A Local Ecosystem Assessment of the Potential for Net Negative Heavy-Duty Truck Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Biomethane Upcycling

Decarbonising heavy-duty trucks is challenging due to high journey power and energy requirements. With a growing fleet of commercial vehicles in the UK, biomethane can provide significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to fossil diesel. Methane is a potent GHG with a global warming potential (GWP) of 23–36, therefore reducing levels in the atmosphere can have a significant impact on climate change. There are a range of anthropogenic sources of methane that could be collected and processed to provide sustainable energy (upcycled), e.g., agricultural waste and the waste water system. This paper explores the impact of using upcycled methane in transport in South East England, evaluating local sources of anthropogenic methane and the environmental and economic impact of its use for a heavy-duty truck compared to fossil and battery electric alternatives. Analysis concludes that the use of upcycled methane in transport can provide significant reductions in lifecycle GHG emissions compared to diesel, fossil natural gas or battery electric trucks, and give net negative GHG emissions where avoided environmental methane emissions are considered. Furthermore, upcycling solutions can offer a lower cost route to GHG reduction compared to electrification.

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The Role of Anaerobic Digestion in Reducing Dairy Farm Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13052612 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2612

Author(s):

Alun Scott ◽

Richard Blanchard

Keyword(s):

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Dairy Farm ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

N2o Emissions ◽

Ghg Reduction ◽

Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽

The Impact

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy farms are significant contributors to global warming. However, much of the published work on GHG reduction is focused on either methane (CH4) or nitrous oxide (N2O), with few, if any, considering the interactions that changes to farming systems can have on both gases. This paper takes the raw data from a year of activity on a 300-cow commercial dairy farm in Northern Ireland to more accurately quantify GHG sources by use of a simple predictive model based on IPCC methodology. Differing herd management policies are examined together with the impact of integrating anaerobic digestion (AD) into each farming system. Whilst significant success can be predicted in capturing CH4 and carbon dioxide (CO2) as biogas and preventing N2O emissions, gains made can be lost in a subsequent process, negating some or all of the advantage. The process of extracting value from the captured resource is discussed in light of current farm parameters together with indications of other potential revenue streams. However, this study has concluded that despite the significant potential for GHG reduction, there is little incentive for widespread adoption of manure-based farm-scale AD in the UK at this time.

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Afforestation of abandoned peat extraction sites with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) as a solution of climate change mitigation

10.22616/rrd.27.2021.009 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Evelina Skrastina ◽

◽

Inga Straupe ◽

Andis Lazdins ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Pinus Sylvestris ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Scots Pine ◽

Climate Change Mitigation ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Peat Extraction ◽

Ghg Reduction ◽

The Impact ◽

Change Mitigation

On a global scale, ambitious climate change mitigation targets are set. By 2050, the European Union is expected to be climate neutral which means that the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will not exceed removals. This initiative is also supported by Latvia. For businesses and carbon intensive industries transition to climate neutral economy will be provided by Just Transition Fund. The direction of the peat sector towards climate neutrality will promote research and innovation as well as restoration of peat extraction sites. These are also the objectives of implementing the Just Transition Fund for investments in Latvia. Studies on management of peat soils to improve the calculation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been carried out in Latvia within LIFE REstore project. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of afforestation of abandoned peat extraction sites with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on GHG emissions compared to retaining of the existing situation (abandoned peatlands with poorly developed vegetation). Afforestation of degraded peatlands can contribute to significant GHG reduction in wetlands – up to 20% of the net GHG emissions due to wetlands management. The most of the GHG mitigation potential is ensured by accumulation of CO2 in living biomass.

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Technical Efficiency in Alberta Dairy Production: What Are the Trade-Offs?

Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics ◽

10.1017/aae.2019.41 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 52 (2) ◽

pp. 177-193

Author(s):

Stephanie Le ◽

Scott Jeffrey ◽

Henry An

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Technical Efficiency ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Bad Output ◽

Ghg Reduction ◽

Southern Alberta ◽

Reduce Emissions ◽

Highly Correlated ◽

The Impact

Abstract:The impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction on the efficiency of Alberta’s dairy industry is assessed through a technical efficiency analysis over the period 1996–2016, with and without emissions included as a “bad” output. Environmentally adjusted technical efficiency and technical efficiency estimates are highly correlated; thus, reducing GHG emissions may not result in decreased efficiency. Increased milk per cow, a southern Alberta location, and increased use of forage are associated with greater environmentally adjusted technical efficiency. The opportunity cost of foregone milk revenue associated with reduced emissions is Can$308.29 per metric ton of GHG. The results imply possible policy strategies to reduce emissions.

