Module 2

METEOROLOGY AND POLLUTION

Meteorological factors influencing Air pollution

Primary parameters
Wind direction and speed.
Temperature.
Atmospheric stability.
Mixing height.
Secondary parameters
Precipitation
Humidity
Solar Radiation
Visibility

2
 Primary parameters
Wind Directions and Speed
• The direction and speed of surface winds govern the
drift and diffusion of air pollutants discharged near the
ground level.
• The higher the wind speed at or near the point of
discharge of pollution, the more rapidly are the pollutants
carried away from the source.
• The pollutants so dispersed will not exist at same
concentration but will rapidly be diluted with greater and
greater volumes of air.
• On the other hand, when the wind speeds are low,
pollutants tend to be concentrated near the area of
discharge and the longer periods of such light winds, the
greater will be the concentration of pollutants.

3
 Wind Directions and Speed ….
• Further gustiness, a very important
characteristic of surface winds is directly
proportional to its speed and determines
the extent to which the pollutants are
mixed and diluted with the surrounding air.
• Other things being equal the concentration
downward from a source will be inversely
proportional to wind speed.

4
 Wind Directions and Speed ….
• In rough terrain, it cannot be assumed that the
wind direction and speed near the source the
subsequent motion of the contaminants.
• Hills may deflect the airflow either horizontally
vertically or both the amount of deflection
depending on the vertical stability of the
atmosphere.
• In valleys, the winds carrying a pollutant tend to
flow either up or down the valley, following its
meanderings.
• The deeper the valley the more pronounced is
this channeling effect
5
Atmospheric Stability and Temperature Inversions
• The effective dispersion of pollutants in the
atmosphere depends primarily on the degree of
stability of the atmosphere which in turn depends
upon the rate of change of ambient temperature
with altitude.
• In well-mixed air which is dry for every 1000m
increase altitude, the temperature decreases by
about 6.5ºC.
• This vertical temperature gradient is know as the
Lapse Rate’ and the value given is the normal
lapse rate.
• Based on the meteorological data in the
troposphere up to about 10 km the environmental
lapse rate (or normal lapse rate) is found to be
6
6.5ºC/1000m.
 Adiabatic Lapse Rate (ALR)
• The lapse rate of a parcel of dry air as it
moves upward in a hydrostatically stable
environment and expands slowly to the
lower environmental pressure without
exchange of heat is known as adiabatic
lapse rate or dry adiabatic lapse rate
(DALR).
• The DALR is found to be 9.86ºC/1000m.

7
Super-Adiabatic Lapse Rate (SALR)
• When the prevailing lapse rate or environmental
lapse rate (ELR) is greater than the dry
adiabatic lapse rate, the atmosphere is said to
be super adiabatic.
• For such a case, the rising parcel of air, cooling
at the adiabatic rate, will be warmer and less
dense than the surrounding environment.
• On a clear summer day, rapid heating point
where the lapse rate is super adiabatic.
• As a result air becomes more buoyant and tends
to continue its upward motion resulting in
unstable equilibrium; due to this marked vertical
mixing takes place and pollutants are dispersed
rapidly.
8
Sub-Adiabatic or Negative Lapse Rate: Inversion

• When the environmental lapse rate (ELR) is less than

the dry adiabatic lapse rate, a rising parcel of air
becomes cooler and denser than its surroundings and
tends to fall back to its original position.
• Such an atmospheric condition is called stable and the
lapse rate, which is sub adiabatic, is called Negative
Lapse Rate.
• In such a condition, lighter warmer air at higher level
covers a dense cold stratum of air at ground level.
• This phenomenon is called Inversion.
• During inversion vertical air movement is stopped and
the pollution is concentrated beneath the inversion layer,
i.e., the denser air at ground level.
• Thus, atmospheric inversion influences the dispersion of
pollutants and the air does not disperse.

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Sub-Adiabatic or Negative Lapse Rate: Inversion...
• Inversion is a frequent occurrence in the autumn
and winter months and the accumulation of
smoke and other contaminants further aggravate
pollution by preventing the Sun’s ray from
warming the ground and the adjacent air.
• Fog is commonly associated with inversions,
because the temperature of the air at ground
levels falls below the dew point.
• Narrow valleys are favorable to inversions since
to inversions since horizontal air movement is
restricted.
• At the time of inversions, visibility is greatly
reduced and contaminates are at a maximum.
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 Types of Inversion

• Radiation Inversion
• Subsidence Inversion
• Double inversion

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Radiation Inversion
• It usually occurs at night when the
earth loses heat by radiation and
cools the air in contact with it.
• If the air is moist and its temperature
is below the dew point fog will form.
• The cool air stratum is covered by
warmer air, and the vertical
movement is stopped until the sun
warms the lower air , next morning.
• This type of inversion is more
common in winter than in summer
because of the longer nights.
• Valley areas, because of the
restriction of horizontal air
movement by surrounding high
ground, may frequently have such
inversions.

12
Radiation Inversion….

13
 Subsidence Inversion
• It occurs at modest altitudes and often remains for
several days.
• It is caused by sinking or subsidizing of air in anti-
cyclones (high pressure areas surrounded by low
pressure areas).
• The air circulating around the area descends slowly at
the rate of about 1000m per day.
• As the air sinks it is compressed and gets heated to form
a warm dense layer. This acts as a lid.
• To prevent the upward movement of contaminants.
• The inversion height may vary form the ground surface
to 1600 m. When it drops to less than 200m, extreme
pollution occurs.

14
Subsidence Inversion….

15
 Double inversion
• This phenomenon happens when both the
radiation inversion and subsidence
inversion occurs simultaneously.
•

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 Mixing Height

• It can be defined as that height above the

earths surface to which related pollutants
would extend, primarily through the action
of atmospheric turbulence.
• It is usually related to wind direction, wind
speed and wind turbulence.
• Under certain circumstances, it may be
related to all the three.
17
 Secondary parameters
Precipitation
• Rainfall or precipitation exerts a two-fold
cleansing action on the pollutants discharged
into the atmosphere.
• It accelerates the deposition of particulate matter
on the ground and hence its removal form the
atmosphere.
• Also helps to remove the concentration of
gaseous Pollutants, which are soluble in water.
• The washout by precipitation of air borne
radioactive wastes is a matter of particular
concern.

18
 Humidity
• The moisture content of the atmosphere
influences the corrosive action of the air
pollutants and indicates the potentiality for
fog formation in relation to the degree of
air pollution.
• Relative humidity is most frequently used
in air pollution studies.

19
 Solar Radiation
• Depending on the location, solar radiation
can have p pronounced effect on the type
and rate of chemical reactions in the
atmosphere.
• The photochemical smog formation at Los
Angeles is a typical example of the effect
on the solar radiation on air pollution.

20
 Plume behaviour
• Plume refers to the path and extent in the
atmosphere of the gaseous effluents
released from a source usually a stack

21
 Plume behaviour
• Plume refers to the path and extent in the atmosphere of the
gaseous effluents released from a source usually a stack.
• The behaviour of a plume emitted from any stack depends on
localized air stability.
• Typical situations are generally encountered in the lower
atmosphere (less than 300m above the ground).
• Effluents from tall stacks, are often injected to an effective
height of several hundred meters above the ground because
of the cumulative efforts of bouyacy and velocity on plume
rise.
• Other factors influencing plume behaviour are diurnal
variations in the atmospheric stability and the long term
variations which occur with the changing seasons.

22
Six types of plume
behaviour are shown in the
fig. the spread of the plume
is directly related to the
vertical temperature
gradient as shown on the
left hand side of fig.

23
Looping

It is a type of plume which has a

wavy character.
It occurs in a highly unstable
atmosphere because of rapid
mixing.
The high degree of turbulence
helps in dispersing the plume
rapidly but high concentrations
may occur close to the stack if the
plume touches ground.

24
Coning

It is a type of plume which is

shaped like a cone. This takes
place in a near neutral atmosphere
(adiabatic condition) when the
wind velocity is greater than
32km/hr. However the plume
reaches the ground at greater
distance without looping.

25
Fanning

It is a type of plume emitted under

extreme inversion conditions. The
plume under condition will spread
horizontally but little if at all
vertically. Theyfore the prediction
ground level concentrations is
difficult here.

