Title: Quantification of Hydrocarbon, NOx and SO2 Emissions from Petrochemical Facilities in Houston: Interpretation of the 2009 FLAIR Dataset
Institution(s) Represented: University of California at Los Angeles- Jochen Stutz, University of North Carolina- William Vizuete, Aerodyne Research- Scott Herndon, Washington State University- George Mount
Lead PI: Jochen Stutz
AQRP Project Manager: Cynthia F. Murphy
TCEQ Project Liaison: Marvin Jones
Awarded Amount: $398,043.00
Executive Summary- Project 10-045
Quantification of Hydrocarbon, NOx, and SO2 Emissions from Petrochemical Facilities in Houston: Interpretation of the 2009 FLAIR dataset
In Spring 2009 a multi-institutional and multi-platform field experiment to understand and classify industrial sources of ozone-forming chemicals took place in Houston, TX. During the "Formaldehyde and Olefin from Large Industrial Sources" (FLAIR) project the Aerodyne Research Inc. (ARI) mobile laboratory performed in-situ measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and formaldehyde (HCHO), which all contribute to ozone formation. At the same time an Imaging Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometer (I-DOAS) operated by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) sampled flares and other individual sources for emissions of HCHO and NO2. Two Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometers (MAX-DOAS) operated by UCLA and Washington State University (WSU) sampled air masses upwind and downwind of a large petrochemical complex in order to determine facility-wide emissions of HCHO and NO2. As a result of all above mentioned efforts, a unique observational dataset of VOCs, HCHO, and NOx observations was created.
The current project is a collaborative effort between the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Aerodyne Research Inc. (ARI), Washington State University (WSU) and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC), to interpret the observational dataset collected during 2009 FLAIR campaign. The observational data acquired by the different groups will be used to estimate emission rates of ozone precursors, such as VOCs, HCHO and NOx, for the specific times and locations of the observation. These emission rates then will be compared to the hourly special inventories (SI) to provide an illustrative comparison for emission sources that are potentially critical for ozone formation.
Specific goals of this project are:
1. Characterize source-and date-specific emissions and atmospheric chemistry using the ARI mobile laboratory FLAIR dataset. Identify where the pollutant sources are, how much is emitted, and what happens to these pollutants in the atmosphere.
2. Determine of facility averaged fluxes of NO2, HCHO, and SO2 using dual MAX-DOAS data acquired during FLAIR 2009.
3. Characterize source-and date-specific fluxes of HCHO, NO2 and SO2 from point sources in Houston based on I-DOAS observations during FLAIR.
4. Estimate source-specific emission rates through interpretation and consolidation of the combined observations of all platforms during FLAIR. Qualitatively compare observations with hourly special inventories for 2006 and determine the uncertainty of the observations.
Work Plan: projectinfo\10-045\10-045 Work Plan.pdf
Technical Report(s): projectinfo\10-045\10-045 Tech Report Feb 2011.pdf
Technical Report(s): projectinfo\10-045\10-045 Tech Report Mar 2011.pdf
Technical Report(s): projectinfo\10-045\10-045 Tech Report Apr 2011.pdf
Technical Report(s): projectinfo\10-045\10-045 Tech Report May 2011.pdf
Technical Report(s): projectinfo\10-045\10-045 Tech Report Jun 2011.pdf
Technical Report(s): projectinfo\10-045\10-045 Tech Report Jul 2011.pdf
QAPP: projectinfo\10-045\10-045 QAPP.pdf
Final Report: projectinfo\10-045\10-045 Final Report.pdf
Publications & Citations
Olga Pikelnaya, James H. Flynn, Catalina Tsai, and Jochen Stutz (2013), Imaging DOAS detection of primary formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide emissions from petrochemical flares, Journal of Geophysical Reserch, Volume 118, Issue 15, pages 8716-8728, 16 August 2013, DOI: 10.1002/jgrd.50643 The following papers were submitted to Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research for a Special Issue on Industrial Flaring. The paper edition of this special edition will come out in Fall 2012, but the online versions are available now. Knighton, W.; Herndon, Scott; Wood, Ezra; Fortner, Edward; Onasch, Timothy; Wormhoudt, Joda; Kolb, Charles; Lee, Ben; Zavala, Miguel; Molina, Luisa; Jones, Marvin, "Detecting fugitive emissions of 1, 3-butadiene and styrene from a petrochemical facility: An application of a mobile laboratory and a modified proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer - NO + PTR-MS" Status: Published Online Wood, E.; Herndon, S.; Fortner, E.C.; Onasch, T.' Wormhoudt, J.; Kolb, C.E.; Knighton, W.B.; Lee, B.; Zavala, M.; Molina, L.; Jones, M., "Combustion and Destruction/Removal efficiencies of in-use chemical flares in the greater Houston area". Status: Published Online This project has also resulted in the following publications: Olga Pikelnaya, Jochen Stutz, Scott Herndon, Ezra Wood, Oluwayemisi Oluwole, George Mount, Elena Spinei, William Vizuete, Evan Couzo, "Formaldehyde and Olefin from Large Industrial Sources (FLAIR) in Houston, TX - Campaign Overview", in preparation for Journal of Geophysical Research Olga Pikelnaya, Scott Herndon, Ezra Wood, and Jochen Stutz, "Observations of emissions from ships in the Houston Ship Channel during 2009 FLAIR campaign," under development.
