AUTHOR=Koumi Ngoh Simon , Epessé Missé Samuel , Moungnutou Mfetoum Inoussah 

TITLE=Environmental and economic assessment of switching from heavy fuel oil to natural gas in industrial boilers and furnaces: Case of Cameroon, a low-income country

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Energy Research

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2022.1053576

DOI=10.3389/fenrg.2022.1053576

ISSN=2296-598X

ABSTRACT=<p>This paper analyzes the environmental and economic impact of switching fuel in industrial boilers and furnaces. This analysis, performed over 5 years, reveals that the total emissions thus avoided are 85,069 tons of CO<sub>2</sub>, 17,240 kg of CH<sub>4</sub>, 4,310 tons of N<sub>2</sub>O, and 6,630 tons of SOx. The total equivalent CO<sub>2</sub> emissions avoided is around 87,802 tons over the decade 2012–2021. Switching results in a significant reduction in greenhouse gases: 17.8% of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, 66.7% of CH<sub>4</sub> emissions, and 83.3% of N<sub>2</sub>O emissions. Analysis conducted at the boiler level shows that CO<sub>2</sub> and CO emissions would decrease, respectively, by 2.5% points and 1.05 ppm points when natural gas is used. The same observation is made for SOx and NOx emissions, for which decreases of 188.3 and 236.7 ppm points are recorded. Additionally, the substitution of heavy fuel oil for natural gas enables an increase in thermal efficiency by 3.3% points.</p>