Review of top-down method to determine atmospheric emissions in port. Case of study: port of Veracruz, Mexico

Indicators of environmental policies in force in Mexico, fossil fuels will continue to be used in industrial sectors, especially marine fuels, such as marine diesel oil, in port systems for some time. Considering this, we have evaluated several methods corresponding to a top-down system for determining fuel consumption and sulfur dioxide atmospheric emissions for the port of Veracruz in 2020 by type of ship on a daily resolution, considering a sulfur content of 0.5% mass by mass in marine fuel. After analyzing seven methods for determining sulfur dioxide atmospheric emission levels, Goldsworthy’s method was found to be the best option to characterize this port. The port system has two maritime zones, one of which is in expansion, which represented 55.66% of fuel consumption and 23.05% of atmospheric emissions according to the typology of vessels. We found that higher fuel consumption corresponded to container vessels, and tanker vessels represented higher atmospheric emission levels in the berthing position. The main differences that we found in the analysis of the seven methods of the top-down system corresponded to the load factor parameter, main and auxiliary engine power, and estimation of fuel consumption by type of vessel.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Sea Port SO2 atmospheric emissions influence on air quality and exposure at Veracruz, Mexico

In this work, we identify the current atmospheric sulfur dioxide emissions of the Veracruz port, an important Mexican seaport experiencing rapid growth, and its influence on the surrounding areas. Sulfur dioxide emissions based on port activity, as well as meteorology and air quality simulations, are used to assess the impact. It was found that using marine fuel with low sulfur content reduces emissions by 88%. Atmospheric emission estimates based on the bottom-up methodology range from 3 to 7 Mg/year and can negatively impact air quality up to 3 km downwind. After evaluating different characteristics of vessels in CALPUFF, it was found that maximum sulfur dioxide concentrations ranging between 50 and 88 µg/m3 for a 24-h average occurred 500 m from the port. During 2019, five days had unsatisfactory air quality. The combination of a shallow planetary boundary layer, low wind speed, and large atmospheric emissions significantly degraded local air quality.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Atmospheric emissions in ports due to maritime traffic in Mexico

Atmospheric emissions from vessels at 38 Pacific and Gulf-Caribbean Mexican ports were determined for nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, particulates, carbon monoxide, non-methane volatile organic compounds, and carbon dioxide. The emissions have been estimated using a bottom-up methodology in the maneuver and hoteling phases, by vessel type, from 2005 to 2020. Maritime traffic in Mexico’s Pacific zone contributes approximately with 60% of the country’s total ship emissions, with the remaining 40% in Gulf-Caribbean ports. The highest atmospheric emissions were found at the Manzanillo and Lázaro Cárdenas ports on the Pacific coast, as well as the Altamira and Veracruz ports on the Gulf-Caribbean coast. The contribution of the atmospheric emissions by vessel type at Pacific ports was Container 67%, Bulk Carrier 32%, Tanker 0.8%, and RoRo 0.4%. For Gulf-Caribbean ports it was Container 76%, Bulk Carrier 19%, Tanker 3%, and RoRo 2%. This study incorporates the International Maritime Organization implementations on reductions of sulfur content in marine fuel, from 4.5% mass by mass from 2005 to 2011, to 3.5% from 2012 to 2019, to 0.5% beginning in 2020. Overall, sulfur dioxide emissions were reduced by 89%.The authors of this study are grateful for the participation of the staff of the Sección de Contaminación Ambiental at Instituto de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y Cambio Climático at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México: Pablo Sánchez Álvarez, Elizabeth Vega Rangel, Eduardo Zamora Vargas, Daimy Ávila Rodríguez, Humberto Bravo Witt, José Téllez Hernández, Roberto Morales Yáñez. Instituto de Geografía de la UNAM: Víctor Magaña Rueda and Gustavo Vázquez Cruz. Participation of the staff of the Administración Portuaria Integral de Veracruz (APIVER): Francisco Liaño C., Socaris de la Luz, and David Augusto de la O N. Agreement between APIVER and UNAM: “Evaluación de la calidad del aire, depósito atmosférico y meteorología para desarrollar el programa para la prevención y minimización del posible deterioro ambiental significativo en el Recinto Portuario de Veracruz y en las zonas de interés”. Finally, we acknowledge Instituto de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y Cambio Climático for supporting the postdoctoral appointment of G.F.G. at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Evaluación nacional e internacional del medioambiente por expertos

