Development of disaggregated energy use and greenhouse gas emission footprints in Canada’s iron, gold, and potash mining sectors

A hybrid life cycle-based trans-boundary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint is elucidated at the city-scale and evaluated for 8 US cities. The method incorporates end-uses of energy within city boundaries, plus cross-boundary demand for airline/freight transport and embodied energy of four key urban materials [food, water, energy (fuels), and shelter (cement)], essential for life in all cities. These cross-boundary activities contributed 47% on average more than the in-boundary GHG contributions traditionally reported for cities, indicating significant truncation at city boundaries of GHG emissions associated with urban activities. Incorporating cross-boundary contributions created convergence in per capita GHG emissions from the city-scale (average 23.7 mt-CO(2)e/capita) to the national-scale (24.5 mt-CO(2)e/capita), suggesting that six key cross-boundary activities may suffice to yield a holistic GHG emission footprint for cities, with important policy ramifications. Average GHG contributions from various human activity sectors include buildings/facilities energy use (47.1%), regional surface transport (20.8%), food production (14.7%), transport fuel production (6.4%), airline transport (4.8%), long-distance freight trucking (2.8%), cement production (2.2%), and water/wastewater/waste processing (1.3%). Energy-, travel-, and key materials-consumption efficiency metrics are elucidated in these sectors; these consumption metrics are observed to be largely similar across the eight U.S. cities and consistent with national/regional averages.

Assessment of greenhouse gas mitigation options for the iron, gold, and potash mining sectors

Decisions can be taken to increase energy efficiency and to mitigate the emissions to the environment by examining the energy audit and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint of crop production in different ways and in different regions, with comparable principles. In this study, energy consumption and energy indices of tomatoes production in four regions of Iran including East Azerbaijan province (open field), the provinces of Kermanshah, Tehran and Isfahan (greenhouse) were compared using related articles data. Chemical fertilizers and irrigation water in tomato production in open field and diesel fuel and chemical fertilizers in the tomato production in greenhouses system was greatest energy consumer in Iran. Energy consumption of irrigation water for tomato production in open field was markedly higher than the production in the greenhouse. In this study, the inputs of diesel fuel, chemical fertilizers, chemicals, plastics, and electricity used in the production of tomatoes, which contribute to the GHG emission footprint, were calculated via coefficients related to GHG emission. The highest and lowest greenhouse gas emissions in greenhouse tomato production in Tehran province and East Azerbaijan province farms were determined to be 13661.37 kgCO2eq ha-1 and 1274.02 kgCO2eq ha-1, respectively. Overall, tomato production in open field leads to lower greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption per unit area, but according to more energy output in cultivation of tomato in greenhouse, energy efficiency of tomato production in greenhouse was higher.

Weight-loss attempts are widespread in the United States, with many using commercial weight-loss diet plans for guidance and support. Accordingly, dietary suggestions within these plans influence the nation's food-related environmental footprint. We modelled United States (US) per capita greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) and water footprints associated with seven commercial weight-loss diets, the US baseline, and selected other dietary patterns. We characterised consumption in commercial weight-loss diets both via modelling from provided guidelines and based on specific foods in 1-week meal plans. Cradle-to-farmgate GHGe and water footprints were assessed using a previously developed model. GHGe results were compared to the EAT-Lancet 2050 target. Water footprints were compared to the US baseline. Weight-loss diets had GHGe footprints on average 4.4 times the EAT-Lancet target recommended for planetary health (range: 2.4-8.5 times). Bovine meat was by far the largest contributor of GHGe in most diets that included it. Three commercial diets had water footprints above the US baseline. Low caloric intake in some diets compensated for the relative increases in GHGe- and water-intensive foods. Dietary patterns suggested by marketing materials and guidelines from commercial weight-loss diets can have high GHGe and water footprints, particularly if caloric limits are exceeded. Commercial diet plan guidance can be altered to support planetary and individual health, including describing what dietary patterns can jointly support environmental sustainability and weight loss.

There is presently overwhelming scientific consensus that global climate change is indeed occurring, and that human activities are the primary driver. An increasingly resource and carbon constrained world will continue to pose formidable challenges to major industries, including mining. Understanding the implications of climate change mitigation for the mining industry, however, remains limited. This paper presents the results of a feasibility study on the implementation of a clean development mechanism and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission reductions in the gold mining industry. It draws upon and extends the analysis of a case study conducted on gold mining operations in Thailand. The results from the case study indicated that total GHGs emissions by company A were approximately 36,886 tons carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2e) per annual gold production capacity that meet the eligibility criteria for small-scaled clean development mechanism (CDM) projects. The electrostatic separation process was found to release the lowest amount of GHGs, whereas comminution (i.e. crushing and grinding) generated the highest GHGs emissions. By scope, the emission from purchased electricity (scope 2) is the most significant source. Opportunities for CDM projects implementation in the gold mining sector can be found in employing energy efficiency measures. Through innovation, some technical efficiency and technological development in gold processing (i.e. high pressure grinding rolls (HPGR), vertical roller mills (VRM), gravity pre-concentration and microwave heating technologies) that have the potential to reduce energy use and also lower carbon footprint of the gold mining were further discussed. The evidence reviews found that HPGR and VRM abatement technologies have shown energy and climate benefits as electricity savings and CO2 reduction of about 8-25.93 kWh/ton ore processed and 1.8-26.66 kgCO2/ton ore processed, respectively. Implications for further research and practice were finally raised.

