2.B.10.a - Other Chemicals

Short description

In sub-category 2.B.10.a - Other Chemicals, emissions from the production of organic chemicals,sulphuric acid, carbon black, fertilizers and from the chlor-alkali industry are reported. Relevant pollutants are NMVOC, CO, PCDD/F, SOx, NH3, PM2.5, PM10, TSP and Hg.

Table 1: Overview of emission sources covered

Emission sources Pollutants Method AD EF Key Category
Large Volume Organic chemicals NMVOC (PCDD/F only for Ethylene Dichloride) T2 NS CS
Carbon Black CO, SO2, TSP, PM10, PM2.5 T2 NS D, CS
Fertilizers TSP, PM10, PM2.5, NH3 T2 - D, CS
Sulphuric acid SO2 T2 NS CS L
Chlor-alkali industry Hg T3 PS -

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T = key source by Trend L = key source by Level

Methods
D Default
RA Reference Approach
T1 Tier 1 / Simple Methodology *
T2 Tier 2*
T3 Tier 3 / Detailed Methodology *
C CORINAIR
CS Country Specific
M Model
* as described in the EMEP/CORINAIR Emission Inventory Guidebook - 2007, in the group specific chapters.
AD - Data Source for Activity Data
NS National Statistics
RS Regional Statistics
IS International Statistics
PS Plant Specific data
AS Associations, business organisations
Q specific questionnaires, surveys
EF - Emission Factors
D Default (EMEP Guidebook)
C Confidential
CS Country Specific
PS Plant Specific data

Method

Large Volume Organic chemicals

The annual production volumes for all large volume organic chemicals are extracted from national production statistics by the Federal Statistical Office 1)

These chemicals comprise:

  • Acrylonitrile
  • Ethylene
  • Ethylbenzene
  • Ethylene Dichloride
  • Ethylene Oxide
  • Formaldehyde (Methanal)
  • Methanol
  • Phthalic Anhydride
  • Propene
  • Styrene
  • Vinyl Chloride
  • Polyethylene (LD/HD)
  • Polypropylene
  • Polystyrene
  • Polyvinyl Chloride
  • Styrene Copolymeres

The emission factors for the production of organic chemicals as shown in Tables 2 and 3 are derived from best reference documents for polymers and LVOC mostly for the early years. For later years, plant-specific data on an aggregated level were used.

Table 2: national NMVOC emission factors for producing organic chemicals, in kg/t

Product Acrylonitrile Ethylbenzene Ethylene Ethylene Dichloride Ethylene Oxide Formaldehyde (Methanal) Methanol Phthalic Anhydride Propene Styrene Vinyl Chloride
from 1990-1994 5 0.6 5 C 5 5 0.04 5 2.5 0.02 0.2
1995 0.07 0.02 0.4 C 0.06 0.02 0.04 0.2 0.2 0.02 0.2
1996 0.05 0.015 0.3 C 0.045 0.015 0.04 0.15 0.15 0.02 0.15
1997 0.05 0.015 0.3 C 0.045 0.015 0.04 0.15 0.15 0.02 0.15
1998 0.04 0.012 0.25 C 0.04 0.012 0.04 0.12 0.12 0.02 0.12
1999 0.04 0.012 0.25 C 0.04 0.012 0.04 0.12 0.12 0.02 0.12
from 2000 0.035 0.01 0.2 C 0.03 0.01 0.04 0.1 0.1 0.02 0.1

Table 3: national NMVOC emission factors for producing polymers, in kg/t

products Polyethylene (PE) Polypropylen (PP) Polystyrene (PS) Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Styrene Copolymeres
Low density (LD) High density (HD)
from 1990 to 1994 8 6 8 1 0.25 5
1995 2.2 1 1 0.6 0.25 0.6
1996 1.6 0.75 0.75 0.4 0.25 0.5
1997 1.6 0.75 0.75 0.4 0.25 0.5
1998 1.3 0.6 0.6 0.32 0.25 0.4
1999 1.3 0.6 0.6 0.32 0.25 0.4
from 2000 1.1 0.5 0.5 0.27 0.14 0.3

Carbon Black

The figures for carbon black production in the new German Länder in 1990 were taken from the Statistical Yearbook (Statistisches Jahrbuch) for the Federal Republic of Germany; the figures for 1991 and 1992 were estimated, due to confidentiality requirements. The other data for carbon-black production as of 1990 were obtained from national production statistics1).

From 2005 onwards, Germany uses activity data calculated from the CO2 emissions of the Emission Trading System (ETS), delivered by the German emission trading authority (DEHSt), and the default CO2 emission factor from the IPCC Guidelines 2006 for carbon black production. A comparison of the statistical data and the emission trading data leads to the conclusion, that the statistical data is most probably overestimated.

