Low-emission Transport Research Articles

Portraying on-road CO2 concentrations using street view panoramas and ensemble learning

A significant reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions caused by transportation is essential for attaining sustainable urban development. Carbon concentrations from road traffic in urban areas exhibit complex spatial patterns due to the impact of street configurations, mobile sources, and human activities. However, a comprehensive understanding of these patterns, which involve complex interactions, is still lacking due to the human perspective of road interface characteristics has not been taken into account. In this study, a mobile travel platform was constructed to collect both on-road navigation Street View Panoramas (OSVPs) and the corresponding CO2 concentrations. >100 thousand sample pairs that matched “street view-CO2 concentration” were obtained, covering 675.8 km of roads in Shenzhen, China. In addition, four ensemble learning (EL) models were utilized to establish nonlinear connections between the semantic and object features of streetscapes and CO2 concentrations. After performing EL fusion modeling, the predictive R2 in the test set exceeded 90 %, and the mean absolute error (MAE) was <3.2 ppm. The model was applied to Baidu Street View Panoramas (BSVPs) in Shenzhen to generate a map of average on-road CO2 with a 100 m resolution, and the Local Indicator of Spatial Association (LISA) was then used to identify high CO2 intensity spatial clusters. Additionally, the Light Gradient Boost-SHapley Additive exPlanation (LGB-SHAP) analysis revealed that vertically planted trees can reduce CO2 emissions from on-road sources. Moreover, the factors that affect on-road CO2 exhibit interaction and threshold effects. Street View Panoramas (SVPs) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) were adopted here to enhance the spatial measurement of on-road CO2 concentrations and the understanding of driving factors. Our approach facilitates the assessment and design of low-emission transportation in urban areas, which is critical for promoting sustainable traffic development.

Codified and reflexive policy coordination: how successful are Dhaka City’s policies for a successful sustainable passenger transport transition?

Abstract Critical to achieving the global net zero objective, transport transitions require multi-domain policies to coordinate and cohere. Different policy domains involve actors with diverse priorities and perspectives, complicating coordination. Policy coordination is particularly challenging for the Global South governments given their dependence for external financial and technological resources, and weaker institutions. Drawing on transport transition and policy coordination literature, this research studied the low-emission transport policies of Dhaka City, Bangladesh from 2000 to 2021. The study found that policy frameworks and institutional arrangements were established to enable local and global actors (development partners) to coordinate to support transport transitions. The development partners were engaged in mobilizing resources, transferring low-emission transport technologies and local capacity development. However, these policies were focused on politically prioritized supply-side solutions (e.g. metro-rail), without sufficient coherence with land use and housing policies. Also, they did not adequately consider local need-based low-emission transport alternatives such as walking and cycling; unintended policy effects and boundary-spanning challenges. Based on the findings, we propose codified and reflexive policy coordination concepts to describe discrete but mutually reinforcing mechanisms to support effective policy coordination. Codified coordination is enacted by formal policy frameworks and institutional arrangements and reflexive coordination is by formal evaluation of policy interventions. This framework proposes a new approach to examine coordination between multi-domain policies that are required to cohere to advance transport transitions. In practice, it can potentially guide the adoption of coordinated policies to drive transport transitions.

CO2 Emission Reduction Best Practice Option during BisKita Implementation in Bogor City

Emissions from transportation activities can cause GHG effects, which cause an increase in city air temperature. The city of Bogor is working on processing BisKita as mass transportation, which is considered more environmentally friendly than public transportation (Angkot). This study aimed to analyze the basic conditions of climate-related transport emissions before and after BisKita and formulate good practice options for reducing emissions. The research was conducted in Bogor, West Java Province, focusing on public transportation and BisKita, which had not yet operated on the K3 (Ciparigi – Ciawi) and K4 lines (Bubulak – Sukasari Bus Terminal via Surya Kencana). The resulting emission value is obtained by calculating the vehicle emission value with the factors of route length, number of fleets, and total fuel consumption. The formulation of good practice options is generated for implementing low-emission transportation that is more environmentally friendly by analyzing various transportation policy literature that originates from literature studies. The analysis showed that angkot emissions could be reduced by 18.6% on the K3 route and by 14.8% on the K4 route as a reduction strategy (three angkot:1 bus) with BisKita as mass transportation. Bogor can implement various green transportation transitions and operational plans from other countries and cities in Indonesia.

