Name: RAFAELLA RIBEIRO CALIMAN
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 21/03/2018
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| RODRIGO DE ALVARENGA ROSA | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| JOÃO LUIZ CALMON NOGUEIRA DA GAMA | Internal Examiner * |
| RODRIGO DE ALVARENGA ROSA | Advisor * |
Summary: Railways have a considerable share in the Brazilian cargo transportation, and it is
expected to increase over the coming years. However, the growth of rail operations
leads to a higher consumption of fossil fuels derived from petroleum by locomotives
and consequently increase the emission of air pollutants and GHG. Due to recent
environmental concerns, a number of measures have been taken worldwide to
reduce emissions from the transport sector, for example the use of alternative fuels
such as natural gas and biofuels. Nevertheless, it must be assessed whether such
fuels are actually effective in reducing emissions when considering their entire life
cycle, from raw materials acquisitions for fuel production to their final use in
locomotives engines. Therefore, a method is proposed to calculate and evaluate air
pollutants and GHG emissions during the life cycle of locomotives fuels, using as
reference the international standard ISO 14040. This method was based on a Wellto-
Wheel approach, usually applied to assess transportation fuels life cycles. It was
applied to the Brazilian railway Estrada de Ferro Vitória a Minas for validation. Five
scenarios were tested using the fuels B5, B25 and LNG. The results showed that the
use of LNG associated to B25 by the locomotives would reduce CO2, CO, NOx and
PM emissions in 33%, 19%, 59% and 83% respectively when comparing with the use
of B5. The method also showed the importance of assessing the fuel life cycle
emissions instead of locomotives engines emissions only, and can be use as a tool
to support companies and regulatory agencies in the decision-making process.
Keywords: Locomotives. Air Pollutants. Greenhouse gases. Life Cycle Assessment.
Well-to-Wheel. Diesel. Liquefied Natural Gas. Biodiesel.
