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The chemical and petrochemical sector is by far the largest industrial energy user, accounting for 30% of the industry's total final energy use. However, due to its complexity its energy efficiency potential is not well understood. This article analyses the energy efficiency potential on a country level if Best Practice Technologies (BPT) were implemented in chemical processes. Two approaches are applied and an improved dataset referring to Europe has been developed for BPT energy use. This methodology has been applied to 66 products in fifteen countries that represent 70% of chemical and petrochemical sector's energy use worldwide. The results suggest a global energy efficiency potential of 16% for this sector, excluding savings in electricity use and by higher levels of process integration, combined heat and power (CHP) and post-consumer plastic waste treatment. The results are more accurate than previous estimates. The results suggest significant differences between countries, but a cross-check based on two different methods shows that important methodological and data issues remain to be resolved. Further refinement is needed for target setting, monitoring and informing energy and climate negotiation processes. For the short and medium term, a combination of benchmarking and country level analysis is recommended.

National net zero emission targets could, if fully implemented, reduce best estimates of projected global average temperature increase to 2.0–2.4 °C by 2100, bringing the Paris Agreement temperature goal within reach. A total of 131 countries are discussing, have announced or have adopted net zero targets, covering 72% of global emissions. These targets could substantially lower projected warming as compared to currently implemented policies (2.9–3.2 °C) or pledges submitted to the Paris Agreement (2.4–2.9 °C). Current pledges for emissions cuts are insufficient to meet the Paris Agreement temperature goal. The wave of net zero targets being discussed and adopted could make the Paris goal possible if further countries follow suit.

Humic-like substances (HULIS) account for a major redox-active fraction of biomass burning organic aerosols (BBOA). During atmospheric transport, fresh acidic BB-HULIS in droplets and humid aerosols are subject to neutralization and pH-modified aging process. In this study, solutions containing HULIS isolated from wood smoldering emissions were first adjusted with NaOH and NH3 to pH values in the range of 3.6-9.0 and then aged under oxic dark conditions. Evolution of HULIS oxidative potential (OP) and total peroxide content (equivalent H2O2 concentration, H2O2eq) were measured together with the changes in solution absorbance and chemical composition. Notable immediate responses such as peroxide generation, HULIS autoxidation, and an increase in OP and light absorption were observed under alkaline conditions. Initial H2O2eq, OP, and absorption increased exponentially with pH, regardless of the alkaline species added. Dark aging further oxidized the HULIS and led to pH-dependent toxic and chemical changes, exhibiting an alkaline-facilitated initial increase followed by a decrease of OP and H2O2eq. Although highly correlated with HULIS OP, the contributions of H2O2eq to OP are minor but increased both with solution pH and dark aging time. Alkalinity-assisted autoxidation of phenolic compounds and quinoids with concomitant formation of H2O2 and other alkalinity-favored peroxide oxidation reactions are proposed here for explaining the observed HULIS OP and chemical changes in the dark. Our findings suggest that alkaline neutralization of fresh BB-HULIS represents a previously overlooked peroxide source and pathway for modifying aerosol redox-activity and composition. Additionally, these findings imply that the lung fluid neutral environment can modify the OP and peroxide content of inhaled BB-HULIS. The results also suggest that common separation protocols of HULIS using base extraction methods should be treated with caution when evaluating and comparing their composition, absorption, and relative toxicity.

Abstract Urban transformation is vital to global sustainable development as humans increasingly come to dwell in cities. Within cities, the mobility sector promises the highest potential of carbon emission reduction. The disruptive business innovation brought about by the advent of app-based smart-sharing systems is emancipating collaborative consumption of mobility at larger and deeper scales, ranging from car-pooling, expanded electric vehicle (EV) use to bike-sharing. Synchronizing the existing yet under-realized low-carbon transport modes in cities, such as public transport, with emerging and diversifying app-based sharing mobility business models, offers huge potential to transform urban mobility toward sustainability. Yet, the rapid business expansion and innovation of the sharing mobility companies have profoundly challenged existing socio-economic relationships, knowledge systems and physical infrastructures in cities. This study explores the synergy between the social-ecological innovation in the sharing economy and the sustainable development of urban systems, using empirical data from three business cases in the emerging sharing mobility sector – in modes of ride-sharing, EV-sharing and bike-sharing - of Shanghai, China. It indicates that there is a strong co-evolution mechanism between the transformation towards more sustainable city at the macro-level and the business ecosystem innovation towards greener and smarter transport at the meso-level. We argue that the two level transformations, triggered by the disruptive innovation of the sharing economy and led by urban transformation towards sustainability, mutually influence each other and re-enforce sustainable values and practices in the fast changing urban context and business innovations in Shanghai.

