Emissions Estimation Technique Manual: Aggregated Emissions From Domestic Gaseous Fuel Burning September 1999
Emissions Estimation Technique Manual: Aggregated Emissions From Domestic Gaseous Fuel Burning September 1999
Emissions Estimation Technique Manual: Aggregated Emissions From Domestic Gaseous Fuel Burning September 1999
Technique Manual
for
September 1999
TABLE OF CONTENTS
6.0 References................................................................................................... 15
i
EMISSIONS ESTIMATION TECHNIQUE MANUAL:
AGGREGATED EMISSIONS FROM DOMESTIC GASEOUS FUEL
BURNING
LIST OF TABLES
ii
1.0 Introduction
The NEPM contains a list of substances for which emissions will be reported
on an annual basis to the Commonwealth Government, which will then
compile and publish the NPI. The aggregated emissions manuals, of which
this is one, have been prepared to assist State and Territory Governments in
preparing these submissions, and to facilitate consistent reporting between
these jurisdictions.
1
emissions from industry which are not reported because the relevant
thresholds are not exceeded.
• the NPI substances that are expected to be emitted from the relevant
aggregated source type;
• the origins or sources of the emissions, and the processes that may
generate them;
• the impacts of any control equipment or procedures on those emissions;
• the broad approaches that may be employed in the estimation and spatial
allocation of emissions;
• details of emission factors to be used in the estimation of emissions; and
• a series of illustrative sample calculations for each estimation technique.
2
expertise to employ a more sophisticated approach, or not see the need for
highly reliable estimates in that particular part of the inventory.
3
2.0 Emissions Covered by the Manual
Table 1 lists those substances in Table 2 to Annex A of the NEPM which are
emitted by domestic gaseous fuel burning.
Domestic gaseous fuel burning is undertaken for cooking, space heating and
hot water heating. Natural gas and town gas supplies are limited by the
extent of the reticulation system whilst LPG for domestic applications
(primarily propane) is supplied in the form of large, portable gas bottles.
Emissions are dependent on the amount and type of the gaseous fuel burnt,
and also on the temperature and efficiency of combustion, but these latter
influencing factors are not directly considered in the EETs.
4
3.0 Emissions Estimation Techniques
Fuel Consumption
If domestic gas usage data are not available from local gas distributors,
information on the amounts of natural gas, town gas and LPG consumed in
domestic appliances across individual jurisdictions is available from the
Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (ABARE).
Alternatively, data for domestic gas use may be sought from the Australian
Gas Association (AGA).
Data from both of these alternative sources must be scaled down from
jurisdiction to airshed level, based on the population fraction and taking into
account the availability of each fuel type in the airshed. If information on the
availability of fuel types is not obtainable, simple scaling according to
population should be undertaken.
Energy Contents
Gas consumption data should be requested in volume units for the estimation
of emissions. If usage data are provided in tonnes, the fuel density should be
requested to converted it to a volume basis. If information on gas use is
reported as petajoules (PJ), it must also be converted to volume.
The types and amounts of town gas used in an airshed should be available
from local gas distributors. Alternatively, a breakdown of the proportion of
each type of town gas used in various jurisdictions is available from ABARE.
Once the total annual domestic energy consumption and energy content of
each type of fuel used within an airshed are known, the total volume of each
fuel consumed for domestic purposes can be calculated from Equation 1.
5
Table 2: Typical Energy Content of Gaseous Fuels around Australia
Type of Fuel Energy Contenta
Natural Gas
Victoria 38.8 MJ m-3
Queensland 38.5 MJ m-3
South Australia and New South Wales 38.9 MJ m-3
Western Australia 39.6 MJ m-3
Northern Territory 40.7 MJ m-3
Town gas
Synthetic natural gas 39.0 MJ m-3
Reformed gas 20.0 MJ m-3
Tempered LPGb 25.0 MJ m-3
Tempered natural gas 25.0 MJ m-3
LPG 25.3 MJ L -1
a
ABARE (1999).
b
Tempered LPG is supplied via a reticulation system in the form of a gas, and
should not be confused with LPG which is supplied as a bottled liquid.
