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Topic Review
Technological Innovation Efficiency in China
Innovation is the engine and accelerator that drives high-quality economic and enterprise development. In recent years, the output of scientific and technological innovation in China has been high, but the phenomenon of low efficiency and low quality of innovation occurs frequently. Under the high-intensity systemic investment in innovation, China’s overall innovation capability continues to rise.According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China ranks first in research and experimental development (R&D) activities in the world’s major economies. From the perspective of innovation output, China is at the forefront of the world regarding the scale of patent authorisation and the number of international papers published. However, it is puzzling that China’s national innovation index has always been outside the top 10 in the world (in 2021, it ranked 12th). With the increasingly fierce scientific and technological competition between China and the United States of America (USA), the negative list of some core technologies from the USA has highlighted the problem of “sticking neck” in China’s key technologies. It reflects the fact that although China has a large amount of innovations, many are low-quality innovations. There are core technologies still controlled by others. The surging output of innovation in China has not been accompanied by the improvement of innovation quality, which also shows that China’s technological innovation is facing the dilemma of innovation inefficiency caused by the input–output mismatch. Technological innovation efficiency (TIE) is a key indicator to measure the output level of innovation input factors per unit time. Compared with other developed countries, China’s innovation efficiency is still far away in terms of TIE.
  • 685
  • 22 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Lebanese Landscape Sustainability Assessment
In the absence of a holistic view of landscape sustainability, credible data and consistent information are needed to help decision-making and support adaptive landscape management. This course of events highlights a strong need for a tool (system of standards and controls) that can be used by multiple stakeholders (such as NGOs, public authorities, cooperatives, associations, higher education institutes, etc.) to analyze the state and sustainability of landscapes, predict any impact of new projects on the landscape, and develop urban and peri-urban planning policies.  However, while consolidated tools of assessment exist, they exhibit complexity in their references. Existing assessment tools also lack specificity and are primarily limited to qualitative approaches. Although large sets of indicators are available and can be adopted, it is crucial to select a new set of non-conventional indicators that provide a holistic view of the various dimensions of the landscape.
  • 680
  • 24 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Green Conversion of Carbon Dioxide
Carbon capture and use may provide motivation for the global problem of mitigating global warming from substantial industrial emitters. Captured CO2 may be transformed into a range of products such as methanol as renewable energy sources. Polymers, cement, and heterogeneous catalysts for varying chemical synthesis are examples of commercial goods. Because some of these components may be converted into power, CO2 is a feedstock and excellent energy transporter. By employing collected CO2 from the atmosphere as the primary hydrocarbon source, a carbon-neutral fuel may be created. The fuel is subsequently burned, and CO2 is released into the atmosphere like a byproduct of the combustion process.
  • 672
  • 10 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Engineered Solutions for Air Purification
Air pollution problem is particularly acute in large cities. This is especially true in those with active industrial facilities or with specific geographical locations that complicate natural air purification. Air pollution not only affects people’s health but also significantly worsens overall quality of life. There are significant health effects associated with both short-term and long-term exposure to air pollution. Consequently, air quality monitoring and the implementation of engineered solutions for air purification are essential tasks in the field of urban science.
  • 662
  • 13 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Towards Sustainable Pasture Agrolandscapes
Reliable environmental audits and impact assessments are essential to achieve effective pasture utilization and ensure the production of high-quality livestock products. Pasture agrolandscapes are complex and dynamic systems that involve the interaction of various components, such as soil, vegetation, climate, and land use. These landscapes are crucial not only for the production of high-quality livestock products but also for maintaining environmental health and providing ecosystem services
  • 660
  • 18 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Emissions, Decarbonization, and Alternative Fuels in Inland Navigation
In response to the pressing need for transportation decarbonization, the often overlooked domain of inland waterway transport and seeks to answer which alternative fuel or power source is the most promising for that sector. As the shipping industry significantly contributes to global carbon emissions, it has been shifting towards alternative fuels and decarbonization measures in the effort to reduce them, whereas the inland waterways, operating predominantly on diesel engines, have not achieved equivalent substantial progress. Liquified natural gas (LNG) initially emerged as a favored alternative fuel, but recent studies emphasize a shift towards “greener” solutions like batteries and hydrogen. Europe and Asia lead in these developments. This investigation uncovers critical gaps in research and development, particularly in the Northern European countries that have extensive inland waterway networks. It also calls for future studies to explore the performance of vessels that have adopted LNG compared to other emerging alternatives and emphasizes the importance of considering the time lag between technology development and research publication.
