Amount Of Emissions Research Articles

Developing driving cycles for garbage trucks to estimate fuel consumption

Driving cycle offers a comprehensive understanding of operational features throughout the waste collection and transportation (C&T) process, which is critical for optimizing waste management aiming at reducing energy use and environmental pollution. In this study, the Micro-trip method, combined with principal component and cluster analysis, was adopted to divide the C&T process into five operational phases. Considering diverse waste types and C&T modes, four driving cycles were synthesized for garbage trucks. The average speeds of garbage truck cycles are considerably lower, coupled with prolonged idle durations, marking a substantial deviation from standard cycles. Additionally, the OpMode-bin method was employed to estimate fuel consumption for both garbage truck cycles and standard cycles. The results reveal that using standard cycles generally results in an underestimation of fuel consumption by 20 % to 30 %, which highlights the necessity of developing specific driving cycles to ensure accurate fuel use and emission quantification for garbage trucks.

Deployment of mobile application using a novel CNN model for the detection of COVID-19 thoracic disease

In January 2021 and January 2022, COVID-19 caused roughly 13,000 and 6,000 deaths respectively per day. In August 2022, 26,000 deaths per day were estimated to be caused by COVID-19, followed by 13,000 deaths per day in February 2024. The timely identification and treatment of malignant diseases can potentially lower the mortality rate. Nonetheless, the use of manual methods for diagnosing these conditions requires a meticulous and comprehensive examination, making it susceptible to errors, burdensome for healthcare professionals, and time-intensive. Hence, the objective of this study is to design and deploy a novel deep-learning model for the detection of COVID-19 thoracic diseases. A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with less trainable parameters was implemented. This proposed model was deployed on a mobile device using Android Studio and Flutter for the detection of COVID-19 thoracic diseases. Specificity, accuracy, precision, sensitivity, f1-score, ROC, and PR curves were used to evaluate the model's performance. Moreover, the carbon footprint as well as how responsible the proposed model is according to Responsible AI rules was also assessed. The model's evaluation results show an overall accuracy of 93.27 %, specificity of 97.33 %, precision of 93.75 %, sensitivity of 94.42 %, F1-Score of 94.06 %, ROC rate of 98.0 %, PR rate of 96.8 %. The evaluation of the mobile application shows higher generalizability on the COVID-19 dataset. Also, the overall FACETS Score representing responsible AI is 83 % and the carbon footprint (representing the amount of carbon emission emitted into the environment during model training and testing) of 416.73 g with equivalent tree months of 0.45 was obtained. This application with better performance and a low carbon footprint was deployed using Android Studio and Flutter and can assist physicians in the diagnosis of COVID-19 and related diseases.

Factors Affecting the Sustainability of Corporates in Polluting Sectors

Corporate sustainability performance is gaining ever greater importance. The negative impact of climate change is manifested through heavy air, water and soil pollution. Polluting sectors, as the major players, are characterized by large amounts of emissions, waste and consumption of resources, and therefore have a larger negative impact on the environment. Companies operating in polluting sectors are recognized globally as the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions; thus, their performance is widely debated. Despite their character, such companies strive for higher profitability, better financial performance and operational efficiency. However, higher financial resources create the potential for innovation investments in companies. It is widely accepted that research and experimental development (R&D) expenditures enable new business ideas, models, products, services, and processes. However, while pursuing sustainability targets, financial results could be directed towards sustainability performance. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the financial and innovation results of companies in polluting sectors interact with sustainability performance scores. For it, we have identified three essential pillars of sustainability: environmental, governance, and social. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions, models were developed for each pillar of sustainability, including corporate financial performance indicators and R&D expenditures. The obtained results provide the insights that a company operating in polluting sector size and turnover significantly interacts with all pillars of sustainability. However, we also found that the corporate debt ratio, earnings ratio, and current liquidity have a significant relation only with environmental and social sustainability indicators.

Archetypes of Spatial Concentration Variability of Organic Contaminants in the Atmosphere: Implications for Identifying Sources and Mapping the Gaseous Outdoor Inhalation Exposome.

