. In 2010 landfills in the US produced approximately 107.8 Tg CO 2 e of methane

Question

. In 2010 landfills in the US produced approximately 107.8 Tg CO2 e of methane emissions. Wastewater treatment plants emitted 16.3 Tg CO2 e of methane. (a) How many pounds and metric tons of methane (reported as CO 2 equivalents) did landfills and wastewater plants emit in 2010? What percent of the total 2010 methane emissions (and greenhouse gas emissions) do these two sources contribute ? (total methane emissions in 2010 were 666.5 Tg CO2 e , and total greenhouse gas emissions in 2010 were 6,821.8 CO 2 e).

Explanation / Answer

(a) Look in the table, you will find -

1 Tg = 2204622621.85 pound

Now, total methane emitted= 107.8 + 16.3 = 124.1 Tg = 273593667371.43 pound

Again, 1 Tg =1000000 tons

124.1 Tg = 124100000 metric tons

Total methane emission = 666.5Tg

Methane emitted by these two source = 124.1 Tg

So, percentage of two sources contribute in methane emission = 666.5 x Y%/100 = 124.1

                                                                                 = 18 .619 %

Total greenhouse gas emissions = 6,821.8 Tg

So, percentage of two sources contribute in greenhouse gas emission = 12410 /6821.8

                                                                                   = 1.819%

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