Abstract With drastic fossil fuel depletion and environmental deterioration concerns, a move towards a more sustainable bioenergy-based economy is essential. Lately, the application of microwave (MW) irradiation for waste processing has been attracting interest globally. MW-assisted heating possesses several advantages such as the provision of high microwave energy into dielectric materials with deeper penetration for internal heat generation, showing beneficial features in improving the heating rate and reducing the reaction time. Consequently, the most recent literature regarding the applications of MW-assisted heating for biomass pretreatment as well as biofuel and bioenergy production was reviewed and consolidated in this study. An impressive increase in the product yield and improvement of the product properties are reported, with the use of MW-assisted heating in several conversion routes to produce biofuels. Despite being a promising technology for biofuel production, some major fundamental data of MW-assisted heating have not been comprehensively identified. Therefore, the feasibility of this technology for large-scale implementation is still subpar. Understanding the interaction between the feedstock and the microwave electromagnetic field, and the optimization of several operational and mechanical parameters are the two main keystones that would propel the industrialization of MW heating in the near future. This provides key insights leading to increased feasibility and more advanced application of MW heating.

Phase change materials (PCM) are materials with the ability to store a large amount of energy (latent heat) during their change from solid to a liquid phase. This takes place at a certain melting temperature. Amid the global energy crisis, multiple applications of these materials have been studied at the theoretical, numerical and experimental approach, obtaining promising results in terms of an increase in the efficiency of these systems. However, the application of these materials is being studied since there are no rules or predictions of the feasibility of its application in diverse weather conditions. The tropical climate condition is one of the least studied in this context. In this work, a review of the main findings of recent studies conducted in tropical climate conditions is presented. Additionally, an analysis of the main challenges and opportunities of the application of PCM in the climate of Panama is performed. It was concluded that some applications in passive cooling and solar water heating systems might have the potential for their implementation. However, further studies are required to take into account other applications.

Consider a situation where spatial heterogeneity leads to a cline, a gradual transition in dominance of two competing species. We first prove, in the context of a simplified competition–diffusion model, that there exists a stationary solution showing that the two species coexist in a transition zone. What happens then if, owing to climate change, the environmental profile moves with constant speed in space? We show here that, when the speed with which the environmental condition shifts exceeds the Fisher invasion speed of the advancing species, an expanding gap will form. We raise the question of whether such a phenomenon has been or can be observed.

This study assesses the socio-economic impacts in terms of value added, imports and employment of sugarcane-derived bioethanol production in Northeast (NE) Brazil. An extended inter-regional Input–Output (IO) model has been developed and is used to analyse three scenarios, all projected for 2020: a business-as-usual scenario (BaU) which projects current practices, and two scenarios that consider more efficient agricultural practices and processing efficiency (scenario A) and in addition an expansion of the sector into new areas (scenario B). By 2020 in all scenarios, value added and imports increase compared to the current situation. The value added by the sugarcane–ethanol sector in the NE region is 2.8 billion US$ in the BaU scenario, almost 4 billion US$ in scenario A, and 9.4 billion US$ in scenario B. The imports in the region will grow with 4% (BaU scenario), 38% (scenario A) and 262% (scenario B). This study shows that the large reduction of employment (114,000 jobs) due to the replacement of manual harvesting by mechanical harvesting can be offset by additional production and indirect effects. The total employment in the region by 2020 grows with 10% in scenario A (around 12,500 jobs) and 126% in scenario B (around 160,000 jobs). The indirect effects of sugarcane production in the NE are large in the rest of Brazil due to the import of inputs from these regions. The use of an extended inter-regional IO model can quantify direct and indirect socio-economic effects at regional level and can provide insight in the linkages between regions. The application of the model to NE Brazil has demonstrated significant positive socio-economic impacts that can be achieved when developing and expanding the sugarcane–ethanol sector in the region under the conditions studied here, not only for the NE region itself but also for the economy of the rest of Brazil.