LOT ial ce CONTROL ENGINEERINGCopyright © 2006, 1991, New Age International (P) Ltd., Publishers Published by New Age International (P) Ltd.. Publishers First Edition : 1991 Second Edition : 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, xerography, or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright ISBN : 81-224-1835-X Rs. 225.00 C-06-03-658 Printed in India at Saras Graphics, Noida. ‘Typeset at Pagetek, Delhi. PUBLISHING FOR ONE WORLO NEW AGE INTERNATIONAL (P) LIMITED, PUBLISHERS ormerly Wiley Eastern Limited) 4835/24, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi - 110002 Visit us at www.newagepablishers.comContents Preface to the Second Edition Preface to the First Edition Chapter 1 IMPACT OF MAN ON THE ENVIRONMENT: 1.1 _The Biosphere _1 12 The Hydrologic le 3 13 The Nutrient Cycles 4 1.3.1 The Carbon Cycle_4 1.3.2 The Nitrogen Cycle _7 1.3.3_The Phosphorus Cycle _8 1.3.4 The Sulphur Cycle 9 14 Consequences of Population Growth _10 1.4.1 Exponential Growth 12 14.2 Environmental Trends 13 15 Energy Consumption and Demand _16 1.5.2 World Energy Demand 20 1.5.3 India’s Fossil Fuel Scene 21 1.6 Pollution of Air, Water and Soil __23 1.6.1_Impact of Coal Mining 23 vit 1.6.3 Carbon Emissions and Global Warming 24 1.6.5 Impact of Urban Areas 28 1.6.6_Environmental Imj of lectric and Nuclear Enorgy 28 Ga. Maris: Mednsier Si 1.6.9 Ozone Depletion 32 1.6.10 Solid Wastes 32 1.7 Closure 33Chapter 2_ AIR POLLUTION: SOURCES AND EFFECTS 21. Definiti 4 Scales of C on 187 22 Classification and Properties of Air Pollutants 40 22.1 Classificati 0 2.2.2 Properties of Air Pollutants 41 Emission S 2.3.1 Classification According to Source Types 44 2.3.2 Other Methods of Grouping Air Pollution Services 46 2.3.3 Major Emissions from Global Sources 46 nasa 8 eine a 23 2.4.1 Wet Precipitation 50 24.2" Interaction at the Barth's Surface 52 2.4.3 Chemical Reactions in the Atmosphere _52 24.4 Photochemical Smog 64 SRE PR IADR Re 2.5.2 Vegetation 68 2.5.3 Materials 69 2.5.4 Damage to Health, Vegetation and Materials in India_70 26 Air Pollution Laws and Standards 70 261 Standards 71 Chapter 3 METEOROLOGICAL ASPECTS OF AIR POLLUTANT DISPERSION 76 3.1 Temperature Lapse Rates and Stability 76 3.1.1 Adiabatic Lapse Rate 78 3.1.2 Atmospheric Stability 80 omnes BL 3.2 Wind Velocity and Turbulance 83 3.2.1 Topographical Effects 85 3.3.1 Aerodynamic Effects of Structures and Terrain 89 3.4 Dispersion of Air Pollutants 91 3.4.1 Solutions to the Atmospheric Dispersion Equation 94 3.4.2 The Gaussian Plume Model 97 3.5.1 Buoyant Plumes 110 3.5.2 Plume Rise under Stable and Calm Conditions 111 3.5.3. Non-buoyant Plumes 111 Chapter 4 AIR POLLUTION SAMPLING AND MEASUREMENT 116 4.1 Types of Pollutant Sampling and Measurement 116 4.2 Ambient Air Sampling 116Edlindie-ct'ts ie Bal tir 43 Stack Sampling 124 43.1 Sampling System 126 4.32 Particulate Sampling 127 4.3.3 Gaseous Sampling 131 44 Analysis of Air Pollutants 133 4.4.1 Sulphur Dioxide 133 442 Nitrogen Oxides 136 4.4.3 Carbon Monoxide 137 444 Oxidants and Ozone 140 4.4.5 Hydrocarbons 140 Chapter 5 AIR POLLUTION CONTROL METHODS AND EQUIPMENT 145 6.1 Control Methods 145 5.2 Source Correction Methods _145 5.2.1_Raw Material 145 5.2.2 Process Changes 146 5.2.3 juipment Modification or Replacement 146 5.3 Cleaning of Gaseous Effluents 147 Ea Parti Emission Control 148 5.4.1 Collection Efficiency 148 5.4.2 Particulate Control Equipment 150 5.4.3 Gravitational Settling Chambers 150 5.4.4 Cyclone Separators 157 5.4.5 Filters 164 5.4.6 Electrostatic Precipitators 172 5.4.7 Wet Scrubbers 179 ; : 5.6.1 Absorption by Liquids _190 5.6.2 Adsorption by Solids 207 5.6.3 Combustion 215 Chapter 6 CONTROL OF SPECIFIC GASEOUS POLLUTANTS 227 6.1_Control of Sulphur Dioxide Emission _227 6.1.1 Extraction of Sulphur from Fuels 227 6.1.2 Sulphur Reduction During Combustion 230 6.1.3 Desulphurization of Flue Gases 231 6.1.4 Processes Using Metal Oxides 232 6.1.5 Processes Using Activated Carbon 234 6.1.6 Wet Scrubbing Methods 2356.1.7 Metal Smelting Operations 239 6.1.8 Chemical and Petroleum Industries 241 62 Control