Remote Identification and Quantification of Industrial Smokestack Effluents via Imaging Fourier-Transform Spectroscopy

Abstract

Industrial smokestack plume emissions were remotely measured with a midwave infrared (1800-3000 cm(-1)) imaging Fourier-transform spectrometer operating at moderate spatial (128 × 64 with 19.4 × 19.4 cm(2) per pixel) and high spectral (0.25 cm(-1)) resolution over a 20 min period. Strong emissions from CO(2), H(2)O, SO(2), NO, HCl, and CO were observed. A single-layer plume radiative transfer model was used to estimate temperature T and effluent column densities q(i) for each pixel's spectrum immediately above the smokestack exit. Across the stack, temperature was uniform with T = 396.3 ± 1.3 K (mean ± stdev), and each q(i) varied in accordance with the plume path length defined by its cylindrical geometry. Estimated CO(2) and SO(2) volume fractions of 8.6 ± 0.4% and 380 ± 23 ppm(v), respectively, compared favorably with in situ measurements of 9.40 ± 0.03% and 383 ± 2 ppm(v). Total in situ NO(x) concentration (NO + NO(2)) was reported at 120 ± 1 ppm(v). While NO(2) was not spectrally detected, NO was remotely observed with a concentration of 104 ± 7 ppm(v). Concentration estimates for the unmonitored species CO, HCl, and H(2)O were 14.4 ± 0.3 ppm(v), 88 ± 1 ppm(v), and 4.7 ± 0.1%, respectively.