Emissions Of Major Pollutants Research Articles

Impact of Lockdowns on Air Pollution: Case Studies of Two Periods in 2022 in Guangzhou, China

The photochemical mechanisms of ozone (O3) formation are complex, and simply reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions is insufficient to reduce O3 concentrations. The lockdown due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provided a rare opportunity to explore the mechanisms of O3 formation and evaluate the performance of NOx emission control strategies through practical observations. This study integrates data from ground stations with observations from the TROPOMI sensor on the Sentinel-5P satellite to analyze air quality changes during the two one-month lockdown periods in Guangzhou, China, in March and November 2022. Our analysis particularly focuses on the impact of these lockdowns on O3 and NO2 concentrations, along with shifts in the sensitivity of ozone formation. Furthermore, we have assessed concentration changes of four major pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and CO. The results show that the average O3 concentration in Guangzhou decreased during the March lockdown, while the average O3 concentration at three stations in the western part of Guangzhou increased during the November lockdown. The western part of Guangzhou is a VOCs (volatile organic compounds)-limited zone, and the NO2 emission reduction from the lockdown reduced the titration effect on O3, which led to the increase in O3 concentration. Overall, the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on O3 concentrations depended on the local O3 producing sensitive system, and emissions of other major pollutants were reduced substantially, as reported in many other cities around the world.

Quantifying embodied energy consumption and air pollutant emissions in China's real estate development in 2000–2020

The real estate industry, an end user and pivotal economic driver worldwide, significantly affects material and energy consumption, and indirectly determines air pollutant emissions. Assessing these variables from the angle of end users is essential to provide a national evaluation strategy for energy consumption and air pollutant emissions, particularly for future policies. As the first step, this study aims to develop a framework to estimate the consumption of building materials and energy, and the resultant embodied pollutant emissions from real estate development in China between 2000 and 2020. Data derived from the framework indicate a rise in building material consumption from 111.8 Mt. in 2000 to 325.1 Mt. in 2020, despite a post-2014 decline due to reduced construction activities. The real estate sector is integral to the demand for key materials, such as steel, cement, and glass, although their relative consumption has decreased within the sector. In detail, energy use in real estate development increased from 57.1 Mtce in 2000 to 134.7 Mtce by 2020, representing 3–5% of China's total energy consumption. A substantial decrease in major pollutant emissions from the real estate occurred from 2010 to 2020 in China, which is attributed to improved control measures and technologies. In addition, a focused regional analysis indicated a developmental shift towards the central and western provinces, emphasizing the need for tailored emission-reduction strategies therein. These findings underscore the substantial role of China's real estate development in material, energy consumption, and pollutant emissions. The insights provided by this study are vital for formulating strategic plans and foundational data to support China's continuous efforts to improve air quality.

Quantifying US air pollution policy: How political and regional factors influence pollutant mitigation.

Air pollution control in the United States has evolved into a comprehensive policy system spanning from the federal to the state level over time. A unified quantitative analysis of policy intensity can shed light on the policy evolution across different levels, the influence of partisan and regional factors on policy, and the relationships with emissions of major pollutants. By harnessing the policy text of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at the federal level and State Implementation Plans (SIPs) at the state governments (1955-2020), we deployed a Natural Language Processing approach to define a policy intensity index to systematically quantify the US air policy landscape. Our findings highlight that the 1970 CAA amendment carries the most vigorous intensity as it established a holistic control system for the first time. Subsequent years witnessed a general trend of partisan polarization, eventually leading to a graduate convergence between red and blue states. Blue states demonstrated a closer alignment with federal directives and a superior efficacy in pollutant reduction. Regionally, the Northeast displays the highest overall policy intensity, and the West exhibits the highest coordination with the federal benchmarks, making these regions outperform others in air pollution control. Our study not only discusses policy implications for air pollutant reductions considering partisan and regional differences but also provides a novel measurement tool to quantify policies for assessing disparities and synergies.

