International cooperation to support climate change mitigation and sustainable development

This paper analyses the flexible instruments Joint Implementation (JI) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) with regard to achieving CO₂ emission reduction targets in a sustainable way. In a first step, an optimising energy and material flow model is used to elaborate emission reduction strategies for Germany. The same methodology is then applied to Indonesia in order to determine the emission baseline for this country, which is an indispensable requirement for the evaluation of project-based flexible instruments. Then, models for Germany, Russia and Indonesia are linked using a decomposition algorithm with the aim to elaborate emission reduction strategies for Germany, including JI and CDM projects. The results show substantial potential to limit emission reduction costs by multilateral cooperation. The most favourable types of cooperation project for the considered countries are CO₂ sequestration and power plant projects. Finally, an approach to how to include the criterion of sustainable development is described.     

Atmospheric particulate matter in the city of Sao Carlos/SP, Brazil

This paper presents experimental data and source apportionment simulations on particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) in the atmosphere of Sao Carlos/SP, Brazil. Both a Hi-vol sampler equipped with glass fibre filters and a Dichotomous sampler with nucleopore filters were used. The collected material was analysed for total carbon, using a thermometric method, and for traces of several chemical species, using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Source apportionment estimations were made with a chemical mass balance receptor model software (CMB8), with source profiles taken and adapted from the literature. The results indicate that both PM₁₀ concentration and source apportionment vary seasonally, and that vegetative burning can be a significant source of PM₁₀ in the dry season     

Sustainable urban transportation: impact of CO2 mitigation strategies on local pollutants

This paper assesses CO₂ mitigation strategies in Delhi and Mumbai against the dynamics of local pollutants. After testing against techno-economic feasibility, compressed natural gas (CNG) technology, four-stroke two-wheelers and battery-operated vehicles (BOV) were selected as candidate options for Mumbai and Delhi. Multiple constrained optimisation for finding out the optimal mix of vehicles to meet the travel demand under the business-as-usual scenario for the period of CO₂ mitigation targets of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25% resulted in reduced stock of diesel and petrol vehicles, with the reduction spanning over different points of the above time period. In the case of Mumbai, battery-operated three-wheelers dominated the vehicular mix, with the share of CNG vehicles remaining at a standard level. CO₂ reduction targets did not influence the CNG option significantly. CO₂ mitigation influenced the dynamics of local pollutants considerably in both Delhi and Mumbai. In Delhi, TSP and SOx reduction levels against the CO₂ mitigation target were found to be significant. In Mumbai, the percentage reduction in local pollution (TSP in particular) was higher than the target CO₂ reduction. Local pollutants other than TSP and SO_x showed an increasing trend against the CO₂ mitigation strategies in Delhi. In the case of Mumbai, all non-target pollutants showed a falling trend against the CO₂ mitigation strategies, though insignificantly for pollutants other than TSP and SO_x.     

Local emissions trading in developing countries as a transitional strategy toward international greenhouse gas trading: a Beijing example

As is the case in most developing countries, China relies on command-and-control regulation to control air pollution. While it has instituted a modest air pollution levy system in the past 20 years for emissions in excess of standards, the effect on emission levels has been minimal. This paper focuses on how to use emissions trading as a policy instrument to achieve cost-effective reductions in air pollution in Beijing. Emissions or allowance trading has been widely applied to air pollution control in the USA during the past 25 years. Three of the most recent programmes will be examined, which provide applicable experience for possible SO₂ and NO_x trading in the Beijing region. A trading strategy for Beijing will be proposed by comparing the economic and political institutional differences between the USA and China, which could eventually facilitate acceptance of an international greenhouse gas trading system.     

Description and application of the EAP computer program for calculating life-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of household consumption items

Focusing on reduction in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, a life-cycle-based analysis tool has been developed. The energy analysis program (EAP) is a computer program for determining energy use and greenhouse gas emissions related to household consumption items, using a hybrid calculation method. EAP consists of a number of fill-in screens corresponding to steps in the hybrid method, which in their turn correspond to different stages in life-cycles of consumer goods. The database incorporated in EAP comprises data about energy use and emissions of the main greenhouse gases (CO₂, CH₄and N₂O) concerning materials, economic sectors, means of transport, etc. The use of the program in several projects showed the applicability and usefulness of EAP in research and policy. In this article, EAP is applied to food: French beans as a metaphor for fruit and vegetables.     

