The research study, by a worldwide team of scientists from NOAA, the University of Bristol, Empa, CSIRO, the University of East Anglia, the University of California San Diego, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Forschungszentrum Jülich, was just recently released in the journal Nature Geoscience.
No immediate danger to the ozone layer– but a significant greenhouse effect.
Because they are powerful greenhouse gases, they do have an impact on environment: Combined, their emissions are equal to the CO2 emissions in 2020 for a smaller nation like Switzerland. Thats comparable to about one percent of the overall greenhouse gas emissions in the United States or 1/1 000 of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
CFCs are chemicals known to destroy Earths protective ozone layer. When commonly utilized in the manufacture of hundreds of items including aerosol sprays, as blowing representatives for foams and packing products, as solvents and refrigerants, CFC production for such uses was prohibited under the Montreal Protocol in 2010.
Research with a view: Due to its distinct place, year-round ease of access, and exceptional infrastructure, the Jungfraujoch research study station is well fit for long-lasting ground-based monitoring of trace gas concentration trends in the free troposphere. Credit: Empa.
The global treaty didnt ban the use and creation of CFCs during production of other chemicals including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and, more recently, likewise hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), which were both developed as replacements for CFCs.
This study concentrated on 5 CFCs with few, or no, understood present uses– CFC-13, CFC-112a, CFC-113a, CFC-114a, and CFC-115– and that have atmospheric lifetimes varying from 52 to 640 years. In regards to their effect on ozone, emissions of these 5 CFCs are equivalent to around one-tenth of existing emissions from CFC-11, one of the most abundant of this group of chemicals controlled under the Montreal Protocol.
A record-high abundance.
In this study, the team utilized measurements from 14 sites all over the world, including the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) stations such as the one station at Jungfraujoch, handled by Empa, and an atmospheric transportation design to reveal that global atmospheric abundances and emissions of these CFCs increased after their production for many uses was phased out in 2010; in fact, they reached a record-high abundance in 2020.
The researchers figured out that for 3 CFCs they studied– CFC-113a, CFC-114a, and CFC-115– the increased emissions might be due in part to their role throughout the production of 2 common HFCs utilized mainly in refrigeration and cooling. “As the presently most likely source of these compounds is a by-product in the fluorocarbons market, there are issues of increasing emissions of these CFCs given the production forecasts for a few of these new-generation fluorocarbon items,” says Martin Vollmer of Empa, a co-author of the study.
The motorists behind increasing emissions of the other two CFCs, CFC-13 and CFC-112a, are less particular, however. Vollmer: “We are not aware of any present chemical fluorocarbon process, in which these 2 substances look like either intermediate or byproduct.”.
Time to sharpen the Montreal Protocol?
The scientists didnt determine where these emissions are originating from; they recorded rising global emissions however werent able to identify specific source locations. One of the reasons for this, states Empas Stefan Reimann, another co-author of the study, is the many “blind spots” in the global tracking network: “Even though this research study combined measurements from a number of networks and groups, a number of regions of the world, consisting of those with the biggest global fluorocarbon productions, are significantly undersampled.”.
According to the researchers, if emissions of these five CFCs continue to increase, their impact might negate some of the advantages acquired under the Montreal Protocol and likewise contribute considerably to worldwide warming. The research study kept in mind these emissions may be minimized or avoided by reducing leakages associated with HFC production and by effectively damaging any co-produced CFCs.
Reference: “Global boost of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons from 2010 to 2020″ by Luke M. Western, Martin K. Vollmer, Paul B. Krummel, Karina E. Adcock, Paul J. Fraser, Christina M. Harth, Ray L. Langenfelds, Stephen A. Montzka, Jens Mühle, Simon ODoherty, David E. Oram, Stefan Reimann, Matt Rigby, Isaac Vimont, Ray F. Weiss, Dickon Young and Johannes C. Laube, 3 April 2023, Nature Geoscience.DOI: 10.1038/ s41561-023-01147-w.
By Swiss Federal Laboratories for Products Science and Innovation (EMPA).
May 16, 2023.
According to the scientists, emissions from these CFCs currently do not substantially threaten ozone healing. A new research study reveals a concerning uptrend in the emissions of 5 ozone-depleting substances from 2010 to 2020, in spite of their production for many applications being forbidden by the Montreal Protocol. According to the scientists, emissions from these CFCs currently do not considerably threaten ozone healing. Because they are potent greenhouse gases, they do have an impact on climate: Combined, their emissions are equal to the CO2 emissions in 2020 for a smaller country like Switzerland. Thats equivalent to about one percent of the overall greenhouse gas emissions in the United States or 1/1 000 of all global greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the scientists, emissions from these CFCs currently do not considerably threaten ozone recovery. With the present rate of increase, nevertheless, they might become a considerable contribution to the total emissions of ozone-depletion chemicals.
A new research study reveals a concerning uptrend in the emissions of five ozone-depleting substances from 2010 to 2020, regardless of their production for most applications being restricted by the Montreal Protocol. The release of these 5 chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) partially originates from leak throughout the production of ozone-friendly CFC options. While these incidental or intermediate emissions are technically permitted under the Montreal Protocol, they contradict the broader objective of the arrangement– and the observed increases rise issues.
” Were focusing on these emissions now since of the success of the Montreal Protocol,” states Luke Western, lead author of the paper and a researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Global Monitoring Laboratory and the University of Bristol.
” CFC emissions from more prevalent uses that are now banned have dropped to such low levels that emissions of CFCs from formerly minor sources are on our radar now.”.