Numerical and experimental investigation of co-combustion of chicken manure and lignite blends in a CFBB with novel compact combustion chamber

Increasing worldwide demand for chicken and chicken products has led to increased production of chicken manure. Therefore, chicken manure has an important application potential in the energy industry. This study aims to dispose of chicken manure, which is harmful to soil and groundwater, for thermal energy purposes and to reduce the emissions of lignite coal. For this purpose, it concerns the design and manufacture of a Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler (CFBB) with a novel combustion chamber for burning chicken manure (CM) and lignite (L) fuels and their mixtures. The combustion behaviors and contaminating emissions of the mentioned fuels in such a CFBB are investigated experimentally and numerically. Emissions of major gaseous pollutants, including CO, SO2 and NO, and the temperature distribution throughout the combustion chamber are measured during the tests. Experimental results show that increasing the amount of CM in the mixture increases CO and reduces SO2. For this condition, NO emission either increases or decreases. According to the numerical results, the temperature of the combustion chamber decreases with the increase of the CM fraction. In the CFBB, the CO emission decreases in the CM fraction up to 25 %, while it increases in the CM fraction above 25 %. For increasing CM fraction, NO emission decreases in the cyclone while it increases in the evaporator. In the experimental and numerical results, the CO2 emission for the L, CM and CM fractions are observed to be equivalent to each other. In conclusion, this study clearly shows that in situ burning of chicken manure or lignite and chicken manure mixtures reduces lignite emissions and meets the heat requirement and disposal of waste in chicken processing plants.

Climatological Study of Air Pollutant Emissions in Saudi Arabia

This study aims to investigate the spatio-temporal distribution, variation, abrupt change, and long-term trends of major pollutant emissions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) over the period 1960–2020 using the Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC)/CityZEN EU projects (MACCity) emissions dataset inventory. These pollutants are carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), black carbon (BC), and organic carbon (OC). Seven stations were selected (Al-Bahah, Abha, Dahra, Jeddah, Riyadh, Qassim, and Ahsa), which correspond to the highest (hotspot) annual pollutant emissions. The annual cycle analysis of the six pollutant emissions revealed that there are four distinct patterns; the first one has one interannual wave while the other three patterns have two interannual waves. The analysis of the different sectors’ contributions to pollutant emissions revealed that the energy, transportation, and industries sectors have the highest percentage contributions. Significant abrupt change points were detected in 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2005, and 2010. The development and growth rates in the KSA starting from the early 1970s are attributed to the oil boom. The great increase in pollutant emissions in the early 1980s followed by that in the 1990s up to 2000 is due to an increase in fossil fuel demand, industries, transportation, and energy consumption.

Revisiting Environmental Kuznets Curves for NO<sub>2</sub>, SO<sub>2</sub> and CO: Evidence from OECD Countries

This study investigates the position of the environmental Kuznets curve in 25 OECD countries for three pollutants (SO₂, NO₂ and CO) and analyses the impacts of Environmental Policy Stringency and energy consumption per capita on the environmental quality. Therefore, the originality of this paper lies in the attempt to better understand theoretically and empirically the specificities of the concept related to the environmental Kuznets curve. The study used a dynamic panel model with the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator and an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model with alternative panel estimators. We consider that the results of this paper are very interesting. The found results confirm that: i) firstly, the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is well supported for all three major pollutant emissions in OECD. ii) Secondly, the positive effects of energy consumption on various pollutant emissions are confirmed. iii) Finally section analyses the Environmental Policy Stringency negatively effects the pollutant emissions. We consider that the results of this paper are very interesting, The policy instruments will help in realizing a balanced environment. Public authorities are encouraged to implement more and more of the regulatory instruments to protect the environmental quality.

An optimisation tool for minimising fuel consumption, costs and emissions from Diesel-PV-Battery hybrid microgrids

Diesel generators (diesel gensets) are widely used within microgrid (MG) and off-grid systems for rural electrification, particularly in developing countries. The sizing and selection techniques during the MG planning stage are a key for maximising cost-effectiveness and minimising environmental impacts. This becomes more important for hybrid mini-grid systems when photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation and other renewable energies are included in the system as special attention is needed to limit the genset’s output power, to keep it within the recommended operating range. This paper presents a cost optimisation model, centred on the generatoŕs performance, within diesel/PV/battery MGs, for minimising the MG’s operating costs and environmental impact. The model considers fuel consumption equations adapted for castor oil-diesel (COD) blends and two major pollutant emissions (NOx and PM2.5), which are not considered in other optimisation models. The optimisation was implemented for high, medium, and low electricity demand scenarios, with eight possible system configurations, for the Lindi Region of Tanzania as it belongs to one of the five countries with the lowest electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). An economic assessment was done to compare the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) of the system configurations. The impact of the fuel price and pollutant emission costs on the fuel selection was investigated using sensitivity analysis. The results confirmed that for specific electricity demand each scenario requires a unique set of diesel generators and the selection is affected by the PV share and the battery energy storage (BES) units included. The best LCOE for the high, medium, and low electricity demand scenarios were 0.43£/kWh, 0.42£/kWh, and 0.45£/kWh, respectively. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the pollutant emission costs have a significant impact on LCOE for the different fuel choices whereas the variation of fuel prices has a minimal effect unless the diesel price increased by 100%.

