Carbon Equivalent Emissions Research Articles

Investigating the environmental and economic impact of loading conditions and repositioning strategies for pallet pooling providers

Pallets are fundamental assets critical to worldwide supply chain logistics. This research develops models for closed-loop pallet pooling providers to understand the environmental and economic impact of customer characteristics and design options. First, an analytical model is developed to quantify the effects of repair facility location and pallet service conditions on a pallet pooling system's economic and environmental performance. Next, a simulation model is developed to investigate two common operational policies, crossdocking and take-back, and to quantify the impact of pallet handling and loading conditions and customer network structures on several key performance indicators. Results indicate that pallet handling and loading conditions are the most important factors determining the cost and carbon equivalent emission of a pallet pooling operation. Better pallet handling and appropriate loading increase the percentage of pallets that can be repositioned with little or no repair. This increases the radius within which a closed-loop pallet pooling system is feasible. Under random handling/loading conditions and distances, a crossdocking approach satisfies demand with 28% fewer pallets than a take-back policy. This is due to a quicker reissue time under a crossdocking approach. However, associated costs and emissions of the two policies are nearly identical due to the increased transportation costs associated with crossdocking. The models and insights proposed in this work can help support decision making by pallet pooling providers to determine operational regions and customer selection, among other network design trade-offs.

Energy footprint and carbon emission reduction using off-the-grid solar-powered mixing for lagoon treatment

Mixing is the driver for the energy footprint of water resource recovery in lagoons. With the availability of solar-powered equipment, one potential measure to decrease the environmental impacts of treatment is to transition to an off-the-grid treatment. We studied the comparative scenarios of an existing grid-powered mixer and a solar-powered mixer. Testing was conducted to monitor the water quality, and to guarantee that the effluent concentrations were maintained equally between the two scenarios. Meanwhile, the energy consumption was recorded with the electrical energy monitor by the wastewater treatment utility, and the carbon emission changes were calculated using the emission intensity of the power utility. The results show that after the replacement, both energy usage and energy costs were significantly reduced, with the energy usage having decreased by 70% and its cost by 47%. Additionally, carbon-equivalent emission from electricity importation dropped by 64%, with an effect on the overall carbon emissions (i.e., including all other contributions from the process) decreasing from 3.8% to 1.5%.

Greenhouse gas emissions from road construction in China: A province-level analysis

Road construction is a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. In this study, by using the life cycle assessment method, the greenhouse gas emissions from road construction in China are calculated on both the national and provincial levels. The results show that the equivalent cumulative carbon emissions from road construction in China were 1104 Mt CO2e by 2013. Cement production accounts for the major emission, responsible for 87% of all emissions. The per-kilometer greenhouse gas emissions of cement-paved roads were over 60% higher than asphalt-paved roads. On the provincial level, the per square kilometer greenhouse gas emissions ranged from 10.6 t CO2e/km2 in Tibet to 823.0 t CO2e/km2 in Shanghai. The emissions level in coastal provinces was significantly higher than those in central and western provinces. This implies a huge growth potential of greenhouse gas emissions in the underdeveloped regions. Based on the analyses, it is suggested that greenhouse gas emissions associated with road construction should be paid more attention. A holistic approach should be employed to realize environmental-friendly road construction. Especially, the planning of road network expansion and the choice of road pavement materials should be determined with a strong consideration on their greenhouse gas emissions impacts.

The potential impact of new Andean dams on Amazon fluvial ecosystems.

