Title:
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Atmospheric impacts of biofuel cultivation
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Biogenic volatile organic compounds play a key role in governing the rate of chemical
production and loss of tropospheric ozone and formation of secondary organic aerosol,
important atmospheric constituents which affect both climate and air quality. Isoprene
is the most important of these compounds, both in terms of quantity emitted and subsequent
reactions.
The effects of changes in isoprene emissions due to land use change driven by the
cultivation of biofuel feedstock crops in the near-future (2020s) have been evaluated.
Two realistic biofuel cultivation scenarios were developed, based on current government
targets for the replacement of transportation fuel with bio-ethanol and biodiesel. A series
of simulations, using isoprene emissions, atmospheric chemistry and climate models, were
performed to quantify the impacts.
The two biofuel cultivation scenarios yield roughly the same quantity of fuel (180 Mt
of oil equivalent per year), in line with projected global demands for biofuel in the 2020s.
In each case, global annual isoprene emissions rose by around 1 %. The resulting changes
in ground-level ozone concentrations were markedly different, with increases of as much
as 10 ppbv over parts of Europe as a result of cultivation in the mid-latitudes, but
decreases across much of the tropics due to oil palm cultivation. If co-located emissions
of NOx from oil palm processing were included, ozone levels rose by up to 5 ppbv over
SE Asia, highlighting the importance of controlling NOx emissions. The increases in
ozone over Europe are projected to result in 1300 premature deaths and a 4% reduction
r III
in the wheat harvest.
This is the first time that changes in biogenic emissions resulting from realistic land
use changes driven by biofuel cultivation have been considered. The projected impacts
on air quality and health indicate that such emissions are important in assessing the
overall environmental effect of biofuels.
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