A technology-based analysis of the water-energy-emission nexus of China’s steel industry

Wang, Chunyan; Wang, Ranran; Hertwich, Edgar G.; Liu, Yi

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.04.014

Cited by 62 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 89 publications

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“…Its total consumption was 50.56 Mt, of which 48.47 Mt was WEEN-related (R n,w = 95.87%). This subsystem of the petrochemical industry interacts more strongly with the WEEN than that in the steel industry (66%) 34 and the coal-fired power industry (77%−96%). 45 Of the WEEN-related water, 84.27% was energy-related, being mainly involved in direct or indirect cooling; 9.91% was pollutant-related and used for pollutant treatment; and 5.82% was water-related and used for water services.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, the water−energy nexus has been widely studied, − and some studies have introduced the “environment” and formed a WEENsuch as for carbon emissions, climate change, air pollution, − and wastewater, − which mainly focused on the macro level of countries, regions, and cities. Studies in some industries (e.g., coal-fired power industry and steel industry , ) have quantified the WEEN at industry, plant, and unit levels based on technologies. The coupling relationships shown at different scales and levels vary widely, and their application scenarios and actual problems solved are also different.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Integrated Analysis of the Water–Energy–Environmental Pollutant Nexus in the Petrochemical Industry

Sun

Shao

Zhang

et al. 2020

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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China has set high water-conservation, energysaving, and pollutant-reduction goals for the petrochemical industry. This represents a challenge to petrochemical enterprises because of the complex coupling between water, energy, and environmental pollutant (WEE) subsystems, elements (different types of WEE), and production units. However, there has been little research on the element-level coupling relationship. The connection and difference between the coupling relationships of the system, element, and unit levels are not well understood. Therefore, an integrated analysis method was developed to quantify the petrochemical WEE nexus (WEEN) at these three levels, including a generic WEEN model, material and energy flow analysis, and a WEEN analysis matrix. Three indicators were proposed to analyze three-level coupling quantitatively and to formulate improvement strategies for water-conservation, energy-saving, and pollutant-reduction. A case study demonstrated significant threelevel coupling. The coupled percentage of WEE subsystems were 95.87%, 61.97%, and 54.99%, respectively. The dominant energy subsystem was the root of high consumption and pollution. Based on synergies and trade-offs, we proposed element optimization priorities: High priority (deoxidized water and fuel), medium priority (steam, circulating water, and wastewater), and low priority (fresh water, demineralized water, waste gas, and electricity). The identified unit improvement potential revealed overestimation (hydrotreating and delayed coking units) and underestimation (crude distillation units) of conventional methods that overlook three-level coupling.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Analysis of the Water–Energy–Environmental Pollutant Nexus in the Petrochemical Industry

Sun

Shao

Zhang

et al. 2020

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Fifth, the expansion of sprinklers and microirrigation in the agriculture sector, as outlined in the Five-Year Plan of China, would increase GHG emissions from agricultural water use (Cremades et al, 2016). Finally, in the case of China's iron and steel industry, production process adjustment by replacing the blast oxygen furnace process with an electric arc furnace could save 13.2-15.7% of embodied energy per ton of crude steel at an expense of an additional 10.6-16.4% of water footprint (Wang, Wang, Hertwich, & Liu, 2017).…”

Section: Trade-offs Of Ecw-related Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the energy–carbon–water nexus: Concepts, research focuses, mechanisms, and methodologies

Zhao

Lin

2019

WIREs Energy & Environment

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The energy-carbon-water (ECW) nexus has aroused increasing attention worldwide, as it is very important for sustainable development of socioeconomic systems. Researchers conducted a literature review of existing studies on the ECW nexus in terms of concepts, research focuses, mechanisms, and methodologies.Current research on the ECW nexus mainly focuses on the ECW flow accounting, the impact assessment of ECW-related policies or measures, and the description of the nexus characteristics. ECW-related measures may lead to a variety of cobenefits: economic growth, pollutant reduction, water quality improvement, and the carbon-water trade-off-that is, that the adoption of water-saving cooling technologies (such as wet cooling) could increase energy use and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. ECW-related measures could also lead to the deployment of some lowcarbon power generation technologies, such as hydro, nuclear, and biofuel that could increase power sector water use. Nexus mechanisms of existing studies are mainly aimed at a specific sector; fewer studies consider the mechanisms from an economy-wide perspective. Integrated models, such as computable general equilibrium-based models and input-output (IO)-based hybrid life cycle assessment models, should be used to assess the broad socioeconomic impacts of ECWrelated measures in future, in order to inspire policymakers to design and implement effective measures for integrated ECW management.

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“…Water-energy nexus studies have focused on the relationship between water and energy and its effects on the environment, climate change and social development. Wang et al (2017b) discussed water and electricity consumption in the process of coking, sintering, iron making, steel making and rolling in China's steel industry. Mo et al (2014) studied how water consumption impacted energy use and climate change.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examination of the relationship between the exploitation of geothermal sources and regional economies: a Beijing case study

Jiang

Lei

Liu

et al. 2019

Water & Environment J

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Rapid urbanization has resulted in severe demands on water, heat and energy resources, which threaten the sustainability of the urban economy and environment. Geothermal energy is one of the cleanest sources of energy, and it plays an important role in the sustainability of the regional economy and environment. This paper employs the vector autoregressive (VAR) model to assess the effects of water, heat and energy consumption on geothermal adoption and the interactions among these factors. Beijing is chosen as a case study to investigate the water-heat-energy nexus and examination of the relationship between geothermal adoption and the regional economy. The results reveal that water consumption has mainly affected geothermal adoption. Water consumption and energy consumption have negative effects on geothermal adoption, while the centralized heat supply has a positive effect on geothermal adoption. This paper also adopts a gear model and coupling coordination degrees to investigate the relationship between geothermal adoption and the regional economy. The rates of geothermal adoption and the regional economy vary, but they are in a good state of coupling coordination. In addition, the coupling coordination of geothermal adoption and the regional economy has the potential to improve.

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A technology-based analysis of the water-energy-emission nexus of China’s steel industry

Cited by 62 publications

References 89 publications

Integrated Analysis of the Water–Energy–Environmental Pollutant Nexus in the Petrochemical Industry

Integrated Analysis of the Water–Energy–Environmental Pollutant Nexus in the Petrochemical Industry

A review of the energy–carbon–water nexus: Concepts, research focuses, mechanisms, and methodologies

Examination of the relationship between the exploitation of geothermal sources and regional economies: a Beijing case study

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