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This study assessed the environmental footprint of craft micro-breweries in Wales using attributional life cycle assessment with an expanded boundary to account for the use of co-products as animal feed on local farms. Seven breweries took part in this study, each with unique characteristics, inter alia, annual beer production volumes, batch capacity, beer to water ratio and packaging formats. Value chain stages included barley and hop cultivation, upstream processing, upstream distribution of brewing ingredients, brewery production, packaging, downstream distribution of beers and waste management. Contrary to previous studies of mass-produced beer where packaging has been found to be the hotspot driving the largest share of environmental burdens, this study found downstream distribution to be the unexpected hotspot owing to inefficient use of light commercial vehicles for regional distribution of the beer. Packaging burdens for micro-breweries were modest owing to the majority of beer being distributed in re-usable casks and kegs rather than bottles. But where bottles were used, contract bottling increased transport requirements and footprints. Carbon footprints ranged from 760 to 1900 g CO2 eq. per L beer, whilst for fossil resource depletion ranged from 12 to 30 MJ per L. Normalised scores were highest for fossil resource depletion, global warming potential, acidification, terrestrial eutrophication, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication and photochemical ozone formation. Distribution and packaging present opportunities to reduce the environmental footprint of craft beers that require further investigation.

The Industrial Emission Directive (IED) requires industrial establishments to apply the best available techniques (BATs), and competent environmental authorities to set permit conditions based on the emission levels associated with BATs. However, the Directive provides no tools for the assessment of BATs leading to the determination of BAT at the installation level. This study applies the cross-media effects assessment methodology to assess BATs at the installation level, applicable to all industrial sectors. The methodology considers cross-media impacts, economic evaluations such as initial and operation and maintenance cost, and cost-effectiveness as the assessment criteria and relies on emission data both from the local level and operating installations. As an example of application, the methodology was applied to the BAT selection for reducing dust emissions from the sintering process of the iron and steel production. The BAT options of the integrated bag filter system (BFS) and advanced electrostatic precipitator (ESP) were compared. The results suggested that ESP has lower impacts in the impact categories of acidification potential, photochemical ozone creation potential, and eutrophication potential than BFS. In contrast, BFS has lower impacts on the other categories. However, the results from the economic analyses revealed a remarkable advantage of ESP over BFS. With these findings, it was concluded that the identification of the best abatement option for dust emissions with a particular reference to BAT is a complex issue. Industrial establishments and the competent environmental authorities must consider not only the environmental impacts and economic evaluations but also legal obligations in developing their approach to emission control.

The main objective of this research is to analyse and compare the photochemical ozone production coming from one neighbourhood initially located in Belgium. Which the same neighbourhood design is applied in150 countries, by applying four parameters adapted to each country such as: energy mix, local climate, building materials and occupants’ mobility. In addition, this research evaluates the induced environmental costs of the neighbourhood over a life cycle of 100 years in some regions located on the five continents, and examines the effect of photovoltaic panel on the photochemical ozone concentration. This environmental impact was evaluated by the Pleiades ACV simulation software under four phases (construction, use, renovation, and demolition), before being translated into environmental costs. The results show that in the case of sustainable neighbourhoods, the photochemical ozone production is 14.3% higher in the Low than High income countries. Photovoltaic panel has a significant effect on the photochemical ozone production, indeed, it allows to reduce up to 8.6% of this one. By 2030, if each of the 150 studied countries, increases up to 30% the renewable energy rate in its own energy mix, to the current examples of countries such as: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Costa Rica, DRC, Nepal, Tajikistan ..., so, Photochemical Ozone Production will decrease from 32% to 45% depending on the region. An average of 56% of photochemical ozone potential (POP) is produced during the operational phase of the neighbourhood.

Estimates of the photochemical ozone generation rate, PQ, and the ozone production efficiency (OPE) per molecule of NOx (=NO + NO2), ∆P, are obtained for the region of Central Siberia based on near surface observations of the concentrations of ozone (O3) and nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) at ZOTTO (Zotino Tall Tower Observatory) in 2007–2015. The experimental data are approximated well by the power dependences PQ ∝ [NOx]–n + 1, ΔP ∝ [NOx]–n, n = 0.82 ± 0.06 (the determination coefficient R2 = 0.66), which correspond to the NOx-limiting regime of ozone generation in a weakly polluted air mass. The average value for the summer months ΔP ~ 30.0–43.7 [mol.O3/mol.NOx] agrees with the OPE value of 39.8 [mol.O3/mol.NOx] obtained from the numerical experiments using the GEOS-chem global transport-chemical model. The observation data indicate the significant role of anthropogenic emissions of NOx in the regional ozone balance and the necessity of taking this factor into account in predicting ecological risks in the Siberian regions that are traditionally regarded as ecologically pure.

