The blast-furnace ironmaking route remains the most widely used method for producing iron, but it generates significant environmental pollution from CO2 emissions. Industrial players are working to develop environmentally friendly technologies, including bridging technologies to reduce CO2 emissions. These range from developing and implementing modified or entirely new ironmaking processes to creating raw materials that enhance iron and steelmaking efficiencies or bypass certain stages in the ironmaking process, thereby decreasing CO2 emissions and energy use. In this research, iron production from iron ore pellets was studied using the induction furnace. Preliminary results using hematite–goethite pellets as feed material showed that up to 73
The accelerating growth of electric mobility has intensified the need for cleaner and more resource-efficient production systems within lithium-ion battery supply chains. Ensuring sustainability and cost efficiency in these systems is essential to reducing material waste, supply dependency, and environmental pressures across the value chain. This study examines how circular economy practices within the European Union, a region recognized for its leadership in policy innovation and battery manufacturing, shape the cost performance of lithium-ion battery systems. Drawing on longitudinal evidence that captures more than a decade of industrial and regulatory transformation, the analysis applies an integrated framework to explore the interactions among policy measures, technological capabilities, and logistics coordination. To empirically examine these relationships, the study employs a panel dataset covering the European lithium-ion battery supply chain from 2010 to 2023. The analysis combines panel ARDL and nonlinear ARDL (NARDL) models with Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to capture both dynamic effects and configurational pathways influencing cost efficiency in circular battery supply chains. The results show that cost efficiency emerges from the combined influence of recycling performance, government incentives, and coordinated reverse logistics rather than from any single intervention. Strong policy support and efficient recycling infrastructure lead to measurable reductions in production costs and environmental burdens, while fragmented logistics continue to constrain progress. The study offers strategic guidance for policymakers and industry leaders on aligning circular resource recovery with cleaner production objectives, advancing the transition toward low carbon and economically competitive technologies.
The rapid growth of packaging consumption has increased plastic waste generation to over 155.9 Mt annually, while global recycling rates remain only 14
The construction of “zero-waste city” (ZWC) serves as an important policy tool for achieving synergistic effects of pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction (SEPRCER) under the dual carbon goals. Digital technology (DIGT) has become a core driving force in promoting ZWC development through intelligent management and optimized resource allocation. However, current research rarely discusses the spatial mechanism through which DIGT affects the SEPRCER in cities under the ZWC policy framework. On the basis of panel data from 2013 to 2023, this study takes 105 pilot prefecture-level cities as research samples and employs the spatial Durbin model for empirical analysis, aiming to examine the spatial effects of DIGT on the SEPRCER in ZWC. The results are as follows: (1) From 2013 to 2023, the level of SEPRCER and DIGT development in these 105 cities demonstrated significant positive spatial autocorrelation. (2) In terms of direct effects, cities’ DIGT level, population density, overall industrial structure upgrading, education level, and economic density exhibited significant positive driving effects on the SEPRCER. (3) Regarding indirect effects, DIGT level, population density, and education level promoted the SEPRCER in neighboring areas, whereas industrial structure upgrading and economic density showed certain negative impacts on adjacent regions. This research provides valuable insights for promoting DIGT-enabled ZWC construction and advancing SEPRCER.
Port infrastructure construction generates substantial embodied carbon emissions and creates long-term carbon lock-in risks for the maritime sector. Although life cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used for infrastructure carbon accounting, conventional static LCA cannot capture the temporal interactions among infrastructure investment, technological progress, policy intervention, and long-term decarbonization targets. To address this limitation, this study integrates process-based LCA with system dynamics (LCA–SD) modeling. Project-level LCA results are used to parameterize a national sector SD model, while scenario and sensitivity analyses are applied to evaluate long-term emission trajectories and model responses. Based on 214 engineering schemes from 39 Chinese coastal ports, the static assessment shows that material manufacturing accounts for 79.0–91.5
