The UK National Atmospheric Emission Inventory (NAEI) is the standard reference for air emissions for the UK and provides annual estimates of emission for a wide range of important pollutants including air quality pollutants, greenhouse gases, regional pollutants leading to acid deposition and photochemical pollution, persistent organic pollutants and other toxic pollutants such as heavy metals.
- Point Source emissions from large industrial installations are compiled from a variety of official UK sources (Environment Agency, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Local Authority data).
- Area Source emissions are generated for sources that are distributed more widely across the UK. A distribution map at 5km square is generated using appropriate statistics for 11 UNECE source sectors.
SRCL Description | Source Type | Further definition | Examples |
Top 22 Point Sources | Point Sources | Individually modelled point source using stack parameters where available. | Power stations Other industrial combustion Refineries Chemical industry - ammonia use Chemical industry - carbon black Solid smokeless fuel production Chemical industry - ammonia based fertilizer Chemical industry - general Cement - non-decarbonising Primary aluminium production - general Offshore oil and gas - own gas combustion Shipping - coastal Coke production Primary aluminium production - anode baking Lime production - non decarbonising Blast furnace Secondary lead production Brick manufacture Ammonia production Sulphuric acid production Glass production |
Industrial processes | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | A combination of over 460 individual point sources around the UK that are not in the top 100 point sources. [SNAP sectors: e.g. 301; 30311; 30312; 40207; 40416 ] | Other industrial combustion Lime production - non decarbonising Chemical industry Iron and steel - combustion plant Refineries – combustion Electric arc furnaces
|
Waste treatment and disposal | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | 440 individual point sources around the UK that are not in the top 100 point sources. [SNAP sector: 10105]
| Landfill gas combustion Landfill gas combustion Sewage gas combustion Landfill gas combustion |
Offshore oil and gas | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | A combination of 56 point sources in the UK representing oil-gas terminals e.g. Sullom Voe, St Fergus, Barrow-in-Furness [SNAP sectors: 105; 502; 90206]
| Offshore oil and gas - processes Offshore oil and gas - flaring Offshore oil and gas - own gas combustion |
Energy production & transformation | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | Emissions are generated either by boilers or by gas turbines and stationary engines | Coke production Collieries – combustion Landfill gas combustion Offshore oil and gas - own gas combustion Power stations Refineries – combustion Sewage gas combustion Gas separation plant – combustion Gas production |
Commercial & residential combustion | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | Emissions from commercial boilers including hotel, retail, education, public and government buildings. This sector also include domestic heating. | Domestic combustion Miscellaneous industrial/commercial combustion Public sector combustion Railways - stationary combustion Agriculture - stationary combustion |
Industrial combustion | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | Industrial combustion sources. | Other industrial combustion Ammonia production – combustion Blast furnaces Cement - non-decarbonising Iron and steel - combustion plant Lime production - non decarbonising Sinter production Autogenerators |
Road Transport | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | Road transport makes up the largest area source as transport is not mapped as a number of point sources. | cars - cold start cars non catalyst - cold start cars with catalysts - cold start LGVs - cold start LGVs non catalyst - cold start LGVs with catalysts - cold start Road transport - major roads Road transport - minor roads |
Other transport | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | The 2nd largest area emission source sector after Road Transport. Aircraft emission are based on aircraft occurring below 1000m from ground level (equating to the take off and landing).
Shipping emissions are based on shipping at sea, manoeuvring and at berth within UK territorial waters (i.e. within 12 nautical miles of the coastline). Including coastal shipping, local ferries, fishing fleets, local port movements by support vessels. | Agriculture - mobile machinery Aircraft - military Aircraft - domestic take off and landing Aircraft - international take off and landing Aircraft - support vehicles House and garden machinery Industrial off-road mobile machinery Railways – freight Railways – intercity Railways – regional Shipping – coastal (<12 nautical miles of coastline) Shipping - naval |
Solvent use | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | Solvent use and other product use | Other production, consumption, storage, transportation or handling of bulk products Decorative coating application Industrial coating application Other coating application Degreasing Dry cleaning Chemical products Printing Domestic solvent use including fungicides |
Natural Sources | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | A combination of natural sources over the UK | Volcanoes Forest fires Other natural emissions |
Ammonia emissions from fertiliser use | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | Emissions of ammonia may come either directly from the fertilizer spread onto crops, or indirectly when some of the N taken up by crops is later emitted to the atmosphere as ammonia. | Urea Ammonium Nitrate Ammonium sulphate Di-ammonium phosphate, |
Ammonia emissions non-agricultural from abatable sources | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | A wide range of non-agricultural abatable sources contributes to ammonia emissions in the UK. | Sewage sludge Composting Landfill |
Ammonia emissions non-agricultural non-abatablefrom abatable sources | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | A wide range of non-agricultural non-abatable sources contributes to ammonia emissions in the UK. | Pets (nic non-agricultural horses) Wild animals (seabird colonies, pheasants, mammals) Household products (solvents) Human breath and sweat, smoking and babies’ nappies |
Livestock production | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | Ammonia emissions are calculated from emission sources and ‘activity data’. Activity data includes: • the number of livestock in each production class or group; • the surface area of storage facilities; and • the times of the year when manures are spread on the land. | Cattle Pigs Poultry Other livestock: sheep, goats, farmed deer and horses |
International shipping | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | Based on gridded atmospheric emissions from ship movements within waters around the UK including North Sea, English Channel, Irish Sea and North East Atlantic (~200 nautical miles from the UK coastline but extended eastwards for better North Sea coverage) | Shipping lanes |
Imported emissions | Area Source (UK based on 5km square) | Emissions that enter the UK from other countries. For the FRAME modelling emissions from the rest of Europe and Ireland were used derived from deposition outputs of the FRAME-Europe model (at the EMEP 50km grid size). |
|
Further Reading: