An assessment on dispersion of carbon monoxide from a cement factory

Gholamreza Goudarzi,Fariba Keishams,Fereydoun Masihpour,Ehsan Abouee Mehrizi,Shahram Sadeghi,Yusef Omidi Khaniabadi,Mohammad Veysi Shikhrobat,Mahsa Moradi,Rajab Rashidi,Mojtaba Shegerd

doi:10.15171/ehem.2017.23

Abstract

Background: Modeling the dispersion of pollutants from factory stacks addresses the problem of matching emissions of a cement plant with the capacity of the environment to avoid affecting the environment and society. The main objective of this study was to simulate the dispersion of carbon monoxide (CO) from the main stack of a cement plant in Doroud, Iran using SCREEN3 software developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Methods: Four samplings were conducted to measure the concentration of CO in the three-stack flow of a cement factory. The input parameters were those affecting gas dispersion and included CO rate, meteorological parameters, factors associated with the stack, and various factors related to the receptor. All factors were incorporated in the model, and dispersion was modeled by SCREEN3. Results: Southwesterly winds have been dominant in the past 5 years. According to the results of this study, the highest and the lowest CO levels were estimated by the model in spring and autumn as having maximum amounts of 842.06 and 88.31 μg/m3, respectively, within distances of 526 and 960 m from the cement plant, respectively, at a downwind southwesterly direction from the plant. Conclusion: Although the maximum predicted CO levels in each of the four seasons were lower than the NAAQS criteria, the simulation results can be used as a base for reducing CO emissions to prevent the potentially significant health and environmental impacts imposed by long-term contact to such emissions.

Highlights

Air pollution attributable to the growth of industries is known as one of the environmental problems in the world, especially in Iran, a country that faces Middle Eastern Dust (MED) storms [1,2,3,4,5]
The plots of different concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) predicted by the SCREEN3 at X downwind direction are illustrated in Figures 3 to 6
The worst condition occurred in spring in an unstable condition in which the maximum concentration of pollutant measured near the cement plant was at a higher level than in the other seasons

Summary

Introduction

Air pollution attributable to the growth of industries is known as one of the environmental problems in the world, especially in Iran, a country that faces Middle Eastern Dust (MED) storms [1,2,3,4,5]. The city of Doroud in Loresan province of western Iran is enclosed on three sides by the Zagros Mountains. Air pollutants, especially those from the Doroud Cement the vicinity of residential areas [26]. Modeling the dispersion of pollutants from factory stacks addresses the problem of matching emissions of a cement plant with the capacity of the environment to avoid affecting the environment and society. The main objective of this study was to simulate the dispersion of carbon monoxide (CO) from the main stack of a cement plant in Doroud, Iran using SCREEN3 software developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion