Air Pollution

Why is AIR important?

Vital requirement for sustaining life.

 Composition of CLEAN AIR
COMPONENT By volume By weight
Nitrogen 78.084% 75.51%
Oxygen 20.946% 23.15%
Argon 0.934% 1.28%
Carbon dioxide 0.033% 0.046%
Neon 18.180 ppm 12.50 ppm
Helium 5.240 ppm 0.72 ppm
Krypton 1.190 ppm 2.90 ppm
Xenon 0.087 ppm 0.36 ppm
Nitrous oxide 0.500 ppm 1.50 ppm
Methane 2.0 ppm 1.2 ppm
Hydrogen 0.5 ppm 0.03 ppm
Ozone 0.01 ppm
 Air Pollution
• Undesirable changes in the composition of
clean air
• Presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or
more contaminants such as dust, fumes, gas,
mist, odor, smoke or vapor in quantities or
characteristics and of duration that would
cause harm to human, plant, animal or
property or which unreasonably interferes
with the comfortable enjoyment of life and
property.
 Belgium • Cause: Thermal inversion of gases
• Effect: 60 people died, thousand
Dec. 1930 were affect

USA Oct. • Cause: Anti cyclonic weather

• Effect: 20 people died and resulted
1948 to 7 days of darkness

London • Cause: extensive use of coal

Dec. 1952 • Effect: 4000 died, thousands were ill

London • Cause: Extensive use of coal

Jan. 1956 • Effect: 1000 died
 London • Cause: Inversion, fog gases
Dec. 1962 • Effect: 700 died

New York • Cause: Smoke, SO2

Nov. 1966 • Effect: 168 died

Tokyo June • Cause: Smog poisoning

1970 • Effect: 6000 people affected

India Dec. • Cause: Union carbide industry toxic gas methyle

isocynate leaked accidentaly

1984 • Effect: 2500 died and over a 100, 000 were severely
affected
 Classification of Pollutants
• Natural Contaminant
Pollen – has properties that causes allergy
May cause bronchitis asthma and
dermatitis
• Aerosols
Refers tot the dispersion of solid or liquid
particles of microscopic size
Size in diameter may range from 0.01 to
100 micron
• Gases
 Classification of Pollutants
• Aerosols
Refers to the dispersion of solid or liquid
particles of microscopic size in the air
Size in diameter may range from 0.01 to
100 micron
• Some examples or aerosols
Dust
• produce by crushing, grinding and natural
resources like windstorm.
• 20 micron in diameter
 Classification of Pollutants
Dust
• produce by crushing, grinding and natural
resources like windstorm.
• 20 micron in diameter
Smoke
• Finely divided particles produced by incomplete
combustion
• Generally consist of particles less than 1.0 micron
Mist
• Light dispersion of minute water droplets
suspended in the atmosphere
• 40 to 400 micron
 Classification of Pollutants
Fog
• Light dispersion of water or ice near the
earth’s surface which reduces visibility
• Particle range from 1.0 to 40 micron
Fumes
• Suspended solid particles generated by
condensation from the gaseous state after
volatilization from melted substances
 Classification of Pollutants
• Gases
Sulfur dioxide
• Product by the combustion of fuels
Oxides of nitrogen
• Produce either in the production of nitric
acid or in automobile exhausts and as the
effluent of power plants
Carbon monoxide
• Produced by incomplete combustion of
coal and other petroleum products
 Classification of Pollutants
• Gases
Hydrogen sulfide
• Bad smelling gas produced by anaerobic
decomposition of organic matter
Hydrogen fluoride
• Produced in the manufacturing of
phosphate fertilizer
Chlorine and hydrogen chloride
• Mixed in air either from the leakages
from water treatment plant or other
industries where it is produced or used
 Control of Air Pollution
1. Prevention cap
 Green chemistry 4. Voluntary solutions
 Green engineering  Voluntary emission
2. Regulatory solution reduction of
 Permit for allowable companies
emission 5. Emission control
 Monitoring in technologies
industries
3. Market solutions
 Allowable emission
 Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming
• Is greenhouse effect bad?
• Is CO2 in the atmosphere undesirable?
• What is global warming?
Greenhouse effect – the carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere acts
like a glass that will allows the
heat of the sun to penetrate the
earths atmosphere and hold the
warmth inside

↑ temperature
 Acid Rain
• When rain fall occurs it dissolves CO2 present
in the atmosphere and makes carbonic acid
which makes the air slightly acidic with pH as
low as 5.6 – THIS IS NORMAL RAIN pH
• Presence of the oxides of sulfur and nitrogen
will further decrease the pH of rain
• 1952 (Manchester England) – pH 4.5
• 1966 (Germany) – pH lower than 4.0
• India and China – pH of 4.3 – 4.5
 Harmful Effects of Acid Rain
• Water bodies that are acid will be useless
• High acidity will kill the fish and other aquatic
life which will increase the organic matter in a
water body
• Affects soil vegetation
 Ozone Depletion
• Ozone is harmful gas if it is near the earth
surface
• Very useful in the upper layer (15 – 40 km) of
the atmosphere (stratosphere)
• It absorbs UV radiation
• UV rays can cause skin cancer and other
diseases
• CHLOROFLUROCARBONS CFC11 and CFC12
(Freons) reacts with the ozone which results
to it depletion
 Causes of Ozone Depletion
• Use of CFC
• Nitrogenous Fertilizer
• Supersonic transport – supersonic jetliners,
rockets and space shuttles
• Nuclear test – releases gases during nuclear
explosion that damages the ozone
 Effects of ozone depletion
• Skin cancer
• Cataract
• Damage the eyes of wild life
• Degradation of outdoor paint and plastic