San Joaquin Valley APCD

Dairy H2S AERMOD

Hourly Emission File Generator

Version: 1.0
Date: September 2012

Prepared by

Permit Services Department

Technical Services
 Preface

The purpose of this document is to provide staff with a procedure process for estimating
H2S emissions from ponds, lagoons, and other water impoundments located at dairy
operations. This process will generate an Hourly Emission File that AERMOD will read
directly when generating modeled concentrations.
 DISCLAIMER

Any mention of trade names or commercial products is not intended to constitute

endorsement or recommendation for use.
 Table of Contents
1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1
2 Hourly Emission File ................................................................................................ 2
3 Dairy H2S AERMOD Hourly Emission File Generator .............................................. 4
3.1 Before You Start................................................................................................. 4
3.2 Starting the Program .......................................................................................... 4
3.2.1 Program Components.................................................................................. 5
3.3 Reading (Importing) Meteorological Data ........................................................... 6
3.4 Generating Hourly Emission Files ...................................................................... 9
3.5 H2S Modeling for Dairies Using AERMOD ....................................................... 11
3.5.1 Modeling Parameters ................................................................................ 11
3.6 Estimating Maximum Allowed Quarterly H2S Concentrations and Maximum
Acute Score ............................................................................................................... 15
Appendix A Calculation Methodology ............................................................................ 17
1 Introduction
When preparing air dispersion modeling using U.S. EPA air dispersion model
ISCST3 or AERMOD (the models) - you may be required to model source specific
parameters that change over time. For example, such parameters can be source
emissions, stack gas exit temperature or stack gas exit velocity. This can be
accomplished by specifying an Hourly Emission File.

This document describes the steps needed to generate hourly emission files for use
in the AERMOD model to estimate H2S emissions.

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2 Hourly Emission File
The Hourly Emission File can be created using various programs such as
Microsoft Excel and converted into a text file format for use by the models. Each
record or line of the Hourly Emission File must include the keyword (SO
HOUREMIS), followed by the Year, Month, Day, Hour, Source ID, Emission Rate
(g/s or user units). For point sources, the record must also include stack gas exit
temperature (K), and stack gas exit velocity (m/s).

The following is an example of what the Hourly Emission Files should look like:

SO Keyword YY MM DD HH Temperature

SO HOUREMIS 86 1 1 1 STACK1 145.0 283 9.4

SO HOUREMIS 86 1 1 1 STACK2 150.0 284 9.0
SO HOUREMIS 86 1 1 2 STACK1 0.0 285 9.4
SO HOUREMIS 86 1 1 2 STACK2 120.0 0 8.0
SO HOUREMIS 86 1 1 3 STACK1 120.0 0 9.4
SO HOUREMIS 86 1 1 3 STACK2 0.0 -20 9.4

Source ID Emission Rate Exit Velocity

NOTE!!

1. Only one hourly emission file can be specified for each run.
2. The data must include the exact same dates/time as are included in the meteorological input files.
Failing to have the date/hour match will cause the model run to fail.
3. Source IDs must correspond to the source IDs defined in the Source Pathway and be in the same
order.
4. The models will use the stack release height and stack inside diameter defined in the Source
Pathway, but will use the emission rate, exit temperature and exit velocity from the hourly
emission file. If these parameters are missing in the file, then the models will consider the missing
values as zero.
5. Gas Exit Temperature
a. A gas exit temperature equal to 0.0 K for any particular hour indicates to the models that
the plume is being released at the ambient temperature specified in the met file.
b. A negative gas exit temperature indicates to the models that the plume has an exit
temperature that exceeds the ambient temperature by a fixed amount. For example, if the
ambient temperature in the met data file is 265.9 K for a particular hour and -20 was
specified in the hourly emission file for that hour than the models will read the gas exit
temperature as 265.9 + 20 = 285.9 K.

CAUTION!!
An undocumented behavior of the current version of the models occurs when a project is run using the
entire year of met data but the hourly emission file and the met data file do not cover the same period
(e.g., met data runs from Jan 1 to Dec 31 and the hourly emission file runs from Jan 1 to Jun 30).

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Provided that both files begin at the same date/time, the models will still run; however, the models will use
the parameters found in the last record of the hourly emission file throughout the rest of the met period.
For this reason, it is very important that your hourly emission file match the met file specified in your
project.

