Shah, Viral Pinakin
(2008)
A CHARACTERIZATION MODEL WITH SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL RESOLUTION FOR LIFE CYCLE IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF PHOTOCHEMICAL PRECURSORS IN THE UNITED STATES.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Photochemical pollution is formed due to the chemical reactions of atmospheric NOx, volatile organic compounds, CO, and CH4 in the presence of sunlight. It is a complex, non-linear process influenced by several parameters which change spatially and temporally. Ozone, which is the most common photochemical, damages human health, ecosystems, and man-made materials. It also contributes to climate change. Traditional life cycle impact assessment methodologies have used aggregated impact factors for a country or even for a continent, neglecting these variations.This research assesses the geographical and temporal variability in the characterization factors for emissions of NOx and VOC over the continental US by developing monthly state-level factors. A photochemical air quality modeling system (CAMx-MM5-SMOKE) is used to simulate the process of formation, transformation, transport, and removal of photochemical pollutants. Characterization factors are calculated at three levels along the cause-effect chain, namely, fate level, human and ecosystem exposure level, and human effect level. The results indicate that a spatial variability of one order of magnitude and a temporal variability of two orders of magnitude exist in both the fate level and human exposure and effect level characterization factors for NOx. The highest temporal variation in the characterization factors for NOx is seen in the Northeastern US. The summer time characterization factors for NOx are higher than the winter time factors. However, for anthropogenic VOC, the summer time factors are lower than the winter time in almost half of the states. The ecosystem exposure factors for NOx and VOC do not follow a regular pattern and show a spatial variation of about three orders of magnitude. The fate, human exposure, and human effect level factors correlate well as all three are dependent on the atmospheric concentration of ozone. However, they are poorly correlated with the ecosystem exposure factors. Sensitivity analysis of the characterization factors for meteorology and emissions inputs shows variation between negative 90% and positive 180%. This is still lower than the spatial and temporal variations. A life cycle assessment case study is included to illustrate the use of the disaggregated characterization factors.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
| Creators | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Shah, Viral Pinakin | vps7@pitt.edu | VPS7 | |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
9 June 2008 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
27 March 2008 |
| Approval Date: |
9 June 2008 |
| Submission Date: |
10 March 2008 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Swanson School of Engineering > Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| Degree: |
MSCE - Master of Science in Civil Engineering |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
photochemical smog; disaggregated LCA; EDIP2003; TRACI |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-03102008-124334/, etd-03102008-124334 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:32 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:37 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/6474 |
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