Sustainable Horizons最新文献

{"title":"Liner shipping network design model with carbon tax, seasonal freight rate fluctuations and empty container relocation","authors":"Kang Chen ,&nbsp;Xu Yi ,&nbsp;Xu Xin ,&nbsp;Tao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100073","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100073","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In response to the challenges posed by the shipping carbon tax resulting from the low-carbon environmental policy, the seasonal fluctuation of freight rates in the container liner shipping market, and the reduced flexibility in fleet adjustment, we develop a bi-level programming model to maximize the average revenue per container ship and the total revenue of the fleet.The upper-level model selects the optimal shipping networks for both the off-season and peak season, while also designing the liner fleet for these two networks. The lower-level model optimizes the slot allocation scheme and the empty container storage and transportation scheme to evaluate the revenue of the network calculated by the upper-level model. Three meta-heuristic algorithms are proposed. We take the China-West Europe liner shipping route as the research object, and conduct numerical experiments on different optimization objectives and liner types. Results demonstrate that maximizing the average revenue per container ship involves reducing the carbon tax cost, simplifying the trunk route structure, and increasing the number of feeder routes. These changes lead to reduced satisfaction rates for transportation demands in both China and Europe. If the company seeks to maximize total revenue, they may achieve the opposite result. Therefore, liner companies should reasonably set optimization goals, adjust the network structure and liner operation status in a timely manner, and scientifically allocate container ship and empty containers to achieve the operational goals of reducing carbon emissions and maximizing revenue to cope with the volatile market and the low-carbon regulations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100073"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49749995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the dynamic behavior of multiconnected offshore floating photovoltaic systems under combined wave-wind loads: A comprehensive numerical analysis","authors":"Chaojun Yan ,&nbsp;Wei Shi ,&nbsp;Xu Han ,&nbsp;Xin Li ,&nbsp;Amrit Shankar Verma","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100072","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems have garnered considerable interest due to their numerous benefits. However, the mechanical design of these systems remains underexplored in existing literatures, necessitating further investigation before they can be commercially deployed in ocean environments. In this study, a novel modular offshore FPV solution was proposed, and numerical modeling and hydrodynamic coupling analysis of multi-body FPV systems were conducted to assess the relative behavior of multi-connected FPV modules under combined wave-wind conditions. Initially, the multi-connected system was modeled, taking into account fixed and hinged connection boundary conditions (BC). Utilizing frequency-domain analysis, the hydrodynamic coefficients essential for time-domain analysis were derived. Subsequently, the overall hydrodynamic performance and behavioral characteristics of various FPV platform types were evaluated. In addition, the strength of connectors under extreme conditions were assessed. Lastly, we compared the motion responses of the multi-body platform under different connection BCs and wave headings. It has been proven that the joint of the hinged connector will generate additional moments, which will affect the dynamic response of the platform as an excitation load. Moreover, the connector's structural responses were mainly dominated by the motion response of the FPV platforms. Furthermore, for the multi-body FPV systems, 0° wave heading should be avoided for installation to reduce the motion responses and structural responses. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanical design of FPV systems for ocean deployment.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100072"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49750517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to “Cardiotoxicity of PFOA, PFOS, and PFOSA in Early Life Stage Zebrafish: Molecular Changes to Behavioral-level Response” [Sustainable Horizons Volume 3 (2022) 100027]","authors":"Xinjie Liu ,&nbsp;Shuai Liu ,&nbsp;Wenhui Qiu ,&nbsp;Jason T. Magnuson ,&nbsp;Zhaohui Liu ,&nbsp;Ge Yang ,&nbsp;Honghong Chen ,&nbsp;Yu Li ,&nbsp;Xinyun Xu ,&nbsp;Chunmiao Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100071","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100071"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49759110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Long-term mapping of land use and cover changes using Landsat images on the Google Earth Engine Cloud Platform in bay area - A case study of Hangzhou Bay, China","authors":"Jintao Liang ,&nbsp;Chao Chen ,&nbsp;Yongze Song ,&nbsp;Weiwei Sun ,&nbsp;Gang Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100061","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Large-scale, long-term series, and high-precision land use and cover change (LUCC) mapping is the basic support for territorial spatial planning and sustainable development in the Bay Area. In response to the sustainable development agenda, for characteristics of high landscape fragmentation, strong surface heterogeneity and frequent land use type conversion in the Bay Area, this study developed a random forest (RF) algorithm that considers spectral bands, remote sensing indices and components of a principal component analysis, and the mapping and monitoring of LUCC in Hangzhou Bay from 1985 to 2020 based on Google Earth Engine (GEE) and Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) were carried out. The results are as follows. (1) The overall accuracy (OA) and kappa coefficient were 92.83% and 0.91, respectively. (2) During the study period, the areas of the construction land, water area, and bare land increased, while the areas of the wood land, cultivated fields, and tidal flats decreased. (3) During the study period, the total area of the tidal flats decreased from 181.65 km² to 161.50 km², with an average annual decrease of 0.58 km², and the tidal flats were primarily concentrated on the south shore of Hangzhou Bay. (4) During the study period, the transfer of cultivated fields to construction land was the most significant (2268.05 km²). (5) During the study period, the length of the coastline decreased from 383.73 km to 362.80 km, with an average annual decrease of 0.60 km. According to the DSAS statistics, the net shoreline movement (NSM) of the coastline on the north shore of Hangzhou Bay was 773.58 m, the end point rate (EPR) and the linear regression rate (LRR) were 22.10 m/a and 27.00 m/a, respectively. The NSM of the south shore was 4109.57 m, and the EPR and LRR were 117.42 m/a and 132.22 m/a, respectively. The proposed methods improve the accuracy of land use classification of the RF algorithm in the complex environment of the Bay Area, and it can provide technical support for natural resource survey and regional sustainable development in the Bay Area.