El medioambiente es el patrimonio compartido de la humanidad; de su cuidado depende el futuro del mundo; parte de la sabiduría del hombre radica en su capacidad de aprender de lo bueno y lo malo que advierte en sus semejantes; de ahí que en varias ocasiones los especialistas recomienden aprender tanto de los éxitos como de los fracasos, teniendo nuestro país gran cantidad de situaciones que los ejemplifican. Considerado lo anterior, para este trabajo, entrevistamos a 16 destacados expertos, nacionales y extranjeros, en medioambiente y con amplio compromiso en valores ambientales y que se han desempeñado en importantes puestos en los sectores académico, público, privado y de organismos intermedios con el fin de conocer sus opiniones sobre la situación del medio-ambiente en México y el mundo. Para llevar a cabo esto, se elaboró un cuestionario cuyas preguntas atienden al nivel de conocimiento evaluativo que marca la taxonomía de Bloom; de esta manera, se estructuraron 40 interrogantes, cuyos planteamientos están centrados en los recursos: aire, agua, suelo y energía. De la suma de opiniones, determinamos 135 precisiones; el resultado final puede constituir una aportación importante para países que se encuentran en vías de desarrollo y cuyos limitados recursos económicos deben optimizarse a favor del medioambiente.The environment is the shared Patrimony of the Humanity; the care is essential for the future of the world; part of the wisdom of man is the capacity to learn of good and the bad thing that is a warning to his fellowman for this reason in several occasions the experts recommend to learn so much of the successes as of the failures, having our country great amount of situations that exemplify them. Considering this previously, I interviewed 16 personalities, nationals and foreigners, all of them outstanding by their knowledge, experience and ample commitment with environment values, in order to know their opinions on the situation of the environment in Mexico. A questionnaire was elaborated with questions that take care of the level of knowledge evaluation that marks the Taxonomy of Bloom, this way I structured 40 questions, which are centered on the following resources: air, water, ground and energy. The sum of opinions we determined 135 precisions and the final result can constitutes an important contribution for several Latin American countries that are developing and whose economic resources, being limited, must be optimized, in favor of the environment

Experiencia de un equipo médico de emergencia del IMSS durante el sismo en México en setiembre de 2017

El objetivo de este trabajo es describir las acciones desarrolladas por el equipo médico de emergencia (EMT por sus siglas en inglés) del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) durante la emergencia derivada del sismo del 7 de setiembre de 2017, el cual tuvo una magnitud de 8,2 grados con epicentro a 133 km al suroeste de Pijijiapan, Chiapas, México. Una vez realizada la evaluación inicial intersectorial de la emergencia, se activó el sector salud. Dentro de esta respuesta, y una vez determinado un número elevado de lesionados y un riesgo alto para la salud pública de la población afectada, el IMSS desplegó en la región un EMT capacitado y entrenado para apoyar en la respuesta de atención médica y quirúrgica de lesionados. Las acciones del EMT, conformado por especialistas en urgencias médico-quirúrgicas y desastres, incluyeron la atención médica de 252 pacientes, la gestión del traslado de 57 pacientes y la colaboración en la habilitación de un hospital provisorio. Para mejorar la respuesta en situaciones de desastres, se requiere seguir el proceso de integración, registro y capacitación de los EMT a nivel nacional e internacional

Assessment of Chemical Risks Associated with Hydrometeorological Phenomena in a Mexican Port on the Gulf of Mexico