In the AERMOD model, this can be verified by using the AERMOD Model Debugging Output Option (CO
DEBUGOPT MODEL) specified in the Control Pathway. CAUTION: the generated debugging file can be
very large! It is recommended that, when using this option, you limit your project run to a few days in
order to inspect the intermediate calculations contained in this file.

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3 Dairy H2S AERMOD Hourly Emission File Generator
The Districts Dairy H2S AERMOD Hourly Emission File Generator program is
intended to streamline the method used to generate hourly H2S emission files for
use with AERMOD to determine potential toxic impacts of H2S. This program
assumes that H2S emissions are only generated in ponds, lagoons, and other water
impoundments located at dairy operations that store or collect waste material (these
sources will simply be referred to as lagoons for the remainder of the document).

This section will provide a walkthrough on the use of the Districts Dairy H2S
AERMOD Hourly Emission File Generator program. For details on the defaults
and calculations used in the program please refer to Sections 3.3 and 3.4.

3.1 Before You Start

Create a local copy of the Dairy H2S AERMOD Hourly Emission File
Generator.mdb database program. The program is located on the District
network at G:\HEARTs\Modeling\Tools or it can be downloaded from the District
web page.

WEB LINK!!

Dairy H2S AERMOD Hourly Emission File Generator

http://www.valleyair.org/busind/pto/Tox_Resources/AirQualityMonitoring.htm

NOTE!!
If you currently do not have a version of MS ACCESS you can download a free runtime version from
Microsoft. The runtime version enables MS Access 2010 applications to be distributed to users who do
not have the full version of Access 2010 installed on their computers. Please follow all instruction
provided

WEB LINK!!

Microsoft Access 2010 Runtime

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=10910

3.2 Starting the Program

Once the program has been copied, open the Dairy H2S AERMOD Hourly
Emission File Generator.mdb file. MS Access should start and database
applications main screen should look like Figure 3.2-1:

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 Figure 3.2-1 Program Main Screen

3.2.1 Program Components

The database application is broken down into two basic steps. The first step is to
read the selected meteorological data. The second step is to determine how the
hourly data is to be generated. Each of these steps will be discussed in more
detail in the following sections.

NOTE!!
When you first start the database application MS ACCESS may disable all programing code.
This means that the buttons and other code in the program will not work and the user will need to
ENABLE the content. To do this, follow these steps:

1. From the FILE menu click the Enable Content button.

2. From the drop down select Enable All Content
The database should now restart with all the code enabled.

Enable Content

File Menu

Figure 3.2-2 Enable Content

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3.3 Reading (Importing) Meteorological Data
The database application was designed to read AERMOD ready meteorological
data. The meteorological data selected for your modeling run should be the same
as selected in this process.

Follow these steps to read the meteorological data.

1) Select the Read AERMOD Met Data option and you will be taken to the Read
AERMOD Surface Met Files page. The following steps will describe how to
use this page.

a) Press the open file button located at the far left and you will be asked to
locate the surface (.sfc) file that you are planning on using in your AERMOD
modeling run. Select the surface file and press the open button.

Press this first

Figure 3.3-1 Reading AERMOD surface met files

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 2) Then press Open

1) Select .sfc file

Figure 3.3-2 Selecting your surface file

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 b) Once your surface file has been selected, press the Import SFC File
button. A prompt will appear to let you know the .sfc file has been imported.

Press this

Figure 3.3-3 Importing your surface file

c) After you are prompted that .sfc file has been imported, you may leave this
screen by pressing the Close Form button. This will return you to the main
screen of the application. Proceed to the next section.

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3.4 Generating Hourly Emission Files
Back on the main page of the Dairy H2S AERMOD Hourly Emission File
Generator database, select the Open Project Screen button. This will take you
to the Dairy H2S Modeling Emissions File page. The following steps will
describe how to use this page.

