| This thesis is intended to evaluate the potential for deploying wireless sensor networks in order to meet New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) requirements by EPA (Environment Protection Agency) at Eagle Ford Shale Oil and Gas production sites. At specific drilling sites we have deployed the commercial photoionization detector (PID) sensor networks. The total non- methane hydrocarbon (TNMH) levels were monitored by the PIDs through ionizing the organic compounds with an UV light and quantifying the ions that produced with an electric field and amplifying circuit. Also, we used SummaRTM canisters and the PIDs to collect the sample of the same air column in an emission monitor set up to illustrate the accuracy of the data from the wireless sensor network. A chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses was performed on the Summa RTM canister samples for speciated non-methane VOCs using the EPA's TO-15 gas method. Consequently a very strong correlation was found between the time-averaged PID sensor total non-methane VOC readings and the time-average speciated GC-MS toluene, methylcyclohexane, heptane and total speciated non-methane VOCs concentrations. |