Whereas inhalation exposure to organic contaminants can negatively impact human health, knowledge of their spatial variability in the ambient atmosphere remains limited. We analyzed the extracts of passive air samplers deployed at 119 unique sites in Southern Canada between 2019 and 2022 for 353 organic vapors. Hierarchical clustering of the obtained data set revealed four archetypes of spatial concentration variability in the outdoor atmosphere, which are indicative of common sources and similar atmospheric dispersion behavior. "Point Source" signatures are characterized by elevated concentration in the vicinity of major release locations. A "Population" signature applies to compounds whose air concentrations are highly correlated with population density, and is associated with emissions from consumer products. The "Water Source" signature applies to substances with elevated levels in the vicinity of water bodies from which they evaporate. Another group of compounds displays a "Uniform" signature, indicative of a lack of major sources within the study area. We illustrate how such a data set, and the derived spatial patterns, can be applied to support the identification of sources, the quantification of atmospheric emissions, the modeling of air quality, and the investigation of potential inequities in inhalation exposure.

On the Constitutional Protection of Carbon Emission Right as the Right of Development

Since the development of the second human rights, the right to development, as the third human rights advocated by developing countries, has become popular. Under the two-carbon target, some scholars say that the carbon emission right is the right to development, and it is a basic human right for developing countries. To be sure, with the total amount of carbon emissions fixed, both the speed and level of development are closely related to the amount of carbon emissions allocated. But now double carbon joint agreement distribution unclear terms, developed countries and developing countries demand for carbon emissions and carbon neutral ability difference is bigger, the corresponding management of carbon emissions is more policies and regulations, the lack of host rules of supply, constitutional guarantee, has affected the double carbon under the goal of national development and construction. Therefore, as the right to development of carbon emissions protection should be in the constitution respect and safeguard human rights and the principle and the principle of rule of law as the guidance, establish a sound legal system of carbon emissions, reasonable balance production development and double carbon target relationship, concrete refinement to implement the limit of carbon emissions related laws and regulations, realize the constitutionality of the legal order.

Analysis of the ecological footprint of mining machines in the phase of material extraction and processing in LCA

Sustainability in the mining industry continues to be a challenge. Although there is research in this area, there are still no solutions supporting the assessment of environmental impact in this sector. Therefore, it is important to look for and conduct various types of analyses that will be useful in this area. Therefore, the objective of the research was to analyse the ecological footprint of mining machines in the first phase of the LCA life cycle (obtaining and extracting materials). The analysis was based on the example of a hydraulic actuator, which is considered crucial to control machines in the mining industry. The ecological footprint burdens analysed included direct and indirect land take, sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and the use of nuclear energy. Life cycle assessment was carried out using the OpenLCA software with the ecoinvent v3.10 database. It has been shown that the largest amount of emissions occurs during off-site treatment of nonsulphide waste, cogeneration of heat and energy (hard coal), production of ferrochrome, high carbon, 68% Cr, and heat production in an industrial furnace using hard coal. It is proposed to carry out improvement activities that will first contribute to reducing the main environmental burdens. Then, it will be possible to significantly reduce the negative environmental impact of the hydraulic actuator's extraction and processing of materials. The results from the analysis may be useful not only for products from the mining industry but also in other areas of activity using this type of machine.

An Assessment of an Airline Company within the Scope of Circular Economy Based Waste Management

The rapid growth in the aviation sector has prompted the industry to act and develop new and sustainable business models due to the greenhouse gases and waste generated inherently by the sector. In this context, this study provides an assessment of identifiable areas and determinants of circular economy in an airline company, considering its environmental impacts. As a result of the assessment, it has been observed that the airline company conducts initiatives in reduction, reuse, and recycling, along with the management of cabin materials and waste segregation. Action plans are in place regarding the reduction, substitution, or elimination of single-use plastics in material selection. In order to mitigate both the environmental and economic impacts of paper consumption, the company is undertaking digitalization efforts within its business processes. The weight of aircraft is a crucial factor in the amount of fuel consumed and the quantity of CO2 emissions released. Therefore, airlines prefer to use lightweight materials inside the aircraft to reduce weight. Plastic catering materials are among these lightweight options. Unfortunately, due to the adverse environmental impacts of plastics, reducing their usage and, if possible, phasing them out are essential measures that airlines need to take. Consequently, the airline company under this study has removed the plastic outer packaging of the packaged materials used in the cabin. Furthermore, it continues its efforts to remove plastic materials used during catering services or replace them with biodegradable alternatives.

