Download - Picarro Drive-By Emissions Testing of Refineries in New Orleans and Paper Mills in Mississippi Showing Methane and Hydrogen Sulfide Plumes

Environmental Surveys – CH4 and H2S

Chris Rella, Director of R&D ([email protected])

Picarro, Inc.

2

Methodology

• Picarro CRDS CH4 & H2S instrument– ppb resolution for

both gases in just a few seconds

– Accurate, robust, and easy-to-deploy

• High resolution GPS• Batteries for mobile

operation

Gas snorkelGPS antenna

batteriesPicarro CRDS

Norco Refinery Area25 Jan 2010

4

Local meteorology

• Weather station near to the Valero & Shell refineries

5

Looking into the wind

• Plume visible in close, mid-distance, and long distance transects

• Most distant transect is almost 6 miles away!

• Highest peaks are 1.5 ppmv above baseline

6

Leak detection near Narco

• There is a sign right here that says “buried high pressure natural gas pipeline”

• Peaks are very high (several ppm of CH4)

wind

Chalmette Refinery Area25 Jan 2010

8

Chalmette area

• No nearby weather stations, used this one

9

Chamette Refining

wind

10

Chalmette Refining, cont’d

• Near and far transects of the Chalmette Refining plume

• Peaks are 400 ppb above baseline levels

11

Murphy Oil Refinery (looking downwind)

• Peaks are 1 ppmv above baseline levels

12

Old Paris Road Landfill

13

Two Landfills

2 miles

Unknown source

Bogalusa Linerboard Mill26 Jan 2010

15

Local Meteorology

16

Temple Inland Mill, Bogalusa, LA

• Manufactures linerboard – unbleached kraft

paperboard used for the flat facing material in corrugated container board (i.e., cardboard box)

• Capacity 770,000 kg / year

• Information courtesy of www.cpbis.gatech.edu

http://www.cpbis.gatech.edu/

17

Hydrogen sulfide measurements in Bogalusa

• Image facing ENE (i.e., ~ downwind)

• Hydrogen sulfide peaks are about 35 ppb high

• Measurements made from 11:15 – 12:00

18

methane measurements in Bogalusa

• Very sharp, very high peaks of methane– Highest peaks are 2

ppm above background level

• Unknown source(s), both inside the Temple Inland fenceline, and outside

New Augusta Market Pulp Mill26 Jan 2010

20

Local Meteorology

Georgia Pacific Pulp mill

21

Georgia Pacific Market Pulp Mill

• Manufactures market pulp– Pulp produced at one location, to

be sold and used at another location to make paper or board; includes bleached paper-grade chemical pulp, deinked (recycled) market pulp, dissolving pulp, cotton linter pulp

• Capacity 550,000 kg / year• Information courtesy of

www.cpbis.gatech.edu

http://www.cpbis.gatech.edu/

22

Hydrogen sulfide measurements in New Augusta

• Image facing E (i.e., ~ downwind)

• Hydrogen sulfide peaks are about 20 ppb high

• Stationary data collected at arrow locations

23

methane measurements in New Augusta

• Source of methane near south end of mill

• Peaks are 350 ppb above baseline

Supplemental Slide

25

Stationary Plume – methane / H2S midfield plume analysis – New Augusta mill

Methane appears to have a sharp secondary spike