Table 4: Emission factors of carbon black in Germany, in kg/t

Pollutant CO SO2 TSP PM10 PM2.5
1990 4.80 19.16 0.28
1991 4.60 19.01 0.28
1992 4.40 18.50 0.27
1993 4.20 18.00 0.26
1994 4.00 17.50 0.25
1995 3.75 17.00 0.25 0.23 0.12
1996 3.50 16.00 0.25 0.23 0.12
1997 3.25 15.00 0.25 0.23 0.12
1998 3.00 14.00 0.25 0.23 0.12
1999 2.90 13.40 0.25 0.23 0.12
2000 2.80 12.80 0.25 0.23 0.12
2001 2.70 12.54 0.25 0.23 0.12
2002 2.65 12.28 0.25 0.23 0.12
2003 2.60 12.00 0.25 0.23 0.12
2004 2.55 11.70 0.25 0.23 0.12
2005 2.50 11.50 0.25 0.23 0.12
2006 2.50 11.20 0.24 0.22 0.12
2007 2.50 10.90 0.23 0.21 0.11
2008 2.50 10.60 0.22 0.20 0.11
2009 2.50 10.30 0.21 0.19 0.10
from 2010 2.50 10.00 0.20 0.18 0.10

Fertilizer production

The activity data is also extracted from national production statistics by the Federal Statistical Office1) and consists of mono and multicomponent fertilizers.

The emission factors are country specific (Jörß et al. 2006)2) and are presented in the following table.

Table 5: Emission factors of fertilizers in Germany, in kg/t

Product Fertilizers
Pollutant PM10 PM2.5 TSP
1990 NA NA 1.420376946
from 1991 to 1994 NA NA 2
from 1995 onwards 0.115938 0.0781395 0.1695

Urea production

The activity data is from the federal statistical office of Germany (GP 2015 31 300). The amount of urea is reported there in t-N. As the emission factor is in kg/t urea, the reported amount of urea in t-N is multiplied with the molar mass of urea and divided with the molar mass of nitric (60.06/14).

AR of urea (in t) = AR of urea (in t-N) * (molar mass of urea)/ (molar mass of N)

The emission factor is 2.5 kg/t urea, which is a T2 EF from the EMEP/EEA Guidebook 2019 3).

Sulphuric acid

The activity data for sulphuric acid production is from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany.

For the SOx EF for sulphuric acid production a survey was made in the year 2019. The producers were directly asked by the association. Based on the data from the producers, new EFs for the years 2017 and 2018 were developed. All emissions were measured by the producers respectively or limit values are specified in the permit decision for the installation. The EF is weighted by the amount of H2SO4 produced. Big producers have more influence on the EF than small producers. The EF is smaller than the Default-EF. This is due to significant process optimizations and technology improvements since 1990.

Chlor-alkali industry

For the mercury (Hg) losses from the Chlor-alkali industry, Germany used the yearly published data from OSPAR 4) on the plant specific production capacity for the AD and the plant specific emissions from the chlor-alkali industry. Because of the BAT (best available technique) conclusion for the Chlor-alkali industry, the production based upon the amalgam process has stopped in 2017. Most production sites switched to membrane technology. However, emissions of Hg are still ocurring, because two production sites still continue to uses the amalgam process for the production of certain alcoholates; not regulated by the BAT conclusions for Chlor-alkali production. Before 2018 these Hg-emissions were reported together with the Hg-emissions from Chlor-alkali production. But the OSPAR convention does not request the Hg-emissions from alcoholate production to be reported, so CEFIC does no longer report these emissions to OSPAR. As from 2018 PRTR data is used to determine mercury emissions belonging to the alcoholate production. Due to a delay of the 2019 PRTR data the 2018 emission value is used also in 2019 and 2020.

Recalculations

For SO2 emissions from sulphuric acid production, and for Hg emissions from chlor-alkali industry, the emissions of the two last years are always actualized. This is because the emissions of the last year are always a prediction, as the final emissions are still not published by the time of reporting.

