Diesel fuel generator – fuel usage

Download the diesel fuel generator - fuel usage calculator to help you estimate the releases of National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) substances.

Diesel-powered reciprocating engine generators (up to 600 horsepower) release Part 1, 2, 4 and 5 substances. This release calculator uses default emission factors and can be adapted to use site-specific emission factors. If you want to use a site-specific emission factor, enter it in the emission factor column, but be sure to convert the units correctly. 

The spreadsheet calculators use emission factors based on uncontrolled emission sources. If you use an emission control device and the default emission factor is uncontrolled, use this formula to adjust the spreadsheet calculation:

Controlled emissions = uncontrolled emission x ((100 - control efficiency)/100)

Since NPRI reporting thresholds are for the facility as a whole, you may need to combine the air releases you calculate with releases from other sources at your facility.

The following sections explain how the spreadsheet calculator works.

Suggested estimation methodology: emission factor

The general equation for estimation using an emission factor is:

E = A x EF

where:

• E = emissions
• A = activity rate
• EF = emission factor

Input data

A = amount of diesel burned [cubic meters (m³) or Liters (L)]
B = heating value of diesel fuel [Giga Joules (GJ)/m³]^*

If you know the amount of diesel in liters, use this formula to convert it to cubic meters:

A[m³] = A[L]/1000

Use the factors from the tables below to calculate the emissions for each substance.

Substance releases

Part 1 releases

Substance	Chemical Abstracts Service registry number (CAS RN)1	Part	Emission factor (EF)2	EF units
Acetaldehyde	75-07-0	1A	1.259E-02	kg/m3
Acrolein	107-08-8	1A	7.593E-04	kg/m3
Benzene	71-43-2	1A	1.532E-02	kg/m3
1,3-Butadiene	106-99-0	1A	3.209E-04	kg/m3
Formaldehyde	50-00-0	1A	1.937E-02	kg/m3
Naphthalene	91-20-3	1A	1.392E-03	kg/m3
Propylene	115-07-1	1A	4.235E-02	kg/m3
Toluene	108-88-3	1A	6.714E-03	kg/m3
Xylene (all isomers)	1330-20-7	1A	4.679E-03	kg/m3
Mercury (and its compounds)	Footnote ***	1B	4.948E-06	kg/m3

Part 2 releases

Substance	Chemical Abstracts Service registry number (CAS RN)1	Emission factor (EF)2	EF units
Acenaphthene	83-32-9	1.166E-05	kg/m3
Acenaphthylene	208-96-8	4.153E-05	kg/m3
Anthracene	120-12-7	3.070E-05	kg/m3
Benz[a]anthracene	56-55-3	2.758E-05	kg/m3
Chrysene	218-01-9	5.795E-06	kg/m3
Benzo[a]pyrene	50-32-8	1.543E-06	kg/m3
Benzo[b]fluoranthene	205-99-2	8.134E-07	kg/m3
Benzo[ghi]perylene	191-24-2	4.014E-06	kg/m3
Benzo[k]fluoranthene	207-08-9	1.272E-06	kg/m3
Dibenz[a,h]anthracene	53-70-3	4.785E-06	kg/m3
Fluoranthene	206-44-0	1.249E-04	kg/m3
Fluorene	86-73-7	4.794E-04	kg/m3
Inden[1,2,3-cd]pyrene	193-39-5	3.078E-06	kg/m3
Phenanthrene	85-01-8	4.826E-04	kg/m3
Pyrene	129-00-0	7.847E-05	kg/m3

Part 4 criteria air contaminants (CAC) releases

Substance	Chemical Abstracts Service registry number (CAS RN)1	Emission factor (EF)(2)(**)	EF units
Carbon monoxide (CO)	630-08-0	0.4084 x B	kg/m3
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)	7446-09-5	0.1247 x B	kg/m3
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx), expressed as nitrogen dioxide (NO2)	11104-93-1	1.8960 x B	kg/m3
Volatile organic compounds (and its compounds) (VOCs)	***	0.1548 x B	kg/m3
Total particulate matter (TPM)	***	0.1333 x B	kg/m3
Particulate matter less than or equal to 10 micrometers (µm) (PM10)	***	0.1333 x B	kg/m3
Particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 µm (PM2.5)	***	0.1333 x B	kg/m3

Part 5 releases

Substance	Chemical Abstracts Service registry number (CAS RN)1	Emission factor (EF)(2)(**)	EF units
Benzene	71-43-2	4.011E-04 x B	kg/m3
1,3-Butadiene	106-99-0	8.405E-06 x B	kg/m3
Formaldehyde	50-00-0	5.073E-04 x B	kg/m3
Propylene	115-07-1	1.109E-03 x B	kg/m3
Toluene	108-88-3	1.758E-04 x B	kg/m3
Xylene (all isomers)	1330-20-7	1.225E-04 x B	kg/m3