Air Pollution

for CEL 212-Environmental Engineering

(Second Semester 2010-2011)

Dr. Arun Kumar

Civil Engineering (IIT Delhi)
arunku@civil.iitd.ac.in

Courtesy: Dr. Irene Xagoraraki (U.S.A.)

 Atmosphere

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 Air Pollution
• Indoor
• Regional
• Global
• Stratospheric
– Sources
– Effects
– Treatment

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 Air Pollutants

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 Air Pollution Standards

• Criteria pollutants
– Primary standards (for protecting human health)
– Secondary standards (for preventing environmental
and property damage)

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 (USEPA)

Air
Pollution
Standards

“Criteria” air
pollutants

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 1) Carbon Monoxide
• Most abundant air pollutant
• Produced by incomplete
combustion
– insufficient O2
– low temperature
– short residence time
– poor mixing
• Major source is motor
vehicle exhaust

http://www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd97/brochure/co.html

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 CO and Health Effects
1 ppm = 1 parts per million = 1 mg/L
1 ppm = 1 parts per million = 1 mg/L

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 CO and Health Effects

1. For a given exposure duration, severity of disease

increases with CO conc.

2. For a given CO conc., severity of disease increases

with exposure duration after certain critical exposure
duration.

3. Look at effect of critical exposure duration on severity

of diseases for a given CO conc.

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 2) Ozone: Health Effects

• Increased incidents of respiratory distress.

• Repeated exposures to ozone:
– Increased susceptibility to respiratory infection
– Lung inflammation
– Aggravation of pre-existing respiratory diseases,
such as asthma.
– Decreases in lung function and increased respiratory
symptoms, such as chest pain and cough.

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 Ozone: Environmental Effects

Ozone also affects vegetation and

ecosystems
– reductions in agricultural and
commercial forest yields
– reduced growth and survivability
of tree seedlings
– increased plant susceptibility to
disease, pests, and other
environmental stresses (e.g.,
harsh weather).

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/airweb/ozone/greece.jpg

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 3) Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)
• Primarily NO and NO2

• NO3, N2O, N2O3, N2O4, N2O5 are also known to occur

• Thermal NOx (created by oxidation of atmospheric N2

when T > 1000 K)

• Fuel NOx from oxidation of N in fuel (high temperature

combustion processes in power plants and automobiles)

http://www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd97/brochure/no2.html

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 NOx-Health Effects

• NO => few health effects, but is oxidized to NO2

• NO2 => irritates lungs and promotes respiratory
infections
• NO2 => reacts with hydroxyl radicals to produce
nitric acid – acid rain
• NO2 => reacts with hydrocarbons in presence of
sunlight to produce smog

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 4) Photochemical Smog
hydrocarbons + NOx + sunlight →
photochemical smog (oxidants)

primary oxidants
produced:
– ozone (O3)
– formaldehyde
– peroxyacetyl
nitrate (PAN)

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 Photochemical Smog Formation-A Continuous
Process

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Photochemical Smog-depends on time of the day also

London London
(smog in summer (on a clear day)
and winter time)

See the effect of time

of day on
concentrations of
different components

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 5) Sulfur Oxides (SOx)

• SO2, SO3, SO42- formed during combustion of fuel

containing sulfur (coal, oil), metal smelting, other industrial
processes.

• H2S released is converted to SO2

http://www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd97/brochure/so2.html

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 Sulfur Dioxide: Health Effects

• High concentrations of SO2 can result in temporary

breathing impairment.
• Longer-term exposures to high concentrations of SO2,
in conjunction with high levels of PM, include
respiratory illness, alterations in the lungs defenses,
and aggravation of existing cardiovascular disease
• Short-term exposures of asthmatic individuals to
elevated SO2 levels may result in reduced lung
function.

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 Sulfur Dioxide: Environmental Effects

2) Decreased Visibility: SO2, NOx,

1) Acid Rain
and VOC interact with other compounds in
the air to form fine particles.

http://www.epa.gov/oar/vis/rockymtn.html

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 6) Particulate Matter
• Solid or liquid particles with sizes from 0.005 – 100 µm
(i.e., aerosols)
• Dust originates from grinding or crushing
• Fumes are solid particles formed when vapors condense
• Smoke describes particles released in combustion
processes
• Smog used to describe air pollution particles

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 Particulate Matter
Original standards did not account for size – larger particles that were not
problematic dominated

PM-10 (1987)
< 10 µm diameter; fuel combustion
(45%); industrial processing
(33%); transportation (22%)

PM-2.5 (1997)
< 2.5 µm diameter; Similar sources, but tend
to be more toxicologically active
particles; EPA estimates new standard
will save 15,000 lives/yr

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 Particulate Matter: Health Effects

• Large particles trapped in nose

• Particles >10 µm removed in

tracheobronchial system

• Particles <0.5 µm reach lungs but are

exhaled with air

• Particles 2 – 4 µm most effectively

deposited in lungs

Environmental Effects
• Decreased visibility
• Damage to paints and building materials

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 Indoor Air Pollution

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 Sources of Indoor Air Pollutants
• Combustion processes furnaces, stoves, water heaters
CO, NOx, HC, PM, SO2
• Tobacco smoke CO, benzene, aldehydes, PM,
4000+ organic compounds
• New building materials VOCs, PM)
• Old building materials Pb, asbestos
• Drains HsS
• Household Products cleaning solvents etc.
• Equipment heating and cooling systems
• Moisture fungal spores
• Furnishings allergens
• Soil and rock radon
• Other outdoor sources pesticides etc.

