SMOKE supports a variety of inventory formats for criteria, particulate, toxics, and activity data inventories, which are described in detail in Section 8.2, “Inventory Files”. Here, we provide a brief introduction to these formats, which will be helpful as you read more about SMOKE in the remainder of this chapter and the chapters before Chapter 8, SMOKE Input Files. All formats described here are text files. To convert your data to these formats, the best approach is to use a database or spreadsheet program to reformat and output the data in the requested format. There is not a standard format-conversion method that comes with SMOKE.
With the exception of the on-road mobile formats for activity data (i.e. VMT and speed), none of the SMOKE inventory formats require specific inventory pollutants or limit the inventory pollutant types that can be imported. However, all formats have their “typical” purpose. The IDA format is usually used for criteria and particulate inventories and is appropriate for them because most sources have emissions for all criteria and particulate pollutants. However, there is no reason that mercury data, for example, could not be provided to SMOKE using this format (provided that the user does not need to have the MACT code associated with mercury emissions for other processing steps, since MACT codes are not part of the IDA format). Similarly, the SMOKE ORL format is usually used for importing toxics data, but could also be used to import criteria inventories. In the following paragraphs, we describe the formats available for nonpoint/stationary area, nonroad mobile, on-road mobile, point, and point-wildfire sources.
Nonpoint/stationary area sources: SMOKE supports three formats for nonpoint/stationary area sources. The first is the IDA format, which is intended for input of the criteria and particulate National Emission Inventory for stationary area sources. The second is the EMS-95 format, which is provided only for backward compatibility for people using EMS-95 emission files. The key difference between the two formats is that the IDA format has all inventory pollutants for each source on a single line, whereas the EMS-95 format has a different inventory pollutant on each line. The third format, SMOKE ORL, is typically used for nonpoint sources for toxics inventories. This format can be created using data fields from the NEI for HAPs. In some cases, a version of this inventory known as the “modeler’s files” may be available, but will still require conversion to the SMOKE ORL format; additional conversion is needed because the “modeler’s files” contain extra information not needed for SMOKE, but needed by other users of the files. The SMOKE ORL and IDA formats may be used together to combine the criteria, particulate, and toxics inventories into a single SMOKE run. Like the EMS-95 format (and unlike the IDA format), the SMOKE ORL format has a different inventory pollutant on each line.
Nonroad mobile sources: There are two available inventory formats for nonroad mobile sources. For criteria and particulate inventories, you can use the same IDA format or EMS-95 format as for stationary area sources. For toxics inventories, the SMOKE ORL format is available for providing nonroad data to SMOKE. These formats may be used together to combine the nonroad criteria, particulate, and toxics inventories into a single SMOKE run. Like the nonpoint toxics format, the nonroad mobile toxics format has a different inventory pollutant on each line and can be used to input any inventory data to SMOKE, including criteria or particulate emissions.
On-road mobile sources: Four formats are possible for on-road mobile sources. There is an IDA format for activity data and one for emissions data.
The IDA activity data format is used to input VMT and speed data to SMOKE for criteria, particulate, and toxics modeling.
The IDA emissions data format is intended for criteria and particulate inventories, though other data can be provided in this
format as well; this format has all inventory pollutants on each line of the file. Third, there is a SMOKE ORL format for
toxics emissions data, which can also be used for input of any inventory data to SMOKE. All three of these formats expect
VMT or emissions data to be provided by road class and vehicle type. Fourth, there is an EMS-95 format that can be used to
provide SMOKE VMT data that are aggregated by road class and not vehicle type. In this case, SMOKE requires another input file, called the VMTMIX file, to disaggregate the emissions by vehicle type for each road class. The EMS-95 format also permits providing data by
link, which includes data regarding the coordinates of the link start and end points. The EMS-95 format is the only way to
import data by link.
Point sources: SMOKE has formats for annual or average-day inventories, for day-specific inventories, and for hour-specific inventories. For annual or average-day inventories, the IDA format can be used for criteria and particulate inventories. An EMS-95 format can also be used for average-weekday criteria and particulate inventories; it requires five separate files for each state (SMOKE combines the information from these five files and across all of the states when importing the data). A SMOKE ORL format is available for importing toxics inventories. For day-specific data, we have adapted the EMS-95 format for use in all cases, whether the annual or average-day inventory is in IDA, EMS-95, or SMOKE ORL format. For hour-specific data, a very similar format can be used, again regardless of what format the annual or average-day emissions are provided in. Finally, the CEM data format can be used for day-specific or hour-specific data when using IDA-formatted annual inventories only; SMOKE uses the ORIS codes and boiler codes in the IDA files to match sources between the IDA and CEM data files.
Wildfire sources: There are two approches available that you can provide wildfire data that are being treated as point sources to SMOKE using the IDA or ORL point-source format.