article thumbnail

Airborne measurements show ozone-forming VOCs emissions from ethanol plant higher than government estimates

Green Car Congress

VOCs and nitrogen oxides react with sunlight to form ground-level ozone, the main component of smog. Over the past decade, because of the renewable fuel mandate, we have added 10 percent of ethanol to all the gasoline that is sold in the U.S. and so the question is: what does that do to the environment. —Joost de Gouw.

Ozone 150
article thumbnail

Northwestern/Princeton study explores air quality impacts of aggressive conversion to EVs

Green Car Congress

Researchers from Northwestern University and Princeton University have explored the impact on US air quality from an aggressive conversion of internal combustion vehicles to battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs). Across scenarios, we found the more cars that transitioned to electric power, the better for summertime ozone levels.

article thumbnail

Study: 25% EV adoption would save US $17B annually from avoided climate change & pollution damages

Green Car Congress

A new study led by researchers from Northwestern University projects that if electric vehicles replaced 25% of combustion engine cars currently on the road, the United States would save approximately $17 billion annually by avoiding damages from climate change and air pollution. The open-access paper is published in AGU’s journal GeoHealth.

article thumbnail

Study finds anthropogenic PM and dust undercutting global solar energy production

Green Car Congress

According to a new study led by a team at Duke University, airborne particulate matter and dust are cutting solar photovoltaic energy output by more than 25% in certain parts of the world, with roughly equal contributions from ambient PM and PM deposited on photovoltaic surfaces. Credit: ACS, Bergin et al. Click to enlarge. 7b00197.

Solar 218
article thumbnail

NC State Researchers Developing Ozonolysis Pretreatment for Energy Grass Feedstocks

Green Car Congress

Researchers at North Carolina State University are developing an ozone-based pre-treatment technique (ozonolysis) to release sugars from the energy grass miscanthus for production into renewable fuels or chemicals with minimal generation of chemical waste streams and degradation of the carbohydrate components.

Ozone 170
article thumbnail

Test of Planet-Cooling Scheme Could Start in 2022

Cars That Think

Up there, 10 to 50 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, ozone molecules absorb the sun’s ultraviolet light, protecting life far below. Even less is understood about the potential risks to people and the environment—could the particles deplete the ozone layer, for example, or significantly alter the weather? about 0.6 °C.

Ozone 122
article thumbnail

Study: air pollution causes 800,000 extra deaths a year in Europe and 8.8 million worldwide

Green Car Congress

—Co-author Professor Thomas MĂĽnzel, of the Department of Cardiology of the University Medical Centre Mainz. When we use clean, renewable energy, we are not just fulfilling the Paris Agreement to mitigate the effects of climate change, we could also reduce air pollution-related death rates in Europe by up to 55%.

Pollution 320