AIR QUALITY

Assist. Prof. Serdar DORUEL ITU Environmental Engineering Department

2013-2014 Autumn Semester

AIR QUALITY
Basic Concepts Meteorology and Air Movement Major Air Pollutants: Particulates Measurement of Particulates Major Air Pollutants: Gaseous Pollutants Measurement of Gases Sources and Effects of Air Pollution Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides and Acid Rain Photochemical Smog Ozone Depletion Global Warming (Climate Change) Other Sources of Air Pollutants Indoor Air

Basic Concepts
Pure Air Pure air is a mixture of gases, containing, on a dry volume (or molar) basis; 1. 78.1% nitrogen 2. 20.9% oxygen 3. 0.9% argon 4. 0.04% carbon dioxide 5. 0.002% neon 6. 0.0005% helium and so on. But such air is not found in nature and is of interest only as a reference, like pure H2O.

Pollutants materials (gases, liquids, or solids) that, when added to pure air at sufficiently high concentrations, will cause adverse effects

Travel through the Atmosphere

The pollutants emitted into the atmosphere must travel through the atmosphere to reach people, animals, plants, or things to have an effect. Whereas in water pollution this carriage of pollutants is by water currents, in air pollution wind is the means for transport of pollutants.

Meteorology and Air Movement

Figure 1. Earths atmosphere

Stability of the Atmosphere and Ideal Parcel of Air

Wind not only moves the pollutants horizontally, but it causes the pollutants to disperse, reducing the concentration of the pollutant with distance away from the source. The amount of dispersion is directly related to the stability of the air, or how much vertical air movement is taking place. The stability of the atmosphere is best explained by using an ideal parcel of air.

Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate

As an imaginary parcel of air rises in earths atmosphere, it experiences lower and lower pressure from surrounding air molecules and, thus, it expands. This expansion lowers the temperature of the air parcel. Ideally, a rising parcel of air cools at about 1oC/100 m (or warms at 1oC/100 m if it is coming down). This warming or cooling is termed the dry adiabatic lapse rate and is independent of prevailing atmospheric temperatures.

Superadiabatic Lapse Rate

strong lapse rate occurs when the atmospheric temperature drops more than 1oC/100 m

Subadiabatic Lapse Rate weak lapse rate is characterized by a drop of less than 1oC/100 m

Figure 2. Prevailing and dry adiabatic lapse rates

Figure 3. Prevailing lapse rates for a parcel of air moving in the atmosphere: (A) superadiabatic (unstable) and (B) subadiabatic (stable) conditions

Superadiabatic Lapse Rate (continued)

characterized by a great deal of vertical air movement and turbulence Subadiabatic Lapse Rate (continued)

characterized by limited vertical mixing

Inversion extreme subadiabatic conditions almost nil vertical air movement

Major Air Pollutants: Particulates

An air pollutant can be a gas or a particulate. Particulate pollutants can be classified as: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. dust fume mist smoke spray

Dust solid particles that are 1. entrained by process gases directly from the material being handled or processed (e.g., coal, ash and cement) 2. direct offspring of a parent material undergoing a mechanical operation (e.g., sawdust from woodworking) 3. entrained materials used in a mechanical operation (e.g., sand from sandblasting)

Fume frequently a metallic oxide, formed by the condensation of vapors by sublimation, distillation, calcination, or chemical reaction processes

Mist

an entrained liquid particle formed by the condensation of a vapor and perhaps by chemical reaction

Smoke entrained solid particles formed as a result of incomplete combustion of carbonaceous materials

Sprey a liquid particle formed by the atomization of a parent liquid

Measurement of Particulates
Gravimetric Analysis

Major Air Pollutants: Gaseous Pollutants

substances that are gases at normal temperature and pressure as well as vapors of substances that are liquid or solid at normal temperature and pressure

Table 1. Some gaseous air pollutants

Measurement of Gases
While the units of particulate measurement are consistently in terms of g/m3, the concentration of gases can be either parts per million (ppm) on a volume-to-volume basis or g/m3.

