Level of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds in Map Ta Phut Area, Rayong Province, Thailand | |
| Author | Vitsanu Wingpud |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-09-22 |
| Subject(s) | Air--Pullution--Thailand--Map Ta Phut Area Volatile organic compounds--Thailand--Map Ta Phut Area |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Nowadays, Thailand is facing with air pollution problems in urban and industrials areas especially from PM₂·₅ and BTEX pollution. In particular the problem of, Map Ta Phut industrial estate has become more severe due to a large number of factories in the area. These pollutants cause the detrimental health effects to the people in the area. Therefore, to understood the situation. Map Ta Phut industrial estate was selected as the study area. PM₂·₅ and VOCs were measured at New Town, Ban Ta Gun Sanitation Center and Wat Nong Fab. Totally 92 samples of PM₂·₅ and 232 BTEX were collected in this study. The results show that hourly benzene levels at all stations in Map Ta Phut area during the studying period were high. The range of hourly benzene in the area was 2-107 μg/m³ whereas, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene and o-xylene range from 2-30, 1-30, 1-29 and 1-13 μg/m³, respectively. However, these hourly measurements of parameters toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene and 0- xylene were even lower than the WHO guidelines for longer averaging period. Level of PM₂·₅ in the area ranged from 6-102 μg/m³. The study shows that there are totally 9 days exceeding the USEPA standard of 35 μg/m³ at each Ban Ta Gun Sanitation Center and New Town stations, whereas at Wat Nong Fab station there are 8 days exceeded the standard. Black carbon in fine particle was found with the range of 2-8 μg/m³ and ionic species in PM₂·₅ had concentration between 0.1-13.7 μg/m³ for anions and between 0.01-0.88 μg/m³ for cations. Elemental compositions of PM₂·₅ ranged from 0.01-2.05 μg/m³. The results from Principal Component Analysis (PCA) model show that sources of BTEX are mainly oil refineries, petrochemical and volatilization of oil, which contains those pollutants. However, other sources as well as mobile sources from incomplete combustion in engine and open burning from surrounding industrial estate should also influence the levels of both PM₂·₅ and VOC in the area. Further study should be conducted for more in-depth source appointment studies. |
| Year | 2009 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Nguyen, Thi Kim Oanh; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Preeda Pakpian;Thammarat Koottatep;Sarawut Thepanondh; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Thailand;RTG Scholarship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2009 |