Sulfur dioxide emissions curbing effects and influencing mechanisms of China's emission trading system.

The emissions trading system, a crucial and fundamental system reform in the environmental resources field of China, was established to promote the continuous and effective reduction of total emissions of major pollutants. In this context, based on the panel data of 285 Chinese cities (except Tibet) from 2004 to 2018, this paper uses the quasi-experimental method of Difference in Difference to assess the effect of the emissions trading system introduced on sulfur dioxide emissions of China and the transmission mechanism. The article generates several intriguing findings. (1) The emissions trading system has a significant suppressive effect on sulfur dioxide emissions. (2) Mechanistic tests show that the emissions trading system can effectively suppress sulfur dioxide emissions by reducing government intervention, stimulating green patent innovation, and improving resource use efficiency, in which green utility patents have a masking effect. (3) From the east, central and west divisions, the emissions trading system has a significant suppression effect on sulfur dioxide emission in the eastern and central regions, and the eastern region is better than the central region. (4) In terms of factor endowment, the emissions trading system has a significant suppression effect on sulfur dioxide emissions in both resource-based and non-resource-based cities, with non-resource-based cities outperforming resource-based cities; while within resource-based effect exists only in regenerative cities. (5) The emissions trading system has a significant suppression effect on sulfur dioxide emissions in old and non-old industrial base cities in industrial base zoning. The suppression effect in non-old industrial base cities is better than that in old industrial base cities. This paper provides empirical evidence for evaluating the emissions trading system at the provincial level in China and suggests policy recommendations for selecting government tools to effectively curb sulfur dioxide emissions. Although the emissions trading system has made an outstanding contribution to sulfur dioxide emissions reduction, there is still much space for further development of potential emission reductions.

Mandatory Environmental Regulation and Green Technology Innovation: Evidence from China

Faced with the severe situation of high energy consumption and major pollutant emissions, the Chinese government has adopted various mandatory environmental regulations (MERs) to improve the binding force of environmental protection policy implementation. In 2006, the environmental protection target responsibility system was implemented, and the energy conservation and emission reduction targets were linked to the performance assessment of government officials as a binding indicator. What is the impact of this policy on green technology innovation activities? Based on this, this paper identifies the relevant indicators of green technology innovation activities. It uses the difference-in-differences (DID) method to investigate the impact of mandatory environmental regulation on the quantity and quality of green technology innovation activities. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The implementation of MERs promoted the expansion of the number of green patent applications. (2) MERs also led to the decline of the quality and the emergence of the foaming phenomenon. (3) Enterprises with weak innovation ability are the main group causing the decline of green technology innovation quality, and they are concentrated in independent innovation and low-level pollution industries. The conclusion of this paper helps provide a theoretical basis and countermeasures for deepening the reform of the MER policy, strengthening the coordination of different environmental regulation tools, and establishing a market-oriented green technology innovation system and environmental protection science and technology policy.

Research on the government's green management capability in the background of China's environmental development

The rapid development of China\'s economy and the increase in its population has aggravated the deterioration of environmental problems, which are hot issues in China\'s governance field. According to the traditional development model, it is difficult for China to take the road to sustainable development. Because of its advantages in power, resources, capacity and other aspects, the government undoubtedly plays an important role in the process of protecting self-heating. Therefore, it is of great value to study how to achieve green government management. Through the comparative analysis of key indicators such as China\'s population, emissions of major pollutants and energy consumption, the author clarifies the problems of the Chinese government in ecological environment management. On this basis, the author puts forward suggestions and implementation mechanisms to improve the green management modernization of the Chinese government from four aspects: formulating green management system, strengthening green technology innovation, strengthening the promotion of green lifestyle intelligence, and conducting green performance evaluation.

