Impact of two potential policy options on atmospheric chemistry and climate: hydrogen economy and low-GWP alternatives to ozone depleting substances
type: CreativeWork
description: The fingerprint of human activities on the composition of Earth’s atmosphere is manifest. It is now well recognized that the changes in the atmospheric composition due to human activities have resulted in changes in several aspects of the environment, e.g., attenuation of the ozone layer due to emissions of ozone-depleting substances, climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution due to fossil fuel combustion. This research analyzes the impacts of two potential future policy options, (1) hydrogen economy and (2) low-GWP (Global Warming Potential) alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), on the composition of the atmosphere, on environment, on climate and on stratospheric ozone. This research is accomplished by using state-of-the-art numerical models that represents detailed physical and chemical processes of the atmosphere with cutting-edge knowledge, together with specifically developed scenarios. This methodology can provide policymakers with prospective and insightful knowledge essential to effectively tackling the environmental issues caused by human activities. This research gives a comprehensive analysis of the impacts of a future (2050) hydrogen economy on atmospheric environment. The uncertainties in the evolution paths of the world are bounded by the IPCC SRES high emission A1FI and low emission B1 scenarios. The atmospheric impacts of an internal combustion engine type hydrogen economy are analyzed for the first time in this research, as well as a fuel cell type hydrogen economy. The impacts of a future hydrogen economy analyzed based on global model simulations in this research include: changes in atmospheric hydrogen budget, effectiveness in improving air quality in different regions of the world, changes in the oxidative power of the atmosphere and the climate implication, and stability of the ozone layer. Air quality improvement in a hydrogen economy for the contiguous United States is analyzed…
abstract: The fingerprint of human activities on the composition of Earth’s atmosphere is manifest. It is now well recognized that the changes in the atmospheric composition due to human activities have resulted in changes in several aspects of the environment, e.g., attenuation of the ozone layer due to emissions of ozone-depleting substances, climate change due to greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution due to fossil fuel combustion. This research analyzes the impacts of two potential future policy options, (1) hydrogen economy and (2) low-GWP (Global Warming Potential) alternatives to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), on the composition of the atmosphere, on environment, on climate and on stratospheric ozone. This research is accomplished by using state-of-the-art numerical models that represents detailed physical and chemical processes of the atmosphere with cutting-edge knowledge, together with specifically developed scenarios. This methodology can provide policymakers with prospective and insightful knowledge essential to effectively tackling the environmental issues caused by human activities. This research gives a comprehensive analysis of the impacts of a future (2050) hydrogen economy on atmospheric environment. The uncertainties in the evolution paths of the world are bounded by the IPCC SRES high emission A1FI and low emission B1 scenarios. The atmospheric impacts of an internal combustion engine type hydrogen economy are analyzed for the first time in this research, as well as a fuel cell type hydrogen economy. The impacts of a future hydrogen economy analyzed based on global model simulations in this research include: changes in atmospheric hydrogen budget, effectiveness in improving air quality in different regions of the world, changes in the oxidative power of the atmosphere and the climate implication, and stability of the ozone layer. Air quality improvement in a hydrogen economy for the contiguous United States is analyzed…
author: Wang, Dong
language: en
keywords: Atmospheric Sciences, Atmospheric Chemistry, Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hydrogen Economy, Hydrogen Vehicle, Ozone Depletion, Ozone Depleting Substances, Global Warming Potential (GWP)
date published: 2012-09-18T21:06:18Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:25:30Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/34216