes were found to be key species in O₃ formation according to RIR values, and their sources were determined using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. Paints and solvent use was the largest contributor to xylenes (54%), while petrochemical industry was the most important source to propene (82%). Discussions on VOCs and NO_X reduction schemes suggest that the 5% O₃ control goal can be achieved by reducing VOCs by 20%. To obtain 10% O₃ control goal, VOCs need to be reduced by 30% with VOCs/NO_X larger than 3:1.     

Investigation to meet China II emission legislation for marine diesel engine with diesel methanol compound combustion technology

In order to reduce the pollutant emission and alleviate the pressure of petroleum resources shortage and greenhouse gas emission at the same time, the use of clean and renewable alternative fuel for marine engines is a promising option. In this study, a marine diesel engine, which was modified to run in diesel methanol compound combustion (DMCC) mode, was investigated. After the diesel injection parameters were calibrated, and combined with a sample after-treatment device DOC (diesel oxidation catalyst), the engine could meet the requirements of China II legislation. The overall MSP (methanol substitute percent) reached 54.1%. The value of each pollutant emission was much lower than that in China II emission legislation, and there was almost no methanol and formaldehyde emissions. When methanol was injected into the inlet manifold, the intake air temperature decreased a lot, as well as the exhaust gas temperature, which were beneficial to increase engine thermal efficiency and improve engine room environment. Compared with the engine running in pure diesel mode, when the engine ran in diesel/methanol dual fuel mode, the combustion phase was advanced, and the combustion duration became shorter. Therefore, the engine thermal efficiency increased, and fuel consumption decreased significantly.     

Photodegradation of Hexafluoropropylene Oxide Trimer Acid under UV Irradiation

As a novel alternative to traditional perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), hexafluoroproplyene oxide trimer acid (HFPO-TA) has been detected worldwide in surface water. Moreover, recent researches have demonstrated that HFPO-TA has stronger bioaccumulation potential and higher hepatotoxicity than PFOA. To treat these contaminants e.g. PFOA and PFOS, some photochemical techniques by adding exogenous substances had been reported. However, there is still no report for the behavior of HFPO-TA itself under direct UV irradiation. The current study investigated the photo-transformation of HFPO-TA under UV irradiation in aqueous solution. After 72 hr photoreaction, 75% degradation ratio and 25% defluorination ratio were achieved under ambient condition. Reducing active species, i.e., hydrated electrons and active hydrogen atoms, generated from water splitting played dominant roles in degradation of HFPO-TA, which was confirmed by different effects of reaction atmospheres and quenching experiments. A possible degradation pathway was proposed based on the products identification and theoretical calculations. In general, HFPO-TA would be transformed into shorter-chain PFASs, including hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA), perfluoropropionic acid (PFA) and trifluoroacetate (TFA). This research provides basic information for HFPO-TA photodegradation process and is essential to develop novel remediation techniques for HFPO-TA and other alternatives with similar structures.     

大气压纳秒负脉冲放电对水中大肠杆菌的灭活

采用自行研制的喷嘴-板-筒式反应器,研究了大气压纳秒负脉冲空气放电对水中大肠杆菌（Escherichia coli, E.coli）灭菌率的影响因素及规律。实验中空气自放电喷嘴电极进入反应器,气流带动放电生成的活性粒子流到达并作用于水中大肠杆菌。研究结果表明:本实验装置可有效实现对水中大肠杆菌的灭活,灭菌率随着放电电压和脉冲重复频率的增加、放电处理时间的延长而升高;随着鼓气速率的增大先增大后减小;随着喷嘴电极直径的增加先减小后增大。当采用1.30 mm喷嘴电极,在脉冲峰值电压为-32 kV、重复频率80 Hz,鼓气速率为80 mL/min时,连续放电处理12 min,灭菌率达到91%。     

洞庭湖区南汉垸水体浮游植物群落结构特征及其影响因素

环境要素的变化对浮游植物的群落结构和功能具有重要影响.为揭示洞庭湖南汉垸湖区浮游植物群落结构特征及其影响因素,分别于2017年11月（关泵封水期）和2018年6月（开泵放水期）在洞庭湖区典型堤垸——南汉垸进行了采样调查,并对调查区域内的浮游植物及主要水环境因子进行了系统监测和分析.结果表明:①调查期间共检出浮游植物8门62属,主要隶属于绿藻门（Chlorophyta）、硅藻门（Bacillariophyta）和蓝藻门（Cyanophyta）,浮游植物分布表现出较为显著的时间差异性,11月浮游植物的丰度为8.34×106~3.02×108 L-1,6月为1.13×106~2.04×107 L-1.②Shannon-Wiener多样性指数（H'）介于1.10~3.24之间,Margalef丰富度指数（d）介于1.42~6.40之间,Pielou均匀度指数（J）介于0.48~0.87之间,多样性评价表明,南汉垸整体上介于轻污染与β-中污染之间,局部采样点为α-中污染.③PCA（主成分分析）结果表明,ρ（TN）、ρ（TP）和ρ（NH₄+-N）为南汉垸水体的主要污染因子.④RDA（冗余分析）结果表明,南汉垸浮游植物群落结构分布与pH、ρ（NH₄+-N）及ρ（TN）呈正相关,与WT（水温）呈负相关.研究显示,南汉垸水体介于轻污染与β-中污染之间,营养状态及浮游植物群落结构在时间上差异较大.      

Concentrations and chemical compositions of PM10 during hazy and non-hazy days in Beijing

In order to study the concentrations of major components,characteristics and comparison in hazy and non-hazy days of PM_(10) in Beijing,aerosol samples were collected at urban site in Beijing from December 29,2014 to January 22,2015.Heavy metals like Zn,Pb,Mn,Cu,As,V,Cr and Cd were deeply studied considering their toxic effects on human being;nine water-soluble inorganic ions(SO_4~(2-),NO_3~-,NH_4~+,Na~+,K~+,Cl~-,Ca~(2+) and Mg~(2+)) and carbon fractions(OC and EC) were also analyzed.The concentrations of heavy metals were 1.03–1.98 times higher in hazy days than those in non-hazy days,mainly due to biomass burning and coal burning.The trends in total heavy metals concentrations were basically consistent with the trends in PM concentrations except for two obvious periods(12.29–12.30;1.14–1.15);but when air masses accumulated locally or around Beijing,trends in PM concentrations and heavy metals were opposite.The proportion for NO_3~-/SO_4~(2-) indicated that mobile sources such as automobiles were important reasons for haze in Beijing.Correlation between OC and EC during non-hazy days was strong(R~2= 0.95) but it was low(R~2= 0.67) during hazy days,and large variations for OC/EC values occurred in hazy days.The calculated mass concentration of SOC is 2.58 μg/m~3,which only accounted for 10.1% of the OC concentration.When air masses from the far north-west,they decreased PM concentration in Beijing and they were relatively clean;however,those from the near east,south-east and south of the mainland increased PM concentration and they were dirty.     

Green innovation efficiency across China’s 30 provinces: estimate,comparison, and convergence

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - Considering government and market failure of environmental regulation to combat increasing GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, green innovation...