The use of secondary mining resources to replace conventional constituents in mortars production has proved the effectiveness to preserve the quality of mechanical, physical, and chemical properties. However, minimal research has been performed to quantify the environmental impacts of mortars with mining residues. In the present work, a life cycle assessment of 10 mortars was carried out. A reference mortar (100% of cement binder) and mortars with cement substitutions in 10, 25, and 50% by raw, electrodialytic treated, and electrodialytic plus thermal treated mining residues were analysed. The impacts were studied in six environmental categories: (1) abiotic depletion, (2) global warming, (3) ozone depletion, (4) photochemical ozone creation, (5) acidification, and (6) eutrophication potentials. The results demonstrated that mortars formulated with raw mining residues may decrease the environmental impacts, namely in global warming potential (55.1 kg CO2 eq./t modified mortar). Considering the treatments applied to mining residues, the major mitigations were reported in photochemical ozone creation (−99%), ozone depletion (−76 to −98%), and acidification potential (−90 to −94%), mainly due to the disposal impacts avoided in comparison to the reference mortar. Analysing all mortars’ constituents and their management options, products with electrodialytic treated mining residues showed higher influence in ozone depletion (18 to 52%). Coupling a thermal procedure, mining residues contributed for 99% of the abiotic depletion potential of mortars.

(1) Background: The importance of Zinc in today&rsquo, s world can hardly be exaggerated&mdash, from anticorrosion properties, to its durability, aesthetic, and even medicinal uses&mdash, zinc is ever-present in our daily lives ever since its discovery in ancient times. The natural, essential, durable, and recyclable features of zinc make it a prized material with uses in many applications across a wide array of fields. The purpose of this study was to compare two life cycle impact assessments of zinc production by using two different main raw materials: (A) zinc concentrates (sulfide ore) and (B) Waelz oxides (obtained through recycling existing imperial smelting process furnace slags). The Waelz oxide scenario was based on a case study regarding the existing slag deposit located in Copsa Mica town, Sibiu county, Romania. (2) Methods: consequential life cycle impact assessment methods were applied to each built system, with real process data obtained from the case study enterprise. (3) Results: Overall, the use of slags in the Waelz kiln to produce zinc oxides for use in the production of zinc metal is beneficial to the environment in some areas (acidification, water, and terrestrial eutrophication), whereas in other areas it has a slightly larger impact (climate change, photochemical ozone formation, and ozone depletion). (4) Conclusions: The use of slags (considered a waste) is encouraged to produce zinc metal, where available. The results are not absolute, suggesting the further need for fine-tuning the input data and other process parameters.

The purpose of this study was to identify the major wastes generated during the construction phase using a life cycle assessment. To accomplish this, the amount of waste generated in the construction phase was deduced using the loss rate and weight conversions. Major construction wastes were assessed using six comprehensive environmental impact categories, including global warming potential, abiotic depletion potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, ozone depletion potential, and photochemical ozone creation potential. According to the analysis results, five main construction wastes&mdash, concrete, rebar, cement, polystyrene panel, and concrete block&mdash, comprehensively satisfied the 95% cutoff criteria for all six environmental impact categories. The results of the environmental impact characterization assessment revealed that concrete, concrete block, and cement waste accounted for over 70% of the contribution level in all the environmental impact categories except resource depletion. Insulation materials accounted for 1% of the total waste generated but were identified by the environmental impact assessment to have the highest contribution level.

Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-10T17:35:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-06-01 Purpose Green manufacturing (GM) is the environmental benign manufacturing of products with a minimal negative impact on the natural environment. Research studies on GM have increased in the last years with attention to the application of life cycle assessment (LCA). However, the manufacturing industry still faces some barriers and challenges that hinder a proper practical integration of GM using LCA. Accordingly, this paper performs an LCA-based GM case study of a wood-based industry that produces particleboards to investigate environmental hotspots and suggests GM indicators and solutions for a hot-pressing machine tool. Methods A case study of a wood-based industry that produces particleboards in Brazil was designed. A LCA-based GM framework was developed and applied according to its three phases: pre-assessment, environmental assessment and monitoring, and post-assessment. Each phase is composed of specific stages and each stage has its own activities and goals. To quantify the environmental life cycle impacts, the ILCD midpoint method with 13 impact categories was selected. Based on these environmental impacts, a set of indicators and solutions was designed to improve the product life cycle impacts through a greener manufacturing process of particleboards. A cradle-to-grave approach was used to model the particleboard life cycle and the manufacturing phase was modeled based on the unit process life cycle inventory (UPLCI) methodology. Results and discussion The particleboard manufacture was designed into five unit processes and results of the pre-assessment showed that the hot-pressing unit was the most relevant process because of its direct and indirect impacts mainly to human toxicity cancer effects, global warming, and photochemical ozone formation. During the environmental assessment and monitoring phase, the hot-pressing machine was then investigated based on the main contributors to the caused environmental impacts, i.e., electricity consumption and air emissions of free formaldehyde, as well as in terms of its most relevant process parameters: pressure (P) and temperature (T). Opportunities to reduce up to 21% upstream impacts and up to 41% downstream impacts were identified from making simple changes to the hot-pressing parameters. Further investigation in the post-assessment revealed that environmental impacts can be estimated based on the appliedPandTvalues and GM indicators were suggested. Conclusions The proposed GM framework can be used in other case studies to integrate GM + LCA in practice. Results of the case study application showed that the hot-pressing machine was a hotspot into the cradle-to-grave life cycle impacts of particleboards and the proposed GM indicators can be used to predict life cycle impacts at manufacturing level. Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Ctr Sci & Technol Management, Res Grp Sustainabil Engn, Dept Prod Engn, Rodovia Joao Leme Santos,Km 110,SP 264, BR-13565905 Sorocaba, SP, Brazil Midwestern State Univ, Dept Forest Engn, PR 153,Km 7 S-N, BR-84500000 Irati, PR, Brazil Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Civil Engn, Rodovia Washington Luis,Km 235,SP 310, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil Sao Paulo State Univ, Tres Marco Ave 511, BR-18087180 Sorocaba, SP, Brazil Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Engn Sao Carlos, Dept Struct Engn, Av Trabalhador Sao Carlene, BR-13566590 Sao Carlos, SP, Brazil Katholieke Univ Leuven, Dept Mech Engn, Campus Diepenbeek,Wetenschapspk 27, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium Sao Paulo State Univ, Tres Marco Ave 511, BR-18087180 Sorocaba, SP, Brazil

