Person: Wild, Robert
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Publication Observations of VOC Emissions and Photochemical Products Over US Oil- and Gas-Producing Regions Using High-Resolution H3O+ CIMS (PTR-ToF-MS)
(Copernicus GmbH, 2017-08-16) Koss, Abigail; Yuan, Bin; Warneke, Carsten; Gilman, Jessica; Lerner, Brian; Veres, Patrick; Peischl, Jeff; Eilerman, Scott; Wild, Robert; Brown, Steven; Thompson, Chelsea; Ryerson, Thomas; Hanisco, Thomas; Wolfe, Glenn; St. Clair, Jason; Thayer, Mitchell; Keutsch, Frank; Murphy, Shane; de Gouw, JoostAbstract. VOCs related to oil and gas extraction operations in the United States were measured by H3O+ chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (H3O+ ToF-CIMS/PTR-ToF-MS) from aircraft during the Shale Oil and Natural Gas Nexus (SONGNEX) campaign in March–April 2015. This work presents an overview of major VOC species measured in nine oil- and gas-producing regions, and a more detailed analysis of H3O+ ToF-CIMS measurements in the Permian Basin within Texas and New Mexico. Mass spectra are dominated by small photochemically produced oxygenates and compounds typically found in crude oil: aromatics, cyclic alkanes, and alkanes. Mixing ratios of aromatics were frequently as high as those measured downwind of large urban areas. In the Permian, the H3O+ ToF-CIMS measured a number of underexplored or previously unreported species, including aromatic and cycloalkane oxidation products, nitrogen heterocycles including pyrrole (C4H5N) and pyrroline (C4H7N), H2S, and a diamondoid (adamantane) or unusual monoterpene. We additionally assess the specificity of a number of ion masses resulting from H3O+ ion chemistry previously reported in the literature, including several new or alternate interpretations.