  • 659
  • 20 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Land–(Renewable) Energy Nexus
The need to understand the connection between land and energy has gained prominence in the calls to opt for renewable energy as part of the climate change mitigation actions. This need derives from the fact that renewable energy resources are site-specific and require rightful access and use of land. The impacts on landscape, land tenure, and land-use patterns of constructing energy facilities are significant, and they may subsequently undermine the authority of local communities. Still, the connection between land and energy is not yet part of integrated development policies and political debates when deciding on renewable energy projects.
  • 655
  • 30 May 2022
Topic Review
Plasmon-Assisted Molecular Catalysis
The utilization of plasmonic nanomaterials in catalytic technologies is an emerging research field with foreseeable applications in energy-catalytic technologies. On this front, the coupling of plasmonic nanomaterials with molecular catalysts is a newly approached, thus far unexploited field.
  • 655
  • 11 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Electric Vehicle Assignment Considering Users’ Waiting Time
A one-way electric-car-sharing system is an environmentally friendly option for urban transportation systems, which can reduce air pollution and traffic congestion with effective vehicle assignment. However, electric vehicle assignment usually faces a dilemma where an insufficient battery level cannot fulfill the requests of users. It greatly affects assignment choices and order fulfillment rates, resulting in the loss of platform profit. In this study, with the assumption that the users agree to wait for a period of time during which electric vehicles can be charged to fulfill trip demands, we proposed a waiting-time policy and introduced users’ utility to measure user retention. 
  • 654
  • 20 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Soluble Biobased Substances
Soluble bio-based substances (SBS) may be isolated from the anaerobic digestate of the organic humid fraction of urban waste; from the whole vegetable compost made from gardening residues and from the compost obtained after aerobic digestion of a mixture of urban waste digestate, gardening residues and sewage sludge. 
  • 652
  • 20 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Heat Mitigation Benefits of Urban Trees
Modeling, validating, and simulating are three essential parts in investigating the heat mitigation benefits of urban trees (BUT). Therefore, 81 relevant studies from the last ten years are reviewed, analyzed. Three main ways for urban trees to adjust the environment are summarized, including shade creation and radiation modification, cooling effects of transpiration, and airflow blocking and modification effects. 
  • 650
  • 26 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Impacts of Biowaste with Mitigation Efforts in Cities
In many cities, huge quantities of biowaste solid matterials are generated, making it a big challenge to keep our cities smart/clean without creating health issues. The second challenge is to mitigate solid biowastes from municipalities, and it needs systematic valorization/conversion approaches to transform/generate them into clean/least carbon-emitting fuel sources. This effort can help make smart cities with additional amounts of energy generation that can be used by each citizen for their daily energy needs. In the cities, biowastes are reported as food waste (from domestic kitchens and restaurant/hotel), green plant residues (from parks and other cleaning activities), and other miscellaneous sources.
  • 647
  • 06 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Sustainable Communities
Machine Learning (ML), a subset of Artificial Intelligence (AI), is gaining popularity in the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector. In the interior environment, they contribute to energy management by optimizing energy usage, finding inefficiencies, and recommending modifications to minimize consumption. This contributes to reducing the environmental effect of energy generation. Similarly, AI and ML technologies aid in addressing environmental challenges. They can monitor air quality, noise levels, and waste management systems to quickly discover and minimize pollution sources. Likewise, AI and ML applications in construction processes enhance planning, scheduling, and facility management.
