Environmental standard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_standard

Environmental standards are administrative regulations or civil law rules implemented for the treatment and maintenance of the environment. Environmental standards are set by a government and can include prohibition of specific activities, mandating the frequency and methods of monitoring, and requiring permits for the use of land or water. Standards differ depending on the type of environmental activity.

Environmental standards produce quantifiable and enforceable laws that promote environmental protection. The basis for the standards is determined by scientific opinions from varying disciplines, the views of the general population, and social context. As a result, the process of determining and implementing the standards is complex and is usually set within legal, administrative or private contexts.

The human environment is distinct from the natural environment. The concept of the human environment considers that humans are permanently interlinked with their surroundings, which are not just the natural elements (air, water, and soil), but also culture, communication, co-operation, and institutions. Environmental standards should preserve nature and the environment, protect against damages, and repair past damage caused by human activity.

Development of environmental standards

Historically, the development of environmental standards was influenced by two competing ideologies: ecocentrism and anthropocentrism. Ecocentrism frames the environment as having an intrinsic value divorced from the human utility, while anthropocentrism frames the environment as only having value if it helps humanity survive. This has led to problems in establishing standards. 

Within the past few decades, the sensibility of people towards the topic of environmentalism has increased. In turn, the demand for protecting the environment has risen. This movement towards environmentalism was likely caused by the increased understanding of medicine and science, as well as advances in the measurement of factors contributing to environmental damage. This improved measurement allows scientists to further understand the impact of human-caused environmental destruction on human health and the biodiversity which composes the natural environment. These developments in science have been fundamental for the setting of environmental standards.

Environmental standards often define the desired state (e.g. the pH of a lake should be between 6.5 and 7.5) or limit alterations (e.g., no more than 50% of the natural forest may be damaged). Statistical methods are used to determine the specific states and limits the enforceable environmental standard.

Where environmental issues are concerned, uncertainties should always be taken into consideration. The first step to developing a standard is the evaluation of the specific risk. The expected value of the occurrence of the risk must be calculated. Then, possible damage should be classified. Three different types of damages exist - changes due to physiochemical environmental damages, ecological damages in plants and animals, and damages to human health. 

To establish an acceptable risk, in view of the expected collective benefit, the risk-induced costs and the costs of risk avoidance must be socially balanced. The comparison is difficult to express in monetary units. Furthermore, the risks have multiple dimensions, which should be reached with a correlation at the end of the balancing process.

At the balancing process, the following steps should be considered:

1. To establish objectives that serve both the protection of life, health and environment, and allow a rational allocation of social resources.
2. Studying the possible outcomes of implementing these objectives.
3. Considering social costs or damages, including opportunity costs and benefits which will arise when any of the available options are not further pursued.

Into the balancing process, the fairness of distributing the risks and the resilience with respect to sustaining the productivity of the environment should be observed too. In addition to the standard, an implementation rule, indicating under what circumstances the standard will be considered violated, is commonly part of the regulations. Penalties and other procedures for dealing with regions out of compliance with the standard may be part of the legislation.

Governmental institutions setting environmental standards

Environmental standards are set by many different institutions, and most of the standards continue to be based on the principle of voluntary self-commitment.

United Nations (UN)

The UN, with 193 member states, is the largest intergovernmental organization. The environmental policy of the UN has a huge impact on the setting of international environmental standards. At the Earth summit in 1992, held in Rio, the member states acknowledged their negative impact on the environment for the first time. During this and the following Millennium Declaration, the first development goals for environmental issues were set.

Since then, the risk of the catastrophe caused by extreme weather has been enhanced by the overuse of natural resources and global warming. At the Paris Agreement in 2015, the UN determined 17 Goals for sustainable development. Besides the fight against global poverty, the main focus of the goals is the preservation of our planet. These goals set a baseline for global environmentalism. The environmental areas of water, energy, oceans, ecosystems, sustainable production, consumer behavior and climate protection were covered by the goals. The goals contained explanations on which mediums were required to reach them.

Whether the member states fulfill the settled goals is questionable. Some members perceive inspection or any other control from external parties as an intervention into their inner affairs. For this reason, the implementation and follow-up are only controlled by the Voluntary National Reviews. The main control is done by statistical values, which are called indicators. These indicators deliver information if the goals are reached.

European Union

Within the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Union integrates a self-commitment towards the environment. In Title XX, Article 191.1, it is settled: “Union policy on the environment shall contribute to the pursuit of the following objectives: — preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment, — protecting human health, — prudent and rational utilization of natural resources, — promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental; problems, and in particular combating climate change.” All environmental actions are based on this article and lead to a suite of environmental laws. European environmental regulation covers air, biotechnological, chemical, climate change, environmental economics, health, industry and technology, land use, nature and biodiversity, noise, protection of the ozone layer, soil, sustainable development, waste, and water.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) consults the member states about environmental issues, including standards.

The environmental standards set by European legislation include precise parametric concentrations of pollutants and also includes target environmental concentrations to be achieved by specific dates.

United States

In the United States, the development of standards is decentralized. These standards were developed by more than a hundred different institutions, many of which are private. The method of handling environmental standards is a partly fragmented plural system, which is mainly affected by the market. Under the Trump Administration, climate standards have increasingly become a scene of conflict in the politics of global warming.

Ambient air quality standards

The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate pollutants in the air. The enforcement of these standards is designed to prevent further degradation of air quality.

States may set their own ambient standards, so long as they are lower than the national standard. The NAAQS regulates the six criteria for air pollutants: sulfur dioxide (SO₂), particulate matter (PM₁₀), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and lead (Pb). To ensure that the ambient standards are met, the EPA uses the Federal Reference Method (FRM) and Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) systems to measure the number of pollutants in the air and check that they are within the legal limits.

Air emission standards

Emission standards are national regulations managed by the EPA that control the amount and concentration of pollutants that can be released into the atmosphere to maintain air quality, human health, and regulate the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulfur.

