ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Determination of Industrial Sulfur Dioxide
Emissions and Mapping by Geographic
Information System
Miray Başar Macit, Mahnaz Gümrükçüoğlu
More details
Hide details
Environmental Engineering Department, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2012;21(3):549-558
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
As the technology continuous to develop, air pollution has started to become more of a problem and it
has started to threaten life in industrial regions. This study aims to calculate the sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission
concentrations of industrial plants with the help of the Gauss Plume Model Equation, to map their distributions
and, in regions where there is more than one industrial plant, to present the importance of total emissions.
With this aim, in Sakarya city, three industrial plants that are close to each other and that use sulfur-containing
fuels for energy were chosen, and the SO2 emission concentrations coming out of their stacks were calculated
in defined points of 50 m intervals. Total concentration values were determined and emission distribution
is mapped using the geographic information system (GIS). As a result, although the emissions of the plants
were below the standards, in the intersection regions of the emission plumes of the three plants it was seen that
the total concentrations were at dangerous levels as far as air quality is concerned. In conclusion, it was found
that it is important to calculate the emission distributions with air quality models and to show them with GIS
to determine the pollution concentrations and distributions in advance. It is also important to evaluate the
industrial plants on their own and compare them with other plants to inform the decision makers with the necessary
information and to determine the necessary precautions.