26
Lofting

Lofting occurs when there is strong

lapse rate above a surface
inversion. Under the conditions,
diffusion is rapid upward, but the
downward diffusion doses
penetrate the inversion layer.
Under these conditions emissions
will not reach the surface.

27
Fumigation

It is a phenomenon in which
pollutants that are aloft in the air
are brought rapidly to grow level
when the air destabilizes.

28
Traping

This refers to the conditions where

the plume is caught between
inversions and can only diffuse
within a limited vertical height

29
 Plume behaviour….
• The lofting plume is the most favorable with respect to
minimizing the air pollution
• The fumigating and trapping plumes are very critical from
the point of ground level pollutants concentrations.
• The observation of these visible smoke plumes is a
useful practice to determine locations which take air
samples.
• The knowledge of the characteristics of plumes is also
helpful in dealing with invisible pollutants.
• However in observing a plume, care should be taken to
avoid optical illusions (for eg., a plume may be visible for
several kms. Yet not extend upwards for a small fraction
of a km.).
• For this, viewing simultaneously from two points at right
angles from the plume may be useful.
30
 WIND ROSE
• A wind rose is defined as “any one of class
of diagrams designed to show the
distribution of wind direction experienced
on given location over a considerable
period”.
• In other words the wind rose shows the
prevailing direction of wind.

31
WIND ROSE….
•The most common form
consists of circle from which
eight or sixteen lines emerge
one for each direction.
•The length of each line is
proportional to the frequency of
wind from that direction and the
frequency of calm conditions is
entered in the direction.
•They are many variations in the
construction of wind rose.
•Some indicate the range of
wind speeds from each
direction, and some relates wind
direction with other
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meteorological conditions.
 WIND ROSE….
• Wind roses may be constructed from the data
obtained over a given time period such as a
particular month or season or a year.
• In constructing or interpreting wind roses, it is
necessary to keep in mind the meteorological
convention that wind direction refers to the
direction from which the wind is blowing.
• A line or bar extending to the north on the wind
rose indicates the frequency of winds blowing
from the north.

33
 WIND ROSE….
• Special wind rose are sometimes constructed
like:
1.precipitation wind rose
2.smoke wind rose
3.Sulpher dioxide wind rose
4.Hydrocarbon wind rose .
• instead of wind speed the parameters of
precipitation, smoke Sulphur dioxide
hydrocarbons etc.. are attached to the wind
directions.
• These are known as pollution rose.

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AIR POLLUTION SAMPLING AND MEASURMENT
• Sampling and measurement of air pollutants ,
generally known as air quality monitoring, is an
integral component of any air pollution control
program.
• Through monitoring, the current trends in air
quality can be evaluated by comparing the data
with the regulated standards.
• The information so obtained is helpful in
implementing control measures for reducing
pollutant concentrations to acceptable levels and
in assessing the effect of air pollution control
strategies.

35
 AIR POLLUTION SAMPLING AND MEASURMENT….

• The monitoring programs of governmental agencies are

usually designed for assessing long-term pollution trends, but
it is often necessary to obtain short term sampling to establish
the existence of particularly high levels of air pollutants.
• Care must be taken while expressing the average
concentrations of air pollutants since these are quite different
for long and short periods.

36
TYPES OF POLLUTANT SAMPLING AND MEASUREMENT

• These are two quite different situations in which the

air quality measurement is under taken.
• Once of these is the ambient air quality
measurement where the pollutant levels in the
ambient atmosphere are measured.
• The second type of measurement generally deals
with the pollutants emitted from a source such as
smoke stack and is known as stack sampling.
• Stack sampling provides information on the nature
and quantities of various pollutants that are emitted
into the atmosphere.
37
 AMBIENT AIR SAMPLING

• Probably the most important objective of any air

sampling exercise is to obtain a genuine and
representative sample.
• In addition, the sampling should be carried out
long enough and at a rate that allows collection
of an analytically measurable sample.
• This is due to the fact that the concentrations of
pollutants in the ambient air are likely to be
extremely small.
• There are both gaseous and particulate air
pollutants whose concentrations occur at levels
below one milligram per cubic meter of air.
38
 AMBIENT AIR SAMPLING….
• In some cases the pollutants collected by
normal air sampling methods may be
reactive and this results in changes after
collection.
• Hence, special measures are necessary to
minimize such changes.
• For example, SO2 may be oxidized to
SO3 and carrying out the analysis for SO2
can be misleading in the absence of
precautions to prevent the oxidation.
39
 AMBIENT AIR SAMPLING….

