Ministry of Ecology and Environment

In response to ecosystem degradation from rapid economic development, China began investing heavily in protecting and restoring natural capital starting in 2000. We report on China's first national ecosystem assessment (2000-2010), designed to quantify and help manage change in ecosystem services, including food production, carbon sequestration, soil retention, sandstorm prevention, water retention, flood mitigation, and provision of habitat for biodiversity. Overall, ecosystem services improved from 2000 to 2010, apart from habitat provision. China's national conservation policies contributed significantly to the increases in those ecosystem services.

Abstract. In this study, 121 daily PM2.5 (aerosol particle with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm) samples were collected from an urban site in Beijing in four months between April 2009 and January 2010 representing the four seasons. The samples were determined for various compositions, including elements, ions, and organic/elemental carbon. Various approaches, such as chemical mass balance, positive matrix factorization (PMF), trajectory clustering, and potential source contribution function (PSCF), were employed for characterizing aerosol speciation, identifying likely sources, and apportioning contributions from each likely source. Our results have shown distinctive seasonality for various aerosol speciations associated with PM2.5 in Beijing. Soil dust waxes in the spring and wanes in the summer. Regarding the secondary aerosol components, inorganic and organic species may behave in different manners. The former preferentially forms in the hot and humid summer via photochemical reactions, although their precursor gases, such as SO2 and NOx, are emitted much more in winter. The latter seems to favorably form in the cold and dry winter. Synoptic meteorological and climate conditions can overwhelm the emission pattern in the formation of secondary aerosols. The PMF model identified six main sources: soil dust, coal combustion, biomass burning, traffic and waste incineration emission, industrial pollution, and secondary inorganic aerosol. Each of these sources has an annual mean contribution of 16, 14, 13, 3, 28, and 26%, respectively, to PM2.5. However, the relative contributions of these identified sources significantly vary with changing seasons. The results of trajectory clustering and the PSCF method demonstrated that regional sources could be crucial contributors to PM pollution in Beijing. In conclusion, we have unraveled some complex aspects of the pollution sources and formation processes of PM2.5 in Beijing. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic study that comprehensively explores the chemical characterizations and source apportionments of PM2.5 aerosol speciation in Beijing by applying multiple approaches based on a completely seasonal perspective.

The article reviews diverse areas of conventional and advanced biomass gasification discussing their feasibility and sustainability <italic>vis-à-vis</italic> technological and socio-environmental impacts.

The rapid growth of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) for portable electronic devices and electric vehicles has resulted in an increased number of spent LIBs. Spent LIBs contain not only dangerous heavy metals but also toxic chemicals that pose a serious threat to ecosystems and human health. Therefore, a great deal of attention has been paid to the development of an efficient process to recycle spent LIBs for both economic aspects and environmental protection. In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art processes for metal recycling from spent LIBs, introduce the structure of a LIB, and summarize all available technologies that are used in different recovery processes. It is notable that metal extraction and pretreatment play important roles in the whole recovery process, based on one or more of the principles of pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, biometallurgy, and so forth. By further comparing different recycling methods, existing challenges are identified and suggestions for improving the recycling effectiveness can be proposed.

Recent expansion of the scale of human activities poses severe threats to Earth's life-support systems. Increasingly, protected areas (PAs) are expected to serve dual goals: protect biodiversity and secure ecosystem services. We report a nationwide assessment for China, quantifying the provision of threatened species habitat and four key regulating services-water retention, soil retention, sandstorm prevention, and carbon sequestration-in nature reserves (the primary category of PAs in China). We find that China's nature reserves serve moderately well for mammals and birds, but not for other major taxa, nor for these key regulating ecosystem services. China's nature reserves encompass 15.1% of the country's land surface. They capture 17.9% and 16.4% of the entire habitat area for threatened mammals and birds, but only 13.1% for plants, 10.0% for amphibians, and 8.5% for reptiles. Nature reserves encompass only 10.2-12.5% of the source areas for the four key regulating services. They are concentrated in western China, whereas much threatened species' habitat and regulating service source areas occur in eastern provinces. Our analysis illuminates a strategy for greatly strengthening PAs, through creating the first comprehensive national park system of China. This would encompass both nature reserves, in which human activities are highly restricted, and a new category of PAs for ecosystem services, in which human activities not impacting key services are permitted. This could close the gap in a politically feasible way. We also propose a new category of PAs globally, for sustaining the provision of ecosystems services and achieving sustainable development goals.

