Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Black Carbon emission from international maritime shipping is widely understimated


The report titled:

GLOBAL EMISSIONS OF MARINE BLACK CARBON: CRITICAL REVIEW AND REVISED ASSESSMENT
Haifeng Wang, Ray Minjares
The International Council on Clean Transportation Submission Date: August 1, 2012
Full document here:  http://docs.trb.org/prp/13-1503.pdf

Tells us that Black Carbon emission from international maritime shipping is widely underestimated; with actual BC figures from shipping to be up to 90% higher than prevailing estimates.

(Emphasis mine)
Pg1
4 ABSTRACT:
5 Black carbon (BC) emissions from international shipping are significant and contribute to global
6 and regional climate change, particularly in the Arctic. This paper reviews global estimates of
7 international marine BC emissions, identifies differences in inventory methods, and proposes an
8 approach for improving upon existing estimates. A critical review of the literature reveals that
9 more refined, specific marine vessel BC emission factors (EFBC) are not generally accounted for
10 in most global inventories. We find that EFBC are the single most important source of
11 differences in inventories due to poor sensitivity to ship engine type, fuel quality, and engine
12 load, and we propose a weighting framework that better encapsulates such effects. Using fuel
13 consumption estimates from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2009 GHG report
14 and updated EFBC, we estimate that shipping was responsible for about 184 thousand tonnes of
15 BC in 2007. This estimate is 42 percent higher than the current IMO estimate, but comparable to
16 recent studies informed by measured EFBC. We estimate that shipping contributed about 2,300
17 tonnes of BC in the Arctic in 2004, which is 90% higher than prevailing estimates. Our findings
18 suggest that the international marine BC contribution is widely underestimated, and that
19 improve

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“27 BC is the third largest contributor (after carbon dioxide and ozone production over the
28 oceans) to the increase in global temperature caused by international maritime emissions [14,
29 15]. Shipping also causes significant cooling via emissions of sulphate aerosols and reduction of
30 methane caused by NOx emissions. International shipping may cause particularly acute impacts
31 in the Arctic due to the presence of significant ice and snow that are sensitive to the albedo effect
32 caused by BC [5]. Ships in the Arctic frequently operate at variable speeds in response to ice
33 conditions and safety concerns, generating additional emissions under less efficient loads [16].
34 Approximately 15,000 annual voyages of all ship types travel through the Arctic, depositing
35 potentially large amounts of BC on snow and ice [17].

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“2 CONCLUSIONS
3 This paper reviews existing literature on BC inventories from shipping, identifies key differences
4 among published estimates, explores areas of improvement, and provides refined emissions
5 estimates. We demonstrate how BC fuel consumption and EFBC are a large source of uncertainty
6 across BC inventory estimates and how the inventory estimate is sensitive to operational
7 conditions of ships. We also develop a framework for utilizing an entire set of EFBC to improve
8 upon existing estimates. Using updated global BC emissions factors, we calculate shipping BC
9 emissions of 184 kt in 2007, which is over a third higher than the most widely cited estimate. We
10 also estimate that shipping BC emissions in the Arctic were about 2,300 tonnes in 2004, 90%
11 higher than estimates in the literature.”

“35 The result also shows the potential magnitude of benefits from switching to low sulfur
36 fuel. In response to local health concerns, a number of ports have created incentives for ships to
37 voluntarily switch to low sulfur fuel. On a much larger scale, the IMO requires ships operating in
38 Emission Control Areas (ECAs) to use 0.1% sulfur fuel beginning in 2015. It also mandates that
39 international shipping outside of ECAs use 0.5% sulfur fuel from 2020, down from the current
40 average of 2.7% sulfur fuel, subject to a review in 2018. Along with these voluntary and binding
41 marine fuel requirements’ direct SOx-related health benefits, the related reduction of BC could
42 indirectly lead to additional improvements in air quality and climate.
43 The quality of the BC inventory and related decision making will be further strengthened
44 by more research on the EFBC. Unified measuring techniques and protocols will yield more
45 robust results, fill in data gaps, and facilitate improved BC inventory accuracy. More field
46 observations and experiments on the relationship between the EFBC that relate to changes in
Fuel
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1 type, engine load, and engine type would reduce uncertainties in modeling and could unify
2 differences in inventories. These efforts would lay the foundation for more reliable marine BC
3 inventory estimates and policy guidance on future emission reduction strategies.


References


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1 21. Corbett, J.J., et al., Arctic shipping emissions inventories and future scenarios.
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5 23. Dalsøren, S.B., et al., Update on emissions and environmental impacts from the
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7 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 2009. 8(5): p. 18323-18384.
8 24. Lack, D., et al., Light absorbing carbon emissions from commerical shipping.
9 Geophysical Research Letters, 2008. 38.
10 25. Fuglestvedt, J., et al., Climate forcing from the transport sectors. PNAS, 2008. 105(2): p.
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15 27. Peters, G.P., et al., Future emissions from shipping and petroleum activities in the Arctic.
16 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2011(11): p. 5305-5320.
17 28. Lauer, A., et al., Global model simulations of the impact of ocean-going ships on
18 aerosols, clouds, and the radiation budget. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2007(7):
19 p. 5061–5079.
20 29. Shiha, P., et al., Emission of trace gases and partices from two ships in the southern
21 Atlantic Ocean. Atmospheric Environment, 2003. 7(15): p. 2139-2148.
22 30. Bond, T., et al., A technology-based global inventory of black and organic carbon
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24 31. Kasper, A., et al., Particulate emissions from a low-speed marine diesel engine. Aerosol
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26 32. Ristimaki, J., G. Hellen, and M. Lappi, Chemical and physical characterization of
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32 34. Lack, D., et al., Particulate emissions from commerical shipping: chemical, physical, and
33 optical properties.Journal of Geophysical Research, 2009. 114.
34 35. Agrawal, H., et al., Emission from main propulsion engine on container ship at sea.
35 Journal of Geophysical Research, 2010. 115.
36 36. Lack, D., et al., Impact of fuel quality regulation and speed reduction on shipping
37 emissions: Implications for climate and air quality. Environment Science & Technology,
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39 37. Petzold, A., et al., Experimental studies on particule emissions from cruising ship, their
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41 boundary layer. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2008. 8: p. 2387-2403.
42 38. Agrawal, H., et al., In-use gaseous and particulate matter emissions from a modern

43 ocean going container vessel. Atmospheric Environment, 2008. 42: p. 5504-5510.

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