• Usually, a reducing such as isopropanol is

used as a medium for collecting SO2, which
inhibits the formation of SO3.
• It is therefore, ideal and desirable to perform the
analysis on the uncharged atmosphere, if
possible, using continuous automatic analyzers.
• Such instruments are available for some
pollutants and many more at varying stages of
developing and evolution.
• However the conventional air sampling
methods are still popular and widely used.
40
 AMBIENT AIR SAMPLING….

•A typical air sampling system includes a sample collector, a flow

mete to measure the airflow through the collector and a pump to
draw the air sample through the system.
•The flow meter can be positioned either upstream or downstream
from the sample collector if the pressure drops across the
upstream of the sample as shown in (b).
•Otherwise, serious errors can result in the airflow measurement
as most of the flow meters are designed to operate at and are41
calibrated at atmospheric pressure
 AMBIENT AIR SAMPLING….
• The function of the sample collector is to retain
the desired pollutant either alone or as a
mixture.
• The pollutant thus collected is analyzed at a
later stage.
• The choice of collector to be used for collecting
the sample is governed by the nature of the
pollutant and the method of analysis to be
employed.
• Individual sample collectors are generally
grouped into two categories: those that can be
used to collect gaseous pollutants and those
that can be used to collect gaseous pollutants
and those used for particulate pollutants.
42
 Collection of Gaseous Air Pollutants

• Several methods are available for

collection of gaseous air pollutants from
ambient atmosphere.
• The common ones are:
Grab sampling
Absorption in liquids
Adsorption on a solids
Freeze-out sampling
43
 Grab sampling
• In ‘grab’ sampling, the sample is collected by
filling an evacuated flask or an inflatable bag.
• Plastic bags have been widely used for grab
sampling and for storage before analysis.
• Bag sampling is subject to losses caused by
moisture condensation or diffusion through the
walls of the bag.
• Performing the analysis immediately following
collection can minimize the losses.

44
 Grab sampling
• Grab sample may be taken using rigid wall
containers made from glass or stainless steel.
• These containers are first evacuated and then
filled by allowing air to enter.
• Alternatively, a container may be filled with water
and then used as a collector simply by draining
away the water, which is replaced by the air
sample.
• Many problems associated with bag samplers
are common to rigid containers also and the
containers are often heated by wrapping them
with heating tapes or nichrome wires to prevent
condensation during sampling.

45
46
47
 Absorption in liquids
• Absorption of gaseous pollutants into a liquids
medium is probably the most commonly
employed method of collecting the samples.
• Absorption separates the desired pollutants from
air either through direct solubility in the
absorbing medium or by chemical reaction.
• Many different types of collectors are in use
ranging from simple bubbles to complex devices
which provide a high degree of gas-liquid
contact.

48
Absorption in liquids….
•Fritted-glass absorber where the
gas stream is broken up into
extremely small bubbles, thus
promoting an intimate contact
between the gas and the liquid.
•Frits designated “coarse” (50-µm
pore size) are most often used for
air sampling.
•Frit can become blocked and is
often difficult to clean after use;
therefore, it is often advisable to
per-filter the air prior to sampling.

49
Absorption in liquids….
• Probably the most widely used
collector is the impinge.
• In the impinger the gas stream is
impinged at high velocity onto a flat
surface thus providing good contact
between the gas and the liquid.
• The flat surface can be the bottom of
the collector or a specially designed
plate.
• The common impingers are the
Green burg-Smith and the midget
types.
• These devices can handle sample
flow rates of about 30 and 3 liters per
minute respectively.
• Impingers can collect gases with
efficiencies often approaching those
of fritted-glass collectors and unlike
the latter they are easy to clean and
maintain.

