Presented at the Queensland-China Air Quality workshop in Brisbane December 2015

1. Modelling System for Air Quality
Management of Industrial Areas
Gladstone Airshed Modelling System
Simon Welchman
2 December 2015

2. Overview
• Airshed models and the air quality management
process
• Uses of Airshed models
• Gladstone Airshed Modelling System

3. Air quality management process
Establish/review
air quality goals
Determine
compliance with
goals
Design control
strategies
Implement
control
strategies
Track
implementation
of strategy
• Inventory
• CBA
• Modelling
• Monitoring
• Inventory
• Modelling

4. What is an Airshed Model
Meteorological
model
•Terrain
•Synoptic data
•Land-use
•Observational data
Emissions
inventory
•Industrial
•Commercial
•Domestic
•Traffic
•Natural/biogenic
Dispersion
model
•Terrain
•Land-use
•Sensitive receptors
•Chemical
transformations?
•Ambient AQ
•Predict GLC
Air quality goals
•Human health
•Exposure
•Amenity
Assess impacts

5. Uses of Airshed Models
• Determining compliance with AQ goals
– Map population exposures to air pollutants
– Enhance value of monitoring data e.g. Extrapolate to
larger suite of air pollutants
– Identify trend and compliance monitoring locations
– Investigate causes of elevated pollutant levels

6. Uses of Airshed Models
• Designing control strategies
– Use in conjunction with inventory and CBA to
evaluate control options at airshed scale
– Site specific pollution reduction programs
– Land-use planning e.g. Industrial Lands Study
– Approvals and permitting of new industries

7. Gladstone Airshed Model
System (GAMS)
• Gladstone – regional city on Queensland’s Central Coast
• Population of region is 63,000
• Major port for coal and gas exports
• Two alumina refineries
• Power station and other major industries
• Deep port, significant undeveloped industrial lands – future
industrial growth potential
• Air quality is important issue to the community

10. GAMS
• Funded by Queensland Govt
• Agreed standard assessment approach for approval of
new and expanding industries
• Subject to detailed model validation
• Consists of:
– Meteorological model: TAPM/CALMET, assimilated 8 met stations
– Emissions inventory: 12 major industries, ambient background
– Dispersion model: CALPUFF
– Major air pollutants: NOx and SO2

11. GAMS Inventory
• Boyne Smelter Ltd –
Aluminium smelter: 570,000
tpa
• Queensland Alumina Limited
– Alumina refinery: 4Mtpa
• Rio Tinto Alumina Yarwun –
Alumina refinery: 3.4Mtpa
• Cement Australia – Cement
manufacturing plant
• Orica – Ammonium Nitrate:
0.5Mtpa
• NRG Gladstone Power
Station – Coal Fired Power
• APLNG – LNG Plant: 9Mtpa
• QCLNG – LNG Plant: 12Mtpa
• GLNG – LNG Plant: 7.8Mtpa
• Sun LNG – LNG Plant: 1Mtpa
• LNG Limited – LNG Plant:
3.5Mtpa

12. Features of GAMS
• Detailed inventory - confidential
• Access to non-specialists
• Easy to add new sources or industries
• Easy scenario development
• Improved transparency for community and
regulator

14. Benefits
• Very effective for early project development e.g.
fatal flaws studies
• Improved consistency of AQ assessments
• Reduced overall AQ assessment cost
• Reduced effort in regulatory review phase
• Flexible framework and basis for Airshed
Management – non-expert users

15. Extension capability
• Any regional, sub-regional or local air-shed
• Intermittent/stochastic emissions readily assessed
• Expert use of multi-model results
• Other models readily incorporated
• Evaluate trans-boundary fluxes
• Real-time pollution management
• Couple with forecasts for reactive strategies

16. Questions?