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Air Pollution Control and Sustainable Development

A topical collection in Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This collection belongs to the section "Air, Climate Change and Sustainability".

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A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Editors

Dr. Weixin Yang

E-Mail Website
Collection Editor
Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
Interests: digital economy and finance; sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Guanghui Yuan

E-Mail
Collection Editor
School of Information Management and Engineering & Fintech Research institute, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China
Interests: system modeling; information economy; data mining; algorithm design
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yunpeng Yang

E-Mail Website
Collection Editor
Antai College of Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Interests: digital industrialization; internet platform research; game theory
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Topical Collection Information

Dear Colleagues,

The atmosphere is one of the key bases for human survival and development. During the rapid economic growth and remarkable pace of global industrialization, massive amounts of fossil fuels including coal, petroleum, and natural gas have been consumed. The whole world—especially the developing countries—is facing a growing issue of air pollution.

Air pollution has caused a great threat to the world, especially the developing countries. On the one hand, particles with diameter under 10 (so-called inhalable particles PM10) can enter the bronchus in the human lower respiratory tract—especially particles with diameter under 2.5  (PM2.5) which can enter the alveoli in human lungs. When such particles (PM2.5) reach human lungs, they attach themselves to the alveoli and stay within the human body for years. They can even travel to other organs of the human body through blood circulation and therefore could cause great damage to people’s health. In China, due to the huge population and planning layout in large and medium-sized cities, the cities have low tolerance in terms of air pollution. According to a study lasting two decades, in the northern part of Huaihe River which relies heavily on coal-fired power, the average life expectancy of people is 5.52 years shorter than that of those in southern areas.

On the other hand, air pollution has also posed a great threat to the sustainable development of the world. The dust and fume contained in waste gases seriously impact agricultural and industrial production as well as transportation. Hazardous substances such as SO2 and NO2 become acid deposition and cause damage and erosion to soil, vegetables, industrial plants, and other buildings. Moreover, the particles in waste gas directly and indirectly cause climatic effects, and result in an imbalance in solar irradiance between the Earth and the Sun so that drought regions will suffer more drought while flood-prone regions will suffer more floods. As a result, it will cause abnormal atmospheric circulation both horizontally and vertically, and even cause irreversible climate change.

In the face of the serious consequences of air pollution, governments have adopted various policies and measures to control and mitigate the adverse effects of air pollution, including China’s “Blue Sky Defense War” action plan, India’s “National Clean Air Program”, and Brazil’s new “Air Quality standards (PI-1, PI-2, PI-3, PF)”. These policies have played a positive role in improving air quality and promoting sustainable development. However, some problems have also been exposed in the implementation process.

Therefore, we organized this Topical Collection to discuss air pollution control and sustainable development in the world, including but not limited to the serious situation of air pollution faced by the world, the effectiveness of current air pollution control policies and measures, and how to improve these policies to better achieve sustainable development.

Submissions for this Topical Collection could relate, but are not limited, to the following topics:

  • Main sources and characteristics of air pollution;
  • The impact of air pollution on sustainable development;
  • The formulation mechanism of air pollution control policies;
  • The effects of air pollution control policies and measures;
  • How to improve current air pollution control policies for the promotion of sustainable development;
  • The cooperation among governments to control air pollution and promote sustainable development.

Dr. Weixin Yang
Prof. Dr. Guanghui Yuan
Dr. Yunpeng Yang
Collection Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • air pollution
  • air pollution control
  • sustainable development
  • control policy

Published Papers (33 papers)

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2024

Jump to: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020

18 pages, 4407 KiB  
Article
Source Apportionment of PM10 as a Tool for Environmental Sustainability in Three School Districts of Lecce (Apulia)
by Tiziana Siciliano, Antonella De Donno, Francesca Serio and Alessandra Genga
Sustainability 2024, 16(5), 1978; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16051978 - 28 Feb 2024
Viewed by 509
Abstract
Air pollution is a great threat to the sustainable development of the world; therefore, the improvement of air quality through the identification and apportionment of emission sources is a significant tool to reach sustainability. Single particle analysis, by means of a scanning electron [...] Read more.
Air pollution is a great threat to the sustainable development of the world; therefore, the improvement of air quality through the identification and apportionment of emission sources is a significant tool to reach sustainability. Single particle analysis, by means of a scanning electron microscope equipped with X-ray energy dispersive analysis (SEM-EDS), was used to identify the morphological and chemical properties of the PM10 particles in order to identify and quantify the main emission sources in three areas of Lecce, a city in the Apulia region of southern Italy. This type of characterization has not yet been performed for the Lecce site, but it is of particular importance to identify, based on the shape of the particles, the natural sources from the anthropogenic sources that are responsible for the serious health effects of the inhabitants. Three primary schools located in peripheral areas of the city were chosen for the sampling: “School 1” (A site), “School 2” (B site), and “School 3” (C site) to carry out a study of the air quality. The A site is characterized by a greater presence of calcium sulphates probably due both to construction activities present during sampling and to reactions between Ca particles and the sulfur present in the atmosphere. At the C site, there is a relative numerical abundance of different groups of particles that present, in the EDS spectrum, an enrichment in sulfur. At the B site, the number of particle groups is intermediate compared to that of the other two sites. With the source apportionment technique, ten emission sources were identified: combustion, soot, industry, soil, carbonates, sea salt, calcium sulfates, SIA, biological particles, and others. In PM10, the three sites are more affected by the soil source, with an effect greater than 60%. Full article
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23 pages, 1060 KiB  
Article
Research on the Collaborative Pollution Reduction Effect of Carbon Tax Policies
by Li Yang
Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 935; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020935 - 22 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 677
Abstract
This study builds a Computable General Equilibrium model to investigate the synergistic effects and simulate the co-benefits of carbon tax policies. The conclusions are as follows: After implementing a carbon tax policy, when the carbon tax increases from 30 CNY/ton to 130 CNY/ton, [...] Read more.
This study builds a Computable General Equilibrium model to investigate the synergistic effects and simulate the co-benefits of carbon tax policies. The conclusions are as follows: After implementing a carbon tax policy, when the carbon tax increases from 30 CNY/ton to 130 CNY/ton, and the reduction in CO2 emissions increases from 1.223 billion tons to 3.943 billion tons. At the same time, the reduction in SO2 emissions rises from 326,200 tons to 1,052,200 tons. However, overall, the reduction rate of SO2 is around 88.87% of the CO2 reduction rate. Thus, a carbon tax is also an effective policy pathway for synergistic pollution reduction and carbon mitigation. In terms of industry output, among the 15 industries, sectors such as electricity generation, aviation, and tertiary industries have increased their output, with the electricity sector achieving the highest increase of 2.9816%. Other industries have exhibited varying degrees of decline, especially coal, natural gas, oil, nonferrous metals, chemicals, steel, and building materials, with the coal industry output decreasing the most, by −49.4924%. Regarding energy consumption, as the carbon tax increases, the consumption of coal, oil, and natural gas all show a downward trend, with coal experiencing the largest decrease, at −49.5640%. Full article
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2023

