Quantitative Field Measurement of Soot Emission from a Large Gas Flare Using Sky-LOSA

Johnson, Matthew R.; Devillers, Robin; Thomson, Kevin A.

doi:10.1021/es102230y

Cited by 59 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…A recent study of flaring emissions for the Bakken field extrapolated their results to global estimates of 20 ± 6 Gg BC, assuming the same range of emission factors as measured by them at the Bakken field. This is over 10 times less than our estimates, but we argue that the Bakken flares are not necessarily representative of some of the other regions where strong variability and potentially high soot emissions have been shown by Conrad and Johnson (2017) and Johnson et al (2011) and also speculated in . We found no global estimates of PM emissions from diesel generators, and our estimate of 113 Gg for PM 2.5 and 50 Gg for BC in 2010 confirms that it appears to be a rather small source from a global perspective, and although important locally, it is expected that in the near future with reliable access to grid electricity use of DG sets will be limited particularly in residential, commercial and industrial sectors.…”

Section: Comparison With Other Studiescontrasting

confidence: 72%

Global anthropogenic emissions of particulate matter including black carbon

et al. 2017

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Abstract. This paper presents a comprehensive assessment of historical global anthropogenic particulate matter (PM) emissions including the consistent and harmonized calculation of mass-based size distribution (PM 1 , PM 2.5 , PM 10 ), as well as primary carbonaceous aerosols including black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC). The estimates were developed with the integrated assessment model GAINS, where source-and region-specific technology characteristics are explicitly included. This assessment includes a number of previously unaccounted or often misallocated emission sources, i.e. kerosene lamps, gas flaring, diesel generators, refuse burning; some of them were reported in the past for selected regions or in the context of a particular pollutant or sector but not included as part of a total estimate. Spatially, emissions were calculated for 172 source regions (as well as international shipping), presented for 25 global regions, and allocated to 0.5 • × 0.5 • longitude-latitude grids. No independent estimates of emissions from forest fires and savannah burning are provided and neither windblown dust nor unpaved roads emissions are included.We estimate that global emissions of PM have not changed significantly between 1990 and 2010, showing a strong decoupling from the global increase in energy consumption and, consequently, CO 2 emissions, but there are significantly different regional trends, with a particularly strong increase in East Asia and Africa and a strong decline in Europe, North America, and the Pacific region. This in turn resulted in important changes in the spatial pattern of PM burden, e.g. European, North American, and Pacific contributions to global emissions dropped from nearly 30 % in 1990 to well below 15 % in 2010, while Asia's contribution grew from just over 50 % to nearly two-thirds of the global total in 2010. For all PM species considered, Asian sources represented over 60 % of the global anthropogenic total, and residential combustion was the most important sector, contributing about 60 % for BC and OC, 45 % for PM 2.5 , and less than 40 % for PM 10 , where large combustion sources and industrial processes are equally important. Global anthropogenic emissions of BC were estimated at about 6.6 and 7.2 Tg in 2000 and 2010, respectively, and represent about 15 % of PM 2.5 but for some sources reach nearly 50 %, i.e. for the transport sector. Our global BC numbers are higher than previously published owing primarily to the inclusion of new sources.This PM estimate fills the gap in emission data and emission source characterization required in air quality and climate modelling studies and health impact assessments at a regional and global level, as it includes both carbonaceous and non-carbonaceous constituents of primary particulate matter emissions. The developed emission dataset has been used in several regional and global atmospheric transport and climate model simulations within the ECLIPSE (Evaluating the Climate and Air Quality Impacts of Short-Lived Pollutants) project and beyo...

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Section: Comparison With Other Studiescontrasting

confidence: 72%

Global anthropogenic emissions of particulate matter including black carbon

et al. 2017

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“…For gas flaring in the oil and gas industry, GAINS relies on the time series of gas flaring volumes developed within the Global Gas Flaring Reduction initiative (Elvidge et al, 2007(Elvidge et al, , 2011 and emission factors derived on the basis of particulate matter and soot estimates from CAPP (2007); Johnson et al (2011);US EPA (1995). The current GAINS emission factor for BC (1.6 g Nm −3 gas flared) is higher than recently proposed values (0.51 g Nm −3 ; McEwen and Johnson, 2012).…”

Section: Emission Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Black carbon in the Arctic: the underestimated role of gas flaring and residential combustion emissions