Long-term scenarios for surface transport

Current trends in transport indicate that the system is moving away from a sustainable development (e.g., due to rising CO₂ emissions), and that major changes in technology and public policy, as well as in the behaviour of individuals, are necessary to make the transport system more compatible with environmental sustainability. This indicates the need to assess a set of future images for transport in relation to the environment. In this paper, reference and expert scenarios, which can act as a judgement framework for a sustainable transport system, are constructed on the basis of the recently developed 'spider model'. Based on a set of distinct characteristics of a transport system, represented by eight axes in the spatial, institutional, economic and social psychological field, an evaluation framework is constructed, which visualises the driving forces that largely influence the future of the transport system. There are several directions in which these factors may develop, and each of them will separately or in combination lead to entirely different transport systems. In this way, many scenarios can be constructed by connecting points on the successive axes. Such scenarios may range from market-oriented to regulatory pictures; the first may lead to a transport system in which individual, the second in which collective modes of transport dominate. Next, expected and desired scenarios are constructed from the opinions of Dutch transport experts, who responded to a nationwide survey. The expected scenario indicates that many current trends will continue, while the transport system is largely the same as the current one. The desired scenario, on the other hand, gives a more collective system, in which also many new modes are operating. The conclusion is that there are many roads for achieving a sustainable transport system, but that whichever one is chosen, it will be hard to follow.     

A statistical model for predicting carbon monoxide levels

This paper presents a statistical model that is able to predict carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations as a function of meteorological conditions and various air quality parameters. The experimental work was conducted in an urban atmosphere, where the emissions from cars are prevalent. A mobile air pollution monitoring laboratory was used to collect data, which were divided into two groups: a development group and a testing group. Only the development dataset was used for developing the model. The model was determined by using a stepwise multiple regression modelling procedure. Thirteen independent variables were selected as inputs: non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC), methane (CH₄), suspended dust, carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrogen oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), ozone (O₃), wind speed, wind direction, temperature, relative humidity and solar energy. It was found that NO has the most effect on the predicted CO concentration. The contribution of NO to the CO concentration variations was 91.3%. Adding in the terms for NO₂), NMHC and CH₄ improved the model by only a further 2.3%. The derived model was shown to be statistically significant, and model predictions and experimental observations were shown to be consistent.     

The MACT for petroleum refinery FCCs is a fraud!

This paper is a continuation of the author's research on the MACT regulation for abating pollution from Petroleum Refinery FCCs in the US. This paper highlights the flaws in the recently promulgated MACT for NSPS and non-NSPS FCC units. It details the inadequacies and the potential for perversity in the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) that are an integral part of the FCC MACT. It elaborates upon the potential for multi-media risk-exacerbations under the NSPS resulting from changes in feedstock quality, 'unit conversion', advances in cracking technology (that favour inferior crudes and feedstock), lack of NSPS standards for NO_x emissions, inter-unit transfer of contaminants/pollutants within a refinery, and the blind eye turned by RCRA to the disposal of spent FCC catalyst waste to landfills. The paper also questions EPA's motives as regards sub-categorisation of FCCs and SBREFA concessions. This paper proposes four standards that remedy these deficiencies. The first standard controls heavy metals, PM, and SO_x (along with SO₂), while the second proposes an integrated percentile control standard for CO (VOC) and NO_x emissions. The paper also proposes a percentile standard for opacity and a spent catalyst tax to control environmental risk posed by disposal of spent FCC catalyst waste to landfills. It explains the calibration of the proposed standards using a novel strategy to bridge the regulatory gap between NSPS, MACT and Residual Risk standards and demonstrates how the calibrated standards apply to FCCs processing feedstock of different qualities. The paper concludes by urging the US EPA to rescind the NSPS and the MACT for FCCs and re-promulgate an integrated set of standards for criteria and toxic pollutants along the lines proposed in this paper.     

Temporal variability of the precipitation chemistry in the forest area of Istanbul, Turkey

The chemical compositions of precipitation show temporal and spatial variability. It is important to determine the temporal variation of the chemical composition of rainwater for estimating the impacts of pollutants on the forest. In this study, the 34 rainwater samples are collected using, for the first time, the specially designed collectors between November 1997 and March 1998 in Istanbul University, Faculty of Forestry at Bahcekoy, Istanbul in Belgrad Forest. The sequentially collected samples are analysed for major ions concentrations and pH estimations. The pH values for all samples vary from 5.1-7.6. In general, the concentration of all rainwater samples decrease with time. Furthermore, it is estimated that the average Ca²⁺) (1943.0 µeql^-1) and SO₄^2- (887.3 µeql^-1) concentrations are extremely high during the first ten minutes of the precipitation event.     