Environmental impact of intravenous versus oral administration materials for acetaminophen and ketoprofen in a French university hospital: an eco-audit study using a life cycle analysis.

The combination of acetaminophen with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug is the cornerstone of perioperative multimodal analgesia. These drugs can be administered intravenously or orally as premedication, consistent with the concept of pre-emptive and preventive analgesia. We aimed to assess the environmental impact of their intravenous and oral administration in a French university hospital. We carried out a life cycle assessment to determine the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and depletion of water resources resulting from the oral vs intravenous administration of 1g acetaminophen and 50mg ketoprofen. We assessed two schemes of intravenous administration, depending on the use of the same or a different infusion set for each drug. At our centre, the intravenous administration of both drugs was associated with the emission of 444-556g CO2 equivalent (CO2e), and with 9.8-12.2 L of water waste. The oral administration of both drugs generated 8.36g of CO2e emissions and consumed 1.16 L of water. At a national level, the switch from intravenous to oral premedication of the drugs could avoid the emission of 2,900-3,700 tons of CO2e and the waste of 58,000-74,000 m3 of water each year. This eco-audit indicates that oral administration of acetaminophen and ketoprofen results in significantly lower carbon emissions and water consumption than intravenous administration. These findings highlight the importance of using the oral route for most patients, limiting intravenous administration for those with specific needs because of higher environmental impact and cost.

Strategies for managing corn crop residue in the context of greenhouse gas emissions.

Food production is one of the most important sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, both in primary production and in processing and the logistics chain. The most problematic and risky is the optimization of environmental effects in the stage of primary production. This is due to the significant influence of factors related to climate and soil that are difficult to predict. The scientific literature offers much information on the impact of crop residue management, but the context for assessing the impact of crop residue management in corn production on the carbon footprint is still unclear. The effectiveness of using organic additives like biochar, compost, corn, or straw to maintain soil productivity is well acknowledged. Information about the effects of particular crop residue management strategies on soil carbon sequestration, soil quality, and crop yield in corn cultivation is currently scarce. The research aimed to assess the potential for optimizing corn production through modifications in crop residue management, with a focus on the efficiency indicator being the level of greenhouse gas emissions per functional unit of the product. A 3-year growing experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of different corn crop residue management strategies. The modifications of the corn cultivation technology in terms of the crop residue management strategy had a significant impact on the yield of plants and the amount of GHG emissions. The conversion of corn straw to biochar and its introduction into the soil reduced the GHG emissions from corn cultivation per functional unit, despite the energy expenditure related to straw transport and biochar production. From a 3-year time perspective, a beneficial effect of biochar addition on the size of the commercial yield of plants was observed. In variants with biochar and a reduced level of nitrogen fertilization, no reduction in yields was observed. This confirmed the hypothesis that biochar could be a useful material for the production of slow-acting fertilizers.

Noise information in sales literature of machinery as a support to Sell and Buy Quiet

The Sell & Buy Quiet concept helps employers to protect their workers from risks arising from the exposure to noise emitted by machines. Reliable noise emission data are key to successfully implement this concept in practice. The NOMAD (NOise MAchinery Directive) project aims to assess and improve the quality of noise information provided by machinery manufacturers in sales literature and instruction manuals of machinery in accordance with the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Here, we present the results of a pre-market surveillance exercise, which examined the compliance of noise information in sales literature. Machinery manufacturers have to provide this information in compliance with the European Machinery Directive, if the sales literature contains the performance characteristics of the machine. The study investigated 85 samples of sales literature and 45 instruction manuals collected in five EU Member States. The faults found in sales literature were similar to those identified in the original NOMAD survey (NOMAD Phase 1), including the absence of noise information, confusion between noise emission and noise exposure quantities, incorrect notations and terminology, as well as missing noise emission quantities required by the Machinery Directive. Based on our findings, we make recommendations to stakeholders to improve the situation.