From Submission 2022 the SO2 emissions from titanium dioxide production are no longer confidential and are therefore reallocated to category 2.B.6. Thus, the SO2 emissions reported here are only from the sulphuric acid production (See Table 6)

Table 6: SO2 emission from sulphuric acid production

Year SO2 in kt
1990 23.47
1991 22.47
1992 22.07
1993 20.14
1994 18.86
1995 23.03
1996 20.98
1997 22.23
1998 23.58
1999 24.03
2000 24.04
2001 23.01
2002 22.89
2003 23.78
2004 25.65
2005 26.54
2006 26.83
2007 25.74
2008 24.1
2009 19.87
2010 20.39
2011 19.79
2012 18.25
2013 16.94
2014 13.89
2015 12.59
2016 11.06
2017 10.14
2018 10.22
2019 9.96
2020 9.69

So far Germany reported NH3 and TSP emissions from nitric fertilizer production. Germany has decided to not report this category anymore, but to report emissions from the category urea production instead. There are several reasons to do this. First, the category nitric fertilizer production is a country specific category and there is no method described in the EMEP/EEA Guidebook for this. Second, Germany has no data source for the activity data for this category for many years. During the investigation Germany came to the assumption that there is a double counting of TSP emissions from nitric fertilizer production and fertilizer production. Therefore, instead of nitric fertilizer production Germany reports NH3 emissions from urea production based on the Emep/EEA Guidebook method, using statistical data from the federal statistical office since the submission 2022, which will be available in future too. With this step Germany has improved the quality of the reporting of the fertilizer porduction in Germany.

Table 7: NH3 and TSP emissions from urea production and nitric fertilizer production

Subm2022 Subm2021 Difference
Product urea fertilizer urea fertilizer nitric fertilizer nitric fertilizer nitric fertilizer Product
AD EM AD EM EM EM EM
Pollutant NH3 NH3 TSP NH3 TSP Pollutant
Unit t t t t t t t
1990 2,574,000 6,435 1,914,000 9,570 958.9 -3,135 -959
1991 2,574,000 6,435 1,423,000 7,115 1,423 -680 -1423
1992 2,574,000 6,435 1,365,000 6,825 1,365 -390 -1365
1993 2,574,000 6,435 1,303,000 6,515 1,303 -80 -1303
1994 2,574,000 6,435 1,199,000 5,995 1,199 440 -1199
1995 2,438,937.93 6,097.34 1,504,000 7,520 1,504 -1,423 -1504
1996 2,607,500.61 6,518.75 1,565,000 7,825 1,565 -1,306 -1565
1997 2,344,506.45 5,861.27 1,396,000 6,980 1,396 -1,119 -1396
1998 2,468,749.14 6,171.87 1,422,000 7,110 1,422 -938 -1422
1999 2,463,343.74 6,158.36 1,476,000 7,380 1,476 -1,222 -1476
2000 2,646,492.42 6,616.23 1,641,000 8,205 1,641 -1,589 -1641
2001 2,333,532.63 5,833.83 1,432,000 7,160 1,432 -1,326 -1432
2002 2,830,276.02 7,075.69 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -799 -1575
2003 2,801,352.84 7,003.38 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -872 -1575
2004 2,435,604.60 6,089.01 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -1,786 -1575
2005 2,587,955.37 6,469.89 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -1,405 -1575
2006 2,854,574.58 7,136.44 1,884,600 9,423 1,884.60 -2,287 -1884.6
2007 2,648,474.40 6,621.19 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -1,254 -1575
2008 2,592,549.96 6,481.37 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -1,394 -1575
2009 3,422,832.27 8,557.08 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 682 -1575
2010 3,074,359.86 7,685.90 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -189 -1575
2011 1,854,138 4,635.35 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -3,240 -1575
2012 1,819,491.96 4,548.73 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -3,326 -1575
2013 1,716,231.66 4,290.58 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -3,584 -1575
2014 1,691,259.57 4,228.15 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -3,647 -1575
2015 1,369,174.95 3,422.94 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -4,452 -1575
2016 1,733,301.57 4,333.25 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -3,542 -1575
2017 2,237,758.38 5,594.40 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -2,281 -1575
2018 2,161,469.31 5,403.67 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -2,471 -1575
2019 2,129,006.88 5,322.52 1,575,000 7,875 1,575 -2,552 -1575
2020 2,124,257.85 5,310.64

For pollutant-specific information on recalculated emission estimates for Base Year and 2019, please see the pollutant specific recalculation tables following chapter 8.1 - Recalculations.

Planned improvements

There are no planned improvements.


1) DESTATIS, Fachserie 4, Reihe 3.1, Produzierendes Gewerbe, Produktion im Produzierenden Gewerbe (“manufacturing industry; production in the manufacturing industry”)
2) Umweltbundesamt, W: Jörß, V. Handke, Emissionen und Maßnahmenanalyse Feinstaub 2000-2020, 31.12.2006, Annex A, chapter A.2.4.8
3) European Environment Agency: EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook 2019, Part B: sectoral guidance chapters, 2.B Chemical industry (Oct 2019): chapter 3.2.2, pp.32, table 3.2.9
4) ODIMS (OSPAR Data & Information Management System); https://odims.ospar.org/en/search/?dataset=chlor_alkali_data