Increased energy demand has led to plans for building many new dams in the western Amazon, mostly in the Andean region. Historical data and mechanistic scenarios are used to examine potential impacts above and below six of the largest dams planned for the region, including reductions in downstream sediment and nutrient supplies, changes in downstream flood pulse, changes in upstream and downstream fish yields, reservoir siltation, greenhouse gas emissions and mercury contamination. Together, these six dams are predicted to reduce the supply of sediments, phosphorus and nitrogen from the Andean region by 69, 67 and 57% and to the entire Amazon basin by 64, 51 and 23%, respectively. These large reductions in sediment and nutrient supplies will have major impacts on channel geomorphology, floodplain fertility and aquatic productivity. These effects will be greatest near the dams and extend to the lowland floodplains. Attenuation of the downstream flood pulse is expected to alter the survival, phenology and growth of floodplain vegetation and reduce fish yields below the dams. Reservoir filling times due to siltation are predicted to vary from 106–6240 years, affecting the storage performance of some dams. Total CO2 equivalent carbon emission from 4 Andean dams was expected to average 10 Tg y-1 during the first 30 years of operation, resulting in a MegaWatt weighted Carbon Emission Factor of 0.139 tons C MWhr-1. Mercury contamination in fish and local human populations is expected to increase both above and below the dams creating significant health risks. Reservoir fish yields will compensate some downstream losses, but increased mercury contamination could offset these benefits.

Whether conversion of mangrove forest to rice cropland is environmentally and economically viable?

Abstract The diverse habitat of the mangrove ecosystems all over the globe are under continuous threat of conversion for immediate and/or short-term economic benefits. Nonetheless, the emission of climatically relevant greenhouse gases increases with the disturbance of the mangrove sediment −this might undermine the credible reservoir of carbon within the sediment. This article attempts to estimate the environmental (carbon emission) and economic consequences of converting mangrove to cropland (especially rice paddy) based on field-scale study at three different sites (Khola, Gupti and Damra) within the Bhitarkanika mangrove for two consecutive years. The study suggests that the cumulative methane (CH4) emission was significantly higher from the rice paddy (211.3 kg ha−1) compared to the mangrove sediment (50.8 kg ha−1), while the average nitrous oxide (N2O) emission was significantly higher from the later (2.1 kg ha−1). Multivariate statistical analysis suggests that the land use was the prime controlling factor for variation in CH4 and N2O emission. Total carbon equivalent emission (CEETOT) from the rice paddy was significantly higher than mangrove during the study period. The study suggests that the economic value of the mangrove ecosystem was several folds higher than that of the rice paddy. The CEETOT of the Bhitarkanika mangrove has increased approximately 212 Gg over last few decades due to the conversion of the mangrove area to the rice paddy. Such studies are imperative in developing effective regional climate change adaptation strategies. The study advocates urgent need to educate and aware people about the benefits of the mangrove compared to the cropland.

Do Forwarders Improve Sustainability Efficiency? Evidence from a European DEA Malmquist Index Calculation

Sustainability performance and efficiency is an important topic in transportation and for forwarders. This is shown, for example, by the fact that major logistics service providers LSP publish sustainability reports, often within the annual legal business report. However, in depth research is missing regarding the efficiency of forwarders regarding the established triple bottom line approach for sustainability, including economic, social, and ecology performance areas. This is especially true for a dynamic time-series perspective, as usually only static analyses for one point in time are presented (in most cases single business years). Therefore, the operations research technique of a data envelopment analysis (DEA) Malmquist index calculation is used in order to provide a longitudinal calculation of efficiency, incorporating multiple objectives regarding the triple bottom line approach for European forwarders. Several indicators are tested, including total revenues and assets as input types, profit (EBIT) and dividend volume (economic dimension), employment and gender equality in management (social), and carbon-equivalent emissions (environmental) as output types.

Comparative Effectiveness of Organic Substitution in Fertilizer Schedule: Impacts on Nitrous Oxide Emission, Photosynthesis, and Crop Productivity in a Tropical Summer Rice Paddy

