ALBERT

Description: The occurrence of fluoroquinolone antibiotics in wastewater has drawn great attention. Adsorption of widely used fluoroquinolone antibiotics (enrofloxacin and ofloxacin) in wastewater using bamboo biochar was investigated. More than 99% of fluoroquinolone antibiotics were removed from the synthetic wastewater through adsorption. Adsorption capacities of bamboo biochar slightly changed when pH increased from 3.0 to 10.0. The adsorption capacity of bamboo biochar increased sharply when the initial concentration of enrofloxacin or ofloxacin increased from 1 to 200 mg L−1 and then began to plateau with further increases in initial concentration. The maximum adsorption capacity (45.88 ± 0.90 mg·g−1) was observed when the ratio of bamboo biochar to fluoroquinolone antibiotics was 10. The enrofloxacin adsorption capacity of bamboo biochar decreased from 19.91 ± 0.21 mg·g−1 to 14.30 ± 0.51 mg·g−1 while that of ofloxacin decreased from 19.82 ± 0.22 mg·g−1 to 13.31 ± 0.56 mg·g−1 when the NaCl concentrations increased from 0 to 30 g·L−1. The adsorptions of fluoroquinolone on bamboo biochar have isotherms that obeyed the Freundlich model (r2 values were in the range of 0.990–0.991).

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 1469: Exploration of the Industrial Spatial Linkages in Urban Agglomerations: A Case of Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, China Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10051469 Authors: Yan Yu Qianwen Han Wenwu Tang Yanbin Yuan Yan Tong The study of industrial spatial linkages of urban agglomerations is crucial to recognizing spatial structure and optimizing regional division and cooperation. The existing studies often focus on external spatial interaction at the inter-city level, but few have considered complex internal economic linkages at the inter-sector level. In this study, we established an integrated framework by combining the wave effect gradient field with the gravity model. The wave effect gradient field was used to analyze the inter-sector relation, while the gravity model was adopted to explore the spatial interactions of industry at the inter-city level. The Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMRYR) was taken as a case study, which demonstrates the applicability of the proposed framework. The results indicate that there exists an imbalanced development in the network of industrial linkages in the study region. Each subgroup has presented a self-organized spatial linkage network, but the linkages between subgroups are immature. Compared with other sectors, the high-tech and internet industrial sectors contribute most to economic linkages among cities. Thus, policymakers should take actions to strengthen the inter-subgroup spatial linkages and give priority to the high-tech industries, which is necessary for the integrated and sustainable development of UAMRYR.

Description: Peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle and potentially have a significant impact on regional climate change. Restoring and rewetting the degraded peatlands is an urgent task. However, effects of rewetting on the carbon emissions of peatlands remain poorly understood. In this study, the process of rewetting a piece of the degraded Zoige alpine peatland was experimentally simulated and the derived results were compared with those of natural rewetting by monitoring CO2 and CH4 fluxes and other environmental factors before and after rewetting. The natural rewetting results showed that rewetting decreased ecosystem respiration (ER) by about 60%. Furthermore, rewetting increased CH4 emissions by 127%, decreased total carbon emissions (TCE) from 270 to 157 mg CO2 m−2 h−1, and decreased TCE from the entire ecosystem by 42%. The results of the controlled experiment showed that ER decreased gradually as the degree of rewetting was increased, and CH4 fluxes and changes in water level were significantly and positively correlated: CH4 fluxes increased from 0.3 (water level −20 cm) to 2.17 mg CH4 m−2 h−1 (water level 20 cm). After rewetting, the TCE of the whole ecosystem were significantly decreased. Regional observations showed that CO2 fluxes were significantly and negatively correlated to the water level; and the corresponding CO2 equivalent was significantly and positively correlated to the water level, while TCE were significantly and negatively correlated to the water level. Our findings indicate that rewetting can decrease carbon emissions and thus contribute in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change in alpine peatland.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 2612: Regional-Level Allocation of CO2 Emission Permits in China: Evidence from the Boltzmann Distribution Method Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10082612 Authors: Yanbin Li Zhen Li Min Wu Feng Zhang Gejirifu DE To achieve the commitment of carbon emission reduction in 2030 at the climate conference in Paris, it is an important task for China to decompose the carbon emission target among regions. In this paper, entropy maximization is brought to inter-provincial carbon emissions allocation via the Boltzmann distribution method, which provides guidelines for allocating carbon emissions permits among provinces. The research is mainly divided into three parts: (1) We develop the CO2 influence factor, including per capita GDP, per capita carbon emissions, carbon emission intensity and carbon emissions of per unit industrial added value; the proportion of the second industry; and the urbanization rate, to optimize the Boltzmann distribution model. (2) The probability of carbon emission reduction allocation in each province was calculated by the Boltzmann distribution model, and then the absolute emission reduction target was allocated among different provinces. (3) Comparing the distribution results with the actual carbon emission data in 2015, we then put forward the targeted development strategies for different provinces. Finally, suggestions were provided for CO2 emission permits allocation to optimize the national carbon emissions trading market in China.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 290: Identifying Spatiotemporal Interactions between Urbanization and Eco-Environment in the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, China Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10010290 Authors: Yan Yu Yan Tong Wenwu Tang Yanbin Yuan Yue Chen Urban agglomeration has become a crucial topic in order for the Chinese government to promote new-type urbanization in China, and its urbanization will greatly affect China’s eco-environment. Existing literature on bidirectional influence between urbanization and eco-environment from the perspective of urban agglomeration is, however, limited. This study establishes a conceptual framework to identify bidirectional relationships between urbanization and eco-environment in urban agglomerations. After evaluating urbanization level and eco-environment quality for each city in an urban agglomeration, this framework determines key interaction factors, and employs a global regression approach to quantify the coercing effects of urbanization on eco-environment and constraining effects of eco-environment on urbanization. Spatial heterogeneity of bidirectional interactions is then examined using local regression, represented by geographically weighted regression. The case study in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River from 2000 to 2015 indicated the existence of bidirectional interactions and coercing threat that was stronger than constraining pressure in this region. The coercion that urbanization posed on the eco-environment began to vary in space significantly from 2010, whereas the constraint of eco-environment on urbanization was spatially stationary. This study will help policy-makers to develop sustainable policies to balance urban development and eco-environment conservation.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 98: The Sustainable Development of the Economic-Energy-Environment (3E) System under the Carbon Trading (CT) Mechanism: A Chinese Case Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10010098 Authors: Xingang Zhao Yuzhuo Zhang Ji Liang Yanbin Li Rongda Jia Ling Wang The implementation of the carbon trading (CT) mechanism is important for the transformation of China’s renewable energy industry, thereby affecting the structure of energy, economy, and the environment, and determining the sustainable development of China’s economic-energy-environment (3E) system in the future. This paper constructs a 3E system simulation model under the CT mechanism based on the theory of system dynamics and taking the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as an example. We study the internal operation mechanism of the carbon emissions trading system and its impact on 3E by combing the related mechanisms of the CT market, CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and gross domestic product (GDP), thereby helping to provide references for policy-making institutions. The results show that the implementation of CT can effectively reduce energy consumption growth and carbon emissions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and the negative impact of CT implementation on GDP is significantly lower than its positive impact on reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption. Thus, the CT mechanism is conducive to the sustainable development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region’s 3E system. In addition, reducing the total amount of quota, reducing free quota, and increasing CT price can effectively promote carbon emission reduction, thus promoting the sustainable development of the 3E system.