Jump to: 2024, 2022, 2021, 2020

17 pages, 2741 KiB  
Article
Infiltration of Outdoor PM2.5 Pollution into Homes with Evaporative Coolers in Utah County
by Darrell B. Sonntag, Hanyong Jung, Royce P. Harline, Tyler C. Peterson, Selah E. Willis, Taylor R. Christensen and James D. Johnston
Sustainability 2024, 16(1), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16010177 - 24 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1180
Abstract
Global use of energy-inefficient mechanical vapor-compression air conditioning (AC) is increasing dramatically for home cooling. Direct evaporative coolers (EC) offer substantial energy savings, and may provide a sustainable alternative to AC for homes in hot, dry climates. One drawback of ECs is the [...] Read more.
Global use of energy-inefficient mechanical vapor-compression air conditioning (AC) is increasing dramatically for home cooling. Direct evaporative coolers (EC) offer substantial energy savings, and may provide a sustainable alternative to AC for homes in hot, dry climates. One drawback of ECs is the potential for infiltration of outdoor air pollution into homes. Prior studies on this topic are limited by small sample sizes and a lack of comparison homes. In this study, we used aerosol photometers to sample indoor and outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from 16 homes with AC and 14 homes with EC in Utah County, Utah (USA) between July 2022 and August 2023. We observed a significantly larger infiltration factor (Fin) of outdoor PM2.5 in EC vs. AC homes (0.39 vs. 0.12, p = 0.026) during summer. Fin significantly increased during a wildfire smoke event that occurred during the study. During the wildfire event, EC homes offered little to no protection from outdoor PM2.5 (Fin = 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85, 1.07), while AC homes offered significant protection (Fin = 0.23, 95% CI 0.15, 0.32). We recommend additional research focused on cooling pad design for the dual benefits of cooling efficiency and particle filtration. Full article
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16 pages, 9071 KiB  
Article
Study on Rates of NH3 Adsorption and Desorption in SCR on Various Engine Operation Conditions
by Hyun Jo, Ahyun Ko, Jinyoung Jang and Ocktaeck Lim
Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14468; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914468 - 04 Oct 2023
Viewed by 758
Abstract
Aging diesel engines on the road require the development of an after-treatment system to meet current emission regulations, and a reduction in NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) is significant. The SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) system is the after-treatment system for removing NOx from exhaust gas [...] Read more.
Aging diesel engines on the road require the development of an after-treatment system to meet current emission regulations, and a reduction in NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) is significant. The SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) system is the after-treatment system for removing NOx from exhaust gas in diesel engines using NH3 (Ammonia) gas. However, the mixing and conversion process between NH3 and NOx in SCR has not been entirely clarified. That process produces NH3 slip in the catalyst surface; the NH3 slip will make the after-treatment performance worse. This study informs how the UWS (Urea Water Solution) injection controlling method can minimize the NH3 slip in the after-treatment system. For this, the NH3 adsorption and desorption rates are important factors for determining the quantity of UWS injection in the system. The NH3 adsorption rate and desorption rate in the SCR are not significantly affected by engine speed, i.e., the exhaust gas flow rate. However, as the exhaust gas temperature increased, the adsorption rate and desorption rate of NH3 in the SCR increased. Through this, the exhaust gas temperature dramatically affects the NH3 adsorption rate and desorption rate in the SCR. Therefore, if the urea water is injected based on this knowledge that the NH3 adsorption amount in the SCR decreases as the exhaust gas flow rate increases, NH3 slip can be suppressed and a high NOx reduction rate can be achieved. Therefore, if the SCR adsorption and desorption mechanisms are analyzed according to the exhaust temperature and the exhaust flow rate in this paper, it can be used as a reference for selecting an appropriate SCR when retrofitting an old diesel engine car. Full article
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21 pages, 1024 KiB  
Article
The Dynamic Impacts of Economic Growth, Financial Globalization, Fossil Fuel, Renewable Energy, and Urbanization on Load Capacity Factor in Mexico
by Asif Raihan, Mamunur Rashid, Liton Chandra Voumik, Salma Akter and Miguel Angel Esquivias
Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13462; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813462 - 08 Sep 2023
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2889
Abstract
This study explores the interplay among economic growth, financial globalization, urbanization, fossil fuel consumption, and renewable energy usage and their combined impact on the load capacity factor in Mexico. This research employs the load capacity factor as a unique measure of ecological health, [...] Read more.
This study explores the interplay among economic growth, financial globalization, urbanization, fossil fuel consumption, and renewable energy usage and their combined impact on the load capacity factor in Mexico. This research employs the load capacity factor as a unique measure of ecological health, facilitating a comprehensive ecosystem assessment by sequentially evaluating biocapacity and ecological effects. Using time series data spanning from 1971 to 2018, this study employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method to analyze both long-term and short-term dynamics and cointegration. The findings reveal that economic growth, fossil fuel usage, and urbanization reduce Mexico’s load capacity factor, thereby diminishing environmental quality. In contrast, the adoption of renewable energy sources and the influence of financial globalization exhibit positive effects on the load capacity factor over the long and short term. These outcomes remain consistent even when compared with alternative estimation techniques, including dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), fully modified least squares (FMOLS), and canonical cointegrating regression (CCR). As a priority, Mexican policymakers should accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources, encourage sustainable urban development, and foster a more ecologically conscious economic agenda. Furthermore, promoting greener technologies can enhance the load capacity and mitigate environmental degradation. Ultimately, Mexico can establish an environment conducive to expanding sustainable investments by encouraging cross-border investments, enabling global trade in financial services, and cultivating greater integration of capital and financial markets. Full article
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19 pages, 3123 KiB  
Article
Population Mobility and Urban Air Quality: Causal Inference and Impact Measurement
by Fu Huang, Qiang Wu and Pei Wang
Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11591; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511591 - 27 Jul 2023
Viewed by 700
Abstract
This paper treats the lockdown of Hubei Province during the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 as a quasi-experiment, and uses the prefecture-level data of 328 cities in China to identify the causal effects of population mobility and urban air quality. This paper [...] Read more.
This paper treats the lockdown of Hubei Province during the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 as a quasi-experiment, and uses the prefecture-level data of 328 cities in China to identify the causal effects of population mobility and urban air quality. This paper uses the DID model to eliminate the ‘Spring Festival effect’ with data from the same period of the lunar calendar in 2019 as the control group, and finds the reduction in population mobility has a clear causal impact on the improvement of urban air quality. The vast majority of air pollutants decreased, but ozone, which has a special generation mechanism, increased. This paper also constructs 29-day panel data of 328 prefecture-level cities from January to February in 2020 to quantitatively estimate the impact of population flow on urban air quality. After controlling for fixed effects, the results reveal that 1% increases in intra-city and inter-city population flows correspond to respective increases of 0.433% and 0.201% in the urban air quality index. Compared with inter-city flow, intra-city population flow increases air pollution more severely. Full article
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17 pages, 2621 KiB  
Review
Bibliometrics and Knowledge Map Analysis of Research Progress on Biological Treatments for Volatile Organic Compounds
by Yuan Wang, Bin Zhou, Mengrong Yang, Gao Xiao, Hang Xiao and Xiaorong Dai
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9274; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129274 - 08 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1103
Abstract
The emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has resulted in increasingly severe harm to the environment and human health. In recent years, biological methods have become the preferred technology for VOC removal due to their environmental friendliness and economic advantages. Based on the [...] Read more.
The emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has resulted in increasingly severe harm to the environment and human health. In recent years, biological methods have become the preferred technology for VOC removal due to their environmental friendliness and economic advantages. Based on the theory of bibliometrics, this study analyzed research articles and reviews on biological methods for VOC removal published in the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database from 1966 to 2021. The knowledge map visualization software CiteSpace was utilized to analyze research progress in different countries, co-citation clustering, co-citation bursts, and keyword clustering in the literature data. The results indicated that early research on VOC biological treatment focused on the removal of odorous gases and single components of volatile organic waste gases. Subsequently, benzene contents (BTEX), hydrophobic VOCs, and multi-component VOCs have gradually become the focus of research. In recent years, improving VOC removal efficiency by studying packing materials and microbial communities has become an important research topic both domestically and internationally. Future research should focus on continuously improving the performance of reactors, developing novel reactors, and investigating technologies for treating complex and recalcitrant VOCs. Full article
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15 pages, 498 KiB  
Article
Research on Consumer Trust Mechanism in China’s B2C E-Commerce Platform for Second-Hand Cars
by Xueqian Li, Jiaqi Ma, Xinyu Zhou and Ruixia Yuan
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4244; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054244 - 27 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2223
Abstract
The rapid development of China’s e-commerce industry has led to the rise of China’s second-hand car e-commerce. With the increasingly rich trust theory and the rapid development of e-commerce platforms, the issue of online consumer trust has attracted more and more scholars’ attention. [...] Read more.
The rapid development of China’s e-commerce industry has led to the rise of China’s second-hand car e-commerce. With the increasingly rich trust theory and the rapid development of e-commerce platforms, the issue of online consumer trust has attracted more and more scholars’ attention. This paper takes China’s B2C second-hand car e-commerce platforms as an example, combines the second-hand car research conclusions and consumer trust theory, and conducts a systematic study on the formation of consumer trust in second-hand car e-commerce platforms. Based on the trust of individual consumers, system environment, website/APP and platform companies, this paper explores the influencing factors of consumer trust and constructs the influencing factors model of trust formation. The empirical study was conducted by using the structural equation model and multiple regression to verify the degree of fitting of the theoretical hypothesis and the model. The research results have a certain reference value for the development of second-hand car e-commerce platforms. Full article
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23 pages, 1278 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Evaluation and Comparative Analysis of the Green Development Level of Provinces in Eastern and Western China
by Weixin Yang, Yue Hu, Qinyi Ding, Hao Gao and Lingguang Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 3965; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15053965 - 22 Feb 2023
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 1819
Abstract
Considering the green development initiatives vigorously promoted by China, this paper constructs an evaluation index system that covers six areas, including resource utilization, pollution control, living environment, ecological protection, circular economy, and quality of economic growth. This paper also establishes an improved comprehensive [...] Read more.
Considering the green development initiatives vigorously promoted by China, this paper constructs an evaluation index system that covers six areas, including resource utilization, pollution control, living environment, ecological protection, circular economy, and quality of economic growth. This paper also establishes an improved comprehensive evaluation model by using the method of Vertical Projection Distance-Set Pair Analysis in order to optimize the traditional method of Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution. Based on the official data released by China, this paper quantitatively analyzes the green development level of 21 provinces in eastern and western China in the aforementioned six areas from 2005 to 2020, and makes a regional comparison between eastern and western China. The results show that the level of green development in eastern China is significantly higher than that in western China. In 2020, when the research period ends, the comprehensive evaluation values of green development in all the eastern provinces, except Hebei, are higher than 4.0; meanwhile, no province in the western region has a comprehensive evaluation value exceeding 4.0 in 2020, and there is a large gap between the eastern region and the western region in areas such as economic growth quality and pollution control. On this basis, this paper puts forward relevant suggestions in terms of the coordinated green development of the eastern and western regions of China in the future. Full article
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2022

