EPM -- Emissions Production Model

DESCRIPTION

EPM is an interactive computer model that predicts the time rate of fuel consumption and emissions from wildland biomass burns.

It can be used as a stand-alone program for estimating emissions from individual fires. It also can provide input to smoke dispersion models to estimate smoke trajectories from individual or multiple fires and has been linked with SASEM, PUFF, NFSpuff, VSMOKE, TSARS Plus, and CALPUFF.

EPM allows up to 10 burning periods for each fire and outputs heat release rates and emission rates for particulate matter (total, below 10um, and below 2.5um), carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane at 3 minute intervals. A new version of EPM is being developed to include a broader range of fuel types and burning conditions.

The Joint Fire Science Program Web site provides a briefing paper on EPM.

SCALE AND AREAS OF APPLICATION

SURVEY COMMENTS

Thirteen survey respondents reported using EPM.  All of these respondents scored EPM as a "very important" tool to execute tasks in their jobs.  Most considered it only somewhat good at being able to do what they needed it to do and that a different tool should be developed in order to better perform the task of predicting fuel consumption and emissions.

BENEFITS (PROS)

COSTS (CONS)

RECOMMENDATIONS