Predictive Model for Pollutant Dispersion from Gas Flaring: A Case Study of Oil Producing Area of Nigeria

Abstract Nigeria has recorded a long history of petroleum exploration, but gas flaring associated with this activity is contributing immensely to air pollution in the Niger-Delta area and beyond. Hence, this work is aimed at quantifying the extent of air pollution from gas flaring, i.e., CO2, CO, SO2, NO2, and THC. Volume of gas flare and conditions of flare as well as experimental data on concentration were collated. The dispersion model based on the principle of Gaussian distribution was developed. The simulated results of the dispersion model shows the dispersion pattern of pollutants from gas flaring, and the effect of changes in the volume of gas flared, stack efficiency, wind speed, and atmospheric stability on the concentrations of pollutants from gas flaring were investigated. It was observed that the simulated result is in good agreement with dispersion pattern and that continuous gas flaring irrespective of the quantity will, in the long run, lead to change in the quality of the physical atmosphere.

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