Jump to: 2024, 2023, 2021, 2020

18 pages, 5403 KiB  
Article
Study on Spatio-Temporal Evolution Law and Driving Mechanism of PM2.5 Concentration in Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration
by Wenhao Chen, Chang Zeng, Chuheng Ding, Yingfang Zhu and Yurong Sun
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 14967; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142214967 - 12 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1071
Abstract
Since the 21st century, China has made many explorations to alleviate the increasingly serious air pollution problem. This study analyses the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and future development of PM2.5 concentration in the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan urban agglomeration from 2008 to 2019. In addition, the [...] Read more.
Since the 21st century, China has made many explorations to alleviate the increasingly serious air pollution problem. This study analyses the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and future development of PM2.5 concentration in the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan urban agglomeration from 2008 to 2019. In addition, the driving mechanism of spatial differentiation of PM2.5 concentration in this urban agglomeration was also investigated. The results were as follows. Firstly, the PM2.5 concentration showed a trend of gradual decline between 2008 and 2019. Secondly, the PM2.5 concentration distribution was high in the northwest and low in the southeast. Thirdly, PM2.5 concentration showed a strong spatial agglomeration. Fourth, except for some rural areas of Chaling County and Yanling County, the concentration of PM2.5 in other areas was very likely to continue the past trend of gradual decline. Finally, natural and meteorological conditions played a leading role in the evolution of PM2.5 concentration. The influence of socioeconomic factors is small now, but the trend is increasing. To improve air quality deeply, policymakers need to promote comprehensive control of regional air pollution by simultaneously reducing emissions and taking comprehensive treatment. They also need to strengthen supervision to prevent excessive pollution in some rural areas from worsening air quality in the surrounding areas. Full article
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22 pages, 3402 KiB  
Review
Bibliometric Network Analysis of Trends in Cyclone Separator Research: Research Gaps and Future Direction
by Frimpong J. Alex, Gangfeng Tan, Philip K. Agyeman, Prince O. Ansah, Isaac O. Olayode, Jamshid V. Fayzullayevich and Shuang Liang
Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 14753; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142214753 - 09 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3169
Abstract
Cyclone separators are used extensively in diverse applications and research domains to collect particle-laden flows. Despite the technological advances in this field, no bibliometric reports on this topic have been documented. Understanding the state of the art in this field is crucial for [...] Read more.
Cyclone separators are used extensively in diverse applications and research domains to collect particle-laden flows. Despite the technological advances in this field, no bibliometric reports on this topic have been documented. Understanding the state of the art in this field is crucial for future research. Using bibliometric mapping techniques, this study examined the quality, quantity, and development of research on cyclone separators. Relevant data were extracted in plain text formats through search queries refined by publication year (2000–2021) and document type (article and review articles). A sample of 487 publications, limited to the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database was used for the bibliometric analysis. Data analysis was performed using RStudio software package (R Bibliometrix tool). Of the 487 publications that appeared during this period, China had the highest number, followed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, whereas chemical engineering journals dominated the cyclone separator research publications. Collaboration among the researchers was low (MCPR < 0.5000). Furthermore, the pattern of single-author publications was found to outstrip that of the multiple-author publications. The findings suggest that researchers in various parts of the world, particularly Africa and the Middle East, should route their research efforts towards this field, in light of the lack of publications from these regions on this subject. The aim of this study was to serve as a seminal reference for potential technological research directions and collaboration among researchers in this and other related fields. Full article
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12 pages, 1335 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Spatial Dynamic Correlation and Influencing Factors of Atmospheric Pollution in Urban Agglomeration in China
by Liangli Wei and Xia Li
Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11496; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811496 - 14 Sep 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1188
Abstract
The fluidity of air pollution makes a cross-regional joint effort to control pollution inevitable. Exploring the dynamic correlation and affecting factors of air pollution in urban agglomerations is conducive to improving the effectiveness of pollution control and promoting the high-quality development of the [...] Read more.
The fluidity of air pollution makes a cross-regional joint effort to control pollution inevitable. Exploring the dynamic correlation and affecting factors of air pollution in urban agglomerations is conducive to improving the effectiveness of pollution control and promoting the high-quality development of the regional economy. Based on daily data on PM2.5 concentration, the article identifies the dynamic association relationship of atmospheric pollution in urban agglomerations of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) air pollution transmission channel under the framework of the vector autoregressive model, building the spatial correlation network of atmospheric pollution in urban agglomerations of BTH atmospheric pollution transmission channel, investigating the structure characteristics and influencing factors. The results show that the atmospheric pollution in BTH cities has a general dynamic correlation, which shows a stable multithreaded complex network structure; the overflow direction of air pollution is highly consistent with the weight matrix of northwest wind direction; economic development level, population density, openness degree, geographical location, and the relationship of wind direction are the important factors affecting the spatial association network of atmospheric pollution. We should actively explore the construction mode of urban agglomeration under the constraint of atmospheric pollution and improve the cross-regional collaborative governance mechanism. Full article
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18 pages, 6685 KiB  
Article
Urban Air Quality Monitoring in Decarbonization Context; Case Study—Traditional Coal Mining Area, Petroșani, Romania
by Evelina Rezmerița, Sorin Mihai Radu, Angelica-Nicoleta Călămar, Csaba Lorinț, Adrian Florea and Aurelian Nicola
Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 8165; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14138165 - 04 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1375
Abstract
Humanity is a fossil-fueled civilization with a large influence on the environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) has pointed out that air pollution is now the single biggest environmental threat to human health. The air quality in Petroșani, a traditional mining region from [...] Read more.
Humanity is a fossil-fueled civilization with a large influence on the environment. The World Health Organization (WHO) has pointed out that air pollution is now the single biggest environmental threat to human health. The air quality in Petroșani, a traditional mining region from the Jiu Valley bituminous coal basin, Romania, is rarely debated; however, it is not often investigated. In this paper, the main air pollution sources of Petroșani are identified and the performed measurements emphasize the air quality in the area of its transit road. The monitoring program set out the objectives, parameters, and points of the monitoring system, as well as the frequency and duration of the program and other monitoring parameters. The equipment used was provided by the National Institute for Research and Development in Mine Safety and Protection to Explosion from Petroșani, within an institutional partnership with the University of Petroșani. The monitoring of the air quality parameters was conducted from March to July 2020, at six points located on the road that crosses the city. It was thus possible to capture a variety of concentrations of the monitored parameters in different weather conditions to determine the air quality in this area. Based on the variation of the measured values in one of the most important historical Romanian bituminous coal mining basins, the preliminary results suggest a worsening of local air quality parameters in relation to the decarbonization process. Full article
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22 pages, 23185 KiB  
Article
Operational Data-Driven Intelligent Modelling and Visualization System for Real-World, On-Road Vehicle Emissions—A Case Study in Hangzhou City, China
by Lu Wang, Xue Chen, Yan Xia, Linhui Jiang, Jianjie Ye, Tangyan Hou, Liqiang Wang, Yibo Zhang, Mengying Li, Zhen Li, Zhe Song, Yaping Jiang, Weiping Liu, Pengfei Li, Xiaoye Zhang and Shaocai Yu
Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5434; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095434 - 30 Apr 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2288
