Experimental development of predictive models for quantification of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) from the points of sales of petroleum products in fueling stations

Abstract

In many developing nations, heavy reliance on petroleum products for power generation and transportation stems from limited access to sustainable energy sources and inadequate electricity supply. This research aims to experimentally develop predictive models for quantification of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) from the dispensing processes of the selected petroleum products: petrol, kerosene, and diesel. A lab-scale fueling station was fabricated with five selected siphon pumps of different flowrates. These with a view to investigating the effect of fuel flowrates on TVOCs emission released near the nozzle gun and the vehicle tanks/portable container openings with varying effective cross-sectional areas (CSAs). The results revealed that petrol emits the highest concentrations of TVOCs emissions among the fuels due to its high volatility. At the highest flowrate of 0.33 L/s and the smallest effective CSA (1.59 × 10−4 m2) of the receiving tank/container openings, the highest concentrations (89, 57, and 45 ppm) of petrol, kerosene, and diesel were released, respectively. When the fuel flowrate was reduced to 0.20 L/s with the same effective CSA, the TVOCs emissions decreased to 53, 37, and 29 ppm for each fuel respectively. Additionally, the lowest TVOCs emission concentration of 5 ppm was observed at the slowest diesel fill rate of 0.05 L/s with the largest effective CSA of the tank/container opening that would make the TVOCs emission concentrations above the standard 0.5 ppm recommended by TECAM. The results also showed that emission fluxes of TVOCs increase when the effective CSA of the tank/container opening is reduced. The highest TVOCs emission flux (5.6 ×105ppm/m2) was recorded from the receiving tank/container opening with the smallest effective CSA of 1.59 × 10−4m2. It was discovered in the study that at high flow rates and smaller effective cross-sectional areas of tank/container openings, there are increase in TVOCs emissions and fluxes. Predictive models. Equations (2)–(4), were developed from the results with the use of Minitab and MATLAB software for predicting, estimating emission inventory and controlling of TVOCs emissions at the points of sales of fueling stations by regulatory bodies.