Source Location and Characterization of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions at a Petrochemical Plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Chen, Chin-Liang; Fang, Hung Yuan; Shu, Chi‐Min

doi:10.1080/10473289.2005.10464741

Cited by 34 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In Chen et al, 2,3 3-hr canister samples were taken from 25 sites inside a petrochemical plant, twice per season for 1 yr. These samples were then analyzed with gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) TO-14 method.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, a complete VOC monitoring campaign with canisters may take more than 1 week, including canister cleaning, sampling, GC/MS analysis, and data processing. 2 Although there are currently several in situ monitoring devices (such as electrochemical sensors) that can provide real-time information about the concentrations of airborne chemicals, they usually can only monitor certain chemicals. Each chemical needs a specific type of detector.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing and Evaluating Techniques for Localizing Pollutant Emission Sources with Open-Path Fourier Transform Infrared Measurements and Wind Data

Chen

Chang

et al. 2008

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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This paper presents the simulation and field evaluation results of two approaches to localize pollutant emission sources with open-path Fourier transform infrared (OP-FTIR) spectroscopy. The first approach combined the plume's peak location information reconstructed from the Smooth Basis Function Minimization (SBFM) algorithm and the wind direction data to calculate source projection lines. In the second approach, the plume's peak location was determined with the Monte Carlo methodology by randomly sampling within the beam segment having the largest path-integrated concentration. We first conducted a series of simulation studies to investigate the sensitivity of using different basis functions in the SBFM algorithm. It was found that fitting with the beta and Weibull basis functions generally gave better estimates of the peak locations than with the normal basis function when the plumes were mainly within the OP-FTIR's monitoring line. However, for plumes that were symmetric to the peak position or spread over the OP-FTIR, fitting with the normal basis function gave better performance. In the field experiment, two tracer gases were released simultaneously from two locations and the OP-FTIR collected data downwind from the sources with a maximum beam path length of 97 m. For the first approach, the release locations were within the 0.25-to 0.5-probability area only after the uncertainty of the peak locations was included in the calculation process. The second approach was easy to implement and still performed as satisfactorily as the first approach. The distances from the sources to the best-fit lines (i.e., the regression lines) of the estimated locations were smaller than 10 m. INTRODUCTIONLocalizing (i.e., locating) toxic air pollutant sources is an important issue in many environment and health-related fields. To minimize the air pollutants' impact on the environment and the public health, it is necessary to identify the releasing sources in a timely fashion so that an effective control strategy can be implemented. For example, in homeland security applications, the release locations of harmful airborne contaminants usually are unknown. Their locations must be estimated from the postrelease concentration observations. 1 Another example is the leak detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the refinery or petrochemical industries. Detecting the source of a leak from thousands of possible components is always a challenging task; nevertheless, fixing the identified leaking components not only protects public health and the environment but also reduces waste and any potential liability.For a large area, one way to locate the fugitive emission source(s) of hazardous chemicals is placing a matrix of point samplers at the monitoring site. In Chen et al., 2,3 3-hr canister samples were taken from 25 sites inside a petrochemical plant, twice per season for 1 yr. These samples were then analyzed with gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing and Evaluating Techniques for Localizing Pollutant Emission Sources with Open-Path Fourier Transform Infrared Measurements and Wind Data

Chen

Chang

et al. 2008

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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“…Six samples including regular and reduced pressure distillation (CDU & VDU, OR1), reforming hydrogenation (OR2), catalytic cracking (OR3), catalytic hydrogenation (OR4 with wax oil and OR5 with gasoline and diesel), and delayed coking (OR6) were taken in the oil refinery sector. Leakage of storage tanks and wastewater treatment facilities were also previously identified as the major fugitive emission sources [19][20][21]. Therefore, samples from two tanks where lower olefins (ST1) and gasoline stored (ST2) and one wastewater treatment sector for oil separating (WT) were collected.…”

Section: Petrochemical Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leakage of storage tanks and wastewater treatment facilities were also previously identified as the major fugitive emission sources [19][20][21]. Therefore, samples from two tanks where lower olefins (ST1) and gasoline stored (ST2) and one wastewater treatment sector for oil separating (WT) were collected.…”

Section: Petrochemical Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources Profiles of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Measured in a Typical Industrial Process in Wuhan, Central China