Biofuels from biomass gasification are reviewed here, and demonstrated to be an attractive option. Recent progress in gasification techniques and key generation pathways for biofuels production, process design and integration and socio-environmental impacts of biofuel generation are discussed, with the goal of investigating gasification-to-biofuels’ credentials as a sustainable and eco-friendly technology. The synthesis of important biofuels such as bio-methanol, bio-ethanol and higher alcohols, bio-dimethyl ether, Fischer Tropsch fuels, bio-methane, bio-hydrogen and algae-based fuels is reviewed, together with recent technologies, catalysts and reactors. Significant thermodynamic studies for each biofuel are also examined. Syngas cleaning is demonstrated to be a critical issue for biofuel production, and innovative pathways such as those employed by Choren Industrietechnik, Germany, and BioMCN, the Netherlands, are shown to allow efficient methanol generation. The conversion of syngas to FT transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel over Co or Fe catalysts is reviewed and demonstrated to be a promising option for the future of biofuels. Bio-methane has emerged as a lucrative alternative for conventional transportation fuel with all the advantages of natural gas including a dense distribution, trade and supply network. Routes to produce H2 are discussed, though critical issues such as storage, expensive production routes with low efficiencies remain. Algae-based fuels are in the research and development stage, but are shown to have immense potential to become commercially important because of their capability to fix large amounts of CO2, to rapidly grow in many environments and versatile end uses. However, suitable process configurations resulting in optimal plant designs are crucial, so detailed process integration is a powerful tool to optimize current and develop new processes. LCA and ethical issues are also discussed in brief. It is clear that the use of food crops, as opposed to food wastes represents an area fraught with challenges, which must be resolved on a case by case basis.

A closed-loop process to recover lithium carbonate from cathode scrap of lithium-ion battery (LIB) is developed. Lithium could be selectively leached into solution using formic acid while aluminum remained as the metallic form, and most of the other metals from the cathode scrap could be precipitated out. This phenomenon clearly demonstrates that formic acid can be used for lithium recovery from cathode scrap, as both leaching and separation reagent. By investigating the effects of different parameters including temperature, formic acid concentration, H 2 O 2 amount, and solid to liquid ratio, the leaching rate of Li can reach 99.93% with minor Al loss into the solution. Subsequently, the leaching kinetics was evaluated and the controlling step as well as the apparent activation energy could be determined. After further separation of the remaining Ni, Co, and Mn from the leachate, Li 2 CO 3 with the purity of 99.90% could be obtained. The final solution after lithium carbonate extraction can be further processed for sodium formate preparation, and Ni, Co, and Mn precipitates are ready for precursor preparation for cathode materials. As a result, the global recovery rates of Al, Li, Ni, Co, and Mn in this process were found to be 95.46%, 98.22%, 99.96%, 99.96%, and 99.95% respectively, achieving effective resources recycling from cathode scrap of spent LIB.

Abstract. To obtain a thorough knowledge of PM2. 5 chemical composition and its impact on aerosol optical properties across China, existing field studies conducted after the year 2000 are reviewed and summarized in terms of geographical, interannual and seasonal distributions. Annual PM2. 5 was up to 6 times the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in some megacities in northern China. Annual PM2. 5 was higher in northern than southern cities, and higher in inland than coastal cities. In a few cities with data longer than a decade, PM2. 5 showed a slight decrease only in the second half of the past decade, while carbonaceous aerosols decreased, sulfate (SO42−) and ammonium (NH4+) remained at high levels, and nitrate (NO3−) increased. The highest seasonal averages of PM2. 5 and its major chemical components were typically observed in the cold seasons. Annual average contributions of secondary inorganic aerosols to PM2. 5 ranged from 25 to 48 %, and those of carbonaceous aerosols ranged from 23 to 47 %, both with higher contributions in southern regions due to the frequent dust events in northern China. Source apportionment analysis identified secondary inorganic aerosols, coal combustion and traffic emission as the top three source factors contributing to PM2. 5 mass in most Chinese cities, and the sum of these three source factors explained 44 to 82 % of PM2. 5 mass on annual average across China. Biomass emission in most cities, industrial emission in industrial cities, dust emission in northern cities and ship emission in coastal cities are other major source factors, each of which contributed 7–27 % to PM2. 5 mass in applicable cities. The geographical pattern of scattering coefficient (bsp) was similar to that of PM2. 5, and that of aerosol absorption coefficient (bap) was determined by elemental carbon (EC) mass concentration and its coating. bsp in ambient condition of relative humidity (RH) = 80 % can be amplified by about 1.8 times that under dry conditions. Secondary inorganic aerosols accounted for about 60 % of aerosol extinction coefficient (bext) at RH greater than 70 %. The mass scattering efficiency (MSE) of PM2. 5 ranged from 3.0 to 5.0 m2 g−1 for aerosols produced from anthropogenic emissions and from 0.7 to 1.0 m2 g−1 for natural dust aerosols. The mass absorption efficiency (MAE) of EC ranged from 6.5 to 12.4 m2 g−1 in urban environments, but the MAE of water-soluble organic carbon was only 0.05 to 0.11 m2 g−1. Historical emission control policies in China and their effectiveness were discussed based on available chemically resolved PM2. 5 data, which provides the much needed knowledge for guiding future studies and emissions policies.