The standards are established in two phases to stay up-to-date, with final projections aiming to collectively save Americans $1.7 trillion in fuel costs and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 6 billion metric tons. Similar to the ambient standards, individuals states may also tighten regulations. For example, California set their own emissions standards through the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and these standards have been adopted by some other states. Emission standards also regulate the number of pollutants released by heavy industry and for electricity. 

The technological standards set by the EPA do not necessarily enforce the use of specific technologies, but set minimum performance levels for different industries. The EPA often encourages technological improvement by setting standards that are not achievable with current technologies. These standards are always set based on the industry's top performers to promote the overall improvement of the industry as a whole.

Impact of non-governmental organizations on environmental standards

International Organization of Standardization

The International Organization of Standardization (IOS) develops a large number of voluntary standards. With 163 member states, it has a comprehensive outreach. The standards set by the IOS were often transmitted into national standards by different nations. About 363,000 companies and organizations worldwide have the ISO 14001 certificate, a standard for environmental management created to improve the environmental performance of an organization and legal aspects as well as reaching environmental aims. Most of the national and international environmental management standards include the ISO 14000 series. In light of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ISO has identified several families of standards which help meet SDG 13 which is focused on Climate Action for global warming.

Greenpeace

Greenpeace is a popular non-governmental organization that deals with biodiversity and the environment. Their activities have had a great global impact on environmental issues. Greenpeace encourages public attention and enforces governments or companies to adapt and set environmental standards through activities recording special environmental issues. Their main focus is on forests, the sea, climate change, and toxic chemicals. For example, the organization set a standard about toxic chemicals together with the textiles sector, creating the concept 2020, which plans to banish all toxic chemicals from textile production by 2020.

World Wildlife Fund

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) focuses on how to produce the maximum yield in agriculture while conserving biodiversity. They try to educate, protect, and reach policy changes and incentives to achieve these goals.

Economy

Environmental standards in the economy are set through external motivation. First, companies need to fulfill the environmental law of the countries in which they operate. Moreover, environmental standards are based on voluntary self-commitment which means companies implement standards for their business. These standards should exceed the level of the requirements of governmental regulations. If companies set further-reaching standards, they try to fulfill the wishes of stakeholders.

At the process of setting environmental standards, three different stakeholders have the main influence. The first stakeholder, the government, is the strongest determinate, followed by the influence of the customers. Nowadays, there is an increasing number of people, who consider environmental factors during their purchasing decision. The third stakeholder who forces companies to set environmental standards is industrial participants. If companies are part of industrial networks, they are forced to fulfill the codes of conduct of these networks. This code of conduct is often set to improve the collective reputation of an industry. Another driving force of industry participants could be a reaction to a competitors action.

The environmental standards set by companies themselves can be divided into two dimensions: operational environmental policies and the message sent in advertising and public communications.

Operational environmental policies

This can be the environmental management, audits, controls, or technologies. In this dimension, the regulations tend to be closely connected with other function areas, e.g. lean production. Furthermore, it could be understood that multinational companies tend to set cross-country harmonized environmental government regulations and therefore reach a higher performance level of environmental standards. 

It is often argued that companies focus on the second dimension: the message sent in advertising and public communications. To satisfy the stakeholders' requirement, companies were focused on the public impression of their environmental self-commitment standards. Often the real implementation does not play an important role.

A lot of companies settle the responsibility for the implementation of low-budget departments. The workers, who were in charge of the standards missing time and financial resources to guarantee a real implementation. Furthermore, within the implementation, goal conflicts arise. The biggest concern of companies is that environmental protection is more expansive compared to the gained beneficial effects. But, there are a lot of positive cost-benefit-calculation for environmental standards set by companies themselves. It is observed that companies often set environmental standards after a public crisis. Sometimes environmental standards were already set by companies to avoid public crises. As to whether environmental self-commitment standards are effective, is controversial.

Emission standard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emission_standard

Emission standards are the legal requirements governing air pollutants released into the atmosphere. Emission standards set quantitative limits on the permissible amount of specific air pollutants that may be released from specific sources over specific timeframes. They are generally designed to achieve air quality standards and to protect human life.

Regulated sources

Many emissions standards focus on regulating pollutants released by automobiles (motor cars) and other powered vehicles. Others regulate emissions from industry, power plants, small equipment such as lawn mowers and diesel generators, and other sources of air pollution.

The first automobile emissions standards were enacted in 1963 in the United States, mainly as a response to Los Angeles' smog problems. Three years later Japan enacted their first emissions rules, followed between 1970 and 1972 by Canada, Australia, and several European nations. The early standards mainly concerned carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC). Regulations on nitrogen oxide emissions (NO_x) were introduced in the United States, Japan, and Canada in 1973 and 1974, with Sweden following in 1976 and the European Economic Community in 1977. These standards gradually grew more and more stringent but have never been unified.

There are largely three main sets of standards: United States, Japanese, and European, with various markets mostly using these as their base. Sweden, Switzerland, and Australia had separate emissions standards for many years but have since adopted the European standards. India, China, and other newer markets have also begun enforcing vehicle emissions standards (derived from the European requirements) in the twenty-first century, as growing vehicle fleets have given rise to severe air quality problems there, too. 

Vehicle emission performance standard

An emission performance standard is a limit that sets thresholds above which a different type of vehicle emissions control technology might be needed. While emission performance standards have been used to dictate limits for conventional pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulphur (NO_x and SO_x),^[3] this regulatory technique may be used to regulate greenhouse gasses, particularly carbon dioxide (CO₂). In the US, this is given in pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour (lbs. CO₂/MWhr), and kilograms CO₂/MWhr elsewhere.

North America

Canada

In Canada, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) transfers the legislative authority for regulating emissions from on-road vehicles and engines to Environment Canada from Transport Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The Regulations align emission standards with the U.S. federal standards and apply to light-duty vehicles (e.g., passenger cars), light-duty trucks (e.g., vans, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles), heavy-duty vehicles (e.g., trucks and buses), heavy-duty engines and motorcycles.