Shen

Xiang²,

Liang

et al. 2018

Atmosphere

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Industrial emission is an important source of ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. We collected 53 VOC samples from petrochemical, surface coating, electronic manufacturing, and gasoline evaporation using stainless canisters to develop localized source profiles. Concentrations of 86 VOC species, including hydrocarbons, halocarbons, and oxygenated VOCs, were quantified by a gas chromatography-flame ionization detection/mass spectrometry system. Alkanes were the major constituents observed in the source profile from the petrochemical industry. Aromatics (79.5~81.4%) were the largest group in auto-painting factories, while oxygenated VOCs (82.0%) and heavy alkanes (68.7%) were dominant in gravure printing and offset printing factories, respectively. Acetone was the largest contributor and the most frequently monitored species in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing, while VOC species emitted from integrated chip (IC) were characterized by high contents of isopropanol (56.4-98.3%) and acetone (30.8%). Chemical compositions from vapor of gasoline 92#, 93#, and 98# were almost identical. Alkanes were the dominant VOC group, with i-pentane being the most abundant species (31.4-37.7%), followed by n-butane and n-pentane. However, high loadings of heavier alkanes were observed in the profile of diesel evaporation.

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“…[18][19][20] An overall survey of a petrochemical plant at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, has been accomplished and emission sources for VOCs have been found, located inside process regions and a tank farm. 21 To remedy the VOC emissions, locating and characterizing VOC emission sources from process regions is a crucial step. Therefore, process regions inside this plant were additionally focused on, and indepth survey of each region was made.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping and Profile of Emission Sources for Airborne Volatile Organic Compounds from Process Regions at a Petrochemical Plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Chen¹,

Fang

Shu

2006

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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This work surveyed five process regions inside a petrochemical plant in Taiwan to characterize the profiles of airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and locate emission sources. Samples, taken with canisters, were analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry according to the TO-14 method. Each region was deployed with 24 sampling sites, sampled twice, and 240 samples in total were measured during the survey period. All of the data were consolidated into a database on Excel to facilitate retrieval, statistical analysis, and presentation in the form of a table or graph, and, subsequently, the profile of VOCs was elucidated. Emission sources were located by mapping the concentration distribution of either an individual or a type of species in terms of contour maps on Surfer. Through the cross-analysis of data, the abundant VOCs included alkenes, dienes, alkanes, and aromatics. A total of 19 emission sources were located from these five regions. The sources for alkanes stood inside first, third aromatic, and fourth naphtha cracking regions, whereas the ones for alkenes were inside two naphtha cracking regions. The sources for dienes were found inside the third naphtha cracking region alone; in contrast, the sources for aromatics were universally traced except inside the third naphtha cracking region. The measured intensity for sources mostly ranged from 1000 to 7000 ppb. INTRODUCTIONThe volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from refineries and petrochemical plants were another environmental concern second to vehicle exhausts. 1 The VOC concentration from a petrochemical complex were reported 4-to 20-fold higher than those at a suburban site. 2-7 It was pointed out that, in a petrochemical plant, Ͼ90% of VOCs came from 10% equipment components. Therefore, locating emission sources was the first step to abate VOC emissions. 8 To locate the emission sources more quickly, the downwind concentrations were inverted by an atmospheric dispersion model to reconstruct distribution. 9 PONG-2, a Gaussian plume modeling technique, was applied to map possible odor sources. 10 Isopleths contour of concentration was used to estimate emission sources, and a large number of data were managed by using database or geographical information system. 11-14 Chemical mass balance model using multiple linear least-square regression has been widely used for identification and source apportionment of VOCs. [15][16][17] The principal component analysis/absolute principal component score receptor model was another source appointment technique, which requires a minimum of inputs regarding source characteristics but provides quantitative information regarding both source profiles and their impacts; this model has been applied to estimate source contributions to ambient VOCs in Hong Kong and Eastern China, respectively. [18][19][20] An overall survey of a petrochemical plant at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, has been accomplished and emission sources for VOCs have been found, located inside process regions and a tank farm. 21 To remedy th...

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Source Location and Characterization of Volatile Organic Compound Emissions at a Petrochemical Plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Cited by 34 publications

References 12 publications

Developing and Evaluating Techniques for Localizing Pollutant Emission Sources with Open-Path Fourier Transform Infrared Measurements and Wind Data

Developing and Evaluating Techniques for Localizing Pollutant Emission Sources with Open-Path Fourier Transform Infrared Measurements and Wind Data

Sources Profiles of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Measured in a Typical Industrial Process in Wuhan, Central China

Mapping and Profile of Emission Sources for Airborne Volatile Organic Compounds from Process Regions at a Petrochemical Plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

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