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 Air Quality and Meteorology

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 Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate
For this parcel of air the
Adiabatic change in temperature with
lapse rate altitude was:
Altitude, z (km)

= (T2-T1)/(z2-z1)

z2 2 = (10-20)oC/(2000-1000)m
= -1 oC/100m
z1 1 When any parcel of air
moves up or down, it’s
temperature will change
according to the adiabatic
T2 lapse rate
T1
Temperature, T (oC)

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 Stability
• Dry adiabatic lapse rate: temperature decreases with
increased altitude

dT
Γ = − = −1.00 °C/100m = -5.4 °F / 1000ft
dz
• Atmospheric (actual) lapse rate
< Г (temperature falls faster) unstable (super-adiabatic)
> Г (temperature falls slower) stable (sub-adiabatic)
= Г (same rate) neutral

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 Example 1
Z(m) T(ºC)
10 5.11

202 1.09

∆T T2 − T1 1.09 − 5.11
= = = −0.0209 °C/m
∆z z 2 − z1 202 − 10
= −2.09 °C/100 m
Since lapse rate is more negative than Г, (-1.00 ºC/100 m)=> atmosphere
is unstable

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Unstable Conditions Rapid vertical mixing
takes place.

-1.25 oC/100 m < -1 oC/100m Unstable air encourages the

dispersion and dilution of pollutants.
actual temperature falls faster than Г
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Stable Conditions Air at a certain altitude remains
at the same elevation.

Stable air discourages

-0.5 oC/100 m > -1 oC/100m the dispersion and
dilution of pollutants.
actual temperature falls slower than Г
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 Air at a certain altitude remains
Neutral Conditions at the same elevation.

Neutrally stable air

-1 oC/100 m = -1 oC/100m
discourages the dispersion
and dilution of pollutants.
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 Why are these plumes so different?

neutral

under
inversion layer

Above
inversion

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 Prediction for Pollutant Concentration

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 Point-Source Gaussian Plume Model

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 Point-Source Gaussian Plume Model

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 Point-Source Gaussian Plume Model

• Model Structure and Assumptions

– pollutants released from a “virtual point source”
– advective transport by wind
– dispersive transport (spreading) follows normal (Gaussian)
distribution away from trajectory
– constant emission rate
– wind speed constant with time and elevation
– pollutant is conservative (no reaction)
– terrain is flat and unobstructed
– uniform atmospheric stability

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 Point-Source Gaussian Plume Model

 E     y
2
     
2

1 1 H
χ (xC, y(x,y)
,0, H ) =   exp −     exp −    
 πs y s z u    2  s y      2  s z   
 

Where: C = downwind concentration at ground level (g/m3)

E = Q = emission rate of pollutant (g/s)
sy,sz = plume standard deviations (dispersion coefficients) (m)
u = wind speed (m/s)
x, y, z, H = distances (m)

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 Effective Stack Height

H = h + ∆H

Where:
H = Effective stack height (m)
h = height of physical stack (m)
∆H = plume rise (m)

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 Effective Stack Height (Holland’s formula)

vs    Ts − Ta  
1.5 +  2.68 ×10 (P ) d 
−2
∆H = 
u   T
 a  

where vs = stack velocity (m/s)

d = stack diameter (m)
u = wind speed (m)
P = pressure (kPa)
Ts = stack temperature (ºK)
Ta = air temperature (ºK)

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 Atmospheric Stability Categories

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 Horizontal Dispersion

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 Vertical Dispersion

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 Wind Speed Correction
• Unless the wind speed at the virtual stack height is
known, it must be estimated from the ground wind
speed
p
 z2  Where: ux = wind speed at elevation zx
u2 = u1   p = empirical constant
 z1 

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 Example 2
• A stack in an urban area is emitting 80 g/s of NO. It
has an effective stack height of 100 m. The wind
speed is 4 m/s at 10 m. It is a clear summer day with
the sun nearly overhead.
• Estimate the ground level concentration at: a) 2 km
downwind on the centerline and b) 2 km downwind, 0.1
km off the centerline.

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 Example 2

1. Determine stability class

Assume wind speed is 4 km at ground surface.
Description suggests strong solar radiation.
Stability class B

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 Example 2

2. Determine σy and σz
σy = 290, σz = 220

220
290

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 Example 2

3. Estimate the wind speed at the effective stack

height
Note: effective stack height given – no need to
calculate using Holland’s formula

p 0.15
 z2   100 
u2 = u1   = 4  = 5.65 m/s
 z1   10 

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 Example 2

4. Determine concentration

a. x = 2000, y = 0

80  1 0 
2
  1  100  
2

C (2000,0) = exp−    exp −   

π (290)(220)(5.6)  2  290    2  220  

C ( 2000 ,0 ) = 6 . 43 × 10 − 5 g/m 3 = 64 . 3 µg/m 3

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 Example 2

b. x = 2000, y = 0.1 km = 100 m

80  1  100 
2
  1  100  
2

C (2000,100) = exp −    exp −   

π (290)(220)(5.6)  2  290    2  220  

C ( 2000 , 0 ) = 6 . 06 × 10 − 5 g/m 3 = 60 . 6 µg/m 3

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 Air Pollution Control

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 Air Pollution Control
• Stationary sources
– Pre-combustion controls (improved fuel quality)
– Combustion controls (improved combustion process)
– Post-combustion controls (capture emissions after
they are formed but before they are released to the air)

• Motor vehicles
– Cleaner gasoline
– Exhaust system controls
– Improved engines
– Alternative fuels

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