Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Zongxi Zhang, Yuguang Zhou, Nan Zhao, Huan Li, Bahargul Tohniyaz, Philbert Mperejekumana, Quan Hong, Rucong Wu, Gang Li, Muhammad Sultan, Ali Mohammed Ibrahim Zayan, Jinxin Cao, Riaz Ahmad, Renjie Dong
Summary: Clean heating is crucial in improving air quality, enhancing health benefits, and reducing CO2 emissions, particularly in Northern China. Despite the benefits, challenges remain in implementing clean heating technology due to various factors such as technical limitations and economic considerations. The study evaluates different clean heating options and provides recommendations for promoting clean heating technology in the region.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jiandong Li, Xin Hao, Hong Liao, Huibin Dai, Nan Li, Yixuan Gu, Ruijun Dang, Baojie Li, Ying Wei
Summary: Central heating in North China causes severe air pollution, and the length of heating season is decreasing over the years. Under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 5-8.5 (SSP5-85) and carbon-neutral (CN) scenarios, the start and end dates of central heating in the North China Plain will be delayed and advanced, respectively. A flexible heating policy (FHP) based on temperature is proposed to reduce severe PM2.5 pollution, and it is found that FHP implementation can provide up to a 24% reduction in severe PM2.5 pollution during the year 2019. Future carbon-neutral policies can greatly improve air quality, but the SSP5-85 scenario may still lead to high pollutant emissions and frequent pollution days by 2050.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiaohui Zhang, Xiaoxiao Zhang, Dilinuer Talifu, Xiang Ding, Xinming Wang, Abulikemu Abulizi, Qilong Zhao, Bowen Liu
Summary: Investigating the formation and influencing factors of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in the atmosphere is crucial for understanding the impact of WSOC on climate change and air quality. This study collected PM2.5 samples in Urumqi, Northwest China and analyzed them for WSOC, OC, EC, and water-soluble ions. The results showed that WSOC in Urumqi was mainly derived from biomass burning and secondary organic aerosol (SOA). The concentration of WSOCsec was highest in winter and lowest in summer. WSOCsec was positively correlated with liquid water content (LWC) but not aerosol acidity.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Xin Tan, Guanghui Chen, Kunxian Chen
Summary: In response to severe air pollution caused by winter heating, the Chinese government implemented a clean heating policy in 2017. The policy significantly reduced air pollution and increased the consumption and usage of natural gas for heating. It also led to a shift from coal to natural gas and electricity for household heating. The policy had a greater impact on less urbanized and developed cities, and despite increasing government and household expenditures, it resulted in environmental and health benefits.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mi Zhou, Hongxun Liu, Liqun Peng, Yue Qin, Dan Chen, Lin Zhang, Denise L. Mauzerall
Summary: This study analyzes the air-quality, health, and carbon interdependencies of different heating options in northern China, finding substantial benefits in air quality and health from clean heating options, along with increased heating costs. By 2030, heat pumps show the largest health-carbon synergies among the options analyzed, despite high capital costs, they have lower operating costs and are competitive for long-term use. Increased subsidies for heat pumps can further improve air quality and carbon mitigation in the clean heating transition.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jinghui Ma, Yu Cao, Jianming Xu, Yuanhao Qu, Zhongqi Yu
Summary: The long-term global record of surface PM2.5 mass concentration provided by MERRA-2 has enabled the study of the interactions between air pollution and climate change in China. Principal component analysis was used to classify PM2.5 concentration distribution in different states and investigate the relationships between PM2.5 pollution distribution types and atmospheric circulation. The findings shed light on the dynamic mechanisms controlling the severity and distribution of heavy air pollution.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Peng Li, Jing Jing, Wenwen Guo, Xiya Guo, Wenbiao Hu, Xin Qi, Wen-Qiang Wei, Guihua Zhuang
Summary: The study found that people in low urbanization areas faced a stronger risk of esophageal cancer caused by PM2.5, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges related to PM2.5 pollution in combating EC.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Baojun Tang, Ying Zou, Biying Yu, Yangyang Guo, Guangpu Zhao
Summary: More than 70% of the heated floor area in northern China is currently heated by coal, leading to high energy consumption and environmental burden. Rapid promotion of clean heating technologies can save a significant amount of energy and reduce emissions. Different heating technologies should be considered for different building types to achieve clean heating.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Yao Feng, Fubao Sun, Hong Wang, Fa Liu
Summary: The occurrence of hot-dry wind (HDW), characterized by high temperature, low humidity, and specific wind speed, is a common agricultural meteorological hazard in Northern China. This study explores the impact of HDW and precipitation on surface dryness/wetness in the region. The findings indicate a significant wetting trend from 1983 to 2019 and a weakening of HDW from 1960 to 2019. The primary driver of warm-season dryness has shifted from precipitation before 1982 to HDW in recent decades. The study also reveals variations in dryness/wetness trends in different regions of Northern China, with HDW being a more dominant factor than precipitation.
JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chunbo Xing, Yixiang Wang, Xin Yang, Yaling Zeng, Jinghao Zhai, Baohua Cai, Antai Zhang, Tzung-May Fu, Lei Zhu, Ying Li, Xinming Wang, Yanli Zhang
Summary: In this study, multiple chemical probes were compared to find efficient and complementary oxidative potential (OP) measurements for PM2.5. The effects of different chemical components and emission sources on the OP of PM2.5 were explored, along with their seasonal variations. The combination of OPDTT and OPOH provides an efficient and comprehensive measurement of OP. The findings highlight the importance of long-term, multi-method, multi-component assessment of PM2.5 OP.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Junfeng Wang, Shimeng Wang, Xiaoya Xu, Xiao Li, Pan He, Yuanbo Qiao, Ying Chen
Summary: Cleaner winter heating has been promoted to reduce winter air pollution in northern China, but its effectiveness and mechanism have not been empirically examined. This study estimates the annual effects of winter heating policy on air quality from 2014 to 2017 using a regression discontinuity design and dynamic regression model. The results show that clean heating can mitigate the deterioration of air quality, but its effects diminish over time.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hongjie Jia, Shuying Zang, Lijuan Zhang, Evgenia Yakovleva, Huajie Sun, Li Sun
Summary: The spatiotemporal variation of PM2.5 in 2018 and 2020 was compared to analyze the impacts of COVID-19. The results showed that the annual average PM2.5 concentration in 2020 decreased compared to 2018, with a U-shaped variation pattern and higher values in winter and lower values in summer. The decline in PM2.5 concentrations during the COVID-19 epidemic was particularly significant in eastern and central China, indicating the impact of reduced social activities. Precipitation played a role in diluting pollutants and resulted in the lowest PM2.5 concentrations in August. The PM2.5 concentrations in China showed spatial agglomeration, with highly polluted areas in northwest China and the central plains city group.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiang Li, Yaodong Zhou
Summary: The Clean Heating Policy in northern China targets excessive energy consumption and severe air pollution caused by central heating. Through empirical analysis of panel data from 65 cities in northern China from 2010 to 2019, this paper constructs a dynamic spatial DID model to study the carbon reduction effect of the policy. The results show that the Clean Heating Policy significantly reduces carbon emissions by optimizing energy structure and improving thermal efficiency, with variations across cities and emission fields.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Thermodynamics
Lidong Zhang, Yue Li, Heng Zhang, Xiandong Xu, Zhile Yang, Wei Xu
Summary: This paper surveys the potential of district heating systems in Northern China to accommodate fluctuating heat supply and demand, highlighting the great potential for development of a flexible heating system. It reviews flexibility requirements, enhancement strategies, challenges to be overcome, and addresses state-of-the-art topics like clean heating provision, wind curtailment mitigation, and industrial waste heat utilization. The paper also discusses future directions for deploying the flexibility of district heating systems in northern China, including new heat sources, digitalization, demand-side management, heat market deregulation, and energy policy reform.
APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mengfan Yan, Han Ge, Liwen Zhang, Xi Chen, Xueli Yang, Fangchao Liu, Anqi Shan, Fengchao Liang, Xuejun Li, Zhao Ma, Guanghui Dong, Yamin Liu, Jie Chen, Tong Wang, Baoxin Zhao, Qiang Zeng, Xiangfeng Lu, Yang Liu, Nai-jun Tang
Summary: A retrospective cohort study in northern China found that long-term exposure to high levels of PM2.5 increases the risk of chronic respiratory diseases.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Changgui Dong, Runmin Zhou, Jiaying Li
Summary: Governments offer subsidies to clean technologies, with the impact on technology deployment being difficult to gauge. The case study of China's solar photovoltaic market shows that increasing PV subsidies significantly boosts the development of the national PV market.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Runmin Zhou, Changgui Dong, Jiaying Li
Summary: This study analyzes the importance of feed-in tariffs as a subsidy policy for wind power in China. The results show that increasing feed-in tariffs by 0.1 yuan/kWh annually adds 7.4-9.6 GW of wind capacity to China's national wind power market. Without the subsidy, the market size would be approximately 80% smaller. These findings are important for predicting the impact of cost reduction in wind technologies and examining the interconnected relationships between wind capacity development, subsidy burden, and wind curtailment issues.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yuanshuang Zhao, Liang Dong, Jiaying Li, Kehan Yang, Ning Zhang
Summary: This paper investigates the impact of high temperatures on urban entrepreneurship levels and finds that high temperatures lead to a decrease in urban entrepreneurship. The study also reveals that factors such as industrial structures, sizes, and hierarchies of cities affect the extent to which high temperatures impact entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the paper uncovers the potential mechanisms through which high temperatures influence entrepreneurship.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)