Project Title : CARBON DIOXIDE MONITORING SYSTEM: AN INPUT TO

GREENHOUSE GASES MITIGATION

Researchers: Sheilane J. Gangoso

Peter Lee P. Gangoso
Earl Peter J. Gangoso

Project Location: Cities and Municipalities of the Philippines

Duration
Date Started : July, 2013
Date Ended : June, 2014

ABSTRACT
Continued rise in the Carbon Dioxide levels in our atmosphere has contributed much to
global warming which bring about unpredictable weather conditions, polar ice caps melting and
steady increase in desertification. To try to slow these catastrophic changes, monitoring the
amount of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere by anthropogenic impact is essential, as it is likewise
important to resolve these amounts by estimating the number of trees needed to balance our CO2
output.
Monitoring CO2 emissions would seem impossible if it is entrusted only to one or two
agencies in a country. Likewise, it is unrealistic to account for all the CO2 emitters. To make CO2
monitoring attainable, the researchers considered anyone as potential source of the information
in a particular city or municipality providing data for the major emitters of CO2, namely;
petroleum, coal and LPG for industrial use, and electricity. Data are attainable by a collective
effort of concerned individuals. Thus, monitoring is brought nearer to the doorsteps of the
producers (eg. city or municipality) allowing active involvement through first hand awareness of
their particular share in the GHG emissions. Data are very much verifiable since it is open online
and should anyone notices any discrepancies or erroneous entries, notification is made easy so
corrections can be done.
INTRODUCTION
Carbon Dioxide Monitoring System calculate the amount of total carbon dioxide
emission of a city within the Philippines given the following data: population, petroleum, coal
and LPG for industrial use, and electricity. Except for population, the above data are identified as
the major contributors of CO2 emission in the atmosphere according to the US Energy
Information Administration. These would comprise about 70% of the total CO2 emissions.
Furthermore, an estimate of the number of hectares of lush vegetation needed to balance the
emitted CO2 is computed for every city. Thus, one can have an overview of the CO2 O2 balance
of a city should they have an actual data of their lush vegetation. Results will be reflected in a
line graph which is provided to monitor the annual CO2 emission of a city. Cities will be ranked
according to the highest CO2 emission. Anyone who wishes to input data must register online via
www.co2monitoring.esy.es .
Greenhouse gases mitigation in the Philippines are scarce and no studies showing CO2
emissions per city or municipality are available online. Thus, it is the aim of this study to:
1. Design a tool for an easier carbon dioxide monitoring which would allow concerned
individuals to contribute information per city or municipality.
2. Provide assessment on the total amount of CO2 emitted by a city, in terms of petroleum
consumption, electricity, coal used in industry, and population.
3. Provide a comparative view of the CO2 emissions among cities/municipalities.
4. Provide the number of hectares of lush vegetation necessary to balance the citys CO2
emission.
5. Provide an evaluative tool to a citys CO2 management program.

THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Carbon dioxide, (CO2) is a colorless and odorless gas. It is an acidic oxide and nontoxic.
Carbon dioxide has many uses like in beverages, fire extinguishers and in the manufacture of
baking soda and soda ash. Carbon dioxide is produced whenever any form of carbon or carbon
containing compound is burned in excess of oxygen. All carbonates give off CO2 when treated
with acid. CO2 is also a by-product of sugar fermentation. Natural causes of CO2 emission
includes volcanic activity. CO2 is also release to the atmosphere as an end product of animal
metabolism through respiration. Plants and certain microorganisms however, uses CO2 for
respiration and thereby removes it from the atmosphere. When plants and animals die, they
decompose and become carbon deposits. Some of the carbon though, undergoes oxidation and is
release back to the atmosphere. This is the carbon cycle[Chang, 2005].
Human activity is disrupting the delicate balance of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere
by massive burning of carbon (e.g. Fossil fuels, oil, coal, incineration of waste materials, etc.).
The entire planets trees has no chance of consuming them up with the fact that we are cutting
down more trees than we are planting. Our forest are disappearing every day. The effect is
increasing CO2 in the atmosphere.
Carbon Dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that form a protective layer around the
Earth. Along with Nitrous Oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), CO2
traps the longer wavelengths of infrared light or heat, from the sun, radiating from the surface of
the earth thus preventing heat from escaping into space. Without these gases, earth would be a
cold lifeless planet [Biggs, et al, 1998].
Since the Industrial revolution, the concentration of greenhouse gases has steadily
increased. Since then, the average global temperature has generally increased, a change called
global warming. Global warming brings about major problems to all life on earth. An increase of
1 to 3C is enough to disrupt the delicate thermal balance of our planet and would cause the
melting of polar ice caps which would consequently bring about the rising of sea levels and
flooding of coastal areas, and bring about severe weather anomalies [Raven, et al, 2002].
Therefore, a control of CO2 emissions is a need to survive for the next generation. Aside
from passing laws that regulates harmful emissions, monitoring plays a vital role in the
assessment, analysis and prediction of the total CO2 management. Carbon Dioxide Monitoring
System can calculate the amount of emitted CO2 of a city. This monitoring program considers
only the major contributors of CO2 emission, namely; transportation, electricity and industry.
Population was also considered to give a clearer view of the citys profile.
Electricity. Burning of fossil fuels for electricity and heat generation account for 38% of
the total CO2 emissions in the US. Electricity is used to power homes, businesses and industry.
[US EPA, 2012]Electricity is the most common source of energy used by households in the
Philippines based on the results of the 2011 Household Energy Consumption Survey (HECS).
87% of the households were using electricity from March to August 2011 in which 78% was
used for lighting purposes. [NSO Philippines, 2013]

Transportation.Transportation accounts
32% of the total CO2 emissions in the US and is
the second largest
CO2 emissions source in
the nation which includes emissions from
vehicles in land, air and marine. Oil and other
petroleum products used for the purpose of
transporting people and goods are placed in this
area.

for

U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions, By Source

Industry. Fossil fuel combustion for

various industrial purposes accounts to 14% of
the total US CO2 emissions. Other industrial
processes which are chemical in nature (eg.
Cement manufacture, steel production.) are
included in this area.

