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Title: Quantify the energy and environmental benefits of implementing energy-efficiency measures in China’s iron and steel production

Abstract

As one of the most energy-, emission- and pollution-intensive industries, iron and steel production is responsible for significant emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutants. Although many energy-efficiency measures have been proposed by the Chinese government to mitigate GHG emissions and to improve air quality, lacking full understanding of the costs and benefits has created barriers against implementing these measures widely. This paper sets out to advance the understanding by addressing the knowledge gap in costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency measures in iron and steel production. Specifically, we build a new evaluation framework to quantify energy benefits and environmental benefits (i.e., CO2 emission reduction, air-pollutants emission reduction and water savings) associated with 36 energy-efficiency measures. Results show that inclusion of benefits from CO2 and air-pollutants emission reduction affects the cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency measures significantly, while impacts from water-savings benefits are moderate but notable when compared to the effects by considering energy benefits alone. The new information resulted from this study should be used to augment future programs and efforts in reducing energy use and environmental impacts associated with steel production.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. Tsinghua University, Beijing (China)
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Chinese Univ. of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (China)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1214319
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-05CH11231
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Future Cities and Environment
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 1; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2363-9075
Publisher:
Springer
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY; iron and steel; energy-efficiency measure; energy benefits; environmental benefits; cost effectiveness

Citation Formats

Ma, Ding, Chen, Wenying, and Xu, Tengfang. Quantify the energy and environmental benefits of implementing energy-efficiency measures in China’s iron and steel production. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1186/s40984-015-0005-8.
Ma, Ding, Chen, Wenying, & Xu, Tengfang. Quantify the energy and environmental benefits of implementing energy-efficiency measures in China’s iron and steel production. United States. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40984-015-0005-8
Ma, Ding, Chen, Wenying, and Xu, Tengfang. 2015. "Quantify the energy and environmental benefits of implementing energy-efficiency measures in China’s iron and steel production". United States. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40984-015-0005-8. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1214319.
@article{osti_1214319,
title = {Quantify the energy and environmental benefits of implementing energy-efficiency measures in China’s iron and steel production},
author = {Ma, Ding and Chen, Wenying and Xu, Tengfang},
abstractNote = {As one of the most energy-, emission- and pollution-intensive industries, iron and steel production is responsible for significant emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutants. Although many energy-efficiency measures have been proposed by the Chinese government to mitigate GHG emissions and to improve air quality, lacking full understanding of the costs and benefits has created barriers against implementing these measures widely. This paper sets out to advance the understanding by addressing the knowledge gap in costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency measures in iron and steel production. Specifically, we build a new evaluation framework to quantify energy benefits and environmental benefits (i.e., CO2 emission reduction, air-pollutants emission reduction and water savings) associated with 36 energy-efficiency measures. Results show that inclusion of benefits from CO2 and air-pollutants emission reduction affects the cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency measures significantly, while impacts from water-savings benefits are moderate but notable when compared to the effects by considering energy benefits alone. The new information resulted from this study should be used to augment future programs and efforts in reducing energy use and environmental impacts associated with steel production.},
doi = {10.1186/s40984-015-0005-8},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1214319}, journal = {Future Cities and Environment},
issn = {2363-9075},
number = 1,
volume = 1,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Aug 21 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Fri Aug 21 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}

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