This paper proposes a case study on Belgium in which externalities and external costs of inland freight transport modes in Belgium are compared for the year 2012. The well-known Life Cycle Assessment methodology is used to identify the updated specific Belgian externalities related to three categories of negative impacts: climate change, photochemical ozone formation and particulate matter formation. The obtained values of externalities are then compared to the related external cost values. The objective is to determine if these two tools can be used interchangeably. We find that road transport has the maximum impact for every environmental impact indicator, with rail freight transport presenting the minimum one. We identify that each category of negative impact on the environment does not represent the same percentage of global externalities and external costs. In the analysis of the environmental impact per mode, it is observed that, when external costs are considered instead of externalities, the impact of road transport is slightly increased compared to both impacts of rail and inland waterways. Using externalities and average external costs interchangeably for estimating the impact of specific transport categories on the environment may thus lead to different results and different related policies.

Certain levels of stratospheric ozone are essential for existence of life. On the other hand, it has been proven that even very low levels of tropospheric or photochemical ozone damages plants and materials such as rubber and have harmful effects on the human respiratory system. With increasing industrialization and the tendency of majority of industries to congregate in areas which are already heavily industrialized, the problem of air pollution has begun to be felt in India. Short-term studies conducted by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur have confirmed that cities like Calcutta, Mumbai, Delhi and Pune are facing the impact of air pollution on a steadily increasing level. The present study deals with ground level ozone concentration at different sites in Pune. The sites have been categorized as residential cum commercial (Nalstop), commercial (Swargate), industrial (Bhosari), mixed land use (Karve Road), and area outside Pune (PimpriChinchwad Municipal Corporation). The average concentration of ozone in Pune as measured during the study period ranges from 0.39 ppmv to 3.36 ppmv. Bhosari has recorded maximum average concentration of ozone whereas Karve road shows the minimum average concentration of ozone.

Exhaust emissions from diesel vehicles have recently been receiving global attention, due to potential human health effects associated with exposure to emitted pollutants. In addition, a link has recently been established between unburnt hydrocarbon (HC) emissions from diesel engines and photochemical smog. Despite being present at very low concentrations in the exhaust, these HCs may act as precursors in the formation of photochemical smog pollution. While short-chain HCs are easier to characterise and have been successfully reduced in many developed cities, longer chain HCs, most likely arising from diesel exhaust emissions, have been poorly quantified and to date, a limited range of HCs from this source has been studied. In this study, transient cycle tests were conducted to collect exhaust emissions from a Euro 3 compliant, 1.6 L test engine fuelled with three diesel fuels (SAM10, PAR10, and EUR10), using portable denuder samplers which were analysed by thermal desorption-comprehensive 2D gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (TD-GC x GC-TofMS). The SAM10 diesel had the greatest n-alkane emissions with greater emissions observed in the earlier phases (low and medium phase) of the WLTC test cycle. PAR10 diesel had the second highest n-alkane emissions and EUR10 had the lowest n-alkane emissions amongst the three fuels. Substituted alkyl-benzenes were also detected in the gas phase emissions from each fuel. The results showed that long-chain HCs were present at easily detectable concentrations in diesel engine exhaust emissions, which is critical in understanding their contribution to photochemical ozone and informing appropriate mitigation and management strategies.

