Analysis of air pollution emission patterns in the vicinity of oil refineries in Kuwait

Abstract

This study focuses on the assessment and analysis of air pollution in the vicinity of oilrefineries in Kuwait. The emission inventory obtained for oil refineries was used topredict pollutant concentrations and distributions using the AERMOD software (V5.1),Industrial Source Complex Short-Term model (ISCST3). Pollutant concentrations andmeteorological parameters were measured at 5-minutes intervals for 24 hours/day inthree regions. The first region was in the Fahaheel residential area (north of the oilrefineries), the second region was in the Umm Alhyman residential area (south of theoil refineries), and the third region was in the Ahmadi residential area (northwest ofthe oil refineries). The measured concentrations of all pollutants are higher than thepredicted concentrations generated by the refinery emissions, which is attributed tothe effect of other pollution sources, e.g., traffic, power plants, and oil fields. Analysisshowed that the strongest contribution comes from the oil fields, followed by trafficor oil refineries.