scholarly journals Dominance of the residential sector in Chinese black carbon emissions as identified from downwind atmospheric observations during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yugo Kanaya ◽  
Kazuyo Yamaji ◽  
Takuma Miyakawa ◽  
Fumikazu Taketani ◽  
Chunmao Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Carbon ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Abatement Cost ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Atmospheric Concentration ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Chinese Origin ◽  
Emission Fluxes ◽  
Atmospheric Observations ◽  
Industry Sectors

AbstractEmissions of black carbon (BC) particles from anthropogenic and natural sources contribute to climate change and human health impacts. Therefore, they need to be accurately quantified to develop an effective mitigation strategy. Although the spread of the emission flux estimates for China have recently narrowed under the constraints of atmospheric observations, consensus has not been reached regarding the dominant emission sector. Here, we quantified the contribution of the residential sector, as 64% (44–82%) in 2019, using the response of the observed atmospheric concentration in the outflowing air during Feb–Mar 2020, with the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic and restricted human activities over China. In detail, the BC emission fluxes, estimated after removing effects from meteorological variability, dropped only slightly (− 18%) during Feb–Mar 2020 from the levels in the previous year for selected air masses of Chinese origin, suggesting the contributions from the transport and industry sectors (36%) were smaller than the rest from the residential sector (64%). Carbon monoxide (CO) behaved differently, with larger emission reductions (− 35%) in the period Feb–Mar 2020, suggesting dominance of non-residential (i.e., transport and industry) sectors, which contributed 70% (48–100%) emission during 2019. The estimated BC/CO emission ratio for these sectors will help to further constrain bottom-up emission inventories. We comprehensively provide a clear scientific evidence supporting mitigation policies targeting reduction in residential BC emissions from China by demonstrating the economic feasibility using marginal abatement cost curves.

scholarly journals Primary anthropogenic aerosol emission trends for China, 1990–2005

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 931-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Lei ◽  
Q. Zhang ◽  
K. B. He ◽  
D. G. Streets
Keyword(s):  
Emission Factors ◽  
Cement Industry ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosol ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Aerosol Emission ◽  
Metallic Mineral ◽  
Aerosol Emissions ◽  
Industry Sectors ◽  
Mineral Product ◽  
Activity Information

Abstract. An inventory of anthropogenic primary aerosol emissions in China was developed for 1990–2005 using a technology-based approach. Taking into account changes in the technology penetration within industry sectors and improvements in emission controls driven by stricter emission standards, a dynamic methodology was derived and implemented to estimate inter-annual emission factors. Emission factors of PM2.5 decreased by 7%–69% from 1990 to 2005 in different industry sectors of China, and emission factors of TSP decreased by 18%–80% as well, with the measures of controlling PM emissions implemented. As a result, emissions of PM2.5 and TSP in 2005 were 11.0 Tg and 29.7 Tg, respectively, less than what they would have been without the adoption of these measures. Emissions of PM2.5, PM10 and TSP presented similar trends: they increased in the first six years of 1990s and decreased until 2000, then increased again in the following years. Emissions of TSP peaked (35.5 Tg) in 1996, while the peak of PM10 (18.8 Tg) and PM2.5 (12.7 Tg) emissions occurred in 2005. Although various emission trends were identified across sectors, the cement industry and biofuel combustion in the residential sector were consistently the largest sources of PM2.5 emissions, accounting for 53%–62% of emissions over the study period. The non-metallic mineral product industry, including the cement, lime and brick industries, accounted for 54%–63% of national TSP emissions. There were no significant trends of BC and OC emissions until 2000, but the increase after 2000 brought the peaks of BC (1.51 Tg) and OC (3.19 Tg) emissions in 2005. Although significant improvements in the estimation of primary aerosols are presented here, there still exist large uncertainties. More accurate and detailed activity information and emission factors based on local tests are essential to further improve emission estimates, this especially being so for the brick and coke industries, as well as for coal-burning stoves and biofuel usage in the residential sector.

scholarly journals Notes on the Economics of Residential Hybrid Energy System

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 2639
Author(s):  
Mahelet G. Fikru ◽  
Gregory Gelles ◽  
Ana-Maria Ichim ◽  
Joseph D. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Energy Output ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Hybrid Energy System ◽  
Hybrid Energy ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Hybrid Renewable Energy

Despite advances in small-scale hybrid renewable energy technologies, there are limited economic frameworks that model the different decisions made by a residential hybrid system owner. We present a comprehensive review of studies that examine the techno-economic feasibility of small-scale hybrid energy systems, and we find that the most common approach is to compare the annualized life-time costs to the expected energy output and choose the system with the lowest cost per output. While practical, this type of benefit–cost analysis misses out on other production and consumption decisions that are simultaneously made when adopting a hybrid energy system. In this paper, we propose a broader and more robust theoretical framework—based on production and utility theory—to illustrate how the production of renewable energy from multiple sources affects energy efficiency, energy services, and energy consumption choices in the residential sector. Finally, we discuss how the model can be applied to guide a hybrid-prosumer’s decision-making in the US residential sector. Examining hybrid renewable energy systems within a solid economic framework makes the study of hybrid energy more accessible to economists, facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations.