Late-time supernovae radio re-brightening in the VAST pilot survey

ABSTRACT We present our analysis of supernovae serendipitously found to be radio-bright several years after their optical discovery. We used recent observations from the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) taken as part of the pilot Variables and Slow Transients and Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey programmes. We identified 29 objects by cross-matching sources from these ASKAP observations with known core-collapse supernovae below a declination of $+40^{\circ }$ and with a redshift of $z\le 0.15$. Our results focus on eight cases that show potential late-time radio emission. These supernovae exhibit significantly greater amounts of radio emission than expected from the standard model of a single shockwave propagating through a spherical circumstellar medium, with a constant density structure produced by regular stellar mass-loss. We also discuss how we can learn from future ASKAP surveys about the circumstellar environments and emission mechanisms of supernovae that undergo late-time radio re-brightening. This pilot work tested and confirmed the potential of the Variables and Slow Transients survey to discover and study late-time supernova emission.

Development and deployment of a mid-cost CO2 sensor monitoring network to support atmospheric inverse modeling for quantifying urban CO2 emissions in Paris

Abstract. To effectively monitor highly heterogeneous urban CO2 emissions using atmospheric observations, there is a need to deploy cost-effective CO2 sensors at multiple locations within the city with sufficient accuracy to capture the concentration gradients in urban environments. These dense measurements could be used as input of an atmospheric inversion system for the quantification of emissions at the sub-city scale or to separate specific sectors. Such quantification would offer valuable insights into the efficacy of local initiatives and could also identify unknown emission hotspots that require attention. Here we present the development and evaluation of a mid-cost CO2 instrument designed for continuous monitoring of atmospheric CO2 concentrations with a target accuracy of 1 ppm for hourly mean measurements. We assess the sensor sensitivity in relation to environmental factors such as humidity, pressure, temperature and CO2 signal, which leads to the development of an effective calibration algorithm. Since July 2020, eight mid-cost instruments have been installed within the city of Paris and its vicinity to provide continuous CO2 measurements, complementing the seven high-precision cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) stations that have been in operation since 2016. A data processing system, called CO2calqual, has been implemented to automatically handle data quality control, calibration and storage, which enables the management of extensive real-time CO2 measurements from the monitoring network. Colocation assessments with the high-precision instrument show that the accuracies of the eight mid-cost instruments are within the range of 1.0 to 2.4 ppm for hourly afternoon (12:00–17:00 UTC) measurements. The long-term stability issues require manual data checks and instrument maintenance. The analyses show that CO2 measurements can provide evidence for underestimations of CO2 emissions in the Paris region and a lack of several emission point sources in the emission inventory. Our study demonstrates promising prospects for integrating mid-cost measurements along with high-precision data into the subsequent atmospheric inverse modeling to improve the accuracy of quantifying the fine-scale CO2 emissions in the Paris metropolitan area.

Secondary emission behavior analysis and aerosol characteristics evaluation in laser cutting for safe nuclear decommissioning

We analyzed secondary emissions and aerosol characteristics generated during the cutting of 10-30mm thick austenitic 304L stainless-steel plates with a high-power fiber laser. This study comprehensively includes exhausted aerosols, sedimented dross, wall deposits, and attached slag. The amount of secondary emissions for each cutting process condition was determined by type. Over 98% of the secondary emissions consisted of attached slag and sedimented dross, with wall deposits accounting for 0.5-1.4% and exhausted aerosols for less than 0.1%. As cutting thickness increased, the total amount of secondary emissions increased. The ratios of attached slag and sedimented dross varied depending on cutting speed and laser power. The count median aerodynamic diameter of aerosols was ~0.12 μm when a 30mm thick plate was cut with a laser power of 3kW. Aerosol concentration decreased by nearly 30% with increasing cutting speed, depending on conditions, suggesting that optimizing speeds can effectively reduce aerosol generation. Chemical composition analysis provides insights into aerosol reactivity, toxicity, and environmental impacts, aiding in the design of filtration and ventilation systems. These results are expected to reduce environmental and health impacts in nuclear decommissioning processes.

