Thesis
Estimation of PM2.5 emission factors from wheat xonveying operations using an atmospheric tracer ratio method
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
07/2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000004126
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/125084
Abstract
Particulate matter pollution is associated with adverse effects on human health and the environment. To protect public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) established National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particles with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) and less than 10 micrometers (PM10). There is no designated PM2.5 emission factor for grain conveyance. Instead, Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) uses an emission factor for headhouse and grain handling operations to issue permits. This factor is suspected to overestimate the actual PM2.5 emissions from grain conveyance. The primary goal of this work was to estimate the PM2.5 emission factor from wheat conveying operations at the Ritzville Warehouse Company Templin Terminal facility using an atmospheric tracer ratio method, with CO2 gas as the tracer. The estimated PM2.5 emission factor was compared with the current emission factor used by Ecology and that obtained from inverse modeling and ambient PM2.5 measurements. The factor estimated using the inverse Gaussian model was within a factor ranging between 2 to 10 with the results obtained by the tracer ratio method. The emission factor currently used by Ecology for grain conveyance was approximately 240 times higher than that estimated with the tracer ratio method. A consistent PM2.5 to tracer gas ratio over the tests showed that PM2.5 and CO2 disperse in a similar manner and confirmed that the CO2 tracer release was a reliable simulation of the PM2.5 pollutant source over distances involved in the study (less than 10 meters). Another goal of this study was to estimate dispersion coefficients using the Gaussian best-fit curve approach and the cross-wind integrated concentration method over very short distances. Additional small-scale tracer tests were conducted, and the data were analyzed to estimate the plume dispersion coefficients at distances from 2 to 10 m downwind. The estimated dispersion coefficients were [sigma]y = 0.32 * [sigma]v * x/u and [sigma]z = 0.50 * [sigma]w * x/u for the horizontal and the vertical dispersion coefficients, respectively. These results show that the standard, near source Taylor equations overestimate the dispersion coefficients for very small distances, but the results are very similar to estimates in the literature for distances out to several hundred meters.
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Details
- Title
- Estimation of PM2.5 emission factors from wheat xonveying operations using an atmospheric tracer ratio method
- Creators
- Anna Potapova
- Contributors
- Candis Sue Claiborn (Advisor) - Washington State University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Identifiers
- 99900890782201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis