Estimation of CO2 emissions produced by commercial grills in Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

In some urban areas in Mexico, the use of firewood and charcoal as fuel for meat grills in commercial establishments, has proliferated due to economic and cultural factors. Although this activity satisfies diverse human necessities, it also generates waste that impacts the environment to local and global scales. Such is the case of CO2 emissions produced by biomass burning in grills, whose sources are not recognized in municipal inventories of greenhouse effect gases (GEG) of the State of Veracruz. A theoretical estimation was made based in a census of establishments and an emission parameter, in order to establish a baseline on the amount of gas emitted to the atmosphere by commercial grills in Boca Del Río, Ver. It was concluded that 30 operating grills emit 134.56 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, equivalent to the annual combustion of 59,016.43 L of gasoline. Hence, these grills must be considered as micro-fixed sources of GEG, which influence local marine acidification and global climate change. It is recommended that it should be included in municipal, state, and national inventories for subsequent professionalization and regulation.