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100061"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49750296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An assessment of the global supply, recycling, stocks in use and market price for titanium using the WORLD7 model","authors":"Harald Ulrik Sverdrup ,&nbsp;Antoniy Elias Sverdrup","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100067","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The change in supply, price, extractable resources and recycling with time for titanium was assessed with the WORLD7 model. Demand for titanium is expected to increase in the future, and several future scenarios were investigated. The model is mass balance based and simulates the flow terms past from 1850 to 2023 and the flows in the future from 2024 to 2200. The recoverable mineral resources have been estimated at about 1800 million ton of titanium element after a review of the literature. Only 500 million ton of titanium mineral resources count as high grade, the rest is found in ores with low or very low content. Our findings are that for all scenarios, the WORLD7 model simulations shows that there will be no significant shortages in the short term (before 2050), but in the longer term there will be scarcity issues appearing after 2075 for both metal and oxide supply. If demand increase more than anticipated by market analysts, scarcity may develop decades earlier. The model makes estimates for titanium oxide and titanium metal demand, extraction, supply, recycling, losses and the development of major stocks in society.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100067"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49749993","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stakeholder views on environmental protection policies in the National Marine Park of Alonissos Northern Sporades, Greece","authors":"Melpomeni Eirini Karantoni ,&nbsp;Thomas Panagopoulos ,&nbsp;Stilianos Tampakis ,&nbsp;Paraskevi Karanikola ,&nbsp;Zoi Tampaki","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100065","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The prospect of many species or unique landscapes disappearing from the planet has resulted in the mobilization of humanity to take measures against this catastrophic course. Thus, efforts are currently being made to organize action worldwide to preserve biodiversity and protect natural ecosystems. The institutionalization of Protected Areas aiming at the protection and management of biodiversity as well as the conservation of areas with particular natural beauty and special characteristics is an opportunity for sustainable development that respects nature and humans and leaves natural resources as a legacy to future generations. According to a recent European Union directive, National and local authorities and coastal communities should be involved in the design and management of the Marine Protected Areas. This paper aimed to improve the governance of the National Marine Park of Alonissos Northern Sporades through a face-to-face questioner conducted to the residents, hunters and fishermen of the northern Sporades islands. All social groups desire to participate in decision-making processes regarding the marine park. Unlike hunters and fishermen, the local community requests the expansion of the marine park. Stakeholders have good knowledge of park issues and they were updated mainly by the internet, the social network, and the hunting/fishing associations. Most residents have neutral to negative opinion about the management body of the park. Proposals concerning the protection, development and promotion of the marine park were highly appraised except those related to leisure boat docking infrastructures.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100065"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49750232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficient electrochemical decomposition of sulfamethoxazole using a novel free-standing TiN anode","authors":"Guoshuai Liu ,&nbsp;Ming Liu ,&nbsp;Han Shi ,&nbsp;Hao Jia ,&nbsp;Hua Zou ,&nbsp;Nan Tao","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100059","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The utilization of electrochemical oxidation (EO) processes has become increasingly popular in the field of wastewater treatment, and the robust and sustainable electrode materials were highly desirable for such processes. Among these materials, titanium nitride (TiN) has emerged as a promising candidate due to its unique electronic configuration, which impart ideal electrical conductivity similar to metals, and good stability approaching that of ceramic electrode. This study aimed to develop a free-standing TiN electrode for the EO treatment of refractory antibiotics such as sulfamethoxazole (SMX), and to evaluate its efficacy for SMX removal. The results showed that the TiN electrode achieved a high SMX removal rate (100% removal at 60 min, <em>k</em>_obs = 0.031 min⁻¹). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were utilized to explicate the underlying mechanism, revealing that water oxidation on the TiN surface generates ^·OH rather than O₂, making TiN an excellent material for the mineralization of recalcitrant SMX. Additionally, both the DFT and LC-MS/MS results demonstrated that the degradation pathway of SMX was induced by ^·OH through H-abstraction and electron-transfer pathway, and the active sites responsible for the degradation intermediates were determined by DFT calculation. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights into the development of effective and environmental benign water purification method using novel, free-standing TiN anode material.