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。     

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)).     

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。     

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.     

Externalities of Fugitive Dust

It is known that fugitive dust can cause human health and environmental problems, alone or in combination with other air pollutants. These problems are referred to as ‘external costs’ that have been traditionally ignored. However, there is a growing interest towards quantifying externalities to assist policy and decision-making. With this in mind, the present study aimed at discussing the environmental regulations that deal with fugitive dust, the impact of fugitive dust on human health and global climate system, and the available methods for calculating fugitive dust externalities. The damage cost associated with human health and global environmental problems was predicted based on the environmental strategy priority model. The damage cost estimated by the model ranged from 40 to 374 EUR/kg of emitted fugitive dust with a mean value of 120 EUR/kg of emitted fugitive dust. It was also found that PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ have contributed to about 60% and 36% of the estimated damage cost, respectively. The remaining 4% was attributed to both nitrate and sulfate aerosols.     

厂界无组织排放监测气象条件判定及布点问题对策研究

通过对现有技术要求的分析,指出大气污染物无组织排放监测主要技术依据中气象条件判定和监控布点存在监测时段选择不合理、条件设置不具代表性和不具可操作性等问题和难点。对此提出了相应对策,指出可通过滑动计算相关数值的方式将气象和监控布点设置条件扩展至监测全过程,使用气象条件和点位判定系统来解决上述问题和难点。对技术依据中未规定的多点和区域无组织排放源的有效监控区域确定提出了解决思路,探讨了监测全过程监控点位有效性的评价方式。通过实施示例对提出的对策进行了说明。     

Comparison of elemental and black carbon measurements during normal and heavy haze periods: implications for research

Studies specifically addressing the elemental carbon (EC)/black carbon (BC) relationship during the transition from clean-normal (CN) air quality to heavy haze (HH) are rare but have important health and climate implications. The present study, in which EC levels are measured using a thermal-optical method and BC levels are measured using an optical method (aethalometer), provides a preliminary insight into this issue. The average daily EC concentration was 3.08?±?1.10 μg/m³ during the CN stage but climbed to 11.77?±?2.01 μg/m³ during the HH stage. More importantly, the BC/EC ratio averaged 0.92?±?0.14 during the CN state and increased to 1.88?±?0.30 during the HH state. This significant increase in BC/EC ratio has been confirmed to result partially from an increase in the in situ light absorption efficiency (σ _ap) due to an enhanced internal mixing of the EC with other species. However, the exact enhancement of σ _ap was unavailable because our monitoring scheme could not acquire the in situ absorption (b _ap) essential for σ _ap calculation. This reveals a need to perform simultaneous measurement of EC and b _ap over a time period that includes both the CN and HH stages. In addition, the sensitivity of EC to both anthropogenic emissions and HH conditions implies a need to systematically study how to include EC complex (EC concentration, OC/EC ratio, and σ _ap) as an indicator in air quality observations, in alert systems that assess air quality, and in the governance of emissions and human behaviors.     

Nitrogen multitemporal monitoring through mosses in urban areas affected by mud volcanoes around Mt. Etna, Italy

Nitrogen emissions were assessed by using mosses as bioindicators in a densely inhabited area affected by mud volcanoes. Such volcanoes, locally called Salinelle, are phenomena that occur around Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy), and are interpreted as the surface outflow of a hydrothermal system located below Mt. Etna, which releases sedimentary fluids (hydrocarbons and Na-Cl brines) along with magmatic gases (mainly CO₂ and He). To date, N emissions from such mud volcanoes have been only quantitatively assessed, and no biomonitoring campaigns are reported about the cumulative effects of these emissions. This study analyzed N concentrations in moss, water and soil samples, collected in a 4-year monitoring campaign. The bryophyte Bryum argenteum, a species widely adopted in surveys of atmospheric pollution, was used as a biological indicator. N concentrations in biomonitors showed relatively low values in the study sites. However, the results of this study suggest that N emissions from Salinelle may have an impact on surrounding ecosystems because N values in moss and water showed a significant correlation. N oxides, in particular, contribute to acidification of ecosystems, thus multitemporal biomonitoring is recommended, especially in those areas where N emitting sources are anthropogenic and natural.     