Studies on replacement of inorganic fertilizer with organic residues to improve crop productivity and their impact on greenhouse gas emission from agricultural soil merit more attention. Two-year field experiments were conducted to study the impact of different organic residues with varied carbon (C)/nitrogen (N) ratios as substitutes of chemical fertilizer on emission reduction of nitrous oxide (N2O) and crop yield from a tropical summer rice paddy of India. Five treatments comprising of conventional N fertilizer (NPK), cow manure (CD), rice straw (RS), poultry manure (PM), and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) were applied in a rice field to estimate N2O emission. Application of CD (at 10 t ha−1) resulted in maximum reduction of seasonal N2O emissions (15 %) over NPK, RS, PM, and SCB. Application of CD and RS enhanced leaf photosynthetic rate and caused maximum utilization of photosynthates towards developing grains as evident from grain filling ability and higher grain yield. Substitution of NPK with organic residues enhanced soil nutrient availability in terms of C and N resulting in improved soil fertility and to some extent influenced soil nitrogen processes which in turn reduced N2O emissions. We conclude that suitable management of soil in agricultural ecosystem can reduce the emission of N2O and protect and preserve the soil health without compromising the agronomic productivity reducing the use of chemical fertilizer and maintaining the sustainability of rice ecosystem as evident from lower carbon equivalent emissions (CEE) and higher carbon efficiency ratio (CER) at CD in rice paddies in the present study.

Towards environmental management accounting for trade-offs

PurposeEnvironmental Management Accounting (EMA) information has become synonymous with win-win decision settings, but this paper aims to consider how EMA support can be extended to company managers who face the dynamics of win-wins and trade-offs.Design/methodology/approachBased on extant literature, the paper suggests an important extension of the use of EMA in support of management decision-making. The need for extended consideration and use of EMA to help overcome trade-offs is illustrated using the case of a wine bottling plant location decision by an Australian company in a global supply chain transporting wine from Australia to North America and Europe.FindingsResults confirm the need to add to the broader use of EMA to assist managers attempting to solve real world trade-off problems between economic performance, carbon equivalent emissions reduction and water risk reduction.Research limitations/implicationsGeneralisation of the single wine company case illustration to other companies and similar industry settings remains to be investigated.Practical implicationsTrade-offs are considered between economic benefit and two environmental performance matters of concern to the company, carbon equivalent emissions reduction and water risk reduction.Originality/valueThe paper introduces the notion of extending the use of EMA as a pragmatic way for managers to assess trade-off situations with environmental alternatives where no optimal solution is available. Value is added through the real case study of an Australian wine company.

Scenario evaluation for the management of household solid waste in small Brazilian municipalities

As achieving Brazil’s National Policy on Solid Waste-based goals effectively is not simple, there are alternatives such as intermunicipal cooperation by consortium or privatization. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the Greenhouse Gas emissions and energy use of six scenarios in two landfills contexts (private and consortium) for small municipalities (less than 100,000 inhabitants as per Brazilian standards) located in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Through the technique of scenario building and method of Waste Reduction Model was possible to obtain the total energy, the amount of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2E) and carbon equivalent (CE) emissions. The best scenario integrates composting and recycling, reducing 72 % for CO2E and CE emissions, and saving about 410 % in energy. The landfill consortium will only take advantage, if the location is the most ideal as far as possible. Small municipalities that do not dispose their waste in landfills compatible with regulatory standards may seek for intermunicipal cooperation and adopt integrated waste-management programmes to reduce their environmental impacts.

Reducing carbon emissions from soybean cultivation to oil production in Thailand

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the carbon equivalences (CE) of whole-chain soybean oil production, starting from plantation until production of soybean oil. Appropriate approaches for the reduction of carbon emissions were also evaluated. Following a carbon-balanced model, total carbon emissions from soybean oil production were found to be +711 ± 14 kg CE/ton soybean oil. Cultivation, threshing, and industrial phases were responsible for 63%, 3%, and 34% of overall emissions, respectively. The highest equivalent carbon emissions in the cultivation process come from use of diesel fuel for watering and spraying chemical fertilizers. Meanwhile, the most significant emission from soybean oil production was found to be due to fuel oil used for steam production, contributing to 52% of total emissions in industrial phase. In addition, emissions from soybean meal, a co-product from soybean oil industry is equal to 169 kg CE/ton soybean meal. It involves fixed carbon as valuable protein sources sent to feed mills. From the complete carbon cycle scenarios of soybean oil production, the carbon fixation efficiency is computed to be equal to 74.7%. This indicates that soybean oil production still continues to emit carbon into the atmosphere. However, nutrients fixed in plant residues remaining in cultivation areas help reduce carbon emissions of about 175 ± 23.8 kg CE/ha from decreasing amount chemical fertilizers to be applied. From the selected scenarios, potential reductions of carbon emissions from soybean oil production were found to be 87% as compared to existing conditions. Moreover, cost saving from selected approaches to reduction of carbon emissions were estimated to be 7.4 Baht/kg soybean oil (0.21 USD/kg soybean oil). Based on emitted CE, the unit cost of soybean oil production was found to be 49.6 Baht/kg CE (1.41 USD/kg CE).

