Investigation of VOCs emission sources for Lake Champlain Basin

CHED 1455

Kacey B. Anderson, St. Lawrence University, CMR 11, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY 13617 and Dr. Ning Gao, Department of Chemistry, St. Lawrence University, Department of Chemistry, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY 13617.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are known to be harmful to human health and the cause to production of tropospheric ozone and photochemical smog. To control VOC emissions, it is essential to identify the potential sources using a source-receptor modeling method to extract the source information from VOC monitoring data. From the modeling, source profiles and source contributions of the emission sources could be obtained. The main modeling method used in this project is known as the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). The VOC data were obtained from two monitoring sites in Burlington and Underhill, Vermont. The best models for Burlington and Underhill, reveal 14 emission sources to each of the two sites, respectively. The sources were identified by comparing their source profile plots to the emission profiles in the EPA Speciate Program. Air trajectory analysis will also be employed to aid the identification of directions and locations of the sources.
 

Environmental Chemistry Education
8:30 AM-12:00 PM, Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Hilton New Orleans Riverside -- Magnolia, Oral

Division of Chemical Education

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008