Characterization of airborne particles at a high-btu coal-gasification pilot plant

Airborne particles in fugitive emissions have been measured at a slagging fixed-bed coal-gasification pilot plant using lignite. Sampling was conducted during shutdown operations and opening of the gasifier following an aborted startup. Aerosol collected with a Sierra high-volume impactor was subjected to analysis by gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy; aerosol collected with an Andersen low-volume impactor was subjected to flameless atomic absorption analysis. The data show that the bulk of the trace organic material is associated with small particles: these data are similar to data on ambient air reported in the literature. Particle morphologies resemble those of fly ash from coal combustion, including smooth spheres, vesicular spheres, and crystalline material. Trace element size distributions are bimodal and resemble data for ambient air. Pb-containing particles are generally submicron, while particles containing Al, Fe, and other crustal species are mostly of supermicron size. Aluminum-based aerosol enrichment factors calculated from the lignite composition show that the composition of the aerosol resembles that of the coal, with the exception of modest enrichments of Mg, Na, As, and Pb in the submicron size range. Aerosol enrichment factors based on the earth's crustal composition are somewhat greater than those based on coal composition for several elements, suggesting potential errors in using crustal enrichment data to investigate chemical fractionation during aerosol formation.     

Spatial�Ctemporal assessment and redesign of groundwater quality monitoring network: a case study

Assessment of groundwater quality monitoring networks requires methods to determine the potential efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the current monitoring programs. To this end, the concept of entropy has been considered as a promising method in previous studies since it quantitatively measures the information produced by a network. In this study, the measure of transinformation in the discrete entropy theory and the transinformation?Cdistance (T?CD) curves, which are used frequently by other researchers, are used to quantify the efficiency of a monitoring network. This paper introduces a new approach to decrease dispersion in results by performing cluster analysis that uses fuzzy equivalence relations. As a result, the sampling (temporal) frequency determination method also recommends the future sampling frequencies for each location based on certain criteria such as direction, magnitude, correlation with neighboring stations, and uncertainty of the concentration trend derived from representative historical concentration data. The proposed methodology is applied to groundwater resources in the Tehran?CKaradj aquifer, Tehran, Iran.     

Chemical Constituents of Fugitive Dust

Wind erosion selectively winnows the fine, most chemically concentrated portions of surface soils and results in the inter-regional transport of fugitive dust containing plant nutrients, trace elements and other soil-borne contaminants. We sampled and analyzed surface soils, sediments in transport over eroding fields, and attic dust from a small area of the Southern High Plains of Texas to characterize the physical nature and chemical constituents of these materials and to investigate techniques that would allow relatively rapid, low cost techniques for estimating the chemical constituents of fugitive dust from an eroding field. From chemical analyses of actively eroding sediments, it would appear that Ca is the only chemical species that is enriched more than others during the process of fugitive dust production. We found surface soil sieved to produce a sub-sample with particle diameters in the range of 53–74 μm to be a reasonably good surrogate for fugitive dust very near the source field, that sieved sub-samples with particle diameters <10 μm have a crustal enrichment factor of approximately 6, and that this factor, multiplied by the chemical contents of source soils, may be a reasonable estimator of fugitive PM₁₀ chemistry from the soils of interest. We also found that dust from tractor air cleaners provided a good surrogate for dust entrained by tillage and harvesting operations if the chemical species resulting from engine wear and exhaust were removed from the data set or scaled back to the average of enrichment factors noted for chemical species with no known anthropogenic sources. Chemical analyses of dust samples collected from attics approximately 4 km from the nearest source fields indicated that anthropogenic sources of several environmentally important nutrient and trace element species are much larger contributors, by up to nearly two orders of magnitude, to atmospheric loading and subsequent deposition than fugitive dust from eroding soils.     

