Archived: Air Pollutant Emission Inventory report: chapter 2.2

2.2 Sulphur oxides (SOx)

In 2016, 1.1 Mt of SOx were emitted in Canada (Table 2-4). Ore and mineral industries were the largest contributor, accounting for 45% (481 kt) of national emissions. Approximately 74% (360 kt) of the emissions from this source was attributed to the non-ferrous mining and smelting industry. Electric power generation (utilities) was the second-largest source of SOx, accounting for 24% (253 kt) of total SOx emissions, including coal-fired electricity generation at 23% (243 kt). Oil and gas industry sources follow, accounting for 23% (249 kt) of total SOx emissions. The remaining 8% of SOx emissions were distributed across multiple sources.

Overall, SOx emissions decreased by 65% (2.0 Mt) between 1990 and 2016 (Figure 2-2). Reductions in emissions from the non-ferrous mining and smelting industry were the largest driver of this downward trend, particularly in the early 1990s, and again from 2008 to 2016. This decrease is attributed to federal and provincial/territorial government initiatives to reduce acid rain, the installation of new technology or processes at facilities, and the closure of three major smelters in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Emissions from electric power generation significantly decreased from 2003 to 2016, due primarily to decreased coal-fired electricity generation across the country, including the complete phase-out of coal electricity generation in Ontario. Upstream oil and gas experienced a gradual decline throughout the time series as a result of a decrease in emissions from bitumen and heavy oil upgrading and natural gas processing, attributed to better emission control technologies.

The most significant decreases in SOx emissions from 1990 to 2016 include:

Figure 2-2: Major contributors to national SOx trends
Figure 2-2 (See long description below)
Long description for figure 2-2

Figure 2-2 displays the four major sections that contribute to national SOx trends. The following table displays the contributions (kt) for the years 1990 to 2016.

