Xue Bai’s research while affiliated with University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and other places

Integrated water affairs management is an important mechanism for fostering coordinated development and enhancing the efficiency of water-related operations, encompassing water resources, water environment, water supply and drainage. It serves as a vital strategy for promoting the sustainable utilization of water resources. Employing systems engineering principles, this study constructed a technical standards system framework for Beijing water affairs. The framework incorporated dimensions including level, knowledge, and time. Existing national, industry, local, and association standards were categorized within this framework. This classification facilitated a comprehensive analysis of the current state and challenges of technical standardization in Beijing’s water resources management. The findings offer valuable insights for the strategic planning and development of water resources standardization, thereby supporting the advancement of integrated water affairs management.

Considering the challenges of increasing global energy scarcity and intensifying environmental problems, energy conservation in end-use energy-consuming products has become critical. In this study, we focused on household refrigerators and analyzed the individual characteristics, energy-saving awareness, and usage behaviors of Chinese refrigerator users; discussed the influence of individual characteristics and energy-saving awareness of users on refrigerator usage behavior; and evaluated the energy-saving potential with improved user behavior. The results showed that the energy-saving awareness or usage behavior of refrigerator users requires adjustment and improvement to avoid significant energy wastage. Additionally, a strong correlation was found between education, product energy efficiency level selection, age, and user behavior. Optimizing purchase choices among existing refrigerator energy efficiency grades would result in a national energy-saving potential of up to 9.31 × 1010 kW·h annually, whereas adjusting the door opening frequency and duration of some users could achieve annual energy savings of 6.14 × 1010 kW·h and 4.47 × 1010 kW·h, respectively. This study comprehensively evaluated the energy-saving potential of refrigerators from two aspects: market research and laboratory quantitative analysis. The results highlight that the government, enterprises, and individuals should pay attention to the energy-saving potential of refrigerators and actively take effective measures to promote the realization of the “dual carbon” goal.

With the intensification of the global energy crisis and the increase in environmental awareness, energy-saving problems related to household appliances have garnered widespread attention. Here, the usage patterns of electric washing machine users and their energy-saving potential was mainly explored, so as to improve the current situation that the influencing factors of existing research behaviors were not deep enough and the energy saving potential was not specific enough. A questionnaire survey was used to gather information on 20,840 users, including individual characteristics, energy-saving awareness, and usage behavior. The study analyzed the differences in users’ energy-saving awareness and behavior through a series of analysis methods, and evaluated the energy-saving and water-saving potential of electric washing machines. The results showed that user behavior such as washing mode, washing temperature, and the volume ratio of clothes significantly affected on the energy and water consumption of electric washing machines. Individual characteristics of users such as gender, age, educational background, and family income were strongly correlated with their awareness of and decisions made regarding energy conservation. Improving the energy efficiency of electric washing machines and optimizing user purchasing behavior could result in 38,787.54 GWh national energy savings potential, and 6.90 million tons of water-saving potential. This study will help manufacturers and government departments better understand consumers’ usage behavior regarding electric washing machines, which could allow them to modify their market strategies and bolster the promotion and education of energy efficiency labels for electric washing machines. This also could support the nation’s objectives for environmental preservation, water and energy conservation, and the sale of products with lesser energy efficiency.

As global energy resources get more limited and environmental problems worsen, it is crucial to enhance energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption in end-use products. This research focuses on electric water heaters, a significant household energy consumer, and collects a large amount of data through questionnaires and analyzes the current usage patterns of water heater use, as well as the impact of the users’ personal characteristics and energy-saving consciousness on usage behaviors. It also evaluates the energy-saving potential under different scenarios, considering both consumer behaviors and product efficiency levels. Results indicate that a substantial number of users still purchase high-energy-consuming water heaters and fail to adjust temperatures according to their specific needs, resulting in considerable energy waste. Electric water heaters exhibit significant potential for energy savings, with the efficiency of the product and user behaviors identified as key factors influencing overall energy consumption. The study provides important insights into the usage behavior of electric water heaters and offers actionable recommendations for manufacturers and government agencies: advocating the use of certified energy-efficient water heaters, raising public awareness of energy efficiency in appliance use, etc., which is in line with the country’s goals of energy conservation and environmental sustainability.

