Air Emission Inventory

Abstract

Emission inventory (EI) is a comprehensive listing of pollutants from all sources in a geo- graphical area during a period of time. The development of EI database is very important to air quality management and helps us to find out main sources. In general, to develop a reliable EI for one specific area, the following steps are involved: (i) list the types of sources, (ii) determine the types of air pollutant emission from each of the listed sources, (iii) find out the emission factor (EF) for each of the concerned pollutants, (iv) determine the number and size of specific sources in the area, and (v) multiply the appropriate numbers from step (iii) and (iv) to obtain the total emissions and then sum up the similar emissions to obtain the total for the area. With emission inventory, we can define the main sources in the study area and have the best solution for clean air action. Besides, the result from EIs can be used to study in other sectors related to human health, economic loss from air pollution, etc. This chapter will describe the method for development of an air emission inventory for developing and developed countries.