[edit] Reduction efforts

There are many air pollution control technologies and urban planning strategies available
to reduce air pollution; however, worldwide costs of addressing the issue are high.[citation
needed]
Of course, these costs are a small fraction of the economic damage that air pollution
will inflict on every nation of earth. Within the last decade the cost of air pollution
annually in most of Europe is between 1-3 percent GDP and is at least 5 percent GDP of
China.
Many countries have programs to or are debating how to reduce dependence on fossil
fuels for energy production and shift toward renewable energy technologies or nuclear
power plants.
Efforts to reduce pollution from mobile sources includes primary regulation (many
developing countries have permissive regulations), expanding regulation to new sources
(such as cruise and transport ships, farm equipment, and small gas-powered equipment
such as lawn trimmers, chainsaws, and snowmobiles), increased fuel efficiency (such as
through the use of hybrid vehicles), conversion to cleaner fuels (such as bioethanol,
biodiesel), or conversion to electric vehicles with renewable energy sources (batteries or
clean fuel such as hydrogen being used for transport and storage).

[edit] Control devices

The following items are commonly used as pollution control devices by industry or
transportation devices. They can either destroy contaminants or remove them from an
exhaust stream before it is emitted into the atmosphere.

Particulate control
o Mechanical collectors (dust cyclones, multicyclones)
o Electrostatic precipitators
o Baghouses
o Particulate scrubbers
NOx control
o Low NOx burners
o Selective catalytic reduction (SCR)
o Selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR)
o NOx scrubbers
o Exhaust gas recirculation
o Catalytic converter (also for VOC control)
VOC abatement
o Adsorption systems, such as activated carbon
o Flares
o Thermal oxidizers
o Catalytic oxidizers

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Biofilters
Absorption (scrubbing)
Cryogenic condensers

Acid Gas/SO2 control

o Wet scrubbers
o Dry scrubbers
o Flue gas desulfurization

Mercury control
o Sorbent Injection Technology
o Electro-Catalytic Oxidation (ECO)
o K-Fuel

Dioxin and furan control

Ambient cleaning systems

Associated equipment
o Source capturing systems
o Continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS