Dr. Marzuki Hj.

Ismail
Semester I 2009/10
ENTECH
Objectives
 Understand air and layers of atmosphere
 Define pollution – air pollution
 Types of air pollution
 Sources of air pollution
 Scales of air pollution
 Mixture of gases is commonly known as air
 Various gasses that surrounds the earth
to a depth of 1000km, or about 600 miles

Thin Gaseous envelope

Earth
 ‘Contamination of any feature of the
environment'.
 Pollution has the following characteristics:
1. It is the addition of substance at a faster rate
than the environment can accommodate.
2. Pollutants are not only chemicals, but also forms
of energy like heat, sound (noise pollution) and
radioactive rays.
3. To be a pollutant, a material has to be
potentially harmful to life.
 “any direct or indirect alteration of the physical,
thermal, chemical, biological properties of any
part of the environment by discharging, emitting
or depositing environmentally hazardous
substances, pollutants, or wastes so as to affect
any beneficial use adversely, to cause a
condition which is hazardous or potentially
hazardous to public health, safety, or welfare to
animals, birds, wildlife, fish, or aquatic life or to
plants or to cause a contradiction of any
condition, limitation, or restriction to which a
license under this Act is subject.”
 Started with wood fires used for heat and
cooking
 Coal used for fuel; smoke filled the cities
 In 13th century, coal smoke had become
a serious nuisance and prompted the first
antipollution law
 In 1273, Edward I prohibited the burning
of coal while Parliament was in session
 Combustion sources that burn fuels for heating
and power
 Exhaust emissions from vehicles that use
gasoline or diesel fuel
 Industry, manufacturing, and processing
 Residential heating
 Waste incineration
 Miscellaneous (warfare, recreation, etc)
Physical Form of Air
Pollutants
Ambient air is the air to which the general
public has access, i.e. any unconfined portion
of the atmosphere.
 The 2 basic physical forms of air pollutants
are particulate matter and gases.
 Primary pollutants - CO, SO2, NOx, HC, VOC, PM

 Secondary pollutants - O3, nitrates, sulfates

 Criteria pollutants - most common air pollutants

in Malaysia
 Control of secondary
pollutants is generally more
problematic than that of
primary pollutants, because
mitigation of secondary
pollutants requires the
identification of the
precursor compounds and
their sources as well as an
understanding of the
specific chemical reactions
that result in the formation
of the secondary pollutants.
 Suspended particulate matter (SPM)
 Carbon Monoxide (CO)
 Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
 Sulfur oxides (Sox)
 Lead
 Ozone (O3)
 Volatile Organic compounds (VOCs)
 Hazardous air pollutants (Air toxics)
 Can be divided into 4 scale/type:
 Global
 Stratospheric O3 depletion
 Climate change (G Warming) due to GHG
 Regional
 Acid rain
 Haze
 Local
 CO, NOx, SOx, PM, O3
 Indoor
 PM, VOC (Air Toxic), ETS, CO, Biological, CO2
 3 major sources of air pollution in Malaysia:
 Mobile sources
 Stationary sources
 Open burning sources

Major Sources of Air Pollution

Open Burning

Stationary

Mobile

Mobile Stationary Open Burning