Dynamic simulation of a solar heating and cooling system for an office building located in Southern Italy

The paper investigates the introduction of a solar heating and cooling system in an office building characterized by low energy demand with respect to the current national building stock and located in Southern Italy. Dynamic simulations are carried out in order to evaluate the thermo-economic performance of the analyzed system considering different solar panel technologies (flat plate and evacuated tube), tilt angles (10–70°), collecting areas (30–60m2), hot and cold storage sizes, reference emission factors, electricity and natural gas unitary prices. To satisfy cooling demand a small scale adsorption chiller activated by thermal energy available from solar collectors is considered.The solar heating and cooling system demonstrated primary energy saving and equivalent dioxide carbon emission reduction higher than 23% in comparison to the reference conventional system. The results show that the solar energy system will be competitive when the electricity and natural gas prices will be high and strong government incentives will be provided.

Multi-product inventory model for cold items with cost and emission consideration

While sharing storage and transportation units is common for many product types, cold items usually have different temperature requirements and as a result, not all items can share a holding/transportation unit. Consequently, the type of products and their compatibility with other products needs to be considered in the inventory model. In this paper, we propose multi-product inventory models for cold items. The models determine the inventory levels that minimize either the cost or carbon-equivalent emissions. We model the compatibility of items as a constraint in the inventory model. To solve the model, we first find an appropriate “family of products” that can share a storage/transportation unit. Then, for each family of products we develop an approximate solution method to determine the order quantity of each product within a family. Numerical experiments demonstrate the solution procedure, and provide managerial insights into cold item inventory policies.

Carbon footprint analysis of pallet remanufacturing

This research is the first attempt to characterize the carbon equivalent emissions associated with pallet remanufacturing operations for two repositioning scenarios (cross-docking and take-back), and under multiple levels of pallet loading and service conditions. Industry data was acquired through observations and time studies at 12 facilities in North America. Models of pallet component breakdown patterns were used to characterize the carbon equivalent emissions of pallet remanufacturing over the predicted service life. Results show that materials account for the vast majority of remanufacturing operation emissions with three board components responsible for 50–90% of total remanufacturing emissions. The loading and handling environment significantly impacts remanufacturing emissions thus breakeven points where remanufacturing emissions exceed those from newly manufactured pallets are provided for each condition. Also, a pallet-cross-docking policy was shown to reduce emissions when compared to a take-back policy. Finally, a linear optimization model is provided to understand the benefits of preemptive component repair. Results show that preemptive remanufacturing schedules can reduce carbon equivalent emissions by up to 40%. These insights can help guide the pallet industry towards more sustainable pallet management strategies.