50
 Adsorption on a solids
• This method is based on the tendency of
gases to be adsorbed on the surface of
the solid materials.
• The sample air passed through a packed
column containing a finely divided solid
adsorbent on whose surface pollutants are
retained and concentrated.
• The most commonly used solid
adsorbents are granular porous solids
such as activated charcoal and silica gel
with very large surface area.
51
 Adsorption on a solids
• After adsorption, the sample gases are
desorbed for analysis.
• This may be accomplished by heating the
adsorbent to volatilize the trapped material or by
washing it with a liquid solvent.
• Analysis of the gases can be done in a number
of ways. Most organic vapours are analyzed by
gas chromatographic technique, which directly
uses the adsorption principle.
• But because of many problem associated with
desorption of the gases, adsorptive sampling is
not much used for pollutant measurements.

52
53
 Freeze – out Sampling
• In freeze-out sampling a series of cold
traps, which are maintained at
progressively lower temperature, are used
to draw the air sample whereby the
pollutants are condensed.
• The traps are brought to the laboratory,
the samples are removed, and analyzed
by means of gas chromatographic,
infrared or ultraviolet spectrophotometry,
mass spectrometry, or by wet chemical
means.
54
55
 Coolants used for freeze-out traps
Coolant Temp. Attained (ºC)
Ice-water -000
Ice-salt -021
Dry ice and acetone -079
Liquid air -147
Liquid oxygen -183
Liquid nitrogen -196
56
 Freeze – out Sampling
• Although the method is potentially useful
for trapping a large number of pollutants
for analysis, it is inconvenient to assemble
the freeze-out traps; also, there is the
problem of accumulation of ice resulting
from the condensation of water vapour
which leads to eventual plugging of the
system.
• For these reasons, the technique is not
generally used for routine sampling
purposes

57
Collection of Particulate Pollutants
• Particulate pollutants in the atmosphere are grouped
generally into those that settle out due to the force of
gravity and those that remain suspended as aerosols.
• The first category, consisting of large particles of size
greater than 10µm diameter can be collected using
sedimentation techniques, while for the second category
containing particles of smaller size more sophisticated
techniques like filtration impingement and electrostatic
and thermal precipitation are used.
• \Most instruments used for monitoring either class of
particulates are merely collectors whose function is to
permit measurement of collected material; the analysis
to the weight or number of particles is done separately.

58
 Sedimentation (Dust fall jar )
•This simplest device used for sampling
particles larger than 10- µm diameters is
the dust fall.
• A typical collector consists of a plastic jar
of about 20to35 cm height and 10to15 cm
diameter at the base with a slight inward
tapering of the walls form top to bottom.
•A holder is provided to ensure safe and
upright positioning of the collector.
•The sample is deposited over a period of
one month the material is dried and
weighed.
•Usually, only water-insoluble dust fall is
reported in mg/cm² or tons/Km².
•Since dust particles larger than 10-µm are seldom carried for distances in excess of
1Km, dust fall stations must be closely spaced for any meaningful data.
•The method is simple and inexpensive and requires no electrical power or moving
parts.
•However, the method lacks precision and selective and usually non repeatable.
•Hence, it may only be used be to show pollution trends in a specific region over a
59
period of time.
 High-volume Filtration (The Hi-vol. Sample)
•The high volume filtration method is popular for
measurement of mass concentration of suspended
particulates smaller than 10-µm. the sampler,
universally know as “hi-vol”.
•In this method, a high-speed blower sucks a know
volume of air through a fine filter and the increase in
weight due to the trapped particles is measured.
•The filter usually made of fibrous or granular
material, provides a dense porous medium through
which an air stream must change direction in a
random fashion, allowing the entrained particles to
impact on the filter material.
• A typical glass fiber used in the air samplers has
an efficiency of over 99% of particles of size 0.3-µm
and it is moderately effective for trapping particles of
as small size as 0.05-µm.
•The sampling time is generally 24hours and during this time over 2000m³ of air is
sucked through the filter.
•The analysis is gravimetric and the particulate level is generally expressed in terms
of µg /m³of air 60
 Tape Sampler

