Source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas development
Oil and natural gas (ONG) extraction emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Certain VOCs are identified as hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) while others contribute to ozone formation. This study examines the impact of ONG operations on VOC levels during the development of multi-well ONG pads in sub...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Communications |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ad82b2 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850067095274913792 |
|---|---|
| author | Emily Lachenmayer I-Ting Ku Arsineh Hecobian Katherine B Benedict Yong Zhou Brent Buck Jeffrey L Collett Jr |
| author_facet | Emily Lachenmayer I-Ting Ku Arsineh Hecobian Katherine B Benedict Yong Zhou Brent Buck Jeffrey L Collett Jr |
| author_sort | Emily Lachenmayer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Oil and natural gas (ONG) extraction emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Certain VOCs are identified as hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) while others contribute to ozone formation. This study examines the impact of ONG operations on VOC levels during the development of multi-well ONG pads in suburban Broomfield, Colorado. From October 2018 to December 2020, weekly VOC measurements were taken at 18 sites across the area. These included spots near well pads, in adjacent neighborhoods, and at a background site, covering various stages of well pad development including drilling, hydraulic fracturing, flowback, and production. Analysis using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) identified six factors, including combustion, background/biogenic sources, light and complex alkanes, drilling activities, and ONG acetylene. Factors linked to local ONG activities exhibited clear temporal and spatial correlations with Broomfield well development. Benzene source analysis revealed distinct contribution gradients, with ONG-related sources notably influencing areas near the well pads, particularly in pre-production. ONG-related weekly benzene contributions varied from 9% to 63% at a community background site and 18% to 89% in a neighborhood close to a well pad. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d10fb473bb6f49c5b934181b2daf320b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2515-7620 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-d10fb473bb6f49c5b934181b2daf320b2025-08-20T02:48:30ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Communications2515-76202024-01-0161010101310.1088/2515-7620/ad82b2Source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas developmentEmily Lachenmayer0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1612-9014I-Ting Ku1https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0721-647XArsineh Hecobian2Katherine B Benedict3Yong Zhou4Brent Buck5https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2078-6876Jeffrey L Collett Jr6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9180-508XDepartment of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of AmericaDepartment of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of AmericaDepartment of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of AmericaDepartment of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America; Now at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States of AmericaDepartment of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of AmericaAjax Analytics, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of AmericaDepartment of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of AmericaOil and natural gas (ONG) extraction emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Certain VOCs are identified as hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) while others contribute to ozone formation. This study examines the impact of ONG operations on VOC levels during the development of multi-well ONG pads in suburban Broomfield, Colorado. From October 2018 to December 2020, weekly VOC measurements were taken at 18 sites across the area. These included spots near well pads, in adjacent neighborhoods, and at a background site, covering various stages of well pad development including drilling, hydraulic fracturing, flowback, and production. Analysis using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) identified six factors, including combustion, background/biogenic sources, light and complex alkanes, drilling activities, and ONG acetylene. Factors linked to local ONG activities exhibited clear temporal and spatial correlations with Broomfield well development. Benzene source analysis revealed distinct contribution gradients, with ONG-related sources notably influencing areas near the well pads, particularly in pre-production. ONG-related weekly benzene contributions varied from 9% to 63% at a community background site and 18% to 89% in a neighborhood close to a well pad.https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ad82b2PMFoil and gassource apportionmentvolatile organic compounds |
| spellingShingle | Emily Lachenmayer I-Ting Ku Arsineh Hecobian Katherine B Benedict Yong Zhou Brent Buck Jeffrey L Collett Jr Source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas development Environmental Research Communications PMF oil and gas source apportionment volatile organic compounds |
| title | Source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas development |
| title_full | Source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas development |
| title_fullStr | Source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas development |
| title_full_unstemmed | Source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas development |
| title_short | Source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas development |
| title_sort | source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas development |
| topic | PMF oil and gas source apportionment volatile organic compounds |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ad82b2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT emilylachenmayer sourceapportionmentofairbornevolatileorganiccompoundsnearunconventionaloilandgasdevelopment AT itingku sourceapportionmentofairbornevolatileorganiccompoundsnearunconventionaloilandgasdevelopment AT arsinehhecobian sourceapportionmentofairbornevolatileorganiccompoundsnearunconventionaloilandgasdevelopment AT katherinebbenedict sourceapportionmentofairbornevolatileorganiccompoundsnearunconventionaloilandgasdevelopment AT yongzhou sourceapportionmentofairbornevolatileorganiccompoundsnearunconventionaloilandgasdevelopment AT brentbuck sourceapportionmentofairbornevolatileorganiccompoundsnearunconventionaloilandgasdevelopment AT jeffreylcollettjr sourceapportionmentofairbornevolatileorganiccompoundsnearunconventionaloilandgasdevelopment |