carbon dioxide monitoring system- an input to greenhouse gases mitigation

7/25/2019 Carbon Dioxide Monitoring System- An Input to Greenhouse Gases Mitigation

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Project Title : CARBON DIOXIDE MONITORING SYSTEM: AN INPUT TOGREENHOUSE GASES MITIGATION

Researchers: Sheilane J. Gangoso

Peter Lee P. Gangoso

Earl Peter J. Gangoso

Project Location: Cities and Municipalities of the Philippines

Duration

Date Started : July, 2013

Date Ended : June, 2014


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ABSTRACT

Continued rise in the Carbon Dioxide levels in our atmosphere has contributed much to

global warming which bring about unpredictable weather conditions, polar ice caps melting andsteady increase in desertification. To try to slow these catastrophic changes, monitoring the

amount of CO2emitted to the atmosphere by anthropogenic impact is essential, as it is likewise

important to resolve these amounts by estimating the number of trees needed to balance our CO2output.

Monitoring CO2emissions would seem impossible if it is entrusted only to one or two

agencies in a country. Likewise, it is unrealistic to account for all the CO2emitters. To make CO2monitoring attainable, the researchers considered anyone as potential source of the information

in a particular city or municipality providing data for the major emitters of CO 2, namely;petroleum, coal and LPG for industrial use, and electricity. Data are attainable by a collective

effort of concerned individuals. Thus, monitoring is brought nearer to the doorsteps of theproducers (eg. city or municipality) allowing active involvement through first hand awareness of

their particular share in the GHG emissions. Data are very much verifiable since it is open onlineand should anyone notices any discrepancies or erroneous entries, notification is made easy so

corrections can be done.

INTRODUCTION

Carbon Dioxide Monitoring System calculate the amount of total carbon dioxide

emission of a city within the Philippines given the following data: population, petroleum, coaland LPG for industrial use, and electricity. Except for population, the above data are identified as

the major contributors of CO2 emission in the atmosphere according to the US EnergyInformation Administration. These would comprise about 70% of the total CO2 emissions.

Furthermore, an estimate of the number of hectares of lush vegetation needed to balance the

emitted CO2 is computed for every city. Thus, one can have an overview of the CO 2O2balanceof a city should they have an actual data of their lush vegetation. Results will be reflected in aline graph which is provided to monitor the annual CO2 emission of a city. Cities will be ranked

according to the highest CO2 emission. Anyone who wishes to input data must register online viawww.co2monitoring.esy.es.

Greenhouse gases mitigation in the Philippines are scarce and no studies showing CO2emissions per city or municipality are available online. Thus, it is the aim of this study to:

1. Design a tool for an easier carbon dioxide monitoring which would allow concerned

individuals to contribute information per city or municipality.2. Provide assessment on the total amount of CO2emitted by a city, in terms of petroleum

consumption, electricity, coal used in industry, and population.3. Provide a comparative view of the CO2emissions among cities/municipalities.

4.

Provide the number of hectares of lush vegetation necessary to balance the citys CO2emission.

5. Provide an evaluative tool to a citys CO2management program.


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THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Carbon dioxide, (CO2) is a colorless and odorless gas. It is an acidic oxide and nontoxic.

Carbon dioxide has many uses like in beverages, fire extinguishers and in the manufacture ofbaking soda and soda ash. Carbon dioxide is produced whenever any form of carbon or carbon

containing compound is burned in excess of oxygen. All carbonates give off CO2when treatedwith acid. CO2 is also a by-product of sugar fermentation. Natural causes of CO2 emission

includes volcanic activity. CO2 is also release to the atmosphere as an end product of animalmetabolism through respiration. Plants and certain microorganisms however, uses CO2 for

respiration and thereby removes it from the atmosphere. When plants and animals die, theydecompose and become carbon deposits. Some of the carbon though, undergoes oxidation and is

release back to the atmosphere. This is the carbon cycle[Chang, 2005].

Human activity is disrupting the delicate balance of CO2concentration in the atmosphere

by massive burning of carbon (e.g. Fossil fuels, oil, coal, incineration of waste materials, etc.).The entire planets trees has no chance of consuming them up with the fact that we are cutting

down more trees than we are planting. Our forest are disappearing every day. The effect is

increasing CO2in the atmosphere.Carbon Dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that form a protective layer around the

Earth. Along with Nitrous Oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), CO2

traps the longer wavelengths of infrared light or heat, from the sun, radiating from the surface ofthe earth thus preventing heat from escaping into space. Without these gases, earth would be a

cold lifeless planet [Biggs, et al, 1998].

Since the Industrial revolution, the concentration of greenhouse gases has steadily

increased. Since then, the average global temperature has generally increased, a change calledglobal warming. Global warming brings about major problems to all life on earth. An increase of

1 to 3C is enough to disrupt the delicate thermal balance of our planet and would cause themelting of polar ice caps which would consequently bring about the rising of sea levels and

flooding of coastal areas, and bring about severe weather anomalies [Raven, et al, 2002].

Therefore, a control of CO2emissions is a need to survive for the next generation. Aside

from passing laws that regulates harmful emissions, monitoring plays a vital role in theassessment, analysis and prediction of the total CO2management. Carbon Dioxide Monitoring

System can calculate the amount of emitted CO2of a city. This monitoring program considersonly the major contributors of CO2 emission, namely; transportation, electricity and industry.

Population was also considered to give a clearer view of the citys profile.

