Greenhouse gas emission reductions through waste management and disposal planning

The Third Conference of the Parties of the UN-FCCC (CoP-3) held in Kyoto in 1997 defined a Protocol with level of reduction of the Greenhouse Gasses (GHGs) overall emissions for Italy of 6.5% with respect to 1990 emissions. A mathematical model was created in order to evaluate the range of GHGs reduction effects obtained by upgrading waste collection, treatment and disposal system to new Italian regulation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Municipal solid waste management in Thailand and disposal emission inventory

The increasing municipal solid waste (MSW) generation along with the high fraction of organic waste and a common disposal of open dumping is the current scenario in many areas in Thailand. As a response to this problem, the country’s Pollution Control Department (PCD) aims to reduce the MSW generation rate to less than 1 kg/capita/day, increase the collection efficiency, and improve the recovery of recyclables. For many years, more than 60% of the solid waste disposal system in Thailand has been carried out by open dumping. According to the survey conducted by this study, in 2004 there were 425 disposal sites (95 landfills; 330 open dumps) in Thailand and an estimated methane emission of 115.4 Gg/year was generated based on this practice. It has been estimated that the anticipated methane emission in Thailand will rise from 115.4 Gg/year to 118.5 Gg/year if the largest open dumpsites in provinces with no existing landfill are upgraded to sanitary landfill; and it will increase to 193.5 Gg/year if the existing sanitary landfill is upgraded to integrated waste management facilities. Moreover, Bangkok metropolitan have the highest methane emission (54.83 Gg/year) among all the regions in Thailand. The methane emission forecast of 339 Gg/year by 2020 (based on LandGEM methodology) provides a stimulus to create a comprehensive plan to capture and utilize methane as an energy source.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from vegetation fires in Southern Africa

Methane (CH₄), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO_x), volatile organic carbon, and aerosols emitted as a result of the deliberate or accidental burning of natural vegetation constitute a large component of the greenhouse gas emissions of many African countries, but the data needed for calculating these emissions by the IPCC methodology is sparse and subject to estimation errors. An improved procedure for estimating emissions from fires in southern Africa has been developed. The proposed procedure involves reclassifying existing vegetation maps into one of eleven broad, functional vegetation classes. Fuel loads are calculated within each 0.5 × 0.5° cell based on empirical relationships to climate data for each class. The fractional area of each class that burns is estimated by using daily low-resolution satellite fire detection, which is calibrated against a subsample of pre- and post-fire high-resolution satellite images. The emission factors that relate the quantity of gas released to the mass of fuel burned are based on recent field campaigns in Africa and are related to combustion efficiency, which is in turn related to the fuel mix. The emissions are summed over the 1989 fire season for Africa south of the equator. The estimated emissions from vegetation burning in the subcontinent are 0.5 Tg CH₄, 14.9 Tg CO, 1.05 Tg NO_x, and 1.08 Tg of particles smaller than 2.5µm. The 324 Tg CO₂ emitted is expected to be reabsorbed in subsequent years. These estimates are smaller than previous estimates.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from two hydroelectric reservoirs in Mediterranean region

Water reservoirs are used for many purposes, such as water supply, irrigation, flood mitigation, and hydroelectric energy generation. Although hydroelectric energy is considered “green,” many studies show that the construction of a reservoir enhances greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the transformed area. These emissions, mainly of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O gases, depend on the age of the reservoir, landscape and soil composition, fauna and flora remnants of the impounded area, climatic conditions, and basin runoffs. Consequently, GHG emissions significantly vary between reservoirs and depending on local specificities. Several studies have investigated GHG emissions from reservoirs around the world, focusing mainly on reservoirs located in cold regions, temperate regions, and tropical regions. Research is lacking for reservoirs in Mediterranean countries, like Greece, and similar regions. This work initially assesses the net GHG emissions of a newly created reservoir (Ilarion est. 2012) in Western Macedonia, Greece. The methodology for net GHG emission calculation was based on the use of literature data concerning pre-impoundment emission factors and local specificities of the reservoir (terrain type, canopy cover), as well as on the 2-year measurement data that were collected using a “static floating chamber.” Furthermore, in this work, the gross GHG emissions of an older, in-line reservoir (Polyfytos est. 1974) were also calculated, based on 2-year measurement data. The results show that the global warming potential (GWP) of the reservoirs is dictated by methane emissions; it minimizes during winter and spring and maximizes during summer and autumn. Hydroelectric energy production at Ilarion Reservoir results in 32 to 97 times less total CO₂ equivalent emissions in comparison to fossil fuels, while at Polyfytos Reservoir only 8 to 24 times less (based on gross emissions). It appears that the impact of a reservoir’s morphology on GHG emissions is more significant than that of a reservoir’s age.     

