atlantic cons scientific review laq 06 2009

7/27/2019 Atlantic Cons Scientific Review LAQ 06 2009

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LPG ad Lcal A Qal

A Scientiic Reiew

Atlantic Consulting


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About the authors

Atlantic Consulting, an independent, priately-owned rm based in Zrich and London, specialises in the assessmento enironmental impacts. Founded in 1994, the company has conducted hundreds o analyses or goernments,NGOs and companies. Managing Director Eric Johnson is also editor o Enironmental Impact Assessment Reiew,a Director o Green Cross, an adisor to the Global Pollution Remediation Fund and a nominated IPCC inentoryassessor. Principal Derek Smith ocuses on policy adice. Preiously he was a senior enironmental adisor to Ernst &Young and to BP.

Neither this publication nor any part o it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any orm or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission o Atlantic Consulting.

All inormation in this report is verifed to the best o the authors and publishers ability. However, Atlantic Consulting does not

accept any responsibility or any consequence arising rom reliance on the inormation contained herein.

Acknowledgments: Funding or this study was provided by members o the AEGPL, the European LPG industry association.

Alac Cslg

Obstgartenstrasse 148136 Gattikon, Switzerland

2009 Alac Cslg, all rights resered


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LPG ad Lcal A Qal 3

1 Foreword: The case or LPG

This document, on LPG and local air quality (LAQ), is one o a series o summaries or policy makersabout LPG in Europe.

Other summaries set out the position o LPG in relation to other key policy challenges or the EuropeanUnion, including; combating global warming, enhancing the security o its energy supply, and promoting thesae use o energy.

The summaries are intended to proide policy-makers, other stakeholders in energy and eironmentpolicy and the LPG industry itsel with an authoritatie, quantied, and independent assessment o LPGsposition and potential contribution.

This document presents conclusions rom a comprehensie literature search and synthesis o releantstudies on LPG and air quality, drawing on the most credible and recent sources aailable.

LPG is a mixture o gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily propane and butane, deried during natural gas

and oil extraction as well as during rening. At ambient conditions, propane is a gas, while butane can beeither a gas or a liquid. LPG is easily liquieed under modest pressure.

LPG has two physical properties that are particularly releant to its local air quality (LAQ) ootprint:

While there is a degree o natural ariation in i ts composition, LPG neer thless has a comparably highheating alue, meaning it contains more energy per kilogramme than most competing uels.

LPGs simple molecular structure makes it easily combustible, giing it a lower pollutant emissionsprole than most other ossil uels.


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4 LPG ad Lcal A Qal

Automotive StAtionAry CombuStion

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fp

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2 Summary: LPG has a lower local-air-qualityootprint

Air pollution at a local leel, particularly in urban areas, is an immediate and long-term health hazard. Polluted airnot only compromises human health causing increased hospital admissions due to respiratory and cardioascular

problems it also aficts plants, animals and een buildings. Local air pollutants are primarily generated by uelcombustion in the transport, heating and power generation sectors.

Based on the most authoritatie, consistent data aailable, LPG in Europe generates a lower local-air-quality-ootprint.Compared to the main other uels in its our primary applications, LPGs LAQ ootprint is consistently at the lowerend o the range (Figure 1).

Figure 1:Cpg fls fp s s LPGs fp, ep

Local-air quality ootprint

naal gas naal gas


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LPG ad Lcal A Qal 5

3 Footprints by application

For the purposes o this summary, LAQ studies in Europe and in the US on the our major applications o LPG werereiewed in detail.

In olume terms, LPG has our major applications in Europe: automotie, heating, cooking and dis tributed power

generation. Howeer, studies o local-air-quality ootprints hae not been conducted to this leel o detail.Instead, they all into two types: automotie and stationar y combustion, which coers heating, cooking and distributedpower generation.

3.1 AUTOMOTIvE

LPG is currently Europes most widely used alternatie uel, accounting or roughly 2% o the European roadtranspor t uel mix. Studies consistently demonstrate that LPG generates LAQ ootprints lower than diesels andbroadly equialent to petrols (gasolines).

Two European studies o LAQ automotie emissions coering LPG are publicly aailable:

The EETP (European Emissions Test Programme) study, sponsored by goernments and energy companies andconducted by our testing laboratories, is a direct comparison o LPG, petrol and diesel.

