| Abstract Title: | Quantification of fugitive dust emissions from bulk solids managing activities in ports |
| Presenter Name: | Dr Vicenta Sanfelix |
| Co-authors: | Dr Irina Celades Dr Alberto Escrig Dr Ana Lopez-Lilao Prof Eliseo Monfort |
| Company/Organisation: | Instituto de Tecnologia Cerámica |
| Country: | Spain |
Abstract Information :
Activities developed in ports can entail the generation of atmospheric emissions that can affect the health of people living in nearby communities, as well as contributing significantly to regional air pollution problems. The major air pollutants related to port activities include particulate matter from bulk solids managing and shipping emissions.
In the case of bulk solids managing, the fugitive emissions, those that are pollutant releases that are not discharge into the air from a somewhat disperse area or volume, are a major environmental issue.
The relative importance of fugitive emissions in bulk solids terminals and in certain industrial activities has induced the quantification of fugitive particulate matter emissions and it is becoming increasing priority. However, the experimental measurement of fugitive emissions of particulate matter entails inherent complexity because they are usually discontinuous, of short duration, may be mobile, and are affected by weather conditions, so specific information in this regard is scarce.
Despite this complexity, a dispersion model that enables satisfactory dispersion calculations was developed. This consists of numerically solving the pollutant transport equation, while incorporating the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. By using this numerical approach, in contrast to Gaussian dispersion models, wind shear effects and plume meandering were accounted for directly. The developed model is considered sufficiently flexible to realistically model fugitive PM sources.
Source inversion by dispersion modelling of air pollutants requires field campaigns in which the relevant pollutant concentrations, in this case PM10, are measured at a sufficient number of points and resolution (ranges from seconds). Weather data, such as high-frequency wind speed, friction velocity, and sensible heat flux, were also needed as model inputs. Finally, a detailed characterization of the sources at issue was performed.
The model is applied to field campaigns determining specific PM10 emission factors for several fugitive sources: raw materials loading and unloading at bulk solids wharves and truck circulation. These sources were studied under actual operating conditions. Different raw materials were handled during the experimental campaigns. A physical characterization (the particle size distribution, specific surface area, and Hausner ratio) of these materials was studied, in order to evaluate the influence of some parameters of the material on the dustiness.
The dispersion model developed, and the methodology proposed for carrying out the experimental campaigns have allowed to obtain PM10 fugitive emissions factors satisfactorily.
The studied materials were found to exhibit significantly different fugitive emissions under the handling operation conditions used. These differences cannot be explained in terms of generic emissions factors. These limitations suggest more accurate quantification of fugitive PM emissions is needing to enable identification of the most problematic operations in order to select appropriate corrective measures.