Effectiveness of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emission reduction technologies

Non-CO₂ greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, can make a relevant contribution to the enhanced greenhouse effect, and hence emission reduction is desirable. In emission reduction inventories, both the magnitude of the emission reduction as well as the specific emission reduction costs should be determined. The current knowledge of the potential for and costs of reducing these emissions is still limited. Taking this into account, the following results can be obtained. Methane emissions can be considerably reduced from underground coal mining, oil production, natural gas operations, landfilling of waste, and wastewater treatment. Also emissions from enteric fermentation and animal manure can be reduced substantially. The total technical potential for methane emission reduction (given the present activity level) is estimated to be about one third. The economic potential, having net negative emission reduction costs, is estimated to be about half of this value. These reductions can be attained over a period of 10 – 20 years. The technical potential for the reduction of nitrous oxide emissions is currently estimated to be less than 10% Apart from the possibility of implementing existing techniques, there seems to be considerable room for developing techniques for more far-reaching emission reductions both for methane and nitrous oxide.     

Emission inventory for Nigeria with CAREAIR

CAREAIR is the abbreviation for Computer aided Analysis of Reduction strategies for Emissions and ambient AIR pollution. It is a modelling-system for air pollution analyses including a flexible emission model developed at the IER. The PC-based version of the system is especially designed for applications in so-called 3rd-world countries, but in fact it can be used for any country. A modeling database for many emission relevant processes and related emission factors is part of it. This paper first gives a short overview on the capabilities of CAREAIR and secondly presents part of the emission inventory for Nigeria, which has been elaborated using CAREAIR during a cooperation between the University of Stuttgart (FRG) and the Obafemi Awolowo University of Ile-Ife (Nigeria). In particular estimates of the yearly emissions of total Hydrocarbons (VOC = Volatile Organic Compounds), divided into CH₄ (Methane) and NMVOC (Non-Methane-VOC), NO_x (Nitrogen Oxides), N₂O (Nitrous Oxide), CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide) and CO (Carbon Monoxide) emissions in Nigeria 1989 are given.     

Particulate emission inventory and trends in ambient particulate matter concentrations in the Czech Republic between 1993 and 1999

Trends in total suspended particulates (TSP) emissioninventories were compared with ambient TSP concentrationsduring the period of 1993-1999 in the Czech Republic. TheTSP annual emission decreased within the period of observationfrom 441 300 to 67 000 of metric tonnes (by 85%). During thesame period a less pronounced downward trend from80.3 g m^-3 to 31.5g m^-3 (decrease by 61%)was noted also for the ambient TSP annual average. Differencebetween the two air quality indicators seems to indicate thatchanges in TSP emission inventories from year to year arebeing to some extent overestimated. Monthly ambientparticulate concentrations did not respond to overall drop inemissions proportionately but were closely associated withmonthly mean temperatures. While in the winter the correlationbetween ambient TSP and temperature was negative, in summerthe correlation between the two variables was positive. Inspring and autumn there was no clear correlation betweentemperature and ambient particulate pollution. The improvementof air quality in the Czech Republic since the economical andpolitical transformation in 1990s is substantial whendemonstrated by emission figures, however, true state ofparticulate pollution expressed by ambient levels requiresfurther attention.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from Australian open-cut coal mines: contribution from spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation

Spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation of waste coal and other carbonaceous material at open-cut coal mines are potentially significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the magnitude of these emissions is largely unknown. In this study, emissions from spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation were estimated for six Australian open-cut coal mines with annual coal production ranging from 1.7 to more than 16 Mt. Greenhouse emissions from all other sources at these mines were also estimated and compared to those from spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation. In all cases, fugitive emission of methane was the largest source of greenhouse gas; however, in some mines, spontaneous combustion accounted for almost a third of all emissions. For one mine, it was estimated that emissions from spontaneous combustion were around 250,000 t CO₂-e per annum. The contribution from low-temperature oxidation was generally less than about 1% of the total for all six mines. Estimating areas of spoil affected by spontaneous combustion by ground-based surveys was prone to under-report the area. Airborne infrared imaging appears to be a more reliable method.     

Methane emission from naturally ventilated livestock buildings can be determined from gas concentration measurements

Determination of emission of contaminant gases as ammonia, methane, or laughing gas from natural ventilated livestock buildings with large opening is a challenge due to the large variations in gas concentration and air velocity in the openings. The close relation between calculated animal heat production and the carbon dioxide production from the animals have in several cases been utilized for estimation of the ventilation air exchange rate for the estimation of ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions. Using this method, the problem of the complicated air velocity and concentration distribution in the openings is avoided; however, there are still some important issues remained unanswered: (1) the precision of the estimations, (2) the requirement for the length of measuring periods, and (3) the required measuring point number and location. The purpose of this work was to investigate how estimated average gas emission and the precision of the estimation are influenced by different calculation procedures, measuring period length, measure point locations, measure point numbers, and criteria for excluding measuring data. The analyses were based on existing data from a 6-day measuring period in a naturally ventilated, 150 milking cow building. The results showed that the methane emission can be determined with much higher precision than ammonia or laughing gas emissions, and, for methane, relatively precise estimations can be based on measure periods as short as 3 h. This result makes it feasible to investigate the influence of feed composition on methane emission in a relative large number of operating cattle buildings and consequently it can support a development towards reduced greenhouse gas emission from cattle production.     

Estimation of greenhouse gas emission flux from agricultural lands of Khuzestan province in Iran

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment - No studies have been carried out on the benthic harmful algal blooms (BHABs) along the Strait of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean, and little is known about...     

Empirical gas emission and oxidation measurement at cover soil of dumping site: example from Malaysia

Methane (CH₄) is one of the most relevant greenhouse gases and it has a global warming potential 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO₂), risking human health and the environment. Microbial CH₄ oxidation in landfill cover soils may constitute a means of controlling CH₄ emissions. The study was intended to quantify CH₄ and CO₂ emissions rates at the Sungai Sedu open dumping landfill during the dry season, characterize their spatial and temporal variations, and measure the CH₄ oxidation associated with the landfill cover soil using a homemade static flux chamber. Concentrations of the gases were analyzed by a Micro-GC CP-4900. Two methods, kriging values and inverse distance weighting (IDW), were found almost identical. The findings of the proposed method show that the ratio of CH₄ to CO₂ emissions was 25.4 %, indicating higher CO₂ emissions than CH₄ emissions. Also, the average CH₄ oxidation in the landfill cover soil was 52.5 %. The CH₄ and CO₂ emissions did not show fixed-pattern temporal variation based on daytime measurements. Statistically, a negative relationship was found between CH₄ emissions and oxidation (R ²?=?0.46). It can be concluded that the variation in the CH₄ oxidation was mainly attributed to the properties of the landfill cover soil.     

Mapping aboveground woody biomass using forest inventory,remote sensing and geostatistical techniques

