AIR DISPERSION MODELING OF MULTIPLE NATURAL GAS WELL PADS AT DIFFERENT TERRAIN CONDITIONS AND DETERMINATION OF INVERSE DISTANCE WEIGHTING FUNCTION EXPONENT
Abstract
Natural gas production and development has been widely spreading all over the
United States. Texas has been leading the nation in natural gas production by holding
approximately twenty three percent of the nation’s natural gas reserves. However, natural
gas exploration, drilling, production and distribution process have impacts on air quality
and human health. The emissions from natural gas processes could be categorized as
volatile organic compounds (including Hazardous Air Pollutants), methane, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen dioxides, particulate matter and some other minor emitted pollutants,
which have the potential of causing serious health problems and also impact air quality
from an environmental point of view. There have been a lot of studies done about natural
gas well activities and resulting air pollution, including a complete study on City of Fort
Worth natural gas wells in 2011. However, the dispersion modeling of the Fort Worth
study was done only on flat-elevated terrain for one well pad (or compressor station) in
different scenarios, not including criteria pollutants.