Air Issues amd Ecosystem Protection, a Canadian National Parks Perspective

Several case histories illustrate national park air issues and responses in Canada. These examples include: acidification studies and establishment of a multiparticipant monitoring programme at Kejimkujik; studies of smoke at campgrounds in Jasper, La Mauricie and Forillon, its effect on health, and the management of visitors and firewood supply to mitigate these risks; and estimates of emissions from through-traffic in Yoho. From these cases and from reviews of the secondary literature, we can identify air issues that affect the maintenance of ecological integrity in national parks. These issues are: forest fires and smoke management; defining goals for ecosystem restoration; representation of natural regional conditions; visitor health and amenity; acidification; pesticides; eutrophication from airborne nitrates; permafrost melting; and UV-B. In June 1995, an International Air Issues Workshop brought together representatives from Canadian and U.S. national parks and other selected agencies. They ranked the air issues affecting national parks, producing quite an eclectic list. From the most to least serious issue, they are: acidification, toxics, visibility impairment, UV-B, smoke management, oil and gas development, fugitive dust, global warming, overflights, light pollution, noise and odour. Note that atmospheric change is only one among a group of stresses affecting national parks. Of 28 stresses recognized as significant for national parks in 1992, acid precipitation ranked 8th and climate change 23rd. Petrochemicals, 17th, pesticides, 18th and heavy metals, 21st, may be partly airborne. The 1995 workshop made several recommendations applicable to Parks Canada, from which those related to research and monitoring needs have been extracted. The air monitoring needed most by national parks is of suspended particulate and visibility. This is in response to human health and amenity concerns and international treaty obligations. The long-term protection of natural sites in national parks provides opportunities for other agencies to monitor ambient air quality and ecosystem responses, for example through the installation of under-canopy monitoring towers. The air research most needed in national parks is the modelling of natural landscapes and vegetation complexes in response to climate change. This follows from the primary purpose of each national park, to maintain the ecological integrity of an area selected to represent a natural region. The principal air research opportunities for other agencies in national parks are probably intensive instrumentation and sampling over several years to examine the air-vegetation-soil transfers of nutrients, pollutants and radiation.     

上海市降尘自动监测系统研发与应用

大气降尘量是重要的环境指标之一,可以较客观地反映和评价城市局部地区扬尘污染水平,对评价城市区域环境空气质量、分析大气污染来源和变化具有重要意义。国内外大气降尘监测普遍采用传统的手工监测方法,手工法因时效性差、效率低、能耗大、质控难、误差大等原因已不适应现代环境管理的需求。随着科技与网络的发展,自动监测方法成为发展趋势。文章主要阐述了上海市降尘自动监测技术的研发过程及实际应用,介绍了自主研发的降尘自动监测仪的原理、关键技术和系统组成。通过粉尘舱内实验、降尘自动监测方法与手工重量法比对测试及为期一年的试点应用,分析了降尘自动监测方法的精密度、准确度、相对误差及适用性,并探讨了降尘自动监测的应用前景。     

基于无人机的施工扬尘污染源自动监测系统设计与实现

施工扬尘是大气污染物的主要来源和施工环境监测的重点对象,但传统监测手段的效率和效果有限。为此,综合使用无人机和图像识别技术,以HSV特征提取、直方图对比、非零像素点计算为核心,设计了施工扬尘污染源自动监测系统的结构、功能及运行流程,并对运行效果进行了测试。研究和测试表明:该系统可实现监测区航拍、污染源特征提取、污染源存在性检验、污染源种类判定和污染源分布区面积计算;该系统污染源存在性检验正确率为71%,污染源面积计算效率较高,污染源特征比对效果相对稳定,基本满足施工扬尘污染源监测需求。