A high resolution vehicular emissions inventory for Ecuador using the IVE modelling system

Chemosphere. 2023 Feb:315:137634. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.137634. Epub 2022 Dec 26.

Abstract

Air pollutants caused by traffic has become a topic of global interest due to its impact on human health and the environment, making high-resolution emission inventories effective mechanisms for air quality management. This study proposes the development of a high-resolution inventory of vehicle emissions in Ecuador using the IVE modelling system, which was developed for its use in third world countries. The required data was collected in several provinces of the country, determining vehicle intensity, driving patterns, departure patterns, environmental variables, and vehicle technologies. To have a greater data representation, vehicles were classified into five categories according to their size, in addition three types of roads were also considered (Highways, Roads and Residential). The database was used to determine the specific power of the engine and "bines", variables that together with the emission factors are part of the calculation of IVE model. Atmospheric pollutants such as CO, VOC's and VOC Evap, NOx, SOx, PM, CO2 and CH4 were also considered, it has been identified that in Ecuador 3.66 million tons of CO were produced in 2015, with trucks representing road transportation being the largest pollutants with approximately 57.2% of the whole total. Through the spatial disaggregation it was possible to identify that the most critical areas, in terms of generation of atmospheric pollutants, are in the most densely populated cities of the country such as Quito and Guayaquil, as well as in areas near seaports and state roads, from 6:00 h, 12:00 h and 18:00 h the hours of the day in which the largest number of emissions are produced. At the end of the study, it was discovered that trucks were the ones that generated the highest emissions of atmospheric pollutants in Ecuador.

Keywords: Air quality model; Chemical pollutants; Emissions model; Urban air pollution; Vehicular emissions.

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants* / analysis
  • Air Pollution* / analysis
  • Ecuador
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Humans
  • Vehicle Emissions / analysis
  • Volatile Organic Compounds*

Substances

  • Vehicle Emissions
  • Volatile Organic Compounds
  • Air Pollutants