Young Travellers and Green Travel in the Post-COVID Era

The concept of sustainable mobility and related green travel will play an increasingly important role in the development of tourism and climate policy in the European Union. Initiated by the European Commission, Erasmus+ green travel is a new initiative and not yet researched by EU institutions or in the literature. However, it fits in with the literature research on green mobility. The aim of this paper was to assess whether young tourists are interested in green mobility, whether they are willing to use means of low-emission transport when making trips, what factors play a role in their means of transport choices, and whether risk aversion influences their choices. For the purpose of this work, the authors conducted a survey in Poland among 36 Polish and foreign people from Generation Z studying in Poland and taking advantage of the green travel program in the Erasmus+ program and an economic experiment regarding their level of risk taking. Based on these data, it was examined whether young tourists are interested in green mobility, what factors play an important role when choosing a low-emission means of transport, and whether the level of risk taking influences their choices. The results of the survey indicated that young tourists tend to choose means of high-emission transport or a mix of high- and low-emission transport. However, if they receive a financial incentive, they are willing to use means of low-emission transport when travelling. The results of this study also indicated that environmental factors do not influence the propensity of young tourists towards specific means of transport, including low-emission transport, and economic and cognitive factors play an important role. It was also found that there is some positive relationship between the level of risk taking of the traveller and the propensity to green travel.

Life Cycle Assessment for Substitutive Building Materials Using the Example of the Vietnamese Road Sector

Road construction usually relies on the utilization of natural aggregates as building materials. However, increasing pressure for sustainable roads highlights the importance of replacing natural materials with industrial byproducts. The scope of the present study was to identify feasible secondary raw materials for road subbase construction, and to investigate their environmental footprint in the context of Vietnam. This work examines road subbase alternatives such as manufactured sand (m-sand), granulated blast furnace slag (GBF), electric arc furnace slag (EAF), construction and demolition waste (CDW), and fly ash (FA). Based on the life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach, the environmental footprints of the alternative waste-based layers were compared with one another and with the corresponding conventional layers. The study comprises following working steps: (i) a comprehensive literature review of the respective materials, (ii) general chemical and soil mechanical analysis of road subbase substitutes, and (iii) LCA of the material alternatives in the context of the Vietnamese road construction sector. The results for the road subbase layer indicated that CDW and FA had lower impacts—particularly in the impact categories global warming potential and mineral resource scarcity. The overall LCA analysis for the road subbase layer highlighted that the greatest footprint contribution was involved in the construction material transportation processes. Thus, sourcing of materials closer to the site or the use of low-emission transport alternatives is needed.

Contribution of anthropogenic pollutant sources to greenhouse gas emissions: a case study from a developing country.

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the primary cause of climate change, one of the biggest challenges for humankind. To tackle this problem, the international community is looking for ways to reduce GHG emissions. To create reduction strategies in a city/province/country, there is a need for an inventory that provides emission amounts from different sectors. This study aimed to develop a GHG emission inventory for Karaj, a megacity in Iran, using international guidelines such as AP-42 and ICAO, and IVE software. The emissions of mobile sources were accurately calculated by a bottom-up method. The results showed that power plant with 47% of the total emissions is the primary GHG contributor in Karaj. Residential and commercial units with 27% and mobile sources with 24% of the total emissions play a critical role in emitting GHGs in Karaj. On the other hand, the industrial units and the airport have negligible (2%) contribution to the total emissions. Subsequent estimates showed that GHG emissions per capita and per GDP of Karaj were 6.03 t per person and 0.47 t per thousand US dollars, respectively. These amounts are higher than the global averages (4.97 t per person and 0.3 t per thousand US dollars). The relatively high GHG emissions in Karaj are due to the sole reliance on the consumption of fossil fuels. To reduce emissions, mitigation strategies such as developing renewable energy sources, switching to low-emission transportation, and raising public awareness should be implemented.