The influence of climatically significant regional sources of NOx (=NO + NO2), CO, and biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on the photochemical generation of surface ozone (O3) in the lower troposphere over Europe and Siberia is studied. The sensitivity of the O3 field to the total emissions of ozone precursors is calculated using a global 3D chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) based on the 2007–2012 databases for anthropogenic (EDGAR) and biogenic (MEGAN, GFED) emissions. The amount of photochemical ozone generated during the summer months is in good correlation with the air-mass age determined from the ratio between $${\text{N}}{{{\text{O}}}_{x}}$$ and (total reactive nitrogen) $${\text{N}}{{{\text{O}}}_{y}},$$ when the mean contribution of regional sources is $${\Delta\text{}}{{{\text{O}}}_{{\text{3}}}}$$ ~ 10–15 ppb, which is 20–30% of its background concentration in the middle latitudes ( $${{{\text{O}}}_{{\text{3}}}}$$ ~ 35–45 ppb). The quantitative estimates of the ozone production efficiency $${{{\Delta\text{}}{{{\text{O}}}_{{\text{3}}}}} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{{\Delta\text{}}{{{\text{O}}}_{{\text{3}}}}} \Delta }} \right. \kern-0em} \Delta }{\text{(N}}{{{\text{O}}}_{y}} - {\text{N}}{{{\text{O}}}_{x}}{\text{)}}$$ ( $${\text{N}}{{{\text{O}}}_{y}}$$ is the total reactive nitrogen) for the summer months of the indicated period (~10–30 mol O3/mol NOx) are in good agreement with the theory of photochemical ozone generation under the conditions of slightly polluted air.

The rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of cyc-CF2CF2CF2CH=CH– with OH radicals were determined by a relative rate method between 253 and 328 K. The rate constant k1 at 298 K was measured to be (1.08 ± 0.04) × 10−13 cm3 molecule−1 s−1, and the Arrhenius expression was k1 = (3.72 ± 0.14) × 10−13 exp [(−370 ± 12)/T]. The atmospheric lifetime of cyc-CF2CF2CF2CH=CH– was calculated to be 107 d. The products and mechanism for the reaction of cyc-CF2CF2CF2CH=CH– with OH radicals were also investigated. CO, CO2, and COF2 were identified as the main carbon-containing products following the OH-initiated reaction. Moreover, the radiative efficiency (RE) was determined to be 0.143 W m−2 ppb−1, and the global warming potentials (GWPs) for 20, 100, and 500 yr were 54, 15, and 4, respectively. The photochemical ozone creation potential of the title compound was estimated to be 1.3.

Author(s): Kim, S; Jeong, D; Sanchez, D; Wang, M; Seco, R; Blake, D; Meinardi, S; Barletta, B; Hughes, S; Jung, J; Kim, D; Lee, G; Lee, M; Ahn, J; Lee, SD; Cho, G; Sung, MY; Lee, YH; Park, R | Abstract: We present the ambient ozone and relevant observed trace gas dataset in Seoul, South Korea, during the Megacity Air Pollution Studies (MAPS)-Seoul field campaign from May to June of 2015 (MAPS-Seoul 2015). We observed two distinctive periods, one with higher and the other with lower daytime ozone levels despite mostly clear conditions for both periods. The importance of peroxy radical contributions to excess ozone production is illustrated by the substantial differences in the Leighton constant (Φ) for the two periods. Moreover, higher levels of hydroxyl radical (OH) reactivity (s–1) were observed during the high ozone episode compared to the low ozone episode by as much as ~5 s–1. The contributions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) to OH reactivity become less important than those of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the high ozone episode, which suggests the NOx saturated ozone production regime. It was also notable that the biogenic VOC isoprene consistently contributed the most to OH reactivity from among the observed VOCs during the afternoon throughout the whole field campaign. Finally, we ran multiple box model scenarios to evaluate the ozone production rates of three different air mixtures: a high ozone mixture, a low ozone mixture, and a simulation of the regional air quality. The results indicate that the total OH reactivity levels and the relative contributions of VOCs to NOx play critical roles in ozone production rates. The simulated air quality mixture results in lower OH reactivity, causing lower ozone production rates than those calculated for the high ozone mixture, which clearly indicates the need for further improvements in the regional model to accurately simulate ozone precursors in the region. The results of this study suggest that a comprehensive trace gas dataset combined with observations of the OH reactivity enables us to properly diagnose the photochemistry behind ozone pollution, leading to effective ozone abatement policies.

The Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP) scale quantifies the relative abilities of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to produce ground level ozone. POCP values are usually calculated using atmospheric boundary layer models containing detailed representations of atmospheric VOC degradation chemistry. The sensitivity of POCP values to variation of a number of kinetic and mechanistic parameters has been investigated here. It is shown that POCP values for VOCs can be rationalized in terms of their molecular structure and OH reactivity. As a result, a simple method has been developed and optimized that allows POCP values for north-west European and USA urban reference conditions to be estimated for alkanes, alkenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, and several oxygenated VOC classes without the requirement to construct a detailed chemical mechanism or run an atmospheric model. The procedure for determining the estimated POCP value (POCPE) is described, and the results are presented and discussed.