Analysis and interpretation of the monitoring data for C2–C11 hydrocarbons in the atmosphere of a rural Portuguese site

This paper focuses the application of a measurement technique for determining atmospheric C₂–C₆ hydrocarbons after canister sampling and analysis by gas chromatography/flame ionisation detection (GC/FID), as well of an adsorption-sampling technique for C₆–C₁₁ compounds and GC/FID analysis after thermal desorption and cryogenic concentration. Tens of samples collected at Giesta, a rural area located 20 km to the SE of the coastal Portuguese city of Aveiro, were analysed. The characterisation of C₂ C₁₁ hydrocarbons is presented, considering seasonal variations, diurnal cycles, the influence of air masses and different photochemical conditions. Ratios between hydrocarbons and principal components analysis were applied to differentiate between biogenic and anthropogenic sources.     

Sampling errors in the study of acid gases and anion species in atmospheric aerosols

Atmospheric acid aerosols were sampled by two annular denuder systems (ADS) and a micro-orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI) at a traffic site in central Taiwan. Theoretical analysis showed that the relative artifact for HNO₃ gas sampling was about 0.53 when the initial HNO₃ concentration was under 0.2 µg/m³ and should be considered carefully. The concentrations of gaseous acid at the traffic sampling site were higher than those in the other study. The size distributions of acid aerosols were unimodal for Cl^-, NO₂^-, and NO₃^-, and bimodal for SO₄^2-. The dominant acid ions in particles less than 18 µm were SO₄^2-, NO₃^-, NO₂^- and Cl^-.     

Finding risky areas for oil spillage after tanker accidents at Istanbul strait

The Istanbul strait, which is a part of Turkish Strait System (TSS), is a narrow and navigationally risky waterway for ships. This risk increases daily due to oil transportation from Central Asia and Russia. In this study, four high risk areas were identified after analysing accident statistics for the strait. Then, a simulation was run for 1,000 tonnes of oil spill at each station and the distribution of oil determined by using GNOME^TM. Effective wind speed and direction were used at each scenario. As a result of these runs, risky areas were identified and necessary actions to minimise the effect of spill were discussed. Anadolu Kavagi, Buyukdere, Cengelkoy and Haydarpasa were identified as the high risk areas. In order to minimise the effect on these areas, having skimmers ready at Haydarpasa port and Buyukdere, and stocking barriers at other risky areas were found to be helpful for speedy action.     

Nitrification of centrate from dewatering of anaerobically digested sludge

Nitrification of anaerobically digested sludge centrate was studied in bench-scale suspended growth and fixed film enhanced suspended growth systems at temperatures of 10.5-28.5°C and pH values of 6.0-9.1. Nitrification followed zero-order kinetics in both systems, and ammonia removals in excess of 99% were observed. The temperature dependency of the suspended growth nitrification rate observed under not fully acclimated biomass conditions at pH between 6.8 and 8.5, was expressed as k_T = k₂₀θ^T-20where k₂₀ and θ were found to be 0.34 mg NH₃-N/MLVSS-d and 1.033, respectively. The nitrification rate in the fixed film enhanced suspended growth system involving styrofoam pads ranged from 0.11 to 0.13 mg NH₃-N/mg MLVSS-d at temperatures of 21.5-25°C and pH values of 7.8-8.6. The process contained suspended solids in the range of 10-20 mg/l.     

Annual simulation of secondary pollution over northern Italy

A secondary pollution modelling system for simulating airborne dispersion and chemical reactions is applied over a regional scale domain located in the North-West of Italy, where urban and industrial areas are present. It was found an overestimation of NO₂ in the urban areas, probably due to an underestimation of the vertical diffusivity; the analysis of O_X confirms that the discrepancies in O₃ and NO₂ are mainly due to local scale effects; the model shows a general underestimation of the observed PM10 concentrations due to the uncertainties in the emission inventories, spatial resolution, and the adopted aerosol modelling approach.     