United States of America

The United States has its own set of emissions standards that all new vehicles must meet. In the United States, emissions standards are managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Under federal law, the state of California is allowed to promulgate more stringent vehicle emissions standards (subject to EPA approval), and other states may choose to follow either the national or California standards. California had produced air quality standards prior to EPA, with severe air quality problems in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. LA is the country's second-largest city, and relies much more heavily on automobiles and has less favorable meteorological conditions than the largest and third-largest cities (New York and Chicago). 

California's emissions standards are set by the California Air Resources Board, known locally by its acronym "CARB". By mid-2009, 16 other states had adopted CARB rules; given the size of the California market plus these other states, many manufacturers choose to build to the CARB standard when selling in all 50 states. CARB's policies have also influenced EU emissions standards.

California is attempting to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, but faces a court challenge from the federal government. The states are also attempting to compel the federal EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which as of 2007 it has declined to do. On May 19, 2009 news reports indicate that the Federal EPA will largely adopt California's standards on greenhouse gas emissions.

California and several other western states have passed bills requiring performance-based regulation of greenhouse gases from electricity generation.

In an effort to decrease emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines faster, the California Air Resources Board's Carl Moyer Program funds upgrades that are in advance of regulations. 

The California ARB standard for light vehicle emissions is a regulation of equipment first, with verification of emissions second. The property owner of the vehicle is not permitted to modify, improve, or innovate solutions in order to pass a true emissions-only standard set for their vehicle. Therefore, California's attempt at regulation of emissions is a regulation of equipment, not of air quality. This form of regulation prevents vehicle modifications that may assist in cheating emissions tests, but it also prevents grassroots or creative individuals from participating in the math, science, and engineering that could lead to breakthroughs in this area of research. They are wholly excluded from modifying their property in any way that has not been extensively researched and approved by CARB.

The EPA has separate regulations for small engines, such as groundskeeping equipment. The states must also promulgate miscellaneous emissions regulations in order to comply with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Europe

Before the European Union began streamlining emissions standards, there were several differing sets of rules. Members of the European Economic Community (EEC) had a unified set of rules, considerably more lax than those of the United States or Japan. These were tightened gradually, beginning on cars of over two liters displacement as the price increase would have less of an impact in this segment. The ECE 15/05 norms (also known as the Luxemburg accord, strict enough to essentially require catalytic converters) began taking effect gradually: the initial step applied to cars of over 2000 cc in two stages, in October 1988 and October 1989. There followed cars between 1.4 and 2.0 liters, in October 1991 and then October 1993. Cars of under 1400 cc had to meet two subsequent sets of regulations that applied in October 1992 and October 1994 respectively. French and Italian car manufacturers, strongly represented in the small car category, had been lobbying heavily against these regulations throughout the 1980s.

Within the EEC, Germany was a leader in regulating automobile emissions. Germany gave financial incentives to buyers of cars that met US or ECE standards, with lesser credits available to those that partially fulfilled the requirements. These incentives had a strong impact; only 6.5 percent of new cars registered in Germany in 1988 did not meet any emissions requirements and 67.3 percent were compliant with the strictest US or ECE standards.

Sweden was one of the first countries to instill stricter rules (for 1975), placing severe limitations on the number of vehicles available there. These standards also caused drivability problems and steeply increased fuel consumption - in part because manufacturers could not justify the expenditure to meet specific regulations that applied only in one very small market. In 1982, the European Community calculated that the Swedish standards increased fuel consumption by 9 percent, while it made cars 2.5 percent more expensive. For 1983 Switzerland (and then Australia) joined in the same set of regulations, which gradually increased the number of certified engines. One problem with the strict standards was that they did not account for catalyzed engines, meaning that vehicles thus equipped had to have the catalytic converters removed before they could be legally registered. 

In 1985 the first catalyzed cars entered certain European markets such as Germany. At first, the availability of unleaded petrol was limited and sales were small. In Sweden, catalyzed vehicles became allowed in 1987, benefitting from a tax rebate to boost sales. By 1989 the Swiss/Swedish emissions rules were tightened to the point that non-catalyzed cars were no longer able to be sold. In early 1989 the BMW Z1 was introduced, only available with catalyzed engines. This was a problem in some places like Portugal, where unleaded fuel was still almost non-existent, although European standards required unleaded gasoline to be "available" in every country by 1 October 1989.

European Union

The European Union has its own set of emissions standards that all new vehicles must meet. Currently, standards are set for all road vehicles, trains, barges and 'nonroad mobile machinery' (such as tractors). No standards apply to seagoing ships or airplanes.

EU Regulation No 443/2009 sets an average CO₂ emissions target for new passenger cars of 130 grams per kilometre. The target was gradually phased in between 2012 and 2015. A target of 95 grams per kilometre will apply from 2021.

For light commercial vehicle, an emissions target of 175 g/km applies from 2017, and 147 g/km from 2020, a reduction of 16%. 

The EU introduced Euro 4 effective January 1, 2008, Euro 5 effective January 1, 2010 and Euro 6 effective January 1, 2014. These dates had been postponed for two years to give oil refineries the opportunity to modernize their plants.

UK

Several local authorities in the UK have introduced Euro 4 or Euro 5 emissions standards for taxis and licensed private hire vehicles to operate in their area. Emissions tests on diesel cars have not been carried out during MOTs in Northern Ireland for 12 years, despite being legally required.

Germany

According to the German federal automotive office 37.3% (15.4 million) cars in Germany (total car population 41.3 million) conform to the Euro 4 standard from Jan 2009.

Asia

China

Due to rapidly expanding wealth and prosperity, the number of coal power plants and cars on China's roads is rapidly growing, creating an ongoing pollution problem. China enacted its first emissions controls on automobiles in 2000, equivalent to Euro I standards. China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) upgraded emission controls again on July 1, 2004 to the Euro II standard. More stringent emission standard, National Standard III, equivalent to Euro III standards, went into effect on July 1, 2007. Plans were for Euro IV standards to take effect in 2010. Beijing introduced the Euro IV standard in advance on January 1, 2008, becoming the first city in mainland China to adopt this standard.