Abstract The built‐in electric field can be generated in the piezoelectric materials under mechanical stress. The resulting piezoelectric effect is beneficial to charge separation in photocatalysis. Meanwhile, the mechanical stress usually gives rise to accelerated mass transfer and enhanced catalytic activity. Unfortunately, it remains a challenge to differentiate the contribution of these two factors to catalytic performance. Herein, for the first time, isostructural metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), i.e., UiO‐66‐NH 2 (Zr) and UiO‐66‐NH 2 (Hf), are adopted for piezo‐photocatalysis. Both MOFs, featuring the same structures except for diverse Zr/Hf‐oxo clusters, possess distinctly different piezoelectric properties. Strikingly, UiO‐66‐NH 2 (Hf) exhibits ≈2.2 times of activity compared with that of UiO‐66‐NH 2 (Zr) under simultaneous light and ultrasonic irradiation, though both MOFs display similar activity in the photocatalytic H 2 production without ultrasonic irradiation. Given their similar pore features and mass transfer behaviors, the activity difference is unambiguously assignable to the piezoelectric effect. As a result, the contributions of the piezoelectric effect to the piezo‐photocatalysis can be clearly distinguished owing to the stronger piezoelectric property of UiO‐66‐NH 2 (Hf).

Abstract. Daily PM2.5 (aerosol particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm) samples were collected at an urban site in Chengdu, an inland megacity in southwest China, during four 1-month periods in 2011, with each period in a different season. Samples were subject to chemical analysis for various chemical components ranging from major water-soluble ions, organic carbon (OC), element carbon (EC), trace elements to biomass burning tracers, anhydrosugar levoglucosan (LG), and mannosan (MN). Two models, the ISORROPIA II thermodynamic equilibrium model and the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, were applied to explore the likely chemical forms of ionic constituents and to apportion sources for PM2.5. Distinctive seasonal patterns of PM2.5 and associated main chemical components were identified and could be explained by varying emission sources and meteorological conditions. PM2.5 showed a typical seasonality of waxing in winter and waning in summer, with an annual mean of 119 μg m−3. Mineral soil concentrations increased in spring, whereas biomass burning species elevated in autumn and winter. Six major source factors were identified to have contributed to PM2.5 using the PMF model. These were secondary inorganic aerosols, coal combustion, biomass burning, iron and steel manufacturing, Mo-related industries, and soil dust, and they contributed 37 ± 18, 20 ± 12, 11 ± 10, 11 ± 9, 11 ± 9, and 10 ± 12%, respectively, to PM2.5 masses on annual average, while exhibiting large seasonal variability. On annual average, the unknown emission sources that were not identified by the PMF model contributed 1 ± 11% to the measured PM2.5 mass. Various chemical tracers were used for validating PMF performance. Antimony (Sb) was suggested to be a suitable tracer of coal combustion in Chengdu. Results of LG and MN helped constrain the biomass burning sources, with wood burning dominating in winter and agricultural waste burning dominating in autumn. Excessive Fe (Ex-Fe), defined as the excessive portion in measured Fe that cannot be sustained by mineral dust, is corroborated to be a straightforward useful tracer of iron and steel manufacturing pollution. In Chengdu, Mo / Ni mass ratios were persistently higher than unity, and considerably distinct from those usually observed in ambient airs. V / Ni ratios averaged only 0.7. Results revealed that heavy oil fuel combustion should not be a vital anthropogenic source, and additional anthropogenic sources for Mo are yet to be identified. Overall, the emission sources identified in Chengdu could be dominated by local sources located in the vicinity of Sichuan, a result different from those found in Beijing and Shanghai, wherein cross-boundary transport is significant in contributing pronounced PM2.5. These results provided implications for PM2.5 control strategies.