Computational modelling of NOx removal by selective non-catalytic reduction

This paper presents the results of computational kinetic modelling of the removal of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) from flue gases by selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) process using urea as a reducing agent. CHEMKIN and SENKIN computer codes were used with latest reaction mechanism parameters for simulated conditions in an isothermal plug flow reactor. Flue gas initial conditions were simulated as 70 litres/min propane containing 500 ppm background NO_x. A range of molar ratios was studied at optimum temperature. Carbon monoxide and hydrogen were investigated as potential enhancers to lower the temperature window. The modelling results suggested that the optimum temperature for peak reduction was around 1075°C with optimum molar ratios of 1.5. Hydrogen was found to be an efficient enhancer. The optimum residence time was found to be about 80 milliseconds.     

Observation based analysis for the determination of equilibrium time constant between ammonia, acid gases, and fine particles

Experimental measurements of ammonia, acid gases, and the inorganic components of atmospheric aerosols were made at a commercial hog farm in eastern North Carolina from May 1998 to June 1999 by an annular denuder system (ADS). The ADS consisted of a cyclone separator, one diffusion denuder coated with sodium carbonate, another diffusion denuder with citric acid, and a filter pack containing Teflon and nylon filters in series. The equilibrium time constant for transfer between ammonia, acid gases, and aerosol phase of ammonium nitrate and ammonium chloride was determined based on kinetic rate constants (k_N as the rate constant of ammonium nitrate aerosol: 2.04 × 10^-4 m³/µmole/sec; k_Cl as the rate constant of ammonium chloride aerosol: 3.44 × 10^-4 m³/µmole/sec) and the observed inorganic components of atmospheric aerosols. The equilibrium time constant was determined based on kinetic rate constants and the observed inorganic components of atmospheric aerosols. The equilibrium time constant has a wide range of values, with an average value of 15.26 (±10.94) minutes for ambient equilibrium time between ammonia, nitric acid gas and ammonium nitrate aerosol; and 8.22 (±6.81) minutes for ammonia, hydrochloric acid, and ammonium chloride. Significant correlations were determined between comparisons of equilibrium time constant estimates with meteorological parameters, such as ambient temperature and relative humidity. The predicted chemical compositions in the particle by EQUISOLV II Model are in good agreement with the observed chemical composition at the experimental site.     

Aluminium accumulation in Pteris cretica and trace element uptake in vegetation growing on an abandoned aluminium smelter site in Knoxville, TN, USA

Smokey Mountain Smelters in Knoxville, Tennessee USA is an abandoned aluminium smelter where smelter waste (slag) was dumped on site. ICP analyses indicated the highest slag metal concentrations were 223,000 mg kg⁻¹ Al, 281 mg kg⁻¹ As, 132 mg kg⁻¹ Se, and 2910 mg kg⁻¹ Cu. Metal uptake was quantified in plants growing on slag. Our data indicates that P. cretica accumulates Al in high concentrations, but not As, when grown in slag. Metal concentrations in vegetation grown on slag were lower than controls grown in uncontaminated soil, suggesting low metal availability or root exclusion mechanisms.     

A structural decomposition analysis of air pollution from fossil fuel combustion in India

During the last decade, there has been worldwide concern with global climate change, which has been induced by greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to the use of fossil fuels. The CO₂ emissions from fossil fuel combustion have been identified as the single most significant source of GHG emissions into the atmosphere. Realising the need to control and regulate emissions of pollutants, the objective of the present study estimates the trend of CO₂, SO₂ and NO_x between the periods 1991-92 and 1996-97. An input-output structural decomposition analysis approach is used to determine their sources of change. It also provides a set of alternative scenarios for the year 2001-2 and 2006-7. The sources of changes in the amount of CO₂, SO₂ and NO_x emissions are categorised into four factors: the ecoefficiency, the structure of production, the structure of demand, and the volume of demand. Results indicate that the electricity sector contributes more towards direct, as well as indirect, emission coefficients. The petroleum product sector also contributes more in this respect. The dominant role is played by the structure of demand and the volume of demand.     

Limited provision of roads as a bottleneck on vehicle CO2 emissions in Asia: an international comparison of national trends

This paper explores the relationship between road infrastructure, economic growth and road CO₂ emissions. The basic premise is that many developing nations have achieved sufficient wealth to generate substantial demand for road vehicles, but that actual use is constrained by limited provision of surfaced roads. Our main result is that for comparable levels of income (GDP/capita), CO₂ emissions per length of paved road are far higher in rapidly developing Asia as compared to the USA. These findings suggest existence of an 'infrastructure bottleneck', that when relieved, may influence the future trajectory of road transport CO₂ emissions in developing Asia.