Cutting Oxygen Production-Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Improved Compression Heat Management in a Cryogenic Air Separation Unit.

Oxygen production in cryogenic air separation units is related to a significant carbon footprint and its supply in the medicinal sphere became critical during the recent COVID-19 crisis. An improved unit design was proposed, utilizing a part of waste heat produced during air pre-cooling and intercooling via absorption coolers, to reduce power consumption. Variable ambient air humidity impact on compressed air dryers’ regeneration was also considered. A steady-state process simulation of a model 500 t h−1 inlet cryogenic air separation unit was performed in Aspen Plus® V11. Comparison of a model without and with absorption coolers yielded an achievable reduction in power consumption for air compression and air dryer regeneration by 6 to 9% (23 to 33 GWh year−1) and a favorable simple payback period of 4 to 10 years, both depending on air pressure loss in additional heat exchangers to be installed. The resulting specific oxygen production decrease amounted to EUR 2–4.2 t−1. Emissions of major gaseous pollutants from power production were both calculated by an in-house developed thermal power plant model and adopted from literature. A power consumption cut was translated into the following annual greenhouse gas emission reduction: CO2 16 to 30 kilotons, CO 0.3 to 2.3 tons, SOx 4.7 to 187 tons and NOx 11 to 56 tons, depending on applied fossil fuel-based emission factors. Considering a more renewable energy sources-containing energy mix, annual greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 50 to over 80%, varying for individual pollutants.

Can resource policy adjustments effectively curb regional “resource curse” ? new evidences from the “energy golden triangle area” of China

When resource endowment supports regional economic growth, it also induces regional “resource curse”. However, few studies have fully considered the impact of resource policy adjustments on avoiding the “resource curse” in energy concentration area. In this paper, we appraise the impacts on regional “resource curse” in the “Energy Golden Triangle area” of China by resource policy adjustment by an improved dynamic CGE model with cleaning sector and non-cleaning sector. Meanwhile, coal resource tax reform is adopted to be as a representative resource and environment policy adjustment. The results show that: 1) coal resource tax reform has a significant inhibitory effect in the total outputs. 2) coal resource tax reform has a positive influence on GDP and crowds out energy resources from the non-clean sector to clean sector. 3) Local taxation in the “Energy Golden Triangle area” of China has increased greatly by reform.4) Coal resource tax reform has curbed the regional “resource curse” in the “Energy Golden Triangle area” of China to a certain extent,but a huge regional difference exists. 5) Coal resource tax reform can effectively suppress energy consumption and reduce emissions of major pollutants in the “Energy Golden Triangle area” of China.

Assessment of the ecological and social potential of the organization of ecological zones to ensure sustainable transport development of territories

The article presents the results of an assessment of the impact on the environment and public health of measures to prohibit entry into a certain territory of the city of cars belonging to low environmental classes (“ecological zone” or “ecozone”). When justifying the choice of the city on the example of which the research was conducted (Novosibirsk), both environmental and socio-economic aspects were taken into account. The assessment of the environmental impact of the ecozone organization consisted in modeling traffic flows on the road network before and after the organization of the ecozone, estimating the emissions of pollutants from the totality of traffic flows, calculating the maximum and average annual surface concentrations of the considered pollutants on the territory of the ecozone. Based on the calculated average annual concentrations of pollutants, characteristics of the population density living in the ecozone, and scenarios of its interaction with pollutants, public health risk assessments were carried out before and after the organization of the ecozone. Studies have shown that the change in gross emissions of major pollutants during the organization of the ecozone in Novosibirsk will be 40…60%. Ground-level concentrations of these pollutants will decrease by about the same amount. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks to the population will be reduced by about half.

