Chapter 8 - Measurement of Real-World Stack Emissions with a Dilution Sampling System

Stationary sources with emissions ducted through tall stacks are among the largest point sources for greenhouse gases and air pollutants in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of northern Alberta, Canada. A dilution sampling system was used to quantify multipollutant gaseous and particulate emissions from three stacks (A, B, and C) in the AOSR under real-world operations. The major particle component was found to be ammonium sulfate for Stacks A and B, and sulfuric acid for Stack C. Mass distributions of particles from Stacks A and B were bimodal, with similar to 50% mass in PM1, similar to 30% mass in PM1-2.5, and similar to 20% mass in PM2.5-10, while particles from Stack C were in a single submicron mode, with 96% mass in PM1 and similar to 99% mass in PM2.5. Emission rates of major air pollutants were lower than the emission guidelines for each stack during the test period.