scholarly journals Volatile organic compound emissions from the oil and natural gas industry in the Uinta Basin, Utah: point sources compared to ambient air composition

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 11895-11927 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Warneke ◽  
F. Geiger ◽  
P. M. Edwards ◽  
W. Dube ◽  
G. Pétron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Oil Wells ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Mobile Laboratory ◽  
Gas Wells ◽  
Uinta Basin ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas

Abstract. The emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with oil and natural gas production in the Uinta Basin, Utah were measured at a ground site in Horse Pool and from a NOAA mobile laboratory with PTR-MS instruments. The VOC compositions in the vicinity of individual gas and oil wells and other point sources such as evaporation ponds, compressor stations and injection wells are compared to the measurements at Horse Pool. High mixing ratios of aromatics, alkanes, cycloalkanes and methanol were observed for extended periods of time and short-term spikes caused by local point sources. The mixing ratios during the time the mobile laboratory spent on the well pads were averaged. High mixing ratios were found close to all point sources, but gas wells using dry-gas collection, which means dehydration happens at the well, were clearly associated with higher mixing ratios than other wells. Another large source was the flowback pond near a recently hydraulically re-fractured gas well. The comparison of the VOC composition of the emissions from the oil and natural gas wells showed that wet gas collection wells compared well with the majority of the data at Horse Pool and that oil wells compared well with the rest of the ground site data. Oil wells on average emit heavier compounds than gas wells. The mobile laboratory measurements confirm the results from an emissions inventory: the main VOC source categories from individual point sources are dehydrators, oil and condensate tank flashing and pneumatic devices and pumps. Raw natural gas is emitted from the pneumatic devices and pumps and heavier VOC mixes from the tank flashings.

scholarly journals Volatile organic compound emissions from the oil and natural gas industry in the Uintah Basin, Utah: oil and gas well pad emissions compared to ambient air composition

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (20) ◽  
pp. 10977-10988 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Warneke ◽  
F. Geiger ◽  
P. M. Edwards ◽  
W. Dube ◽  
G. Pétron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Oil Well ◽  
Mobile Laboratory ◽  
Gas Well ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas ◽  
Uintah Basin

Abstract. Emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with oil and natural gas production in the Uintah Basin, Utah were measured at a ground site in Horse Pool and from a NOAA mobile laboratory with PTR-MS instruments. The VOC compositions in the vicinity of individual gas and oil wells and other point sources such as evaporation ponds, compressor stations and injection wells are compared to the measurements at Horse Pool. High mixing ratios of aromatics, alkanes, cycloalkanes and methanol were observed for extended periods of time and for short-term spikes caused by local point sources. The mixing ratios during the time the mobile laboratory spent on the well pads were averaged. High mixing ratios were found close to all point sources, but gas well pads with collection and dehydration on the well pad were clearly associated with higher mixing ratios than other wells. The comparison of the VOC composition of the emissions from the oil and natural gas well pads showed that gas well pads without dehydration on the well pad compared well with the majority of the data at Horse Pool, and that oil well pads compared well with the rest of the ground site data. Oil well pads on average emit heavier compounds than gas well pads. The mobile laboratory measurements confirm the results from an emissions inventory: the main VOC source categories from individual point sources are dehydrators, oil and condensate tank flashing and pneumatic devices and pumps. Raw natural gas is emitted from the pneumatic devices and pumps and heavier VOC mixes from the tank flashings.

scholarly journals Underway seawater and atmospheric measurements of volatile organic compounds in the Southern Ocean

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 2593-2619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charel Wohl ◽  
Ian Brown ◽  
Vassilis Kitidis ◽  
Anna E. Jones ◽  
William T. Sturges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Dimethyl Sulfide ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Atmospheric Measurements ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Air Mixing ◽  
Net Flux

