Evaluating Oil and Gas Contributions to Ambient Nonmethane Hydrocarbon Mixing Ratios and Ozone-related Metrics in the Colorado Front Range

0537091 - ÚI 2022 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Lyu, C. - Capps, S. L. - Kurashima, K. - Henze, D. K. - Pierce, G. - Hakami, A. - Zhao, S. - Resler, Jaroslav - Carmichael, G. R. - Sandu, A. - Russel, A. - Chai, T. - Milford, J.
Evaluating Oil and Gas Contributions to Ambient Nonmethane Hydrocarbon Mixing Ratios and Ozone-related Metrics in the Colorado Front Range.
Atmospheric Environment. Roč. 246, February 2021 (2021), č. článku 118113. ISSN 1352-2310. E-ISSN 1873-2844
Institutional support: RVO:67985807
Keywords : Oil and natural gas * Nonmethane hydrocarbon * Ground-level ozone * Premature mortality * Source apportionment * Adjoint sensitivity analysis
OECD category: Meteorology and atmospheric sciences
Impact factor: 5.755, year: 2021
Method of publishing: Open access

Recently, oil and natural gas (O&NG) production activities in the Denver-Julesburg Basin have expanded rapidly. Associated nonmethane hydrocarbon (NMHC) emissions contribute to photochemical formation of ground-level ozone and include benzene as well as other hazardous air pollutants. Using positive matrix factorization (PMF) and chemical mass balance (CMB) methods, we estimate how much O&NG activities and other sources contribute to morning NMHC mixing ratios measured from 2013 to mid-2016 at a site in Platteville, CO, in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, and at a contrasting site in downtown Denver. A novel adjoint sensitivity analysis method is then used to estimate corresponding contributions to ozone and ozone-linked mortality in the Denver region. Average 6–9 am NMHC mixing ratios in Platteville were seven times higher than those in Denver in 2013 but four times higher in 2016. CMB estimates that O&NG activities contributed to the Platteville (Denver) site an average of 96% (56%) of NMHC on a carbon basis while PMF indicated 92% (33%). Average vehicle-related contributions of NMHC are estimated as 41% by CMB and 53% by PMF in Denver. Estimates of the fractional contribution to potential ozone and ozone-linked mortality from O&NG activities are smaller while those from vehicles are larger than the NMHC contributions. CMB (PMF) indicate that greater than 78% (40%) of annual average benzene in Denver is attributable to vehicle emissions while greater than 75% (67%) of benzene in Platteville is attributable to O&NG activities.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0314838