Vi = E i / (Q i * F i)
where
If specific information on the use of each form of town gas within an airshed is
not known, then ABARE information on the typical proportions of usage for
each town gas type in a jurisdiction should be used. From these typical
proportions, an estimate of the total volume of town gas used can be
calculated using Equation 2.
6
Equation 2: Calculation of annual volume of town gas burnt in domestic
applications in an airshed (where specific usage data are not available)
where
Once the volume of each fuel burnt in domestic applications in an airshed has
been estimated, the annual emissions of each NPI substance for that fuel type
can be calculated using Equation 3.
Emission factors for town gas are not available and are assumed to be the
same as for natural gas.
Eij = EFij * V i
where
Supply of natural gas and town gas is reliant on reticulation systems which
have definite boundaries. Annual emissions from use of these fuels should
therefore be spatially allocated according to the population distribution within
these reticulation areas.
7
If gas usage data can be acquired on the basis of postcode or some other
area basis, it is a relatively easy task to allocate emissions to their correct grid
cells (see Equation 4 below). If ABARE data are used, it is necessary to
obtain information on the boundaries of the reticulation areas from local gas
suppliers or the AGA, and to determine the postcodes (or other appropriate
area units) which receive gas supplies. If no spatial data are available, or if it
is known that the reticulation system covers the whole airshed, emissions
from natural gas and town gas can be allocated according to population alone
(see Equation 5).
where
Energy consumption data for postcode regions and the airshed may be used
instead of data on fuel usage.
8
Equation 5: Estimating emissions of an NPI substance in a grid cell for a
fuel type (based on population alone)
Eijk = E ij * (P k / P)
where
9
g
Based on 0.00021 times the Australian average sulfur content for LPG of 0.045 g
m -3 (EA 1999).
Using Equation 1 for natural gas and LPG, the sample data from Table 4, the
energy content from Table 2 for LPG, and an assumed energy content of
natural gas in the jurisdiction of 40.0 MJ m-3
Vi = E i / (Q i * F i)
For the following example involving town gas, Equation 2 is used because
usage data are only provided as an overall figure (not for each type of town
gas), but estimates of typical proportions of usage of each town gas type in
the jurisdiction are available.
10
Example 2: Calculation of annual volume of town gas burnt in an airshed
(where specific usage data are not available)
Using Equation 2, the data from Table 5, and the energy content data from
Table 2 for the two town gas types
Using Equation 3, the emission factors from Table 3 (assuming the same EF
for town gas as natural gas), and the results of Examples 1 and 2
Eij = EFij * V i
Using Equation 4, the results for LPG from Examples 1 and 3, and the sample
data from Table 6
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4.0 Uncertainty Analysis
Data on domestic gas usage from local gas distributors should be of high
reliability. ABARE and AGA data are considered to be of medium reliability as
they are based on gas consumption data provided by gas suppliers and LPG
distributors at a jurisdiction (rather than airshed) level.
Most of the emission factors for natural gas combustion are based on AP-42
data (USEPA 1998) for uncontrolled residential gas burning. The factors for
CO, NOx , SO2 , benzene and formaldehyde are considered to be of high
reliability.
The remaining factors are considered to have medium reliability, with the
exception of factors for compounds of arsenic, beryllium, selenium, zinc and
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are considered to have low reliability.
The factor for cyclohexane is sourced from CARB and is also considered to
be of relatively low reliability.
There are no emission factors available for town gas, and the factors for
natural gas are recommended for use in this EET manual. As these emission
factors are not specific to each (or, indeed, any) form of town gas, the
reliability for all factors is considered to be lower than those for natural gas.
Thus, the factors for CO, NOx , SO2, benzene and formaldehyde are
considered to be of medium reliability, while the reliability of the remaining
factors is considered to be low.
The LPG emission factors for CO, NOx , SO2, VOC and PM10 are based on
the emission factors for uncontrolled commercial boilers in AP-42 (USEPA
1996). These factors are considered to be of medium reliability. The
remaining factors are based on speciation calculations by USEPA, and are
considered to have low reliability.
Data availability is the primary problem that limits the accuracy of the results
obtainable with these EETs. Most of the emission factors are based on
USEPA data and may not be very relevant to appliances used in Australia.
12
4.4 Recommendations for Further Work
13
5.0 Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations
14
6.0 References
15