Airborne measurements of the atmospheric emissions from a fuel ethanol refinery

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dc.contributor.authorGouw, J. A. de
dc.contributor.authorMcKeen, S. A.
dc.contributor.authorAikin, K. C.
dc.contributor.authorBrock, C. A.
dc.contributor.authorBrown, S. S.
dc.contributor.authorGilman, J. B.
dc.contributor.authorGraus, M.
dc.contributor.authorHanisco, T.
dc.contributor.authorHolloway, J. S.
dc.contributor.authorKaiser, J.
dc.contributor.authorKeutsch, F. N.
dc.contributor.authorLerner, B.M.
dc.contributor.authorLiao, J.
dc.contributor.authorMarkovic, M. Z.
dc.contributor.authorMiddlebrook, A. M.
dc.contributor.authorMin, K.-E.
dc.contributor.authorNeuman, J. A.
dc.contributor.authorNowak, J. B.
dc.contributor.authorPeischl, J.
dc.contributor.authorPollack, I. B.
dc.contributor.authorRoberts, J. M.
dc.contributor.authorRyerson, T. B.
dc.contributor.authorTrainer, M.
dc.contributor.authorVeres, P. R.
dc.contributor.authorWarneke, C.
dc.contributor.authorWelti, A.
dc.contributor.authorWolfe, G. M.
dc.date.accessioned2020-09-18T18:50:06Z
dc.date.available2020-09-18T18:50:06Z
dc.date.issued2015-04-08
dc.description.abstractEthanol made from corn now constitutes approximately 10% of the fuel used in gasoline vehicles in the U.S. The ethanol is produced in over 200 fuel ethanol refineries across the nation. We report airborne measurements downwind from Decatur, Illinois, where the third largest fuel ethanol refinery in the U.S. is located. Estimated emissions are compared with the total point source emissions in Decatur according to the 2011 National Emissions Inventory (NEI‐2011), in which the fuel ethanol refinery represents 68.0% of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), 50.5% of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ = NO + NO₂), 67.2% of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and 95.9% of ethanol emissions. Emissions of SO₂ and NOₓ from Decatur agreed with NEI‐2011, but emissions of several VOCs were underestimated by factors of 5 (total VOCs) to 30 (ethanol). By combining the NEI‐2011 with fuel ethanol production numbers from the Renewable Fuels Association, we calculate emission intensities, defined as the emissions per ethanol mass produced. Emission intensities of SO₂ and NOₓ are higher for plants that use coal as an energy source, including the refinery in Decatur. By comparing with fuel‐based emission factors, we find that fuel ethanol refineries have lower NOₓ, similar VOC, and higher SO₂ emissions than from the use of this fuel in vehicles. The VOC emissions from refining could be higher than from vehicles, if the underestimated emissions in NEI‐2011 downwind from Decatur extend to other fuel ethanol refineries. Finally, chemical transformations of the emissions from Decatur were observed, including formation of new particles, nitric acid, peroxyacyl nitrates, aldehydes, ozone, and sulfate aerosol.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipData used in this work are archived athttp://www.esrl.noaa.gov/csd/groups/csd7/measurements/2013senex/P3/DataDownload/. The formaldehyde measurements were made possible with financial support from the STAR grant program of the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency. Some of this material(S.A. McKeen) is based upon work supported by the U.S. Weather Research Program within NOAA/OAR Office of Weather and Air Quality. We are thankful for the staff at the NO AAAircraft Operations Center and theWP-3D flight crew for the help ininstrumenting the aircraft and forconducting the flightsen_US
dc.description.urihttps://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2015JD023138en_US
dc.format.extent13 pagesen_US
dc.genrejournal articlesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m2pvne-8nxk
dc.identifier.citationde Gouw, J. A., et al. (2015), Airbornemeasurements of the atmosphericemissions from a fuel ethanol refinery,J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 120, 4385–4397,doi:10.1002/2015JD023138en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD023138
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/19691
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherAGU Pubicationen_US
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Faculty Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Physics Department
dc.rightsThis item is likely protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless on a Creative Commons license, for uses protected by Copyright Law, contact the copyright holder or the author.
dc.rightsPublic Domain Mark 1.0*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/*
dc.rights.uriThis work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
dc.titleAirborne measurements of the atmospheric emissions from a fuel ethanol refineryen_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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