A new production-based model for estimating emissions and banks of ODSs: application to HCFC-141b

Abstract: The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer requires that the production of long-lived ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) that are intended for use in emissive applications be phased out. The Protocol does not, however, limit the release to the atmosphere of ODSs already existing in such applications and equipment. Accounting for emissions from these “banked” ODSs (e.g., in insulating foams) is important for monitoring the success of and compliance with the Protocol, for understanding where further mitigation of ODS emissions might be effective, and for estimating future ozone depletion. 

Here, we present a new bottom-up model that incorporates existing use and life-cycle information to calculate emissions and banks as well as uncertainties in the quantities. To demonstrate the model, we apply it to 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane (HCFC-141b), a chemical used primarily in foam insulation and whose production is currently being phased out. We calculate global emission trends that are qualitatively similar to those derived from atmospheric measurements from 1990 to 2017. 

After 2017, our calculated emissions no longer track the observationally based trends through the end of the comparison in 2021. This discrepancy suggests either a growing additional source of emissions that is inconsistent with reported production or a model deficiency that was not apparent before 2017. Our calculations also show that the easily recoverable portion of the bank will be smaller in the future than the total bank estimated in other recent work, with implications for the feasibility of recovering banks before the release of HCFC-141b to the atmosphere.