Global and regional emission estimates for three ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluoro-carbons (HCFCs) with no known end-uses

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Vollmer ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern China ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Lagrangian Model ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
First Results ◽  
Atmospheric Observations ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
Phase Out ◽  
Global Emissions

<p>We present first results on atmospheric abundances and inferred emissions of the previously undetected ozone depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbon HCFC-132b (1,2-dichloro-1,1-difluoroethane). In addition we report significant updates on observations and inferred emissions for HCFC-133a (2-chloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane) and HCFC-31 (chlorofluoromethane). All three compounds are Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs) and their productions are regulated under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. However, they are not known as end-user products from which potential emissions to the atmosphere could occur. Rather, we hypothesize that the compounds are emitted as byproducts during the production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). If this holds true, then the phase-out regulations of the Protocol do not apply to them, nevertheless the Protocol's overarching Vienna Convention encourages the parties to minimize such ODS byproduct emissions.</p><p>In-situ fully intercalibrated high-precision measurements of the recently discovered HCFC-132b have been made for several years at the stations of the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) and are complemented with measurements from archived air samples (1978 – present) of the Cape Grim Air Archive. Based on these measurements we reconstruct global HCFC-132b trends showing its first appearance in the atmosphere in the late 1990s, followed by a general growth in the atmosphere to current globally-averaged mole fractions of approx. 0.13 ppt (picomol mol<sup>-1</sup>). Global emissions, which are derived from these observations using the AGAGE 12-box model, show a general increase to approx. 1 Gg yr<sup>-1</sup> in 2019. Observation-based top-down regional emission estimates for the East-Asian region, as derived from a Bayesian inversion with the FLEXPART Lagrangian model, can explain all of the global emissions within the uncertainties of the method. Half of these emissions are allocated to Eastern China, a region where enhanced emissions for other ODSs were previously found. Emissions from Europe are comparably insignificant, but an analysis of the source locations supports the hypothesis that HCFC-132b emissions are a byproduct from HFC production. In addition to HCFC-132b, we present significant updates on observations of HCFC-133a and HCFC-31. HCFC-133a measurements are now fully integrated into the AGAGE network and provide a wealth of atmospheric observations. Similar to HCFC-132b, we show, for example, that abundances and global emissions of these two compounds have generally increased over the last few years.</p>

scholarly journals Changing trends and emissions of hydrochlorofluorocarbons and their hydrofluorocarbon replacements

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G. Simmonds ◽  
Matthew Rigby ◽  
Archibold McCulloch ◽  
Simon O'Doherty ◽  
Dickon Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Hfc 134A ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
Phase Out ◽  
Article 5 ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Global Emissions

Abstract. High frequency, in situ global observations of HCFC-22 (CHClF2), HCFC-141b (CH3CCl2F), HCFC-142b (CH3CClF2) and HCFC-124 (CHClFCF3) and their main HFC replacements HFC-134a (CH2FCF3), HFC-125 (CHF2CF3), HFC-143a (CH3CF3), and HFC-32 (CH2F2) have been used to determine their changing global growth rates and emissions in response to the Montreal Protocol and its recent amendments. The 2007 adjustment to the Montreal Protocol required the accelerated phase-out of HCFCs with global production and consumption capped in 2013, to mitigate their environmental impact as both ozone depleting substances and important greenhouse gases. We find that this change has coincided with a reduction in global emissions of the four HCFCs with aggregated global emissions in 2015 of 444 ± 75 Gg/yr, in CO2 equivalent units (CO2 e) 0.75 ± 0.1 Gt/yr, compared with 483 ± 70 Gg/yr (0.82 ± 0.1 Gt/yr CO2 e) in 2010. (All quoted uncertainties in this paper are 1 sigma). About 80 % of the total HCFC atmospheric burden in 2015 is HCFC-22, where global HCFC emissions appear to have been relatively constant in spite of the 2013 cap on global production and consumption. We attribute this to a probable increase in production and consumption of HCFC-22 in Montreal Protocol Article 5 (developing) countries and the continuing release of HCFC-22 from the large banks which dominate HCFC global emissions. Conversely, the four HFCs all show increasing annual growth rates with aggregated global HFCs emissions in 2015 of 329 ± 70 Gg/yr (0.65 ± 0.12 Gt/yr CO2 e) compared to 2010 with 240 ± 50 Gg/yr (0.47 ± 0.08 Gt/yr CO2 e). As HCFCs are replaced by HFCs we investigate the impact of the shift to refrigerant blends which have lower global warming potentials (GWPs). We also note that emissions of HFC-125 and HFC-32 appear to have increased more rapidly during the 2011–2015 5-yr period compared to 2006–2010.

scholarly journals Changing trends and emissions of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and their hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs) replacements

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 4641-4655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G. Simmonds ◽  
Matthew Rigby ◽  
Archie McCulloch ◽  
Simon O'Doherty ◽  
Dickon Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mole Fraction ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Hfc 134A ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
Phase Out ◽  
Article 5 ◽  
Global Emissions ◽  
Global Mean

Abstract. High-frequency, in situ global observations of HCFC-22 (CHClF2), HCFC-141b (CH3CCl2F), HCFC-142b (CH3CClF2) and HCFC-124 (CHClFCF3) and their main HFC replacements, HFC-134a (CH2FCF3), HFC-125 (CHF2CF3), HFC-143a (CH3CF3) and HFC-32 (CH2F2), have been used to determine their changing global growth rates and emissions in response to the Montreal Protocol and its recent amendments. Global mean mole fractions of HCFC-22, -141b, and -142b have increased throughout the observation period, reaching 234, 24.3 and 22.4 pmol mol−1, respectively, in 2015. HCFC-124 reached a maximum global mean mole fraction of 1.48 pmol mol−1 in 2007 and has since declined by 23 % to 1.14 pmol mol−1 in 2015. The HFCs all show increasing global mean mole fractions. In 2015 the global mean mole fractions (pmol mol−1) were 83.3 (HFC-134a), 18.4 (HFC-125), 17.7 (HFC-143a) and 10.5 (HFC-32). The 2007 adjustment to the Montreal Protocol required the accelerated phase-out of emissive uses of HCFCs with global production and consumption capped in 2013 to mitigate their environmental impact as both ozone-depleting substances and important greenhouse gases. We find that this change has coincided with a stabilisation, or moderate reduction, in global emissions of the four HCFCs with aggregated global emissions in 2015 of 449 ± 75 Gg yr−1, in CO2 equivalent units (CO2 eq.) 0.76 ± 0.1 Gt yr−1, compared with 483 ± 70 Gg yr−1 (0.82 ± 0.1 Gt yr−1 CO2 eq.) in 2010 (uncertainties are 1σ throughout this paper). About 79 % of the total HCFC atmospheric burden in 2015 is HCFC-22, where global emissions appear to have been relatively similar since 2011, in spite of the 2013 cap on emissive uses. We attribute this to a probable increase in production and consumption of HCFC-22 in Montreal Protocol Article 5 (developing) countries and the continuing release of HCFC-22 from the large banks which dominate HCFC global emissions. Conversely, the four HFCs all show increasing mole fraction growth rates with aggregated global HFC emissions of 327 ± 70 Gg yr−1 (0.65 ± 0.12 Gt yr−1 CO2 eq.) in 2015 compared to 240 ± 50 Gg yr−1 (0.47 ± 0.08 Gt yr−1 CO2 eq.) in 2010. We also note that emissions of HFC-125 and HFC-32 appear to have increased more rapidly averaged over the 5-year period 2011–2015, compared to 2006–2010. As noted by Lunt et al. (2015) this may reflect a change to refrigerant blends, such as R-410A, which contain HFC-32 and -125 as a 50 : 50 blend.

scholarly journals Rapid increase in dichloromethane emissions from China inferred through atmospheric observations

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minde An ◽  
Luke M. Western ◽  
Daniel Say ◽  
Liqu Chen ◽  
Tom Claxton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eastern China ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Annual Increase ◽  
Global Emission ◽  
Atmospheric Observations ◽  
Antarctic Ozone ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Ozone Hole