scholarly journals Marginal Abatement Cost Analysis for the Korean Residential Sector Using Bottom-Up Modeling

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongjoo Chung ◽  
Hugon Kim ◽  
Chunhyun Paik ◽  
Young Jin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Abatement Cost ◽  
Marginal Abatement Cost ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Residential Sector

scholarly journals Synthesis of Sustainable Circular Economy in Palm Oil Industry Using Graph-Theoretic Method

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 8081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Yi Juang Yeo ◽  
Bing Shen How ◽  
Sin Yong Teng ◽  
Wei Dong Leong ◽  
Wendy Pei Qin Ng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Palm Oil ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Oil Industry ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Economy Model ◽  
Graph Theoretic ◽  
Oil Palm Biomass ◽  
Industry Sectors

Huge generation of oil palm biomass has stimulated the development of biorefineries for synthesis of bioproducts. By targeting the palm oil industry and the biorefineries as the consumers of these products, a sustainable circular economy can be created by recycling the biomass wastes to the said consumers. To evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of the sustainable circular economy, a mathematical model demonstrating the biomass network with consideration of recycling is developed in this work. Besides, Process Graph (P-graph) is incorporated to perform the combinatorial optimization of the biomass network, which targets three common resources: fertilizer, steam, and electricity for regeneration and recycling. Although the result shows that the linear economy model is preferred in terms of profitability, the circular economy model shows potential in reducing 39.292% of the imported steam and 13.469% of the imported electricity, while being 0.642% lower in terms of the gross profit. Three scenarios are then proposed to identify the potential bottleneck that can hinder the implementation of the sustainable circular economy approach, with the aid of sensitivity analysis. This work is expected to benefit the biomass-based industry sectors and the policymakers on future development and transition to the sustainable circular economy.

Black carbon emission reduction strategies in healthcare industry for effective global climate change management

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 416-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Mmbando Raila ◽  
David O Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Waste Incineration ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Healthcare Waste ◽  
New Research

Climate change remains one of the biggest threats to life on earth to date with black carbon (BC) emissions or smoke being the strongest cause after carbon dioxide (CO2). Surprisingly, scientific evidence about black carbon emissions reduction in healthcare settings is sparse. This paper presents new research findings on the reduction of black carbon emissions from an observational study conducted at the UN Peacekeeping Operations (MINUSTAH) in Haiti in 2014. Researchers observed 20 incineration cycles, 30 minutes for each cycle of plastic and cardboard sharps healthcare waste (HCW) containers ranged from 3 to 14.6 kg. The primary aim was to determine if black carbon emissions from healthcare waste incineration can be lowered by mainstreaming the use of cardboard sharps healthcare waste containers instead of plastic sharps healthcare waste containers. Similarly, the study looks into whether burning temperature was associated with the smoke levels for each case or not. Independent samples t-tests demonstrated significantly lower black carbon emissions during the incineration of cardboard sharps containers (6.81 ± 4.79% smoke) than in plastic containers (17.77 ± 8.38% smoke); a statistically significant increase of 10.96% smoke (95% Confidence Interval ( CI) [4.4 to 17.5% smoke], p = 0.003). Correspondingly, lower bottom burner temperatures occurred during the incineration of cardboard sharps containers than in plastic (95% Cl [16 to 126°C], p = 0.014). Finally, we expect the application of the new quantitative evidence to form the basis for policy formulation, mainstream the use of cardboard sharps containers and opt for non-incineration disposal technologies as urgent steps for going green in healthcare waste management.

scholarly journals Primary aerosol emission trends for China, 1990–2005

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 17153-17212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Lei ◽  
Q. Zhang ◽  
K. B. He ◽  
D. G. Streets
Keyword(s):  
Emission Factors ◽  
Cement Industry ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Aerosol Emission ◽  
Metallic Mineral ◽  
Aerosol Emissions ◽  
Industry Sectors ◽  
Mineral Product ◽  
Activity Information ◽  
Product Industry