Abstract. Dimethyl sulfide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important for atmospheric chemistry. The emissions of biogenically derived organic gases, including dimethyl sulfide and especially isoprene, are not well constrained in the Southern Ocean. Due to a paucity of measurements, the role of the ocean in the atmospheric budgets of atmospheric methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde is even more poorly known. In order to quantify the air–sea fluxes of these gases, we measured their seawater concentrations and air mixing ratios in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, along a ∼ 11 000 km long transect at approximately 60∘ S in February–April 2019. Concentrations, oceanic saturations, and estimated fluxes of five simultaneously sampled gases (dimethyl sulfide, isoprene, methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde) are presented here. Campaign mean (±1σ) surface water concentrations of dimethyl sulfide, isoprene, methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde were 2.60 (±3.94), 0.0133 (±0.0063), 67 (±35), 5.5 (±2.5), and 2.6 (±2.7) nmol dm−3 respectively. In this dataset, seawater isoprene and methanol concentrations correlated positively. Furthermore, seawater acetone, methanol, and isoprene concentrations were found to correlate negatively with the fugacity of carbon dioxide, possibly due to a common biological origin. Campaign mean (±1σ) air mixing ratios of dimethyl sulfide, isoprene, methanol, acetone, and acetaldehyde were 0.17 (±0.09), 0.053 (±0.034), 0.17 (±0.08), 0.081 (±0.031), and 0.049 (±0.040) ppbv. We observed diel changes in averaged acetaldehyde concentrations in seawater and ambient air (and to a lesser degree also for acetone and isoprene), which suggest light-driven production. Campaign mean (±1σ) fluxes of 4.3 (±7.4) µmol m−2 d−1 DMS and 0.028 (±0.021) µmol m−2 d−1 isoprene are determined where a positive flux indicates from the ocean to the atmosphere. Methanol was largely undersaturated in the surface ocean with a mean (±1σ) net flux of −2.4 (±4.7) µmol m−2 d−1, but it also had a few occasional episodes of outgassing. This section of the Southern Ocean was found to be a source and a sink for acetone and acetaldehyde this time of the year, depending on location, resulting in a mean net flux of −0.55 (±1.14) µmol m−2 d−1 for acetone and −0.28 (±1.22) µmol m−2 d−1 for acetaldehyde. The data collected here will be important for constraining the air–sea exchange, cycling, and atmospheric impact of these gases, especially over the Southern Ocean.

scholarly journals Diel and seasonal changes of biogenic volatile organic compounds within and above an Amazonian rainforest

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 3359-3378 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Yáñez-Serrano ◽  
A. C. Nölscher ◽  
J. Williams ◽  
S. Wolff ◽  
E. Alves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Amazonian Rainforest

Abstract. The Amazonian rainforest is a large tropical ecosystem, which is one of the last pristine continental terrains. This ecosystem is ideally located for the study of diel and seasonal behaviour of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in the absence of local human interference. In this study, we report the first atmospheric BVOC measurements at the Amazonian Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) site, located in central Amazonia. A quadrupole proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS), with seven ambient air inlets, positioned from near ground to about 80 m (0.05, 0.5, 4, 24, 38, 53 and 79 m above the forest floor), was deployed for BVOC monitoring. We report diel and seasonal (February–March 2013 as wet season and September 2013 as dry season) ambient mixing ratios for isoprene, monoterpenes, isoprene oxidation products, acetaldehyde, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), methanol and acetonitrile. Clear diel and seasonal patterns were observed for all compounds. In general, lower mixing ratios were observed during night, while maximum mixing ratios were observed during the wet season (February–March 2013), with the peak in solar irradiation at 12:00 LT (local time) and during the dry season (September 2013) with the peak in temperature at 16:00 LT. Isoprene and monoterpene mixing ratios were the highest within the canopy with a median of 7.6 and 1 ppb, respectively (interquartile range (IQR) of 6.1 and 0.38 ppb) during the dry season (at 24 m, from 12:00 to 15:00 LT). The increased contribution of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) above the canopy indicated a transition from dominating forest emissions during the wet season (when mixing ratios were higher than within the canopy), to a blend of biogenic emission, photochemical production and advection during the dry season when mixing ratios were higher above the canopy. Our observations suggest strong seasonal interactions between environmental (insolation, temperature) and biological (phenology) drivers of leaf BVOC emissions and atmospheric chemistry. Considerable differences in the magnitude of BVOC mixing ratios, as compared to other reports of Amazonian BVOC, demonstrate the need for long-term observations at different sites and more standardized measurement procedures, in order to better characterize the natural exchange of BVOCs between the Amazonian rainforest and the atmosphere.

scholarly journals Assessment of Uinta Basin Oil and Natural Gas Well Pad Pneumatic Controller Emissions

2017 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 394-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eben D. Thoma ◽  
Parikshit Deshmukh ◽  
Russell Logan ◽  
Michael Stovern ◽  
Chris Dresser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Uinta Basin ◽  
Gas Well ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas

scholarly journals Underway seawater and atmospheric measurements of volatile organic compounds in the Southern Ocean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charel Wohl ◽  
Ian Brown ◽  
Vassilis Kitidis ◽  
Anna E. Jones ◽  
William T. Sturges ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Dimethyl Sulfide ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Atmospheric Measurements ◽  
Biological Origin ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Air Mixing

