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A comparative life cycle assessment of diesel and compressed natural gas powered refuse collection vehicles in a Canadian city

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  • Rose, Lars
  • Hussain, Mohammed
  • Ahmed, Syed
  • Malek, Kourosh
  • Costanzo, Robert
  • Kjeang, Erik

Abstract

Consumers and organizations worldwide are searching for low-carbon alternatives to conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their impact on the environment. A comprehensive technique used to estimate overall cost and environmental impact of vehicles is known as life cycle assessment (LCA). In this article, a comparative LCA of diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) powered heavy duty refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) is conducted. The analysis utilizes real-time operational data obtained from the City of Surrey in British Columbia, Canada. The impact of the two alternative vehicles is assessed from various points in their life. No net gain in energy use is found when a diesel powered RCV is replaced by a CNG powered RCV. However, significant reductions (approximately 24% CO2-equivalent) in GHG and criteria air contaminant (CAC) emissions are obtained. Moreover, fuel cost estimations based on 2011 price levels and a 5-year lifetime for both RCVs reveal that considerable cost savings may be achieved by switching to CNG vehicles. Thus, CNG RCVs are not only favorable in terms of reduced climate change impact but also cost effective compared to conventional diesel RCVs, and provide a viable and realistic near-term strategy for cities and municipalities to reduce GHG emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Rose, Lars & Hussain, Mohammed & Ahmed, Syed & Malek, Kourosh & Costanzo, Robert & Kjeang, Erik, 2013. "A comparative life cycle assessment of diesel and compressed natural gas powered refuse collection vehicles in a Canadian city," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 453-461.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:52:y:2013:i:c:p:453-461
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.09.064
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cezar Mihălcescu & Beatrice Sion & Alexandra Mărginean, 2011. "Online Promotion Of Tourism In Prague," Romanian Economic Business Review, Romanian-American University, vol. 6(4), pages 7-17, december.
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    1. Brito, Thiago Luis Felipe & Moutinho dos Santos, Edmilson & Galbieri, Rodrigo & Costa, Hirdan Katarina de Medeiros, 2017. "Qualitative Comparative Analysis of cities that introduced compressed natural gas to their urban bus fleet," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 502-508.
    2. Ravigné, E. & Da Costa, P., 2021. "Economic and environmental performances of natural gas for heavy trucks: A case study on the French automotive industry supply chain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    3. Wong, Alfred, 2017. "Some less-discussed externalities of contemporary electric vehicle mania in Canada," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 1025-1033.
    4. De Clercq, Djavan & Wen, Zongguo & Fan, Fei & Caicedo, Luis, 2016. "Biomethane production potential from restaurant food waste in megacities and project level-bottlenecks: A case study in Beijing," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1676-1685.
    5. Khan, Muhammad Imran & Shahrestani, Mehdi & Hayat, Tasawar & Shakoor, Abdul & Vahdati, Maria, 2019. "Life cycle (well-to-wheel) energy and environmental assessment of natural gas as transportation fuel in Pakistan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 1738-1752.
    6. Pérez, Javier & de Andrés, Juan Manuel & Borge, Rafael & de la Paz, David & Lumbreras, Julio & Rodríguez, Encarnación, 2019. "Vehicle fleet characterization study in the city of Madrid and its application as a support tool in urban transport and air quality policy development," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 114-126.
    7. Cai, Hao & Burnham, Andrew & Chen, Rui & Wang, Michael, 2017. "Wells to wheels: Environmental implications of natural gas as a transportation fuel," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 565-578.
    8. Chunguang Bai & Behnam Fahimnia & Joseph Sarkis, 2017. "Sustainable transport fleet appraisal using a hybrid multi-objective decision making approach," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 250(2), pages 309-340, March.
    9. Shangfeng Han & Baosheng Zhang & Xiaoyang Sun & Song Han & Mikael Höök, 2017. "China’s Energy Transition in the Power and Transport Sectors from a Substitution Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-25, April.
    10. Pirjola, Liisa & Kuuluvainen, Heino & Timonen, Hilkka & Saarikoski, Sanna & Teinilä, Kimmo & Salo, Laura & Datta, Arindam & Simonen, Pauli & Karjalainen, Panu & Kulmala, Kari & Rönkkö, Topi, 2019. "Potential of renewable fuel to reduce diesel exhaust particle emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    11. Jeyaseelan, Thangaraja & Ekambaram, Porpatham & Subramanian, Jayagopal & Shamim, Tariq, 2022. "A comprehensive review on the current trends, challenges and future prospects for sustainable mobility," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    12. Marlena Owczuk & Anna Matuszewska & Stanisław Kruczyński & Wojciech Kamela, 2019. "Evaluation of Using Biogas to Supply the Dual Fuel Diesel Engine of an Agricultural Tractor," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-12, March.
    13. Song, Hongqing & Ou, Xunmin & Yuan, Jiehui & Yu, Mingxu & Wang, Cheng, 2017. "Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of diesel/LNG heavy-duty vehicle fleets in China based on a bottom-up model analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 966-978.
    14. Khan, Muhammad Imran & Yasmin, Tabassum & Shakoor, Abdul, 2015. "Technical overview of compressed natural gas (CNG) as a transportation fuel," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 785-797.

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