of Nitrogen Oxides 243 6.2.1 Modification of Operating Conditions 246 6.2.2 Modification of Design Conditions 248 62.3 Effluent Gas Treatment Methods 248 63 Carbon Monoxide Control 253 64 Control of Hydrocarbons 253 6.4.1 Biological Oxidation 254 6&5 Mobile Sources 255 Chapter 7 SOURCES AND CLASSIFICATION OF WATER POLLUTANTS 261 7.1 Water Resources 261 7.1.1 Utilization of Water 263 7.2 Origin of Wastewater 264 7.2.1 Wastewater Composition 266 7.3_ ‘Types of Water Pollutants and Their Effects 267 7:3.1_Oxygen Demanding Wastes 268 7.3.2 Disease Causing Agents 280 Synthetic Organic Compounds 281 Plant Nutrients 284 Tnorganic Chemicals and Minerals 284 Sediments 286 Radioactive Substances 286 Thermal Discharges 286 7.3.9 Oil 287 7.4 Water Pollution Laws and Standards 288 Chapter 8_ WASTEWATER SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS 298 8.1 Sampling 293 8.2 Methods of Analysis 295 83 Determination of Organic Matter _295 8.3.1 Dissolved Oxygen (DO) 295 8.3.2 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) 295 83.3 Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 296 8.3.4 ‘Total Organic Carbon (TOC) 297 8.4 Determination of Inorganic Substances 298 8.4.1 Nitrogen 298 84.2 Phosphorus 299 84.3 Trace Elements 299 8.4.4 Alkalinity 301 85 Physical Characteristics 301 SaaS8.5.1 Suspended Solids 301 8.5.2 Colour and Odour 302 86 Bacteriological Measurements 303 8.7_ Water Quality Standards _305 Chapter 9_ WASTEWATER TREATMENT 309 9.1 Basic Processes of Water Treatment 309 9.2 i Treatment 310 9.2.2 Sedimentation 312 9.23 Flotation 322 93 Berondary (Biological) Treatment 324 Role of Microorganisms 324 Baa Decomposition of Organic Waste 324 9.3.3 Bacterial Pollution Dynamics 325 9.3.4 Growth Kinetics: The Monod Equation 325 9.3.5 Aerobic Biological Treatment 327 9.3.6 Activated Sludge Process 327 9.3.8 Trickling Filters 339 9.3.9 Sludge Treatment and Disposal 343 94 Advanced Wastewater Treatment 347 9.4.1 Removal of Suspended Solids 348 9.4.2 Removal of Dissolved Solids 349 9.4.3 Nitrogen Removal 358 9.4.4 Phosphorus Removal 361 9.4.5 Advanced Biological Systems 362 9.46 Chemical Oxidation 364 9.5 Recovery of Materials from Process Effluents 366 Chapter 10 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT 372 10.2 Public Health Aspects 374 10.3 Methods of Collection 375 10.4 Disposal Methods _ 376 10.4.1 Open Dumping _377 10.4.2 Sanitary Landfill 377 10.4.3 Volume of a Sanitary Landfill 378 10.4.4 Incineration 383 10.4.3 Composting 384 10.5 Potential Methods of Disposal 386 10.5.1 Utilization 386 10.5.2 Recovery and Recycling 386Chapter 11 HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT 391 ae ec i 1.2 The Hazardous Wastes Rules 292 ae Mice ctnaia a 11.4 Potentially Non-Compatible Wastes 396 11.5 Hazardous Waste Management Strategy 397 11.5.1 Waste Minimization 397 11.6 Treatment Methods 397 11.6.1 Physical Treatment 397 11.6.2 Chemical Treatment 397 11.6.3 Biological Treatment _399 11.7 Solidification and Stabilization 401 11.8 Disposal Methods 401 11.8.1 Landfill System 401 11.8.2 Landfill Closure 402 11.8.3 Und und Dis; 403 APPENDICES A. Conversion Factors and Constants 405 B. Physical Properties of Fluids 409 NOTATION INDEX SUBJECT INDEX BECuarter 1 Impact of Man on the Environment: An Overview 1.1 THE BIOSPHERE The environment, which supports life and sustains various human activities, is widely known as the biosphere. The biosphere is a shallow layer compared to the total size of the Earth and extends to about 20 km from the bottom of the ocean to the highest point in the atmosphere at which life can survive without man-made protective devices. It is estimated that the biosphere contains some 1.75 million species known to science (Table 1.1). The total number of existing species is much more and estimates of actual species range as high as 30 to 100 million!. The essential requisites of life for all these species, namely, light, heat, water, food and habitats are supplied by the biosphere. Since the biosphere is very complex and large, it is usually divided into smaller units or ecosystems. All