Title
A shift in emission time profiles of fossil fuel combustion due to energy transitions impacts source receptor matrices for air quality
Author
Hendriks, C.
Kuenen, J.
Kranenburg, R.
Scholz, Y.
Schaap, M.
Publication year
2015
Abstract
Effective air pollution and short-lived climate forcer mitigation strategies can only be designed when the effect of emission reductions on pollutant concentrations and health and ecosystem impacts are quantified. Within integrated assessment modeling source-receptor relationships (SRRs) based on chemistry transport modeling are used to this end. Currently, these SRRs are made using invariant emission time profiles. The LOTOS-EUROS model equipped with a source attribution module was used to test this assumption for renewable energy scenarios. Renewable energy availability and thereby fossil fuel back up are strongly dependent on meteorological conditions. We have used the spatially and temporally explicit energy model REMix to derive time profiles for backup power generation. These time profiles were used in LOTOS-EUROS to investigate the effect of emission timing on air pollutant concentrations and SRRs. It is found that the effectiveness of emission reduction in the power sector is significantly lower when accounting for the shift in the way emissions are divided over the year and the correlation of emissions with synoptic situations. The source receptor relationships also changed significantly. This effect was found for both primary and secondary pollutants. Our results indicate that emission timing deserves explicit attention when assessing the impacts of system changes on air quality and climate forcing from short lived substances. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Subject
Urban Mobility & Environment
CAS - Climate, Air and Sustainability
ELSS - Earth, Life and Social Sciences
Environment & Sustainability
Emission
Urbanisation
Climate
Combustion
Electricity
Environmental protection
Nuclear energy
Renewable energy
Solar energy
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http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:d047345b-0d19-448d-974e-0aae273b13ba
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/c4em00444b
TNO identifier
524099
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
ISSN
2050-7887
Source
Environmental Sciences: Processes and Impacts, 17 (3), 510-524
Document type
article