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100059"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49750262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inventorying and decomposing decades of overall nitrogen emissions in the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration, China","authors":"Pan Zhang ,&nbsp;Ming Chen ,&nbsp;Yanpeng Cai ,&nbsp;Shenglan Su ,&nbsp;Yongyang Wang ,&nbsp;Qian Tan ,&nbsp;Yulei Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100066","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The increase in nitrogen emissions has intensified environmental pollution, posing a serious threat to the sustainable development of human society. Nitrogen emissions originate from multiple sectors and products, generating various nitrogen species. However, existing studies have mostly focused on these nitrogen species individually, lacking a comprehensive analysis and interpretation. Here, we have integrated six different nitrogen species into a comprehensive indicator, namely overall nitrogen emissions. This study constructs a comprehensive emission inventory for 24 different products in 9 cities in the Pearl River Delta region of China from 2012 to 2021. Additionally, we use the index decomposition analysis (e.g., the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index, LMDI) to analyze the main socioeconomic driving factors of overall nitrogen emissions in the Pearl River Delta over the decade (e.g., emission intensity, population, and affluence). We observed that Guangzhou has had the highest overall nitrogen emissions, reaching 4.24 Tg N, accounting for 27.64% over the past decade. Furthermore, overall nitrogen emissions in the Pearl River Delta have increased by 30.11%, from 1342.19 Gg N year⁻¹ in 2012 to 1746.37 Gg N year⁻¹ in 2021. Energy products are the primary contributing source to overall nitrogen emissions, followed by industrial and fertilizer products. Moreover, decomposition analysis results indicate that emission intensity is the main factor driving overall nitrogen emission reduction in the Pearl River Delta over the decade. However, affluence and population show a positive correlation with overall nitrogen emissions, offsetting the nitrogen reduction effect of emission intensity. Over time, the nitrogen reduction effect of emission intensity will gradually weaken, while the nitrogen increase effect of affluence and population will gradually strengthen. Our study highlights the importance of continued efforts to reduce emission intensity, while also transitioning towards non-nitrogen-intensive sectors or products in future economic development, thereby decoupling overall nitrogen emissions from affluence and population.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100066"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49759113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of Bitcoin carbon footprint","authors":"Samuel Asumadu Sarkodie ,&nbsp;Mohammad Amin Amani ,&nbsp;Maruf Yakubu Ahmed ,&nbsp;Phebe Asantewaa Owusu","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100060","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100060","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Bitcoin is a breakthrough financial technology but a volatile asset in financial markets with a complex fundamental consensus algorithm (Proof-of-Work) limiting its large-scale adoption due to environmental-related issues. Hitherto, the role of its technical and infrastructural composition that drives carbon footprint from an ecological perspective is rarely discussed in the literature. Here, we use machine learning and econometric techniques to analyze the past, present, and future changes in Bitcoin's carbon footprint with daily data spanning July 18, 2010 to December 04, 2021. We document technical drivers, decomposition effects, causal nexus, and implications of the Bitcoin blockchain's increasing energy and carbon footprint. We show that Bitcoin's technical drivers could have potential impacts on Bitcoin's carbon footprint, and subsequently, global climate change. For example, the network's hashrate increases mining difficulty––thereby increasing Bitcoin's energy consumption and subsequently, carbon footprint. We observed a direct association between the marginal effect of block size and transaction count––implying that a higher block size improves transaction efficiency and then reduces Bitcoin's energy and carbon footprint. Besides, low mining difficulty increases market capitalization whereas increasing mining difficulty reduces bitcoin mining profit in the long run. This infers the reward for mining Bitcoin has a diminishing return in the long term. Thus, the adoption of advanced hardware for Bitcoin mining will spur energy and carbon intensity, yet will have a low return on investment. We highlight environmental regulations and regulatory changes that could limit Bitcoin's carbon footprint.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100060"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49749877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Boil-off gas precooling process for subsea low temperature LNG pipelines","authors":"Junlong Zhu ,&nbsp;Binhui Zheng ,&nbsp;Shiwen Wang ,&nbsp;Qingping Li ,&nbsp;Hui Wang ,&nbsp;Ning Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100070","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Moving liquefied natural gas (LNG) ports offshore and transporting LNG to the coast through submarine pipelines can address the required water depth for LNG tankers and prevent potential safety hazards at ports in crowded waterways. At ultra-low LNG temperatures (−160 °C), pipelines should be precooled by LNG boil-off gas (−120 °C) before normal operation to avoid instantaneous LNG gasification and sharp pipe contraction. In the present study, a transient mathematical model was developed for the precooling process in a subsea multilayered LNG pipeline. Heat conductivity varied with temperature, and the governing equations were solved using the finite difference method. Additionally, the effects of pipe size, insulation layer thickness, and insulation material were investigated. The precooling time decreased significantly with increasing pipe size, and a pipe diameter in the range of 30” to 40” was suitable. In terms of economy and practical applications, the thickness of the insulation layer was suggested to be 30–60 mm. Moreover, compared with glass foam insulating material, rigid polyurethane foam exhibited better thermal performance during the precooling process. These results can assist in determining a safe precooling process for subsea LNG pipelines, providing a suitable green alternative to fossil fuels.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100070"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49750295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}