MODELING EMISSIONS FROM ELEVATED CYLINDRICAL BINS

This paper demonstrates how wind tunnel modeling data that accurately describe plume characteristics near an unconventional emission source can be used to improve the near-field downwind plume profiles predicte d by conventional air pollution dispersion models. The study considers a vertical, cylindrical-shaped, elevated bin similar to large product storage bins that can be found at many industrial plant sites. Two di spersion models are considered: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agen cy's ISC2(ST) model and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and En ergy's GAS model. The wind tunnel study showed that plume behavior was contrary to what was predicted using conventional dispersion models s uch as ISC2(ST) and GAS and default values of input parameters. The wi nd tunnel data were used to develop a protocol for correcting the disp ersion models inputs, resulting in a substantial improvement in the ac curacy of the dispersion estimates.