Ozone at ground level was proven to have causal relationships with ill health of human. Managing air pollution was carried out mainly as federal initiatives. Local ground ozone management has not been given adequate emphasis. There were studies conducted to path basic understanding of the ozone critical conversion point (CCP) which explain ozone transformation behaviour from its precursors. The interactions diurnally between nitrogen oxides, temperature and sunlight, have determined photochemical ozone rates. The obtained CCP lies in between the critical conversion time (CCT) which is from 8.00 to 11 a.m. as been determined using composite diurnal plot method which has open the possibility to use photochemical ozone rates to determine CCT. This crucial information could be further used to determine exact rates of ozone photochemical transformations from its precursor. Understanding the behaviour of ozone transformation should lead to local ozone management plan being drawn. The authorities could adopt the proposed framework of local ozone management and prevention in Malaysia for more effective actions.

Biological techniques are widely used to treat gaseous streams derived from waste treatment plants. The generation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is one of the principal pollution sources in composting facilities from which nuisance odours are released. In addition, the generation of photochemical smog with other gases such as NOX can produce ozone at ground level due to their photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP). In this work, the performance of an industrial biofilter was evaluated from an environmental point of view. Specifically, this study evaluated the potential impact in terms of photochemical oxidation and odour emission derived from composting in a vessel under four different aeration conditions. Gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS) was used to perform the chemical characterisation of the gaseous streams, while dynamic olfactometry was used to carry out the sensorial analysis. A total of 95 compounds belonging to 12 different families of VOCs were selected. Principal component analysis revealed the influence of each VOC family on each impact category and explained 88% of the total variance. Multivariate regression was used to study the correlation between photochemical oxidation and odour impact, which has never been reported before. The correlations obtained (r ≥ 0.97) evidenced the direct relationship between these two impacts. Photochemical oxidation and odour emission were proven to be important environmental impacts derived from composting facilities, whose abatement might be carried out by biofiltration systems.

With the increasingly severe ozone pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in recent years, NO2 photolysis has attracted our attention as the main source of tropospheric ozone generation. The photolysis rate of NO2 (J(NO2)) is of great importance for the quantification of photochemical ozone generation and photochemical pollution research, but its long-term changes in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region remain unclear. An efficient reconstruction method for J(NO2) was established via simulations with the troposphere ultraviolet and visible radiation (TUV) model and the observations of J(NO2) and total ultraviolet (UV) radiation at a typical suburban site in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. We introduced the cloud modification factor in this method which improved the R2 value between the calculated and observed J(NO2) values from 0.64 to 0.94 over the TUV clear-sky simulation level. A long-term (2005–2019) J(NO2) dataset in Xianghe was reconstructed by applying this method. The annual mean J(NO2) value reached 3.5*10−3 s−1 from2005 to 2019. The annual mean J(NO2) value fluctuated slightly from 2005 to 2012 but increased evidently in the last 7 years. The increase rates of the annual mean J(NO2) value and O(3P) generation via NO2 photolysis were 1.3*10−4 s−1 per year and 1.1*10−3 ppb•s−1 per year, respectively, from 2013 to 2019. From 2005 to 2019, J(NO2) exhibited the sharpest increasing trend in summer, but increased the least in spring. The monthly mean J(NO2) value was the highest in May and the lowest in November. Our results demonstrated that to control the ozone concentration in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, we must pay more attention to the reduction in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under the year-by-year increase in ambient J(NO2).

RR-GC-FID technique was used to investigate the rate coefficient (k) for the reaction of vinyl butyrate (VB) with Cl atoms in the temperature range of 268 and 363 K at 760 Torr of N2. The k at 298 K was measured to be k 298 K VB + C l = 2.57 ± 0.68 × 10 - 10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. To comprehend the reaction pathway, and kinetic parameters associated with the title reaction were assessed computationally using CVT/SCT/ISPE method at CCSD(T)//MP2/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. Product analysis was performed using GC–MS and GC-IR. Cumulative Atmospheric Lifetime (CAL), Radiative Forcing (RF), Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP) were estimated.

application/pdf, Article, Environmental Science and Technology. 2017, 51 (5), p.2871-2878

A novel procedure for assessing the environmental risk related to solvent emissions has been developed. The assessment of risk was based on detailed hazard and exposure investigations. The potential exposure related to different environmental phases was calculated using a basic multimedia model, which gives the percentage distribution of solvent in environmental compartments as a result. Specific hazards – toxicological, environmental persistence or photochemical ozone creation data have been assigned to each compartment. The environmental distribution of solvents gives the weights applied in the multicriteria decision analysis, which was applied to obtain the full ranking of solvents. The results show that alcohols and esters can be considered as low environmental risk solvents, whereas chlorinated solvents or aromatic hydrocarbons are the most problematic. The assessment procedure holds promise for solvent selection during process design as well as in finding alternatives to hazardous solvents used in existing processes.

