Dynamic metabolism network simulation for energy-water nexus analysis: A case study of Liaoning Province, China

Faced with gradually serious energy and water crisis, the exploration of energy-water nexus metabolism relationships could provide a new direction for achieving the resources conservation and consumption reduction. In this paper, a comprehensive assessment for energy-water metabolic network is proposed to search the dynamic evolution and quantify the sectoral metabolic processes in Liaoning Province, China. Input-output analysis (IOA) and ecological network analysis (ENA) are integrated to clarify the embodied linkages and the complicated system interactions in the energy-water nexus network. The coefficients of "water-related energy" and "energy-related water" are explored through the system dynamics model (SDM) based on the consecutive input-output tables from 2012 to 2018. In addition, energy-water nexus efficiency index (EWEI) is constructed to evaluate the metabolism circulation efficiency of energy-water nexus network. The results indicate that (a) the energy and water outflow sectors mainly concentrate in primary industries and tertiary industries, while inflow sectors mainly concentrate in secondary industries; (b) the sectoral relationship provides effective pathways to implement collaborative resource saving and efficiency improvement measures, and the key sectors with the highest correlation with other sectors in energy-water nexus are AGR (agriculture), MIN (mining) and WRC (wholesale, retail and catering services). (c) the EWEI shows a gradually downward trend and the state of the energy system would determine the health of the energy-water nexus metabolism more strongly than water system.