3.2 Computing Nonroad emissions using MOVES

MOVES5, the latest public release of EPA’s MOtor Vehicle Emissions Simulator (MOVES), estimates daily emissions for total hydrocarbons (THC), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter 10 microns and less (PM10), and sulfur dioxide (SO2), as well as calculating fuel consumption. MOVES5 [ref 1] uses ratios from some of these emissions to calculate emissions for particulate matter 2.5 microns and less (PM2.5), methane, ammonia (NH3), four more aggregate hydrocarbon groups (NMHC, NMOG, TOG, and VOC), 16 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), 17 dioxin/furan congeners, 32 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and six metals. For a complete list of these pollutants, see Table 3.1. All the input and activity data required to run MOVES-Nonroad are contained within the MOVES default database, which is distributed with the model. However, EPA uses alternative equipment spatial allocations for the construction and agricultural sectors that differ from the publicly distributed default database tables. State- and county-specific data can be incorporated by creating a supplemental database known as a county database (CDB) and specifying it in the MOVES run specification (runspec). In this way, State, local and Tribal (S/L/T) agencies can update the data within their respective CDBs to produce emissions estimates that accurately reflect local conditions and equipment usage. MOVES first uses the data in the CDBs and fills in any missing data from the MOVES default database.

To develop the 2023 NEI nonroad emissions inventory, EPA ran MOVES5, the most current public version of MOVES available. The default database used for the NEI nonroad runs was movesdb20241112_nrupdates, which is a modified version of the default database (movesdb20241112) released with MOVES5. The ‘nrupdates’ version of the MOVES default database contains alternative nonroad equipment spatial allocations by replacement of the three tables nrBaseYearEquipPopulation, nrStateSurrogate, and nrSurrogate.

The national updates made to the MOVES5 default database are the same as those made previously to the MOVES default databases for the 2020 NEI, 2017 NEI, 2022 Emissions Modeling Platform, and the 2016 Emissions Modeling Platform. The updated tables allocate national populations of Agricultural and Construction equipment to the state and county levels, as described in the 2016v1 Platform Nonroad Mobile Emissions Specification Sheet [ref 2].

Table 3.1: Pollutants produced by MOVES-Nonroad for 2023 NEI.
Pollutant ID Pollutant Name Pollutant ID Pollutant Name
1 Total Gaseous Hydrocarbons 82 Indeno(1,2,3,c,d)pyrene particle
2 Carbon Monoxide (CO) 83 Phenanthrene particle
3 Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) 84 Pyrene particle
5 Methane (CH4) 86 Total Organic Gases
20 Benzene 87 Volatile Organic Compounds
21 Ethanol 88 NonHAPTOG
23 Naphthalene particle 90 Atmospheric CO2
24 1,3-Butadiene 99 Brake Specific Fuel Consumption (BSFC)
25 Formaldehyde 100 Primary Exhaust PM10 - Total
26 Acetaldehyde 110 Primary Exhaust PM2.5 - Total
27 Acrolein 130 1,2,3,7,8,9-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin
30 Ammonia (NH3) 131 Octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
31 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) 132 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Heptachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin
40 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane 133 Octachlorodibenzofuran
41 Ethyl Benzene 134 1,2,3,4,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin
42 Hexane 135 1,2,3,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin
43 Propionaldehyde 136 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzofuran
44 Styrene 137 1,2,3,4,7,8,9-Heptachlorodibenzofuran
45 Toluene 138 2,3,4,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran
46 Xylene 139 1,2,3,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran
60 Mercury Elemental Gaseous 140 1,2,3,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran
61 Mercury Divalent Gaseous 141 1,2,3,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin
62 Mercury Particulate 142 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin
63 Arsenic Compounds 143 2,3,4,6,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran
65 Chromium 6+ 144 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-Heptachlorodibenzofuran
66 Manganese Compounds 145 1,2,3,4,7,8-Hexachlorodibenzofuran
67 Nickel Compounds 146 1,2,3,7,8,9-Hexachlorodibenzofuran
68 Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene particle 168 Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene gas
69 Fluoranthene particle 169 Fluoranthene gas
70 Acenaphthene particle 170 Acenaphthene gas
71 Acenaphthylene particle 171 Acenaphthylene gas
72 Anthracene particle 172 Anthracene gas
73 Benz(a)anthracene particle 173 Benz(a)anthracene gas
74 Benzo(a)pyrene particle 174 Benzo(a)pyrene gas
75 Benzo(b)fluoranthene particle 175 Benzo(b)fluoranthene gas
76 Benzo(g,h,i)perylene particle 176 Benzo(g,h,i)perylene gas
77 Benzo(k)fluoranthene particle 177 Benzo(k)fluoranthene gas
78 Chrysene particle 178 Chrysene gas
79 Non-Methane Hydrocarbons 181 Fluorene gas
80 Non-Methane Organic Gases 182 Indeno(1,2,3,c,d)pyrene gas
81 Fluorene particle 183 Phenanthrene gas
184 Pyrene gas
185 Naphthalene gas