Electricity. Burning of fossil fuels for electricity and heat generation account for 38% of

the total CO2emissions in the US. Electricity is used to power homes, businesses and industry.[US EPA, 2012]Electricity is the most common source of energy used by households in the

Philippines based on the results of the 2011 Household Energy Consumption Survey (HECS).87% of the households were using electricity from March to August 2011 in which 78% was

used for lighting purposes. [NSO Philippines, 2013]


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METHODOLOGY

Anyone with the data of the petroleum consumption, electricity and coal or LPG inindustries may log in the website and input the information for a certain city per annum. The data

are tabulated and a line graph is shown to easily view for an increase or decrease in emissions.The number of data providers in a place is not limited. The average of their inputs will be

computed which is displayed in the table. The tabulation of results is done per city/municipality.

Cities/municipalities are rank according to its CO2emissions, from highest to lowest. Acolor-coded bar graph is provided for a clearer picture, using red for the highest emission, andviolet for the lowest with in-between following the ROYGBIV.

Calculations for CO2 emissions for transportation, coal and LPG were done by

generalized approach using the emission factors set by North Carolina Division of Air Quality(Appendix A). While for the electricity, emission factors were from Washington-Based Carbon

Monitoring for Action (CARMA) (Appendix B). And for a person which was an average of 24lbs/year was taken from Verified Carbon Standard Project from the website

www.carbonfootprint.com.

The lush vegetation was computed assuming trees are planted 1.5m apart in a hectare of

land. Therefore, for 10,000 sq.m., there are about 4,444 trees planted. Trees have an averageabsorption of 21.82 kg CO2 in a year, thus, 1600 trees can absorb 96977.78 kg or 97 ton of CO2

in a year. The total amount of CO2emitted, divided by 97 would equal to the number of hectares

of lush vegetation necessary to balance CO2emission.

The program or site manager welcomes anyone who has seen any faulty data by

providing a Report page. The former may block the user after 3 times of inputting incorrect

information.


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The following is the program flowchart of the website.


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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

As a user enters the web site (www.co2monitoring.esy.es), the home page displays a bar

graph of cities (limited up to ten) ranked according to total carbon dioxide emissions.

Below the graph is the tabulated form showing more detailsthe user who posted it,

population count, petroleum consumption, electricity source type and usage, LPG and coal used

in industries, total carbon dioxide emitted, and number of hectares of lush vegetation needed to

balance emitted carbon dioxide.

On the upper right corner, a user can search for a specific city so he can view its yearly

data. The data is shown in line graph to compare it with the other years. When 2 or more users

posted on same city and same year, the average will be shown.

The data as well, like the ranking in the home page, is shown in table below the line

graph. If the city has no data, the web site will display No Data.


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The graph showing the amount of CO2emitted in a place over years.

A user may register to the site for free and post their data. He can only edit and delete his

own posts.

But if he noticed a faulty data, he can go to the Report section to notify the site

manager about faulty data.


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With this tool, a city can easily monitor their CO2, but it does not end with that

information; they are provided with what to do. To balance what the people has done, trees must

be planted. Therefore, this tool will give the people an accountability to counteract the effect of

technology they are enjoying.

The researchers therefore recommend that each city or municipality should input their

respective data annually so as to keep the monitoring. A further study is also recommended for

the same system to cover worldwide CO2 monitoring.

References:


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[Chang, 2005] Chemistry, 8

thedition, The McGraw-Hill Companies, USA.

[Biggs, et al, 1998] Biology: The Dynamics of Life, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.USA

[Raven, et al, 2002] Biology, Sixth Edition, The McGraw-Hill companies Inc. USA.

Philippines - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=RP

Rice, S.Human Health Risk Assessment Of Co2: Survivors Of Acute High-Level Exposure

And Populations Sensitive To Prolonged Low-Level Exposure,Third Annual Conference OnCarbonMay 3-6, 2004, Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Philippines Statistics Authority - National Statistics Office,Electricity is the most common

source of energy used by households, Reference Number: 2013-205, December 27, 2013

"Philippines Energy Stats", Nation Master. Retrieved from

http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Philippines/Energy

Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Climate Change, US EPA

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html

North Carolina Division of Air Quality,2009. Greenhouse Gas Emission GuidelinesStationary Combustion Sources.www.ncar.org

Verified Carbon Standards (VCS) Projects. www.carbonfootprint.com

Appendix A


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Emissions Factors for Calculating CO2Emissions Generalized Approach

(North CarolinaDivision of Air Quality, 2009)

Appendix B

GHG Emissions by Electricity Source

(Washington-Based Carbon Monitoring for ActionCARMA)

Technology Description g CO2/KWH

Hydroelectric Reservoir 4

Wind Onshore 12

Nuclear Various Generation IIReactor Type

16

Biomass Various 18

Solar Thermal Parabolic Trough 22

Geothermal Hot Dry Rock 45

Solar PV Polycrystalline Silicon 46

Natural Gas Various Combined Cycle

Turbines w/o Scrubbing

469

Coal Various Generator Typesw/o Scrubbing

1001

Fossil Fuel Combustion CO2Emission Factor

(Per Unit Mass or Volume)

Coal (Industrial) 2,072.19 Kg CO2/ton

LPG (average for fuel use) 5.79 Kg CO2/gallon

Motor Gasoline 8.81 Kg CO2/gallon

carbon dioxide monitoring system- an input to greenhouse gases mitigation

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