Correlation between the concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons and bap from coke oven fugitive emissions in Shanxi, China

Abstract

Most aromatic hydrocarbons are considered to be carcinogenic. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is known to be a strong carcinogen which is typically found in coke plant emissions. When the waste gas finally exits through an exhaust funnel, some of this is emitted directly from leaks in the coke oven or flue. Authorities in Shanxi attempted to develop a real-time monitoring system for BaP in coke oven fugitive emissions. In order to obtain the BaP concentration in an easy and timely fashion, a new approach was used to get it indirectly. To investigate the relation between the BaP concentration and total aromatic hydrocarbon concentration, all samples were analyzed by GC/MS. The results showed that the total BaP concentration is significantly correlated with the concentration of particulate-phase aromatic hydrocarbons, and the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.740. The results of the correlation analysis indicated that the BaP concentration may be predicted based on the aromatic hydrocarbon concentration. A linear regression model was thus established to estimate the BaP concentration. The relationship between the concentrations of BaP and aromatic hydrocarbons was found by curve fitting, and is 0.197ln(aromatic hydrocarbons) + 3.405 = ln(BaP). The findings may be applied to a real-time monitoring system for BaP in fugitive emissions. © Taiwan Association for Aerosol Research.