Vessels' Air Pollutant Emissions Inventory and Emission Characteristics in the Xiamen Emission Control Area

Abstract

Based on the automatic identification system (AIS) data and large field survey datasets for Xiamen port, the activity-based approach was used to calculate the emissions from each sailing ship in the Xiamen Emission Control Area (XECA), and to obtain the 2018 air emissions inventory for the XECA. This study subsequently analyzed the emission characteristics and spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of pollutants. The results showed that in 2018, the total amount of pollutants discharged from ships in the XECA was 16413 t, of which 82.2% were from ships entering and leaving the port and 17.8% were from ships outside of the port. NOx emissions were the highest among all of the pollutants and accounted for 64.2% of the total. Comparing the results of the five modes, emissions at berth were the highest, which was followed by the cruise mode, reduced speed-zone mode and maneuvering mode, and finally, the hoteling mode. In addition, the analysis indicated that the main source of pollutant emissions in Xiamen Port was cargo ships, of which, container ships contributed the most. The peak period of pollutant emissions from ships was between 09:00 and 16:00. The emission value during February was the lowest over the year, whereas the highest emission values occurred mostly during March and May. In terms of the spatial distribution, this study revealed that the main channel and port coastline had the highest emission values.