Note: A ll e mission estimates from the

Emissions a nd Sinks: 1 990-2012

Inventory o f U .S. Greenhouse G as

(US EPA)

METHODOLOGY
Anyone with the data of the petroleum consumption, electricity and coal or LPG in
industries may log in the website and input the information for a certain city per annum. The data
are tabulated and a line graph is shown to easily view for an increase or decrease in emissions.
The number of data providers in a place is not limited. The average of their inputs will be
computed which is displayed in the table. The tabulation of results is done per city/municipality.
Cities/municipalities are rank according to its CO2 emissions, from highest to lowest. A
color-coded bar graph is provided for a clearer picture, using red for the highest emission, and
violet for the lowest with in-between following the ROYGBIV.
Calculations for CO2 emissions for transportation, coal and LPG were done by
generalized approach using the emission factors set by North Carolina Division of Air Quality
(Appendix A). While for the electricity, emission factors were from Washington-Based Carbon
Monitoring for Action (CARMA) (Appendix B). And for a person which was an average of 24
lbs/year was taken from Verified Carbon Standard Project from the website
www.carbonfootprint.com.
The lush vegetation was computed assuming trees are planted 1.5m apart in a hectare of
land. Therefore, for 10,000 sq.m., there are about 4,444 trees planted. Trees have an average
absorption of 21.82 kg CO2 in a year, thus, 1600 trees can absorb 96977.78 kg or 97 ton of CO2
in a year. The total amount of CO2 emitted, divided by 97 would equal to the number of hectares
of lush vegetation necessary to balance CO2 emission.
The program or site manager welcomes anyone who has seen any faulty data by
providing a Report page. The former may block the user after 3 times of inputting incorrect
information.

The following is the program flowchart of the website.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

As a user enters the web site (www.co2monitoring.esy.es), the home page displays a bar
graph of cities (limited up to ten) ranked according to total carbon dioxide emissions.
Below the graph is the tabulated form showing more detailsthe user who posted it,
population count, petroleum consumption, electricity source type and usage, LPG and coal used
in industries, total carbon dioxide emitted, and number of hectares of lush vegetation needed to
balance emitted carbon dioxide.

On the upper right corner, a user can search for a specific city so he can view its yearly
data. The data is shown in line graph to compare it with the other years. When 2 or more users
posted on same city and same year, the average will be shown.
The data as well, like the ranking in the home page, is shown in table below the line
graph. If the city has no data, the web site will display No Data.

The graph showing the amount of CO2 emitted in a place over years.

A user may register to the site for free and post their data. He can only edit and delete his
own posts.

But if he noticed a faulty data, he can go to the Report section to notify the site
manager about faulty data.

With this tool, a city can easily monitor their CO2, but it does not end with that
information; they are provided with what to do. To balance what the people has done, trees must
be planted. Therefore, this tool will give the people an accountability to counteract the effect of
technology they are enjoying.
The researchers therefore recommend that each city or municipality should input their
respective data annually so as to keep the monitoring. A further study is also recommended for
the same system to cover worldwide CO2 monitoring.

References:

[Chang, 2005] Chemistry, 8th edition, The McGraw-Hill Companies, USA.

[Biggs, et al, 1998] Biology: The Dynamics of Life, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
USA

[Raven, et al, 2002] Biology, Sixth Edition, The McGraw-Hill companies Inc. USA.

Philippines - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=RP

Rice, S. Human Health Risk Assessment Of Co2: Survivors Of Acute High-Level Exposure
And Populations Sensitive To Prolonged Low-Level Exposure, Third Annual Conference On
Carbon May 3-6, 2004, Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Philippines Statistics Authority - National Statistics Office, Electricity is the most common
source of energy used by households, Reference Number: 2013-205, December 27, 2013

"Philippines Energy Stats", Nation Master. Retrieved from

http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Philippines/Energy

Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Climate Change, US EPA

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html

North Carolina Division of Air Quality,2009. Greenhouse Gas Emission Guidelines

Stationary Combustion Sources. www.ncar.org

Verified Carbon Standards (VCS) Projects. www.carbonfootprint.com

Appendix A

Emissions Factors for Calculating CO2 Emissions Generalized Approach

(North Carolina Division of Air Quality, 2009)

Fossil Fuel Combustion

CO2 Emission Factor

(Per Unit Mass or Volume)

Coal (Industrial)

2,072.19 Kg CO2/ton

LPG (average for fuel use)

5.79 Kg CO2/gallon

Motor Gasoline

8.81 Kg CO2/gallon
Appendix B

GHG Emissions by Electricity Source

(Washington-Based Carbon Monitoring for Action CARMA)

Technology

Description

g CO2/KWH

Hydroelectric

Reservoir

Wind

Onshore

12

Nuclear

16

Biomass

Various Generation II
Reactor Type
Various

Solar Thermal

Parabolic Trough

22

Geothermal

Hot Dry Rock

45

Solar PV

Polycrystalline Silicon

46

Natural Gas

Various Combined Cycle

Turbines w/o Scrubbing
Various Generator Types
w/o Scrubbing

469

Coal

18

1001