Hong Kong

From Jan 1, 2006, all new passenger cars with spark-ignition engines in Hong Kong must meet either Euro IV petrol standard, Japanese Heisei 17 standard or US EPA Tier 2 Bin 5 standard. For new passenger cars with compression-ignition engines, they must meet US EPA Tier 2 Bin 5 standard.

India

Bharat stage emission standards are emission standards instituted by the Government of India to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment & Forests.

The standards, based on European regulations were first introduced in 2000. Progressively stringent norms have been rolled out since then. All new vehicles manufactured after the implementation of the norms have to be compliant with the regulations. By 2014, the country was under a combination of Euro 3 and Euro 4-based norms, with Euro 4 standards partly implemented in 13 major cities. Till April 2017, the entire country was under BS IV norms, which is based on Euro 4. 

As of now manufacture and registration of BS IV vehicles has started, by April 2020 all BS IV manufacturing will be mandatory, respectively.

Japan

Background

Starting June 10, 1968, the Japanese Government passed the (Japanese: Air Pollution Control Act) which regulated all sources of air pollutants. As a result of the 1968 law, dispute resolutions were passed under the 1970 (Japanese: Air Pollution Dispute Resolution Act). As a result of the 1970 law, in 1973 the first installment of four sets of new emissions standards were introduced. Interim standards were introduced on January 1, 1975 and again for 1976. The final set of standards were introduced for 1978. While the standards were introduced they were not made immediately mandatory, instead tax breaks were offered for cars which passed them. The standards were based on those adopted by the original US Clean Air Act of 1970, but the test cycle included more slow city driving to correctly reflect the Japanese situation. The 1978 limits for mean emissions during a "Hot Start Test" of CO, hydrocarbons, and NOx were 2.1 grams per kilometre (3.38 g/mi) of CO, .25 grams per kilometre (0.40 g/mi) of HC, and .25 grams per kilometre (0.40 g/mi) of NOx respectively. Maximum limits are 2.7 grams per kilometre (4.35 g/mi) of CO, .39 grams per kilometre (0.63 g/mi) of HC, and .48 grams per kilometre (0.77 g/mi) of NOx. The "10 - 15 Mode Hot Cycle" test, used to determine individual fuel economy ratings and emissions observed from the vehicle being tested, use a specific testing regime.

In 1992, to cope with NOx pollution problems from existing vehicle fleets in highly populated metropolitan areas, the Ministry of the Environment adopted the "(Japanese: Law Concerning Special Measures to Reduce the Total Amount of Nitrogen Oxides Emitted from Motor Vehicles in Specified Areas)", called in short The Motor Vehicle NOx Law. The regulation designated a total of 196 communities in the Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka and Hyogo Prefectures as areas with significant air pollution due to nitrogen oxides emitted from motor vehicles. Under the Law, several measures had to be taken to control NOx from in-use vehicles, including enforcing emission standards for specified vehicle categories.

The regulation was amended in June 2001 to tighten the existing NOx requirements and to add PM control provisions. The amended rule is called the "Law Concerning Special Measures to Reduce the Total Amount of Nitrogen Oxides and Particulate Matter Emitted from Motor Vehicles in Specified Areas", or in short the Automotive NOx and PM Law.

Emission Standards

The NOx and PM Law introduces emission standards for specified categories of in-use highway vehicles including commercial goods (cargo) vehicles such as trucks and vans, buses, and special purpose motor vehicles, irrespective of the fuel type. The regulation also applies to diesel powered passenger cars (but not to gasoline cars). 

In-use vehicles in the specified categories must meet 1997/98 emission standards for the respective new vehicle type (in the case of heavy duty engines NOx = 4.5 g/kWh, PM = 0.25 g/kWh). In other words, the 1997/98 new vehicle standards are retroactively applied to older vehicles already on the road. Vehicle owners have two methods to comply:

1. Replace old vehicles with newer, cleaner models
2. Retrofit old vehicles with approved NOx and PM control devices

Vehicles have a grace period, between 8 and 12 years from the initial registration, to comply. The grace period depends on the vehicle type, as follows:

• Light commercial vehicles (GVW ≤ 2500 kg): 8 years
• Heavy commercial vehicles (GVW > 2500 kg): 9 years
• Micro buses (11-29 seats): 10 years
• Large buses (≥ 30 seats): 12 years
• Special vehicles (based on a cargo truck or bus): 10 years
• Diesel passenger cars: 9 years

Furthermore, the regulation allows fulfillment of its requirements to be postponed by an additional 0.5-2.5 years, depending on the age of the vehicle. This delay was introduced in part to harmonize the NOx and PM Law with the Tokyo diesel retrofit program.

The NOx and PM Law is enforced in connection with Japanese vehicle inspection program, where non-complying vehicles cannot undergo the inspection in the designated areas. This, in turn, may trigger an injunction on the vehicle operation under the Road Transport Vehicle Law.

Israel

Since January 2012 vehicles which do not comply with Euro 6 emission values are not allowed to be imported to Israel.

Turkey

Diesel and gasoline sulphur content is regulated at 10ppm. Turkey currently follows Euro VI for heavy duty commercial vehicles, and, in 2016 a couple of years after the EU, Turkey adopted Euro 6 for new types of light duty vehicles (LDV) and new types of passenger cars. Turkey is planning to use the Worldwide harmonized light vehicles test procedure (WLTP).

However, despite these tailpipe emission standards for new vehicle types there are many older diesel vehicles, no low-emission zones and no national limit on PM2.5 particulates so local pollution, including from older vehicles, is still a major health risk in some cities, such as Ankara. Concentrations of PM2.5 are 41 µg/m³ in Turkey, making it the country with the worst air pollution in Europe. The regulation for testing of existing vehicle exhaust gases is Official Newspaper number 30004 published 11 March 2017.

An average of 135 g CO2/km for LDVs compared well with other countries in 2015, however unlike the EU there is no limit on carbon dioxide emissions.

Africa

South Africa

South Africa's first clean fuels programme was implemented in 2006 with the banning of lead from petrol and the reduction of sulphur levels in diesel from 3 000 parts per million (ppm) to 500ppm, along with a niche grade of 50ppm.

