Toxic emissions from mobile sources: a total fuel-cycle analysis for conventional and alternative fuel vehicles

Mobile sources are among the largest contributors of four hazardous air pollutants--benzene, 1,3-butadiene, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde--in urban areas. At the same time, federal and state governments are promoting the use of alternative fuel vehicles as a means to curb local air pollution. As yet, the impact of this movement toward alternative fuels with respect to toxic emissions has not been well studied. The purpose of this paper is to compare toxic emissions from vehicles operating on a variety of fuels, including reformulated gasoline (RFG), natural gas, ethanol, methanol, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), and electricity. This study uses a version of Argonne National Laboratory's Greenhouse Gas, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model, appropriately modified to estimate toxic emissions. The GREET model conducts a total fuel-cycle analysis that calculates emissions from both downstream (e.g., operation of the vehicle) and upstream (e.g., fuel production and distribution) stages of the fuel cycle. We find that almost all of the fuels studied reduce 1,3-butadiene emissions compared with conventional gasoline (CG). However, the use of ethanol in E85 (fuel made with 85% ethanol) or RFG leads to increased acetaldehyde emissions, and the use of methanol, ethanol, and compressed natural gas (CNG) may result in increased formaldehyde emissions. When the modeling results for the four air toxics are considered together with their cancer risk factors, all the fuels and vehicle technologies show air toxic emission reduction benefits.     

Total life cycle emissions of post-Panamax containerships powered by conventional fuel or natural gas

This study proposes an easy-to-apply method, the Total Life Cycle Emission Model (TLCEM), to calculate the total emissions from shipping and help ship management groups assess the impact on emissions caused by their capital investment or operation decisions. Using TLCEM, we present the total emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) during the 25-yr life cycle of 10 post-Panamax containerships under slow steaming conditions. The life cycle consists of steel production, shipbuilding, crude oil extraction and transportation, fuel refining, bunkering, and ship operation. We calculate total emissions from containerships and compare the effect of emission reduction by using various fuels. The results can be used to differentiate the emissions from various processes and to assess the effectiveness of various reduction approaches. Critical pollutants and GHGs emitted from each process are calculated. If the containerships use heavy fuel oil (HFO), emissions of CO₂ total 2.79 million tonnes (Mt), accounting for 95.37% of total emissions, followed by NO_x and SO_x emissions,which account for 2.25% and 1.30%, respectively.The most significant emissions are from the operation of the ship and originate from the main engine (ME).When fuel is switched to 100% natural gas (NG), SO_x, PM₁₀, and CO₂ emissions show remarkable reductions of 98.60%, 99.06%, and 21.70%, respectively. Determining the emission factor of each process is critical for estimating the total emissions. The estimated emission factors were compared with the values adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).The proposed TLCEM may contribute to more accurate estimates of total life cycle emissions from global shipping.

Implications: We propose a total life cycle emissions model for 10 post-Panamax container ships. Using heavy fuel oil, emissions of CO₂ total 2.79 Mt, accounting for approximately 95% of emissions, followed by NO_x and SO_x emissions. Using 100% natural gas, SO_x, PM₁₀, and CO₂ emissions reduce by 98.6%, 99.1%, and 21.7%, respectively. NO_x emissions increase by 1.14% when running a dual fuel engine at low load in natural gas mode.     

Emissions tradeoffs among alternative marine fuels: total fuel cycle analysis of residual oil, marine gas oil, and marine diesel oil

Worldwide concerns about sulfur oxide (SOx) emissions from ships are motivating the replacement of marine residual oil (RO) with cleaner, lower-sulfur fuels, such as marine gas oil (MGO) and marine diesel oil (MDO). Vessel operators can use MGO and MDO directly or blended with RO to achieve environmental and economic objectives. Although expected to be much cleaner in terms of criteria pollutants, these fuels require additional energy in the upstream stages of the fuel cycle (i.e., fuel processing and refining), and thus raise questions about the net impacts on greenhouse gas emissions (primarily carbon dioxide [CO2]) because of production and use. This paper applies the Total Energy and Environmental Analysis for Marine Systems (TEAMS) model to conduct a total fuel cycle analysis of RO, MGO, MDO, and associated blends for a typical container ship. MGO and MDO blends achieve significant (70-85%) SOx emissions reductions compared with RO across a range of fuel quality and refining efficiency assumptions. We estimate CO2 increases of less than 1% using best estimates of fuel quality and refinery efficiency parameters and demonstrate how these results vary based on parameter assumptions. Our analysis suggests that product refining efficiency influences the CO2 tradeoff more than differences in the physical and energy parameters of the alternative fuels, suggesting that modest increases in CO2 could be offset by efficiency improvements at some refineries. Our results help resolve conflicting estimates of greenhouse gas tradeoffs associated with fuel switching and other emissions control policies.     

