Quantifying Emissions of PM10 Generated by the Implosion of Concrete Grain Silos

Abstract This study quantified the effect of imploding old concrete grain silos in Aqaba, Jordan, on the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba, an arid region, on air quality by measuring the PM10 concentrations before and after the implosion at four monitoring locations. The implosion of the silos form...

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Main Authors: Mahmoud M. Abu-Allaban, Salahuddin M. Jaber, Aiman Soleiman, Hasan Almarayeh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2020-05-01
Series:Aerosol and Air Quality Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2020.02.0053
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author Mahmoud M. Abu-Allaban
Salahuddin M. Jaber
Aiman Soleiman
Hasan Almarayeh
author_facet Mahmoud M. Abu-Allaban
Salahuddin M. Jaber
Aiman Soleiman
Hasan Almarayeh
author_sort Mahmoud M. Abu-Allaban
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This study quantified the effect of imploding old concrete grain silos in Aqaba, Jordan, on the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba, an arid region, on air quality by measuring the PM10 concentrations before and after the implosion at four monitoring locations. The implosion of the silos forms part of a comprehensive plan to relocate and upgrade the Port of Aqaba, which is situated on the coast of the Red Sea, with the goal of freeing space for development and improving the infrastructure in the heart of the city. The demolition, which occurred at 11:00 a.m. (local time) on 13 January 2019, generated a massive cloud of dust that was transported to nearby areas. To characterize these emissions, descriptive statistics, graphical methods, inverse distance weighting interpolation, decision trees constructed with recursive partitioning, the Gaussian dispersion model, the modified box model, and regression analysis were applied. The PM10 concentrations were in compliance with the Jordanian 24-h standard of 120 µg m−3 prior to the implosion but substantially increased (although still varied by distance from the demolition site) at all four stations afterward, with the maximum values (259−587 µg m−3) exceeding the pre-implosion ones by as much as 26 times. However, these high concentrations were short-lived, and the majority of the stations returned to background levels within 30−33 hours. According to our calculations on the implosion, the PM10 emission rate was 17 ± 2 mg m−2 s−1, which is equivalent to 215 ± 22 kg silo−1, and the air mixing height was 613 ± 72 m, or approximately eight times the height of the silos.
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spelling doaj-art-c038a6e820654937975afd68eb214f532025-02-09T12:19:19ZengSpringerAerosol and Air Quality Research1680-85842071-14092020-05-0120112548255610.4209/aaqr.2020.02.0053Quantifying Emissions of PM10 Generated by the Implosion of Concrete Grain SilosMahmoud M. Abu-Allaban0Salahuddin M. Jaber1Aiman Soleiman2Hasan Almarayeh3Department of Water Management and Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Hashemite UniversityDepartment of Water Management and Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Hashemite UniversityEnvironment Commissionerate, Aqaba Special Economic Zone AuthorityEnvironment Commissionerate, Aqaba Special Economic Zone AuthorityAbstract This study quantified the effect of imploding old concrete grain silos in Aqaba, Jordan, on the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba, an arid region, on air quality by measuring the PM10 concentrations before and after the implosion at four monitoring locations. The implosion of the silos forms part of a comprehensive plan to relocate and upgrade the Port of Aqaba, which is situated on the coast of the Red Sea, with the goal of freeing space for development and improving the infrastructure in the heart of the city. The demolition, which occurred at 11:00 a.m. (local time) on 13 January 2019, generated a massive cloud of dust that was transported to nearby areas. To characterize these emissions, descriptive statistics, graphical methods, inverse distance weighting interpolation, decision trees constructed with recursive partitioning, the Gaussian dispersion model, the modified box model, and regression analysis were applied. The PM10 concentrations were in compliance with the Jordanian 24-h standard of 120 µg m−3 prior to the implosion but substantially increased (although still varied by distance from the demolition site) at all four stations afterward, with the maximum values (259−587 µg m−3) exceeding the pre-implosion ones by as much as 26 times. However, these high concentrations were short-lived, and the majority of the stations returned to background levels within 30−33 hours. According to our calculations on the implosion, the PM10 emission rate was 17 ± 2 mg m−2 s−1, which is equivalent to 215 ± 22 kg silo−1, and the air mixing height was 613 ± 72 m, or approximately eight times the height of the silos.https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2020.02.0053PM10DemolitionImplosionEmission rateAir pollutionAqaba
spellingShingle Mahmoud M. Abu-Allaban
Salahuddin M. Jaber
Aiman Soleiman
Hasan Almarayeh
Quantifying Emissions of PM10 Generated by the Implosion of Concrete Grain Silos
Aerosol and Air Quality Research
PM10
Demolition
Implosion
Emission rate
Air pollution
Aqaba
title Quantifying Emissions of PM10 Generated by the Implosion of Concrete Grain Silos
title_full Quantifying Emissions of PM10 Generated by the Implosion of Concrete Grain Silos
title_fullStr Quantifying Emissions of PM10 Generated by the Implosion of Concrete Grain Silos
title_full_unstemmed Quantifying Emissions of PM10 Generated by the Implosion of Concrete Grain Silos
title_short Quantifying Emissions of PM10 Generated by the Implosion of Concrete Grain Silos
title_sort quantifying emissions of pm10 generated by the implosion of concrete grain silos
topic PM10
Demolition
Implosion
Emission rate
Air pollution
Aqaba
url https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2020.02.0053
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AT salahuddinmjaber quantifyingemissionsofpm10generatedbytheimplosionofconcretegrainsilos
AT aimansoleiman quantifyingemissionsofpm10generatedbytheimplosionofconcretegrainsilos
AT hasanalmarayeh quantifyingemissionsofpm10generatedbytheimplosionofconcretegrainsilos