•In this method, Known volume of air is passed through a paper tape, which is
advanced in discrete time intervals from a supply reel to take-up reel.
•During the sampling period, the tape is held stationary.
•The sampling time could be varied from as little as 10min/sample to 2hours,
depending upon the amount of particulates.
•The air is passed through a nozzle and the particulates are collected on the paper
tape forming a spot.
•Spots so obtained are evaluated by analyzing the amount of light that can be
transmitted through the spot. 61
 Tape Sampler….
• The measurement is reported as “COH/1000ft”where COH is known as the coefficient of
optical haze, calculated as:

COH T0 A 5
log[ ( )]10
1000 ft T V
Where
To =the transmittance of clean tape (100%),
T = the percentage of light transmitted through
the spot,
A = area of the spot in square feet,
V = volume of the sample in cubic feet or the
product of the average sample flow and
the sampling time.
62
 Tape Sampler….
• The coefficient of haze index is based upon an
optical property and this method is quite different
from the standard methods of representing the
particulate mass concentration.
• Hence, some guidelines are required for
interpreting the COH values in terms of the
degree of pollution.
• Table provides a typical rating system for values
COH per 1000 liner feet versus the degree of air
pollution.

63
 Tape Sampler….
COH Degree of
Pollution
• Interpretation
of COH Index 0-0.90 Light

1-1.90 Medium

2-2.90 Heavy

3-3.90 Very heavy

4-4.90 Extremely
heavy 64
65
Impingement
• In an impinger the separation of
particulates from the air stream
takes place by collision against a
flat surface.
• Wet impingement is used for
collection of particulates in a liquid
phase.
• As in gas sampling the air –
stream containing the particulate
impinges at a high velocity onto a
flat surface immersed in a liquid.
• The gas breaks up into small
bubbles, and particles are
immersed by change in the
direction of gas flow and
promoting their contact with the
liquid.
• The Greenburg-smith type
impinger which is shown in the fig.
achieves 90 to 99% efficiency for
particles of the size equal to or
greater than I µm.

66
 Impingement

• Dry impingers operate on the principle of

impaction on a dry surface for particle collection.
• These impingers are not as efficient as wet
devices for collecting smaller particles (<2µm);
however, they have the advantage of collecting
the sample directly without the need of filtration
or evaporation of a liquid.
• Certain dry impingers, called cascade,
impactors, are designed for making particle size
measurements.

67
 Electrostatic precipitation….
• Air sampling can be done on the basis of the principle of
electrostatic precipitation.
• Several types of portable commercial precipitators are
available in the market.
• During their operation a negative charge is imparted to a
wire placed axially inside a cylinder, which is positively
charged.
• When the particle laden air stream passes through the
cylinder, the particles acquire a negative charge from a
corona discharge occurring on the central wire.
• The particles migrate towards the inner surface of the
cylinder and are removed for subsequent chemical or
microscopic analysis.

68
 Electrostatic precipitation
• Small samplers capable of field operation
have been designed and these exhibit
good separation characteristics for
particles in the size range of 0.01 to
20µm.nevertheless, they are not as widely
used for ambient air sampling as filters,
but are more suitable fro source sampling
where the particle loading is relatively
high.
69
 Thermal Precipitation
• Thermal precipitators operate on the principle that small
particles, under the influence of a strong temperature
gradient between two surfaces, have a tendency to
move towards lower temperature and get deposited on
the colder of these two surfaces. These temperature
gradients are normally of the order 3000º C/ cm. to
maintain such high gradients the gas velocity through the
sampling device must be maintained low; this is usually
between 10 and 200 ml/min depending on the type of
device.
• The collection efficiencies of the thermal precipitators are
quite high for small particles and are virtually 100% for
particles in the size range from 10µm down to 0.01µm.
the particles are collected on a grid or a thin microscope
cover glass for later analysis.

