Consideration of black carbon and primary organic carbon emissions in life-cycle analysis of Greenhouse gas emissions of vehicle systems and fuels

Environ Sci Technol. 2014 Oct 21;48(20):12445-53. doi: 10.1021/es503852u. Epub 2014 Oct 10.

Abstract

The climate impact assessment of vehicle/fuel systems may be incomplete without considering short-lived climate forcers of black carbon (BC) and primary organic carbon (POC). We quantified life-cycle BC and POC emissions of a large variety of vehicle/fuel systems with an expanded Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation model developed at Argonne National Laboratory. Life-cycle BC and POC emissions have small impacts on life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of gasoline, diesel, and other fuel vehicles, but would add 34, 16, and 16 g CO2 equivalent (CO2e)/mile, or 125, 56, and 56 g CO2e/mile with the 100 or 20 year Global Warming Potentials of BC and POC emissions, respectively, for vehicles fueled with corn stover-, willow tree-, and Brazilian sugarcane-derived ethanol, mostly due to BC- and POC-intensive biomass-fired boilers in cellulosic and sugarcane ethanol plants for steam and electricity production, biomass open burning in sugarcane fields, and diesel-powered agricultural equipment for biomass feedstock production/harvest. As a result, life-cycle GHG emission reduction potentials of these ethanol types, though still significant, are reduced from those without considering BC and POC emissions. These findings, together with a newly expanded GREET version, help quantify the previously unknown impacts of BC and POC emissions on life-cycle GHG emissions of U.S. vehicle/fuel systems.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants / analysis*
  • Biomass
  • Carbon / analysis*
  • Ethanol
  • Gasoline
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Saccharum
  • United States
  • Vehicle Emissions / analysis
  • Zea mays

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Gasoline
  • Vehicle Emissions
  • Ethanol
  • Carbon