Abstract
On-road vehicle emissions play a crucial role in affecting air quality and human exposure, particularly in megacities. In the absence of comprehensive traffic monitoring networks with the general lack of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) and big-data-driven, high-performance-computing (HPC) platforms, it remains challenging to [...] Read more.
On-road vehicle emissions play a crucial role in affecting air quality and human exposure, particularly in megacities. In the absence of comprehensive traffic monitoring networks with the general lack of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) and big-data-driven, high-performance-computing (HPC) platforms, it remains challenging to constrain on-road vehicle emissions and capture their hotspots. Here, we established an intelligent modelling and visualization system driven by ITS traffic data for real-world, on-road vehicle emissions. Based on the HPC platform (named “City Brain”) and an agile Web Geographic Information System (WebGISs), this system can map real-time (hourly), hyperfine (10~1000 m) vehicle emissions (e.g., PM2.5, NOx, CO, and HC) and associated traffic states (e.g., vehicle-specific categories and traffic fluxes) over the Xiaoshan District in Hangzhou. Our results show sharp variations in on-road vehicle emissions on small scales, which even fluctuated up to 31.2 times within adjacent road links. Frequent and widespread emission hotspots were also exposed. Over custom spatiotemporal scopes, we virtually investigated and visualized the impacts of traffic control policies on the traffic states and on-road vehicle emissions. Such results have important implications for how traffic control policies should be optimized. Integrating this system with chemical transport models and air quality measurements would bridge the technical gap between air pollutant emissions, concentrations, and human exposure. Full article
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43 pages, 6880 KiB  
Article
Random Forests Assessment of the Role of Atmospheric Circulation in PM10 in an Urban Area with Complex Topography
by Piotr Sekula, Zbigniew Ustrnul, Anita Bokwa, Bogdan Bochenek and Miroslaw Zimnoch
Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3388; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063388 - 14 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1629
Abstract
This study presents the assessment of the quantitative influence of atmospheric circulation on the pollutant concentration in the area of Kraków, Southern Poland, for the period 2000–2020. The research has been realized with the application of different statistical parameters, synoptic meteorology tools, the [...] Read more.
This study presents the assessment of the quantitative influence of atmospheric circulation on the pollutant concentration in the area of Kraków, Southern Poland, for the period 2000–2020. The research has been realized with the application of different statistical parameters, synoptic meteorology tools, the Random Forests machine learning method, and multilinear regression analyses. Another aim of the research was to evaluate the types of atmospheric circulation classification methods used in studies on air pollution dispersion and to assess the possibility of their application in air quality management, including short-term PM10 daily forecasts. During the period analyzed, a significant decreasing trend of pollutants’ concentrations and varying atmospheric circulation conditions was observed. To understand the relation between PM10 concentration and meteorological conditions and their significance, the Random Forests algorithm was applied. Observations from meteorological stations, air quality measurements and ERA-5 reanalysis were used. The meteorological database was used as an input to models that were trained to predict daily PM10 concentration and its day-to-day changes. This study made it possible to distinguish the dominant circulation types with the highest probability of occurrence of poor air quality or a significant improvement in air quality conditions. Apart from the parameters whose significant influence on air quality is well established (air temperature and wind speed at the ground and air temperature gradient), the key factor was also the gradient of relative air humidity and wind shear in the lowest troposphere. Partial dependence calculated with the use of the Random Forests model made it possible to better analyze the impact of individual meteorological parameters on the PM10 daily concentration. The analysis has shown that, for areas with a diversified topography, it is crucial to use the variability of the atmospheric circulation during the day to better forecast air quality. Full article
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20 pages, 1351 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Influencing Factors of Embodied Carbon in China’s Export Trade in the Background of “Carbon Peak” and “Carbon Neutrality”
by Weixin Yang, Hao Gao and Yunpeng Yang
Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3308; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063308 - 11 Mar 2022
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 3142
Abstract
Since China’s reform and opening up, especially after its accession to the World Trade Organization, its foreign trade has achieved fruitful results. However, at the same time, the extensive foreign trade growth model with high energy consumption and high pollution has also caused [...] Read more.
Since China’s reform and opening up, especially after its accession to the World Trade Organization, its foreign trade has achieved fruitful results. However, at the same time, the extensive foreign trade growth model with high energy consumption and high pollution has also caused a rapid increase in carbon emissions. There is a large amount of embodied carbon emissions in the export trade. In order to achieve the strategic goals of “Carbon Peak” and “Carbon Neutrality’, and at the same time build a green trading system to achieve coordinated development of trade and the environment, it is of great significance to study embodied carbon emissions and how to decouple them with China’s foreign trade. This paper uses the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index method to decompose the influencing factors of the embodied carbon in China’s export trade in order to study the impact of three factors: export scale, export structure, and carbon emission intensity. The results show that the change in export scale is the most important factor affecting the embodied carbon of China’s export trade, and the expansion of export scale has caused the growth of trade embodied carbon. Carbon emission intensity is the second influential factor, and the decline in carbon intensity would slow down the growth of trade embodied carbon, while changes in the export structure have the smallest impact on trade embodied carbon. The high carbonization of the overall export structure will cause growth of trade embodied carbon, but the tertiary industry has seen some improvement in the export structure, which could facilitate the decline of trade embodied carbon. Full article
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24 pages, 23419 KiB  
Article
What Are the Sectors Contributing to the Exceedance of European Air Quality Standards over the Iberian Peninsula? A Source Contribution Analysis
by Pedro Jiménez-Guerrero
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2759; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052759 - 26 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2602
Abstract
The Iberian Peninsula, located in southwestern Europe, is exposed to frequent exceedances of different threshold and limit values of air pollution, mainly related to particulate matter, ozone, and nitrous oxide. Source apportionment modeling represents a useful modeling tool for evaluating the contribution of [...] Read more.
The Iberian Peninsula, located in southwestern Europe, is exposed to frequent exceedances of different threshold and limit values of air pollution, mainly related to particulate matter, ozone, and nitrous oxide. Source apportionment modeling represents a useful modeling tool for evaluating the contribution of different emission sources or sectors and for designing useful mitigation strategies. In this sense, this work assesses the impact of various emission sectors on air pollution levels over the Iberian Peninsula using a source contribution analysis (zero-out method). The methodology includes the use of the regional WRF + CHIMERE modeling system (coupled to EMEP emissions). In order to represent the sensitivity of the chemistry and transport of gas-phase pollutants and aerosols, several emission sectors have been zeroed-out to quantify the influence of different sources in the area, such as on-road traffic or other mobile sources, combustion in energy generation, industrial emissions or agriculture, among others. The sensitivity analysis indicates that large reductions of precursor emissions (coming mainly from energy generation, road traffic, and maritime-harbor emissions) are needed for improving air quality and attaining the thresholds set in the European Directive 2008/50/EC over the Iberian Peninsula. Full article
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20 pages, 9565 KiB  
Article
Can Changes in Urban Form Affect PM2.5 Concentration? A Comparative Analysis from 286 Prefecture-Level Cities in China
by Chuang Sun, Xuegang Chen, Siyu Zhang and Tianhao Li
Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2187; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042187 - 15 Feb 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1739
Abstract