70
 Stack Sampling
• The major problem in stack sampling is of
obtaining a representative sample.
• If a representative sample is not obtained
the concentration and composition of the
actual gas stream will be different and
serious errors would result in the analysis.
• The important factors in obtaining a
representative sample are the selection of
the sampling site and the numbers of
sampling points required.
71
 Stack Sampling….
• The sampling site should be located at least
eight stacks or duct diameters down stream and
two diameters upstream from any source of flow
disturbance such as bends fittings or
constructions.
• The gas stream in a stack is normally under
turbulent flow conditions and non-uniform and
unstable gas flow profiles and non-uniform
particle concentration patterns.
• Providing proper distance so that adequate
mixing may occur can minimize these problems.

72
 Stack Sampling….
• However, in some stacks, it is not always
possible to ensure uniform flow, so
concentration patterns and hence multiple
samples are required to obtain a representative
sample.
• That is the actual sampling must be performed
at a number of traverse points in the stack.
• Two sets of traverse readings, 90º apart, are
taken in the same plane for circular stacks.
• The number of traverse points required on each
of the two perpendiculars may be estimated from
the table.

73
Stack Sampling….

•According to the earliest sampling

point criterion, the number of traverse
points on each of the two
perpendiculars is six.
•If this criterion is not met, then a
different number of traverse points
are required depending on the
location of downstream and upstream
disturbances.
•It has been suggested that the
greater of the two values of the
traverse points should be chosen.
•The location of traverse points in a
circular stack is at the center of
annular rings of the location of the
traverse points

74
 Stack Sampling….
•For rectangular stacks, the
sampling site can be located by
calculating the equivalent diameter
according to the following
equation.
•Deq =4 x (cross sectional area of
flow/ wetted perimeter) .
•The sampling points are located at
the center of rectangles of
rectangles of equal area as shown
in the fig and a minimum of nine
traverse points should be selected
for proper sampling.

Other problems associated with stack sampling are high temperatures and high
velocities of the gases encountered inside the stack. These conditions, especially
high temperatures, cause difficulties in collecting the sample and require a number
of additional measurements such as the moisture content, pressure ,temperature,
the flow rate of the gases and their compositions. Accurate measurements of 75
these factors are necessary for valid sampling.
 Stack Sampling….
Sampling System:

•Stack sampling is carried out by diverting a part of the gas stream through a
sampling “train” of which a general arrangement is shown in the fig.
•The train consists of a nozzle placed in the gas stream, a sampling probe through
which the sample is drawn at different traverses, particulate and gas collection
devices, a flow-measuring device and a prime mover such as a vacuum pump or an
ejector.
•The nozzle at the end of the probe is normally sharp edged; pointing inward from
the outside edge and the traversing probe is usually made of stainless steel with
glass or Teflon lining. For hot gases whose temperatures are above 400ºC, these
probes are provided with a circulating coolant system to prevent combustion of
particulate materials inside the probe and to prevent the temperatures from 76
exceeding the maximum allowable temperatures of filtration materials.
 SMOKE AND ITS CONTROL
Introduction:
• Smoke particles are mainly unburnt
carbon resulting from incomplete
combustion.
• In other words, Carbon particles which
make smoke are unburnt fuel.
• Therefore smoking chimneys are
indicators of inefficiency in the process of
converting fuel into useful energy.
• Generally the sizes of fine particles in
smoke will be less than 1 µ .
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 Introduction….
• Coal Smoke particles range from 0.01-
0.2µ and oil-smoke particles from 0.03-
1.0µ.
• Smoke as well all know is a nuisance.
• Hence in the field of air pollution smoke
particularly black smoke is considered to
be public enemy No.1.
• Smoke affects public health and causes
Property damage.
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 Introduction….
• Further black smoke apart from being a
public nuisance is an economic waste, as
it is due to incomplete combustion of fuel.
• But on interesting and well-known fact is
that all fuels can be burnt smokeless
efficiently.
• Therefore, it is surprising that many
chimneys emit black smoke.