Accidents in port areas in the Gulf of Mexico have had great economic costs, since this is an area exposed to extreme phenomena. Tropical cyclones or cold fronts, also known as Tehuantepecers, result in intense winds and waves that impact the coastal infrastructure. The chemical risk associated with extreme winds and waves for the fuel storage tanks of the facility of the Port of Veracruz, the main Mexican port in the Gulf of Mexico, was evaluated with a historical analysis of accidents as a tool to identify significant factors in disasters and establish risk acceptance criteria. It was found that the critical hazard threshold for Veracruz corresponds to winds stronger than 160 km/h (44 m/s) that may result in coastal waves of more than 5 m high. The vulnerability to these phenomena was calculated with the vulnerability index (VI), considering the structural, functional, and chemical factors in the infrastructure, including exposure levels. By means of a risk matrix, it was determined that gasoline storage tanks have a moderate chemical risk, since exposure to the extreme wind wave hazard is low, and diesel tanks are at low risk. These assessments are important elements to consider in the expansion plans for the Port of Veracruz

Assessment of Chemical Risks Associated with Hydrometeorological Phenomena in a Mexican Port on the Gulf of Mexico

Accidents in port areas in the Gulf of Mexico have had great economic costs, since this is an area exposed to extreme phenomena. Tropical cyclones or cold fronts, also known as Tehuantepecers, result in intense winds and waves that impact the coastal infrastructure. The chemical risk associated with extreme winds and waves for the fuel storage tanks of the facility of the Port of Veracruz, the main Mexican port in the Gulf of Mexico, was evaluated with a historical analysis of accidents as a tool to identify significant factors in disasters and establish risk acceptance criteria. It was found that the critical hazard threshold for Veracruz corresponds to winds stronger than 160 km/h (44 m/s) that may result in coastal waves of more than 5 m high. The vulnerability to these phenomena was calculated with the vulnerability index (VI), considering the structural, functional, and chemical factors in the infrastructure, including exposure levels. By means of a risk matrix, it was determined that gasoline storage tanks have a moderate chemical risk, since exposure to the extreme wind wave hazard is low, and diesel tanks are at low risk. These assessments are important elements to consider in the expansion plans for the Port of Veracruz

Consumo de energía y emisiones de bióxido de carbono del sector refinación de petróleo en México de 2015 a 2030

ResumenEl incremento en el volumen de producción de petrolíferos de alta demanda, como la gasolina, eleva el uso de energía y, en consecuencia, las emisiones de CO2 en las refinerías de petróleo. En México, por ejemplo, el escenario de demanda de gasolinas para los próximos 20 años considerando una tendencia histórica en el crecimiento vehicular aumentará el consumo de este combustible en casi 55%. El propósito de este trabajo es conocer el impacto de consumo de energía por unidad de crudo procesado y las emisiones de CO2 utilizando la metodología del Panel Intergubernamental para el Cambio Climático (PICC), así como el empleo del cálculo estequiométrico con base en el contenido de carbono. Se realizaron diferentes proyecciones empleando cuatro opciones tecnológicas de refinación de petróleo procesando tres tipos de crudos puros (Olmeca, Istmo y Maya) y cuatro mezclas (M1, M2, M3, M4). Al realizar un balance energético los resultados muestran que proyectar refinerías muy complejas para cubrir una demanda específica de gasolinas consumirá menos energía y por consiguiente las emisiones de CO2 serán menores. Este estudio es relevante como herramienta de planeación energética y de contaminación ambiental en México, así también, como objeto de análisis del sector energético a nivel mundial.AbstractThe increase in the volume of production of petroleum products of high demand, such as gasoline, rises the use of energy and therefore emissions of CO2 in oil refineries. In Mexico, for example, gasoline demand scenario for the next 20 years growth will increase the fuel consumption by almost 55%, considering a historical trend in traffic. The purpose of this study as to determine the impact of energy consumption per unit of processing oil and CO2 emissions using the methodology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as well as employing the stoichiometric calculation based on the carbon content. Different projections were made using four technological options of oil refining, processing three types of pure raw (Olmeca, Istmo, Maya) and four blends (M1, M2, M3, M4). When performing an energy balance results show that projecting very complex refineries to meet a specific demand for gasoline will consume less energy and therefore CO2 emissions will be lower. This study is important as a tool for energy planning and environmental pollution in Mexico, as well as an object of analysis of the energy sector worldwide