The Clean Fuels 2 standard, expected to begin in 2017, includes the reduction of sulphur to 10ppm; the lowering of benzene from 5 percent to 1 percent of volume; the reduction of aromatics from 50 percent to 35 percent of volume; and the specification of olefins at 18 percent of volume. 

Oceania

Australia

Australian emission standards are based on European regulations for light-duty and heavy-duty (heavy goods) vehicles, with acceptance of selected US and Japanese standards. The current policy is to fully harmonize Australian regulations with United Nations (UN) and Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) standards. In November 2013, the first stage of the stringent Euro 5 emission standards for light vehicles was introduced, which includes cars and light commercial vehicles. The development of emission standards for highway vehicles and engines is coordinated by the National Transport Commission (NTC) and the regulations—Australian Design Rules (ADR)—are administered by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

All new vehicles manufactured or sold in the country must comply with the standards, which are tested by running the vehicle or engine in a standardized test cycle.

Bioconversion of biomass to mixed alcohol fuels

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioconversion_of_biomass_to_mixed_alcohol_fuels

The bioconversion of biomass to mixed alcohol fuels can be accomplished using the MixAlco process. Through bioconversion of biomass to a mixed alcohol fuel, more energy from the biomass will end up as liquid fuels than in converting biomass to ethanol by yeast fermentation.

The process involves a biological/chemical method for converting any biodegradable material (e.g., urban wastes, such as municipal solid waste, biodegradable waste, and sewage sludge, agricultural residues such as corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, cotton gin trash, manure) into useful chemicals, such as carboxylic acids (e.g., acetic, propionic, butyric acid), ketones (e.g., acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, diethyl ketone) and biofuels, such as a mixture of primary alcohols (e.g., ethanol, propanol, n-butanol) and/or a mixture of secondary alcohols (e.g., isopropanol, 2-butanol, 3-pentanol). Because of the many products that can be economically produced, this process is a true biorefinery.

Pilot Plant (College Station, Texas)

 

The process uses a mixed culture of naturally occurring microorganisms found in natural habitats such as the rumen of cattle, termite guts, and marine and terrestrial swamps to anaerobically digest biomass into a mixture of carboxylic acids produced during the acidogenic and acetogenic stages of anaerobic digestion, however with the inhibition of the methanogenic final stage. The more popular methods for production of ethanol and cellulosic ethanol use enzymes that must be isolated first to be added to the biomass and thus convert the starch or cellulose into simple sugars, followed then by yeast fermentation into ethanol. This process does not need the addition of such enzymes as these microorganisms make their own.

As the microorganisms anaerobically digest the biomass and convert it into a mixture of carboxylic acids, the pH must be controlled. This is done by the addition of a buffering agent (e.g., ammonium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate), thus yielding a mixture of carboxylate salts. Methanogenesis, being the natural final stage of anaerobic digestion, is inhibited by the presence of the ammonium ions or by the addition of an inhibitor (e.g., iodoform). The resulting fermentation broth contains the produced carboxylate salts that must be dewatered. This is achieved efficiently by vapor-compression evaporation. Further chemical refining of the dewatered fermentation broth may then take place depending on the final chemical or biofuel product desired.

The condensed distilled water from the vapor-compression evaporation system is recycled back to the fermentation. On the other hand, if raw sewage or other waste water with high BOD in need of treatment is used as the water for the fermentation, the condensed distilled water from the evaporation can be recycled back to the city or to the original source of the high-BOD waste water. Thus, this process can also serve as a water treatment facility, while producing valuable chemicals or biofuels.

Because the system uses a mixed culture of microorganisms, besides not needing any enzyme addition, the fermentation requires no sterility or aseptic conditions, making this front step in the process more economical than in more popular methods for the production of cellulosic ethanol. These savings in the front end of the process, where volumes are large, allows flexibility for further chemical transformations after dewatering, where volumes are small.

Carboxylic acids

Carboxylic acids can be regenerated from the carboxylate salts using a process known as "acid springing". This process makes use of a high-molecular-weight tertiary amine (e.g., trioctylamine), which is switched with the cation (e.g., ammonium or calcium). The resulting amine carboxylate can then be thermally decomposed into the amine itself, which is recycled, and the corresponding carboxylic acid. In this way, theoretically, no chemicals are consumed or wastes produced during this step.

Ketones

There are two methods for making ketones. The first one consists on thermally converting calcium carboxylate salts into the corresponding ketones. This was a common method for making acetone from calcium acetate during World War I. The other method for making ketones consists on converting the vaporized carboxylic acids on a catalytic bed of zirconium oxide.

Alcohols

Primary alcohols

The undigested residue from the fermentation may be used in gasification to make hydrogen (H₂). This H₂ can then be used to hydrogenolyze the esters over a catalyst (e.g., copper chromite), which are produced by esterifying either the ammonium carboxylate salts (e.g., ammonium acetate, propionate, butyrate) or the carboxylic acids (e.g., acetic, propionic, butyric acid) with a high-molecular-weight alcohol (e.g., hexanol, heptanol). From the hydrogenolysis, the final products are the high-molecular-weight alcohol, which is recycled back to the esterification, and the corresponding primary alcohols (e.g., ethanol, propanol, butanol). 

Secondary alcohols

The secondary alcohols (e.g., isopropanol, 2-butanol, 3-pentanol) are obtained by hydrogenating over a catalyst (e.g., Raney nickel) the corresponding ketones (e.g., acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, diethyl ketone).

Drop-in biofuels

The primary or secondary alcohols obtained as described above may undergo conversion to drop-in biofuels, fuels which are compatible with current fossil fuel infrastructure such as biogasoline, green diesel and bio-jet fuel. Such is done by subjecting the alcohols to dehydration followed by oligomerization using zeolite catalysts in a manner similar to the methanex process, which used to produce gasoline from methanol in New Zealand.

