Sky-Scattered Solar Radiation Based Plume Transmissivity Measurement to Quantify Soot Emissions from Flares

For gas flares typical of the upstream energy industry and similar point sources, most current methods for characterizing soot emissions are based on plume opacity rather than a quantitative measure of mass flux. The absence of more quantitative approaches is indicative of the inherent complexity of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2010-11, Vol.44 (21), p.8196-8202
Main Authors: Johnson, Matthew R., Devillers, Robin W., Yang, Chen, Thomson, Kevin A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air Pollutants - analysis
Air Pollutants - chemistry
Algorithms
Applied sciences
Atmosphere - chemistry
Emissions
Environmental Measurements Methods
Environmental Monitoring - methods
Environmental science
Exact sciences and technology
Industrial Waste - analysis
Interpolation
Pollution
Power Plants
Solar Energy
Soot - analysis
Soot - chemistry
Ultraviolet radiation
Velocity
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Summary:For gas flares typical of the upstream energy industry and similar point sources, most current methods for characterizing soot emissions are based on plume opacity rather than a quantitative measure of mass flux. The absence of more quantitative approaches is indicative of the inherent complexity of soot and the difficulties in characterizing emissions in an unbounded plume. A new experimental approach has been developed for the investigation of soot emissions in industrial plumes. Referred to as sky-LOSA, the diagnostic permits evaluation of 2D spatially resolved monochromatic sky-light transmissivity data over the width of a plume, where sky-light intensities behind the plume are obtained via an interpolation algorithm. By using Rayleigh−Debye−Gans Fractal Aggregate theory to relate transmissivity data to soot concentrations, and with knowledge of the velocity of the plume, it is possible to quantify mass flow rates of soot in a plume. Experiments on an unconfined lab-scale soot plume were used to support a detailed uncertainty analysis under a wide range of conditions and to estimate sensitivity limits of the technique. Results suggest field measurements of soot emission from flare plumes should be possible with overall uncertainties of less than 32%. This represents a significant advancement over existing techniques based on opacity measurements.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es1024838