Greenhouse gas emission factor for the energy sector in Mauritius

Abstract

The energy sector, which consists of the power generation, manufacturing and transportation sector, is the biggest emitter of greenhouses gases (GHG) in Mauritius. The different fossil fuels used in this sector are namely sub-bituminous coal, Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO): HFO-180 cSt, HFO-380 cSt, HFO-1500 SSU (324 cSt), kerosene, diesel, gasoline and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). During the inventory of GHG, the default emission factors from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are used for the different fuels. In order to have more reliable and better computation of the amount of GHG released from this sector, the emission factor for each of the fuels were determined. The aim of this study was to develop country-specific carbon dioxide (CO2) emission factors that can be used for future GHG inventory in Mauritius. The emission factors were estimated through fuel analysis whereby the fuels were characterised in terms of their elemental analysis, Net Calorific Value (NCV), ash content and moisture content. Coal fly ash and bottom ash were analysed for their carbon content. The oxidation factor for coal was 0.933 while for the liquid fuels and LPG, it was assumed to be 1. The emission factor for sub-bituminous coal was 90,445kg/TJ while the emission factors for HFO − 180 cSt, HFO − 380cSt and HFO − 1500 SSU (324 cSt) were 74,344kg/TJ, 78,028kg/TJ and 75,333kg/TJ respectively. Kerosene had an emission factor of 74,355kg/TJ while the emission factors for diesel and gasoline was 75,104kg/TJ and 73,760kg/TJ.