It is crucial to the sustainable development of cities that we understand how urban form affects the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from a spatial–temporal perspective. This study explored the influence of urban form on PM2.5 concentration in 286 [...] Read more.
It is crucial to the sustainable development of cities that we understand how urban form affects the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from a spatial–temporal perspective. This study explored the influence of urban form on PM2.5 concentration in 286 prefecture-level Chinese cities and compared them from national and regional perspectives. The analysis, which explored the influence of urban form on PM2.5 concentration, was based on two types of urban form indicators (socioeconomic urban index and urban landscape index). The results revealed that cities with high PM2.5 concentrations tended to be clustered. From the national perspective, urban built-up area (UA) and road density (RD) have a significant correlation with PM2.5 concentration for all cities. There was a significant negative correlation between the number of patches (NP) and the average concentration of PM2.5 in small and medium-sized cities. Moreover, urban fragmentation had a stronger impact on PM2.5 concentrations in small cities. From a sub-regional perspective, there was no significant correlation between urban form and PM2.5 concentration in the eastern and central regions. On the other hand, the influence of population density on PM2.5 concentration in northeastern China and northwestern China showed a significant positive correlation. In large- and medium-sized cities, the number of patches (NP), the largest patch index (LPI), and the contagion index (CONTAG) were also positively correlated with PM2.5 concentration, while the LPI in small cities was significantly negatively correlated with PM2.5 concentration. This shows that, for more developed areas, planning agencies should encourage moderately decentralized and polycentric urban development. For underdeveloped cities and shrinking cities, the development of a single center should be encouraged. Full article
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23 pages, 914 KiB  
Article
Research on the Impact of Environmental Regulation on Green Technology Innovation from the Perspective of Regional Differences: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on China’s New Environmental Protection Law
by Qin Liu, Ying Zhu, Weixin Yang and Xueyu Wang
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1714; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031714 - 01 Feb 2022
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 4962
Abstract
Environmental regulations have a certain impact on regional green technology innovation affected by regional differences. Using the panel data of 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China (excluding Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) from 2011 to 2019, we consider China’s new environmental protection [...] Read more.
Environmental regulations have a certain impact on regional green technology innovation affected by regional differences. Using the panel data of 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China (excluding Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) from 2011 to 2019, we consider China’s new environmental protection law (NEPL) as a quasi-natural experiment to evaluate the impact of environmental regulation on green technology innovation in a difference-in-differences (DID) framework and further analyze the influences of regional differences. The results indicate that environmental regulations can promote regional green technology innovation, and that regional differences have a significant impact on this issue. Furthermore, environmental regulations in regions with high and low levels of economic development and education, and regions with medium and low levels of energy consumption have a significant impact on green technology innovation. The government should reasonably formulate environmental regulation policies on the basis of regional differences, encourage cross-regional exchanges and cooperation, and more efficiently stimulate regional green technology innovation to achieve sustainable development. Full article
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17 pages, 3220 KiB  
Article
Trends of Studies on Controlled Halogenated Gases under International Conventions during 1999–2018 Using Bibliometric Analysis: A Global Perspective
by Jing Wang, Hui-Zhen Fu, Jiaqi Xu, Danqi Wu, Yue Yang, Xiaoyu Zhu and Jing Wu
Sustainability 2022, 14(2), 806; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020806 - 12 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2032
Abstract
A lot of research on international convention-controlled halogenated gases (CHGs) has been carried out. However, few bibliometric analyses and literature reviews exist in this field. Based on 734 articles extracted from the Science Citation Index (SCI) Expanded database of the Web of Science, [...] Read more.
A lot of research on international convention-controlled halogenated gases (CHGs) has been carried out. However, few bibliometric analyses and literature reviews exist in this field. Based on 734 articles extracted from the Science Citation Index (SCI) Expanded database of the Web of Science, we provided the visualisation for the performance of contributors and trends in research content by using VOSviewer and Science of Science (Sci2). The results showed that the United States was the most productive country, followed by the United Kingdom and China. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had the largest number of publications, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Bristol. In terms of disciplines, environmental science and meteorological and atmospheric science have contributed the most. By using cluster analysis of all keywords, four key research topics of CHGs were identified and reviewed: (1) emissions calculation, (2) physicochemical analysis of halocarbons, (3) evaluation of replacements, and (4) environmental impact. The change in research substances is closely related to the phase-out schedule of the Montreal Protocol. In terms of environmental impact, global warming has always been the most important research hotspot, whereas research on ozone-depleting substances and biological toxicity shows a gradually rising trend. Full article
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18 pages, 16163 KiB  
Article
Temporal and Spatial Analysis of PM2.5 and O3 Pollution Characteristics and Transmission in Central Liaoning Urban Agglomeration from 2015 to 2020
by Ju Wang, Yue Zhong, Zhuoqiong Li and Chunsheng Fang
Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 511; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010511 - 04 Jan 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2144
Abstract
The central Liaoning urban agglomeration is an important heavy industry development base in China, and also an important part of the economy in northeast China. The atmospheric environmental problems caused by the development of heavy industry are particularly prominent. Trajectory clustering, potential source [...] Read more.
The central Liaoning urban agglomeration is an important heavy industry development base in China, and also an important part of the economy in northeast China. The atmospheric environmental problems caused by the development of heavy industry are particularly prominent. Trajectory clustering, potential source contribution (PSCF), and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) analysis are used to discuss the temporal and spatial pollution characteristics of PM2.5 and ozone concentrations and reveal the regional atmospheric transmission pattern in central Liaoning urban agglomeration from 2015 to 2020. The results show that: (1) PM2.5 in the central Liaoning urban agglomeration showed a decreasing trend from 2015 to 2020. The concentration of PM2.5 is the lowest in 2018. Except for Benxi (34.7 µg/m3), the concentrations of PM2.5 in other cities do not meet the standard in 2020. The ozone concentration in Anshan, Liaoyang, and Shenyang reached the peaks in 2017, which are 68.76 µg/m3, 66.27 µg/m3, and 63.46 µg/m3 respectively. PM2.5 pollution is the highest in winter and the lowest in summer. The daily variation distribution of PM2.5 concentration showed a bimodal pattern. Ozone pollution is the most serious in summer, with the concentration of ozone reaching 131.14 µg/m3 in Shenyang. Fushun is affected by Shenyang intercity pollution, and the ozone concentration is high. (2) In terms of spatial distribution, the high values of PM2.5 are concentrated in monitoring stations in urban areas. On the contrary, the concentration of ozone in suburban stations is higher. The high concentration of ozone in the northeast of Anshan, Liaoyang, Shenyang to Tieling, and Fushun extended in a band distribution. (3) Through cluster analysis, it is found that PM2.5 and ozone in Shenyang are mainly affected by short-distance transport airflow. In winter, the weighted PSCF high-value area of PM2.5 presents as a potential contribution source zone of the northeast trend with wide coverage, in which the contribution value of the weighted CWT in the middle of Heilongjiang is the highest. The main potential source areas of ozone mass concentration in spring and summer are coastal cities and the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. We conclude that the regional transmission of pollutants is an important factor of pollution, so we should pay attention to the supply of industrial sources and marine sources of marine pollution in the surrounding areas of cities, and strengthen the joint prevention and control of air pollution among regions. The research results of this article provide a useful reference for the central Liaoning urban agglomeration to improve air quality. Full article
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2021

