Norwegian NMVOC emissions from sector 3, solvent and other products use

Solvents and other product use (NFR sector 3) is the source of almost 30 per cent of the Norwegian emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC). Between 80 and 90 per cent come from sector 3.D Other product use. This constitutes a per capita emission rate of around 8 kg. The results are based on a mass balance per substance, using data from the Norwegian Product Register. Products contributing to more than 10 per cent of the emissions from 3.D.2 and 3.D.3 are solvents, ensilage means and cleaning products. NMVOC emissions from solvents arise mainly in manufacture of transport equipment, miscellaneous productions and construction. Formic acid in ensilage means is emitted during production of fodder, while cleaning products are used mostly for car maintenance, including vehicle degreasing. Substances contributing to more than 10 per cent of emissions are ethanol, formic acid, different kinds of naphtha and ethylene glycol. When comparing the Norwegian inventory for 3.D with the activities described in the Guidebook, it is evident that the Guidebook does not cover all Norwegian emissions allocated to 3.D. Several important emission sources, like ensilage means, disinfectants, anti-freeze agents, windscreen washing agents, cosmetics and probably part of the solvents, are not covered by the methods given in the Guidebook. The Norwegian model cannot be directly adopted by any other countries, as only the Nordic countries can obtain equivalent activity data. However, the Norwegian inventory for 3.D can be used as a basis for developing methods for estimating emissions from sources not yet covered by the Guidebook. Using the Norwegian results, potentially important sources currently omitted may be identified, and factors for solvent content and fractions emitted might be calculated for various types of activity data. In order to use the Norwegian results to identify important emission sources not covered in the Guidebook, several questions need to be considered:  Do the activities that generate the Norwegian emissions differ considerably between Norway and other countries?  Are activity data available?  Should values of photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP) be taken into account when deciding on which new sources to prioritize?  How many new sources should be included? If more activities are to be included in the Guidebook, it is probably necessary not to be too ambitious and focus only on a few, important products that are not covered. Taking into consideration the Norwegian use patterns, the possibility of obtaining accessible consumption figures and POCP-values, a first suggestion is to focus on disinfectants, cleaning products (especially windscreen cleaning agents) and cosmetics.