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 Sources of Smoke
• Important sources of smoke are
automobiles domestic heating plants
industrial power plants railway engines,
ships, and refuse incinerators.
• It is also due to oil burnt in diesel engines.
• The amount of smoke given out from the
above sources varies considerably.
• It depends on the type of fuel and the
efficiency of the combustion device.
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 Measurement of Smoke
• There are many methods for estimating
the density of the smokes as it emerges
from the stack.
• The most commonly used method is the
Ringlemann Chart.
• Accurate measurement of the smoke
density (smoke quality) is essential for the
enforcement of ordinances regulating
smoke emissions.
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Ringlemann Chart
• The Ringlemann Chart is
a scheme where
graduated shades of gray
vary by five equal steps
between white and black.
Section.
• The chart shown in the
fig. shows four grades of
gray as well as pure white
and an all black section.
• The details about the
width of black lines width
of white spaces and
percentage of black is
given in the table.
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Ringlemann Chart….
• Chart should be used under
daylight conditions and held
or fixed facing the observer in
a vertical plane, as shown in
the fig.
• The chart should be
preferably in line with the top
of the chimney, and placed so
that the chart and the smoke
have a similar sky
background.
• Also, the chart should be at a
sufficient distance from the
observer for the lines to
appear to merge until each
square forms a uniform
shade.
• Generally this distance is
about 15m.

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 Ringlemann Chart….
• The observer glances at the smoke as it
comes out from the chimney and notes the
number of the chart most closely
corresponding with the shade of the
smoke, and records this number with the
time of observations.
• A clear chimney is recorded as No. 0. And
100% black smoke as No. 5.
• Observations are repeated at quarter or
half minute intervals.

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 Ringlemann Chart….

• The readings are then reduced to the total

equivalent of No. 1. smoke as a standard.
The percentage density of the smoke for
the entire period of observation is
calculated by the following formula:
EquivalentunitsofNo.1smokex0.20
Percntagesmokedensity 
Numberofobservations

• In the above formula, in the numerator,

0.20 multiplies equivalent units of No 1
smoke as No 1 smoke is 20% dense
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 Method of using Ringlemann Chart
A set of observations for a one-hour period at half-minute intervals is given in the table.

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Method of using Ringlemann Chart….

Sl.No. Calculation of smoke density Equivalent No. 1 units

6 unit of No. 5 30

12 unit of No. 4 48

20 unit of No. 3 60

23 unit of No. 2 46

26 unit of No. 1 26

33 unit of No. 0 0

Total 120 Units 210

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 Method of using Ringlemann
Chart….
EquivalentunitsofNo.1smokex0.20
Percntagesmokedensity 
Numberofobservations

Percntage smoke density = (210x0.20)/120

35%

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 Ringlemann Chart….
• The Ringlemann chart is a simple and effective method
of estimating smoke density .
• But one main drawback of this method is the
involvement of the human element in judging smoke
shade.
• Other factors that may affect the results are cloud and
wind conditions.
• However, when the main purpose is to lessen the smoke
emission and create a clean environment the practical
usefulness of the Ringlemann chart can be appreciated.
• The Ringlemann chart is commonly used by smoke
inspectors.
• The chart cannot be used at night.

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 Smoke and Public Health
Smoke may affect public health through:
• irritation of the eye membranes.
• irritation of the respiratory tract
• infection of the ear.
• increased morbidity rate through
diminished resistance to disease because
of decrease of sunlight.
• increase of nervous and psychological
disorders because of SMOG formation .
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 Smoke and Property Damage
• Smoke causes property damage by
disfigurement of exteriors of buildings
and also the interiors.
• Clothing is spoiled and consequently
cleaning and laundry costs are increased
• Smoke injures the growth of vegetation
by coating the leaves with soot to
prevent the process of photosynthesis
• Daylight hours are shortened in a smoky
city resulting in economic loss from extra
use pf electricity for illumination.
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 Smoke Prevention and Control
• use of low volatile fuels such as
bituminous coal and anthracite coal
• use of smokeless fuels e.g., coke.
• Strict enforcement of ‘smoke ordinances’
i.e., regulations regarding smoke
emissions.
• proper design and maintenance of
stacks.

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 Smoke Prevention and Control
• use of proper combustion equipment (proper
design of furnaces). The involves the fulfillment
of the following conditions for smokeless
combustion of a fuel:
A proper air-fuel ratio.
B Sufficient mixing of air and fuel.
C Sufficient ignition temperature.
D Sufficient space to permit time for proper
burning.
• use of particulate control equipment like
electrostatic precipitators. Scrubbers, etc

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THANK YOU

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