Abstract. Air quality observations by satellite instruments are global and have a regular temporal resolution, which makes them very useful in studying long-term trends in atmospheric species. To monitor air quality trends in China for the period 2005–2015, we derive SO2 columns and NOx emissions on a provincial level with improved accuracy. To put these trends into perspective they are compared with public data on energy consumption and the environmental policies of China. We distinguish the effect of air quality regulations from economic growth by comparing them relatively to fossil fuel consumption. Pollutant levels, per unit of fossil fuel, are used to assess the effectiveness of air quality regulations. We note that the desulfurization regulations enforced in 2005–2006 only had a significant effect in the years 2008–2009, when a much stricter control of the actual use of the installations began. For national NOx emissions a distinct decreasing trend is only visible from 2012 onwards, but the emission peak year differs from province to province. Unlike SO2, emissions of NOx are highly related to traffic. Furthermore, regulations for NOx emissions are partly decided on a provincial level. The last 3 years show a reduction both in SO2 and NOx emissions per fossil fuel unit, since the authorities have implemented several new environmental regulations. Despite an increasing fossil fuel consumption and a growing transport sector, the effects of air quality policy in China are clearly visible. Without the air quality regulations the concentration of SO2 would be about 2.5 times higher and the NO2 concentrations would be at least 25 % higher than they are today in China.

The natural environment is essential for human survival and development since it provides water resources, land resources, biological resources and climate resources etc. As a developing country, China has witnessed a significant change in the natural environment in recent decades; and therefore, monitoring and mastering the status of the environment is of great significance. Due to the characteristics of large-scale and dynamic observation, remote sensing technology has been an indispensable approach for environmental monitoring. This paper reviews the satellite resources, institutions and policies for environmental monitoring in China, and the advances in research and application of remote sensing from five aspects: ecological index retrieval, environmental monitoring in protected areas, rural areas, urban areas and mining areas. The remote sensing models and methods for various types of environmental monitoring, and the specific applications in China are comprehensively summarized. This paper also points out major challenges existing at the current stage: satellite sensor problems, integrated use challenges of datasets, uncertainty in the retrieval process of ecological variables, scaling effect problems, a low degree of automation, the weak ability of forecasting and comprehensive analysis, and a lack of computational power for massive datasets. Finally, the development trend and future directions are put forward to direct the research and application of environmental monitoring and protection in the new era.

Herein, a silicate-enhanced flow-through electro-Fenton system with a nanoconfined catalyst was rationally designed and demonstrated for the highly efficient, rapid, and selective degradation of antibiotic tetracycline. The key active component of this system is the Fe2O3 nanoparticle filled carbon nanotube (Fe2O3-in-CNT) filter. Under an electric field, this composite filter enabled in situ H2O2 generation, which was converted to reactive oxygen species accompanied by the redox cycling of Fe3+/Fe2+. The presence of the silicate electrolyte significantly boosted the H2O2 yield by preventing the O–O bond dissociation of the adsorbed OOH*. Compared with the surface coated Fe2O3 on the CNT (Fe2O3-out-CNT) filter, the Fe2O3-in-CNT filter demonstrated 1.65 times higher kL value toward the degradation of the antibiotic tetracycline. Electron paramagnetic resonance and radical quenching tests synergistically verified that the dominant radical species was the 1O2 or HO· in the confined Fe2O3-in-CNT or unconfined Fe2O3-out-CNT system, respectively. The flow-through configuration offered improved tetracycline degradation kinetics, which was 5.1 times higher (at flow rate of 1.5 mL min–1) than that of a conventional batch reactor. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry measurements and theoretical calculations suggested reduced toxicity of fragments of tetracycline formed. This study provides a novel strategy by integrating state-of-the-art material science, Fenton chemistry, and microfiltration technology for environmental remediation.