Abstract. Dimethyl sulfide and volatile organic compounds and are important for atmospheric chemistry. The oceanic emissions of biogenically derived gases, including dimethyl sulfide and especially isoprene, are not well constrained. The role of the ocean in the global budgets of atmospheric methanol, acetone and acetaldehyde is even more poorly known. In order to quantify the air-sea fluxes of these gases we measured their seawater concentrations and air mixing ratios in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, along a ~ 11 000 km long transect at approximately 60° S in Feb–Apr 2019. Concentrations, oceanic saturations and estimated fluxes of several simultaneously sampled volatile organic compounds (methanol, acetone, acetaldehyde, dimethyl sulfide and isoprene) are presented here. Campaign mean (± 1σ) surface water concentrations of dimethyl sulfide, isoprene, methanol, acetone and acetaldehyde were 2.60 (± 3.94), 0.0133 (± 0.0063), 67 (± 35), 5.5 (± 2.5) and 2.6 (± 2.7) nmol dm−3 respectively. In this dataset, seawater isoprene and methanol concentrations correlated positively. Furthermore, seawater acetone, methanol and isoprene concentrations were found to correlate negatively with the fugacity of carbon dioxide, possibly due to a common biological origin. Campaign mean (± 1σ) air mixing ratios of methanol, acetone and acetaldehyde were relatively low at 0.17 (± 0.08), 0.081 (± 0.031) and 0.049 (± 0.040) ppbv. We observed diel changes in averaged acetaldehyde concentrations in seawater and ambient air (and to a lesser degree also for acetone and isoprene), which suggest light-driven productions. Campaign mean (± 1σ) fluxes of 4.3 (± 7.4) µmol m−2 d−1 DMS and 0.028 (± 0.021) µmol m−2 d−1 isoprene are determined where a positive flux indicates from the ocean to the atmosphere. Methanol was largely undersaturated in the surface ocean with a mean (± 1σ) net flux of −2.4 (± 4.7) µmol m−2 d−1, but also had a few occasional episodes of outgassing This section of the Southern Ocean was found to be both a source and a sink for acetone and acetaldehyde this time of the year, depending on location, resulting in a mean flux of −0.55 (± 1.15) µmol m−2 d−1 for acetone and −0.28 (± 1.22) µmol m−2 d−1 for acetaldehyde. The data collected here will be important for constraining the oceanic source/sink of these gases and potentially help to elucidate the presence of common sources/sinks for these compounds.

scholarly journals Photochemical aging of volatile organic compounds associated with oil and natural gas extraction in the Uintah Basin, UT, during a wintertime ozone formation event

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 5727-5741 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Koss ◽  
J. de Gouw ◽  
C. Warneke ◽  
J. B. Gilman ◽  
B. M. Lerner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Emission Rate ◽  
Secondary Compounds ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Carbon Mass ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas ◽  
Emission Ratios

Abstract. High concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with oil and natural gas extraction were measured during a strong temperature inversion in the winter of 2013 at a rural site in the Uintah Basin, Utah. During this period, photochemistry enhanced by the stagnant meteorological conditions and concentrated VOCs led to high ozone mixing ratios (150 ppbv). A simple analysis of aromatic VOCs measured by proton-transfer-reaction mass-spectrometry (PTR-MS) is used to estimate (1) VOC emission ratios (the ratio of two VOCs at the time of emission) relative to benzene, (2) aromatic VOC emission rates, and (3) ambient OH radical concentrations. These quantities are determined from a best fit to VOC : benzene ratios as a function of time. The main findings are that (1) emission ratios are consistent with contributions from both oil and gas producing wells; (2) the emission rate of methane (27–57 × 103 kg methane h−1), extrapolated from the emission rate of benzene (4.1 ± 0.4 × 105 molecules cm−3 s−1), agrees with an independent estimate of methane emissions from aircraft measurements in 2012; and (3) calculated daily OH concentrations are low, peaking at 1 × 106 molecules cm−3, and are consistent with Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) modeling. The analysis is extended to photochemical production of oxygenated VOCs measured by PTR-MS and is able to explain daytime variability of these species. It is not able to completely reproduce nighttime behavior, possibly due to surface deposition. Using results from this analysis, the carbon mass of secondary compounds expected to have formed by the sixth day of the stagnation event was calculated, then compared to the measured mass of primary and secondary compounds. Only 17% of the expected secondary carbon mass is accounted for by gas phase, aerosol, and snow organic carbon measurements. The disparity is likely due to substantial amounts of unquantified oxygenated products.

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