An emissions analysis for environmentally sustainable freight transportation modes: distance and capacity

Transportation is one of the largest air pollutants as well as the Greenhouse Gas (GHGs) contributors. The inclusion of air pollutants in optimisation studies is less established than the use of CO2 and/or GHGs which are often used as an indicator of environmental sustainability. This study aims to assess environmentally sustainable alternatives for freight transportation by considering both GHG and air pollutants. A case study identifying air emissions of different freight transport modes for moving goods from Rotterdam is presented. The assessed freight transports include articulated lorry, container ship, bulk carrier, and rail operated by diesel. The environmentally sustainable freight transport of the studied route based on the common practice (GHGs only) and the inclusion of air pollutants are discussed. Evaluation of the results shows that transport with lower GHG emissions does not result on PM and SOx as well. A possibility of inappropriate decision making has been consequently highlighted. The impact of loaded capacity in moving the goods on the emission is assessed from the perspective of logistics service provider. A further comprehensive study which includes the entire life cycle is needed as this study only considers the tank to wheel emissions