Abstract
Toxic air pollutants were investigated in a petrochemical industrial park in Taiwan using a movable open-path Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results show the qualitative and quantitative analysis of emission gases from plants, and also provide the emission rates of various compounds. More than twenty compounds under usual operation were found from this industrial park. The concentration variation with time could be correlated exactly with the distances from the emission source along the wind direction. This means that by changing the measuring points the source of emission could be unambiguously identified. The point, area and line source (PAL) plume dispersion model has been applied to estimate the emission rate of either a point or an area source. The local atmospheric stability was determined by releasing an SF6 tracer. The origin of errors came mainly from the uncertainty of the source configuration and the variation of the meteorological condition. Through continuous measurement using a portable open-path Fourier transform infrared (POP-FTIR) spectrometer, the maximum value of the emission rate and the annual amount of emission could be derived. The emission rate of the measured toxic gases was derived by the model technique, and the results show that the emission amount is on the order of ten to hundred tonnes per year.
