Airborne measurements from two Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS) field campaigns have been used to investigate changes of ozone production in Houston, Texas, from 2000 to 2006, a period of major emission reduction measures for petrochemical and other sources. Simultaneous declines in nitrogen oxides (NOx =NO+NO2) and highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOCs) were observed between the t...

Satellite observations of formaldehyde (HCHO) columns provide top-down constraints on emissions of highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOCs). This approach has been used previously in the US to estimate isoprene emissions from vegetation, but application to anthropogenic emissions has been stymied by lack of a discernable HCHO signal. Here we show that temporal oversampling of HCHO da...

T o improve air quality, states and localities are requiring more intense 24/7 monitoring of listed air pollutants from hydrocarbon processing facilities. Affected facilities must develop reliable and accurate environmental data management systems for reporting purposes. In this case history, the BP Texas City site (a refinery and chemicals plant) successfully implemented a real-time environmen...

Hydrocarbon Processing Industries (HPIs) emit large amounts of highly reactive hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxides to the atmosphere. Such simultaneous emissions of ozone precursors result in rapid and high yields ozone (O3) formation downwind. The climate of the Middle East has been shown to be favorable for O3 formation in summer. There are also vast activities in processing oil and gas in this ...

Hydrocarbon Processing Industries (HPIs) emit large amounts of highly reactive hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxides to the atmosphere. Such simultaneous emissions of ozone precursors result in rapid and high yields ozone (O3) formation downwind. The climate of the Middle East has been shown to be favorable for O3 formation in summer. There are also vast activities in processing oil and gas in this ...

In the Persian Gulf region, conditions are highly favorable for ozone air pollution and the region is a hot spot of photochemical smog. The vast activities in processing oil and gas play a major role in it. It was found that the elevated concentrations of reactive hydrocarbons co-emitted with nitrogen oxides from Hydrocarbon Processing facilities lead to substantial ozone production. South Pars...