Carbon disulphide and hydrogen sulphide emissions from viscose fibre manufacturing industry: A case study in India

CS2 and H2S emissions are the most prominent environmental footprint of viscose fibre manufacturing industry and this necessitates periodical assessment of their emission load from this sector. Emission factors of CS2 and H2S from viscose fibre manufacturing were determined by conducting in-plant emission assessments in three viscose fibre manufacturing plants (one viscose filament yarn and two viscose staple fibre plants) in India. The CS2 and H2S emission factors were estimated to be 284.03 and 20.9 kg MT-1 (i.e. metric ton or tonne) of viscose fibre (viscose filament yarn or VFY) and 99.64 and 33.15 kg MT-1 of viscose fibre (viscose staple fibre or VSF), respectively. Indian and global CS2 and H2S emission estimates from viscose fibre manufacturing sector were prepared by incorporating these newly developed emission factors. Annual emissions from Indian VSF sector in 2020 were estimated to be 78.32 Gg CS2 and 26.06 Gg H2S while from VFY sector, the same were 15.30 Gg and 1.13 Gg. This signifies an upward revision of the 2001 estimate of 26.8 Gg CS2 emitted from the entire Indian industrial sector, including viscose fibre manufacturing sector. Further, using the newly developed emission factors for VSF and available global viscose fibre production data of 2017, global annual CS2 & nbsp;and H2S emissions were estimated to be 577.9 Gg and 192.3 Gg, respectively, in 2017 that were predominantly contributed by China and India due to their dominant share in global viscose fibre production, followed by Thailand, Indonesia and Austria.