The UK Depar tment o Transpor ts Cleaner vehicles Task Force compared LPG to petrols and diesel, and althoughsome general ndings were published, specic emissions data or LPG were not published.

Three other European studies are related to the EETP work, but not conclusie with respect to comparing LAQootprints o LPG to other uels. CONCAWE published a comprehensie reiew o emission standards and uelspecications, but not o actual emissions. It is nonetheless a useul reerence and is particularly helpul in explainingarious drie cycles used to test emissions. Corinairis a ery detailed reiew o automotie emissions in Europe,but is designed to estimate national and regional emissions, rather than to compare uels. Corinair proides noconsumption actors by which emissions could be normalised or comparison. EcoInent is probably the mostauthoritatie database or LCA and carbon ootprinting in general, but it does not coer LPG.

Two US studies hae compared local air pollutant emissions o LPG and its main competitors, but only one o thosestudies (Argonne Labs GREET) does so in a way that is reasonably releant to this assessment. Een GREET is olimited use or comparatie purpose as its assumptions are not transparent. The other study, by the Caliornia EnergyCommission is useul or comparisons within Caliornia, but not or out-o-state comparisons. (For study details,see Reerences, page 8.)

Through well-to-wheel analysis, the EETP study shows LPG to be: clearly lower than petrol and diesel on NOx;essentially equialent to petrol and well-below diesel on PM; and just below petrol yet well aboe diesel on HC(Figure 2). For carbon monoxide, LPG comes out higher than petrol and both are signicantly higher than diesel. Onemissions o so-called toxics (such as a ldehydes, benzene, toluene, xylenes (BTX), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)and so on), LPG nearly always generates a ootprint lower than diesels and oten lowerthan petrol s.

volumes o these pollutants are orders-o-magnitude lower than that o carbon dioxide, the main product o

combustionA. The mass o carbon monoxide emitted in LPG combustion, or example, is oer 1000 times less thanthat o carbon dioxide emitted (European Enironment Agency 2007). Some local pollution is also caused not only bycombustion, but also by the eaporation o hydrocarbons (intentional in the case o solents, unintentional in the caseo stored uels).

A Carbon dioxide is a global problem, in that it causes global warming, but it is not a local air quality problem.


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Figure 2: A p plla sss fl p

g/k

NOx PM HC

Fl p

0.45

0.4

0.35

0.3

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0

LPG Diesel petrol

The UK Department o Transport eries the EETP ndings on NOx and PM: For light duty vehicles, the use oLPG and NG can provide a moderately cost-eective way o reducing emissions o NOx and PM10 (compared to diesel)

and CO2

(compared to petrol), though this is set to reduce over time Gaseous uels also provide reduced engine noise

emissions. Most currently available l ight duty vehicles are bi-uel, using petrol and either LPG or NG. However, greater

emissions benefts can be gained rom the use o dedicated gas engines, so introduction o dedicated engines or light duty

LPG and NG vehicles should be encouraged.

Euro 5 emission standards to come into eect in late 2009 will require new diesel automobiles to hae particle

lters. The prolieration o this technology is expected to diminish diesel-uelled ehicles PM emissions relatie tothose o ehicles running on LPG and petrol . The alignment o the European diesel feet with Euro 5 standardswill be a lengthy process that will not be complete until ater 2020.

3.2 STATIONARY COMBUSTION

There hae been three major studies that compare LAQ ootprints o heating uels in Europe. The two by theEuropean Enironmental Agency (EEA) and vHK (a consultant to the EU) coer LPG under the general heading ogaseous uel. EEAs Corinair coers gaseous uels, which include natural gas and LPG, while vHK explicitly considersgas to be a proxy or LPG, i.e. their ootprints (carbon and local air quality) are presumed to be equal. The third study,by EcoInent, does not specically address LPG in stationary combustion, reerring instead to gas in general.

Based on the most authoritatie, consistent data aailable, gaseous uels (LPG and natural gas) are in general superior

to competing uels on local air emissions (Figure 3), except or electr icity and some types o heatpumps , whichgenerally generate lower leels o urban emissions. On all three priority pollutants, hydrocarbons (HC), nitrousoxides (NOx) and par ticle matter (PM), as well as on carbon monoxide (CO), toxics and heay metals, gaseous uelsootprints are in general lower than those o liquid uels (heating oil and residual oil) and dramatically lower thanthose o solid uels (coal and wood). When more sophisticated combustion and control equipment are used, gaseousuels adantage diminishes somewhat but generally remains signicant.

