A historical view of nitrogen metabolism and its driving forces in China's chemical industry: Implications for cleaner production policy and practice

作者：Luo, Zhibo; Hu, Shanying^*; Chen, Dingjiang

来源：Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018, 187: 308-317.

DOI：10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.240

• Nitrogen metabolism
• Driving forces
• Chemical industry
• Historical view
• Spatial variations

China's chemical industry has greatly altered the processes that contribute to reactive nitrogen (Nr) creation and Nr emission. However, the fluxes, fates and environmental consequences of Nr produced by the chemical industry remain poorly understood and unquantified. We report here that Nr creation and Nr emission by the chemical industry increased 47- and 37-fold from 1963 to 2015, respectively. Nr fixation in the chemical industry mainly results from the production of N fertilizer, but Nr fixation by fossil fuel combustion and chemical N products (except N fertilizer) has rapidly increased over the past 15 years. Meanwhile, the manufacture of raw chemical materials and chemical products are the main contributors to waste Nr production. Driving force analysis of Nr creation and Nr emission shows that population growth has the largest positive effect, while urbanization also has varying degrees of impact. Additionally, we propose some policy suggestions to reduce the environmental impact of Nr emissions from the chemical industry based on a brief future perspective of Nr creation and Nr emission. These findings will provide policy makers with an integrated view of Nr metabolism and environmental damage to address the significant challenges associated with reducing emissions in the chemical industry.

• 出版日期2018-6-20
• 单位清华大学