Air quality and health effects of a transition to ammonia–fueled shipping in Singapore
Ammonia has been proposed to replace heavy fuel oil (HFO) in the shipping industry by 2050. When produced with low-carbon electricity, ammonia can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, ammonia emissions also contribute to local air pollution via the formation of secondary particulate matter. We...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research: Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/acfb2e |
| _version_ | 1797650241959231488 |
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| author | Sagar Rathod Morgan R Edwards Chaitri Roy Laura Warnecke Peter Rafaj Gregor Kiesewetter Zbigniew Klimont |
| author_facet | Sagar Rathod Morgan R Edwards Chaitri Roy Laura Warnecke Peter Rafaj Gregor Kiesewetter Zbigniew Klimont |
| author_sort | Sagar Rathod |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ammonia has been proposed to replace heavy fuel oil (HFO) in the shipping industry by 2050. When produced with low-carbon electricity, ammonia can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, ammonia emissions also contribute to local air pollution via the formation of secondary particulate matter. We estimate the potential ammonia emissions from storage and bunkering operations for shipping in Singapore, a port that accounts for 20% of global bunker fuel sales, and their impacts on air quality and health. Fuel storage and bunkering can increase total gaseous ammonia emissions in Singapore by up to a factor of four and contribute to a 25%–50% increase in ambient PM _2.5 concentration compared to a baseline scenario with HFO, leading to an estimated 210–460 premature mortalities in Singapore (30%–70% higher than the baseline). Proper abatement on storage and bunkering can reduce these emissions and even improve ambient PM _2.5 concentrations compared to the baseline. Overall, while an energy transition from HFO to ammonia in the shipping industry could reduce global greenhouse gas and air pollutant burdens, local policies will be important to avoid negative impacts on the communities living near its supply chain. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:58:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eeafc0b34f5849bda1e01cb722b11893 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2752-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:58:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research: Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-eeafc0b34f5849bda1e01cb722b118932023-10-25T08:52:58ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research: Health2752-53092023-01-011404100210.1088/2752-5309/acfb2eAir quality and health effects of a transition to ammonia–fueled shipping in SingaporeSagar Rathod0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7170-4302Morgan R Edwards1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9296-7865Chaitri Roy2Laura Warnecke3Peter Rafaj4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1000-5617Gregor Kiesewetter5Zbigniew Klimont6La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin–Madison , Madison, WI, United States of America; Nelson Institute Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, University of Wisconsin–Madison , Madison, WI, United States of America; Office of Sustainability, University of Wisconsin–Madison , Madison, WI, United States of AmericaLa Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin–Madison , Madison, WI, United States of America; Nelson Institute Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, University of Wisconsin–Madison , Madison, WI, United States of AmericaIndian Institute of Tropical Meteorology , Pune, Maharashtra, IndiaInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis , Laxenburg, AustriaInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis , Laxenburg, AustriaInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis , Laxenburg, AustriaInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis , Laxenburg, AustriaAmmonia has been proposed to replace heavy fuel oil (HFO) in the shipping industry by 2050. When produced with low-carbon electricity, ammonia can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, ammonia emissions also contribute to local air pollution via the formation of secondary particulate matter. We estimate the potential ammonia emissions from storage and bunkering operations for shipping in Singapore, a port that accounts for 20% of global bunker fuel sales, and their impacts on air quality and health. Fuel storage and bunkering can increase total gaseous ammonia emissions in Singapore by up to a factor of four and contribute to a 25%–50% increase in ambient PM _2.5 concentration compared to a baseline scenario with HFO, leading to an estimated 210–460 premature mortalities in Singapore (30%–70% higher than the baseline). Proper abatement on storage and bunkering can reduce these emissions and even improve ambient PM _2.5 concentrations compared to the baseline. Overall, while an energy transition from HFO to ammonia in the shipping industry could reduce global greenhouse gas and air pollutant burdens, local policies will be important to avoid negative impacts on the communities living near its supply chain.https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/acfb2eammoniashippingair pollutionhealth effectsPM2.5HFO |
| spellingShingle | Sagar Rathod Morgan R Edwards Chaitri Roy Laura Warnecke Peter Rafaj Gregor Kiesewetter Zbigniew Klimont Air quality and health effects of a transition to ammonia–fueled shipping in Singapore Environmental Research: Health ammonia shipping air pollution health effects PM2.5 HFO |
| title | Air quality and health effects of a transition to ammonia–fueled shipping in Singapore |
| title_full | Air quality and health effects of a transition to ammonia–fueled shipping in Singapore |
| title_fullStr | Air quality and health effects of a transition to ammonia–fueled shipping in Singapore |
| title_full_unstemmed | Air quality and health effects of a transition to ammonia–fueled shipping in Singapore |
| title_short | Air quality and health effects of a transition to ammonia–fueled shipping in Singapore |
| title_sort | air quality and health effects of a transition to ammonia fueled shipping in singapore |
| topic | ammonia shipping air pollution health effects PM2.5 HFO |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5309/acfb2e |
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