Remote sensing of gaseous pollutant and particulate matter exhausts from combustion processes: application to the flare of a petroleum refinery

• Grant number: 12/00809-1
• Support type: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - Brazil
• Duration: March 05, 2012 - March 04, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal researcher: Eduardo Landulfo
• Grantee: Eduardo Landulfo
• Visiting researcher: Riad Bourayou
• Visiting researcher institution: Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Brazil
• Home Institution: Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN). Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 08/57708-7 - CEPEMA-USP, AP.TEM

Abstract

The present research application supports the project FAPESP 2008/57708-7 which aims at measuring the dispersion of pollutants in the vicinity of industrial complexes. More specifically, we derive 2 goals: first, we would contribute to the ongoing study on the dispersion of exhaust plumes from industrial flare using an adapted LIDAR technique, the topic of the doctoral research of Ms. Renata Facundes da Costa. Our second objective is the extension of this monitoring of these particulate and gaseous pollutants through the adaptation of three optical techniques relying on the spectral specificity of the pollutants. Routinely used in well-equipped laboratories working on combustion systems since the end of the last century, the techniques of laser induced fluorescence (LIF), laser induced incandescence (LII) will be extended for remote sensing capabilities for the context of an industrial (buoyant) flare. The FTIR spectroscopy, present in analytic chemistry laboratories, will be implemented for the passive remote sensing mode. Following the aim of mapping the soot in flames and the plume, the proposed study targets the union of remote sensing techniques for the analysis of the chemical composition of atmospheric effluents. The techniques of LIF, LII, LIDAR and FTIR emission spectroscopy, operated at remote distance from the hostile reactive medium, respond to the industrial necessities for combustion process control, detection of fugitive and accidental atmospheric losses and air quality monitoring. This work consists of light technical improvements of the existing materiel, the definition of a theoretical framework for the interpretation of the measurement data and the methodological concept for quality assessment of the FTIR emission measurements. Primary goals are:*Adapting the existing LIDAR system for the detection of fluorescence and soot incandescence,*Preliminary calibration studies, determination of the detection level, criteria for quality assessment of the experimental data*Defining a framework for the interpretation of acquired experimental data (correction for fluorescence creation time, temporal signature of the incandescence, ..)*Settling for mapping techniques that facilitate inter-comparison and correlation between the results provide from the different optical techniquesThis project will be executed in a coordinated manner with the previously mentioned on-going doctoral work on the monitoring of atmospheric effluents from industrial sources in the region of Cubatão (SP) with the dedicated research teams at the CEPEMA/USP (Centro de Capacitação e Pesquisa em Meio Ambiente) and at the Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (Centro de Lasers e Aplicações, IPEN). Infrastructure and equipment to be made available from the very same institutions. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LARROZA, E. G.; NAKAEMA, W. M.; BOURAYOU, R.; HOAREAU, C.; LANDULFO, E.; KECKHUT, P. Towards an automatic lidar cirrus cloud retrieval for climate studies. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, v. 6, n. 11, p. 3197-3210, 2013. Web of Science Citations: 6.