ecosystems can be divided into two parts known as the biotic (living) and the abiotic (non-living) components. Abiotic substances are the basic elements such as phosphorus and nitrogen, and the compounds found in the environment. The biotic category can be subdivided into three functional groups: (i) Producers-the autotrophic (self-nourishing) organisms, largely the green plants and algae. (i) Consumers-the heterotrophic (other-nourishing) organisms, chiefly all animal life, including mammals, fish, insects and birds; these ultimately depend upon consump- tion of producers to sustain life. (iii) Decomposers-heterotrophic organisms, chiefly the bacteria and fungi that break down complex compounds from waste materials~including dead producers and consumers-to again make the chemical components available to producers. A typical example of an operating ecosystem is the pond. The abiotic substances are the water, the nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide etc. The producers in the ecosystem (Fig. 1.1) are the large rooted plants and the free floating minute plants, usually algae, called phytoplankton. These store energy and liberate oxygen. The primary consumers are benthos, or bottom forms, and zooplankton with little or no swimming ability, The phytoplankton are consumed by zooplankton, which are in turn eaten by large aquatic life such as fish.Table 1.1: Variety of known living species (ref.1) Other consumers are the insects, frogs, man etc., and a category called detritivores CO, which in turn is used by the algae. Additional CO, is provided from the atmosphere and through the respiration of fish. In a healthy system, the availability of the nutrients natural cycles, the most important of which are probably (1) the hydrologic cycle and (2) the biogeochemical cycles of (i) carbon, (ii) nitrogen, (iii) phosphorus and (iv) sulphur. In the unpolluted natural environment, these cycles operate in a balanced state with little variation thereby contributing to the stability of the whole biosphere. Ever since he appeared on the face of the Earth, man has exploited and modified the environment to his advantage in many ways. Until recently, however, these changes have represented only a small perturbation in a large system and have not seriously threatened the homeostatic mechanisms, called the feedback loops, which tend to maintain the system in a stable condition. Now unfortunately man is capable of inducing large enough perturbations in the ecosystems, which can permanently upset the balanced state of the natural cycles.OQ; 60, Nutrients, Detritivores. Fig. 1.1 An aquatic ecosystem 1.2 THE HYDROLOGIC CYCLE The hydrologic or water cycle is probably the most important of all the natural cycles in the biosphere. More than 97 per cent of water in the biosphere is found in the oceans; the remaining 3 per cent is found on the continents and in the atmosphere. But more than 70 per cent of this latter portion is locked in glaciers and icecaps. The water on which humans depend so heavily-lakes, streams and ground water-accounts for less than 1 per cent of the total supply and it is this water, which is currently being used and reused in many parts of the world. The hydrologic cycle of the biosphere depends on the reciprocity of evaporation and precipitation. Liquid water on the Earth goes into the atmosphere as vapour by evapora- tion and transpiration of the plants. The vapour is returned to Earth as rain or snow (precipitation). Fig. 1.2 illustrates the complete hydrologic cycle. Most evaporation occurs over the oceans but some oceans lose more water by evaporation than they gain by precipitation. The difference is made up by runoff and seepage from the continents, over which there is more precipitation than evaporation. The continents lose more than 50 per cent of the precipitation through evaporation and the remainder is temporarily stored in lakes and rivers or as ground water which is later discharged into the oceans. The global cycle can be summarised as shown in Table 1.2.‘Table 1.2 Water balance of the earth Fig. 1.2 The hydrologic cycle Each year, an estimated 4,23,000 km? of water is evaporated, and the same quantity is precipitated over the whole surface of the Earth. The amount of water, which is tempo- rarily stored and is later discharged into the oceans is 37,000 km! and this is the amount which is potentially available for human needs. Minor local modifications to the hydrolic cycle are usually made by diverting or regulating the runoff and storage phases of fresh water for domestic or industrial purposes and for power generation, flood control, irriga- tion and recreation. 1.3 THE NUTRIENT CYCLES 1.3.1. The Carbon Cycle The biosphere contains a complex mixture of carbon compounds in a dynamic equilibriumof formation, transformation and decomposition. The dynamics of the carbon cycle is pre- sented in Fig. 1.3. aes Co, Reservoir [——*} Atmosphere 4 Aquatic i isk Tf a ls 5 © [8 Combustion Chemical z 3 |B weathering combination A 8 |B |§ “vcanc lg a activity le Consumers Producers Fig. 1.3 The carbon cycle The producers, through photosynthesis, reduce carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to organic carbon. This then passes through consumers and decomposers, then usually re- enters the atmosphere through respiration and decomposition. Additional return from producers and consumers occurs through the nonbiological process of combustion. Even though the amount of CO, in the atmosphere is of major concern, in fact, the atmospheric reservoir for carbon is the smallest and the oceans hold the largest amount, serving as a vast “sink” for CO,. Typical reservoirs for carbon (expressed in billion tonnes)? are: oceans—40,000, fossil fuels, rocks and minerals—5,000 to 10,000, vegetation and soil—2,000, and atmosphere— 750. Thus, the oceans store more than 50 times as much as the atmosphere. Human activity releases roughly 7.0 billion tonnes of carbon (in the form of CO,) into the atmos- phere every year. This is a small amount compared to that held by the atmosphere, and an even smaller figure compared with that held in the oceans. Out of the 7.0 billion tonnes, only 3.0 billion tonnes accumulate in the atmosphere and the rest is taken up by the ocean and terrestrial plants. The exact mechanism by which the seawater interacts with the air above it to remove CO, is not clearly understood but the oceanic reservoir tends to regu- late the atmospheric CO, concentration. Even though the net amount of 8.0 billion tonnes added to the atmosphere each year is a tiny fraction of the total held by the atmosphere, it assumes significance because the natural processes and the environment maintain a dynamic equilibrium whereas the human activity puts an additional burden on nature, thereby disrupting the delicate balance. Any global event that alters the exchange of CO, between the atmosphere and the ocean can significantly affect the concentration of CO, in the atmosphere.Apart from the daily production and consumption of carbon (in the form of CO,), the Earth has significant reserves of bound carbon in the form of inorganic deposits such as limestone and organic fossil fuel deposits consisting of mainly coal and petroleum. Due to combustion of fossil fuels, weathering and dissolution of carbonate rocks, and volcanic activity, some of the bound carbon returns to the atmospheric aquatic reservoir as carbon dioxide or carbonic acid. Studies have shown that plants tend to grow faster in a CO,-enriched atmosphere’, but this benefit is offset by denudation of forests by man thereby decreasing nature's ability to remove the excess CO, from the atmosphere. As a result, a detectable increase in the concentration of atmospheric CO, has been observed. Geologic records indicate that the atmospheric concentration of CO, stayed fairly stable at levels of 280 + 10 ppm till the onset of the Industrial Revolution (Fig. 1.4). Since the late 1700s, the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities have increased the atmospheric concentrations more than 30 per cent, By 1959, the CO, level in the atmosphere was 316 ppm, a rise of 13 per