Automated Chemical Mass Balance Receptor Modeling

Abstract

Chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor modeling provides alternative or complementary methods to dispersion models for apportioning particulate source impacts. This method estimates particulate source contributions at a receptor by comparing the chemistry of the ambient aerosol to the chemistry of the emissions from the various sources. To minimize demands on the analyst and facilitate the processing of large volumes of data, an initial version of an automated CMB model has been developed and is operational on an IBM personal computer as well as on a Harris mini-mainframe computer. Although it currently does not have all the features of the more interactive manual model, it does show promise for reducing man-power demands. The automated model is based on an early version of the EPA CMB model, which has been converted to run on an IBM-PC or compatible microcomputer. It uses the effective variance method. The interactive manual model is also undergoing modifications under an EPA contract. Some of these new features of the EPA model have been included in one version of the automated model.