N2O emissions in a long-term soil fertility experiment under maize–wheat cropping system in Northern India

The agriculture sector is a major contributor towards global N2O (nitrous oxide) emissions. Amongst various factors controlling N2O emissions from cultivated fields, application of fertilizers and manures is the key factor. The effect of 42years of continuous application of inorganic fertilizers and farmyard manure (FYM) on N2O emissions in loamy sand soil was studied via closed chambers and gas chromatography. Daily N2O fluxes from five treatments: 100% NPK (T1), 150% NPK (T2), 100% N (T3), 100% NPK+FYM (T4) and Control (T5), of an onging experiment under maize-wheat cropping system on Typic Ustochrept in Northern India, were measured during maize and wheat crop seasons. The average N2O fluxes in T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 treatments during maize crop season were 56.2, 60.8, 58.5, 59.2 and 24.6 N2O-Ngha−1day−1, respectively and in the wheat crop season 17.1, 19.7, 17.2, 19.4 and 11.5 N2O-Ngha−1day−1, respectively. Total N2O emissions in long-term fertilizer or manure treatments were approximately 100 and 50% higher than control in the maize and wheat crop seasons, respectively. Various long-term treatments had significant effect on status of various soils C and N forms, which in-turn influenced N2O emissions. Regression analysis revealed that water-input either from rainfall or irrigation controlled nearly 50% of the seasonal variations in N2O fluxes in the control treatment and about 20% variations in fertilizer and manure treatments. This suggested that in addition to irrigation or rainfall, fertilizer application also played an important role in N2O emissions. Although carbon-equivalent emissions were higher from balanced fertilization or FYM application treatments, yield-scaled global warming potentials (GWP) were lower due to higher maize and wheat grain yields in these treatments. Long-term maize-wheat cropping without any nutrient application or imbalanced fertilization resulted in higher yield-scaled GWP. The findings suggested that to achieve food security and curtail N2O emissions, balanced fertilization or integrated nutrient management may be adopted.

Greenhouse gases emission from soils under major crops in Northwest India

Quantification of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions from agriculture is necessary to prepare the national inventories and to develop the mitigation strategies. Field experiments were conducted during 2008–2010 at the experimental farm of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India to quantify nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from soils under cereals, pulses, millets, and oilseed crops. Total cumulative N2O emissions were significantly different (P>0.05) among the crop types. Emission of N2O as percentage of applied N was the highest in pulses (0.67%) followed by oilseeds (0.55%), millets (0.43%) and cereals (0.40%). The emission increased with increasing rate of N application (r2=0.74, P<0.05). The cumulative flux of CH4 from the rice crop was 28.64±4.40kgha−1, while the mean seasonal integrated flux of CO2 from soils ranged from 3058±236 to 3616±157kgCO2ha−1 under different crops. The global warming potential (GWP) of crops varied between 3053kgCO2eq.ha−1 (pigeon pea) and 3968kgCO2eq.ha−1 (wheat). The carbon equivalent emission (CEE) was least in pigeon pea (833kgCha−1) and largest in wheat (1042kgCha−1). The GWP per unit of economic yield was the highest in pulses and the lowest in cereal crops. The uncertainties in emission values varied from 4.6 to 22.0%. These emission values will be useful in updating the GHGs emission inventory of Indian agriculture.

Seismic Loss Estimation and Environmental Issues

The consideration of environmental losses in seismic design is discussed within the framework of cost optimization analysis. Within this context, the equivalent carbon emissions (CO2-e) are used as a proxy for the environmental cost related to seismic damage, and a model to assess the environmental cost in seismic loss estimation is introduced. The use of the model is illustrated through its application to the analysis of simple earthquake-resistant structural systems. It is concluded that under certain circumstances, the consideration of environmental issues in seismic design may be important, especially as the planning time horizon of the facility increases.

A choice between RBD (refined, bleached, and deodorized) palm olein and palm methyl ester productions from carbon movement categorization

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the full-chain carbon cycle of oil palm to determine the CE (carbon equivalences), starting from plantation until production of end-user products including RBD (refined, bleached, and deodorized) Palm Olein as a cooking oil and PME (palm methyl ester) as biodiesel fuel. Based on the carbon categorization, the equivalent carbon emissions from RBD Palm Olein and PME productions were found to be 159 and 153 kg CE/ton product, respectively. The major emissions in the RBD Palm Olein production chain are attributed to the use of natural gas for energy spent in the industrial process and Poly Ethylene Terephthalate for product containers; whereas, those in the PME production are from methanol used in the transesterification. After identification of the carbon pathway, RBD Palm Olein exhibited a net emission of 116 kg CE/ha-y, but PME shows a net reduction of 2328 kg CE/ha-y. From energy balances and economic performances, PME is found to have higher net energy ratio, with 40% lower production cost per kg CE, than does RBD Palm Olein. Therefore, increasing the use of palm oil for biodiesel production rather than as use for cooking oil is justified as a useful tool for climate change mitigation.

