Characteristics of malodor pollutants and aromatic VOCs around an urban valley in Korea

Abstract

In this study, the environmental behavior of malodor pollutants (MPs) [including reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs)] and aromatic volatile organic compounds (AVOCs) were investigated around urban valley areas during several field campaigns (February through December 2006). The MPs measured in the study area include the RSCs (H(2)S, CH(3)SH, DMS, and DMDS), ammonia (NH(3)), and styrene (STY); the AVOCs include benzene (BEN), toluene (TOL), ethylbenzene (EB), m,p-xylene (MPX), and o-xylene (OX). The variation of most MP concentrations (except for DMDS) was found to be larger than that of AVOCs. It was found that STY (2,346 +/- 4,867 ppbv) was the most dominant MP followed by NH(3) (447 +/- 285), CH(3)SH (16 +/- 41), and the others (<8). The magnitude of AVOCs was found in the following descending order: TOL (1.4 +/- 2.2 ppbv), EB (1.0 +/- 2.1), MPX (0.9 +/- 2.0), and the others (<0.8). The concentration levels of most MPs on industrial (I) and downwind (D) sites were up to an order of magnitude higher than those at non-industrial (N) and upwind (U) sites. For most AVOCs, the former was ~3 times higher than the latter. For malodor intensity in RSCs, CH(3)SH was the dominant contributor. The concentration difference in target compounds between the sites/periods is likely to be caused by the combined effects such as emission sources, geographical features (e.g., semi-closed topography), and meteorological conditions (e.g., wind directions) in and outside the urban valley.

Analysis and monitoring of odour and semi-volatile organic compounds in different environmental matrices via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

“…Results showed that OI for DMS throughout all study had a mean value of 1.82, minimum of 1.54 and maximum of 2.14. The odor intensity computed for the DMS is in good accordance with previous studies outside Singapore made either in ambient air at industrial sites [309,324,332,333] or in urban background air. [294,334,335]…”

The Influence of Meteorological Conditions and Complex Topography on Ozone Concentrations in a Valley Area near Coastal Metropolitan Cities

“…1). This city includes complex terrain with a valley area surrounded by a number of mountains, public buildings, and residential areas (Song et al 2009;Song et al 2010a). It also includes a variety of source regions (e.g., industrial complexes) of pollutant gases in the vicinity of the central downtown area (Fig.…”

Meteorological and Chemical Behavior of Gaseous Sulfur Compounds in and around an Urban Valley

“…1). Since the early 2000s, Yangsan city has rapidly become urbanized and industrialized, causing a substantial increase in the concentration of odorous pollutants due to large point sources, geographical features (e.g., semi-closed topography), and meteorological conditions (e.g., dispersion) (Song et al 2009b). It also includes a variety of source regions such as the industrial complexes (ICs) of Eogok (EG IC), Sanmak (SM IC), Yangsan (YS IC), and Bukjeong IC (BJ IC) located around an urban center area of Yangsan; Ungsang (US IC) and Ungbi IC (UB IC) located in the Ungsang area (the northeastern part of the study area) (Fig.…”

“…Air samples for the RSCs in eight sampling locations (S1 -S8), which are industrial source regions, were collected using a vacuum sampling system to fill a polyester aluminum bag (PAB) on 21 October 2008. The concentrations of RSCs were determined using a GC (GC-17A, Shimadzu Corp., Japan) with a flame photometric detector (FPD) (Song et al 2009b). The eight sampling locations were: S1 -S3, in tire plants (0.5 km away from EG IC); S4, in a waste water disposal plant (nearly 4 km south of EG IC); S5, in a oil refinery (located between SM and BJ ICs); S6, in a paper mill/incineration plant (a circumferential area of US IC); and S7 -S8, in livestock feedlots (located between US and UB ICs) (Fig.…”

“…Note that the sampling time was separated into two periods (morning and afternoon) during the measurement day to simultaneously investigate the meteorological and chemical behavior of RSCs and SO 2 . Detailed descriptions of the target area and RSCs measurements are in Song et al (2009b).…”