• Journal of Korea Port Economic Association
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.21-38
• /
• 2020

Currently, in-port emissions are a serious problem in port cities. However, emissions, especially non-greenhouse gases, from the operation of cargo handling equipment (CHE) have received significant attention from scientific circles. This study estimates the amount of emissions from on-land port diesel-powered CHE in the Port of Incheon. With real-time activity data provided by handling equipment operating companies, this research applies an activity-based approach to capture an up-to-date and reliable diesel-powered CHE emissions inventory during 2017. As a result, 105.6 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), 243.2 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx), 0.005 tons of sulfur oxide (Sox), 22.8 tons of particulate matter (PM), 26.0 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and 0.2 tons of ammonia (NH3) were released from the landside CHE operation. CO and NOx emissions are the two primary air pollutants from the CHE operation in the Port of Incheon, contributing 87.71% of the total amount of emissions. Cranes, forklifts, tractors, and loaders are the four major sources of pollution in the Port of Incheon, contributing 84.79% of the total in-port CHE emissions. Backward diesel-powered machines equipped in these CHE are identified as a key cause of pollution. Therefore, this estimation emphasizes the significant contribution of diesel CHE to port air pollution and suggests the following green policies should be applied: (1) replacement of old diesel powered CHE by new liquefied natural gas and electric equipment; (2) the use of NOx reduction after-treatment technologies, such as selective catalytic reduction in local ports. In addition, a systematic official national emission inventory preparation method and consecutive annual in-port CHE emission inventories are recommended to compare and evaluate the effectiveness of green policies conducted in the future.