A modal approach to vehicular emissions and fuel consumption model development

This study reports on the analysis of emissions and fuel consumption from motor vehicles using a modal approach. The four standard driving modes are idling, accelerating, cruising, and decelerating. On-road data were collected using instrumented test vehicles traveling many times through the urban areas of Hong Kong. A model was developed for estimating vehicular fuel consumption and emissions as a function of instantaneous speed and driving mode. Piecewise interpolation functions were proposed for each nonidling driving mode. Idling emission and fuel consumption rates were estimated as negative exponential functions of idling time. Preliminary modeling results showed good agreements for the test vehicles and indicated that the on-road measurements are feasible for the development of modal emission and fuel consumption models.     

Bioethanol-gasoline fuel blends: exhaust emissions and morphological characterization of particulate from a moped engine

This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of gasoline-ethanol blends on the exhaust emissions in a catalyst-equipped four-stroke moped engine. The ethanol was blended with unleaded gasoline in at percentages (10, 15, and 20% v/v). The regulated pollutants and the particulate matter emissions were evaluated over the European ECE R47 driving cycle on the chassis dynamometer bench. Particulate matter was characterized in terms of total mass collected on filters and total number ofparticles in the range 7 nm-10 microm measured by electrical low-pressure impactor (ELPI). In addition, particle-phase polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emissions were evaluated to assess the health impact of the emitted particulate. Finally, an accurate morphological analysis was performed on the particulate by high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM) equipped with a digital image-processing/data-acquisition system. In general, CO emission reductions of 60-70% were obtained with 15 and 20% v/v ethanol blends, while the ethanol use did not reduce hydrocarbon (HC) and NOx emissions. No evident effect of ethanol on the particulate mass emissions and associated PAHs emissions was observed. Twenty-one PAHs were quantified in the particulate phase with emissions ranging from 26 to 35 microg/km and benzo[a]pyrene equivalent (BaPeq) emission factors from 2.2 to 4.1 microg/km. Both particulate matter and associated PAHs with higher carcinogenic risk were mainly emitted in the submicrometer size range (<0.1 microm). On the basis of the TEM observations, no relevant effect of the ethanol use on the particulate morphology was evidenced, showing aggregates composed ofprimary particles with mean diameters in the range 17.5-32.5 nm.     

Modelling fuel consumption and pollutant emissions based on real-world driving patterns: the HBEFA approach

Emissions of passenger cars and light-duty vehicles with complex exhaust gas after-treatment are difficult to predict, especially if the prediction is only based on kinematic parameters without vehicle-specific data. A new method for modelling fleet emission factors based on testbench data is presented. It has been used for modern passenger cars and light-duty vehicles (EURO-2 and -3) in the new version 2.1 of the German-Austrian-Swiss Handbook Emission Factors for Road Transport (HBEFA). The new method, not relying on vehicle-specific data, avoids decomposing the measured real-world driving behaviour and all associated uncertainties. Emission factors can be predicted for any given driving pattern which is characterised through kinematic parameters or representative time series of vehicle speed. The methodology determines the linear combination of measured driving patterns that is most representative for the driving pattern whose emissions are to be predicted. The approach is illustrated using testbench real-world measurements of 44 passenger cars of technology stages EURO-2 and -3.     

Estimating changes in urban ozone concentrations due to life cycle emissions from hydrogen transportation systems

