Concentration characteristics of VOCs and acids/bases in the gas phase and water-soluble ions in the particle phase at an electrical industry park during construction and mass production

Abstract

The electronics industry is a major business in the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP). Particulate samples and 11 water-soluble ionic species in the particulate phase were measured by ionic chromatography (IC). Additionally, acid and base gases were sampled by denuder absorption and analyzed by IC. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were collected in stainless-steel canisters four times daily and analyzed via gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Ozone formation potential (OFP) was measured using maximum increment reactivity. In addition, airborne pollutants during (1) construction and (2) mass production were measured. Particulate matter concentration did not increase significantly near the optoelectronic plant during construction, but it was higher than during mass production. SO(2), HNO(2) and NH(3) were the dominant gases in the denuder absorption system. Nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium ions predominated both in PM(2.5) and PM(10-2.5); but calcium ion concentration was significantly higher in PM(10-2.5) samples during construction. Toluene, propane, isopentane, and n-butane may have come from vehicle exhaust. Construction equipment emitted high concentrations of ethylbenzene, m-xylene, p-xylene, o-xylene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and toluene. During mass production, methyl ethyl ketone), acetone and ethyl acetate were significantly higher than during construction, although there was continuous rain. The aromatic group constituted >50% of the VOC concentration totals and contributed >70% of OFP.

Characteristics and Source Apportionment of Ambient Volatile Organic Compounds in a Science Park in Central Taiwan

“…This cluster of compounds matched those of solvent profiles used in the high-tech industries, including integrated circuit, semiconductor, optoelectronic, and precision machinery industries (Lu et al, 2006;Chan and Lai, 2010;Tsai et al, 2011;Beyersdorf et al, 2012). The aromatic VOCs (toluene, benzene) together with n-pentane and hexane also suggested two possible sources of traffic emissions and gasoline vapor evaporations (Wang and Zhao, 2008;Chang et al, 2009;Wang et al, 2010;Civan et al, 2011;Peng et al, 2013;Fanizza et al, 2014).…”

“…Eleven of these 18 VOC species are specified as HAPs by the US-EPA (1996). Measurements reveal that the three dominant Lu et al (2006) and Tsai et al (2011) Circuit manufacturing, Precision machinery, Organic solvents propane, heptane, acetone, hexane, npentane, acetonitrile, methylene chloride Kuo et al (2007); Civan et al (2011);Huang et al (2012) and Lan et al (2014) species were 2-butanone (8.60 ± 0.98 ppbv), toluene (6.13 ± 1.67 ppbv), and acetone (6.03 ± 2.79 ppbv), while most other species were present at concentrations of below 1.00 ppbv. On average, the most abundant hydrocarbon group was ketones (56.95%), followed by aromatic compounds (27.75%), alkanes (8.33%), fluoroalkanes (3.40%), chloroalkanes (2.47%), and nitrile compounds (1.10%).…”

“…Acetone is a widely-used organic solvent in chemical and semiconductor industries (Lu et al, 2006;Tsai et al, 2011;Lan et al, 2014). Meanwhile, trichlorofluoromethane and dichlorodifluoromethane were related to the emissions from refrigerator factories (Huang et al, 2012).…”

“…The concentration profiles at the four sites were clearly similar in that 2-butanone (8.60 ± 0.98 ppbv), toluene (6.13 ± 1.67 ppbv), and acetone (6.03 ± 2.79 ppbv) were the three dominant species, and the other species were minor with concentrations of less than 1.00 ppbv. These three species are commonly utilized as solvents or cleaning liquids in semiconductor plants (Pethrick and Rankin, 1998;Chan and Lai, 2010;Tsai et al, 2011).…”

Increased Risk of Respiratory Mortality Associated with the High-Tech Manufacturing Industry: A 26-Year Study

“…The development of industrial clusters can change a country’s industrial and labor structure, as well as affect environmental quality and population health. Many studies have monitored environmental quality near the high-tech manufacturing industry in Taiwan and identified several ambient air pollutants—such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as well as acid and base air pollutants—associated with emissions [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Even though the releases of specific air pollutants have been identified, health effects from these pollutants have not been determined.…”