Integrated Malaysian meteorological data atmospheric dispersion software for air pollutant dispersion simulation

Abstract

Air pollution prediction around point-source emission of industrial stack has been a great concern to evaluate impact of polluted gases to the surrounding environment. However, there is no software that is designed specifically for air pollution simulation in Malaysia to assist local environmental agencies in local air pollution prediction. This thesis presents a detailed study and analysis of the development of a new software for air pollutant dispersion simulation in Malaysia. It will be used in predicting outdoor air quality for stationary point source-type emission of industrial stack. Two major features greatly differentiate the software developed in this thesis with the existing softwares. The first feature ismore information on local meteorological data for atmospheric dispersion prediction in Malaysia is included. The second is existing softwares require multiple run for different location analysis while the software developed in this thesis requires just a single run for location-based analysis. Gaussian Plume model algorithm was used as the basis of the software code using MATLAB. The dispersion parameters for urban and rural dispersions are calculated based on the Pasquill-Gifford curves and Briggs plume rise equations. The developed software is validated using approved United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) atmospheric dispersion software, the Industrial Source Complex (ISC) software. Results show that the software predicts the ground-level concentration of pollutants as closely as ISC software with deviation of less than 10% in most cases. However, the software overpredicted the ground concentration in some cases especially for high emission rates. Even though overprediction occurs, in all simulated cases, the software was able to predict whether the ground concentrations exceed the guideline limits or not, the same as the ISC software. To further verify the software, a case study of three different locations is conducted and the software is able to suggest a location with the best ground concentration distribution based on its local meteorological data. The software developed is named as Integrated Malaysian Meteorological Data Atmospheric Dispersion Software (IMMDADS) and ready for use in local industrial applications after minor improvements in the user interface.