AbstractWith the successful implementation of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the atmospheric abundance of ozone-depleting substances continues to decrease slowly and the Antarctic ozone hole is showing signs of recovery. However, growing emissions of unregulated short-lived anthropogenic chlorocarbons are offsetting some of these gains. Here, we report an increase in emissions from China of the industrially produced chlorocarbon, dichloromethane (CH2Cl2). The emissions grew from 231 (213–245) Gg yr−1 in 2011 to 628 (599–658) Gg yr−1 in 2019, with an average annual increase of 13 (12–15) %, primarily from eastern China. The overall increase in CH2Cl2 emissions from China has the same magnitude as the global emission rise of 354 (281−427) Gg yr−1 over the same period. If global CH2Cl2 emissions remain at 2019 levels, they could lead to a delay in Antarctic ozone recovery of around 5 years compared to a scenario with no CH2Cl2 emissions.

scholarly journals Emissions of Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl<sub>4</sub>) from Europe

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Graziosi ◽  
Jgor Arduini ◽  
Paolo Bonasoni ◽  
Francesco Furlani ◽  
Umberto Giostra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Tetrachloride ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Significant Discrepancy ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Atmospheric Observations ◽  
Global Emissions

Abstract. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a long-lived radiatively-active compound able to destroy stratospheric ozone. Due to its inclusion in the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the last two decades have seen a sharp decrease in its large scale emissive use with a consequent decline of its atmospheric mole fractions. However, the Montreal Protocol restrictions do not apply to the use of carbon tetrachloride as feedstock for the production of other chemicals, implying the risk of fugitive emissions from the industry sector. The occurrence of such unintended emissions is suggested by a significant discrepancy between global emissions as derived by reported production and feedstock usage (bottom-up emissions), and those based on atmospheric observations (top-down emissions). In order to better constrain the atmospheric budget of carbon tetrachloride, several studies based on a combination of atmospheric observations and inverse modelling have been conducted in recent years in various regions of the world. This study is focused on the European scale and based on long-term high-frequency observations at three European sites, combined with a Bayesian inversion methodology. We estimated that average European emissions for 2006–2014 were 2.3 (± 0.8) Gg yr−1, with an average decreasing trend of 7.3 % per year. Our analysis identified France as the main source of emissions over the whole study period, with an average contribution to total European emissions of 25 %. The inversion was also able to allow the localisation of emission "hot-spots" in the domain, with major source areas in Southern France, Central England (UK) and Benelux (Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg), where most of industrial scale production of basic organic chemicals are located. According to our results, European emissions correspond to 4.0 % of global emissions for 2006–2012. Together with other regional studies, our results allow a better constraint of the global budget of carbon tetrachloride and a better quantification of the gap between top-down and bottom-up estimates.

Sustainable Tourism Policy Frameworks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Coghlan
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Tourism ◽  
Ozone Layer ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Scientific Advice ◽  
Holy See ◽  
Policy Frameworks ◽  
Significant Achievement ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
Phase Out

Having looked at the external and internal challenges facing the move towards more sustainable tourism, and the impacts of tourism, you should now be wondering how sustainability in tourism can be turned into more than an ideal. Perhaps one of the most obvious way to achieve this is simply to regulate the sector. After all regulation worked for the ozone layer: scientists raised the alarm in the 1970s that a hole was appearing in the atmosphere’s ozone layer, caused by Ozone Depleting Substances or ODS (most notably CFCs) and resulting in adverse effects on human health and the environment. By 1987 the Montreal Protocol was established to phase out the use of ODS, and by June 2015, all countries in the United Nations, the Cook Islands, Holy See, Niue and the supranational European Union had ratified the original Protocol. The result was a 98% drop in ODS since ratification, and the hole is expected to have fully repaired itself by 2050. A significant achievement in terms of international cooperation, based on scientific advice.

scholarly journals Global Warming Potentials for the C<sub>1</sub>-C<sub>3</sub> Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) Included in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios K. Papanastasiou ◽  
Allison Beltrone ◽  
Paul Marshall ◽  
James B. Burkholder
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Oh Radical ◽  
Radical Reactivity ◽  
Structure Activity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Global Warming Potentials ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Phase Out