Jump to: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020

14 pages, 1539 KiB  
Article
Modeling Spatial Distribution and Determinant of PM2.5 at Micro-Level Using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) to Inform Sustainable Mobility Policies in Campus Based on Evidence from King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
by Alok Tiwari and Mohammed Aljoufie
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12043; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112043 - 31 Oct 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2433
Abstract
Air pollution is fatal. Fine particles, such as PM2.5, in ambient air might be the cause of many physical and psychological disorders, including cognitive decline. This is why educational policymakers are adopting sustainable mobility, and other policy measures, to make their [...] Read more.
Air pollution is fatal. Fine particles, such as PM2.5, in ambient air might be the cause of many physical and psychological disorders, including cognitive decline. This is why educational policymakers are adopting sustainable mobility, and other policy measures, to make their campuses carbon-neutral; however, car-dependent cities and their university campuses are still lagging behind in this area. This study attempts to model the spatial heterogeneity and determinants of PM2.5 at the King Abdulaziz University campus in Jeddah, which is ranked first among the Saudi Arabian universities, as well as in the MENA region. We developed four OLS and GWR models of different peak and off-peak periods during weekdays in order to estimate the determinants of the PM2.5 concentration. The number of cars, humidity, temperature, windspeed, distance from trees, and construction sites were the estimators in our analysis. Because of a lack of secondary data at a finer scale, we collected the samples of all dependent and independent variables at 51 locations on the KAU campus. Model selection was based on RSS, log-likelihood, adjusted R2, and AICc, and a modal comparison shows that the GWR variant of Model-2 outperformed the other models. The results of the GWR model demonstrate the geographical variability of the PM2.5 concentration on the KAU campus, to which the volume of car traffic is the key contributor. Hence, we recommend using the results of this study to support the development of a car-free and zero-carbon campus at KAU; furthermore, this study could be exploited by other campuses in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. Full article
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29 pages, 4351 KiB  
Review
Challenges of a Healthy Built Environment: Air Pollution in Construction Industry
by Antonija Ana Wieser, Marco Scherz, Alexander Passer and Helmuth Kreiner
Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10469; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810469 - 21 Sep 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 10865
Abstract
Air pollution is a global concern, especially in cities and urban areas, and has many implications for human health and for the environment. In common with other industrial sectors, the construction industry emits air pollutants. In scientific literature, the contribution the construction industry [...] Read more.
Air pollution is a global concern, especially in cities and urban areas, and has many implications for human health and for the environment. In common with other industrial sectors, the construction industry emits air pollutants. In scientific literature, the contribution the construction industry makes to air pollution is underexposed. This systematic literature review (SLR) paper gives an overview of the current literature regarding air pollution within the construction industry. Air pollution is discussed focusing mainly on three levels: (i) buildings and their building life cycle stages, (ii) construction processes and components, and (iii) building material and interior. The final sample of the SLR comprises 161 scientific articles addressing different aspects of the construction industry. The results show that most articles address the use stage of a building. Particulate matter in different sizes is the most frequently examined air pollutant within the SLR. Moreover, about a third of the articles refer to indoor air pollution, which shows the relevance of the topic. The construction industry can help to develop a healthier built environment and support the achievement of cleaner air within various life cycle stages, e.g., with optimized construction processes and healthier materials. International agreements and policies such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can support the sustainable development of the construction industry. Full article
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12 pages, 2214 KiB  
Article
Experimental Analysis of CO2 Concentration Changes in an Apartment Using a Residential Heat Recovery Ventilator
by Kyungjoo Cho, Dongwoo Cho and Taeyeon Kim
Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10302; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810302 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1869
Abstract
Korean law requires at least three levels of control for apartment ventilation systems, including 0.5 air change per hour (ACH). When this law was enacted, it was believed that a 0.5 ACH air flow rate would be sufficient for apartments following building completion. [...] Read more.
Korean law requires at least three levels of control for apartment ventilation systems, including 0.5 air change per hour (ACH). When this law was enacted, it was believed that a 0.5 ACH air flow rate would be sufficient for apartments following building completion. However, ventilation systems cause different air qualities in each space within a unit, depending on infiltration rate and number of occupants. In addition, the current ventilation rate standard is based on an apartment unit’s total area, assuming that all room doors are open. In this study, changes in CO2 concentration were experimentally analyzed based on the number of occupants and various ventilation frequencies with closed doors to analyze air quality differences among rooms in a typical 85 m2 apartment unit in Korea. When the 0.5 ACH ventilation was performed, maintaining 1000 ppm or less was difficult if four people stayed for more than two hours in the living room or two people stayed for more than one hour in the bedroom with closed doors. Our results indicate that it is challenging to maintain a CO2 concentration of 1000 ppm when doors are closed as standards are calculated based on a unit’s total area. Therefore, ventilation systems should be required to provide different air volumes for each room. Full article
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14 pages, 3007 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of PM2.5 Particulate Matter and Noise Pollution in Tikrit University Based on GIS and Statistical Modeling
by Mohammed Hashim Ameen, Huda Jamal Jumaah, Bahareh Kalantar, Naonori Ueda, Alfian Abdul Halin, Abdullah Saeb Tais and Sarah Jamal Jumaah
Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9571; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179571 - 25 Aug 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2401
Abstract
In this paper, we assess the extent of environmental pollution in terms of PM2.5 particulate matter and noise in Tikrit University, located in Tikrit City of Iraq. The geographic information systems (GIS) technology was used for data analysis. Moreover, we built two multiple [...] Read more.
In this paper, we assess the extent of environmental pollution in terms of PM2.5 particulate matter and noise in Tikrit University, located in Tikrit City of Iraq. The geographic information systems (GIS) technology was used for data analysis. Moreover, we built two multiple linear regression models (based on two different data inputs) for the prediction of PM2.5 particulate matter, which were based on the explanatory variables of maximum and minimum noise, temperature, and humidity. Furthermore, the maximum prediction coefficient R2 of the best models was 0.82, with a validated (via testing data) coefficient R2 of 0.94. From the actual total distribution of PM2.5 particulate values ranging from 35–58 μg/m3, our best model managed to predict values between 34.9–60.6 μg/m3. At the end of the study, the overall air quality was determined between moderate and harmful. In addition, the overall detected noise ranged from 49.30–85.79 dB, which inevitably designated the study area to be categorized as a noisy zone, despite being an educational institution. Full article
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18 pages, 1750 KiB  
Article
Haze Pollution Levels, Spatial Spillover Influence, and Impacts of the Digital Economy: Empirical Evidence from China
by Jie Zhou, Hanlin Lan, Cheng Zhao and Jianping Zhou
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9076; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169076 - 13 Aug 2021
Cited by 58 | Viewed by 4175
Abstract
With the development of digital technologies such as the Internet and digital industries such as e-commerce, the digital economy has become a new form of economic and social development, which has brought forth a new perspective for environmental governance, energy conservation, and emission [...] Read more.