Performance and Combustion Process of a Dual Fuel Diesel Engine Operating with CNG-Palm Oil Biodiesel

Efforts to build and develop a low-emission transportation system have been carried out, one of which is by applying biodiesel and gas to dual-fuel diesel engines. Biodiesel is an oxygenated, low-sulfur, and high flash point alternative diesel fuel. In the dual fuel mode, CNG is used as a substitute fuel and palm biodiesel as a combustion pilot which is injected directly into the combustion chamber at 13 °CA BTDC. CNG injection timing was 110 °CA ATDC and the CNG injection duration was gradually increased. Performance and combustion processes in single-fuel mode and dual-fuel mode are compared. The engine was kept at a constant speed of 2000 rpm at all load conditions. The results show that the dual fuel mode at low and medium loads produces in-cylinder pressure and the heat release rate is lower than the single fuel mode, but at high loads, it produces in-cylinder pressure and the heat release rate is 5.14% greater. CO and HC emissions produced by the dual fuel mode are higher than the single fuel mode at all loads. conversely, the dual-fuel mode produces 95.58% lower smoke emissions than the single-fuel mode at all loads.

Sustainable Urban Freight for Energy-Efficient Smart Cities—Systematic Literature Review

Smart cities need energy-efficient and low-emission transportation for people and goods. Most studies focus on sustainable urban-transportation systems for passengers. Freight transportation in cities has increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to greenhouse gases emissions and negative externalities, such as traffic congestion. The purpose of this paper is to identify through a systematic literature review which innovations (hardware and software) applied by logistics service providers (LSPs) in sustainable urban freight (SUF) are suitable to support the transition to energy-efficient smart cities. We propose to classify the existing innovations in last-mile delivery for SUF into categories: (1) urban freight consolidation and/or trans-shipment; (2) the Consumer as a Service Provider (CaaSP); (3) choice of transportation modes. We introduce the concept of CaaSP as an innovative solution in last-mile delivery (LMD), where customers take over some transport operations with the use of smart technologies, and thus reduce the energy demand. We consider the modes of transportation, such as: drones, autonomous delivery robots, autonomous vehicles, cargo bikes (including e-cargo bikes, e-tricycles), electric vehicles (mainly vans), and combined passenger-and-cargo transportation rapid-transit systems. From the analyzed dataset, we find that energy-efficiency in smart cities can be improved by the consolidation of parcels in micro-depots, parcel lockers, and mobile depots. We analyze smart technologies (the Internet of things, big data, artificial intelligence, and digital twins), which enable energy efficiency by reducing the energy demand (fuel) of SUF, due to better operational planning and infrastructure sharing by logistics service providers. We propose a new IEE matrix as an actionable tool for the classification of innovations applied by LSPs in SUF, according to the level of their interconnectivity and energy efficiency. Additionally, this paper contributes to the theory by exploring possible future research directions for SUF in energy-efficient smart cities.

Can Social Comparisons and Moral Appeals Induce a Modal Shift Towards Low-Emission Transport Modes?

Can Social Comparisons and Moral Appeals Induce a Modal Shift Towards Low-Emission Transport Modes?

Real-Driving Emissions of an Aging Biogas-Fueled City Bus

Transition to low emission transportation and cleaner cities requires a broad introduction of low- and zero-carbon alternatives to conventional petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles. New-generation gas buses are a cost-effective way to reduce local air pollutants from urban transportation. Moreover, major greenhouse gas (GHG) savings may be achieved using biogas as the power source. The main objective of this research was to investigate CH4 and other gaseous emissions of a biogas-fueled urban bus equipped with a three-way catalyst (TWC) in real-world conditions. The study focused on emissions from a six-year-old gas-powered city bus, supplementing emission data from aging bus fleets. Impaired CH4 oxidation and NOx reduction were observed in the catalyst after its service life of 375,000 km–400,000 km. The main reason for low CH4 and NOx conversion over the TWC was concluded to be the partial deactivation of the catalyst. Another critical issue was the fluctuating air-to-fuel ratio. The results show that the efficiency of exhaust after-treatment systems should be closely monitored over time, as they are exposed to various aging processes under transient driving conditions, leading to increased real-world emissions. However, the well-to-wheels (WTW) analysis showed that an 80% GHG emission benefit could be achieved by switching from diesel to biomethane, giving a strong environmental argument for biogas use.