Analysis and forecast of emissions associated with electricity consumption in hospitals: Encouraging a net zero healthcare roadmap in Brazil

In several countries, the concept of Net Zero Healthcare (NZH) has gained prominence within the healthcare domain as a response to national commitments on climate change. NZH plays a crucial role in advocating for customized commitments and objectives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across diverse healthcare units, serving as a catalyst for decarbonization strategies in both the public and private sectors. This paper addresses the absence of primary research on NZH in Brazil while asserting its substantial potential to support GHG-curbing initiatives. This is the first study to establish a foundational knowledge base for decarbonization initiatives in Brazilian healthcare sector, focused on assisting in the sustainability roadmap of a University Hospital situated in Northeast Brazil. The major contribution of this study is the quantification of the GHG emissions associated with the electricity consumption at the hospital, which serves as a gateway to a comprehensive GHG inventory of the entire unit. The hospital's GHG emissions are then registered for 2017-2023. Methodologically, this study employs a comprehensive framework encompassing data processing of the electric mix, calculation of emission factors via life cycle assessment, forecasting algorithms, and data visualization. GHG emissions from electricity consumption at the hospital amounted to approximately 230 t CO2e annually (2017-2023 average value). Short-term forecasts supported by SARIMA models projected emissions of 271.9 t CO2e in 2024, with 92% originating from off-peak consumption. The significance of this research is the potential to provide new insights into shaping strategies for a viable NZH roadmap in Brazil.

Quantification of methane emissions from typical natural gas stations using on-site measurement technology

Quantification of methane emissions from typical natural gas stations using on-site measurement technology

Quantification of CO2 Emissions from Three Power Plants in China Using OCO-3 Satellite Measurements

Quantification of CO2 Emissions from Three Power Plants in China Using OCO-3 Satellite Measurements

Research on the collaborative operation strategy of shared energy storage and virtual power plant based on double layer optimization

Large-scale access to distributed energy resources leads to new energy consumption problems and safe operation risks in the power system. Virtual power plants and shared energy storage are effective ways to promote the flexible consumption of distributed energy resources and improve the reliability and economy of power system operation. Based on the concept of sharing economy and considering the complementary characteristics of source and load resources between different virtual power plants, this paper focuses on the optimisation of shared energy storage and multi-virtual power plant operation. Firstly, distributed wind power, distributed photovoltaic and flexible load resources are aggregated into virtual power plants to analyze the cooperative operation mode of shared energy storage and multi-virtual power plant systems. Secondly, a two-layer decision model for shared energy storage configuration and multi-VPP system operation optimisation is constructed, with the upper model solving the optimal energy storage configuration scheme by maximising the revenue of the shared energy storage operator, and the lower model optimising the multi-VPP system operation strategy by minimising the total operation cost, the maximum amount of new energy consumed, and the minimum amount of carbon emission as the multi-objective optimisation strategy. Finally, a simulation analysis is carried out, and the results show that compared with the independent operation mode of each virtual power plant, the model proposed in this paper increases the annual profit of the shared energy storage operator by 7180¥, reduces the operating cost of the VPP system by 7.08 %, improves the rate of renewable energy consumption by 0.82 %, and reduces the annual carbon emission by 54.91 t, which realizes the mutual benefits of the virtual power plant and the shared energy storage.

