Evaluation of carbon footprint and energy input of internal combustion engine vehicles in China

Large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) are discharged into air by combustion of gasoline and energy is input in a passenger internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) system through lifecycle phases. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the lifecycle carbon emissions and primary energy input of passenger ICEVs. With the life cycle assessment method, the calculations of carbon emission intensity and energy input intensity of materials used in lifecycle phases were made. The results show that the total lifecycle gasoline consumption of a vehicle was estimated to be 33,000 kg and the lifecycle CO2 emissions reached 81,311 kg per vehicle. Lifecycle CO2 emissions in use period occupied 89.43%, mainly attributed to the combustion of petrol. The average lifecycle CO2 emission intensity of the materials used was 2.33 kg/kg. The lifecycle carbon footprint of the passenger ICEVs was 163 g/km. The total CO2 emissions of ICEVs in Beijing were largest of all cities due to the maximum owning amount. The ratio of total lifecycle CO2 emissions of ICEVs in 13 large cities studied in this work to those of nationwide ICEVs was 0.179. Thus, more new energy vehicles will be given the prioritized choice in the future.