Figure 2-2: Major contributors to national SOx trends (kt)
Sector 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Sector 1 - Non-Ferrous Mining and Smelting Industry 1272.085 1119.44 973.9461 895.0876 681.3287 888.8571 878.3039 821.11 830.786 770.0803 763.5352 757.7 754.7981 655.5764 703.0012 683.1479 668.912 623.704 570.0871 401.307 372.5786 333.4457 342.2842 370.0398 373.0468 365.0803 359.7046
Sector 2 - Coal (Electric Power Generation) 514.8045 505.9806 518.134 464.203 488.9599 458.3491 465.0996 510.0397 517.5791 512.4322 534.6847 535.242 534.5258 530.0267 473.0387 461.2934 440.5611 473.5923 411.3078 368.7892 322.3544 286.4238 277.7832 271.6878 259.8141 241.5668 243.0262
Sector 3 - Upstream Petroleum Industry 404.1275 395.7076 420.643 430.2729 457.3921 440.412 430.3805 389.7227 367.496 376.0105 368.3485 356.2181 339.581 348.2397 340.5922 339.6518 321.872 305.2166 287.8169 291.0951 273.0938 267.6314 271.6449 259.4694 230.1991 214.2272 197.6933
Sector 4 - Other 875.8024 824.3268 810.6309 849.7388 799.4027 776.7546 799.7957 805.4621 774.8277 737.4221 734.941 730.8714 703.2681 740.7162 729.1205 689.6525 547.7581 521.8947 471.4808 416.5182 401.2874 398.8125 389.7929 371.676 368.2279 262.3043 266.2081
Table 2-4: National summary of annual SOx emissions (tonnes)
Source Sector 1990 2000 2005 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Ore and Mineral Industries nil 1 500 000 920 000 860 000 470 000 480 000 490 000 490 000 480 000 480 000
Ore and Mineral Industries Aluminium Industry 31 000 48 000 63 000 65 000 63 000 60 000 55 000 57 000 64 000
Ore and Mineral Industries Asphalt Paving Industry 740 650 720 850 620 580 650 660 710
Ore and Mineral Industries Cement and Concrete Industry 48 000 45 000 54 000 22 000 25 000 23 000 20 000 24 000 24 000
Ore and Mineral Industries Foundries 1 300 910 720 48 48 48 48 48 49
Ore and Mineral Industries Iron and Steel Industries 36 000 29 000 30 000 29 000 30 000 24 000 24 000 22 000 17 000
Ore and Mineral Industries Iron Ore Industry 59 000 17 000 19 000 12 000 13 000 11 000 10 000 12 000 13 000
Ore and Mineral Industries Mineral Products Industry 1 300 820 1 400 1 400 1 500 1 800 1 500 1 300 1 400
Ore and Mineral Industries Mining and Rock Quarrying 35 000 11 000 6 300 5 900 3 000 2 200 2 000 1 800 1 600
Ore and Mineral Industries Non-Ferrous Mining and Smelting Industry 1 300 000 760 000 680 000 330 000 340 000 370 000 370 000 370 000 360 000
Oil and Gas Industry nil 530 000 500 000 450 000 330 000 330 000 320 000 280 000 260 000 250 000
Oil and Gas Industry Downstream Oil and Gas Industry 130 000 140 000 110 000 58 000 56 000 56 000 53 000 45 000 51 000
Oil and Gas Industry Upstream Oil and Gas Petroleum Industry 400 000 370 000 340 000 270 000 270 000 260 000 230 000 210 000 200 000
Electric Power Generation (Utilities) nil 620 000 620 000 530 000 290 000 280 000 280 000 270 000 250 000 250 000
Electric Power Generation (Utilities) Coal 510 000 530 000 460 000 290 000 280 000 270 000 260 000 240 000 240 000
Electric Power Generation (Utilities) Diesel 410 420 300 56 55 59 110 270 230
Electric Power Generation (Utilities) Natural Gas 29 000 21 000 19 000 680 570 1 300 2 200 2 000 1 700
Electric Power Generation (Utilities) Waste Materials 0.76 21 25 47 46 37 24 11 29
Electric Power Generation (Utilities) Other Electric Power Generation 74 000 63 000 46 000 6 000 5 800 5 100 7 000 7 700 8 200
Manufacturing nil 230 000  160 000 140 000 53 000 50 000 49 000 53 000 48 000 43 000
Manufacturing Abrasives Manufacture 4 000 860 860 no emissions (-) - - - - -
Manufacturing Bakeries 0.053 0.052 0.16 0.0060 0.0051 0.0064 0.0062 0.0054 0.0054
Manufacturing Biofuel Production - - - - - - - - -
Manufacturing Chemicals Industry 38 000 31 000 35 000 23 000 20 000 20 000 21 000 22 000 20 000
Manufacturing Electronics 1 700 3 000 3 000 - - - - - -
Manufacturing Food Preparation 3 500 4 800 5 200 1 700 900 740 610 370 280
Manufacturing Glass Manufacture 2 300 2 800 2 500 590 630 630 600 630 610
Manufacturing Grain Industries 230 210 390 700 660 630 470 510 530
Manufacturing Metal Fabrication 2 300 2 700 2 000 200 200 190 9.2 8.6 11
Manufacturing Plastics Manufacture 470 27 12 0.11 0.0068 0.0079 0.0069 - -
Manufacturing Pulp and Paper Industry 140 000 78 000 62 000 26 000 26 000 26 000 29 000 24 000 21 000
Manufacturing Textiles 380 390 320 51 41 31 22 17 0.0011
Manufacturing Vehicle Manufacture (Engines, Parts, Assembly, Painting) 2 300 2 100 1 800 970 660 610 390 57 46
Manufacturing Wood Products 3 300 3 500 3 100 640 580 570 660 630 680
Manufacturing Other Manufacturing Industries 29 000 25 000 23 000 24 0.88 0.7 0.79 1.1 1.2
Transportation and Mobile Equipment nil 150 000 170 000 150 000 120 000 120 000 120 000 120 000 22 000 22 000