A phenomenological model for the description of unburned hydrocarbons emission in ultra-lean engines

The adoption of lean-burn concepts for internal combustion engines working with a homogenous air/fuel charge is under development as a path to simultaneously improve thermal efficiency, fuel consumption, nitric oxides, and carbon monoxide emissions. This technology may lead to a relevant emission of unburned hydrocarbons (uHC) compared to a stoichiometric engine. The uHC sources are various and the relative importance varies according to fuel characteristics, engine operating point, and some geometrical details of the combustion chamber. This concern becomes even more relevant in the case of engines supplied with natural gas since the methane has a global warming potential much greater than the other major pollutant emissions. In this work, a simulation model describing the main mechanisms for uHC formation is proposed. The model describes uHC production from crevices and flame wall quenching, also considering the post-oxidation. The uHC model is implemented in commercial software (GT-Power) under the form of “user routine”. It is validated with reference to two large bore engines, whose bores are 31 and 46 cm (engines named accordingly W31 and W46). Both engines are fueled with natural gas and operated with lean mixtures (λ > 2), but with different ignition modalities (pre-chamber device or dual fuel mode). The engines under study are preliminarily schematized in the 1D simulation tool. The consistency of 1D engine schematizations is verified against the experimental data of BMEP, air flow rate, and turbocharger rotational speed over a load sweep. Then, the uHC model is validated against the engine-out measurements. The averaged uHC predictions highlight an average error of 7% and 10 % for W31 and W46 engines, respectively. The uHC model reliability is evidenced by the lack of need for a case-dependent adjustment of its tuning constants, also in presence of relevant variations of both engine load and ring pack design.

Influence of a maintenance station on atmosphere state

Problem. Automobile transport has a huge negative influence on the environment, not only during using, but also during its service. Goal: to analyze the influence on the atmosphere of the work of car service stations. Methodology: The calculation of atmospheric emissions during the operation of the main production units was carried out according to the standard method. Gas analysis was carried out using an OKCI-5M-5H gas analyzer. Originality: Calculated amounts of emissions of major pollutants, which are formed during the operation of internal combustion engines and during the operation of the main units of the station, determined the amount of pollution from decentralized space heating. Recommendations for reducing the amount of pollutants and the negative influence of stations on the environment within the city are proposed. Practical value. When liquefied gas is used as a combustible gas, emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere are noticeably reduced both in quantitative terms and in qualitative composition. At the same time, the emissions of methane and sulfur oxides decrease by half. There is a significant decrease in carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide (II) emissions. Analysis of the data obtained shows that when wood is used as a fuel, there are no emissions of sulfur oxides, but the amount of nitrogen and carbon oxides is higher. Particulate matter emissions are not significantly dependent on the type of fuel. During the operation of the service station, the largest amount of gaseous emissions into the atmosphere occurs in the service box of the internal combustion engine. In general, during the operation of a car service station, a significant amount of harmful substances is not added to the atmosphere.

ДИНАМІКА РІВНЯ ЗАБРУДНЕННЯ УРБАНІЗОВАНИХ ТЕРИТОРІЙ

The article is devoted to the study of changes in the intensity of traffic flows in the street canyons of Kyiv and to determine the dynamics of the intensity of emissions of major pollutants during the day. Due to the rapid growth of the vehicle fleet, there is a significant congestion of the street and road network of cities, which leads to a set of environmental problems. One of the such problems is air pollution with harmful substances. Object of the study: dynamics of pollution of city streets Purpose of the study: study of changes in traffic intensity during the day and assessment of the dynamics of the level pollution of the cities road network. Method of the study: statistical methods, cluster analysis. The change in the level of pollution of city streets during the day depends on dynamic factors, namely the intensity and quality of the traffic flow, meteorological conditions and so on. It is established that the most dangerous intervals of the day will be "peak" periods during which the maximum values of traffic intensity are observed. The article examines the patterns of distribution of traffic intensity during the day and on the basis of determining the environmental performance of real vehicles, technical and operational characteristics of which correspond to the characteristics of "efficient" cars of the corresponding category, determines the daily distribution of emissions of major pollutants. Thus, the obtained results can be used in determining the concentrations of pollutants in the street canyons of cities, which will make operational predictions of the level of air pollution. KEY WORDS: STREET ROAD NETWORK, TRANSPORT FLOWS, TRAFFIC INTENSITY, STREET CANYON, VEHICLE, POLLUTION LEVEL.

Air quality and health benefits of China's current and upcoming clean air policies.