a. Create a new project by clicking on the New Project button

b. Enter the appropriate facility information in the Region, Facility ID, Project #,
and Title fields.
c. In the Area Source Data field, you will need to enter the parameters for each
lagoon in your project. These include the following:
1. In the fields under the Model Name header, enter a name for each
lagoon in your project. These names should match those used in your
AERMOD modeling run.
2. In the fields under the Total Area header, enter the total area of each
lagoon in your project (in m2).
3. By default, the values under the Release-Height and Vertical-
Dimension headers should be zero. These values should only be
changed as necessary (i.e. if you have an elevated source ).
d. If you are using non-default values for monthly pH or H2S concentrations, you
may enter those values in the Project Monthly pH and Project H2S
Concentration fields for each lagoon in your project. If you wish to use the
default values, press the Use Defaults button and each lagoon will be
assigned default values for pH and H2S concentrations.
e. For District purposes, we will be creating four quarters worth of hourly
emission rate files. Select the first quarter by selecting the corresponding
checkbox under it (this will highlight the months of that quarter as well).
Please note that the program will not allow you to select more than one
quarter at a time.
f. Press the Calculate Emissions button and the program will calculate the
hourly emissions. You will only need to do this once, so once the program
prompts you that it is finished, you can proceed to the next step.
g. Press the Generate Hourly File button and the program will then generate a
file called QtrX-HOUREMIS.txt (where the X after Qtr represents the quarter
you selected in step e) in the same directory as this program.
h. Generate the remaining quarterly hourly emission rate files by repeating steps
e and g for the other three quarters. You do not need to repeat step f.

NOTE!!
You may decide that you wish to create monthly hourly emission rate files instead of quarterly
ones. To do so, simply select the checkboxes for the month(s) you desire instead of the quarterly
checkboxes. Unlike when selecting quarters, you may select as many months as you please.

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a

Once you have obtained all four quarterly hourly emission rate files, you may now
proceed to using those files within AERMOD. This is described in the next
section.

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3.5 H2S Modeling for Dairies Using AERMOD
The District has developed a method for modeling H2S impacts at dairies using
AERMOD and internal tools developed by the District. In the previous sections,
the Districts Dairy H2S AERMOD Hourly Emission File Generator database
was used to generate quarterly hourly emission rate files for each lagoon source in
your project. This section describes how to use these quarterly hourly emission
rate files within AERMOD for H2S modeling.

3.5.1 Modeling Parameters

If you have already created an AERMOD modeling run for your dairy project, it is
recommended that a duplicate project be created before proceeding. This may
be done by simply copying and renaming the original project folder or you may
alternatively open your project and save it as another project instead. Once your
duplicate project has been created, open it and proceed to the following sections.

3.5.1.1 Control Pathway

In your Control Pathway module, you should remove all averaging times except
the 1-hour averaging time. This is the only required averaging time when
modeling H2S.

Select only this

Figure 3.5-1 Control Pathway Inputs for H2S Modeling

3.5.1.2 Source Pathway

Lagoons (including ponds and basins) are the only sources of H2S emissions at
dairies; therefore, they are the only sources of interest in H2S modeling. In the

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 Source Pathway module of your duplicate AERMOD project, you will need to
delete all non-lagoon sources (i.e. cow housing and milking barns).

The following steps will guide you on how to use the quarterly hourly emission
rate files that were generated from the Dairy H2S AERMOD Hourly Emission
File Generator database (see Figure 3.5-2).

a. In the Source Pathway module, select the Hourly Emission File option
from the left hand panel.
b. Check the checkbox in the upper left for Hourly Emission Rate File
c. Press the open file button and select the .txt file representing the quarter you
are interested in (i.e. Qtr1-HOUREMIS.txt, etc.)
d. Under the Single Sources column, select all lagoons in your project
e. After selecting all of your lagoons, press the Add button and each lagoon
will appear in the right hand column (Sources in the Hourly File). You may
now close this module.

Figure 3.5-2 Source Pathway Inputs for H2S Modeling

Once you have entered your quarterly hourly emission rate file, you may run
your AERMOD project like normal.

3.5.1.3 Model Output

After your modeling run is complete, a plot that looks like Figure 3.5-3 will be
displayed. Search for and select the 1-HR plot file for each lagoon. After doing
so, look at the lower right-hand corner of AERMOD and you will see a value
depicting the modeled 1-Hour H2S concentration for the quarter (see Figure

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 3.5-4) and its location. Save this value somewhere and repeat the steps in
Section 3.5.1.2 for each of the remaining quarters. Once you have attained
your four quarterly modeled H2S concentrations you are ready to proceed to the
next section.