The rate constant for gas-phase reactions of OH radicals with 1H-heptafluorocyclopentene (cyc-CF2CF2CF2CF═CH−) was measured using a relative rate method at 298 K: (5.20 ± 0.09) × 10–14 cm3 molecule–1 s–1. The quoted uncertainty includes two standard deviations from the least-squares regression, the systematic error from the GC analysis, and the uncertainties of the rate constants of the reference compounds. The OH-radical-initiated oxidation of cyc-CF2CF2CF2CF═CH– gives the main products COF2, CO, and CO2, leading to negligible environmental impact. For consumptions of cyc-CF2CF2CF2CF═CH– of less than 54%, the yield of the formation of ([COF2] + [CO] + [CO2])/5 (based on the conservation of carbon) was 0.99 ± 0.02, which is very close to 100%. A possible degradation mechanism was proposed. The radiative efficiency (RE) of cyc-CF2CF2CF2CF═CH– measured at room temperature was 0.215 W m–2 ppb–1. The atmospheric lifetime of cyc-CF2CF2CF2CF═CH– was calculated as 0.61 year, and the photochemical ozone creation ...

Ozone sources and factors responsible for anomalous surface ozone concentrations are discussed. Foreign observations and measurements of surface ozone in Moscow, nearby suburbs, and on the territory far removed from the megalopolis, as well as on the coast of the Black Sea, are used as an example to illustrate the interrelations between elevated surface ozone concentrations, air temperature, and transport speed in the planetary boundary layer, and to show the dependence on advection of ozone and its precursors. Studies of factors responsible for ozone episodes and causes of decreased ozone concentrations under meteorological conditions favorable for photochemical ozone production are the basis for interpretation and correction of model ozone predictions.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were continuously observated in a northern suburb of Nanjing, a typical industrial area in the Yangtze River Delta, in a summer observation period from 15th May to 31st August 2013. The average concentration of total VOCs was (34.40 ± 25.20) ppbv, including alkanes (14.98 ± 12.72) ppbv, alkenes (7.35 ± 5.93) ppbv, aromatics (9.06 ± 6.64) ppbv and alkynes (3.02 ± 2.01) ppbv, respectively. Source apportionment via Positive Matrix Factorization was conducted, and six major sources of VOCs were identified. The industry-related sources, including industrial emissions and industrial solvent usage, occupied the highest proportion, accounting for about 51.26% of the VOCs. Vehicular emissions occupied the second highest proportion, accounting for about 34.08%. The rest accounted for about 14.66%, including vegetation emission and liquefied petroleum gas/natural gas usage. Contributions of VOCs to photochemical O 3 formation were evaluated by the application of a detailed chemical mechanism model (NCAR MM). Alkenes were the dominant contributors to the O 3 photochemical production, followed by aromatics and alkanes. Alkynes had a very small impact on photochemical O 3 formation. Based on the outcomes of the source apportionment, a sensitivity analysis of relative O 3 reduction efficiency (RORE), under different source removal regimes such as using the reduction of VOCs from 10% to 100% as input, was conducted. The RORE was the highest (~ 20%–40%) when the VOCs from solvent-related sources decreased by 40%. The highest RORE values for vegetation emissions, industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, and LPG/NG usage were presented in the scenarios of 50%, 80%, 40% and 40%, respectively.

In this study, the emissions to air produced using massive wood material in manufacturing of a Massiv–Holz–Mauer (MHM) wall system have been assessed. The results have been compared with a traditional brick wall. The sustainability of materials was determined using the following impact categories: global warming potential (GWP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP) and human toxicity potential (HTP). Using wood material in building design can reduce the environmental impact to air up to 59 % compared to using traditional material such as brick. The major contributions to the emissions of the MHM wall production are related to the sawmill process, to the manufacturing of fibreboards and aluminium nails. Furthermore, a displacement factor of 0.52 t CO2eq per ton of oven-dried wood for MHM building system used in place of the brick wall was determined for the considered system boundaries.

This paper focuses on the evaluation of potential environmental impacts of food waste management practices by material flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) during different life cycle stages toward the environmentally sustainable options for Daejeon Metropolitan City (DMC) in Korea. The MFA and LCA studies were conducted to examine different recycling facilities of food waste. The results of the LCA study indicate that, among the different recycling methodologies currently in practice in DMC, Scenario 4 (wet and dry feed site) conduced to higher global warming potential (GWP) and higher acidification potential (AP), whereas Scenarios 2 (wet feed site 1) and 3 (wet feed site 2) resulted in the lowest impact. This is mainly due to the emission caused during the treatment stage. For eutrophication potential (EP), Scenario 1 (composting site) contributed to higher environmental impacts due to the emission of ammonia generated during the treatment process, while in case of photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP), the collection stage for all recycling facilities led to higher impacts to the environment due to the combustion of fossil fuels. This study indicates that the proper disposal of the final residues, such as solid sludge and screened materials, could aid in reducing environmental burdens.

