Monitoring of Hydrocarbon Emissions in a Petroleum Refinery

In a petroleum refinery the hydrocarbon emissions which are mostly fugitive in nature are emitted from process, offsites and periodic accidental releases such as: materials storage & handling, process, equipment leaks, solvent evaporation, combustion sources, waste treatment etc. In India, the monitoring of such emissions in a refinery are limited as also the standards are not set for its limit in ambient air. Hence there is an urgent need for generating a database for such emissions. Recently in India, MoEF/CPCB has set some guidelines under CREP rules for monitoring such emissions in a refinery. A detailed monitoring of the hydrocarbon emissions from different sources in a typical 10.5 MMTPA Indian refinery is undertaken during 1999–2001 and the results are presented. It is observed that the storage tank emissions alongwith process leaks form the major contributor towards fugitive hydrocarbon emissions.     

Emissions of VOCs at Urban Petrol Retail Distribution Centres in India (Delhi and Mumbai)

Air pollution has assumed gigantic proportion killing almost half a million Asians every year. Urban pollution mainly comprises of emissions from buses, trucks, motorcycle other forms of motorized transport and its supporting activities. As Asia's cities continue to expand the number of vehicles have risen resulting in greater pollution. Fugitive emissions from retail distribution center in urban area constitute a major source. Petrol vapours escape during refueling adding pollutants like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene to ambient air. This paper discusses a study on fugitive emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) at some refueling station in two metropolitan cities of India, i.e., Mumbai and Delhi. Concentration of VOCs in ambient air at petrol retail distribution center is estimated by using TO-17 method. Concentration of benzene in ambient air in Delhi clearly shows the effect of intervention in use of petroleum and diesel fuel and shift to CNG. Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) model is used to estimate source contributions. At Delhi besides diesel combustion engines, refueling emissions are also major sources. At Mumbai evaporative emissions are found to contribute maximum to Total VOC (TVOC) concentration in ambient air.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from Australian open-cut coal mines: contribution from spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation

Spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation of waste coal and other carbonaceous material at open-cut coal mines are potentially significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions. However, the magnitude of these emissions is largely unknown. In this study, emissions from spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation were estimated for six Australian open-cut coal mines with annual coal production ranging from 1.7 to more than 16 Mt. Greenhouse emissions from all other sources at these mines were also estimated and compared to those from spontaneous combustion and low-temperature oxidation. In all cases, fugitive emission of methane was the largest source of greenhouse gas; however, in some mines, spontaneous combustion accounted for almost a third of all emissions. For one mine, it was estimated that emissions from spontaneous combustion were around 250,000 t CO₂-e per annum. The contribution from low-temperature oxidation was generally less than about 1% of the total for all six mines. Estimating areas of spoil affected by spontaneous combustion by ground-based surveys was prone to under-report the area. Airborne infrared imaging appears to be a more reliable method.     

A study of diffusion models applied to dust emissions from industrial complexes

Industrial complexes may release dust emissions through several to up to tens of stacks, as well as via fugitive area sources. Several diffusion models for small-scale fugitive dust sources have been developed and combined with a point source model to form a series of models for industrial complexes. The applicable area of these models and the methods for obtaining the main parameters in the models have been tested and verified using measurement data gained from several field experiments. The models developed in this paper can give quite satisfactory results when compared to other current models.     

Particulate Matter Over A Seven Year Period in Urban and Rural Areas Within, Proximal and Far from Mining and Power Station Operations in Greece

Lignite mining operations and lignite-fired power stations result in major particulate pollution (fly ash and fugitive dust) problems in the areas surrounding these activities. The problem is more complicated, especially, for urban areas located not far from these activities, due to additional contribution from the urban pollution sources. Knowledge of the distribution of airborne particulate matter into size fraction has become an increasing area of focus when examining the effects of particulate pollution. On the other hand, airborne particle concentration measurements are useful in order to assess the air pollution levels based on national and international air quality standards. These measurements are also necessary for developing air pollutants control strategies or for evaluating the effectiveness of these strategies, especially, for long periods. In this study an attempt is made in order to investigate the particle size distribution of fly ash and fugitive dust in a heavy industrialized (mining and power stations operations) area with complex terrain in the northwestern part of Greece. Parallel total suspended particulates (TSP) and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm (PM10) concentrations are analyzed. These measurements gathered from thirteen monitoring stations located in the greater area of interest. Spatial, temporal variation and trend are analyzed over the last seven years. Furthermore, the geographical variation of PM10 – TSP correlation and PM10/TSP ratio are investigated and compared to those in the literature. The analysis has indicated that a complex system of sources and meteorological conditions modulate the particulate pollution of the examined area.     

