Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ) is a highly potent greenhouse gas with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 24,700 over 100 years and is globally mainly used as an electrical insulator in switchgear. Several measurement networks have tracked SF 6 for many years and their European data reveal significant emissions in southern Germany. This study focuses on German SF 6 emissions (2020–2023), using atmospheric measurements from 22 European sites, offering high spatial and temporal resolution for robust emission assessments. While German UNFCCC inventory bottom-up emission estimates report a major source of SF 6 through the disposal of soundproof windows, the spatial distribution of German SF 6 emissions derived on top-down inversion techniques (InTEM and Flexinvert+) reveals a different picture: The continuous pattern of high emissions from a particular region is responsible for one-third of total SF 6 emissions in Germany. Despite this, total German SF 6 emissions have decreased from 112 ± 26 t in 2020 to 89 ± 15 t in 2023 (InTEM), with estimates from all methods (both bottom-up and top-down) showing similar trends. Our findings suggest that the emissions from soundproof windows are overestimated, while industrial sources - particularly from SF 6 production and recycling in the focus region - are likely underestimated.
Source: ACS ES&T Air
Authors: Katharina Meixner, Thomas Wagenhäuser, Tanja J. Schuck, Sascha Alber, Alistair J. Manning, Alison L. Redington, Kieran M. Stanley, Simon O’Doherty, Dickon Young, Joseph Pitt, Angelina Wenger, Arnoud Frumau, Ann R. Stavert, Christopher Rennick, Martin K. Vollmer, Michela Maione, Jgor Arduini, Chris R. Lunder, Cedric Couret, Armin Jordan, Xochilt Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, Dagmar Kubistin, Jennifer Müller-Williams, Matthias Lindauer, Martin Vojta, Andreas Stohl, Andreas Engel
Institutions: Goethe University Frankfurt, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Met Office, University of Bristol, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, National Physical Laboratory, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, CSIRO Environment, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, University of Urbino, NILU, German Environment Agency, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Deutscher Wetterdienst, University of Vienna
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Government of the United Kingdom, European Commission, University of Bristol, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Universität Wien, Umweltbundesamt, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Bundesamt für Umwelt, Programma Operativo Nazionale Ricerca e Competitività, HORIZON EUROPE Climate, Energy and Mobility
Awards: G1953887145, G1964943460, G2781406702, G3227239614, Verbundprojekt ACTRIS-D_NF - Teilprojekt 9 (GUF-NF): Ausbau des Taunusobservatoriums (TO) am Kleinen Feldberg im Hinblick auf umfassende in-situ-Messungen von Aerosolen und kurzlebigen Spurengasen im Rahmen von ACTRIS, G4209284857, Process Attribution of Regional Emissions, Verifying Emissions of Climate Forcers, G476628749, G4915181871, G5199678014, G5947055748, G625959398, G6430834717, Process Attribution of Regional Emissions, G7565435468, G8420615297, Verifying Emissions of Climate Forcers
OpenAlex ID: W4415965472