A comprehensive measurement was conducted to investigate thecharacteristics of particulate matter (PM) pollution in winter and spring of Beijing. 24-hour particle samples were collected from December to May, 20092010, and the chemical compositions of PM2.5 were analyzed. The average PM2.5 massconcentrations were (84.97+or-68.98)mug/m3 and (65.25+or-45.76) mug/m3 in winter and spring, respectively. Secondary inorganic aerosols, i.e. sulfate, nitrate, andammonium (SNA), and secondary organic aerosols (SOA) were dominant theparticulate matter, with the total fraction (SNA+SOA) of 49% and 47% in winter and spring, respectively. Due to the largesource emissionand unfavorable meteorological conditions such as low temperature, low wind speed, and high relative humidity; the contributions of secondary inorganic aerosols (NH4+. NO3. SO42) were enhanced during thepolluted days, and the nitratewas more enhanced on polluted days. The SOA was always the most importantorganic aerosolcomponentcontributedto PM2.5 in winter and spring. The contribution ofprimary organicaerosolsalso increased due tothe stagnant meteorological condition on polluted days.
China's commitment to the UNFCCC to peak its emissions by 2030, or sooner, signaled a long anticipated shift in China's model of development with far reaching consequences. Cities in China, and particularly the residential sector in cities, will be charged with making significant reductions in emissions growth even as rates of urbanization continue to climb. Focusing on Beijing and Shanghai, this paper carries out a measures-based economic analysis of low carbon investment opportunities in the residential sector. Results find significant opportunity: between 2015 and 2030, BAU levels of CO2 emissions could be reduced by 10.2% in Beijing and 6.8% in Shanghai with the adoption of economically attractive low carbon measures. While these headline results underline the case for low carbon investment in the residential sectors of these megacities in China, a closer analysis provides insights for understanding the economics of decarbonisation in cities more generally. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
State-of-the-art silicon water splitting photoelectrochemical cells employ oxide protection layers that exhibit electrical conductance in between that of dielectric insulators and electronic conductors, optimizing both built-in field and conductivity. The SiO2-like layer interposed between a deposited protective oxide film and its Si substrate plays a key role as a tunnel oxide that can dominate the total device impedance. In this report, we investigate the effects of changes in interfacial SiO2 resistance and capacitance in the oxide bilayer through both solid state leakage current and capacitance–voltage measurements and through electrochemical methods applied to water splitting cells. Modelling is performed to describe both types of data in a simple and intuitive way, allowing for insights to be developed into the connections among both the dielectric (charge storage) and conductive (charge transport) properties of bilayer protective oxides and their effects on oxygen evolution performance. Finally, atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al2O3 is studied as an insulator layer with conductivity intermediate between that of tunnel oxide SiO2 and the more conductive ALD-TiO2, to further generalize this understanding.
In this research, a large-scale inexact optimization method was developed for the conjunctive use management of a watershed-lake water distribution system. The modeling framework has the advantages in taking into account the water balance of multi-reservoirs, satisfying the municipal industrial and agricultural water demands in the multi-period context, reflecting the relationship among multi-reservoirs, multiple water related projects, and maintaining the operational rules of certain lake levels. Moreover, such a method can also handle the uncertainty expressed as fuzzy membership functions through integrating the fuzzy credibility chance-constrained programming. The developed method was applied to the conjunctive use management of water resources in the lake Dianchi watershed, China. Cost-effective water allocation schemes for the groundwater project and the water transfer project, and optimal operational rules for the lake and multiple reservoirs were successfully obtained. Also, the annual water balance of the watershed-lake system and the system cost of the conjunctive water use were investigated and analyzed under multiple credibility levels of meeting the water demands for municipal, industrial and agricultural users.