Spatially disaggregated emission inventory for anthropogenic NMVOC in Austria

Regional emission densities of anthropogenic non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) in Austria were calculated using statistical information on emission generation activities, emission factors from technical literature, and regional reference data.

Total anthropogenic NMVOC emissions in Austria were estimated to be 467,000 metric tons for the base year 1987. However, due to the high uncertainties of the available emission factors, the range could be as much as 316,000–754,000 t yr⁻¹. Anthropogenic NMVOC emissions consist of 32% paraffin, 8% olefin, 20% aromatic, 13% carbonyl, 6% photochemically “non-reactive”, and 20% other compounds.

The total emissions from each source group were regionally disaggregated based on settlement densities, traffic densities, and relevant regional source statistics. In total about 45,000 polygons were defined for an area of 84,000 km². While the theoretical average emission density for anthropogenic NMVOC in Austria would be around 5.6 t km⁻² yr⁻¹, the actual emission densities vary from 0 in unpopulated regions to 50–100 t km⁻² yr⁻¹ in urban areas and upto 700 t km⁻² yr⁻¹ along major highways. National average values for emission densities fail thus to reveal the scale of emission densities in populated areas.