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Chapter 3:
Air Pollution
Block E, Level 10
Lecture Outline
Atmosphere
● Def: body of air
or gasses that
protects the planet
and enables life
● (Air:
78% Nitrogen,
21%Oxygen,
1% other)
GASES IN THE ATMOSPHERE
AIR POLLUTION
Natural Sources
Natural sources of air pollution include dust storms, forest fires,
ash from smoking volcanoes (volcanic eruptions), the decay of
organic matters and pollen grains (spores) floating in the air.
Manmade or anthropogenic
Population explosion, deforestation, urbanization and
industrialization are all human causes of air pollution. Manmade
Sources – Industrial units, thermal power plants, automobile
exhausts, fossil fuel burning, mining, nuclear explosions.
SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION
Stationary
Mobile
Point source- large stationary source
Area source- small stationary source and mobile source with
indefinite routes
Line source- mobile source with definite routes
Air Pollution Disaster
CLASSIFICATION OF AIR POLLUTANTS
Pollen is important natural
Refer to the dispersion of solid or liquid
contaminant because of its peculiar
particles of microscopic size in the air. It can
properties of irritation and allergy
also be defined as a colloidal system in
sometimes leading to bronchitis,
which the dispersion medium is gas and the
asthma and dermatitis. They are
dispersed phase is solid or liquid. The term
discharged into the atmosphere from
aerosol is applicable until it is in suspension
plants etc. The air transported pollen
and after settlement due to its own weight
grains range mainly between 10 and
or by addition with other particles
50 microns.
(agglomeration) it is no longer an air Natural
pollutant. The diameter of the aerosol may Contaminants
range from 0.01 (or less) micron to 100
Following are the main air
micron. The various aerosols are as pollutant gases:
follows:-
1). Sulphur dioxide (P)
2). Oxides of nitrogen
1). Dust Aerosols Gases 3). Carbon monoxide (P)
2). Smoke 4). Hydrogen sulphide
5). Hydrogen fluoride
3). Mists
6). Chlorine and hydrogen
4). Fog chloride
5). Fumes 7). Ozone (S)
8). Aldehydes
CLASSIFICATION OF AIR POLLUTANTS
**Note: Primary pollutants are those that are emitted directly from identifiable
sources. Secondary air pollutants are those that are produced in the air by the
interaction of two or more primary air pollutant.
HEALTH EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION
The air pollutants have harmful effect on human beings, animals,
plants and even on the buildings. The air pollutants may have their
origin from vehicular emissions or by other industrial or other human
or natural activity. The following tables show their harmful effects.
IMPACTS OF AIR POLLUTION
Environmental Impacts
• It causes depletion of the ozone layer, due to which ultraviolet
radiation can reach the earth and cause skin cancer and
damage to the eyes and immune system.
• It causes acid rain, which damages crop plants, trees, buildings,
monuments, statues and metal structures and also makes the
soil acidic.
• It causes the greenhouse effect and global warming, which
leads to excessive heating of the earth's atmosphere, further
leading to weather variability and a rising in sea level. The
increased temperature may cause the melting of ice caps and
glaciers, resulting in floods.
IMPACTS OF AIR POLLUTION
Note:
Aircrafts release large CFCs is a non reactive,
quantities of nitric acid that odorless, nonflammable non
reacts with the ozone and toxic and non corrosive.
thus breaks the protective
layer It extremely used in air
conditioners, refrigerators
and some sprays.
• Cases e.g.:
“Rapidly growing use of electricity produced by
coal and other fossil fuels serious problem of acid
rain has emerged in US, Canada, Europe and
China”.
Remove SO2
particulates & NOx
from smokestack
gases
Prevention Dispersion or
Cleanup
Remove pollutants
Convert coal to a after combustion
liquid or gaseous
fuel
Prevention Cleanup
Mass transit Emission
control devices
Bicycles and
walking
Less polluting
engines
Less polluting fuels Car exhaust
inspections
Improve fuel efficiency twice a year
Generated by:
✓evaporation of fuel from carburetor,
✓leakage between piston rings and cylinder
wall, and
✓combustion of fuel (exhaust gases)
CONTROL OF AUTOMOBILE POLLUTION
Sulphur Oxides
S + O2 SO2
• This reaction implies that for every gram of sulphur in the fuel,
2 grams of SO2 is emitted to the atmosphere. Because the
combustion process is not 100% efficient, generally it is assume
that 5% of the sulphur in the fuel ends up in the ash, that is,
1.90 g SO2 per gram of sulphur in the fuel is emitted.
FATE OF AIR POLLUTANTS
Example:
A power plant burns coal at a rate of 1.00 kg.s-1. If the analysis of
the coal reveals a sulphur content of 3.0%, what is the annual rate
of emission of SO2?
Solution:
Using the mass balance approach, draw the following mass-
balance diagram:
Sulphur dioxide (SSO2)
Sulphur in
(Sin)
In one year,
Sin = 0030 kg.s-1 x 86,400 s.day-1 x 365 day.year-1 = 9.46 x 105 kg.year-1
Sso2 = Sin - Sash = 9.46 x 105 - 4.73 x 104 = 8.99 x 105 kg.year-1
S + O2 SO2
MW = 32 + 32 = 64
The standard
deviations are
functions of the
downward distance
from the source and
the stability of the
atmosphere. The
equation is as follows:
ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION - Basic Point Source Gaussian Dispersion
Model