cent over two centuries. By 1998, it had reached 367 ppm—an increase of 17 per cent in just 39 years, and had reached nearly 380 ppm by the year 2004. This corresponds to an anual increase of approximately 1.4 ppm. Whether this increase in global concentrations of CO, would alter climatic patterns or not (indications are that the earth is warming) is debatable. Although much remains to be learnt about the earth’s carbon cycle and the role of the oceans as a sink for CO,, one thing is, however, certain. Human activities have disturbed the dynamic equilibrium among the major carbon dioxide reservoirs of the biosphere, and the effects of such disturbances are a matter of considerable and immediate concern. 400 | 350 | CO, Concentration (ppm) T 200 L L L L 1 1500 1600 1700) 1800 1900 2000 Year Fig. 1.4 Ambient concentration of carbon dioxide1.3.2 The Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen in its gaseous form constitutes 79 per cent of the atmosphere. However, it cannot be used directly by most forms of life. It must first be “fixed” before it can be utilised by plants and animals. By fixation, nitrogen is converted into its chemical compounds, largely nitrates (NO) and ammonia (NH;). The fixation of nitrogen takes place through both physicochemical and biological means although the latter is by far the much bigger contributor. The biological fixation is limited to a few, but abundant organisms like the free living bacteria Azetobacter and Clostridium, nodule bacteria on leguminous plants like Rhizobium, and some blue-green Algae. These are the keys to the movement of nitrogen from the atmospheric reservoir into the cycle shown in Fig. 1.5. The nitrates are assimilated to form amino acids, urea, and other organic residues in the producer, consumer and decomposer cycles. The amino acids and urea are then con- verted to ammonia through a process called “ammonification”. To complete the cycle, denitrifying bacteria convert the ammonia into nitrites, then into nitrates, and then back into gaseous nitrogen. In this way, under normal circumstances, the total amount of nitrogen fixed equals the total amount returned to the atmosphere as gas. -———>|_ Atmospheric Nitrogen itrifyi Electro-chemical Nitrogen Denttyeg bccn | a NO, +N, fixation organisms (NO) . I 3 Denitritying a NO,+>NO, | 3 sie) tin Se aS —— NO, > NO NO, -> NH Consumers f+ Producers: pet iin Si pareve |, es residues | —— << d Nitrate I ‘Ammonitying ‘Ammonia Fig. 1.5 The nitrogen cycleMan has interfered with this natural cycle by industrially fixing nitrogen. This in- cludes production of nitrogen fertilisers and oxidation of nitrogen during fossil fuel com- bustion. Most of the excess nitrogen is carried off into rivers and lakes and ultimately reaches the ocean. This increased runoff has greatly increased the productivity in many aquatic environments and has contributed to the process of eutrophication. 1.3.3 The Phosphorus Cycle Phosphorus plays an important role in the growth of living tissue, for it is involved in the metabolic processes of energy transfer. It is quite different from other major elements of the biosphere in that it does not form gaseous compounds at normal temperatures and pressures, and hence it cannot return to the atmosphere. The main reservoirs of phospho- rus on land are rock and natural phosphate deposits. Rain and other natural processes cause phosphorus to be released to the soil and much of it is fixed in the soil or absorbed on to soil particles. But some of it is lost to the water bodies such as lakes and streams and eventually ends up in the ocean, where the phosphorus is deposited partly in shallow sediments and partly in the deep zone. ‘The land plants take the inorganic phosphate salts from the soil and convert them into adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP). These are then utilised by the plants as energy carriers for their metabolic reactions. The organic phosphates are transferred to consumers and decomposers and subsequently are made available as inorganic phosphates for recycling via bacterial