Acetic acid versus ethanol

Cellulosic-ethanol manufacturing plants are bound to be net exporters of electricity because a large portion of the lignocellulosic biomass, namely lignin, remains undigested and it must be burned, thus producing electricity for the plant and excess electricity for the grid. As the market grows and this technology becomes more widespread, coupling the liquid fuel and the electricity markets will become more and more difficult.

Acetic acid, unlike ethanol, is biologically produced from simple sugars without the production of carbon dioxide: 

C₆H₁₂O₆     →     2 CH₃CH₂OH   +   2 CO₂
(Biological production of ethanol)

 

C₆H₁₂O₆     →     3 CH₃COOH
(Biological production of acetic acid)

Because of this, on a mass basis, the yields will be higher than in ethanol fermentation. If then, the undigested residue (mostly lignin) is used to produce hydrogen by gasification, it is ensured that more energy from the biomass will end up as liquid fuels rather than excess heat/electricity.

3 CH₃COOH   +   6 H₂     →     3 CH₃CH₂OH   +   3 H₂O
(Hydrogenation of acetic acid)

 

C₆H₁₂O₆ (from cellulose)   +   6 H₂ (from lignin)     →     3 CH₃CH₂OH   +   3 H₂O (Overall reaction)

A more comprehensive description of the economics of each of the fuels is given on the pages alcohol fuel and ethanol fuel, more information about the economics of various systems can be found on the central page biofuel. 

Stage of development

The system has been in development since 1991, moving from the laboratory scale (10 g/day) to the pilot scale (200 lb/day) in 2001. A small demonstration-scale plant (5 ton/day) has been constructed and is under operation and a 220 ton/day demonstration plant is expected in 2012.

Butanol fuel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanol_fuel

n-Butanol, a C-4 hydrocarbon is a promising bio-derived fuel, which shares many properties with gasoline.

Butanol may be used as a fuel in an internal combustion engine. It is more similar to gasoline than it is to ethanol. A C4-hydrocarbon, butanol is a drop-in fuel and thus works in vehicles designed for use with gasoline without modification. It can be produced from biomass (as "biobutanol") as well as fossil fuels (as "petrobutanol"). Both biobutanol and petrobutanol have the same chemical properties. Butanol from biomass is called biobutanol.

Although intriguing in many ways, butanol fuel is rarely economically competitive. 

Genetically modified bacteria

This method of production offers a way to produce liquid fuels from sustainable sources.

Fermentation however remains inefficient. Yields are low and separation is very expensive. Obtaining higher yields of butanol involves manipulation of the metabolic networks using metabolic engineering and genetic engineering.

Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli, or E. coli, is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria. E. coli is the microorganism most likely to move on to commercial production of isobutanol. In its engineered form E. coli produces the highest yields of isobutanol of any microorganism. Methods such as elementary mode analysis have been used to improve the metabolic efficiency of E. coli so that larger quantities of isobutanol may be produced. E. coli is an ideal isobutanol bio-synthesizer for several reasons:

• E. coli is an organism for which several tools of genetic manipulation exist, and it is an organism for which an extensive body of scientific literature exists. This wealth of knowledge allows E. coli to be easily modified by scientists.
• E. coli has the capacity to use lignocellulose (waste plant matter left over from agriculture) in the synthesis of isobutanol. The use of lignocellulose prevents E. coli from using plant matter meant for human consumption, and prevents any food-fuel price relationship which would occur from the biosynthesis of isobutanol by E. coli.
• Genetic modification has been used to broaden the scope of lignocellulose which can be used by E. coli. This has made E. coli a useful and diverse isobutanol bio-synthesizer.

The primary drawback of E. coli is that it is susceptible to bacteriophages when being grown. This susceptibility could potentially shut down entire bioreactors. Furthermore, the native reaction pathway for isobutanol in E. coli functions optimally at a limited concentration of isobutanol in the cell. To minimize the sensitivity of E. coli in high concentrations, mutants of the enzymes involved in synthesis can be generated by random mutagenesis. By chance, some mutants may prove to be more tolerant of isobutanol which will enhance the overall yield of the synthesis.

Clostridia

Butanol can be produced by fermentation of biomass by the A.B.E. process using Clostridium acetobutylicum, Clostridium beijerinckii. C. acetobutylicum was once used for the production of acetone from starch. The butanol was a by-product of fermentation (twice as much butanol was produced). The feedstocks for biobutanol the same as those for ethanol: energy crops such as sugar beets, sugar cane, corn grain, wheat and cassava, prospective non-food energy crops such as switchgrass and even guayule in North America, as well as agricultural byproducts such as bagasse, straw and corn stalks. According to DuPont, existing bioethanol plants can cost-effectively be retrofitted to biobutanol production. Additionally, butanol production from biomass and agricultural byproducts could be more efficient (i.e. unit engine motive power delivered per unit solar energy consumed) than ethanol or methanol production.

A strain of Clostridium can convert nearly any form of cellulose into butanol even in the presence of oxygen.

A strain of Clostridium cellulolyticum, a native cellulose-degrading microbe, affords isobutanol directly from cellulose.

A combination of succinate and ethanol can be fermented to produce butyrate (a precursor to butanol fuel) by utilizing the metabolic pathways present in Clostridium kluyveri. Succinate is an intermediate of the TCA cycle, which metabolizes glucose. Anaerobic bacteria such as Clostridium acetobutylicum and Clostridium saccharobutylicum also contain these pathways. Succinate is first activated and then reduced by a two-step reaction to give 4-hydroxybutyrate, which is then metabolized further to crotonyl-coenzyme A (CoA) . Crotonyl-CoA is then converted to butyrate. The genes corresponding to these butanol production pathways from Clostridium were cloned to E. coli.

Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria are a phylum of photosynthetic bacteria. Cyanobacteria are suited for isobutanol biosynthesis when genetically engineered to produce isobutanol and its corresponding aldehydes. Isobutanol producing species of cyanobacteria offer several advantages as biofuel synthesizers:

• Cyanobacteria grow faster than plants and also absorb light more efficiently than plants. This means they can be replenished at a faster rate than the plant matter used for other biofuel biosynthesizers.
• Cyanobacteria can be grown on non-arable land (land not used for farming). This prevents competition between food sources and fuel sources.
• The supplements necessary for the growth of Cyanobacteria are CO₂, H₂O, and light. This presents two advantages:
  • Because CO₂ is derived from the atmosphere, Cyanobacteria do not need plant matter to synthesize isobutanol (in other organisms which synthesize isobutanol, plant matter is the source of the carbon necessary to synthetically assemble isobutanol). Since plant matter is not used by this method of isobutanol production, the necessity to source plant matter from food sources and create a food-fuel price relationship is avoided.
  • Because CO₂ is absorbed from the atmosphere by Cyanobacteria, the possibility of bioremediation (in the form of Cyanobacteria removing excess CO₂ from the atmosphere) exists.

The primary drawbacks of cyanobacteria are:

• Cyanobacteria are sensitive to environmental conditions when being grown. Cyanobacteria suffer greatly from light of inappropriate wavelength and intensity, CO₂ of inappropriate concentration, or H₂O of inappropriate salinity though a wealth of cyanobacteria are able to grow in brackish and marine waters. These factors are generally hard to control, and present a major obstacle in cyanbacterial production of isobutanol.
• Cyanobacteria bioreactors require high energy to operate. Cultures require constant mixing, and the harvesting of biosynthetic products is energy intensive. This reduces the efficiency of isobutanol production via Cyanobacteria.

Blue-green algae can be re-engineered to increase in butanol production, showing the importance of ATP and cofactor driving forces as a design principle in pathway engineering. Many organisms have the capacity to produce butanol utilizing an acetyl-CoA dependent pathway. The main problem with this pathway is the first reaction involving the condensation of two acetyl-CoA molecules to acetoacetyl-CoA. This reaction is thermodynamically unfavorable due to the positive Gibbs free energy associated with it (dG = 6.8 kcal/mol).

Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis is a gram-positive rod-shaped bacteria. Bacillus subtilis offers many of the same advantages and disadvantages of E. coli, but it is less prominently used and does not produce isobutanol in quantities as large as E. coli. Similar to E. coli, Bacillus subtilis is capable of producing isobutanol from lignocellulose, and is easily manipulated by common genetic techniques. Elementary mode analysis has also been used to improve the isobutanol-synthesis metabolic pathway used by Bacillus subtilis, leading to higher yields of isobutanol being produced.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or S. cerevisiae, is a species of yeast. S. cerevisiae naturally produces isobutanol in small quantities via its valine biosynthetic pathway. S. cerevisiae is an ideal candidate for isobutanol biofuel production for several reasons:

• S. cerevisiae can be grown at low pH levels, helping prevent contamination during growth in industrial bioreactors.
• S. cerevisiae cannot be affected by bacteriophages because it is a eukaryote.
• Extensive scientific knowledge about S. cerevisiae and its biology already exists.

Overexpression of the enzymes in the valine biosynthetic pathway of S. cerevisiae has been used to improve isobutanol yields. S. cerevisiae, however, has proved difficult to work with because of its inherent biology:

• As a eukaryote, S. cerevisiaeis genetically more complex than E. coli or B. subtilis, and is harder to genetically manipulate as a result.
• S. cerevisiae has the natural ability to produce ethanol. This natural ability can "overpower" and consequently inhibit isobutanol production by S. cerevisiae.
• S. cerevisiae cannot use five carbon sugars to produce isobutanol. The inability to use five-carbon sugars restricts S. cerevisiae from using lignocellulose, and means S. cerevisiae must use plant matter intended for human consumption to produce isobutanol. This results in an unfavorable food/fuel price relationship when isobutanol is produced by S. cerevisiae.

 

Ralstonia eutropha

Ralstonia eutropha is a gram-negative soil bacterium of the betaproteobacteria class. Ralstonia eutropha is capable of converting electrical energy into isobutanol. This conversion is completed in several steps:

• Anodes are placed in a mixture of H₂O and CO₂.
• An electric current is run through the anodes, and through an electrochemical process H₂O and CO₂ are combined to synthesize formic acid.
• A culture of Ralstonia eutropha (composed of a strain tolerant to electricity) is kept within the H₂O and CO₂ mixture.
• The culture of Ralstonia eutropha then converts formic acid from the mixture into isobutanol.
• The biosynthesized isobutanol is then separated from the mixture, and can be used as a biofuel.

 

Feedstocks

High cost of raw material is considered as one of the main obstacles to commercial production of butanols. Using inexpensive and abundant feedstocks, e.g., corn stover, can enhance the process economic viability.

Metabolic engineering can be used to allow an organism to use a cheaper substrate such as glycerol instead of glucose. Because fermentation processes require glucose derived from foods, butanol production can negatively impact food supply. Glycerol is a good alternative source for butanol production. While glucose sources are valuable and limited, glycerol is abundant and has a low market price because it is a waste product of biodiesel production. Butanol production from glycerol is economically viable using metabolic pathways that exist in Clostridium pasteurianum bacterium.

Improving efficiency

A process called cloud point separation could allow the recovery of butanol with high efficiency.

Producers and distribution

DuPont and BP plan to make biobutanol the first product of their joint effort to develop, produce, and market next-generation biofuels. In Europe the Swiss company Butalco is developing genetically modified yeasts for the production of biobutanol from cellulosic materials. Gourmet Butanol, a United States-based company, is developing a process that utilizes fungi to convert organic waste into biobutanol.

Properties of common fuels

Isobutanol

Isobutanol is a second-generation biofuel with several qualities that resolve issues presented by ethanol.

Isobutanol's properties make it an attractive biofuel:

• relatively high energy density, 98% of that of gasoline.
• does not readily absorb water from air, preventing the corrosion of engines and pipelines.
• can be mixed at any proportion with gasoline, meaning the fuel can "drop into" the existing petroleum infrastructure as a replacement fuel or major additive.
• can be produced from plant matter not connected to food supplies, preventing a fuel-price/food-price relationship.