China is currently in a crucial stage of air pollution control and has intensive clean air policies. Past strict policies have demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in emission control and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution mitigation; however, it is not clear what the continuous benefits of current policies are for the future. Here, we summarize China's currently implemented, released, and upcoming clean air policies and estimate the air quality and health benefits of the implementation of these policies until 2030. We found that China's current and upcoming clean air policies could reduce major pollutant emissions by 14.3-70.5% under continued socio-economic growth from 2010 to 2030. These policies could decrease the national population-weighted PM2.5 concentrations from 61.6 μg m-3 in 2010 to 26.4 μg m-3 in 2030 (57.2% reduction). These air quality improvements will ensure that over 80% of the population lives in areas with PM2.5 levels below the current annual PM2.5 air quality standard (i.e., 35 μg m-3) and will avoid 95.0 (95% CI, 76.3, 104.2) thousand premature deaths in 2030. We also point out several inadequacies of current clean air policies, suggesting that more ambitious control actions are needed to better protect public health with an increasing ageing population. Our findings could provide quantitative insights that can be used to better address air pollution issues in China and other developing countries.

Improvement in ambient-air-quality reduced temperature during the COVID-19 lockdown period in India.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced India as a whole to lockdown from 24 March 2020 to 14 April 2020 (first phase), extended to 3 May 2020 (second phase) and further extended to 17 May 2020 (third phase) and 31 May 2020 (fourth phase) with only some limited relaxation in non-hot spot areas. This lockdown has strictly controlled human activities in the entire India. Although this long lockdown has had a serious impact on the social and economic fronts, it has many positive impacts on environment. During this lockdown phase, a drastic fall in emissions of major pollutants has been observed throughout all the parts of India. Therefore, in this research study we have tried to establish a relationship among the fall in emission of pollutants and their impact on reducing regional temperature. This analysis was tested through the application of Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope statistical index with air quality index and temperature data for several stations across the country, during the lockdown period. After the analysis, it has been observed that daily emissions of pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, CO, NO2, SO2 and NH3) decreased by − 1– − 2%, allowing to reduce the average daily temperature by 0.3 °C compared with the year of 2019. Moreover, this lockdown period reduces overall emissions of pollutants by − 51– − 72% on an average and hence decreases the average monthly temperature by 2 °C. The same findings have been found in the four megacities in India, i.e., Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai; the rate of temperature fall in the aforementioned megacities is close to 3 °C, 2.5 °C, 2 °C and 2 °C, respectively. It is a clear indicator that a major change occurs in air quality, and as a result it reduced lower atmospheric temperature due to the effect of lockdown. It is also a clear indicator that a major change in air quality and favorable temperature can be expected if the strict implementations of several pollution management measures have been implemented by the concern authority in the coming years.

Indoor Air Pollution, Related Human Diseases, and Recent Trends in the Control and Improvement of Indoor Air Quality.

Indoor air pollution (IAP) is a serious threat to human health, causing millions of deaths each year. A plethora of pollutants can result in IAP; therefore, it is very important to identify their main sources and concentrations and to devise strategies for the control and enhancement of indoor air quality (IAQ). Herein, we provide a critical review and evaluation of the major sources of major pollutant emissions, their health effects, and issues related to IAP-based illnesses, including sick building syndrome (SBS) and building-related illness (BRI). In addition, the strategies and approaches for control and reduction of pollutant concentrations are pointed out, and the recent trends in efforts to resolve and improve IAQ, with their respective advantages and potentials, are summarized. It is predicted that the development of novel materials for sensors, IAQ-monitoring systems, and smart homes is a promising strategy for control and enhancement of IAQ in the future.

Air pollution control strategies directly limiting national health damages in the US

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from fuel combustion significantly contributes to global and US mortality. Traditional control strategies typically reduce emissions for specific air pollutants and sectors to maintain pollutant concentrations below standards. Here we directly set national PM2.5 mortality cost reduction targets within a global human-earth system model with US state-level energy systems, in scenarios to 2050, to identify endogenously the control actions, sectors, and locations that most cost-effectively reduce PM2.5 mortality. We show that substantial health benefits can be cost-effectively achieved by electrifying sources with high primary PM2.5 emission intensities, including industrial coal, building biomass, and industrial liquids. More stringent PM2.5 reduction targets expedite the phaseout of high emission intensity sources, leading to larger declines in major pollutant emissions, but very limited co-benefits in reducing CO2 emissions. Control strategies limiting health damages achieve the greatest emission reductions in the East North Central and Middle Atlantic states.