Abstract. Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are ozone depleting substances and potent greenhouse gases that are controlled under the Montreal Protocol. However, the majority of the 274 HCFCs included in Annex C of the protocol do not have reported global warming potentials (GWPs) that are used to guide the phase-out of HCFCs and the future phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). In this study, GWPs for all C1-C3 HCFCs included in Annex C are reported based on estimated atmospheric lifetimes and theoretical methods used to calculate infrared absorption spectra. Atmospheric lifetimes were estimated from a structure activity relationship (SAR) for OH radical reactivity and estimated O(1D) reactivity and UV photolysis loss processes. The HCFCs display a wide range of lifetimes and GWPs dependent on their molecular structure and H-atom content of the individual HCFC. The results from this study provide reliable policy relevant GWP metrics for the HCFCs included in the Montreal Protocol in the absence of experimentally derived metrics.

scholarly journals Emissions of carbon tetrachloride from Europe

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (20) ◽  
pp. 12849-12859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Graziosi ◽  
Jgor Arduini ◽  
Paolo Bonasoni ◽  
Francesco Furlani ◽  
Umberto Giostra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Tetrachloride ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stratospheric Ozone ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Scale Production ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Significant Discrepancy ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Atmospheric Observations ◽  
Global Emissions

Abstract. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) is a long-lived radiatively active compound with the ability to destroy stratospheric ozone. Due to its inclusion in the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (MP), the last two decades have seen a sharp decrease in its large-scale emissive use with a consequent decline in its atmospheric mole fractions. However, the MP restrictions do not apply to the use of carbon tetrachloride as feedstock for the production of other chemicals, implying the risk of fugitive emissions from the industry sector. The occurrence of such unintended emissions is suggested by a significant discrepancy between global emissions as derived from reported production and feedstock usage (bottom-up emissions), and those based on atmospheric observations (top-down emissions). In order to better constrain the atmospheric budget of carbon tetrachloride, several studies based on a combination of atmospheric observations and inverse modelling have been conducted in recent years in various regions of the world. This study is focused on the European scale and based on long-term high-frequency observations at three European sites, combined with a Bayesian inversion methodology. We estimated that average European emissions for 2006–2014 were 2.2 (± 0.8) Gg yr−1, with an average decreasing trend of 6.9 % per year. Our analysis identified France as the main source of emissions over the whole study period, with an average contribution to total European emissions of approximately 26 %. The inversion was also able to allow the localisation of emission "hot spots" in the domain, with major source areas in southern France, central England (UK) and Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg), where most industrial-scale production of basic organic chemicals is located. According to our results, European emissions correspond, on average, to 4.0 % of global emissions for 2006–2012. Together with other regional studies, our results allow a better constraint of the global budget of carbon tetrachloride and a better quantification of the gap between top-down and bottom-up estimates.

scholarly journals Toward resolving the mysterious budget discrepancy of ozone-depleting CCl<sub>4</sub>: An analysis of top-down emissions from China

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunyoung Park ◽  
Shanlan Li ◽  
Jens Mühle ◽  
Simon O'Doherty ◽  
Ray F. Weiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Generation ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Monitoring Site ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Chemical Manufacturing ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
Phase Out

Abstract. Emissive production and use of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), one of the first-generation ozone-depleting substances, have been banned by the Montreal Protocol with the 2010 phase-out for developing countries, but production and consumption for non-dispersive use as a chemical feedstock and as process agent are still allowed. Here, we present evidence that significant unreported emissions of CCl4 still persist, based on the high frequency and magnitude of CCl4 pollution events observed in the 8-year real time atmospheric measurement record at Gosan station, a regional background monitoring site in East Asia. From this we estimate top-down emissions of CCl4 amounting to 23.6 ± 7.1 Gg yr−1 from 2011 to 2015 for China, in contrast to the 4.3–5.2 Gg yr−1 reported as the most up-to-date post-2010 Chinese bottom-up emissions. The missing emissions (~ 19 Gg yr−1) for China are highly significant, contributing about 54 % of global CCl4 emissions. We show that 89 ± 6 % of the CCl4 enhancements observed at Gosan can be accounted for by fugitive emissions of CCl4 occurring at the factory level during the production of CH3Cl, CH2Cl2, CHCl3 and C2Cl4 (PCE) and feedstock and solvent use in chemical manufacturing industries. Thus, it is crucial to implement technical improvements and better regulation strategies to reduce the evaporative losses of CCl4 occurring at the factory and/or process level.

