ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION

Air dispersion modeling studies are conducted for a number of reasons, ranging

from satisfying regulatory requirements to optimizing a given air pollution control

system. O'Brien & Gere assists a variety of industrial, utility, municipal, and

military clients in evaluating their air quality impacts. With engineers and
scientists

specializing in atmospheric science and meteorology, O'Brien & Gere has solved

some of the most complex air quality problems.

 FACTORS AFFECTING SOURCE EMISSIONS
Predicting the concentration of contaminants in the ambient air would be an

easy task were it not for the many factors that affect the dispersion of air

contaminants, such as:

ƒ Meteorology- is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere.

ƒ Topography-

ƒ Physical stack parameters

ƒ Building downwash
 WHAT IS AN AIR DISPERSION MODEL?

An air dispersion model is a series of mathematical equations used to

calculate

the concentration of pollutants at various points surrounding an emissions

source. While early models were calculated manually, today's more complex

versions are computerized.

In its simplest form, an air quality simulation model requires two types of data

inputs:
ƒ Source information, such as contaminant emission rate, stack height, gas

exit velocity, topographical inputs, etc

ƒ Meteorological data, such as wind velocity, atmospheric stability, mixing

height, and ambient temperature,

 AIR POLLUTION CONTROL OF STATIONARY SOURCES

Gaseous Pollutants

Absorption. Control devices based on the principle of absorption attempt to transfer

the pollutants from a gas phase to a liquid phase. This is a mass transfer process in
which

the gas dissolves in the liquid. The dissolution may or may not be accompanied by a

reaction with an ingredient of the liquid. Mass transfer is a diffusion process wherein
the

pollutant gas moves from point of higher concentration to point of lower concentration.
There are five types of air pollution dispersion models, as well as some hybrids of
the five types:

-Box model -Eulerian model

-Gaussian model -Dense gas model

-. Lagrangian model

Flue-gas desulfurization (FGD)

Flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) is a set of technologies used to

remove sulfur

dioxide (SO2) from exhaust flue gases of fossil-fuel power plants, and
from the

emissions of other sulfur oxide emitting processes.

 As stringent environmental regulations regarding SO2 emissions have been

enacted in many countries, SO2 is now being removed from flue gases by a variety

of methods. The below is among the common methods used:

•Wet scrubbing using a slurry of alkaline sorbent, usually limestone or lime,

or seawater to scrub gases;

•Spray-dry scrubbing using similar sorbent slurries;

•Wet sulfuric acid process recovering sulfur in the form of commercial

quality sulfuric acid;

•SNOX Flue gas desulfurization removes sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and
particulates from flue gases;

•Dry sorbent injection systems.

For a typical coal-fired power station, flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) will remove
95 percent or more of the SO2 in the flue gases.