Electrochemical reduction is a promising technology capable of converting CO2 into valuable chemical feedstock. However, the feasibility of transferring small-scale experimental successes to larger scale set-ups calls for careful investigation based on a holistic or system-wide perspective. Electrochemical reduction is a promising technology that is capable of converting CO2 into valuable chemical feedstock. However, the feasibility of bringing reported lab bench successes to industrially relevant scale requires careful assessment from a system-based perspective. This paper presents a unique Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) case study assessing the potential environmental impacts of both small- and large-scale set ups of CO2-to-ethylene conversion via electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). The LCA parameters are modelled according to the current progress of CO2RR from a literature study and an industry standard for CO2 capture and product separation. The output of small scale CO2RR systems are set to 1 g C2H4, while a hypothetical industrial scale is set at 1 ton C2H4 production. Various scenarios taking into account different energy sources to power CO2RR to C2H4 scales are investigated. Apart from the global warming potential (GWP) impacts, other environmental impacts are projected for a more holistic evaluation of CO2RR implementation: acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), human toxicity potential (HTP), and photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP). An important message of this study is that the environmental benefits or burdens from small-scale set ups cannot be directly transferred – or linearly projected – to large-scale models. It is also highlighted that along with the focus on GWP reduction, other environmental consequences such as AP, EP, HTP and POCP have to be carefully considered.

Colombia aims to diversify and decarbonize its energy sector by encouraging the use of non-conventional renewable resources. Policies and/or measures to achieve this will presumably help to achieve national and international environmental goals, yet potential rebound effects may reduce its efficacy by triggering additional demand and environmental burdens. One of such rebound effects may take place as household demand rises in response to cheaper electricity prices due to the increasing shares of wind power. This study assesses the environmental rebound effect (ERE) in the household sector from increased shares of wind power into the Colombian power grid, across six environmental impacts and for the period 2020–2030. The method used combines life cycle assessment, input-output modelling, energy system modelling, econometrics, and re-spending modelling. The results show that the ERE has the potential to partially, and even completely, offset any environmental savings (backfire effect), depending on the specific impact, year, and modelling choices considered. The magnitude of the ERE (as the percentage of potential environmental savings that are offset) ranges highly across impacts, from a negligible 1% (eutrophication) to a staggering 9241% (photochemical ozone creation). The ERE has thus the potential to render decarbonization policies largely ineffective, which calls for rebound mitigation policies, such as environmental taxes.

Methacrolein (MACR) and methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) are key intermediate compounds in isoprene-initiated reactions, and they cause the formation of secondary organic aerosols and photochemical ozone. The importance of higher plants as a sink of these compounds and as a source of volatiles converted from these compounds was addressed in the present study. We exposed four non-isoprene-emitting plant species to MACR and MVK at concentrations of several to several hundred ppb, measured their uptake rates, and analyzed the volatiles converted from MACR and MVK by these plants. We used a flow-through chamber method to determine the exchange rates. Both MACR and MVK were absorbed by all plants via stomata. Two metabolites, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and 2-butanol, were detected when MVK was fumigated. The conversion ratio was 26&ndash, 39% for MEK and 33&ndash, 44% for all volatiles. Combined with the results of two previous relevant reports, our results suggest that MEK conversion from MVK normally occurs in a wide range of plant species, but the conversion ratio may depend on plant type, i.e., if plant species are isoprene-emitting or non-emitting, as well as on the fumigation concentrations. This finding also emphasizes the importance of bilateral exchange measurements of these compounds at lower concentrations close to ambient levels.

The influence of collection efficiency and of legal regulations on both the technology and the effectiveness of energy and fertilizer recovery from the anaerobic digestion (AD) of bio-waste was investigated in a life cycle perspective for the Italian context. Concerning collection efficiency, some correlation was detected to both the AD technology and the amount of energy and fertilizer recovered. Nine out of 31 CE plants were based on solid anaerobic digestion batch located in those areas with collection efficiency 85% able to recover on average about 130 kg of fertilizer and 275 kWh of electricity per each Mg of bio-waste. Wet AD was also the only adopted for larger size plants from 60,000 Mg/year up to 600,000 Mg/year. Legal constraint on the direct use on land of the digestate caused an average increase of main impacts such as global warming (kgCO2eq), freshwater eutrophication (kgPeq) and human health (DALY) of about 300%. The effect of the quality of the bio-waste returned after the collection showed lower incidence on the overall impacts of about 20%, and mainly limited to global warming (kgCO2eq) and photochemical ozone formation (kgNMVOCeq).

