Air Pollution

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 Climate Processes and Air Pollution
• Air pollution is defined as any contaminant added
to the air that is harmful to the health of living
organisms.
• Due to the nature of air and wind, this pollution can
be carried great distances.
• Industrial contaminants can be found in places that have
virtually no population.
• Contaminants especially concentrate at the poles.

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Air Pollution

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 Air Pollution
Cairo-Black clouds are caused by hypertoxic emissions of annual
burning of rice stubble in rural areas, and car exhaust fumes.
Long-Range Transport

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 Outdoor Air Pollution
• Primary - Released directly from planet’s surface. Dust,
smoke particles, Nitrogen, Carbon etc.
• Secondary - Formed when primary pollutants react or
combine with one another, or basic elements.
 Primary Air Pollutants Parameters
1. Carbon Monoxide
Produced when organic materials are incompletely
burned.
• Single largest source is the automobile.
• Not a persistent pollutant.
• Binds to hemoglobin in blood and makes the
hemoglobin less able to carry oxygen.
• Most dangerous in enclosed spaces.
• Cigarette smoking an important source.
 Primary Air Pollutants Parameters
2.0 Volatile Organic Compounds
• Hydrocarbons - Group of organic compounds
consisting of carbon and hydrogen.
– Evaporated from automobile fuel or remnants of fuel
incompletely burned.
– Catalytic converters used to burn exhaust gases more
completely.
 Primary Air Pollutants Parameters

3.0 Particulates
Minute pieces of solid materials dispersed into
the atmosphere (<10 microns).
• Smoke, Asbestos, Dust, Ash
• Can accumulate in lungs and interfere with
the ability of lungs to exchange gases.
 Air Pollution
We have 540 micrograms/m3 of PM10 ( Particulate Matter (PM)-
polluting particles less than 10 micrometers), which is three
times higher than the official limit, and 10 times the limit of the
World Health Organisation (WHO).
 Primary Air Pollutants
4.0 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

Sulfur and oxygen compound produced when sulfur-

containing fossil fuels are burned.
• Burning coal is primary artificial source
• Volcanoes and hot springs are natural sources
• Steam Plant recently: 200 tons/day
• SO2 is also a precursor to acid rain (a secondary pollutant)
 Primary Air Pollutants
5.0 Nitrogen Oxides (NO, NO2)
Formed when combustion takes place in the air.
– Automobile exhaust is primary source.
– NOx is also a precursor to acid rain and
photochemical smog (both secondary
pollutants) and is a greenhouse gas
Primary Air Pollutants Parameters
5.0 Lead
Enters the air as particles or part of dust.
The biggest source used to be exhaust from
cars using leaded gas; now it is industry
and burning fossil fuels.

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 Secondary Pollutants

Formed as a result of a chemical reaction in the

air.

• Smog – Reaction of sunlight with nitrogen oxide.

• Acid Rain – Reaction of sulfur dioxide with water

to form sulfuric acid.

• Ozone – Reaction of nitrogen oxides with volatile

organic compounds.

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 Atmospheric Ozone
• Ozone
is a gas found in the upper atmosphere that blocks
some UV radiation.
• Scientists discovered that atmospheric ozone
levels were dropping rapidly every year, during
September and October.
– Occurring since at least 1960.
– A 1% decrease in ozone results in a 2% increase in UV
rays reaching the earth.
– The ozone was being depleted by pollutants
containing chlorine.

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 Air Pollution and Topography
The effects of air pollution are also influenced by
the shape of the land.
• Temperature inversions occur when a layer of
dense, cool air is trapped below a layer of
lighter, warmer air.
– Most likely to occur in valleys and canyons.
– May also occur in any area where the wind is
typically calm.

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 Temperature Inversion
• Temperature inversions
trap any air pollution
produced, allowing it to
accumulate to much
higher than normal
levels.
• Two major air pollution
events occurred in the
20th century because of
this phenomenon.
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 Air Pollution (outdoor)
 Smog:
 It is caused by chemical
reactions between pollutants
derived from different sources,
mainly automobile exhaust and
industrial emissions.
 Cities (ex. Cairo) are often
centers of these types of
activities especially during the
warm months of the year. “Smog” in Cairo: Wikipedia
 Air Pollution (outdoor)

 Smog

http://www.greenvitals.net/greenvitalsnet/2010/1/26/new-us-anti-smog-restrictions-
raising-debate-over-effects-on.html
 Air Pollution (outdoor)
 Acid Rain

 The effects of acid rain on the environment can be

very serious; it:
o damages plants by destroying their leaves,
o poisons the soil,
o changes the chemistry of lakes and streams, and
o negatively affects the wildlife.
 Air Pollution (outdoor)
 Greenhouse Effect / Global warming:
 It is believed to come from the build up of carbon dioxide
gas (CO2) in the atmosphere when fuels are burned
 Plants convert CO2 back to Oxygen (O2), but the release of
CO2 from human activities is higher than the world's plants
can process
 The situation is made worse since many of the earth's forests
are being removed, and plant life is being damaged by acid
rain.
 Air Pollution (outdoor)
 Greenhouse Effect / Global warming:

http://www.gnb.ca/0009/0369/0018/0002-e.asp
 Acid Deposition and Humans

• Respiratory diseases
• Toxic metal leaching
• Damage to structures, especially
containing calcium carbonate
• Decreased visibility
• Decreased productivity and profitability
of fisheries, forests, and farms
 Indoor Air Pollution
• Indoor air pollution can have more significant
effects on human health than outdoor
pollution.
– People generally spend more time indoors.
– Cigarette smoke is the most common indoor air
pollutant in the U.S.
• 430,000 die annually from a disease related to smoking.

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 Indoor Air Pollution
• Less-developed countries also suffer from
indoor air pollution.
– Organic fuels make up majority of household
energy.
– These fuels are often burned in smoky, poorly
ventilated heating and cooking fires.

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Indoor Air Pollution
 Air Pollution Control
– Most effective strategy for controlling pollution is
not to produce it in the first place.
• Particulate Removal - Remove particles
physically by trapping them in a porous mesh
which allows air to pass through but holds
back solids.
• Electrostatic Precipitators – Pass air across
electrically charged plates that attract the
particles of pollution.

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Figure 09.30
 Reducing Pollution

• Sulfur Dioxide Reduction

– Heating Fuel Switching
• Switch from soft coal with a high sulfur content (like
was used in London in 1952) to low sulfur coal.
• Change to another fuel (natural gas).
– Limestone Injection
• Can reduce sulfur emissions by 90% by mixing crushed
limestone with coal before it is fed into a boiler.

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Air Pollution

Ambient Air Quality Limit

values as given by Law
no. 4 for Egypt (1994)
compared to the World
Health Organization
(WHO) air quality
guideline values
Solutions to Acid Deposition