decomposition. The inorganic phosphates that are leached from the land into fresh water systems are taken up rather rapidly by phytoplankton and are converted to organophosphates. This phosphorus is injested by zooplankton, which in turn are consumed by other organisms. After the death of the organisms, the phosphates are released into the water by bacterial decomposition. In the ocean, the cycle is similar to that of the fresh water systems. Some of the phosphorus which is not deposited in the sediments is recirculated by upwelling, which brings the phosphates from unlighted depths to the photosynthetic zone, where it goes through phytoplankton, zoo-plankton and animal stages. The zooplankton may excrete as much phosphorus as is stored in their bodies* and in doing so, they are instrumental in keeping the cycle going. Of the excreted phosphorus, more than half is in inorganic form and the rest is in the form of organic compounds. It is not certain whether the phytoplankton can directly utilise the organic phosphorus or whether bacterial degradation is required. ‘Some of the phosphorus from the ocean is returned to the land through fish harvesting and through guano deposits of fish eating birds. However, it is certain that more phosphorus is being lost to the depths of the ocean than is being added to land and fresh water systems®. This net one-way displacement of phosphorus reserves from land to ocean is of some concern because phosphorus as a nutrient would be in short supply. Hence, it could be called a growth-determining nutrient. Lack of phosphorus in the soil causes soil infertility, and to replenish the lost phospho- rus, synthetic fertilisers are now being frequently used. Because of the accelerated use of fertilisers and synthetic detergents, the phosphorus cycle is substantially affected. Phosphorus pollution has contributed to the eutrophication of many water bodies and it may also have an adverse effect on the natural food chains.1.3.4 The Sulphur Cycle Sulphur, like nitrogen, is a basic constituent of proteins in plants and animals. It is found in the biosphere in a wide variety of forms. Sulphur dioxide (SO,) and hydrogen sulphide (HS) are the important gaseous forms, and the sulphate ion (SO ) is the common form found in water and soil. The distribution of sulphur in the environment is shown in Fig. 16. Sulphate ion is reduced after being absorbed from the soil by plants and bacteria, and ultimately incorporated as the sulphydryl group (-SH) in proteins. Some sulphates are reduced under anaerobic conditions directly to sulphides, including H,S, or to elemental sulphur by a class of bacteria known as Desulfovibrio bacteria, found largely at ocean bottom. The hydrogen sulphide thus produced escapes as a gas into the atmosphere and replenishes the sulphur lost by precipitation. In the presence of oxygen, H,S is rapidly oxidised to sulphates by bacteria of genus Thiobacillus. Even in the absence of oxygen, several types of bacteria such as Chlorobacteriaceae and Thiorhodaceae oxidise HS to elemental sulphur. 80, “Ammospheric| ‘Atmospheric, ree Atmosaheric: uarioee if 2 HS etc. ' ‘See spray Plant uptake Combustion Bacterial J ‘emission Preciptation ‘Sulphur containing ‘organic matter Stet. ke ¥ Mineralization Assimilation i Torganic |g © f sulphates, Sod _[* : i 3 : eduction 3 6 4 6 2_[ Sulphur Suiphides, | 7 Lt] H,S etc. fe —— i ‘Oxidation —! Fig. 1.6 The sulphur cycleAtmosphere receives sulphur through bacterial emission (H,S), fossil fuel burning (SO,), wind-blown sea salts (SO) and volcanic emissions (H,S, SO,, SO2-). Most of the sulphur in the form of SO, or H,S is converted to sulphur trioxide (SO,), which dissolves in water droplets to form sulphuric acid. The sulphates and the acid then precipitate with rain. The sulphur cycle is overloaded due to burning of fossil fuels at an ever increasing rate. Asa result, the SO, emitted into the atmosphere this way constitutes a significant fraction of total global sulphur transport. This increased amount of sulphur is changed mostly to the form of sulphuric acid in rain water causing adverse ecological effects. 