et al. 2013

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Arctic haze is a seasonal phenomenon with high concentrations of accumulation-mode aerosols occurring in the Arctic in winter and early spring. Chemistry transport models and climate chemistry models struggle to reproduce this phenomenon, and this has recently prompted changes in aerosol removal schemes to remedy the modeling problems. In this paper, we show that shortcomings in current emission data sets are at least as important. We perform a 3 yr model simulation of black carbon (BC) with the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART. The model is driven with a new emission data set ("ECLIPSE emissions") which includes emissions from gas flaring. While gas flaring is estimated to contribute less than 3% of global BC emissions in this data set, flaring dominates the estimated BC emissions in the Arctic (north of 66° N). Putting these emissions into our model, we find that flaring contributes 42% to the annual mean BC surface concentrations in the Arctic. In March, flaring even accounts for 52% of all Arctic BC near the surface. Most of the flaring BC remains close to the surface in the Arctic, so that the flaring contribution to BC in the middle and upper troposphere is small. Another important factor determining simulated BC concentrations is the seasonal variation of BC emissions from residential combustion (often also called domestic combustion, which is used synonymously in this paper). We have calculated daily residential combustion emissions using the heating degree day (HDD) concept based on ambient air temperature and compare results from model simulations using emissions with daily, monthly and annual time resolution. In January, the Arctic-mean surface concentrations of BC due to residential combustion emissions are 150% higher when using daily emissions than when using annually constant emissions. While there are concentration reductions in summer, they are smaller than the winter increases, leading to a systematic increase of annual mean Arctic BC surface concentrations due to residential combustion by 68% when using daily emissions. A large part (93%) of this systematic increase can be captured also when using monthly emissions; the increase is compensated by a decreased BC burden at lower latitudes. In a comparison with BC measurements at six Arctic stations, we find that using daily-varying residential combustion emissions and introducing gas flaring emissions leads to large improvements of the simulated Arctic BC, both in terms of mean concentration levels and simulated seasonality. Case studies based on BC and carbon monoxide (CO) measurements from the Zeppelin observatory appear to confirm flaring as an important BC source that can produce pollution plumes in the Arctic with a high BC / CO enhancement ratio, as expected for this source type. BC measurements taken during a research ship cruise in the White, Barents and Kara seas north of the region with strong flaring emissions reveal very high concentrations of the order of 200–400 ng m⁻³. The model underestimates these concentr...

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“…We also include additional BC emissions from gas flaring in the oil and gas industry taken from version 5 of the ECLIPSE (Evaluating the climate and Air Quality Impacts of short-Lived Pollutants) emission inventory (Klimont et al, 2016; http://eclipse.nilu.no). Gas flaring emissions of BC are calculated based on gas flaring volumes developed within the Global Gas Flaring Reduction initiative (Elvidge et al, 2007(Elvidge et al, , 2011 with emission factors derived on the basis of particulate matter and soot estimates from CAPP (2007), Johnson et al (2011) andUS EPA (1995). Despite the small percentage (∼ 5 %) of flaring in total anthropogenic BC emissions over the Northern Hemisphere, flaring from Russia alone accounts for 93 % of total anthropogenic BC emissions within the Arctic in the ECLIPSE inventory.…”

Section: Simulations Of Arctic Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source attribution of Arctic black carbon constrained by aircraft and surface measurements

Martin

Morrow

et al. 2017

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. Black carbon (BC) contributes to Arctic warming, yet sources of Arctic BC and their geographic contributions remain uncertain. We interpret a series of recent airborne (NETCARE 2015; PAMARCMiP 2009 and 2011 campaigns) and ground-based measurements (at Alert, Barrow and Ny-Ålesund) from multiple methods (thermal, laser incandescence and light absorption) with the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model and its adjoint to attribute the sources of Arctic BC. This is the first comparison with a chemical transport model of refractory BC (rBC) measurements at Alert. The springtime airborne measurements performed by the NETCARE campaign in 2015 and the PAMARCMiP campaigns in 2009 and 2011 offer BC vertical profiles extending to above 6 km across the Arctic and include profiles above Arctic ground monitoring stations. Our simulations with the addition of seasonally varying domestic heating and of gas flaring emissions are consistent with ground-based measurements of BC concentrations at Alert and Barrow in winter and spring (rRMSE < 13 %) and with airborne measurements of the BC vertical profile across the Arctic (rRMSE = 17 %) except for an underestimation in the middle troposphere (500-700 hPa).Sensitivity simulations suggest that anthropogenic emissions in eastern and southern Asia have the largest effect on the Arctic BC column burden both in spring (56 %) and annually (37 %), with the largest contribution in the middle troposphere (400-700 hPa). Anthropogenic emissions from northern Asia contribute considerable BC (27 % in spring and 43 % annually) to the lower troposphere (below 900 hPa). Biomass burning contributes 20 % to the Arctic BC column annually.At the Arctic surface, anthropogenic emissions from northern Asia (40-45 %) and eastern and southern Asia (20-40 %) are the largest BC contributors in winter and spring, followed by Europe (16-36 %). Biomass burning from North America is the most important contributor to all stations in summer, especially at Barrow.Our adjoint simulations indicate pronounced spatial heterogeneity in the contribution of emissions to the Arctic BC column concentrations, with noteworthy contributions from emissions in eastern China (15 %) and western Siberia (6.5 %). Although uncertain, gas flaring emissions from oilfields in western Siberia could have a striking impact (13 %) on Arctic BC loadings in January, comparable to the total influence of continental Europe and North America (6.5 % each in January). Emissions from as far as the Indo-Gangetic Plain could have a substantial influence (6.3 % annually) on Arctic BC as well.

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Quantitative Field Measurement of Soot Emission from a Large Gas Flare Using Sky-LOSA

Cited by 59 publications

References 29 publications

Global anthropogenic emissions of particulate matter including black carbon

Global anthropogenic emissions of particulate matter including black carbon

Black carbon in the Arctic: the underestimated role of gas flaring and residential combustion emissions

Source attribution of Arctic black carbon constrained by aircraft and surface measurements

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