 

n-Butanol

Butanol better tolerates water contamination and is less corrosive than ethanol and more suitable for distribution through existing pipelines for gasoline. In blends with diesel or gasoline, butanol is less likely to separate from this fuel than ethanol if the fuel is contaminated with water. There is also a vapor pressure co-blend synergy with butanol and gasoline containing ethanol, which facilitates ethanol blending. This facilitates storage and distribution of blended fuels.

Fuel	Energy density	Air-fuel ratio	Specific energy	Heat of vaporization	RON	MON	AKI
Gasoline and biogasoline	32 MJ/L	14.7	2.9 MJ/kg air	0.36 MJ/kg	91–99	81–89	87-95
Butanol fuel	29.2 MJ/L	11.1	3.6 MJ/kg air	0.43 MJ/kg	96	78	87
Anhydrous Ethanol fuel	19.6 MJ/L	9.0	3.0 MJ/kg air	0.92 MJ/kg	107	89
Methanol fuel	16 MJ/L	6.4	3.1 MJ/kg air	1.2 MJ/kg	106	92

The octane rating of n-butanol is similar to that of gasoline but lower than that of ethanol and methanol. n-Butanol has a RON (Research Octane number) of 96 and a MON (Motor octane number) of 78 (with a resulting "(R+M)/2 pump octane number" of 87, as used in North America) while t-butanol has octane ratings of 105 RON and 89 MON. t-Butanol is used as an additive in gasoline but cannot be used as a fuel in its pure form because its relatively high melting point of 25.5 °C (79 °F) causes it to gel and solidify near room temperature. On the other hand, isobutanol has a lower melting point than n-butanol and favorable RON of 113 and MON of 94, and is thus much better suited to high fraction gasoline blends, blends with n-butanol, or as a standalone fuel.

A fuel with a higher octane rating is less prone to knocking (extremely rapid and spontaneous combustion by compression) and the control system of any modern car engine can take advantage of this by adjusting the ignition timing. This will improve energy efficiency, leading to a better fuel economy than the comparisons of energy content different fuels indicate. By increasing the compression ratio, further gains in fuel economy, power and torque can be achieved. Conversely, a fuel with lower octane rating is more prone to knocking and will lower efficiency. Knocking can also cause engine damage. Engines designed to run on 87 octane will not have any additional power/fuel economy from being operated with higher octane fuel.

Butanol characteristics: air-fuel ratio, specific energy, viscosity, specific heat

 

Alcohol fuels, including butanol and ethanol, are partially oxidized and therefore need to run at richer mixtures than gasoline. Standard gasoline engines in cars can adjust the air-fuel ratio to accommodate variations in the fuel, but only within certain limits depending on model. If the limit is exceeded by running the engine on pure ethanol or a gasoline blend with a high percentage of ethanol, the engine will run lean, something which can critically damage components. Compared to ethanol, butanol can be mixed in higher ratios with gasoline for use in existing cars without the need for retrofit as the air-fuel ratio and energy content are closer to that of gasoline.

Alcohol fuels have less energy per unit weight and unit volume than gasoline. To make it possible to compare the net energy released per cycle a measure called the fuels specific energy is sometimes used. It is defined as the energy released per air fuel ratio. The net energy released per cycle is higher for butanol than ethanol or methanol and about 10% higher than for gasoline.

Substance	Kinematic viscosity at 20 °C
Butanol	3.64 cSt
Diesel	>3 cSt
Ethanol	1.52 cSt
Water	1.0 cSt
Methanol	0.64 cSt
Gasoline	0.4–0.8 cSt

The viscosity of alcohols increase with longer carbon chains. For this reason, butanol is used as an alternative to shorter alcohols when a more viscous solvent is desired. The kinematic viscosity of butanol is several times higher than that of gasoline and about as viscous as high quality diesel fuel.

The fuel in an engine has to be vaporized before it will burn. Insufficient vaporization is a known problem with alcohol fuels during cold starts in cold weather. As the heat of vaporization of butanol is less than half of that of ethanol, an engine running on butanol should be easier to start in cold weather than one running on ethanol or methanol.

Butanol fuel mixtures

Standards for the blending of ethanol and methanol in gasoline exist in many countries, including the EU, the US, and Brazil. Approximate equivalent butanol blends can be calculated from the relations between the stoichiometric fuel-air ratio of butanol, ethanol and gasoline. Common ethanol fuel mixtures for fuel sold as gasoline currently range from 5% to 10%. It is estimated that around 9.5 gigaliter (Gl) of gasoline can be saved and about 64.6 Gl of butanol-gasoline blend 16% (Bu16) can potentially be produced from corn residues in the US, which is equivalent to 11.8% of total domestic gasoline consumption.

Consumer acceptance may be limited due to the potentially offensive banana-like smell of n-butanol. Plans are underway to market a fuel that is 85% Ethanol and 15% Butanol (E85B), so existing E85 internal combustion engines can run on a 100% renewable fuel that could be made without using any fossil fuels. Because its longer hydrocarbon chain causes it to be fairly non-polar, it is more similar to gasoline than it is to ethanol. Butanol has been demonstrated to work in vehicles designed for use with gasoline without modification.

Butanol in vehicles

Currently no production vehicle is known to be approved by the manufacturer for use with 100% butanol. As of early 2009, only a few vehicles are approved for even using E85 fuel (i.e. 85% ethanol + 15% gasoline) in the USA. However, in Brazil all vehicle manufacturers (Fiat, Ford, VW, GM, Toyota, Honda, Peugeot, Citroen and others) produce "flex-fuel" vehicles that can run on 100% Gasoline and or any mix of ethanol and gasoline up to 85% ethanol (E85). These flex fuel cars represent 90% of the sales of personal vehicles in Brazil, in 2009. BP and Dupont, engaged in a joint venture to produce and promote butanol fuel, claim that "biobutanol can be blended up to 10%v/v in European gasoline and 11.5%v/v in US gasoline". In the 2009 Petit Le Mans race, the No. 16 Lola B09/86 - Mazda MZR-R of Dyson Racing ran on a mixture of biobutanol and ethanol developed by team technology partner BP.