American Ecotech VOC PAMS Webinar

Tips on How to Simplify VOC Monitoring and Set Up a Successful Network

Since 2002 American Ecotech has been serving industrial and government customers throughout the USA

• Systems integration & deployment

• Onsite operational training

• Remote maintenance support

Specializing in :

Rack-mountable VOC analyzers designed for PAMS Fenceline monitoring systems

All other types of ambient air monitoring instruments Shelters, trailers, and all support infrastructure associated with ambient air monitoring turn-key systems

VOC Monitoring

•Methane Non-Methane•BTEX•C6 – C12•PAMS

What will you learn from this Webinar

1. What is PAMS?

2. GC pre-concentrator management, maintenance and functions

3. Common mistakes when setting up a calibration system

4. Getting Data from the GC Monitors

Polling Question

What application of VOC monitoring do you most have a need for ?

BTEX

PAMS

C6 – C12

Methane Non-Methane

Total VOC’s

Other

An Overview and Brief History of PAMS

Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations

VOC Measurement Technologies

Canisters vs Auto-GCs

• Data averaged over sampling period• Low Capital Cost• Reoccuring lab costs• Need for manual labor

• Hourly data• Higher Capital costs• Higher skill level required to run the system

About PAMSnew auto-GCs have been developed thatprovide near real-time data, designed foruse in ambient air monitoring stations

About PAMSPhotochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Revised Ambient AQ Surveillance Regulations

• Effective February 12, 1993

In 1998 the EPA commissioned a study using PAMS to determined if there was a change inambient VOCs as a result of the introduction of Reformulated Gas in 1995. The result werepositive showing a reduction in Benzene related the reduction in the fuel.

The revisions required states and local monitoring agencies to establish PhotochemicalAssessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) in ozone nonattainment areas classified asserious, severe, or extreme

Monitoring agencies are given options to measure VOCs using either an automated GasChromatograph (auto-GC) or collect samples in the field and analyze them in a laboratory.

When the PAMS program was originally implemented, field rugged auto-GCs were notavailable, so many monitoring agencies had to rely upon canister sampling and/or verycomplex laboratory GCs equipped with automatic samplers.

• April 1998 - EPA's Office of Mobile Sources commissioned a contractor to look at PAMS data to investigate if changes in ambient VOC levels were related to the introduction of reformulated gas in 1995.

• The report concluded that there is a strong case that a reduction in ambient benzene was related to the reduction of benzene in fuel and that other species, such as aromatics, may also have been significantly reduced.

• These findings are consistent with observations in EPA's "National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Reports" for both 1995 and 1996.

Current design calls for up to 5 sites in each PAMS area

Type 1 UpwindType 2 Max emissionsType 3 Max ozoneType 4 Extreme Downwind

•PAMS Season June-August

SIP Control Strategy Evaluation: Evaluation of the effectiveness of State

implemented plans control strategies.

Emissions Tracking:• Corroboration of NOx and VOC inventories Trends of VOC species source profiles• Analysis of air toxics.

Ambient Trend Appraisals:

• O3• NOx• Total and speculated VOC• Adjustments in meteorological conditions.

Exposure Assessment: Estimation of risk levels and the size of effected populations.

The principal objectives of the PAMS program can be summarized as follows:

NAAQS Attainment and Control Strategy Development:• Attainment / Nonattainment determinations• Assessment of the relative contributions of local and upwind sources• boundary conditions for photochemical modeling

What Does a PAMS Consist of?

A PAMS Monitoring System






Pre - Concentrator Operation and Maintenance

The purpose of the pre concentrator is to sample the ambient and get the most evenand consistent sample. It helps to evens out the air when spikes or other air relatedevent might arise. An example is that there is a spike of Methane when the moreconsistent air is mixing with it and averaging the air for that hour.

The Pre Concentrator works on a three hour sampling cycleThe main purpose of the Pre Concentrator is to:

• Heat the air • Creating a sample that is an average of the hour of sampling

At the end of hour 1 of sampling tube #1 opens and releases the cumulative sampleTo the GC

The ambient air collected in hour 2 begins to flow into tube #2 for heating

Pre Concentrator Operation and Maintenance

The same process that took place in tube#1 in Hour 2 happens in Tube #2

Components of AQM-PAMS-Alert

Pre-Concentrator – diagram 1








Pre-Concentrator - diagram 5


Pre-Concentrator - diagram 6

Calibration

Take the time warm up the system ( 30 mins / 1 hour )

Match up the proper gases

Most calibrations can be done with a single point

Pay attention to Column efficiency

FID Chromatogram

FID Analysis

• Ethane

• Ethylene

• Propane

• Propylene

• Isobutane

• N-butane

• Trans-2-butane

• 1-butane

• Cyclopentane

• Cis-2-butene

• Isopentane• N-pentane• Tran-2-Pentane• 1-Pentane• Cis-2-Pentane• 2,2-Dimethylbutane• 2,3-Dimethylbutane• 2-/3-

Methylpentane• Isoprene

Peaks listed in elution order

PID Chromatogram

PID Analysis

• N-Hexane

• Methylcyclopentane

• 2,4-Dimethylpentane

• Benzene

• Cyclohexane

• 2-Methylhexane

• 3-Methylhexane

• 2,2,4-Trimethylpentane

• N-Heptane

• Methylcyclohexane

• 2,3,4-Trimethylpentane

• Toluene

• 2-Methylheptane• 3-Methylheptane• N-octane• Ethylbenzene• M-/P-Xylene• Styrene• O-Xylene• N-Nonane• Isopropylbenzene• N-Propylbenzene• M-Ethyltoluene• P-Ethyltoluene• 1,3,5-

Trimethylbenzene

• O-Ethyltoluene• 1,2,4-

Trimethylbenzene• N-Decane• 1,2,3-

Trimethylbenzene• M-Diethylbenzene• P-Diethylebenzene• N-Undecane• N-Dodecane

Peaks listed in elution order

Getting data from the GC Monitor

Sample takes an hour to gather

The air that is gathered in Hour 1 is available in the second hour

Field Deployment Options

Instrumentation

• Gas Chromatographs for VOC PAMS

• Hydrocarbon Analyzers including NMHC

• Small VOC Sensors

• Fenceline networked sensor systems

• Hand Held VOC Detectors

• Criteria Pollutant Analyzers

• Particulate Samplers (PM2.5, PM10)

• Nephelometers

• Pb Samplers

• Shelters/Trailers/Mobile Vans

• Dataloggers

• Data Validation/Remote Maint software

Thank [email protected]

Tel: 1-877-247-2403