A comprehensive atmospheric emissions inventory for major Brazilian industrial sectors: a bottom-up approach with spatial distribution analysis

Atmospheric emissions inventories are a key tool for environmental managers, providing insights into emission sources and their effects on air quality, health, and climate. This study develops the atmospheric emissions inventory for four major industrial sectors in Brazil with a bottom-up approach, available at https://github.com/Martins-UTFPR/Brazil-s-industrial-emissions-inventory. We quantified atmospheric emissions from refining crude oil, producing cement, pulp and paper, and generating electricity by thermoelectric plants using biomass, gas, oil, and mineral coal. The quantification of atmospheric emissions and the standardization of the calculation matrices, processed using R code, follow the guidelines defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Environment Agency (EEA). The highest emission rates are in the country's southeastern region, specifically in outlying areas of the São Paulo state. In 2019, more than 50% of the estimated emissions are associated with electricity generation with contributions of 4.85 GgBC yr^-1, 22.40 GgCO yr^-1, 159.11 GgPM₁₀ yr^-1, 132.42 GgPM_2.5 yr^-1, 87.17 GgNMVOC yr^-1, 360.90 GgNO_x yr^-1, 182.94 GgTSP yr^-1, and 596.33 GgSO_x yr^-1. The production of fuels and oil derivatives is the second source of emissions with the highest contribution, despite operating 17 refineries in the country. Further, the comparison with the EDGAR inventory indicates consistency, although it shows higher values for some pollutants and sectors, as well as certain spatial differences. Finally, at National level, the magnitude of emissions is comparable to those from road transport. Thus, this study provides a region-specific and detailed emission inventory, offering crucial insights for both the scientific community and environmental agencies in improving air quality management.