This study assessed the influence of matter discharged during the production (dry/wet) of recycled aggregate on global warming potential (GWP) and acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), biotic resource depletion potential (ADP), photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP) using the ISO 14044 (LCA) standard. The LCIA of dry recycled aggregate was 2.94 &times, 10&minus, 2 kg-CO2eq/kg, 2.93 &times, 5 kg-SO2eq/kg, 5.44 &times, 6 kg-PO43eq/kg, 4.70 &times, 10 kg-CFC11eq/kg, 1.25 &times, 5 kg-C2H4eq/kg, and 1.60 &times, 5 kg-Antimonyeq/kg, respectively. The environmental impact of recycled aggregate (wet) was up to 16~40% higher compared with recycled aggregate (dry), the amount of energy used by impact crushers while producing wet recycled aggregate was the main cause for this result. The environmental impact of using recycled aggregate was found to be up to twice as high as that of using natural aggregate, largely due to the greater simplicity of production of natural aggregate requiring less energy. However, ADP was approximately 20 times higher in the use of natural aggregate because doing so depletes natural resources, whereas recycled aggregate is recycled from existing construction waste. Among the life cycle impacts assessment of recycled aggregate, GWP was lower than for artificial light-weight aggregate but greater than for slag aggregate.

This study looked at the variation in air quality during the periods of fireworks as assessed from the change in ambient concentrations of air pollutants like particulate matter (PM10), O3, and NO2 for pre-, post-, and Vishu days for four consecutive years in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 in Kannur, India. Enhanced levels of O3, NO2, NO, and PM10 were observed during the intense usage of fireworks. The concentration of metals in PM10 increased and the percent increase was found to be different for metal traces. A pronounced increase in the aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the lower wavelength region of solar radiation reveals the abundance of fine mode particles. The concentrations of O3 and NO2 were observed to increase by more than 100% on Vishu day than the control days for the observational period. Simulation using the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Master Mechanism photochemical box model indicates a more than 100% enhancement in NO2 photolysis rates during the fireworks episode, which leads to a 100% increase in the surface ozone production. Observations as well as model simulations indicate that the enhanced photochemical ozone production from NO2 photolysis is possibly the main driver of ozone production during the Vishu at this site. The air quality index (AQI) revealed the deterioration of air quality at the observational site during the period of Vishu.

This article shows that the choice of an officially recommended, healthy diet can be an effective tool in environmental protection. At the same time, it contributes in resolving the increasing problems of lifestyle diseases. A vegetarian diet is even more effective. Ultimately, the alternative diets can relieve the global problem of famine affecting approximately 1 billion people, and possibly even the present energy crisis. With Denmark as an example, it is shown that the recommended healthy food is 20% cheaper for the consumer than the present diet. Choosing the healthy diet instead of the present one contributes more to protecting the environment than simultaneously saving 10% gasoline when driving and 10% on domestic electricity and heating. Politicians are found to be mainly responsible for motivating the individual's choice of diet, and a recent Danish study showed that the public wants them to act. Among the multitude of available instruments, for example, legislation, required labeling, campaigns, education, advertisements, regulating availability, and various tax instruments, it is argued, by means of analogy, that lowering sales taxes on healthy, environmentally friendly foods and beverages while increasing taxes on unhealthy, environmentally harmful foods and beverages is a reasonable and effective way forward. But for maximum effectiveness, a combination of strategies will be necessary.

The objective of the study is the environmental assessment of construction solutions for concrete paving. In the study, unit environmental indicators for selected road construction solutions for the KR1 traffic have been determined. The considerations include road constructions with substructures made of: lean concrete, cement bound soil and crush-stone aggregate. Seven key environmental indicators were adopted for the evaluation as recommended by the PN-EN 15643-2:2011 standard “Sustainability of construction works. Part 2: Framework for the assessment of environmental performance”: global warming potential (GWP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), acid-generating potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP), abiotic depletion potential for nonfossil resources (ADPE), abiotic depletion potential for fossil resources (ADPF). The weights were adopted on the basis of the DTT method, assessing the distance of EU domestic impacts from the desired state set by EU binding policy targets.

Hong Kong, as one of the densely populated metropolises in East Asia, has been suffering from severe photochemical smog in the past decades, though the observed nitrogen oxides ( NOx ) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) were significantly reduced. This study, based on the observation data in the autumns of 2007, 2013 and 2016, investigated the photochemical ozone ( O3 ) formation and radical chemistry during the three sampling periods in Hong Kong with the aid of a photochemical box model incorporating the Master Chemical Mechanism (PBM–MCM). While the simulated locally produced O3 remained unchanged ( p=0.73 ) from 2007 to 2013, the observed O3 increased ( p −1 driven by the rise in regionally transported O3 ( 1.77±0.04 ppbv yr −1 ). Both the observed and locally produced O3 decreased ( p