test
Search publications, data, projects and authors

Other

English

ID: <

10670/1.10402/era.25522

>

·

DOI: <

10.7939/r3fv3n

>

Where these data come from
Review of Technologies for the Characterization and Monitoring of VOCs, Reduced Sulphur Compounds and CH4

Abstract

The overall goal of this project is to better understand the advantages and limitations of air emission pollutant characterization and monitoring techniques from area sources. This will allow for the selection of current technologies that are most suitable for measuring fugitive emissions of air pollutants from oil sands tailings ponds. The project consists of the following tasks: Task 1: Review concentration measurement technologies for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) reduced sulphur compounds (including H2S), and CH4. Task 2: Review flux measurement technologies that are used or can be used to measure air pollutant emissions from oil sand tailing ponds. Task 1: Review concentration measurement technologies for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), reduced sulphur compounds, and CH4 Methodology A review was conducted to determine the available technologies for characterizing and measuring the flux of each of the three groups of pollutants (VOCs, reduced sulphur compounds, and CH4). The review of the technologies included the following: a short description of the technology and its operating principle; instrument sensitivity (detection limit); advantages and limitations of the technique (performance, versatility, reliability); and cost, whenever possible. Costs do not include the labour to collect samples or the costs involved in running the analyses at other laboratories, as these are variable. However, such costs should be weighed when considering the application of the different technologies. Sample collecting procedures are important as they may affect the accuracy and precision of the technologies; these techniques are generally standard and have not been focused on for this report. Technologies for VOC Characterization The technologies for VOC characterization were classified into conventional analytical technologies (based on laboratory and field techniques) and remote sensing monitoring technologies (based on field techniques). The following technologies have been reviewed and assessed: • Conventional Analytical Technologies o Flame Ionization Detection (FID) o Infrared (IR) Absorption Spectroscopy o Photo Ionization Detection (PID) o Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) o Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) o Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopy • Remote Sensing Monitoring Technologies o Open Path Fourier Transform Infrared (OP-FTIR) Spectroscopy o Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) o Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) o Differential Absorption LIDAR (DIAL) o Solar Occultation Flux (SOF) Technologies for Reduced Sulphur Compound Characterization The technologies for reduced sulphur compound characterization were classified into conventional analytical technologies (based on laboratory techniques and field techniques) and remote sensing monitoring technologies (based on field techniques). The following technologies have been reviewed and assessed: • Conventional Analytical Technologies o Flame Photometric Detection (FPD) o Pulsed Flame Photometric Detection (PFPD) o Sulphur Chemiluminescence Detection (SCD) o Photo Ionization Detectors (PID) o Ultraviolet (UV) Spectrometric Detection • Remote Sensing Monitoring Technologies o Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) o Image Multi-Spectral Sensing (IMSS) o Differential Absorption LIDAR (DIAL) o Open Path Fourier Transform Infrared (OP- FTIR) Spectroscopy Technologies for CH4 Characterization The technologies for CH4 characterization were classified into conventional analytical technologies (based on laboratory and field techniques) and remote sensing monitoring technologies (based on field techniques). The following technologies have been reviewed and assessed: • Conventional Analytical Technologies o Infrared (IR) Absorption o Mid-Infrared Polarization Spectroscopy o Photoacoustic Absorption Spectroscopy (PAS) o Solid State (SS) sensor o Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy (WMS) • Remote Sensing Monitoring Technologies o Radial Plume Mapping (RPM) o Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) o Correlation Spectroscopy (CS) o Airborne Natural Gas Emission Lidar (ANGEL) Task 2: Review flux measurement technologies that are used or can be used to measure emissions from air pollutant emissions and greenhouse gases from oil sand tailing ponds. The technologies for measuring concentration fluxes of fugitive emissions within the atmosphere were also classified into conventional analytical techniques and remote sensing monitoring technologies (all based on field techniques). The following technologies have been reviewed and assessed: • Conventional Analytical Techniques o Chamber Methods o Eddy Covariance (EC) o Eddy Accumulation and Relaxed Eddy Accumulation o Flux Gradient Techniques o Mass Balance Techniques o Tracer Gas Method • Remote Sensing Monitoring Technologies o Solar Occultation Flux (SOF) o Nocturnal Boundary Layer Box Method o Radial Plume Mapping (RPM) The report concludes with recommendations for technologies to use for monitoring air emissions from oil sands tailings ponds based on the following factors: spatial coverage, quantification of the pollutants, determination of emission factor, characterization of VOC speciation, and frequency of monitoring. For a variety of reasons there may not be one technology that is best suited for emission measurements across the oil sands region, and it is important to understand the different advantages and limitations of the technologies when selecting an option and interpreting the resulting data.

Your Feedback

Please give us your feedback and help us make GoTriple better.
Fill in our satisfaction questionnaire and tell us what you like about GoTriple!