Miscellaneous sites with background information on

Propane and Ozone

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Propane is considered a clean gas and therefore environmentally friendly. What most people don't know is that when propane vents as an unburned gas it is also a very concentrated pollutant. Also what few people are aware of, including the Air Resources Boards, is that there are over a hundred million small propane tanks that vent on hot calm days.

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Propane is a VOC and is in fact used by the EPA to calibrate VOC stack emissions.

EPA Method 25A - "Determination of Total Gaseous Organic Concentration Using a Flame Ionization Analyzer" EPA Protocol Gases: 5-650 ppm Propane in Air; 5 ppm - 2.5% Propane in Nitrogen

EPA Method 25B - "Determination of Total Gaseous Organic Concentration Using a Nondispersive Infrared Analyzer" EPA Protocol Gases: 5-650 ppm Propane in Air; 5 ppm - 2.5% Propane in Nitrogen

"A.DETERMINATION OF VOC CONTENT OF EXHAUST STREAM: The VOC content of the exhaust gas stream subject to the provisions of this determination (rule), excluding exempt compounds, shall be analyzed as prescribed by U.S. EPA Reference Methods 25 or 25A. If Method 25A is utilized, instruments shall be calibrated with propane and VOC concentrations shall be converted to ppmv methane on a carbon equivalence. Emissions found to exceed limits by either method constitute a violation of this rule."

http://www.arb.ca.gov/DRDB/ED/CURHTML/R234.HTM

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The only site monitoring propane air pollution on a real time basis that we are aware of is located in Wales.

http://www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk/html/environment/pollution/on-line/prpa.html

VOCs also have a role to play in the formation of another pollutant, Ozone (O3) which can harm plants and people when present at low altitude and in high concentrations.

(Note that propane is heavier than air and therefore stays near the ground where it forms ozone.)

http://www.neath-porttalbot.gov.uk/html/environment/pollution/on-line/sites/baglan_info.html

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This Harvard chemistry site may not display in HTML but contains propane related research information.

"...observations yields best global emission estimates of 12 Tg C yr-1 for propane..."

http://www-as.harvard.edu/chemistry/trop/publications/jacob2001/paper.new.htm

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"At present, the main concern about VOC pollution relates to its contribution to the formation of ozone at ground level. Ozone is an aggressive ground level pollutant that is formed by a reaction between VOCs and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight."

http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/envirowise/envirowise.nsf/Site+Setup/$First?OpenDocument&RURL=MBEN4PBHS3&RType=Page

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"Particularly Propane"

"Primary acetone sources include mainly biogenic emissions, biomass burn-ing, industrial emissions, and automobiles. Secondary sources include photooxidation of organic trace gases, particularly propane."

http://www.mpi-hd.mpg.de/mauersberger/arnold/ACETONE.HTM

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Pollution in Asian air mass likely measured on both sides of Pacific

"Knowing the pollution was approaching Washington state, Price loaded sensing equipment aboard a rented Beechcraft on April 14 and flew to Neah Bay, on the state's Northwest coast. Taking samples at various levels from 1,500 feet to 20,000 feet in altitude, she monitored quantities of dust, ozone, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons such as propane, ethane and acetylene."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-12/uow-pia121001.php

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North American Isoprene Emissions Measured from Space

http://www-as.harvard.edu/chemistry/trop/

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"...a staggering 84 million gallons (336 million pounds) of unburned propane escaping into the atmosphere every year.

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California Air Resources Board's ICAT (Innovative Clean Air Technologies) Program.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/icat/icat.htm

List of regional Air Resources Boards and contact information for California.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/capcoa/roster.htm

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Weekend Peaks in L.A. Basin's Ozone Mystify Experts

Pollution: Spikes in smog measurements lead the auto industry to question the focus on cutting vehicles' tailpipe emissions.

GARY POLAKOVIC, LA Times

The BARTELS Theory - addresses the weekend effect.

Most people fill up their propane tanks on weekends. It is a fact that freshly filled propane tanks vent the most. In areas like LA there is often overcast mornings near the coast. This increases the venting as the tanks are filled with cool propane in the morning that then expands and vents when heated from the sun in the afternoon.

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Additional Smog Link

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This page was last updated: October 14, 2016