  • 645
  • 19 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Green Artificial Intelligence and Digitalization Facilitate
Green AI (Artificial Intelligence) and digitalization facilitate the “Dual-Carbon” goal of low-carbon, high-quality economic development. Green AI is moving from “cloud” to “edge” devices like TinyML, which supports devices from cameras to wearables, offering low-power IoT computing. 
  • 639
  • 26 Sep 2023
Topic Review
State of Research on Agroecology Transition
As a sustainable and holistic approach to agriculture, agroecology has received considerable attention because of its potential to address the environmental, economic, and social challenges of agricultural systems. In order to identify key trends, influential authors, impactful journals, emerging research themes and gap in research on agroecological adoption, a bibliometric analysis based on the metadata of documents is performed to deal with agroecology adoption and the methods used for its evaluation over the period from January 1990 to July 2023, extracted from the Web of Science database. 
  • 632
  • 20 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Hydrogen Production and Storage
Hydrogen has been widely considered to hold promise for solving challenges associated with the increasing demand for green energy. While many chemical and biochemical processes produce molecular hydrogen as byproducts, electrochemical approaches using water electrolysis are considered to be a predominant method for clean and green hydrogen production. 
  • 622
  • 15 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Emotions and Media Coverage in High-Carbon-Emitting Behavior
While the global poorest, who make up 50% of the world’s population, are most afflicted by the climate crisis, they contribute least to it in comparison with the global richest, who make up only one percent of the world’s population. The growing climate injustice should therefore be considered as a moral issue. The moral problem is that high polluters, usually the better-off, have many options to fall back on to mitigate the consequences of their behavior. For example, they have the financial means to protect themselves from climate change impacts (e.g., droughts and floods).
  • 619
  • 05 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Greenhouse Gases in Wastewater Collection Systems
Wastewater collection systems (WCSs) not only play an indispensable role in urban life but also significantly contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Based on extensive literature research, this study summarizes current research on the production mechanisms, influencing factors, control techniques, and quantitative estimates of GHGs emitted from WCSs and presents initial estimates of total GHG emissions from WCSs in China. A variety of factors affect GHG production, but standard methods are still lacking to quantify GHG emissions from WCSs. China’s WCSs emit approximately 3.86–15.35 Mt of CO2eq annually (equivalent to 5.1–20.2% of the GHG emissions from wastewater treatment). Thus, GHG emissions from WCSs are significant and deserve attention. Control of GHGs in WCSs can be achieved through the application of chemical agents, while the construction of a green stormwater infrastructure can further facilitate GHG reductions. This research provides valuable insights for policymakers to consider in future policy planning related to GHG reduction and the improved operation of WCSs. Future research should focus on quantifying the impacts of various factors and accumulating field data on GHGs in various regions to facilitate the development of standardized calculation methods.
  • 613
  • 11 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Importance of Sustainable Backup Power Systems
In an era of increasing environmental awareness and technological advancements, the demand for sustainable solutions extends to every facet of our lives. One critical area gaining attention is the need for reliable backup power systems that not only provide energy security but also align with sustainable practices. As the frequency of natural disasters, power outages, and grid instability increases, the importance of backup power has never been more apparent. However, traditional backup power sources, such as diesel generators, come with significant environmental and economic costs. This has led to a growing interest in sustainable backup power systems, which promise a greener, more reliable future.
  • 607
  • 31 Oct 2024
Topic Review
Low Temperature-Based Abatement Technique
Nitrogen and sulpher oxides (NOx, SOx) have become a global issue in recent years due to the fastest industrialization and urbanization. Numerous techniques are used to treat the harmful exhaust emissions, including dry, traditional wet and hybrid wet-scrubbing techniques. However, several difficulties, including high-energy requirement, limited scrubbing-liquid regeneration, formation of secondary pollutants and low efficiency, limit their industrial utilization. Regardless, the hybrid wet-scrubbing technology is gaining popularity due to low-costs, less-energy consumption and high-efficiency removal of air pollutants. 
  • 605
  • 30 Dec 2021
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