Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1995

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Civil Engineering

Major Professor

Wayne T. Davis

Committee Members

T. L. Miller, J. L. Smoot, C. R. Mote

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the potential impact of electric vehicles on the formation of ozone in the southeastern United States. While the introduction of electric vehicles into an area reduces emissions of the ozone precursor pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO), these vehicles place an increased power production requirement on electric utilities due to the charging of the batteries used in the electric vehicles. For areas such as the Southeastern U.S. where electric power is produced predominately from coal-fired utilities, this results in increased emissions of NOx The objective of this dissertation was to evaluate the impact of this reallocation of NOx emissions from mobile sources to electric utilities and the potential impact on ozone formation. Different electric vehicle scenarios for the Middle Tennessee Nonattainment area have been developed and analyzed using the Urban Airshed Model (UAM). Scenarios were chosen to reflect realistic expected conditions of electric vehicle impact. The mobile emission inventories were developed using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) MOBILE5A emission factor model, for the gasoline vehicle portion, in conjunction with 0 percent and 25 percent penetration rates of electric vehicles in both the light duty gas vehicle (LDGV) and light duty gas truck vehicle (LDGTl) categories, simultaneously. All modeling was conducted for the year 2010. Mobile emission inventories were developed for 2010, and used in conjunction with the 1990 State Implementation Plan (SIP) inventories of VOCs, NOx and CO, projected to 2010 using Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) factors. The SIP inventory is the basis for all emissions other than mobile sources and utility sources. The 1990 SIP emission inventory was used as the baseline inventory for projection of emissions to 2010 because it is the most current and comprehensive inventory available for the Middle Tennessee area. Coal-fired utility sources were adjusted to reflect the electric vehicle penetration of each scenario. The EPA EPS2.0 emissions preprocessing system was used to preprocess emissions data for UAM modeling. UAM modeling was conducted using high and low wind speed meteorological scenarios. The latest regulatory version of the Urban Airshed Model (UAM-IV) was used for all air quality modeling runs. The modeling domain is centered around the Nashville, Tennessee urban area, and includes 57 Tennessee and Kentucky counties. The relative impact of each electric vehicle scenario on ozone, and the ozone precursor pollutants, VOCs and NOx, is analyzed.

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