B Oten reerred to as vOCs, or olatile organic compounds.


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Figure 3: Saa-cs p plla sss fl p

g/GJ

NO2

HC PM 10 PM 2.5

Plla

1000

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

LPG & natural gas Liquid uelsWood Coal

4 Appendix: Oeriew o local air quality

Pollution o air at a local leel can seriously infuence health. Polluted air not only aects humans through respiratory ailmentsand cancers, but it also aficts plants, animals and een buildings (ia acidic decay and deposition o soot, or example).

The bulk o local air pollution is caused by uel combustion or transport, heating and power generation.Combustion generates a ariety o pollutants: hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphurdioxide, particles (PM), heay metals and een ammonia.

When l isted by species, loca l air pollutants can total 30-40 dierent types. Among them, regulators hae determinedpriorities, based on toxicity and exposure. The current pr iority pollutants in Europe, as determined by the WorldHealth Organization in a study or the European Commission (WHO 2003), are PM, nitrogen dioxide (NO

2) and

ozone (O3). Perhaps conusingly, NO

2and ozone (O

3) are not reported as combustion-caused pollutants.

This is because nitrogen dioxide (to some extent) and ozone are created indirectly as a result o chemical reactionsin the atmosphere. Simply put, nitrogen oxide tends to conerted to nitrogen dioxide (by reacting with oxygen),while NOx and hydrocarbons C react in sunlight to create ozone.

Regulators response had been to ocus primary attention on three pollutants:

nox - Oxides o nitrogen react in the atmosphere to orm nitrogen dioxide (NO2) that can hae aderse eects on

health, particularly among people with respiratory illness. High leels o exposure hae been linked with increasedhospital admissions due to respiratory problems, while long-term exposure may aect lung unction and increase the

response to allergens in sensitie people. NOx also contributes to smog ormation, acid rain, can damage egetation,contributes to ground leel ozone ormation and can react in the atmosphere to orm ne particles ('secondaryparticles').

Pacls - Fine particles can hae an aderse eect on human health, particularly among those people with existingrespiratory disorders. Particles hae been associated with increased hospital admissions due to respiratory andcardioascular problems, bringing orward the deaths o those suering rom respiratory illnesses and reducing lieexpectancy.

Hdcas - Hydrocarbons contribute to ground leel ozone ormation leading to risk o damage to the humanrespiratory system. In addition, some kinds o HCs are carcinogenic and are also indirect greenhouse gases.

C Including carbon monoxide, which, strictly speaking, is not a hydrocarbon.


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5 Reerences

Ag Las Greet, Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transpor tation.

Calfa eg Css (2008). Full uel cycle assessment: well-to-wheels energy inputs, emissions and water impacts.

ConCAWe (2004-2005). Motor ehicle emission regulations and uel specications, CONCAWE: The oil companies' European

association or Enironment, Health and Saety in rening and distribution.

eci. St Gallen, Switzerland. v 2.0.

egcs ic (2008). LP Gas: An Energy Solution or a Low Carbon World: A comparatie Analysis demonstrating the Greenhouse

Gas Reduction Potential o LP Gas, Matt Antes, Joe McGerey et al.

epa e Agc (2007). CORINAIR.

iFP al (2004). EETP, European Emission Test Programme.

iPCC (2006). Energy, Guidelines or National GHG Inentories, volume 2, Intergoernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Joint Research Centre o the EU Commission, EUCAR, et al. (2006). Well-to-Whee ls analys is o uture automotie uels and

powertrains in the European context.

Sri Cslg (2007). Carbon ootprints o biouels & petrouels. Greenhouse Gases.

uK tasp Dp (1997-2008). Cleaner vehicles Task Force.

uS ePA (1978-ps). MOBILE model (on-road ehicles).

vHK & DG entr (epa Css) (2005). MEEUP, Methodology study Eco-design o Energy-using Products. D. E. R. K.

Andre Brisaer, van Holsteijn en Kemna (Contractor). 1 Methodology Repor t, 2 Product Cases Repor t.

WHo (2003). Health Aspects o Air Pollution with Par ticulate Matter, Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide. World Health Organisation.


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Notes


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Notes


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