Environmental efficiency analysis of China's regional industry: a data envelopment analysis (DEA) based approach

This paper reviews the evolvement of water footprint assessment (WFA) as a new research field over the past fifteen years. The research is rooted in four basic thoughts: (1) there is a global dimension to water management because water-intensive commodities are internationally traded, so we must study virtual water trade and the effects of countries externalizing their water footprint; (2) freshwater renewal rates are limited, so we must study the development of consumption, production and trade patterns in relation to these limitations; (3) supply-chain thinking, previously uncommon in water management, can help to address sustainable water use from the perspective of companies and final consumers; and (4) a comprehensive approach requires the consideration of green in addition to blue water consumption, the traditional focus in water management, and the analysis of water pollution in the same analytical framework as well. The quick emergence of the new field and wide uptake of the water footprint concept in society has generated substantial discussion about what the concept in narrow sense and the research field in broader sense can offer and what not. The paper reflects on the main issues of debate.

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Water Footprint Assessment: Evolvement of a New Research Field

Iron and steel industry is the largest energy consuming manufacturing sector in the world. It is responsible for emitting 4–5% of the total anthropogenic CO2. Due to consistently increasing demand of iron and steel products for human needs, fossil-fuel energy use and CO2 emission will continue to grow in this industry. So there is a strong motivation to develop and implement energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies as well as carbon reduction programs for this industry. Enhancing the development and deployment of high-temperature waste heat energy recovering technologies along a desired combination of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies will be the effective solution to reducing CO2 emissions from iron and steel production. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the worldwide carbon reduction programs and new CO2 breakthrough technologies for energy saving and carbon capture and storage in iron and steel making processes by collating updated information from a wide range of sources. Also, a discussion on the selection of the appropriate technology and their barriers and stages of development and deployment is presented. It is found that lots of factors that limit the role of using biomass in CO2 abatement, so implementation of CCS technology in coal-based integrated steel plant would be an efficient means for sustainable green iron and steel manufacturing.

A comprehensive review on energy efficient CO2 breakthrough technologies for sustainable green iron and steel manufacturing

The environmental impacts of iron and steel industry: a life cycle assessment study

Sustainability evaluation of a steel production system in China based on emergy

https://escholarship.org/content/qt0j155346/qt0j155346.pdf?t=o962mb

Qianting Weng

Papers

Calculation of water footprint of the iron and steel industry: a case study in Eastern China