Mapping forest biomass is fundamental for estimating CO₂ emissions, and planning and monitoring of forests and ecosystem productivity. The present study attempted to map aboveground woody biomass (AGWB) integrating forest inventory, remote sensing and geostatistical techniques, viz., direct radiometric relationships (DRR), k-nearest neighbours (k-NN) and cokriging (CoK) and to evaluate their accuracy. A part of the Timli Forest Range of Kalsi Soil and Water Conservation Division, Uttarakhand, India was selected for the present study. Stratified random sampling was used to collect biophysical data from 36 sample plots of 0.1 ha (31.62 m?×?31.62 m) size. Species-specific volumetric equations were used for calculating volume and multiplied by specific gravity to get biomass. Three forest-type density classes, viz. 10–40, 40–70 and >70 % of Shorea robusta forest and four non-forest classes were delineated using on-screen visual interpretation of IRS P6 LISS-III data of December 2012. The volume in different strata of forest-type density ranged from 189.84 to 484.36 m³ ha^?1. The total growing stock of the forest was found to be 2,024,652.88 m³. The AGWB ranged from 143 to 421 Mgha^?1. Spectral bands and vegetation indices were used as independent variables and biomass as dependent variable for DRR, k-NN and CoK. After validation and comparison, k-NN method of Mahalanobis distance (root mean square error (RMSE)?=?42.25 Mgha^?1) was found to be the best method followed by fuzzy distance and Euclidean distance with RMSE of 44.23 and 45.13 Mgha^?1 respectively. DRR was found to be the least accurate method with RMSE of 67.17 Mgha^?1. The study highlighted the potential of integrating of forest inventory, remote sensing and geostatistical techniques for forest biomass mapping.     

The evaluation of a low resolution fourier transform infrared (FTIR) gas analyser for monitoring of solvent emission rates under field conditions

The applicability of a low resolution (8 cm-1) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) gas analyser with an absorption path length of 3 m was evaluated for the on-line monitoring of organic solvent mixture emissions in a flexographic ink manufacturing plant. The on-line monitoring revealed that the highest variations of solvent concentrations, up to three decades, occurred in the exhaust air. The FTIR analyser with a dynamic range of four decades covers well the concentration ranges typically found in the exhaust air and in the workroom air of ink manufacturing plants. The average emission rate of solvent mixture based on a sampling period of two days was 1.8 kg h-1 consisting of mainly ethanol (70%), ethyl acetate (15%) and propan-2-ol (11%). The detection limits of the analyser for the solvent compounds ranged from 0.3 to 4.3 mg m-3 and the measurement uncertainty was less than 10% in the concentration range of 8-15,000 mg m-3. These characteristics make the apparatus appropriate for most industrial hygiene applications. An FTIR spectrophotometer, equipped with an multipoint sampling unit, facilitates rapid identification of solvent components, real-time display of concentration data relevant to workroom air and environment monitoring as well as process control. Furthermore, the on-line concentration information enabled a rapid selection of representative sampling locations. The spectrophotometer is transportable, rugged and relatively simple to calibrate even in a hostile industrial environment.     

A primer for nonresponse in the US forest inventory and analysis program

Nonresponse caused by denied access and hazardous conditions are a concern for the USDA Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, whose mission is to quantify status and trends in forest resources across the USA. Any appreciable amount of nonresponse can cause bias in FIA’s estimates of population parameters. This paper will quantify the magnitude of nonresponse and describe the mechanisms that result in nonresponse, describe and qualitatively evaluate FIA’s assumptions regarding nonresponse, provide a recommendation concerning plot replacement strategies, and identify appropriate strategies to pursue that minimize bias. The nonresponse rates ranged from 0% to 21% and differed by land owner group; with denied access to private land the leading cause of nonresponse. Current FIA estimators assume that nonresponse occurs at random. Although in most cases this assumption appears tenable, a qualitative assessment indicates a few situations where the assumption is not tenable. In the short-term, we recommend that FIA use stratification schemes that make the missing at random assumption tenable. We recommend the examination of alternative estimation techniques that use appropriate weighting and auxiliary information to mitigate the effects of nonresponse. We recommend the replacement of nonresponse sample locations not be used.     

Modelling Interactions Between Economic Activity, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Biodiversity and Agricultural Production

In this article, we develop a modelling approach which examines selected drivers of ecosystem functioning and agricultural productivity. In particular, we develop linkages between land use and biodiversity and between biodiversity and agricultural productivity. We review the literature for quantitative estimates of key relationships and their parameters for modelling human consumption, land use, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions on biodiversity and agricultural productivity. We assemble these specifications into an iterative causal model and carry out a number of scenario projections of country-level consumption, production, land use, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, species diversity, and agricultural production up to 2050. Finally, we dissect the projections into key drivers using structural decomposition and sensitivity analyses.     