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The Impact of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Crop Agriculture: A Spatial-and Production-Level Analysis

Agricultural and Resource Economics Review ◽

10.1017/s1068280500004524 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 63-80 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Lanier Nalley ◽

Mike Popp ◽

Corey Fortin

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Carbon Emissions ◽

Percent Level ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Farm Income ◽

Cropping Pattern ◽

Percent Reduction ◽

Row Crops ◽

Ghg Reduction ◽

The Impact

With the Waxman-Markey Bill passing the House and the administration's push to reduce carbon emissions, the likelihood of the implementation of some form of a carbon emissions policy is increasing. This study estimates the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the six largest row crops produced in Arkansas using 57 different production practices predominantly used and documented by the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. From these GHG emission estimates, a baseline state “carbon footprint” was estimated and a hypothetical GHG emissions reduction of 5, 10, and 20 percent was levied on Arkansas agriculture using a cap-and-trade method. Using current production technology and traditional land use choices, results show that the trading of carbon-emitting permits to reduce statewide GHG emissions by 5 percent from the baseline would enhance GHG emissions efficiency measured as net crop farm income generated per unit of carbon emissions created. The 5 percent reduction in GHG emissions does cause marginal reductions in acres farmed and has marginal income ramifications. Beyond the 5 percent reduction target, gains in GHG emissions efficiency decline but remain positive in most counties through the 10 percent GHG reduction target. However, with a 10 percent GHG reduction, acreage and income reductions more than double compared to the 5 percent level. When GHG emissions are reduced by 20 percent from the baseline, the result is a major cropping pattern shift coupled with significant reductions in traditional row crop acreage, income, and GHG emissions efficiency.

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Impacts of Autonomous Vehicles on Greenhouse Gas Emissions—Positive or Negative?

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18115567 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (11) ◽

pp. 5567

Author(s):

Moneim Massar ◽

Imran Reza ◽

Syed Masiur Rahman ◽

Sheikh Muhammad Habib Abdullah ◽

Arshad Jamal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Significant Contribution ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Interval Estimate ◽

Modal Shift ◽

Vehicle Mile Travel ◽

Emission Changes ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

The Impact

The potential effects of autonomous vehicles (AVs) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are uncertain, although numerous studies have been conducted to evaluate the impact. This paper aims to synthesize and review all the literature regarding the topic in a systematic manner to eliminate the bias and provide an overall insight, while incorporating some statistical analysis to provide an interval estimate of these studies. This paper addressed the effect of the positive and negative impacts reported in the literature in two categories of AVs: partial automation and full automation. The positive impacts represented in AVs’ possibility to reduce GHG emission can be attributed to some factors, including eco-driving, eco traffic signal, platooning, and less hunting for parking. The increase in vehicle mile travel (VMT) due to (i) modal shift to AVs by captive passengers, including elderly and disabled people and (ii) easier travel compared to other modes will contribute to raising the GHG emissions. The result shows that eco-driving and platooning have the most significant contribution to reducing GHG emissions by 35%. On the other side, easier travel and faster travel significantly contribute to the increase of GHG emissions by 41.24%. Study findings reveal that the positive emission changes may not be realized at a lower AV penetration rate, where the maximum emission reduction might take place within 60–80% of AV penetration into the network.

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The potential of bio-methane as bio-fuel/bio-energy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions: a qualitative assessment for Europe in a life cycle perspective

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2008.039 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 57 (11) ◽

pp. 1683-1692 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Andrea Tilche ◽

Michele Galatola

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Anaerobic Digestion ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Industrial Wastewater ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Energy Crops ◽

Qualitative Assessment ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

Ghg Reduction

Anaerobic digestion is a well known process that (while still capable of showing new features) has experienced several waves of technological development. It was “born” as a wastewater treatment system, in the 1970s showed promise as an alternative energy source (in particular from animal waste), in the 1980s and later it became a standard for treating organic-matter-rich industrial wastewater, and more recently returned to the market for its energy recovery potential, making use of different biomasses, including energy crops. With the growing concern around global warming, this paper looks at the potential of anaerobic digestion in terms of reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The potential contribution of anaerobic digestion to GHG reduction has been computed for the 27 EU countries on the basis of their 2005 Kyoto declarations and using life cycle data. The theoretical potential contribution of anaerobic digestion to Kyoto and EU post-Kyoto targets has been calculated. Two different possible biogas applications have been considered: electricity production from manure waste, and upgraded methane production for light goods vehicles (from landfill biogas and municipal and industrial wastewater treatment sludges). The useful heat that can be produced as by-product from biogas conversion into electricity has not been taken into consideration, as its real exploitation depends on local conditions. Moreover the amount of biogas already produced via dedicated anaerobic digestion processes has also not been included in the calculations. Therefore the overall gains achievable would be even higher than those reported here. This exercise shows that biogas may considerably contribute to GHG emission reductions in particular if used as a biofuel. Results also show that its use as a biofuel may allow for true negative GHG emissions, showing a net advantage with respect to other biofuels. Considering also energy crops that will become available in the next few years as a result of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, this study shows that biogas has the potential of covering almost 50% of the 2020 biofuel target of 10% of all automotive transport fuels, without implying a change in land use. Moreover, considering the achievable GHG reductions, a very large carbon emission trading “value” could support the investment needs. However, those results were obtained through a “qualitative” assessment. In order to produce robust data for decision makers, a quantitative sustainability assessment should be carried out, integrating different methodologies within a life cycle framework. The identification of the most appropriate policy for promoting the best set of options is then discussed.