Analysis of life-cycle GHG emissions for iron ore mining and processing in China—Uncertainty and trends

Greenhouse gas emissions footprint of agricultural production in Guilan province of Iran

Mitigating Curtailment and Carbon Emissions through Load Migration between Data Centers

20 - Life cycle assessment of iron ore mining and processing

Low-carbon production of iron and steel: Technology options, economic assessment, and policy

Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in organic and conventional farming systems in the Netherlands

Recent growth in U.S. ethylene production due to the shale gas boom is affecting the U.S. chemical industry's energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprints. To evaluate these effects, a systematic, first-principles model of the cradle-to-gate ethylene production system was developed and applied. The variances associated with estimating the energy consumption and GHG emission intensities of U.S. ethylene production, both from conventional natural gas and from shale gas, are explicitly analyzed. A sensitivity analysis illustrates that the large variances in energy intensity are due to process parameters (e.g., compressor efficiency), and that large variances in GHG emissions intensity are due to fugitive emissions from upstream natural gas production. On the basis of these results, the opportunities with the greatest leverage for reducing the energy and GHG footprints are presented. The model and analysis provide energy analysts and policy makers with a better understanding of the drivers of energy use and GHG emissions associated with U.S. ethylene production. They also constitute a rich data resource that can be used to evaluate options for managing the industry's footprints moving forward.

Energy-related activities are a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A growing body of knowledge clearly depicts the links between human activities and climate change. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil and other human activities has released carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other heat-trapping GHG emissions into the atmosphere and thus increased the concentration of atmospheric CO2 emissions. The main human activities that emit CO2 emissions are (1) the combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity, accounting for about 37% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 31% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, (2) the combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel to transport people and goods, accounting for about 31% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 26% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, and (3) industrial processes such as the production and consumption of minerals and chemicals, accounting for about 15% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 12% of total ...

Soil organic carbon (SOC), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water footprint (WF) are the key indicators of environmental sustainability in agricultural systems. Increasing SOC while reducing GHG emissions and WF are effective measures to achieve high crop productivity with minimum environmental impact (i.e. a multi-pronged approach of sustainable intensification (SI) and climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to achieve food security). In conventional agricultural systems, intensive soil tillage and removal of crop residues can lead to increase negative environmental impact due to reduce SOC, GHG emission and high water consumption. Conservation agriculture (CA) based conservation tillage systems (CTS) with crop residue retention is often suggested as a resource conserving alternative to increase crop productivity without compromising soil health and environmental sustainability of cereal cropping systems. The environmental impact of CTS in terms of SOC, WF and GHG emissions nonetheless remains understudied in Bangladesh. A two-year field experiment was carried out to evaluate the impacts of CTS with retention of crop residue on SOC accumulation, GHG emission and WF in wheat cultivation of Bangladesh. In the experiment, CTS such as zero tillage (ZT) and minimum tillage (MT) were compared with the conventional tillage (CT) practice. Result observed that the SOC accumulation in the soil was 0.11 t ha−1, 0.97 t ha−1, and 1.3 t ha−1 for CT, MT and ZT practices, respectively. A life cycle GHG emission estimation by farm efficiency analysis tool (FEAT) calculated 1987, 1992 and 2028 kg CO2eq ha−1 for ZT, MT and CT practices, respectively. Among the studied tillage options, lowest WF was achieved by MT (570.05 m3 t−1) followed by ZT (578.56 m3 t−1) and CT (608.85 m3 t−1). Since the results are in favor of CTS, this study recommends MT and ZT practice to reduce negative environmental externalities in wheat cultivation in Bangladesh. In comparison between the methods, the MT, which retains crop residue (20 cm), and involves principles of CA, is suitable for both CSA and SI of wheat cultivation in Bangladesh due to its ability to increase SOC accumulation, prevent both water loss, and GHG emission without compromising yield.

The environmental sustainability of food production systems, including net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is of increasing importance. In Norwegian pork production, animal performance is high in terms of reproduction, growth, and health. The development and use of an IPCC methodology-based model for estimating GHG emissions from pork production could be helpful in identifying the effects of progress in genetics and management. The objective was to investigate whether an IPCC methodology-based model was able to reflect the effects of the progress in genetics and management in pork production on the GHG emissions per kg carcass weight (CW). It is hypothesized that this progress has led to low GHG emissions intensities in Norwegian pork compared to global levels and that expected improvements will give a lasting reduction in GHG emissions intensities. A model ‘HolosNorPork’ for estimating net farm gate GHG emissions intensities was developed, including allocation procedures, at the pig production unit level. The model was run with pig production data from in average 632 farms from 2014 to 2019. The estimates include emissions of enteric and manure storage methane, manure storage nitrous oxide emissions, as well as GHG emissions from production and transportation of purchased feeds, and direct and indirect GHG emissions caused by energy use in pig-barns. The model was able to estimate the effects on net GHG emissions intensities from pork production on the basis of production characteristics. The estimated net GHG emissions intensity was found to have decreased from on average 2.49 to 2.34 kg CO2 eq. kg−1 CW over the investigated period. For 2019 the net GHG emission for the one-third lower performing farms was estimated to 2.56 kg CO2 eq. kg−1 CW, whereas for the one-third medium and one-third best performing farms the estimates were 2.36 and 2.16 kg CO2 eq. kg−1 CW, respectively. The net GHG emissions intensity for pork carcasses from boars was estimated to be 2.07 kg CO2 eq. kg−1 CW. For the health regimes investigated, Conventional and Specific-Pathogen Free (SPF), the estimated GHG emissions intensities for 2019 were 2.37 and 2.24 kg CO2 eq. kg−1 CW, respectively. The effects on net GHG emissions intensities of breeding and management measures were estimated to be profound, and this progress in pig production systems contributes to an on-going strengthening of pork as a sustainable source for human food supply.