The impacts of different heating systems on the environment: A review

Montaser Mahmoud; Mohamad Ramadan; Sumsun Naher; Keith Pullen; Abdul-Ghani Olabi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142625

The impacts of different heating systems on the environment: A review

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Apr 20:766:142625. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142625. Epub 2020 Oct 1.

Authors

Montaser Mahmoud¹, Mohamad Ramadan², Sumsun Naher³, Keith Pullen³, Abdul-Ghani Olabi⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, City, University of London, UK; Lebanese International University, PO Box 146404, Beirut, Lebanon.
² International University of Beirut, PO Box 146404, Beirut, Lebanon; FCLAB, CNRS, Univ. Bourgogne Franche-Comte, Belfort cedex, France. Electronic address: mohamad.ramadan@liu.edu.lb.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, City, University of London, UK.
⁴ Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Mechanical Engineering and Design, Aston University, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK.

PMID: 33077224
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142625

Abstract

This paper presents a review of the environmental impacts of most heating systems drawing together published literature on the subject, not previously available. Here, a comparison between the different systems such as coal, wood, oil, natural gas, heat pump, geothermal and solar energy is provided in terms of their environmental impact. The most important parameters considered are the emission rate and toxicity. This places the coal-fired system as the worst among all heating systems regarding the impacts on the environment. On the other hand, renewable energy sources are the most preferred sources decreasing total emissions and air pollution. In order to make a comparison between the different systems, the emissions that must be taken into consideration are CO, CO₂, NO_x, SO₂, PMs, N₂O, CH₄, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aldehydes.

Keywords: Emission rate; Environment; Environmental impact; Heating system; Pollution.