Temporal and spatial variations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations around a coke oven plant

Abstract

Around a coking plant, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), concentrations depend mainly on downwind hours and distance. Equations that best fit these variables were experimentally calculated. Fugitive emissions of an old coke oven did not comply with the threshold BAP air concentration proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 1,900 m distance. The study identified the PAH profile of fugitive emissions of a coke oven, statistically different from the profile of traffic emissions. During its activity, in the Genoa residential area, 575 m away from the plant, 92.8% of found PAHs was due to coke oven emission only.

A novel system for the abatement of fugitive emissions during charging in a by-product coke oven

“…In order to quantify the fugitive emissions that affect the operators and the environmental quality of the areas surrounding the plant, a regular monitoring activity has been carried out both within the coke plant (internal monitoring) and in the adjacent areas (environmental monitoring). The absolute relevance of the coking process with regard to the emission of PAH in the area has been confirmed, in the case study, by the air quality monitoring network, which uses a sampling station close (200 m) to the coke plant; this situation is in line with those described in other studies [9][10][11][12].…”