Post-RFS supports for cellulosic ethanol: Evaluation of economic and environmental impacts of alternative policies

Cellulosic ethanol is a sustainable and low-emission transportation fuel, but production has been low in the past years. Existing policies, including the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and producers’ tax credit, have been driving the market for cellulosic ethanol. But they are expected to expire at the end of 2022 and their efficacy is compromised by multiple waivers and exemptions. This study models potential regulatory and financial policy instruments and evaluates their cost-effectiveness in supporting cellulosic ethanol in the post-RFS era using the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS), a hybrid computational general equilibrium model of the U.S. energy market. The analysis suggests that the high volumetric mandate and financial subsidy will increase cellulosic ethanol production from 20.78 million liters (ML) to 57.84–65.94 ML in 2050. When policies are bundled, they will boost production reaching 63.29–65.94 ML more quickly than a singular policy. Finally, cost-benefit analysis and sensitivity analysis were employed to study the tradeoff of economic cost and environmental benefits of the policies. The result finds that the high mandate scenario has the greatest net benefit, which is more cost-effective than other policy instruments.

The relationship between public charging infrastructure deployment and other socio-economic factors and electric vehicle adoption in France

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) offer a promising choice to replace fossil-fuel dependent Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICEVs) with a low-emission transport solution. Governments, automotive manufacturers, and charging infrastructure operators have deployed market-boosting initiatives to incentivize purchase. Yet, their market diffusion is limited by several barriers. To shed light on the main barriers, and based on an extensive state-of-the-art, we used an original database and statistically analyzed the relationship of 21 socio-demographic, technical, and economic factors on BEV and PHEV market shares, separately, in 94 French departments from 2015 to 2019, using mixed-effect regression. We find different covariates related to BEV and PHEV sales, respectively, suggesting the two markets respond to different incentives. The number of available BEV/PHEV models and energy prices are positively correlated with BEV and PHEV adoption. Fast, ultrafast charger density and local incentives positively relate with BEV sales, while slow-and-normal charger density to PHEV sales. Contrarily, national subsidies, relative to vehicles’ prices, are negatively correlated with PHEVs sales and is open for further studies. Based on the results, policy recommendations are considered for the automotive industry, charging operators, and local authorities to draw a roadmap for electric mobility transition in France.

Mass-Balance Method for Provision of Net Zero Emission Transport Services

There is a strong need to reduce emissions from transport and logistics. Electrification and use of greener energy carriers and fuels provide a ready way to reduce emissions, but these technologies are generally more expensive than the conventional ones they are replacing. Fortunately, some shippers are willing to pay the extra cost to ship their goods using net zero emission transport solutions. To capture this demand, carriers need to decarbonize a part of their operations related to the transport volumes of the “green” shippers. This paper proposes a mass-balancing method based on carbon footprinting to equip the carriers with a verifiable way to market net zero emission services without creation of operational inefficiencies and physical separation of conventional and low emission transport. The paper shows feasibility and rather “easy” data requirements of the method in an application case on real world data of a deep-sea carrier.

Bioderived ether design for low soot emission and high reactivity transport fuels

This study developed the design principle of bio-derived ether fuels with low soot emission and high reactivity based on an experiment-theory combined approach.

Practice &amp;amp; SWOT Analysis of Drop-and-Pull Transportation Mode in Ningbo City

Entering the 21st century, the world’s road transportation industry has been developing rapidly. Many cargos were loaded and transshipped by road from one side of a country to the other side, instead of staying on boats, to save time. However, road transportation has been facing heavy pressures like high energy consumptions and pollution emissions. Therefore, an efficient and low-emission transportation mode, drop-and-pull (DP), emerged and was widely acknowledged all over the world. China’s Ministry of Transport started a pilot project of DP transportation in 2010. Several provinces and cities, including Ningbo City in Zhejiang Province, across the country were selected as pilot zones for DP transportation. Here, the practice of DP transportation mode in Ningbo is clearly depicted according to a dozen of logistics and shipping companies’ activities and an all-round SWOT analysis about Ningbo city is fully presented as a valuable reference for decision makers to precisely grip Ningbo’s advantages and further tailor Ningbo to suit the DP transportation mode better.