Figure 3.5-3 Example Plot File

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 Figure 3.5-4 Modeled H2S Concentration

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3.6 Estimating Maximum Allowed Quarterly H2S Concentrations and
Maximum Acute Score
Create a local copy of the Dairy Conc Calculator spreadsheet located at
G:\HEARTs\Modeling\Tools or from the Districts website and open it.
Something similar to the following should be displayed:
Enter maximum modeled 1-hour
concentrations in this column

Figure 3.6-1 Dairy Conc Calculator

The following steps will guide you on how to use this spreadsheet:

a. The shaded areas are meant for manual entries. Under the Max Modeled
Conc. ug/m3 column, enter the maximum modeled 1-hour concentrations, in
units of ug/m3, that you determined in Section 3.5.1.3 for each quarter. For
example, for Quarter 1 (Jan-Mar), the maximum modeled 1-hour
concentration determined in Section 3.5.1.3 should be entered in the cells
corresponding to January, February, and March (see example above). The
YMMDDHH column is meant for entering the year, month, day, and hour
corresponding to the maximum modeled 1-hour concentration determined in
Section 3.5.1.3 (optional at this time).
b. Enter the acute hazard index you determined from your original HRA/RMR
run (determined using HARP) into the shaded cell to the right of the HARP
Acute Hi cell (see Figure 3.6-2). The H2S contribution to the projects acute
hazard index will be added to this value. The total acute hazard index for
your project and the one which you will use in your HRA memo (in the HRA
summary section) is displayed in the cell to the right of the MAX HI cell.
c. The values in the four cells in the Quarterly column (see Figure 3.6-2)
represent the maximum allowable quarterly H2S concentrations, in mg/L, for
the project. As such, these limits must be put into conditions on your
RMR/HRA memo (see example conditions below).

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 Example Conditions:

Unit 3-0

1. The pH value cannot be any lower than 7.5.

2. The quarterly H2S concentration cannot exceed 0.66 mg/L.

Enter acute hazard index from Total acute hazard

original HRA/RMR run here index for the project

Figure 3.6-2 Acute Hazard Index Determination

Maximum allowable
quarterly H2S
concentrations

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 Appendix A Calculation Methodology

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 Purpose:
The purpose of this document is to provide an overview the interim method that
the District is currently using to estimate potential H2S emissions from anaerobic
dairy lagoons and the atmospheric concentration of H2S resulting from emissions
from anaerobic dairy lagoons. The methods described in this document will be
used to estimate H2S potential emissions and concentrations from dairy facilities
the San Joaquin Valley for District permitting purposes but may be subject to
revision when better data become available from other sources, such as EPAs
National Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS).

Background:
H2S is an air pollutant with an Ambient Air Quality Standard established by the
California Resources Board (ARB) and an associated acute health risk. The
District must regulate H2S emissions to ensure that emissions from new and
modified sources do not cause or contribute to a violation of the California
Ambient Air Quality Standard as stipulated in the Districts New and Modified
Source Review (NSR) rule (District Rule 2201) and also to ensure that the health
risk from projects and facilities remain within acceptable levels.

There are few emission studies that have been performed to quantify mass
emissions of H2S from dairy lagoons. Many of the available studies measured
concentrations near lagoons to better understand odor and/or health impacts but
did not provide an estimate of the total mass of H2S emissions. Currently, the
few studies that do provide information on mass emission rates of H2S from
anaerobic dairy lagoons at times appear to be contradictory some of these
studies estimate very low emissions while other studies estimate very high
emissions.

The most common method to estimate emissions from a source is to use an

average or conservative (higher than average) emission factor based on data
that were collected from the specific source category under consideration and to
multiply this emission factor by a production rate or other activity. However,
many studies have demonstrated that H2S emission rates from aqueous
solutions (e.g. lagoons and ponds) are highly variable. Because of this
variability, a static emission factor cannot provide an accurate picture of H 2S
emission rates. Additionally, because of the stringency of the California Ambient
Air Quality Standard for H2S, modeling of H2S emission rates based on static
average emission factors, or even lower than average H2S emission factors, will
generally result in an exceedance of the Ambient Air Quality Standard during
meteorological conditions that are unfavorable to dispersion. Static emission
factors do not reflect the fact that H2S emissions rates from lagoons and storage
ponds are strongly influenced by environmental conditions (e.g. wind,
temperature, pH, etc.) as well as the amount of exposed surface area and sulfide
concentration. In general, meteorological conditions that are unfavorable to
dispersion (e.g. low wind speed) would also be periods of reduced H2S
emissions. Therefore, to more accurately assess H2S emissions from lagoons

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 and ponds and the resulting ambient concentrations it is necessary to use
variable emission rate that is linked to local environmental conditions. This
document summarizes how the interim method that the District is currently using
to estimate potential H2S emissions utilizes simplified two-film mass transfer
model to approximate variability in H2S emission rates.

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