DEVELOPMENT OF FINE PARTICULATE EMISSION FACTORS AND SPECIATION PROFILES FOR OIL AND GAS-FIRED COMBUSTION SYSTEMS
In 1997, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter, including for the first time particles with aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometers ({micro}m) referred to as PM2.5. PM2.5 in the atmosphere also contributes to reduced atmospheric visibility, which is the subject of existing rules for siting emission sources near Class 1 areas and new Regional Haze rules. There are few existing data regarding emissions and characteristics of fine aerosols from oil, gas and power generation industry combustion sources, and the information that is available is generally outdated and incomplete. Traditional stationary source air emission sampling methods tend to underestimate or overestimate the contribution of the source to ambient aerosols because they do not properly account for primary aerosol formation, which occurs after the gases leave the stack. Primary aerosol includes both filterable particles that are solid or liquid aerosols at stack temperature plus those that form as the stack gases cool through mixing and dilution processes in the plume downwind of the source. These deficiencies in the current methods can have significant impacts on regulatory decision-making. PM2.5 measurement issues were extensively reviewed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) (England et al., 1998), and it was concluded that dilution sampling techniques are more appropriate for obtaining a representative particulate matter sample from combustion systems for determining PM2.5 emission rate and chemical speciation. Dilution sampling is intended to collect aerosols including those that condense and/or react to form solid or liquid aerosols as the exhaust plume mixes and cools to near-ambient temperature immediately after the stack discharge. These techniques have been widely used in recent research studies. For example, Hildemann et al. (1994) and McDonald et al. (1998) used filtered ambient air to dilute the stack gas sample followed by 80-90 seconds residence time to allow aerosol formation and growth to stabilize prior to sample collection and analysis. More accurate and complete emissions data generated using the methods developed in this program will enable more accurate source-receptor and source apportionment analysis for PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) implementation and streamline the environmental assessment of oil, gas and power production facilities. The overall goals of this program were to: (1) Develop improved dilution sampling technology and test methods for PM2.5 mass emissions and speciation measurements, and compare results obtained with dilution and traditional stationary source sampling methods. (2) Develop emission factors and speciation profiles for emissions of fine particulate matter, especially organic aerosols, for use in source-receptor and source apportionment analyses. (3) Identify and characterize PM2.5 precursor compound emissions that can be used in source-receptor and source apportionment analyses.
- Research Organization:
- GE Energy and Environmental Research Corporation (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-00BC15327
- OSTI ID:
- 836998
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 20 Oct 2004
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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DEVELOPMENT OF FINE PARTICULATE EMISSION FACTORS AND SPECIATION PROFILES FOR OIL AND GAS FIRED COMBUSTION SYSTEMS
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