Role of average speed in N₂O exhaust emissions as greenhouse gas in a huge urban zone (MVMZ): would we need a cold sun?

Climate co-benefits of alternate strategies for tourist transportation: The case of Murree Hills in Pakistan

This study explores the climate impacts of on-road tourist transportation with alternate mitigation strategies. To this end, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 2016 and emissions under four "what-if" scenarios were estimated for a popular tourist site in Pakistan, i.e., Murree Hills, using the international vehicle emissions model. Alternate scenarios included occupancy optimization, bus transit system, and Euro II and Euro IV implementation. The emissions were further decomposed using the log mean Divisia index method to study the drivers of global warming potential (GWP) mitigation. As per the results, the total 20-year GWP for 2016 was equal to 51,262 tons CO₂ equivalent, and maximum reduction was achieved under the bus transit system scenario having a 20-year GWP of 25,736 tons CO₂ equivalent, i.e., 49.8% reduction. Relative to the base year, GWP reductions were also quite significant for Euro IV (46.8%), Euro II (45.8%), and occupancy optimization (32.3%) scenarios. For the base year, CO₂ held a share of 87.3% in total emissions; however, its share in the 20-year GWP was 39.7% indicating its reduced impact on total GWP as compared to N₂O, CO, NOx, VOC, and CH₄. Based on the decomposition results for alternate scenarios, GWP mitigation was mainly driven by CO, CH₄, NOx, VOCs, and partially by CO₂, while N₂O negatively affected GWP mitigation. These results provide several policy-level instruments for developing countries to design a transition to an eco-friendly tourist transport management system. The policy implications from this study can be used to promote an eco-tourism industry.

Cobalt Species Active for Nitrous Oxide (N2O) Decomposition within a Temperature Range of 300–600°C

This article presents a novel study of the role of the catalyst support towards the formation of active cobalt sites for N2O conversion reactions within a temperature range of 300–600°C. These reactions were examined in a fixed bed tubular reactor. ZSM-5 (Si/ Al = 15), TS-1, and amorphous silicates were used as catalyst supports for cobalt loadings. All catalysts were prepared by following standard methods and recipes. In general, cobalt loading on supports was varied between 0.78 and 5.40 wt.-% (as determined from inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis). ICP, temperature programmed desorption, X-ray diffraction, and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms were used for the characterization of prepared catalysts. Cobalt on ZSM-5 support generates weak and strong acid sites. Furthermore, for the Co-ZSM-5 catalyst, prepared by a wet deposition method, the N2O decomposition reaction is first order with an activation energy of ~132 kJ mol−1. Co2+ and Co3+ are the suggested active species for the N2O conversions in the studied range of temperatures.