Influencing effects and spatiotemporal differentiation of pollutant discharge from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in China

The driving forces and their spatiotemporal differences of pollutant discharge in 30 provinces in China from 2001 to 2020 were investigated by adopting the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) method, distinguishing between industrial and domestic wastewater pollutant discharge. Our study results s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chen Zhang, Yanxiao Liu, Ling Lan, Yue You, Yuepeng Ye
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Environmental Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1576420/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849695271551762432
author Chen Zhang
Yanxiao Liu
Ling Lan
Yue You
Yuepeng Ye
author_facet Chen Zhang
Yanxiao Liu
Ling Lan
Yue You
Yuepeng Ye
author_sort Chen Zhang
collection DOAJ
description The driving forces and their spatiotemporal differences of pollutant discharge in 30 provinces in China from 2001 to 2020 were investigated by adopting the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) method, distinguishing between industrial and domestic wastewater pollutant discharge. Our study results show that economic expansion was the dominant driver of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH3-N discharge in China, mainly due to the impact of rapid economic development in the developed eastern provinces. The gap among 30 provinces in the contribution related to the driving effects of industrial COD and NH3-N discharge greatly narrowed with time, tending toward the national average. It showed the significant effectiveness of industrial structure adjustment, clean production, and the technology of industrial wastewater treatment across the country. Industrial COD and NH3-N discharge has been reduced to a certain extent. However, with rapid economic growth and urbanization, the domestic sewage treatment volume was still increasing, and the growth rate was faster than that of GDP in some provinces. The technology of many provinces had gradually failed to meet the growing demand for treating domestic sewage pollutants. Consequently, the influencing contributions had significant regional differences among provinces. The governance of the water environment in China should attach importance to technological advances for domestic water conservation and wastewater treatment in the future.
format Article
id doaj-art-496ea74ea1c242ea9935713e0c69dd74
institution DOAJ
issn 2296-665X
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Environmental Science
spelling doaj-art-496ea74ea1c242ea9935713e0c69dd742025-08-20T03:19:50ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2025-06-011310.3389/fenvs.2025.15764201576420Influencing effects and spatiotemporal differentiation of pollutant discharge from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in ChinaChen ZhangYanxiao LiuLing LanYue YouYuepeng YeThe driving forces and their spatiotemporal differences of pollutant discharge in 30 provinces in China from 2001 to 2020 were investigated by adopting the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) method, distinguishing between industrial and domestic wastewater pollutant discharge. Our study results show that economic expansion was the dominant driver of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH3-N discharge in China, mainly due to the impact of rapid economic development in the developed eastern provinces. The gap among 30 provinces in the contribution related to the driving effects of industrial COD and NH3-N discharge greatly narrowed with time, tending toward the national average. It showed the significant effectiveness of industrial structure adjustment, clean production, and the technology of industrial wastewater treatment across the country. Industrial COD and NH3-N discharge has been reduced to a certain extent. However, with rapid economic growth and urbanization, the domestic sewage treatment volume was still increasing, and the growth rate was faster than that of GDP in some provinces. The technology of many provinces had gradually failed to meet the growing demand for treating domestic sewage pollutants. Consequently, the influencing contributions had significant regional differences among provinces. The governance of the water environment in China should attach importance to technological advances for domestic water conservation and wastewater treatment in the future.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1576420/fullCOD/NH3-N dischargeindustrial and domestic pollutioninfluencing effectsspatiotemporal differentiationlogarithmic mean divisia index method
spellingShingle Chen Zhang
Yanxiao Liu
Ling Lan
Yue You
Yuepeng Ye
Influencing effects and spatiotemporal differentiation of pollutant discharge from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in China
Frontiers in Environmental Science
COD/NH3-N discharge
industrial and domestic pollution
influencing effects
spatiotemporal differentiation
logarithmic mean divisia index method
title Influencing effects and spatiotemporal differentiation of pollutant discharge from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in China
title_full Influencing effects and spatiotemporal differentiation of pollutant discharge from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in China
title_fullStr Influencing effects and spatiotemporal differentiation of pollutant discharge from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in China
title_full_unstemmed Influencing effects and spatiotemporal differentiation of pollutant discharge from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in China
title_short Influencing effects and spatiotemporal differentiation of pollutant discharge from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in China
title_sort influencing effects and spatiotemporal differentiation of pollutant discharge from industrial wastewater and domestic sewage in china
topic COD/NH3-N discharge
industrial and domestic pollution
influencing effects
spatiotemporal differentiation
logarithmic mean divisia index method
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1576420/full
work_keys_str_mv AT chenzhang influencingeffectsandspatiotemporaldifferentiationofpollutantdischargefromindustrialwastewateranddomesticsewageinchina
AT yanxiaoliu influencingeffectsandspatiotemporaldifferentiationofpollutantdischargefromindustrialwastewateranddomesticsewageinchina
AT linglan influencingeffectsandspatiotemporaldifferentiationofpollutantdischargefromindustrialwastewateranddomesticsewageinchina
AT yueyou influencingeffectsandspatiotemporaldifferentiationofpollutantdischargefromindustrialwastewateranddomesticsewageinchina
AT yuepengye influencingeffectsandspatiotemporaldifferentiationofpollutantdischargefromindustrialwastewateranddomesticsewageinchina