Consumers and Intermediate Producers in the Phase-out of Agricultural and Industrial Ozone-Depleting Substances

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Ovodenko
Keyword(s):  
Methyl Bromide ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Environmental Regime ◽  
Consumer Markets ◽  
Confounding Variables ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
Phase Out ◽  
The Impact

The chapter analyzes the impact of downstream consumer markets on environmental regime design by explaining why wealthy countries have successfully phased out industrial ozone-depleting substances (ODS) but not an agricultural pesticide known as methyl bromide under the Montreal Protocol, despite the 2005 phase-out deadline for that pesticide. Since the analysis focuses on the regulation of different sectors under the same treaty, it isolates the impact of markets without the threat of major confounding variables interfering with the conclusions. It emphasizes competitive pressures and the structure of intermediate producers in the industrial and agricultural markets employing ODS to explain why methyl bromide has been handled differently from industrial refrigerants. The findings illustrate the impacts of consumer preferences and market competition on the investments of fluoro-product companies and, in turn, on the policies of wealthy countries and rules in the ozone regime.

scholarly journals Emissions of CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs from India

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Say ◽  
Anita L. Ganesan ◽  
Mark F. Lunt ◽  
Matthew Rigby ◽  
Simon O'Doherty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Fugitive Emissions ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
Hfc 134A ◽  
Growing Economy ◽  
Ozone Depleting Substances ◽  
Global Emissions ◽  
Populous Country

Abstract. As the second most populous country and third fastest growing economy, India has emerged as a global economic power. As such, its emissions of greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases are of global significance. However, unlike neighbouring China, the Indian sub-continent is very poorly monitored by existing measurement networks. Of the greenhouse/ozone-depleting gases, India's emissions of synthetic halocarbons (here defined as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)) are not well-known. Previous measurements from the region have been obtained at observatories many hundreds of miles from source regions, or at high altitudes, limiting their value for the estimation of regional emission rates. Given the projected rapid growth in demand for refrigerants in India, emission estimates of these halocarbons are urgently needed, to provide a benchmark against which future changes can be evaluated. In this study, we report the first atmospheric-measurement derived emissions of the ozone-depleting CFCs and HCFCs, and potent greenhouse gas HFCs from India. Air samples were collected at low-altitude during a 2-month aircraft campaign between June and July 2016. Emissions were derived from measurements of these samples using an inverse modelling framework and evaluated to assess India's progress in phasing out ozone-depleting substances (ODS) under the Montreal Protocol. Our CFC estimates show that India contributed 52 (26–83) Tg CO2eq yr−1, which were 7 (4–12) % of global emissions in 2016. HCFC-22 emissions at 7.8 (6.0–9.9) Gg yr−1 were of similar magnitude to emissions of HFC-134a (8.2 (6.1–10.7) Gg yr−1), suggesting that India used a range of HCFC and HFC refrigerants in 2016. We estimated India's HFC-23 emissions to be 1.2 (0.9–1.5) Gg yr−1 and our results are consistent with resumed venting of HFC-23 by HCFC-22 manufacturers following the discontinuation of funding for abatement under the Clean Development Mechanism. We report small emissions of HFC-32 and HFC-143a and provide evidence that HFC-32 emissions were primarily due to fugitive emissions during manufacturing processes. Lack of significant correlation among HFC species and the small emissions derived for HFC-32 and HFC-143a indicate that in 2016, India's use of refrigerant blends R-410A, R-404A and R-507A was limited, despite extensive consumption elsewhere in the world.

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