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Air Transportation 5 300 6 700 7 500 5 200 5 900 6 200 6 000 6 200 6 400
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Heavy-duty Diesel Vehicles 15 000 6 700 6 100 160 160 170 160 160 160
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Heavy-duty Gasoline Vehicles 940 1 900 150 170 180 190 180 180 180
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Heavy-duty LPG/NG Vehicles 240 1 300 9.5 1.0 0.93 0.43 0.32 0.38 0.45
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Light-duty Diesel Trucks 170 75 49 1.5 1.6 1.8 2.2 2.8 3.1
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Light-duty Diesel Vehicles 570 130 110 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.2 3.4 3.1
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Light-duty Gasoline Trucks 3 200 6 300 500 580 640 660 660 690 730
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Light-duty Gasoline Vehicles 7 100  8 200 560 520 550 550 530 540 540
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Light-duty LPG/NG Trucks 23 28 1.4 0.038 0.018 0.0073 0.0059 0.0056 0.0067
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Light-duty LPG/NG Vehicles 190 180 10 0.62 0.38 0.20 0.16 0.15 0.16
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Marine Transportation 80 000 110 000 130 000 110 000 110 000 110 000 110 000 13 000 14 000
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Motorcycles 14 24 2.8 3.6 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.4
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Off-road Diesel Vehicles and Equipment 28 000 17 000 6 600 240 150 150 140 150 130
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Off-road Gasoline/LPG/CNG Vehicles and Equipment 1 600 1 700 94 86 83 85 90 92 92
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Rail Transportation 5 700 5 400 5 000 450 450 430 440 420 390
Transportation and Mobile Equipment Tire Wear and Brake Lining - - - - - - - - -
Agriculture nil 2 200 1 500 2 900 9 000 7 900 8 300 9 100 6 700 6 200
Agriculture Animal Production - - - - - - - - -
Agriculture Crop Production - - - - - - - - -
Agriculture Fuel Use 2 200 1 500 2 900 9 000 7 900 8 300 9 100 6 700 6 200
Commercial / Residential / Institutional nil 52 000 36 000 37 000 17 000 14 000 10 000 10 000 9 000 7 700
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Cigarette Smoking - - - - - - - - -
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Commercial and Institutional Fuel Combustion 19 000 19 000 21 000 7 500 6 200 3 300 3 600 2 500 2 000
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Commercial Cooking - - - - - - - - -
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Construction Fuel Combustion 1 900 620 1 400 850 650 530 520 620 420
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Home Firewood Burning 3 600 3 300 2 700 2 800 2 900 2 800 2 800 2 800 2 800
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Human - - - - - - - - -
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Marine Cargo Handling 0.0050 0.0010 - - - 140 140 88 91
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Residential Fuel Combustion 28 000 14 000 11 000 6 200 4 300 3 400 3 200 3 000 2 500
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Service Stations - - - - - - - - -
Commercial / Residential / Institutional Other Miscellaneous Sources - - - - - - - - -
Incineration and Waste nil 3 200 2 900 3 000 3 200 3 200 3 100 3 300 3 800 3 700
Incineration and Waste Crematoriums 5.0 7.0 9.0 11 12 12 13 14 13
Incineration and Waste Waste Incineration 2 400 2 000 2 400 2 500 2 600 2 500 2 500 2 500 2 500
Incineration and Waste Waste Treatment and Disposal 790 930 600 680 620 610 840 1 200 1 200
Paints and Solvents nil 2.1 1.5 0.63 0.0038 - 0.0040 0.0040 0.0030 0.0030
Paints and Solvents Dry Cleaning 0.0068 0.0086 - - - - - - -
Paints and Solvents General Solvent Use - - - - - - - - -
Paints and Solvents Printing 2.0 1.5 0.63 0.0038 - 0.0040 0.0040 0.0030 0.0030
Paints and Solvents Surface Coatings 0.015 0.015 - - - - - - -
Dust nil - - - - - - - - -
Dust Coal Transportation - - - - - - - - -
Dust Construction Operations - - - - - - - - -
Dust Mine Tailings - - - - - - - - -
Dust Paved Roads - - - - - - - - -
Dust Unpaved Roads - - - - - - - - -
Fires nil 180 28 18 27 34 13 53 41 34
Fires Prescribed Forest Burning 180 28 18 27 34 13 53 41 34
Fires Structural Fires - - - - - - - - -
Grand Total nil 3 100 000 2 400 000 2 200 000 1 300 000 1 300 000 1 300 000 1 200 000 1 100 000 1 100 000

Notes:

totals may not add up due to rounding

- denotes no emissions

Page details

Date modified: