Avaliação de métodos de estimativa de emissões de compostos orgânicos voláteis de tanques de armazenamento de petróleo e derivados e modelagem de dispersão atmosférica

Abstract

Tropospheric ozone is one of the major air quality problems in big cities. It is import to fully understand the precursors of this secondary pollutant so that strategy controls can be effective. Hydrocarbon storage tanks are great contributors of volatile organic compounds (VOC) to the atmosphere. Nonetheless, measurement techniques of theses emissions can be expensive and are not always possible. This paper aims to estimate VOC emissions from storage tanks using different methodologies. Results were afterwards put into an atmospheric dispersion model (AERMOD) to analyze how emission variations alter pollutant concentrations in the air. Literature research showed that monthly calculations using EPA s AP 42 chapter 7 equations are the most adequate method for storage tanks emission estimation. In order to evaluate the variability of the results, emissions of six tanks were calculated using three different methods. It was possible to determine footsteps for adequate calculation of VOC losses, as well as points of attention and the most significant input data for each type of tank. The air dispersion model proved to be sensible to the emission of each scenario, reinforcing the importance for using the right tool for both emission inventories calculation and environmental impact assessments.