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Mobile source emission inventories--monthly or annual average inputs to MOBILE6?
C David Cooper1, Marten Arbrandt
1Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816-2450, USA. cooper@mail.ucf.edu
Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association (1995)
|September 18, 2004
Summary
Annual emission inventories for urban air pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are not significantly impacted by using monthly versus annual average meteorological data in emission factor models.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Atmospheric Chemistry
- Air Quality Management
Background:
- On-road vehicles are primary sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in urban environments.
- Existing guidance for mobile source emission inventories often focuses on ozone seasons, with less detail for annual inventories using EPA's MOBILE6 model.
- Key MOBILE6 inputs like temperature, gasoline Reid Vapor Pressure, and humidity can vary seasonally, potentially affecting annual emission estimates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the sensitivity of annual emission inventory results to the use of annual versus monthly input parameters in the MOBILE6 model.
- To assess the appropriateness of using annual average values for temperature, Reid Vapor Pressure, and humidity for annual emission inventories.
Main Methods:
- Conducted an emission inventory study for three counties in central Florida, focusing on anthropogenic VOCs and NOx.
- Utilized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) MOBILE6 model to calculate emission factors.
- Compared emission inventory results derived from annual average inputs with those calculated using a sum of monthly average inputs for key parameters.
Main Results:
- For the studied three-county area in central Florida (metropolitan Orlando), the overall annual emission inventory was not significantly different when using monthly versus annual average inputs for temperature, Reid Vapor Pressure, and humidity.
- The study found that the impact of seasonal variations in these parameters on the total annual emissions was minimal for the specific region analyzed.
Conclusions:
- Using annual average inputs in the MOBILE6 model provides a reasonable approximation for annual emission inventories in this central Florida region.
- The complexity of using monthly data for all parameters may not be necessary for annual emission inventory estimations in similar urban settings.
- Further research could explore different geographical regions or specific pollutant sensitivities.