With the development of digital technologies such as the Internet and digital industries such as e-commerce, the digital economy has become a new form of economic and social development, which has brought forth a new perspective for environmental governance, energy conservation, and emission reduction. Based on data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2018, this study applies the space and threshold models to empirically examine the digital economy’s influence on haze pollution and its spatial spillover. Furthermore, it investigates the spatial diffusion effect of regional digital economic development and haze pollution by constructing a spatial weight matrix. Subsequently, an instrumental variable robustness test is performed. Results indicate the following: (1) Haze pollution has spatial spillover effects and high emission aggregation characteristics, with haze pollution in neighbouring provinces significantly aggravating pollution levels in the focal province. (2) China’s digital economy has positively impacted haze pollution, with digital economic development having a significant effect (i.e., most prominent in eastern China) on reducing haze pollution. (3) Changing the energy structure and supporting innovation can restrain haze pollution, and the digital economy can reduce the path mechanism of haze pollution through the mediating effect of an advanced industrial structure. It shows a non-linear characteristic that the influence of haze reduction continues to weaken. Thus, policymakers should include the digital economy as a mechanism for ecologically sustainable development in haze pollution control. Full article
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27 pages, 742 KiB  
Article
The Adverse Impact of Air Pollution on China’s Economic Growth
by Daxin Dong, Boyang Xu, Ning Shen and Qian He
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9056; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169056 - 12 Aug 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6604
Abstract
This study empirically evaluates the impact of air pollution on China’s economic growth, based on a province-level sample for the period 2002–2017. Air pollution is measured by the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and economic growth is measured by the [...] Read more.
This study empirically evaluates the impact of air pollution on China’s economic growth, based on a province-level sample for the period 2002–2017. Air pollution is measured by the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and economic growth is measured by the annual growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. A panel data fixed-effects regression model is built, and the instrumental variables estimation method is utilized for quantitative analyses. The study reports a significant negative impact of air pollution on the macroeconomic growth of China. According to our instrumental variables estimation, holding other factors constant, if the concentration of PM2.5 increases by 1%, then the GDP per capita growth rate will decline by 0.05818 percentage points. In addition, it is found that the adverse effect of atmospheric pollution is heterogeneous across different regions. The effect is stronger in the eastern region and in provinces with smaller state-owned enterprise shares, fewer governmental expenditures for public health services, and fewer medical resources. The study results reveal that air pollution poses a substantial threat to the sustainable economic growth of China. Taking actions to abate air pollution will generate great economic benefits, especially for those regions which are heavily damaged by pollution. Full article
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21 pages, 7389 KiB  
Article
Study on Coupled Relationship between Urban Air Quality and Land Use in Lanzhou, China
by Cuixia Yan, Lucang Wang and Qing Zhang
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7724; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147724 - 10 Jul 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2558
Abstract
The intensification of global urbanization has exacerbated the negative impact of atmospheric environmental factors in urban areas, thus threatening the sustainability of future urban development. In order to ensure the sustainability of urban atmospheric environments, exploring the changing laws of urban air quality, [...] Read more.
The intensification of global urbanization has exacerbated the negative impact of atmospheric environmental factors in urban areas, thus threatening the sustainability of future urban development. In order to ensure the sustainability of urban atmospheric environments, exploring the changing laws of urban air quality, identifying highly polluted areas in cities, and studying the relationship between air quality and land use have become issues of great concern. Based on AQI data from 340 air quality monitoring stations and urban land use data, this paper uses inverse distance weight (IDW), Getis-Ord Gi*, and a negative binomial regression model to discuss the spatiotemporal variation of air quality in the main urban area of Lanzhou and its relationship with urban land use. The results show that urban air quality has characteristics of temporal and spatial differentiation and spatially has characteristics of agglomeration of cold and hot spots. There is a close relationship between urban land use and air quality. Industrial activities, traffic pollution, and urban construction activities are the most important factors affecting urban air quality. Green spaces can reduce urban pollution. The impact of land use on air quality has a seasonal effect. Full article
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20 pages, 5827 KiB  
Article
A Methodology for Designing Short-Term Stationary Air Quality Campaigns with Mobile Laboratories Using Different Possible Allocation Criteria
by Samuele Marinello, Massimo Andretta, Patrizia Lucialli, Elisa Pollini and Serena Righi
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7481; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137481 - 05 Jul 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1984
Abstract
Air quality monitoring and control are key issues for environmental assessment and management in order to protect public health and the environment. Local and central authorities have developed strategies and tools to manage environmental protection, which, for air quality, consist of monitoring networks [...] Read more.
Air quality monitoring and control are key issues for environmental assessment and management in order to protect public health and the environment. Local and central authorities have developed strategies and tools to manage environmental protection, which, for air quality, consist of monitoring networks with fixed and portable instrumentation and mathematical models. This study develops a methodology for designing short-term air quality campaigns with mobile laboratories (laboratories fully housed within or transported by a vehicle and maintained in a fixed location for a period of time) as a decision support system for environmental management and protection authorities. In particular, the study provides a methodology to identify: (i) the most representative locations to place mobile laboratories and (ii) the best time period to carry out the measurements in the case of short-term air quality campaigns. The approach integrates atmospheric dispersion models and allocation algorithms specifically developed for optimizing the measuring campaigns. The methodology is organized in two phases, each of them divided into several steps. Fourteen allocation algorithms dedicated to three type of receptors (population, vegetation and physical cultural heritage) have been proposed. The methodology has been applied to four short-term air quality campaigns in the Emilia-Romagna region. Full article
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18 pages, 2432 KiB  
Article
Association between Atrial Fibrillation Incidence and Temperatures, Wind Scale and Air Quality: An Exploratory Study for Shanghai and Kunming
by Sha Lu, Yiyun Zhao, Zhouqi Chen, Mengke Dou, Qingchun Zhang and Weixin Yang
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5247; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095247 - 07 May 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 1940
Abstract
As a common cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation has the characteristics of high morbidity, high disability, and high fatality rates, seriously endangering human health and sustainability. Some research has confirmed that environmental factors are related to the risk of illness and death from cardiovascular [...] Read more.
As a common cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation has the characteristics of high morbidity, high disability, and high fatality rates, seriously endangering human health and sustainability. Some research has confirmed that environmental factors are related to the risk of illness and death from cardiovascular diseases (including atrial fibrillation), while there is still little comparison on the situation of the two cities in China. This research uses medical data in Shanghai and Kunming establishing, through two-step research, logistic models to compare the impacts on atrial fibrillation incidence to figure out the association between environmental factors (including air pollution, weather, temperature, and wind scales) and atrial fibrillation. Finally, this research shows that environmental impacts on atrial fibrillation prevalence have generality, regionality, and lagging characteristics. The result is significant for atrial fibrillation patients and provides a reliable medical theory basis for nursing measures. Besides, this research provides a prospective method of offering early warning for potential atrial fibrillation patients, helping to maintain human beings’ sustainable development. Full article
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2020

