Search results for "emissions"

Smart vs conventional motorways: environmental impact assessment under realistic traffic conditions

2020

Abstract This research aims at assessing the environmental impacts exerted by a smart motorway compared to those of a traditional motorway. The study has global policy implications: it takes into account the impacts due to the construction and maintenance of the infrastructure and the environmental effects produced by the traffic emissions, taking into account smart technologies and truck platooning regulation. Through a classical LCA approach, 1 km-long smart motorway with 2 m-high embankment was assumed as the functional unit for the analysis. A realistic traffic condition has been considered. A comparison between environmental effects produced by the use of virgin material and by Reclaim…

From COVID-19 to future electrification: Assessing traffic impacts on air quality by a machine-learning model

2021

The large fluctuations in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic provide an unparalleled opportunity to assess vehicle emission control efficacy. Here we develop a random-forest regression model, based on the large volume of real-time observational data during COVID-19, to predict surface-level NO(2), O(3), and fine particle concentration in the Los Angeles megacity. Our model exhibits high fidelity in reproducing pollutant concentrations in the Los Angeles Basin and identifies major factors controlling each species. During the strictest lockdown period, traffic reduction led to decreases in NO(2) and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters <2.5 μm by –30.1% and –17.5%, respectively, bu…

Dynamics of outgassing and plume transport revealed by proximal Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) measurements at Volcán Villarrica, Chile

2019

Volcanic gas emissions are intimately linked to the dynamics of magma ascent and outgassing, and, on geological timescales, constitute an important source of volatiles to the Earth's atmosphere. Measurements of gas composition and flux are therefore critical to both volcano monitoring and to determining the contribution of volcanoes to global geochemical cycles. However, significant gaps remain in our global inventories of volcanic emissions, (particularly for CO2, which requires proximal sampling of a concentrated plume) for those volcanoes where the near‐vent region is hazardous or inaccessible. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) provide a robust and effective solution to proximal sampling of …

The impact of foreign trade on the Netherlands' real CO2 emissions

2019

Aim: CO2 emissions and the related climate change are a global problem, where the direct impact of actions of individual countries depends on their total share in CO2 emissions. In order to assess the potential for policy measures, the openness of an economy, and the related import and export and their impacts on emissions should be considered. The aim of this paper is the attempt to show the real CO2 emissions of the Netherlands as well as the impact of its trade on CO2 emissions in other countries in the world and in the EU in 2015.Design / Research methods: This study was conducted on the group of countries that are the major emitters of CO2 in the world including most of the EU members.…

Impact of Volcanic Emissions on Trace Elements Contents Measured in Endemic Plants at Mt. Etna (Italy)

2011

Gas emissions from five volcanoes in northern Chile and implications for the volatiles budget of the Central Volcanic Zone

2014

This study performed the first assessment of the volcanic gas output from the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of northern Chile. We present the fluxes and compositions of volcanic gases (H2O, CO2, H2, HCl, HF, and HBr) from five of the most actively degassing volcanoes in this region—Lascar, Lastarria, Putana, Ollague, and San Pedro—obtained during field campaigns in 2012 and 2013. The inferred gas plume compositions for Lascar and Lastarria (CO2/Stot = 0.9–2.2; Stot/HCl = 1.4–3.4) are similar to those obtained in the Southern Volcanic Zone of Chile, suggesting uniform magmatic gas fingerprint throughout the Chilean arc. Combining these compositions with our own UV spectroscopy measurements of …

A Risk-Based Approach for Mitigating Ethical Lapses

2019

In early 2008, the CEO of Volkswagen announced a 10-year plan that called for tripling the company’s U.S. sales by 2018. The executive gave marching orders to engineers to come up with a new technology that would enable VW to lower emissions of the new cars. The engineers failed to come up with a device that could do the job. Instead they deployed a defeating software would defeat the testing process. The 2009 VW Jetta clean diesel was launched in April 2008 and followed by the introduction of similarly equipped VW Golfs and Audi A3s. Over 145,000 vehicles were sold in the U.S. in three years. The scheme was eventually exposed, costing the company millions of dollars. This paper describes t…

The contribution of volcanic emissions (Etna, Stromboli and Vulcano) to the atmospheric trace metals budget in the Mediterranean basin

2010

Volcanic emissions represent one of the major natural source for several trace metals (Cd, Cu, As, Pb, Hg and Zn) into the atmosphere both as gaseous and aerosol forms. The Mediterranean Sea can be considered a large geochemical sink for these elements whose source are the huge amounts of aerosols of different origin. The industrialized areas located in the northern part of the basin represent a nearly constant source of the anthropogenic-dominated aerosol. By contrast, the arid and desert regions located at the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean, are the sources of frequent dust “pulses” perturbing the “steady-state” conditions of the local atmosphere through the input of seve…

Measurement methodology for greenhouse gas emissions from storage of forest chips–A review

2015

Abstract Research on greenhouse gas emission related to solid biofuels has focused mainly on the emissions from end use and the production chain. GHG emissions from the storage of forest chips have not received much attention in recent literature. In order for EU emission reduction targets to be fully understood, emissions from solid biofuel storage needs to be better described. Usually emissions from chip piles have been modelled using studies from organic waste composting but these two materials can differ appreciably; for example the C/N-ratio and moisture content. Herein, previous studies on greenhouse gas emissions from forest chips piles during storage are reviewed. The objective is t…

Torrefied versus conventional pellet production – A comparative study on energy and emission balance based on pilot-plant data and EU sustainability …

2015

Abstract Torrefaction is an emerging technology which enables greater co-firing rates of biomass with coal. To date however there has been a lack of real production data from pilot-scale torrefaction plants. Without such data any environmental benefits of torrefied pellet production are difficult to quantify. In this study data on consumable inputs from a semi-industrial torrefaction plant and the physical properties of produced pellets are used to analyse energy input and air emissions of torrefied pellet production and product transport. EU sustainability criteria are used to compare CO2-equivalent emissions from torrefied and conventional pellet production starting from harvesting of log…