Abstract. An inventory of anthropogenic primary aerosol emissions in China was developed for 1990–2005 using a technology-based approach. Taking into account changes in the technology penetration within industry sectors and improvements in emission controls driven by stricter emission standards, a dynamic methodology was derived and implemented to estimate inter-annual emission factors. Emission factors of PM2.5 decreased by 7%–69% from 1990 to 2005 in different industry sectors of China, and emission factors of TSP decreased by 18%–80% as well. Emissions of PM2.5, PM10 and TSP presented similar trends: increased in the first six years of 1990s and decreased until 2000, then increased again in the following years. Emissions of TSP reached a historical high (35.5 Tg) in 1996, while the peak of PM10 (18.8 Tg) and PM2.5 (12.7 Tg) emissions occurred in 2005. Although various emission trends were identified across sectors, the cement industry and biofuel combustion in the residential sector were consistently the largest sources of PM2.5 emissions, accounting for 53%–62% of emission over the study period. The non-metallic mineral product industry, including the cement, lime and brick industries, accounted for 54%–63% of national TSP emissions. There were no significant trends of BC and OC emissions until 2000, but the increase after 2000 brought the historical high of BC (1.51 Tg) and OC (3.19 Tg) emissions in 2005. Although significant improvements in the estimation of primary aerosols are presented, there still exist large uncertainties. More accurate and detailed activity information and emission factors based on local tests are essential to further improve emission estimates, this especially being so for the brick and coke industries, as well as for coal-burning stoves and biofuel usage in the residential sector.

scholarly journals Marginal abatement cost curves for US black carbon emissions

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (sup1) ◽  
pp. 279-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Sarofim ◽  
B. J. DeAngelo ◽  
R. H. Beach ◽  
K. A. Weitz ◽  
M. A. Bahner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Carbon ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Abatement Cost ◽  
Marginal Abatement Cost ◽  
Cost Curves

scholarly journals Investigation of the mixing layer height derived from ceilometer measurements in the Kathmandu Valley and implications for local air quality

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Mues ◽  
Maheswar Rupakheti ◽  
Christoph Münkel ◽  
Axel Lauer ◽  
Heiko Bozem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Carbon ◽  
Diurnal Cycle ◽  
Monsoon Season ◽  
Mixing Layer ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Mixing Height ◽  
Layer Height ◽  
Emission Fluxes ◽  
Mixing Layer Height ◽  
Carbon Concentrations

Abstract. In this study one year of ceilometer measurements taken in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, in the framework of the SusKat project (A Sustainable Atmosphere for the Kathmandu Valley) were analyzed to investigate the diurnal variation of the mixing layer height and its dependency on the meteorological conditions. In addition, the impact of the mixing layer height on the temporal variation and the magnitude of the measured black carbon concentrations are analysed for each season. Based on the assumption that black carbon aerosols are vertically well mixed within the mixing layer and the finding that the mixing layer varies only little during night time and morning hours, black carbon emission fluxes are estimated for these hours and per month. Even though this method is relatively simple, it can give an observationally based first estimate of the black carbon emissions in this region, especially illuminating the seasonal cycle of the emission fluxes. In all seasons the diurnal cycle of the mixing layer height is typically characterized by low heights during the night and maximum values during in the afternoon. Seasonal differences are found in the absolute mixing layer height values and the duration of the typical daytime maximum. During the monsoon season a diurnal cycle has been observed with the smallest amplitude, with the lowest daytime mixing height of all seasons, and also the highest nighttime and early morning mixing height of all seasons. These characteristics can mainly be explained with the frequently present clouds and the associated reduction in incoming solar radiation and outgoing longwave radiation. In general, the black carbon concentrations show a clear anticorrelation with mixing layer height measurements, although this relation is less pronounced in the monsoon season. The daily evolution of the black carbon diurnal cycle differs between the seasons, partly due to the different meteorological conditions including the mixing layer height. Other important reasons are the different main emission sources and their diurnal variations in the individual seasons. The estimation of the black carbon emission flux for the morning hours show a clear seasonal cycle with maximum values in December to April. Compared to the emission flux values provided by different emission databases for this region, the here estimated values are considerably higher. Several possible sources of uncertainty are considered, and even the absolute lower bound of the emissions based on our methodology is higher than in most emissions datasets, providing strong evidence that the black carbon emissions for this region have likely been underestimated in modelling studies thus far.

scholarly journals Feasibility of closed loop ground source heat pump for residential heating and cooling applications in Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2 Part A) ◽  
pp. 965-976
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Jokic ◽  
Nevenka Nikolic ◽  
Natasa Lukic
Keyword(s):  
Heat Pump ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Cost Ratio ◽  
Pump System ◽  
Heat Pump System ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Heating And Cooling

Households sector in Serbia presents a great chance for energy savings and introduction of RES in the future. The public policies in Serbia are currently limited, but this kind of study can influence public measures that would undeniably generate long-term social and economic benefits to the country. The aim of the present work is to assess economic feasibility of closed loop heat pump systems for heating and cooling purposes in Serbia?s residential sector. The heat pump system was compared to the most commonly used heating fuels in households. Results indicate that the implementation of ground closed loop heat pump systems for heating and cooling purposes in Serbia?s residential sector as a substitute for electric heating is economically feasible. Inadequate prices of natural gas and electricity in public supply are the main problems associated with the project?s financial benefits. The best results were obtained in the scenario with combined debt ratio (40%) and grants (~30%) for the project realization, for which equity pay-back period is approximately three years, while benefit to cost ratio is 2.52. Investigated financial metrics (equity pay-back, internal rate of return assets and net present value) indicate the same positive results considering financial viability of the project.

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