A Chinese cokemaking process-flow model for energy and environmental analyses

The purpose of this paper is to describe the design of a process-flow model that will improve our understanding of the industrial energy use, efficiency, and pollution in the cokemaking sector in the People's Republic of China (China). We use a modified version of the input-output process model (IOPM), developed by Lin and Polenske. By modifying the design of the IOPM model for use in the cokemaking sector, we have made three key contributions. First, the end result of our design is a generic energy process-flow model that can be easily adapted for use in conducting energy and environmental analyses of cokemaking in China and other countries as well as examining other industrial processes in other sectors. Second, as we constructed our design framework, we have identified the key differences in energy use and pollution generation among three generic cokemaking technologies in China. Third, we have determined the crucial issues, such as changes in iron and steel making technologies, plant location, and world coal and coke trade, that may affect the cokemaking sector in China in the next decade. Our research is a micro-level examination of the production processes and input-output structure of three alternative types of cokemaking technologies (modified indigenous, small machinery, and nonrecovery) in use in Shanxi Province, China, in the year 2000. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.