Evaluating the carbon emission reduction in construction and demolition waste management in China

Construction and demolition waste reduction (C&DWR) is an important measure to protect the environment and promote sustainable development in the construction sector. The present policy in China remains a lack of emphasis on carbon tax and penalty for reducing construction waste. This paper proposes a construction and demolition waste (C&DW) management model to identify the waste reduction effects of various policies in China. It simulates the effects of single policies and combined policies on waste reduction and carbon emission by using the approach of integrating system dynamics and grey model theory. The results reveal that: (1) Penalties can effectively reduce the amount of illegal dump waste and carbon emissions from illegal dump waste, with an appropriate penalty value (in Chinese CNY) suggested as ∈160,320. (2) Subsidies can vastly increase the amount of waste recycled and a carbon tax can reduce carbon emissions; the recommended values are suggested as subsidies ∈30,45 and carbon tax ∈40,70. (3) Compared to other policies, the combined policy of penalty–waste disposal charging fee–subsidy–carbon tax (160, 60, 45, 70) achieves the greatest environmental benefits in terms of reducing waste and carbon emission. (4) Governments should improve waste minimization incentive policies and gradually introduce trials for a carbon tax policy, encourage the use of digital governance combined with blockchain technology to regulate C&DW. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers to develop effective waste reduction strategies and promote sustainability through the implementation of C&DWR theories.

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential of the Enhanced Rice Straw Biogas System in the Philippines

Abstract Rice straw is an agricultural waste produced abundantly every rice cropping cycle. Its disposal or removal from the field is a problem to rice farmers every start of the next cropping cycle due to its labor-intensive collection from the field. One traditional practice is soil incorporation; however, rice straw does not degrade easily, and this management practice releases significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions to the environment. An attempt to solve this issue is to utilize rice straw with cattle manure as feedstock for biogas production and use the energy generated for rice post-harvest processing such as grain drying and milling. An Enhanced Rice Straw Biogas facility was constructed in Victoria, Laguna, Philippines and a trial lagoon run was conducted from June to October 2021. The data from the initial run was used as input to the modified Aston-developed Mass Energy Balance Model to determine the biogas production potential of rice straw and cattle manure as bioenergy feedstocks. The proposed system can produce 8,803,567.99 L (296.19 L/kg VS) of biogas which can be converted to 19,502.97 MW electricity and 84,512.86 MJ heat. From the energy generated per batch, 18,417.21 kg rice grain (dry season) or 15,752.79 kg rice grain (wet season) can be dried and milled, with an excess of equivalent kerosene (696.93 L for dry season or 248.46 L for wet season) and electricity (3,745.12 kWh for dry season or 6,182.23 kWh for wet season). Due to biogas utilization, an estimated 3,351 L of fossil-based kerosene and 12,185.91 kWh of electricity equivalent can be avoided. This low GHG emission rice production system (Aston Model) has a theoretical annual carbon footprint of 153,134 kg CO2e and a 28.21% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to the conventional rice production system.

A novel colorless flexible polymer aerogel with stable amine linkage enabled superior formaldehyde removal and multifunctional application

Massive formaldehyde emissions have seriously endangered environment and human health, while predictably polymer aerogel is a promising candidate for formaldehyde (FA) removal, whereas low FA adsorption capacity, high volume shrinkage, and mechanical brittleness restrict its further development. Herein, based on “rigid-soft combination” polycondensation strategy, trifunctional 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxaldehyde (BTC) and polyetheramine Jeffamine T403 are selected as building blocks to construct a novel amine-linked polymer aerogel (rBTA) with hierarchical micro-nano porous structure via mild sol-gel method and freeze-drying process. Stable amine linkages in rBTA are formed by NaBH4 reduction of imine bonds, improving acid/alkali resistance and chemical stability greatly, and creating numerous active amine sites for reaction with FA. Formation of robust 3D covalent network facilitates to simultaneously achieve ultra-low-shrinkage (5.4%), high specific compressive modulus (5.32 kN·m·kg-1), remarkable mechanical durability/fatigue-resistance, flexibility, and machinability. Benefiting from synergistic physical-chemical adsorption effect, FA adsorption capacity and removal ratio of rBTA reach as high as 459.84 mg·g-1 and 97.87%, respectively. Colorless rBTA is further ground into powders for preparing polyoxymethylene (POM)/rBTA composite without affecting its color and formaldehyde emission amount at 60/230°C effectively decreases by 66.87%/79.55%. Furthermore, rBTA exhibits hydrophobicity, low thermal conductivity, and high solar reflectance, being successfully applied in emulsion separation, thermal insulation, and energy-efficient buildings fields.