Emission dispersion modelling for combustion installations

DNV’s air quality modelling services let you assess the impact of emissions reduction programs and fine-tune your emissions profile. They help you avoid unnecessary expenditure while ensuring you meet air quality regulations and targets.

Air pollution can have health and environmental effects. Hence combustion installations are under pressure to reduce their emissions – often beyond what is required by regulation. However, emission reduction techniques often use large amounts of materials and energy, and require large initial investments.

So it is important to have some insight in to the effect of any proposed mitigation measures. Assessments based on strict standards must also be carried out before the construction of new roads or industrial facilities, and changes to traffic intensity or industrial activities.

Comprehensive dispersion models
DNV’s advanced atmospheric dispersion models allow the air quality consequences of industrial activities, road traffic, shipping and other relevant sources to be calculated and presented in an insightful manner.

The models convert the data on emissions into concentration levels and deposition quantities, and are used extensively to:

• Calculate NO2 and fine particulate (PM10) concentrations along roads for testing against air quality thresholds (including standards for excessive days and hours)
• Calculate emissions of NO2, PM10 and other pollutants (e.g. odour) from industrial activities (including power plants) as required for environmental permits
• Determine the impact of emission control measures and strategies
• Calculate nitrogen deposition (NOx and NH3) in nature reserves due to emissions from road traffic, industry and agriculture

In particularly complex situations, DNV can help by using the advanced model STACKS to give realistic impact assessments. This goes beyond the conventional approaches used by other organizations. By ensuring air pollution impact is neither under- nor over-estimated, this leads to more efficient emission reduction measures and helps ensure investments deliver the desired environmental improvement.

Key benefits

• Calculate the air quality consequences of industrial activities and other relevant sources
• Present results in an insightful way
• Gain insight into which sources are major and minor polluters
  • Target mitigation measures and investments where they will do most good
  • Gives base to argue against government-imposed emission reduction measures if they are predicted to be ineffective
• Eliminates need to purchase expensive measurement equipment, savings can amount up to millions of Euro’s
• Minimize risk on rejection of License to Operate