Publication: Observations of VOC Emissions and Photochemical Products Over US Oil- and Gas-Producing Regions Using High-Resolution H3O+ CIMS (PTR-ToF-MS)
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Date
2017-08-16
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Copernicus GmbH
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Koss, Abigail, Bin Yuan, Carsten Warneke, Jessica B. Gilman, Brian M. Lerner, Patrick R. Veres,, Jeff Peischl, Scott Eilerman, Rob Wild, Steven S. Brown, Chelsea R. Thompson, Thomas Ryerson, Thomas Hanisco, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason M. St. Clair, Mitchell Thayer, Frank N. Keutsch, Shane Murphy, and Joost de Gouw. 2017. Observations of VOC Emissions and Photochemical Products Over US Oil- and Gas-Producing Regions Using High-Resolution H3O+ CIMS (PTR-ToF-MS). Atmospheric Measurement Techniques 10: 2941–2968.
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Abstract
Abstract. 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.