南京市建筑扬尘排放清单研究

统计分析了2010年南京市各行政区建筑场地面积和工期，结合扬尘排放因子，建立了南京市建筑扬尘排放清单。研究表明，2010年南京市建筑扬尘TSP、PM10和PM2．5的排放量分别达2．53万t、1．40万t和0．95万t，占工业烟（粉）尘排放量的23％、13％和8．6％。郊区县建筑扬尘排放量较大，约占全市 TSP、PM10、PM2．5排放总量的72％；主城区排放强度较高。对不同建筑工程类型扬尘排放量估算表明，城市建设工程和市政工程是建筑扬尘的主要来源，城市建设工程中又以住宅类建设工程为主。对不同研究获得的建筑扬尘结果比较，发现扬尘排放因子选择和污染源活动水平统计是影响建筑扬尘结果的关键因素。     

光散射法扬尘在线监测质量管理研究与应用

主要阐述了光散射法扬尘在线监测应用于建筑工地、干散货码头堆场、混凝土搅拌站的质量管理和质量评估。为了提高光散射法扬尘在线监测的数据质量，上海市采取扬尘在线监测设备现场质量抽测的模式，通过对在用仪器的监测点位、除湿方式、校准方式、质量浓度转换系数、与标准重量法监测结果的相对误差和相关系数、仪器运行维护水平等影响监测质量和数据有效性的关键指标的检查，开展扬尘监测在用仪器质量评估和仪器商合格评定，稳步提高在用仪器质量，为在线监测质量管理和质量评估提供可借鉴的技术方案和实践经验。     

省级高空间分辨率扬尘源排放清单研究

通过对浙江省统一开展部署和行动，现场调查收集全省7 507个施工工地、3 923个堆场以及不同等级公路和城市道路的真实活动水平数据，并基于点源地理信息和路网信息图层，采用排放系数法和ArcGIS工具构建了浙江省2015年3 km×3 km高空间分辨率扬尘源排放清单。结果表明，2015年浙江省扬尘源PM₁₀和PM_2.5的排放量分别为24.26×10⁴ t和6.00×10⁴ t，其中PM₁₀和PM_2.5排放贡献均主要为施工扬尘和道路扬尘，施工扬尘分别贡献37.7%和39.3%，道路扬尘分别贡献36.5%和39.1%。从城市空间分布来看，杭州市、宁波市、温州市、绍兴市扬尘排放总量居于全省前四，舟山市最低，而城市主城区排放量显著高于郊区。     

Infrared differential absorption Lidar (DIAL) measurements of hydrocarbon emissions

We report the application of an infrared (IR) differential absorption Lidar (DIAL) system (also capable of ultra violet measurements) built at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), UK, to field measurements of total site emissions (controlled and fugitive) from petrochemical and landfill installations. The validation of the IR-DIAL was carried out via a series of controlled field experiments including comparison to GC analysis and tests against controlled methane releases from a test stack, all detailing agreements on the order of ±20%. In volatile organic compound (VOC) measurements at a UK petrochemical site it was found that the American Petroleum Institute's methodology of the time for calculating the emitted flux underestimated by a factor of 2.4. Also, in a similar field trial it was found that scaling traditional point measurements at easily accessible flanges and valves to represent all flanges and valves on a site led to an underestimation by a factor of 6. In addition to petrochemical examples we also report field measurements from a landfill site to demonstrate the advantageous of the DIAL technique for monitoring area emission sources. In this case study it was found that active (still being filled) cells resulted in significantly greater VOC emission rates (30 kg h(-1)) than closed (≤ 10 kg h(-1)).     

Decoupling and decomposition analysis of residential building carbon emissions from residential income: Evidence from the provincial level in China

Decoupling residential building carbon emissions from residential income has great significance for carbon mitigation and even global climate change. However, the nature of the decoupling relationship between them is still unclear. This study adopts the Tapio decoupling model to explore the decoupling relationship among residential building carbon emissions (TC), per capita carbon emissions (PC), residential carbon intensity (FC) and per capita income (PCI) across 30 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2015. Then, the Logarithmic Mean Divisa Index (LMDI) model is used to decompose the decoupling of residential building carbon intensity and PCI at the provincial level to determine the main factors determining this relationship. Results show that the main decoupling trend between FC and PCI in 30 provinces transformed from weak decoupling state to strong decoupling state during the whole period, while there is still extensive room for TC and PC to decouple with PCI. PCI has the major inhibiting effect on the decoupling between FC and PCI, while residential energy intensity (EI) has the primarily promoting effect on the decoupling. These findings provide valuable references for international policymakers in formulating precisely targeted energy-saving and carbon-reducing policies to coordinate the relationship between income and carbon emissions, and the results also can be applied to other economies and, to a greater extent, other pollutants.