Hydrogen has been proposed as a low polluting alternative transportation fuel that could help improve urban air quality. This paper examines the potential impact of introducing a hydrogen-based transportation system on urban ambient ozone concentrations. This paper considers two scenarios, where significant numbers of new hydrogen vehicles are added to a constant number of gasoline vehicles. In our scenarios hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) are introduced in Sacramento, California at market penetrations of 9% and 20%. From a life cycle analysis (LCA) perspective, considering all the emissions involved in producing, transporting, and using hydrogen, this research compares three hypothetical natural gas to hydrogen pathways: (1) on-site hydrogen production; (2) central hydrogen production with pipeline delivery; and (3) central hydrogen production with liquid hydrogen truck delivery. Using a regression model, this research shows that the daily maximum temperature correlates well with atmospheric ozone formation. However, increases in initial VOC and NO_x concentrations do not necessarily increase the peak ozone concentration, and may even cause it to decrease. It is found that ozone formation is generally limited by NO_x in the summer and is mostly limited by VOC in the fall in Sacramento. Of the three hydrogen pathways, the truck delivery pathway contributes the most to ozone precursor emissions. Ozone precursor emissions from the truck pathway at 9% market penetration can cause additional 3-h average VOC (or NO_x) concentrations up to approximately 0.05% (or 1%) of current pollution levels, and at 20% market penetration up to approximately 0.1% (or 2%) of current pollution levels. However, all of the hydrogen pathways would result in very small (either negative or positive) changes in ozone air quality. In some cases they will result in worse ozone air quality (mostly in July, August, and September), and in some cases they will result in better ozone air quality (mostly in October). The truck pathway tends to cause a much wider fluctuation in degradation or improvement of ozone air quality: percentage changes in peak ozone concentrations are approximately −0.01% to 0.04% for the assumed 9% market penetration, and approximately −0.03% to 0.1% for the 20% market penetration. Moreover, the 20% on-site pathway occasionally results in a decrease of about −0.1% of baseline ozone pollution. Compared to the current ambient pollution level, all three hydrogen pathways are unlikely to cause a serious ozone problem for market penetration levels of HFCVs in the 9–20% range.     

Effects of fuel types and fuel sulfur content on the characteristics of particulate emissions in marine low-speed diesel engine

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The emission of particulate matter from ships does great harm to human health and atmospheric environment. Sulfur emission regulations also affect...     

Hazardous air pollutant emissions from gas-fired combustion sources: emissions and the effects of design and fuel type

Air emissions from gas-fired combustion devices such as boilers, process heaters, gas turbines and stationary reciprocating engines contain hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) subjected to consideration under the federal clean air act (CAA). This work presents a recently completed major research project to develop an understanding of HAP emissions from gas-fired boilers and process heaters and new HAP emission factors based on field emission tests of gas-fired external combustion devices used in the petroleum industry. The effect of combustion system design and operating parameters on HAP emissions determined by both field and research tests are discussed. Data from field tests of gas-fired petroleum industry boilers and heaters generally show very low emission levels of organic HAPs. A comparison of the emission data for boilers and process heaters, including units with and without various forms of NOx emission controls, showed no significant difference in organic HAP emission characteristics due to process or burner design. This conclusion is also supported by the results of research tests with different burner designs. Based on field tests of units fired with natural gas and various petroleum industry process gases and research tests in which gas composition was intentionally varied, organic HAP emissions were not determined to be significantly affected by the gas composition. Research data indicate that elevated organic HAP emission levels are found only under extreme operating conditions (starved air or high excess air combustion) associated with poor combustion.     

Real-world in-use activity, fuel use, and emissions for nonroad construction vehicles: a case study for excavators

A study design was developed and demonstrated for deployment of a portable emission measurement system (PEMS) for excavators. Excavators are among the most commonly used vehicles in construction activities. The PEMS measured nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and opacity-based particulate matter. Data collection, screening, processing, and analysis protocols were developed to assure data quality and to quantify variability in vehicle fuel consumption and emissions rates. The development of data collection procedures was based on securing the PEMS while avoiding disruption to normal vehicle operations. As a result of quality assurance, approximately 90% of the attempted measurements resulted in valid data. On the basis of field data collected for three excavators, an average of 50% of the total nitric oxide emissions was associated with 29% of the time of operation, during which the average engine speed and manifold absolute pressure were significantly higher than corresponding averages for all data. Mass per time emission rates during non-idle modes (i.e., moving and using bucket) were on average 7 times greater than for the idle mode. Differences in normalized average rates were influenced more by intercycle differences than intervehicle differences. This study demonstrates the importance of accounting for intercycle variability in real-world in-use emissions to develop more accurate emission inventories. The data collection and analysis methodology demonstrated here is recommended for application to more vehicles to better characterize real-world vehicle activity, fuel use, and emissions for nonroad construction equipment.     

The relationship between atmospheric pollutant emissions and fuel qualities of inland vessels in Jiangsu Province,China

Air pollution caused by ship exhaust emission is receiving more and more attention. The physical and chemical properties of fuels, such as sulfur content and PAHs content, potentially had a significant influence on air pollutant emissions from inland vessels. In order to investigate the effects of fuel qualities on atmospheric pollutant emissions systematically, a series of experiments was conducted based on the method of actual ship testing. As a result, SO2, PM and NOx emission rates all increased with the increase of main engine rotating speed under cruise mode, while PM and NOx emission factors were inversely proportional to the main engine rotating speed. Moreover, SO2 emission factor changed little with the increase of the main engine rotating speed. In summary, the fuel-dependent specific emission of SO2 was a direct reflection of the sulfur content in fuel. The PM emission increased with the increase of sulfur content and PAHs content in fuel. However, fuel qualities impacted little on NOx emissions from inland vessels because of NOx formation mechanisms and conditions.