Abstract. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns led to a sharp drop in socio-economic activities in China in 2020, including reductions in fossil fuel use, industry productions, and traffic volumes. The short-term impacts of lockdowns on China's air quality have been measured and reported, however, the changes in anthropogenic emissions have not yet been assessed quantitatively, which hinders our understanding of the causes of the air quality changes during COVID-19. Here, for the first time, we report the anthropogenic air pollutant emissions from mainland China by using a bottom-up approach based on the near-real-time data in 2020 and use the estimated emissions to simulate air quality changes with a chemical transport model. The COVID-19 lockdown was estimated to have reduced China's anthropogenic emissions substantially between January and March in 2020, with the largest reductions in February. Emissions of SO2, NOx, CO, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), and primary PM2.5 were estimated to have decreased by 27 %, 36 %, 28 %, 31 %, and 24 %, respectively, in February 2020 compared to the same month in 2019. The reductions in anthropogenic emissions were dominated by the industry sector for SO2 and PM2.5 and were contributed to approximately equally by the industry and transportation sectors for NOx, CO, and NMVOCs. With the spread of coronavirus controlled, China's anthropogenic emissions rebounded in April and since then returned to the comparable levels of 2019 in the second half of 2020. The provinces in China have presented nearly synchronous decline and rebound in anthropogenic emissions, while Hubei and the provinces surrounding Beijing recovered more slowly due to the extension of lockdown measures. The ambient air pollution presented much lower concentrations during the first 3 months in 2020 than in 2019 while rapidly returning to comparable levels afterward, which have been reproduced by the air quality model simulation driven by our estimated emissions. China's monthly anthropogenic emissions in 2020 can be accessed from https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5214920.v2 (Zheng et al., 2021) by species, month, sector, and province.

Hypertension is a major disease of burden worldwide. Previous studies have indicated that air pollution might be a risk factor for hypertension, but the results were controversial. To fill this gap, we performed a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies to investigate the associations of short-term and long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants with hypertension. We searched all of the studies published before September 1, 2015, on the associations of ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO2 and NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) with hypertension in the English electronic databases. A pooled odds ratio (OR) for hypertension in association with each 10 μg/m(3) increase in air pollutant was calculated by a random-effects model (for studies with significant heterogeneity) or a fixed-effect model (for studies without significant heterogeneity). A total of 17 studies examining the effects of short-term (n=6) and long-term exposure (n=11) to air pollutants were identified. Short-term exposure to SO2 (OR=1.046, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.012-1.081), PM2.5 (OR=1.069, 95% CI: 1.003-1.141), and PM10 (OR=1.024, 95% CI: 1.016-1.032) were significantly associated with hypertension. Long-term exposure (a 10 μg/m(3) increase) to NO2 (OR=1.034, 95% CI: 1.005-1.063) and PM10 (OR=1.054, 95% CI: 1.036-1.072) had significant associations with hypertension. Exposure to other ambient air pollutants (short-term exposure to NO2, O3, and CO and long-term exposure to NOx, PM2.5, and SO2) also had positive relationships with hypertension, but lacked statistical significance. Our results suggest that short-term or long-term exposure to some air pollutants may increase the risk of hypertension.

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INTRODUCTION: Unhealthy lifestyles caused a huge disease burden. Adopting healthy lifestyles is the most cost-effective strategy for preventing non-communicable diseases. The aim was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the relationship of combined lifestyle factors (eg, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diet and overweight/obesity) with the risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: PubMed and EMBASE were searched from inception to April 2019. Cohort studies investigating the association between the combination of at least three lifestyle factors and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality or incidence of CVD were filtered by consensus among reviewers. Pairs of reviewers independently extracted data and evaluated study quality. Random-effects models were used to pool HRs. Heterogeneity and publication bias were tested. RESULTS: In total, 142 studies were included. Compared with the participants with the least-healthy lifestyles, those with the healthiest lifestyles had lower risks of all-cause mortality (HR=0.45, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.48, 74 studies with 2 584 766 participants), cardiovascular mortality (HR=0.42, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.46, 41 studies with 1 743 530 participants), incident CVD (HR=0.38, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.51, 22 studies with 754 894 participants) and multiple subtypes of CVDs (HRs ranging from 0.29 to 0.45). The associations were largely significant and consistent among individuals from different continents, racial groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS: Given the great health benefits, comprehensively tackling multiple lifestyle risk factors should be the cornerstone for reducing the global disease burden.

