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The petrochemical industry is a major source of 1,3-butadiene and styrene emissions within the Houston-Galveston area. Both compounds are listed as hazardous air pollutants by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) lists 1,3-butadiene as a highly reactive volatile organic compound. The Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory (AML) was deployed in 2009 as part of the Study of Houston Atmospheric Radical Precursor (SHARP) project to survey the petrochemical complexes in the Houston ship channel area for air toxics releases. This paper describes how the AML, equipped with a modified proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer configured to operate with NO+ as the reagent ion, was used to characterize and quantify fugitive emissions. On April 26, 2009, the AML surveyed the Goodyear Tire and Rubber and Texas Petrochemical (GY-TPC) complex by circumnavigating the facility on public roads while making continuous measurements. The extensive suite of trace gas instrumentation onboard the AML was used to identify fugitive emissions of 1,3-butadiene and styrene from the industrial complex and to distinguish them from any interfering mobile sources. The mobile lab detected significantly enhanced concentrations of 1,3-butadiene (30 ppbv max) and styrene (15 ppbv max). These results are examined with respect to the prevailing winds and routine ambient air monitoring data from TCEQ's Milby Park AutoGC, which is located adjacent to the GY-TPC complex. Simple Gaussian point source plume model calculations predict source emission rates that are consistent with reported emission inventories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkene emissions from the petrochemical industry contribute significantly to ozone production in the greater Houston area but are underestimated in emission inventories. It is not well-known which processes (e.g., fugitive emissions, chemical flare emissions, etc.) are responsible for these underreported emissions. We use fast time response and ground-based mobile measurements of numerous trace gas species to characterize alkene plumes from three identified chemical flares in the greater Houston area. We calculate the combustion efficiency and destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) values of these flares using the carbon balance method. All three flares were operating at DRE values lower than required by regulation. An examination of photochemistry in flare exhaust plumes indicates that the impact of direct formaldehyde emissions from flares on ozone formation is small as compared to the impact of alkene emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]