Implications: Ship activity is considered to be the third largest source of air pollution in China. In particular, air pollutants emitted from ships in river ports and waterways have a direct impact on regional air quality and pose threat on the health of local residents owing to high pollutants concentration and poor air diffusion. The study on the relationship between air pollutant emissions and fuel quality of inland vessels can provide foundational data for local authority to formulate reasonable and appropriate policies for reducing atmospheric pollution due to inland vessels.     

Reducing carbonyl emissions from a heavy-duty diesel engine at US transient cycle test by use of paraffinic/biodiesel blends

Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are toxic carcinogens so their reductions in diesel-engine emissions are desirable. This study investigated emissions of carbonyl compounds (CBCs) from an HDDE (heavy-duty diesel engine) at US transient cycle test, using five test fuels: premium diesel fuel (D100), P100 (100% palm-biodiesel), P20 (20% palm-biodiesel + 80% premium diesel fuel), PF80P20 (80% paraffinic fuel + 20% palm-biodiesel), and PF95P05 (95% paraffinic fuel + 5% palm-biodiesel). Experimental results indicate that formaldehyde was the major carbonyl in the exhaust, accounting for 70.1–76.2% of total CBC concentrations for all test fuels. In comparison with D100 (172 mg BHP^?1 h^?1), the reductions of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde emission factor for P100, P20, PF80P20, and PF95P05 were (?16.8%, ?61.8%), (?10.0%, ?39.0%), (21.3%, 1.10%), and (31.1%, 19.5%), respectively. Using P100 and P20 instead of D100 in the HDDE increased CBC concentrations by 14.5% and 3.28%, respectively, but using PF80P20 and PF95P05 significantly reduced CBC concentrations by 30.3% and 23.7%, respectively. Using P100 and P20 instead of D100 (2867 ton yr^?1) in the HDDE increased CBC emissions by 240 and 224 ton yr^?1, respectively, but using PF80P20, and PF95P05 instead of D100 in the HDDE decreased CBC emissions by 711 and 899 ton yr^?1, respectively. The above results indicate that the wide usage of paraffinic–palmbiodiesel blends as alternative fuels could protect the environment.     

Convergence analysis of ammonia emissions by sector and fuel source in OECD countries from 1750 to 2019 using a new Fourier-centric wavelet approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Although ammonia emissions are not as huge as carbon and methane emissions, they pose significant threats to ensuring environmental sustainability and...     

Annual cycle of gaseous sulfur emissions from a New England Spartina alterniflora marsh

A flow-through chamber was used to measure the net gaseous sulfur fluxes (emission minus uptake) to the atmosphere from an area of Spartina alterniflora in a New England salt marsh. The fluxes of hydrogen sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, carbon disulfide and dimethyl disulfide were measured monthly over a year to obtain the annual emission estimates. Peak releases of the various sulfur gases did not occur simultaneously but were measured from July through to October depending on the individual sulfur species. The total annual emission was estimated to be 5.8 g S m⁻² y⁻¹, with dimethyl sulfide (49% of the total) and hydrogen sulfide (35% of the total) the major components emitted. The emissions of the other sulfur gases were nearly 10-fold lower.     

Comparison of particle emissions from small heavy fuel oil and wood-fired boilers

Flue gas emissions of wood and heavy fuel oil (HFO) fired district heating units of size range 4–15 MW were studied. The emission measurements included analyses of particle mass, number and size distributions, particle chemical compositions and gaseous emissions. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations were carried out to interpret the experimental findings.In wood combustion, PM1 (fine particle emission) was mainly formed of K, S and Cl, released from the fuel. In addition PM1 contained small amounts of organic material, CO₃, Na and different metals of which Zn was the most abundant. The fine particles from HFO combustion contained varying transient metals and Na that originate from the fuel, sulphuric acid, elemental carbon (soot) and organic material. The majority of particles were formed at high temperature (>800 °C) from V, Ni, Fe and Na. At the flue gas dew point (125 °C in undiluted flue gas) sulphuric acid condensed forming a liquid layer on the particles. This increases the PM1 substantially and may lead to partial dissolution of the metallic cores.Wood-fired grate boilers had 6–21-fold PM1 and 2–23-fold total suspended particle (TSP) concentrations upstream of the particle filters when compared to those of HFO-fired boilers. However, the use of single field electrostatic precipitators (ESP) in wood-fired grate boilers decreased particle emissions to same level or even lower as in HFO combustion. On the other hand, particles released from the HFO boilers were clearly smaller and higher in number concentration than those of wood boilers with ESPs. In addition, in contrast to wood combustion, HFO boilers produce notable SO₂ emissions that contribute to secondary particle formation in the atmosphere. Due to vast differences in concentrations of gaseous and particle emissions and in the physical and chemical properties of the particles, HFO and wood fuel based energy production units are likely to have very different effects on health and climate.     

