Air pollution became a major concern in South Africa in the late 1980’s and regulatory
requirements for the chemical process industries to reduce hazardous emissions have
increased ever since. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute significantly to the
formation of ozone and photochemical oxidants and their associated impact on human
health has become a major issue worldwide. Volatilisation is a significant process in
determining the fate of organic compounds in the environment.
In this study, volatilisation rate of VOCs (specifically benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene,
and xylene) from a wastewater collection basin, also called the oily sewer basin (OSB)
was measured using a flux chamber method and the VOCs were characterised.
Theoretical models that can be used to estimate volatilisation rate were also studied.
Meteorological data was collected to evaluate the effect of temperature, humidity and
wind speed on volatilisation rate.
This study showed that toluene and ethylbenzene have the highest volatilisation rate
compared to benzene and o-xylene. It was found that system conditions and physicochemical
properties of a compound have a significant effect on volatilisation. It was also
identified that the measured concentrations of VOCs escaping from the OSB do comply
with Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations 85 of 1993 standards. It was
recommended that surfactants be used to inhibit volatilisation of VOCs
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/6436 |
| Date | 25 February 2009 |
| Creators | Ntlatleng, Seitlotli Mamonyamane. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf, application/pdf |
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