Dataset Information

Assessing the Social and Environmental Costs of Institution Nitrogen Footprints.

ABSTRACT: This article estimates the damage costs associated with the institutional nitrogen (N) footprint and explores how this information could be used to create more sustainable institutions. Potential damages associated with the release of nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3), and nitrous oxide (N2O) to air and release of nitrogen to water were estimated using existing values and a cost per unit of nitrogen approach. These damage cost values were then applied to two universities. Annual potential damage costs to human health, agriculture, and natural ecosystems associated with the N footprint of institutions were $11.0 million (2014) at the University of Virginia (UVA) and $3.04 million at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). Costs associated with the release of nitrogen oxides to human health, in particular the use of coal-derived energy, were the largest component of damage at UVA. At UNH the energy N footprint is much lower because of a landfill cogeneration source, and thus the majority of damages were associated with food production. Annual damages associated with release of nitrogen from food production were very similar at the two universities ($1.80 million vs. $1.66 million at UVA and UNH, respectively). These damages also have implications for the extent and scale at which the damages are felt. For example, impacts to human health from energy and transportation are generally larger near the power plants and roads, while impacts from food production can be distant from the campus. Making this information available to institutions and communities can improve their understanding of the damages associated with the different nitrogen forms and sources, and inform decisions about nitrogen reduction strategies.

SUBMITTER: Compton JE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5765845 | biostudies-other | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Assessing the Social and Environmental Costs of Institution Nitrogen Footprints.

Compton Jana E JE Leach Allison M AM Castner Elizabeth A EA Galloway James N JN

Sustainability (New Rochelle, N.Y.) 20170401 2

This article estimates the damage costs associated with the institutional nitrogen (N) footprint and explores how this information could be used to create more sustainable institutions. Potential damages associated with the release of nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>), and nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) to air and release of nitrogen to water were estimated using existing values and a cost per unit of nitrogen approach. These damage cost values were then applied to two universities ...[more]

PMID: 29350221

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Project description:PurposeAmmonia (NH3) production is an energy-intensive process that is concentrated in a few countries at large-scale plants, mainly using the Haber-Bosch (HB) process. Local plants next to farmers can reduce environmental impacts, as well as reduce storage, shortage risks, and price volatility of fertilisers. Since local NH3 production is not cost-effective, we analyse how internalisation of environmental impacts into economic analyses could help to promote novel technologies for NH3 synthesis when supplied with renewable energy.MethodsMini-HB plants working at high pressure and temperature, as well as novel alternatives based on plasma reactors working at ambient conditions and using electricity from renewable sources, have been recently proposed for decentralised NH3 production. To evaluate the environmental performances of these alternative and traditional NH3 pathways, a life cycle assessment was performed to quantify the reduced emissions in each production process and the impacts of by-product utilisation, such as steam, oxygen, or carbon black. Different scales of storage and transportation, fuelled by traditional energy sources, were modelled to quantify the impacts of the simplified NH3 supply chains. A review of monetary valuation coefficients was performed to internalise the life cycle environmental impacts into the techno-economic analyses of NH3 production in Australia.Results and discussionMost of the estimated environmental costs were due to the carbon emissions of conventional plants and thermal plasma plants because of the use of fossil-based electricity. However, the high external costs associated with the photochemical oxidant formation and particulate matter affected the thermal plasma and non-thermal plasma (NTP) plants, costing in total 9,500 and 4,200 $/t NH3, respectively, due to the impacts of solar panels manufacturing. In contrast, electrolyser-HB plants obtained rates of 114 $/t NH3 because of the high energy efficiency and oxygen sales. In the future scenario for NTP-based plants, this alternative could also be competitive with rates of 222 $/t NH3. Additionally, the estimated total external costs for the conventional NH3 industry in Australia amounted to about US$5 billion per year.ConclusionsElectrolyser-HB plants could be cost-effective in the short term due to the energy efficiency of HB processes. However, the HB process has reached its efficiency limits, while the NTP process still has room for improvement, as well as its production costs are lower at smaller scales. In addition, if monetised environmental costs are analysed for a whole industry, public administrations could be prompted to invest the expected savings in the promotion of these novel technologies.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11367-023-02187-5.

Dataset Information

Assessing the Social and Environmental Costs of Institution Nitrogen Footprints.

Publications

Assessing the Social and Environmental Costs of Institution Nitrogen Footprints.

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