The purpose of this study is to estimate the fugitive volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from hot stored bitumen and to assess the contribution of these VOCs on the overall emissions in refinery processes. All the usual information regarding VOC emissions from tank storage is based on the storage of petroleum products at ambient temperature (mainly volatile streams such as fuels), and all the calculation systems used to predict or estimate the emissions are based on daily or seasonal temperature variations. Consequently, a dedicated protocol for hot bitumen storage using measurement-based estimations was established. Tank headspace compositions were also determined. Some annual emissions were estimated and comparisons were made with current emission factor-based methods.The atmospheric VOC emissions from hot stored bitumen were shown to be made of residual petroleum compounds. The experiments demonstrated that volatile emissions are more bitumen related than temperature dependent in the studied temperature range. The experiments also showed VOC depletion over time. Storage duration is the predominant factor affecting VOC emission levels. Another main outcome concerns the influence of differences in the manufacturing process between oxidized and nonoxidized bitumens, with the blowing operation decreasing the VOC contents by stripping. Finally, it is shown that hot bitumen storage tanks make a low contribution to the overall fugitive VOC emissions in a refinery process.

Bitumen is a complex product with a large matrix of heavy aliphatic/naphthenic/aromatic hydrocarbons as well as a large number of isomeric compounds such as polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). Some PACs and derivatives are known to have a mutagenic and carcinogenic activity, and there is no generally satisfactory clean-up method for separating PACs from this very complex hydrocarbon matrix. Moreover, from an analytical point of view, the isomeric compounds usually co-elute in the same gas chromatography (GC) retention range, GC being one of the most widely used techniques in this area. However, the use of a suitable clean-up procedure for isolating the aromatic fractions, combined with two selective detection techniques such as mass spectrometry (GC-Ion Trap MS) and HPLC-Fluorescent detector (HPLC-FL), is expected to provide an effective tool for accurately determining certain PAC species in bitumen.In this paper we compare two quantitative extractions to analyse the 16 PAHs that occur in bitumen according to the US EPA reference list. Two clean-up protocols are assessed

This article reinforces data on exposure levels that workers experience within the European road paving industry (mineral and organic aerosols, organic vapors). By means of paired field surveys, this article focuses on comparative experiments dedicated to a personal sampler commonly used in this industry-the 37-mm cassette. This filter holder is compared with a sampler specifically designed by the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) for the inhalable fraction of airborne matter. The results reinforce previously published comparative data demonstrating that the total 37-mm cassette and the inhalable IOM sampler give similar results, with no statistical difference, for the collection of field organic aerosols emitted from hot bitumen fumes. Exposure levels are compared with some previous studies, and an estimate of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content in particulates is given for common paving operations.

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