Sources and Effects of Air Pollution

Naturally Occurring Particulates 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. pollen grains fungus spores salt spray smoke particles from forest fires dust from volcanic eruptions

Gaseous Pollutants from Natural Sources 1. carbon monoxide as a breakdown product in the degradation of hemoglobin 2. hydrocarbons in the form of terpenes from pine trees 3. hydrogen sulfide resulting from the breakdown of cysteine and other sulfur-containing amino acids by bacterial action, nitrogen oxides, and methane (natural gas)

People-made Sources of Pollutants 1. 2. 3. 4. stationary combustion transportation industrial processes solid waste disposal sources

Relationship between Air Pollution and Health

1. 2. 3. 4. threshold total body burden time versus dosage synergism

Figure 4. Effect of carbon monoxide on health

Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides and Acid Rain

Sulfur Oxides Sulfur oxides are emitted from the combustion of fuels containing sulfur and then reacts with atmospheric components. The precipitation from air containing high concentrations of sulfur oxides is poorly buffered, and its pH readily drops.

Nitrogen Oxides
Nitrogen oxides, emitted mostly from automobile exhaust but also from any other high-temperature combustion, contribute to the acid mix in the atmosphere.

Acid Rain Normal, uncontaminated rain has a pH of about 5.6 (due to carbon dioxide), but acid rain can be pH 2 or even lower.
The effect of acid rain has been devastating.

Photochemical Smog
Primary Pollutants
pollutants that are emitted as such to the atmosphere

Secondary Pollutants pollutants are actually produced in the atmosphere by chemical reactions

Table 2. Simplified reaction scheme for photochemical smog

Figure 5. Formation of photochemical smog during a sunny 24-h period

Ozone Depletion
The problem with the depletion of upper atmospheric ozone is due to the manufacture and discharge of a class of chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These chemicals that found wide use in aerosols and refrigeration systems and are responsible for climate change as well as the depletion of the protective ozone layer in the stratosphere.
Two of the most important CFCs are trichlorofluoromethane (CFCl3) and dichlorodifluoromethane (CF2Cl2).

They drift into the upper atmosphere and are eventually destroyed by short-wave solar radiation, releasing chlorine, which can react with ozone. The depletion of ozone allows the ultraviolet radiation to pass through unimpeded. Potential effects: 1. formation of skin cancers 2. eye damage 3. suppression of the immune system 4. reduction in the plant photosynthesis 5. changes in natural ecosystems

Global Warming (Climate Change)

Temperature of Earths Surface
Global temperature change ought to be able to be modeled because we know the primary variables, such as the size of earth, the energy coming from the sun, and so on.

Such a simple model is developed by Masters. The model depends on an energy balance. According to this model, the temperature of earths surface is -19oC.

Greenhouse Effect But it is known that, on average, earths temperature is about 15oC. The difference, it turns out, is that the reflection of some heat off earths atmosphere was ignored.

The atmosphere is like a greenhouse as it prevents some of the heat from escaping back into space. This is appropriately called the greenhouse effect.

Other Sources of Air Pollutants

Combustion Process
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. nitric oxide (NO) organic acids aldehydes ammonia carbon monoxide

Transportation

1. particulate emissions a. smoke b. lead particles c. lead as halogenated compounds

2. gaseous pollutants a. carbon monoxide b. nitrogen oxides c. hydrocarbons

Industrial Processes
Pollutant emissions from industrial processes reflect the ingenuity of modern industrial technology. Thus, nearly every imaginable form of pollutant is emitted in some quantity by some industrial operation.

Solid Waste Disposal Operations

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

carbon monoxide nitrogen oxides organic acids hydrocarbons aldehydes smoke

Indoor Air
Symptoms Caused by Contaminated Indoor Air
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. eye irritation headache nausea sneezing dermatitis heartburn drowsiness