The sustainable management of domestic water use is essential for China’s ongoing development. Despite its significance, public service water use, especially within the hotel industry, is frequently neglected. This industry not only accounts for substantial water usage, but it has also witnessed exponential growth over the past decade. In light of this, this study developed a survey on the water demand and behavior of hotel consumers and built a water consumption model to analyze the different characteristics of the total volume of water used by various water appliances. Furthermore, by dividing the hierarchical intervals of each water-use behavior, it identified the main water-saving target of each water appliance. The results showed that the daily water demand of each consumer in hotels ranged from 45 to 141 L/(person·d). Among the various water-use appliances, faucets had the highest proportion of excessive water use, reaching nearly 40%, which implies a relatively large potential for saving water. Additionally, showers were the next major contributors to water consumption, whereas the proportion of excessive water use for water closets was relatively small. Owing to different habits, there is also variability in the main groups of people targeted for water conservation across water appliances, with females having the largest potential for water consumption in hotels. The results of this study can provide greatvaluable insights for enhancing water-use efficiency in hotels and standardizing water management practices within the industry.

In China, natural snowfall is insufficient, and ski resorts often require artificial snowmaking in winter and turf management in summer, which results in high overall water consumption and considered as one of the high water-consuming service industries, with an urgent need for theoretical foundations related to water management. Based on life cycle theory, we examined the characteristics of the water systems of ski resorts in winter and summer. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to construct a stochastic model to quantify the theoretical water consumption for snowmaking at ski resorts and to investigate the mechanisms by which various factors influence this consumption. We summarize the necessity of summer turf management and irrigation requirements at ski resorts, explore the interaction between ski resorts and agricultural irrigation. The results show that the theoretical water demand of ski resorts is basically consistent with the actual water consumption of ski resorts, that the constructed model is feasible, and that snowmaking water is the most important water use of ski resorts. Exploring the collection and reuse of meltwater or rainwater from ski resorts for agricultural irrigation in the spring and summer could provide more possibilities for the sustainable management of regional water resources. The research findings can provide a theoretical basis for scientifically and reasonably setting the norm of water intake for ski resorts and for developing comprehensive water resource management plans for ski resorts and agricultural irrigation.

Visualization is a cornerstone in human–computer interaction, evolving from large screens to mobile devices and now to wearable display technology. However, conventional batteries and displays lack the softness and stretchability inherent to human skin. Here, a fully flexible, all‐in‐one electronic display skin by integrating a flexible microLED display, a stretchable circuit, and a Zn|PAM|V2O5 hydrogel battery pack is developed. Vapor‐phase bulk transfer is used to efficiently and accurately transfer 10 000 microLEDs onto a flexible substrate, ensuring high flexibility and ultra‐thin (240 µm). The flexible hydrogel battery pack provides sustainable energy, with a high specific capacity of 331.3 mAh g⁻¹. Additionally, a transparent stretchable circuit board (maximum stretch 40%) is made by 3D printing technology. The skin display exhibited exceptional stretchability and biocompatibility, conforming to movements while maintaining high‐resolution dynamic visual outputs. These innovations pave the way for advanced skin‐implanted displays, promising transformative applications in information interaction, healthcare, and artificial intelligence.

A nonflammable eutectic electrolyte, with wide electrochemical (3.0 V vs. Zn/Zn ²⁺ ) and thermal (−70 to 160 °C) windows, eliminates hydrogen evolution, induces robust solid–electrolyte interphase and broadens temperature/voltage range of Zn batteries.

Uncontrolled Zn dendrites and undesirable side reactions such as Zn self‐corrosion and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remain major challenges for the further development of aqueous Zn batteries (AZBs). In this study, macrolide antibiotics are proposed to be added to aqueous electrolyte, serving as Zn ionophores to modulate Zn²⁺ solvation structure, regulate Zn electrodeposition, and suppress undesirable parasitic reactions. Azithromycin (Azi), a representative macrolide antibiotic, is demonstrated to undergo bidentate coordination with Zn ions and remodel the solvation structure into [ZnAzi(H2O)4]²⁺. Meanwhile, the self‐corrosion and HER at the Zn anode side are significantly suppressed, evidenced quantitatively by the on‐line hydrogen production monitoring. Furthermore, the promotion of dense and uniform Zn electrodeposition by the ionophores is also confirmed. The repeated Zn plating/stripping test with 0.1 m Azi in electrolyte reaches a high cumulative capacity of 10 Ah cm⁻² at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² and an area capacity of 10 mAh cm⁻². Moreover, the corresponding Zn‐V2O5 pouch cell achieves stable operation for 100 cycles without bulging caused by gas evolution. Thus, the electrolyte engineering approach presents a practically viable strategy for the development of AZBs.