Details of Limerick Plume Plotter

This page should be read in conjunction with How Plume Plotter Works. It provides more details specific to the Limerick version of Plume Plotter.

Stack measurements

There are several emissions sources, but we currently only model the largest two ("Kiln 6" and "Coal Mill 6"). The measurements of both of these, taken from [1], are:

Albedo, Bowen ratio, and roughness length are not specified in [1] but we use the following values:

Emissions

The emission rates of pollutants are taken from Table 8.5 of [1]. The table below shows the emission rates from Kiln 6; the rates for Coal Mill 6 are 0.07 times the rates for Kiln 6:

PollutantEmission rate
per second
Oxides of nitrogen69.4 g
Sulphur dioxide6.9 g
Particulates PM102.8 g
Hydrogen chloride1.4 g
Hydrogen flouride140 mg
Cadmium28 μg
Thallium6.9 mg
Mercury6.9 mg
Antimony900 μg
Arsenic2.2 mg
Lead10 mg
Chromium20 mg
Cobalt400 μg
Copper6.5 mg
Manganese10 mg
Nickel13 mg
Vanadium6 mg
Dioxins and furans14 ng
Ammonia6.9 g

Background levels

The background levels of pollutants are taken from the Tables 8.6 and 8.7 of [1]. For pollutants that appear in both tables (lead, arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and mercury), the lowest background concentration is used. The values used are:

PollutantBackground
concentration per m3
Oxides of nitrogen4.6 μg
Sulphur dioxide3.3 μg
Particulates PM1019.1 μg
Hydrogen chloride970 ng
Hydrogen flouride15.5 ng
Cadmium270 pg
Thallium590 pg
Mercury590 pg
Antimony4.16 ng
Arsenic590 pg
Lead1.63 ng
Chromium890 pg
Cobalt590 pg
Copper590 pg
Manganese4.6 ng
Nickel590 pg
Vanadium590 pg
Dioxins and furans6 fg
AmmoniaN/A

For consistency with other incinerators, the background concentration of nitrogen oxides shown here is actually the background concentration of nitrogen dioxide only.

Weather data

Weather data is taken from METAR reports from a local airport: Shannon.

Upper air data is the latest reported by the Valentia upper air station.

References

1. Irish Cement Limited. Use of alternative fuels and alternative raw materials at Limerick Cement Works: Environmental Impact Statement. April 2016. Chapter 8: Air quality.