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Kuwait oil fires - Compositions of source smokeWhile the Kuwait oil-fire smoke plumes manifested a pronounced impact on solar radiation in the Gulf region (such as visibility and surface temperatures), smoke plume concentrations of combustion-generated pollutants suggest that the overall chemical impact on the atmosphere of the smoke from these fires was probably much less than anticipated. Combustion in the Kuwaiti oil fires was surprisingly efficient, releasing on average more than 93 percent of the combusted hydrocarbon fuels as CO2. Correspondingly, combustion-produced quantities of carbon monoxide (CO) and carbonaceous particles were low, each about 2 percent by weight. The fraction of CH4 produced by the fires was also relatively low (about 0.2 percent), but source emissions of nonmethane hydrocarbons were high (about 2 percent). Processes other than combustion (e.g., volatilization) probably contributed significantly to the measured in-plume hydrocarbon concentrations. Sulfur emissions (particulate and gaseous) measured at the source fires were lower (about 0.5 percent) than predicted based on average sulfur contents in the crude. N2O emissions from the Kuwaiti oil fires were very low and often could not be distinguished from background concentrations.
Document ID
19920072835
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Cofer, Wesley R., III
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Stevens, Robert K.
(EPA, Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory, Research Triangle Park NC, United States)
Winstead, Edward L.
(Hughes STX Corp. Hampton, VA, United States)
Pinto, Joseph P.
(EPA, Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory, Research Triangle Park NC, United States)
Sebacher, Daniel I.
(Hughes STX Corp. Hampton, VA, United States)
Abdulraheem, Mahmood Y.
(Kuwait Environmental Protection Department Kuwait City, United States)
Al-Sahafi, Mohammed
(Ministry of Defense and Aviation Meteorology and Environmental Protection Administration, Saudi Arabia)
Mazurek, Monica A.
(Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY, United States)
Rasmussen, Rei A.
(Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and Technology Beaverton, United States)
Cahoon, Donald R.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
September 20, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume: 97
Issue: D13,
ISSN: 0148-0227
Subject Category
Environment Pollution
Accession Number
92A55459
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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