Sources of Particular Pollutants in Ambient Air at a Petrochemical Enterprise

The study on source apportionment of particular pollutants in ambient air at a petrochemical enterprise is the basis of the control over air pollution. Through analyzing particular pollutants in the samples collected from one petrochemical enterprise in northwestern China, the sources of particular pollutants were discussed. The test results showed that concentrations of particular pollutants in different sites were remarkably different. Results showed that the sampling sites with higher concentrations of particular pollutants, including toluene, xylenes, NH3 and H2S, were located at the boundary of the petrochemical enterprise. Instead, the concentrations of NMHC in the ambient air sampling sites were higher than those at the boundary of the petrochemical enterprise. The sampling sites with higher concentrations of particular pollutants were located in the area that was close to the petrochemical enterprise. The results obtained from the Pearson correlation coefficients analyses, the factor analyses, and χ-tests of the particular pollutants had revealed that NH3, H2S, toluene and xylenes at all sampling sites came from the same source, while NMHC might come from some other sources besides the petrochemical enterprise.