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An evaluation of CO, CO2, and SO2 emissions during continuous and non-continuous operation in a gas refinery using the AERMOD

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Abstract

Air quality modeling can be considered as a useful tool to predict air quality in the future and determine the control strategies of emissions abatement. In this study, the AERMOD dispersion model has been applied as a tool for the analysis of the values of pollutant emissions from the flares of the Maroon gas refinery located in the suburb of Ahvaz, Iran. First, the values of pollutant emissions from the refinery’s flares were investigated by measurement and using the emission factors during cold and warm seasons of 2018. The gas burns continuously in two flares and the other 11 flares are used in emergency situations and only their spark plugs are lit. The type of compounds and their molar, volumetric, and weight percentages were determined by gas chromatography (GC) injection. By entering data such as emission rate, flare characteristics, and topographic and meteorological data of the study area into the AERMOD model, dispersion of pollutants was predicted by using the AERMOD model in the region with an area of 2500 km2. The statistical evaluation showed that the maximum 8-h concentration of CO in the cold season was 133441 μg/m3 which was higher than the standard and reached 9755 μg/m3 in the warm season that was close to the standard. The maximum hourly concentration of SO2 was in the cold season with 215 μg/m3 that was higher than the standard value, occurred in a local scale of 50 km2. This can be attributed to the high concentration of SO2 wet deposition. According to the direction of the wind from the northwest, pollutant emissions can lead to adverse health effects on the population of refinery employees, residents around the refinery, and occupants of passing vehicles. The concentration of pollutants generated due to the high volume of heavier compounds in the gas in the winter season was higher than that of the warm season. Comparison of maximum concentrations of the predicted results with the national and international standards showed that SO2 and CO concentration is higher than standard values. In total, according to the evaluation of the predictions made, the performance of the AERMOD model was acceptable in the prediction of pollutant concentrations in the study area.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from the Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz branch, Maroon Oil & Gas Production Company, Iran Meteorological Organizations, and National Iranian South Oil Company.

Funding

This work was financially supported by grant: (Ph.D thesis Seyed Sadegh Mousavi) from Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz branch.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Ahvaz branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

    Seyed Sadegh Mousavi, Sima Sabzalipour, Maryam Mohammadi Rouzbahani & Elham Mobarak Hassan

  2. Air Pollution and Respiratory Diseases (APRD) Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

    Gholamreza Goudarzi

Authors
  1. Seyed Sadegh Mousavi
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  2. Gholamreza Goudarzi
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  3. Sima Sabzalipour
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  4. Maryam Mohammadi Rouzbahani
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  5. Elham Mobarak Hassan
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Contributions

Study concept, design, and critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Seyed Sadegh Mousavi, Gholamreza Goudarzi, Sima Sabzalipour, Maryam Mohammadi Rouzbahani, Elham Mobarak Hassan; drafting of the manuscript and advisor: Seyed Sadegh Mousavi; performing the experiments: Seyed Sadegh Mousavi, Gholamreza Goudarzi; revised the manuscript and finalizing: Gholamreza Goudarzi, Seyed Sadegh Mousavi, and Maryam Mohammadi Rouzbahani.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gholamreza Goudarzi.

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Ethical approval

This study was originally approved by the Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz branch Ph.D thesis of Seyed Sadegh Mousavi with code number 8663.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Mousavi, S.S., Goudarzi, G., Sabzalipour, S. et al. An evaluation of CO, CO2, and SO2 emissions during continuous and non-continuous operation in a gas refinery using the AERMOD. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 56996–57008 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14493-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14493-2

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