Multiple systematic reviews on greenspace and health outcomes exist, but the overall evidence base remains unclear. Therefore, we performed an umbrella review to collect and appraise all relevant systematic reviews of epidemiological studies on greenness exposure and health. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from inception to June 28, 2021, and screened references of relevant articles. Systematic reviews with or without meta-analyses of epidemiological studies that examined the associations of greenness with any health outcome were included. Two independent investigators performed study selection and data extraction. We also evaluated the methodological quality of the included systematic reviews using the "Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews 2" checklist. A total of 40 systematic reviews and meta-analyses were included, of which most were cross-sectional studies conducted in high-income countries. Greenspace exposure was estimated with various objective and subjective parameters. Beneficial associations of greenspace with all-cause and stroke-specific mortality, CVD morbidity, cardiometabolic factors, mental health, low birth weight, physical activity, sleep quality, and urban crime were observed. No consistent associations between greenspace and other health outcomes (e.g., cancers) were observed. Most of the included systematic reviews and meta-analyses had one or more limitations in methodology. Our findings provide supportive evidence regarding the beneficial effects of greenspace exposure on some aspects of human health. However, the credibility of such evidence was compromised by methodological limitations. Better performed systematic reviews and meta-analyses as well as longitudinal designed primary studies are needed to validate this conclusion.

Pesticides play an important role in agricultural development. However, pesticide application can result in both acute and chronic human toxicities, and the adverse effects of pesticides on the environment and human health remain a serious problem. There is therefore a need to discuss the application methods for pesticides, the routes of pesticide exposure, and the health risks posed by pesticide application. The health problems related to pesticide application and exposure in developing countries are of particular concern. The purpose of this paper is to provide scientific information for policymakers in order to allow the development of proper pesticide application technics and methods to minimize pesticide exposure and the adverse health effects on both applicators and communities. Studies indicate that there are four main pesticide application methods, including hydraulic spraying, backpack spraying, basal trunk spraying, and aerial spraying. Pesticide application methods are mainly selected by considering the habits of target pests, the characteristics of target sites, and the properties of pesticides. Humans are directly exposed to pesticides in occupational, agricultural, and household activities and are indirectly exposed to pesticides via environmental media, including air, water, soil, and food. Human exposure to pesticides occurs mainly through dermal, oral, and respiratory routes. People who are directly and/or indirectly exposed to pesticides may contract acute toxicity effects and chronic diseases. Although no segment of the general population is completely protected against exposure to pesticides and their potentially serious health effects, a disproportionate burden is shouldered by people in developing countries. Both deterministic and probabilistic human health risk assessments have their advantages and disadvantages and both types of methods should be comprehensively implemented in research on exposure and human health risk assessment. Equipment for appropriate pesticide application is important for application efficiency to minimize the loss of spray solution as well as reduce pesticide residuals in the environment and adverse human health effects due to over-spraying and residues. Policymakers should implement various useful measures, such as integrated pest management (IPM) laws that prohibit the use of pesticides with high risks and the development of a national implementation plan (NIP) to reduce the adverse effects of pesticides on the environment and on human health.

Integrated analysis and optimization of material and energy flows in the iron and steel industry have drawn considerable interest from steelmakers, energy engineers, policymakers, financial firms, and academic researchers. Numerous publications in this area have identified their great potential to bring significant benefits and innovation. Although much technical work has been done to analyze and optimize material and energy flows, there is a lack of overview of material and energy flows of the iron and steel industry. To fill this gap, this work first provides an overview of different steel production routes. Next, the modelling, scheduling and interrelation regarding material and energy flows in the iron and steel industry are presented by thoroughly reviewing the existing literature. This study selects eighty publications on the material and energy flows of steelworks, from which a map of the potential of integrating material and energy flows for iron and steel sites is constructed. The paper discusses the challenges to be overcome and the future directions of material and energy flow research in the iron and steel industry, including the fundamental understandings of flow mechanisms, the dynamic material and energy flow scheduling and optimization, the synergy between material and energy flows, flexible production processes and flexible energy systems, smart steel manufacturing and smart energy systems, and revolutionary steelmaking routes and technologies.