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Impacts of Government Policies, Fuel Cell Cost, and Battery Cost on Greenhouse Gas Emission of Light-Duty Vehicles

Volume 4: 18th Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference; 2013 ASME/IEEE International Conference on Mechatronic and Embedded Systems and Applications ◽

10.1115/detc2013-12701 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Swithin S. Razu ◽

Shun Takai

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Government Policies ◽

Alternative Fuel Vehicles ◽

Enterprise Model ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact

The aim of this paper is to study the impact of public government policies, fuel cell cost, and battery cost on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the US transportation sector. The model includes a government model and an enterprise model. To examine the effect on GHG emissions that fuel cell and battery cost has, the optimization model includes public policy, fuel cell and battery cost, and a market mix focusing on the GHG effects of four different types of vehicles, 1) gasoline-based 2) gasoline-electric hybrid or alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs), 3) battery-electric (BEVs) and 4) fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs). The public policies taken into consideration are infrastructure investments for hydrogen fueling stations and subsidies for purchasing AFVs. For each selection of public policy, fuel cell cost and battery cost in the government model, the enterprise model finds the optimum vehicle design that maximizes profit and updates the market mix, from which the government model can estimate GHG emissions. This paper demonstrates the model using FCV design as an illustrative example.

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Effect of wheat varieties and growth regulators on soil greenhouse gas emissions

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-8605 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elsbe von der Lancken ◽

Victoria Nasser ◽

Katharina Hey ◽

Stefan Siebert ◽

Ana Meijide

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Grain Yield ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Growth Regulators ◽

Production Systems ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Closed Chamber ◽

Wheat Varieties ◽

The Impact ◽

Modern Varieties

The need to sustain global food demand while mitigating greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions is a challenge for agricultural production systems. Since the reduction of GHGs has never been a breeding target, it is still unclear to which extend different crop varieties will affect GHG emissions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of N-fertilization and of the use of growth regulators applied to three historical and three modern varieties of winter wheat on the emissions of the three most important anthropogenic GHGs, i.e. carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Furthermore, we aimed at identifying which combination of cultivars and management practises could mitigate GHG emissions in agricultural systems without compromising the yield. GHG measurements were performed using the closed chamber method in a field experiment located in G&#246;ttingen (Germany) evaluating three historical and three modern winter wheat varieties, with or without growth regulators under two fertilization levels (120 and 240&#160;kg nitrogen ha-1). GHG measurements were carried out for 2 weeks following the third nitrogen fertilizer application (where one third of the total nitrogen was applied), together with studies on the evolution of mineral nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon in the soil. Modern varieties showed significantly higher CO2 emissions (i.e. soil and plant respiration; +23&#160;%) than historical varieties. The soils were found to be a sink for CH4, but CH4 fluxes were not affected by the different treatments. N2O emissions were not significantly influenced by the variety age or by the growth regulators, and emissions increased with increasing fertilization level. The global warming potential (GWP) for the modern varieties was 7284.0 &#177; 266.9&#160;kg CO2-eq ha-1. Even though the GWP was lower for the historic varieties (5939.5 &#177; 238.2&#160;kg CO2-eq ha-1), their greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI), which relates GHG and crop yield, was larger (1.5 &#177; 0.3&#160;g CO2-eq g-1 grain), compared to the GHGI of modern varieties (0.9 &#177; 0.0&#160;g CO2-eq g-1 grain), due to the much lower grain yield in the historic varieties. Our results suggest that in order to mitigate GHG emissions without compromising the grain yield, the best management practise is to use modern high yielding varieties with growth regulators and a fertilization scheme according to the demand of the crop.

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Petroleum Industry

Natural Resources Management ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0803-8.ch011 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 213-241

Author(s):

Lidia Hrnčević

Keyword(s):

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Global Climate ◽

Petroleum Industry ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

High Energy ◽

Global Market ◽

Special Focus ◽

Global Industry ◽

High Emission ◽

The Impact

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions occur, more or less, in all aspects of the petroleum industry's activities. Besides the direct emissions of some GHG, the petroleum industry is also characterised with high energy intensity usually followed by emissions of adverse gases, especially at old facilities, and also the products with high emission potential. Being the global industry and one of the major players on global market, the petroleum industry is also subjected to global regulatory provisions regarding GHG emissions. In this chapter, the impact of global climate change on the petroleum industry is discussed. The emissions from the petroleum industry are analysed with a special focus on greenhouse gases that occur in petroleum industry activities and types and sources of emissions from the petroleum industry activities. In addition, recommendations for estimation, monitoring, and reductions of GHG emissions from the petroleum industry are given.

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