Publikasjon

Notater 2010/20

Norwegian NMVOC emissions from sector 3, solvent and other products use

Providing a basis for discussing the inclusion of new emission sources in the guidebook

Solvents and other product use (NFR sector 3) is the source of almost 30 per cent
of the Norwegian emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds
(NMVOC). Between 80 and 90 per cent come from sector 3.D Other product use.
This constitutes a per capita emission rate of around 8 kg. The results are based on
a mass balance per substance, using data from the Norwegian Product Register.
Products contributing to more than 10 per cent of the emissions from 3.D.2 and
3.D.3 are solvents, ensilage means and cleaning products. NMVOC emissions from
solvents arise mainly in manufacture of transport equipment, miscellaneous
productions and construction. Formic acid in ensilage means is emitted during
production of fodder, while cleaning products are used mostly for car maintenance,
including vehicle degreasing. Substances contributing to more than 10 per cent of
emissions are ethanol, formic acid, different kinds of naphtha and ethylene glycol.
When comparing the Norwegian inventory for 3.D with the activities described in
the Guidebook, it is evident that the Guidebook does not cover all Norwegian
emissions allocated to 3.D. Several important emission sources, like ensilage
means, disinfectants, anti-freeze agents, windscreen washing agents, cosmetics and
probably part of the solvents, are not covered by the methods given in the
Guidebook.
The Norwegian model cannot be directly adopted by any other countries, as only
the Nordic countries can obtain equivalent activity data. However, the Norwegian
inventory for 3.D can be used as a basis for developing methods for estimating
emissions from sources not yet covered by the Guidebook. Using the Norwegian
results, potentially important sources currently omitted may be identified, and
factors for solvent content and fractions emitted might be calculated for various
types of activity data.
In order to use the Norwegian results to identify important emission sources not
covered in the Guidebook, several questions need to be considered:
 Do the activities that generate the Norwegian emissions differ considerably
between Norway and other countries?
 Are activity data available?
 Should values of photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP) be taken
into account when deciding on which new sources to prioritize?
 How many new sources should be included?
If more activities are to be included in the Guidebook, it is probably necessary not
to be too ambitious and focus only on a few, important products that are not
covered. Taking into consideration the Norwegian use patterns, the possibility of
obtaining accessible consumption figures and POCP-values, a first suggestion is to
focus on disinfectants, cleaning products (especially windscreen cleaning agents)
and cosmetics.

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