# Could I use Speciation Tool？

**URL:** <https://forum.cmascenter.org/t/could-i-use-speciation-tool/4950>\
**Category:** Speciation Tool\
**Tags:** smoke, emissions\
**Created:** [May 21, 2024, 1:38pm UTC](https://forum.cmascenter.org/t/could-i-use-speciation-tool/4950 "2024-05-21T13:38:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e480ec/32.png) [@penguin](https://forum.cmascenter.org/u/penguin)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 1:38pm UTC](https://forum.cmascenter.org/t/could-i-use-speciation-tool/4950/1 "2024-05-21T13:38:25Z")

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Hello! I tried to put the emissions inventory made by GAINS MODEL into CMAQ as input, which required species allocation of PM2.5 and VOC. Could I use Speciation Tool to obtain split\_factor? (It should be noted that I did not use SMOKE to make the inventory. Using fortran scripts I wrote myself) Or do you have a better suggestion?

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**Author:** ![karlseltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@karlseltzer](https://forum.cmascenter.org/u/karlseltzer)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://forum.cmascenter.org/t/could-i-use-speciation-tool/4950/2 "2024-05-21T16:35:15Z")

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If you are looking for split factors and GSPRO files, I recommend using output from the S2S-Tool. Specifically, here:

> **[S2S-Tool/output at main · USEPA/S2S-Tool](https://github.com/USEPA/S2S-Tool/tree/main/output)**
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> S2S-Tool: U.S. EPA's SPECIATE-to-SMOKE Tool generates GSPRO and GSCNV files that are used by SMOKE to generate gridded emissions for photochemical modeling. - USEPA/S2S-Tool

As for your particular project: I used GAINS many years ago and recall there being \< 10 sectors in total. PM and VOC profiles in SPECIATE, which is the database used to generate the split factors using S2S, better represent emissions at a more granular level (e.g., the SCC-level). The best option might be to pick a “representative” profile for each GAINS sector. This will likely lump many SCCs together, but there may not be a better option.

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**Author:** ![penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e480ec/32.png) [@penguin](https://forum.cmascenter.org/u/penguin)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 11:52am UTC](https://forum.cmascenter.org/t/could-i-use-speciation-tool/4950/3 "2024-05-23T11:52:05Z")

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Thank you very much for your answer! This is very helpful to me, and I would like to ask you: What is the difference between PM and PM\_AE6 in SPECIATE’s export\_profiles?

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**Author:** ![karlseltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@karlseltzer](https://forum.cmascenter.org/u/karlseltzer)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2024, 12:30pm UTC](https://forum.cmascenter.org/t/could-i-use-speciation-tool/4950/4 "2024-05-23T12:30:26Z")

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PM profiles feature all species reported by a test. PM\_AE6 profiles are post-processed into the format needed for the AE6 module in CMAQ. This is done using the “PM Protocol.” See the appendix of the S2S documentation:

> **[20230906\_S2S-Tool\_v2\_UsersGuide.pdf](https://github.com/USEPA/S2S-Tool/blob/main/documentation/20230906_S2S-Tool_v2_UsersGuide.pdf)**