Method for reporting in-use vehicle fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from a fast-pass transient inspection

A method has been developed that allows reporting of the fuel consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for in-use vehicles from a fast-pass transient (IM240) inspection. The major technical obstacle to reporting CO2 emission rate and fuel consumption is that inspection and maintenance tests do not all use a standardized test duration or test method. The method is able to project full-duration fuel consumption from IM240 tests that actually fast-passed as early as just 30 sec from starting the test. It is based on basic considerations of the work done in driving the inspection cycle, with additional empirical adjustments. The initial application examined the differences between passing and failing inspections, and this did confirm that there are significant differences.     

Exploring the asymmetries between trade and consumption-based carbon emissions: evidence from NPARDL approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Global warming is one of the most serious environmental problems that the world faces today. Millions of human lives are at risk, hence the subject...     

Influence of fuel composition on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emissions from a fleet of in-service passenger cars

The composition of exhaust emissions from eight in-service passenger cars powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and unleaded petrol (ULP) were measured on a chassis dynamometer at two driving speeds (60 and 80 km h⁻¹) with the aims of evaluating their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contents and investigating the effects of the type of fuel on vehicle performance, ambient air quality and associated health risks. Naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo(a)anthracene and benzo(b)fluoranthene were the most prominent PAHs emitted by both ULP and LPG powered cars. The total emission factors of PAHs from LPG cars were generally lower than (but statistically comparable with) those of ULP cars. Similarly, the total BAP_eq of the PAHs emitted by LPG cars were lower than those from ULP cars. Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods showed that cars powered by LPG fuel performed better than those powered by ULP fuel in term of PAH levels. The implications of these observations on the advantages and disadvantages of using ULP and LPG fuels are discussed.     

Total versus urban: Well-to-wheels assessment of criteria pollutant emissions from various vehicle/fuel systems

The potential impact on the environment of alternative vehicle/fuel systems needs to be evaluated, especially with respect to human health effects resulting from air pollution. We used the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model to examine the well-to-wheels (WTW) emissions of five criteria pollutants (VOCs, NO_x, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and CO) for nine vehicle/fuel systems: (1) conventional gasoline vehicles; (2) conventional diesel vehicles; (3) ethanol (E85) flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs) fueled with corn-based ethanol; (4) E85 FFVs fueled with switchgrass-based ethanol; (5) gasoline hybrid vehicles (HEVs); (6) diesel HEVs; (7) electric vehicles (EVs) charged using the average U.S. generation mix; (8) EVs charged using the California generation mix; and (9) hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Pollutant emissions were separated into total and urban emissions to differentiate the locations of emissions, and emissions were presented by sources. The results show that WTW emissions of the vehicle/fuel systems differ significantly, in terms of not only the amounts but also with respect to locations and sources, both of which are important in evaluating alternative vehicle/fuel systems. E85 FFVs increase total emissions but reduce urban emissions by up to 30% because the majority of emissions are released from farming equipment, fertilizer manufacture, and ethanol plants, all of which are located in rural areas. HEVs reduce both total and urban emissions because of the improved fuel economy and lower emissions. While EVs significantly reduce total emissions of VOCs and CO by more than 90%, they increase total emissions of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 by 35–325%. However, EVs can reduce urban PM emissions by more than 40%. FCVs reduce VOCs, CO, and NO_x emissions, but they increase both total and urban PM emissions because of the high process emissions that occur during hydrogen production. This study emphasizes the importance of specifying a thorough life-cycle emissions inventory that can account for both the locations and sources of the emissions to assist in achieving a fair comparison of alternative vehicle/fuel options in terms of their environmental impacts.     

Greenhouse gas emissions convergence in Spain: evidence from the club clustering approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study examines the convergence of greenhouse gas emissions per capita across the 19 Spanish regions using the Phillips-Sul club convergence...