1.4 CONSEQUENCES OF POPULATION GROWTH One of the factors that effect the degradation of the environment is population growth. With the discovery, some ten thousand years ago, that food could be produced either by cultivating plants or by taming certain species of animals, man’s life-style has been signifi- cantly altered. This discovery resulted in an assured food supply and a subsequent gradual increase in human population, but pestilence and famine kept the population under control. ‘However, with the development of thousands of chemical compounds to restore and enhance the soil fertility and to help protect many of the domesticated species, man was able to expand his food producing capacity significantly. These activities together with the birth + of modern medicine have resulted in an explosive growth of population with inevitable consequences. Table 1.3 Population growth and doubling timeTo assess the impact of population on the environment, it is first necessary to consider the growth of world population. Table 1.3 shows the change in population along with the doubling time at various stages since 8000 B.C. The doubling time ranges from 6400 years—a very stable population in equilibrium with its environment—to 38 years, the value obtained for the period 1950 to 2000. The world’s populatiun reached ~ 545 million by 1650 and it had taken the world nearly 10,000 years to reach the mark. This type of growth is characterised by large doubling times. Advances in food production and industry lowered the death rate, and this further shortened the time needed for the population to double. By 1850, the population reached one billion, and by 1930, it had doubled again. In 1976, the world’s population had crossed the four billion mark, with a doubling time of 46 years. This dramatic growth has coincided with the development of cheap sources of energy (coal, petroleum, natural gas, and hydro- electric power) and with the scientific and industrial revolution. 9.0 8.0 70 60 50 4.0 3.0 2.0 1500 1600 «-1700«S 1800» 1900 20002100 Fig. 1.7 World's population growth‘The general trend of population growth after 1750 is shown in Fig. 1.7. The plot shows that the world’s population has not increased in slow and linear manner as was the case prior to the industrial revolution. Similarly, Fig. 1.4 representing the atmospheric concen- tration of CO, is no longer linear. These plots show the changes taking place at an accel- erating pace. 1.4.1 Exponential Growth After the eighteenth century, the world’s population, P, showed a marked increase and the rate of change can be represent by, <=kP z oD) where & is the exponential population growth rate. This type of change is known as the exponential change, also called geometric progression. Integrating equation (1.1) with time yields. P = Pyexp|k(t-to)] (1.2) where P, is the population at time ¢, (year). The doubling time (T,) for exponential growth is the time it takes the population to double, ie., ? 9 and T, = (t-ty) Po (13) or w(L.4) Population growth rates are commonly expressed as a per cent. Te (1.8) r where ‘r’ is the per cent rate of growth per year. The rate of growth of population of a region can be predicted by the equation: r=b-d+m (1.6) where ‘6’ is the birth rate, ‘d’ is death rate, and ‘m’is the net migration rate into the region. For example, world’s annual birth and death rates during 1995-2000 period were 24.8 and 8.7 per 1000 population, respectively. Since m = 0, the rate of growth of world population becomes 1.6 per cent. The annual 1.6 per cent increase in world population does not seem particularly large until the characteristics of exponential growth are examined carefully. At this rate of growth, the world’s population will double in about 43 years. That means, a population of 6.2 billion in 2000 becomes 12.4 billion in 2043 and 24.8 billion by the year 2086. India occupies 2.5 per cent of the land area of the world while about 16 per cent of the world’s population reside in this country. The population of India in 1981 was 684 million