Jump to: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021

23 pages, 20395 KiB  
Article
Joint Governance Regions and Major Prevention Periods of PM2.5 Pollution in China Based on Wavelet Analysis and Concentration-Weighted Trajectory
by Youting Li, Wenhui Zhao, Jianing Fu, Zhiqiang Liu, Congying Li, Jingying Zhang, Chuan He and Kai Wang
Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 2019; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12052019 - 06 Mar 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2062
Abstract
China has made some progress in controlling PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm) pollution, but there are still some key areas that need further strengthening. Considering that excessive prevention and control efforts affect economic development, this paper combined [...] Read more.
China has made some progress in controlling PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm) pollution, but there are still some key areas that need further strengthening. Considering that excessive prevention and control efforts affect economic development, this paper combined an empirical orthogonal function, a continuous wavelet transform, and a concentration-weighted trajectory method to study joint regional governance during key pollution periods to provide suggestions for the efficient control of PM2.5. The results from our panel of data of PM2.5 in China from 2016 to 2018 could be decomposed into two modes. In the first mode, the pollution center was in central Shaanxi Province, and the main eruption period was from November to January of the following year. As the center of this region, Xi’an should cooperate with the four cities in eastern Sichuan (Nanchong, Guangan, Bazhong, and Dazhou) to control PM2.5, since the eruption occurred in this area. Moreover, governance should last for at least two cycles, where one cycle is at least 23 days. The pollution center of the second mode was in the western part of Xinjiang. Therefore, after the prevention and control efforts during the first mode are completed, the regional city of Kashgar should continue to build a joint governance zone for PM2.5 along the Tianshan mountains in the east, focusing on prevention and control over two cycles (where one cycle is 28 days). Full article
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23 pages, 1688 KiB  
Article
Research on Air Pollution Control in China: From the Perspective of Quadrilateral Evolutionary Games
by Weixin Yang and Yunpeng Yang
Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 1756; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12051756 - 27 Feb 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 3355
Abstract
By constructing a quadrilateral evolutionary game model involving the central government, local governments, polluting enterprises, and the public, this paper attempts to comprehensively analyze the development and implementation of China’s air pollution control policies. Through the quadrilateral evolutionary game model, this paper systematically [...] Read more.
By constructing a quadrilateral evolutionary game model involving the central government, local governments, polluting enterprises, and the public, this paper attempts to comprehensively analyze the development and implementation of China’s air pollution control policies. Through the quadrilateral evolutionary game model, this paper systematically studies the evolutionary stable strategies of the four parties involved and obtains 27 equilibrium points, strategy sets, and their corresponding policy performance with the help of the four-dimensional dynamic system. The research results show that there are five equilibrium points that represent the least ideal scenarios, 14 equilibrium points that represent the less than ideal scenarios, four equilibrium points that represent the ideal scenarios, three equilibrium points that represent the more than ideal scenarios, and one equilibrium point that represents the most ideal scenarios. By analyzing the eight equilibrium points that represent the ideal, more than ideal and most ideal scenarios, especially the four stable points, this paper has obtained the conditions as well as policy implications of the four stable points in China’s air pollution control campaign. Full article
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16 pages, 237 KiB  
Article
Did Haze Pollution Harm the Quality of Economic Development?—An Empirical Study Based on China’s PM2.5 Concentrations
by Qing Zhao and Chih-Hung Yuan
Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1607; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041607 - 21 Feb 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2967
Abstract
Based on the PM2.5 haze data of China’s provinces between 2004–2016, this paper systematically explores the impact of haze pollution on the quality of China’s economic development, as well as its transmission mechanisms. This is achieved by measuring the quality of economic development [...] Read more.
Based on the PM2.5 haze data of China’s provinces between 2004–2016, this paper systematically explores the impact of haze pollution on the quality of China’s economic development, as well as its transmission mechanisms. This is achieved by measuring the quality of economic development with total factor productivity. Furthermore, this paper innovatively uses precipitation as an instrumental variable for mitigating the endogeneity of the haze pollution variable, by which the impact of haze pollution on the quality of China’s economic development is estimated within the framework of two-stage least squares. It is found that: the haze pollution has degraded the quality of China’s economic development significantly; the labor supply loss, counter urbanization and human capital disruption are the three major transmission channels through which haze pollution affects the quality of China’s economic development; strengthening government’s environmental management is effective in mitigating the adverse impact of haze pollution on the economic development quality; and that China’s unique fiscal decentralization system has exacerbated the negative economic effect of haze pollution. The policy implications of this paper are as follows: Improvement of economic development quality is a prerequisite for the transition of economic development mode; and the governmental management of haze is conducive to enhancing the quality of atmospheric environment and economic development, and to promoting the high-quality development of the Chinese economy. Full article
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