A Procedure Model for Low Emission Transportation Chain Planning

Low-emission planning in freight transportation is one of the main levers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For a sustainable planning approach, a strategic solution for this planning problem is needed. Based on several literature reviews, a procedure model is developed, which is meant to be used for the development and adjustment of a low-emission transportation chain reference model. The procedure model consists of the decision steps needed to develop a low-emission transportation chain (LETC) reference model and it is structured into main decision processes and sub-decision processes. A first draft of the LETC-Model is presented in form of an ARIS-Express model.&#x0D;

Motives for and Barriers to the Use of Electric Moped Scooter Sharing Services

Abstract In line with the concept of sustainable development, changes in various forms of urban transport have been observed over the past few years, and the implementation of low-emission transport solutions is becoming a priority for local government. One of the key changes observed worldwide taking place on the urban transport market is the dynamic development of various forms of shared micro-mobility. One of these forms are electric moped scooter sharing services and despite their rapid growth in popularity, the existing research contributions on determinants of the use of this micro-mobility mode are limited to only a few studies. The goal of this paper is to advance knowledge regarding the motives and barriers to the use of electric moped scooter sharing services. The paper discusses the results of a study that was carried out in 2021 on a sample of 352 Polish users of electric moped scooter sharing services. The most important reasons for using these services included the convenience of this mobility mode and no city parking costs. The biggest barriers in choosing this micro-mobility mode for Polish consumers were those related to the safety of use.

Integration of Distributed Energy Resources and EV Fast-Charging Infrastructure in High-Speed Railway Systems

Low carbon emission transportation is attracting global attention where electric railway power systems (ERPS) and electric vehicles (EVs) act as a load. Besides the main utility grid, renewable energy sources (RES) including photovoltaic (PV) panels and wind turbines are implemented to supply the loads fully or partially. In this paper, a novel smart DC catenary system is proposed in which renewable sources, storage systems, and DC fast-charging stations are connected to the overhead DC catenary line of the high-speed railway power system. The generated power from renewable sources and consumed power by charging stations are processed by their dedicated DC-DC power electronics converters. Furthermore, a storage system is used as a backup system not only for the case of blackouts but also because of the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources to supply the loads continuously. The paper presents an optimal power control for various parts and a power management system (PMS) that manages the power flow from wind-PV-storage system to EV-ERPS system. The proposed system has been investigated using a real Italian Rome-Florence 3 kV high-speed line as a case study with real data of ERPS load. The EV fast-charging station power demand, wind speed, solar irradiance, and temperature were recorded for 24 h in order to provide us with realistic output data. The simulation results obtained by MATLAB/Simulink are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed system.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the n-Octacosane–Water Mixture Confined in Graphene Mesopores: Comparison of Atomistic and Coarse-Grained Calculations and the Effect of Catalyst Nanoparticle

Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is used extensively in the gas-to-liquids (GTL) process to produce clean, high-quality low emission transportation fuels from synthesis gas. In order to gain a bette...

Development and Trends of Depreciation Policy in Slovak Republic

Research background: Depreciation as such represents a significant component of business costs. It is known that in the current legislation in the Slovak Republic there was no depreciation in the depreciation group with a depreciation period of 2 years. As part of increasing the motivation of the business sector to procure low-emission or emission-free transport, an amendment to the Income Tax Act was adopted with effect from the beginning of 2020, which introduces a new depreciation group 0 and favours the depreciation of electric vehicles. The newly introduced depreciation group zero has a strong ecological subtext. Purpose of the article: The article deals with the development of depreciation policy in the conditions of the Slovak Republic, compares the current situation with the situation in the Czech Republic and on the example of practical calculations of depreciation. The aim of the paper is to compare current trends in depreciation policies in the context of supporting the greening of transport. Methods: We used methods of analysis and comparing. Findings &amp; Value added: Based on an extensive analysis, the article maps the most significant changes in the depreciation policy. Within the historical development of today’s tax depreciation, several trends are manifesting that are favourable for the business environment. The depreciation policy in the Czech Republic has not undergone such extensive changes as in Slovakia, where the most recent change in the recent period is the introduction of a depreciation group with a depreciation period of 2 years.