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TECHNICAL CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN IMPLEMENTATION OF VOC REACTIVITY-BASED CONTROL OF OZONE
Citation:
LUECKEN, D. J. AND M. R. MEBUST. TECHNICAL CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN IMPLEMENTATION OF VOC REACTIVITY-BASED CONTROL OF OZONE. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 42(5):1615-1622, (2008).
Impact/Purpose:
The objectives of this task are to continue development and improvement of EPA's mesoscale (regional through urban scale) air quality modeling systems, such as the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, as air quality management and NAAQS implementation tools. This task focuses on needed research and development of air quality models targeted for a major CMAQ model release in FY08. Model development for a broad scope of application is envisioned. For example, CMAQ will need to be able to simulate air quality feedbacks to meteorology and climate as well as intercontinental transport. The 2008 release of CMAQ is timed to coincide with EPA/OAR's and the states' needs for an improved model for assessments of progress (mid-course corrections) in the post-SIP submittal timeframe.
Description:
The control of VOC emissions based on their individual contribution to ozone formation has been the subject of intensive discussion and research in the past five years, and has gained a large degree of acceptance in the air pollution regulatory community for certain industrial operations. Despite its popularity and potential to decrease ozone formation, there are still some technical challenges that remain before we are confident that we are applying the concept of reactivity in the most beneficial manner. We examine the science behind the use of reactivity, and the Maximum Incremental Reactivity in particular, and detail where major uncertainties exist. Using box model and 3-dimensional Air Quality Models, we show that there are ways to describe a chemical's reactivity which are relatively robust across a large geographic area, and that the choice of metric used is important in determining the potential benefits and disbenefits of a reactivity-based emission control policy.