Introduction of a method for presenting health-based impacts of the emission from products,based on emission measurements of materials used in manufacturing of the products

A method for presenting the health impact of emissions from furniture is introduced, which could be used in the context of environmental product declarations. The health impact is described by the negative indoor air quality potential, the carcinogenic potential, the mutagenic and reprotoxic potential, the allergenic potential, and the toxicological potential.An experimental study of emissions from four pieces of furniture is performed by testing both the materials used for production of the furniture and the complete piece of furniture, in order to compare the results gained by adding emissions of material with results gained from testing the finished piece of furniture.Calculating the emission from a product based on the emission from materials used in the manufacture of the product is a new idea. The relation between calculated results and measured results from the same products differ between the four pieces of furniture tested. Large differences between measured and calculated values are seen for leather products. More knowledge is needed to understand why these differences arise.Testing materials allows us to compare different suppliers of the same material. Four different foams and three different timber materials are tested, and the results vary between materials of the same type. If the manufacturer possesses this type of knowledge of the materials from the subcontractors it could be used as a selection criterion according to production of low emission products.     

Effects of changing forest land definitions on forest inventory on the West Coast, USA

A key function of forest inventory is to detect changes in the area of forest land over time, yet different definitions of forest land are used in different regions of the world. Changes in the definition of forest intended to improve international consistency can affect the ability to quantify true changes over time. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a definitional change from relative stocking to canopy cover on the area classified as forest land and its relationship to species and forest density in California, Oregon, and Washington. Both western Juniper and ponderosa pine will yield higher estimates of forest land area using a canopy cover definition in comparison to a stocking-based definition, with the difference being most pronounced where land is marginally forested. The change in definition may result in an additional 146,000 ha of forest land identified on the West Coast. Measuring marginal forest lands with both metrics for the first cycle after implementation should make it possible to distinguish real change from definitional change.     

A gas chromatography-quartz crystal microbalance for speciation of sulfur compounds in landfill gas

A new method, based on separation with gas chromatography and detection with a quartz crystal microbalance, was used for the quantification of ethane-1-thiol, propane-1-thiol, ethyl methyl sulfide, propane-2-thiol, butane-2-thiol and butane-1-thiol. The analytical error, the analysis time and the general analytical performance are identical for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-quartz crystal microbalance (GC-QCM). However, the GC-QCM method constitutes a low cost alternative to GC-MS for monitoring individual sulfur compounds in landfill gas. It is an easily assembled apparatus made with an injection device, a furnace, a column, a crystal cell and a quartz crystal.     

Verifying emission factors and national POPs emission inventories for the UK using measurements and modelling at two rural locations

Different approaches are used to verify the adequacy of emission factors (EFs) and their use in emission inventories of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The applicability of EFs was tested using atmospheric dispersion modelling to predict atmospheric concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and resulting toxic equivalents (SigmaTEQ) and particulate matter <10 microm (PM(10)) in two rural locations in northern England (UK). The modelling was based on general assumptions of fuel composition, consumption and heating needs to simulate emissions of POPs from the domestic burning of coal and wood where ambient measurements were made in the winter of 1998. The model was used to derive the local contribution to ambient air concentrations, which were estimated independently based on comparative air measurements. The results support the hypothesis that in both villages, the majority of PAHs and the lower chlorinated PCDFs were locally released. The situation for PCBs and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) was different. While the EFs show the release of both compound groups from the domestic burning of coal and wood, the ambient levels of these "legacy POPs" in the villages were still clearly dominated by other sources. Rural areas relying mainly on fossil fuels can exceed the proposed UK ambient air quality standard for benzo[a]pyrene during winter. The measured EFs were then used to estimate the importance of the domestic burning of coal and wood to national emission inventories for these compound classes. Extrapolations to the UK suggest that the domestic burning of pure wood and coal were minor emitters for chlorinated POPs but contributed strongly to PAH and PM(10) levels in 2000. Finally, the UK's national POPs emission inventories based on source inventories and EF, as used here, were compared to estimates derived using the increase in atmospheric concentration of selected POPs.