Thermal-energy analysis of natural “cool” stone aggregates as passive cooling and global warming mitigation technique

Recently, research focused on the development of roofing and paving systems aimed at (i) enhancing the passive cooling at single-building level and (ii) mitigating urban heat island at inter-building scale. In this work, the optic-thermal behavior of a naturally cool gravel for roof and paving application is studied, through lab and field experimental analyses. Specific evaluation about the cooling potential is carried out with varying grain size of the same gravel and stone typology. Additionally, its cool roof effect is investigated through dynamic simulation in a case study university campus in Italy. Finally, the analysis of the global warming contribution of the gravel was performed, with reference to the most performing gravel size.The results show differences up to 24% in terms of albedo with varying the only grain size. Additionally, the gravel with the smallest grain size resulted the most performing in terms of summer energy saving and indoor thermal comfort. By shifting from single building scale models to global climate energy balance models, an equivalent carbon emission offset of 4400 tCO2eq was found, imputable to the (i) energy saving contribution, and (ii) global warming mitigation effect produced by the enhanced albedo of the case study area.

A benchmark-based method for sustainable product design

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop an effective approach to decide design details using benchmarking to capture the existing practice in sustainable design. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports a systematic method for sustainable product design. The method uses benchmarks as references searching for design details to achieve sustainable solutions. Quality function deployment is used to guide the search process for competitive products using benchmarking to meet quantitative targets of product and to increase knowledge for sustainable design. Findings – The proposed method can meet both functional and sustainable requirements of product design. 18.55 percent reduction in carbon equivalent emissions is achieved compared to benchmarks in wheelchair design. The research reveals that when weight, material and number of components used in product decrease, environmental footprints and cost of the product improve. Originality/value – The research improves the existing method of sustainable product design. Both sustainable requirements and functional demands of product are identified from qualitative criteria to quantitative metrics using benchmarking and the life cycle assessment.

Application of the DIY carbon footprint calculator to a wastewater treatment works

The provision of water and wastewater treatment services exerts a huge operational cost on public financial resources. A substantial portion of the operational budget is made up of carbon-intensive energy costs. Energy is consumed in this sector in pumping, aeration, motor drives, administration, transportation and in the manufacture of chemicals such as polyelectrolyte, chlorine and ozone. The high electrical power consumption exerts added pressure on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. In order to manage the energy budget and develop climate-friendly technological options, Royal HaskoningDHV (RHDHV) has developed a do-it-yourself (DIY) Excel-based carbon footprint calculator to estimate the carbon equivalent emissions for a waterworks, a wastewater treatment works or a pumping station. The DIY carbon calculator computes Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions. The DIY calculator starts with establishing the baseline carbon footprint of a works and shows the relative carbon equivalent emissions for different treatment stages. The next step involves the development of strategies to reduce the carbon footprint. Inherent within a wastewater treatment works is its ability to potentially generate its own ‘green’ energy by using anaerobically produced methane gas as a green energy alternative. This investigation demonstrates how the baseline carbon footprint of a wastewater treatment works can be reduced by considering viable options such as biogas to power generation, process re-design and drives to improve energy efficiency. Results show that the carbon calculator was able to demonstrate the effectiveness of carbon-reducing strategies in this energy-intensive sector. This further implies that the carbon calculator can be used as an additional management and decision support tool to assist an organisation towards a low carbon footprint. Keywords : carbon footprint calculator, carbon equivalent emissions, greenhouse gas, green energy, Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, emission factor, sustainability, energy factory