Presentation 13
Smokestack Plumes
• Dispersion from an elevated source is a
different matter
• Pollutants have a longer time to diffuse
laterally before the high concentration region
of the plume touches ground
• So, the maximum concentration at ground
level is not found at the source but at some
distance from the stack
• The magnitude of the maximum concentration
and where it is expected to occur are two of
the most important questions involved in the
effectiveness of an exhaust stack
Smokestack Plumes
• The simplest way to adapt
Q −1 2[ ( y σ y2 ) + ( z 2 σ z2 ) ]
χ ( x, y , z ) =
2
e 15-1
π uσ yσ z
• to describe this case is by substituting (z-H) for z,
where H represents the height of the stack.
• We must also adjust the multiplying factor to
ensure that the right-hand side is properly
normalized.
– We multiply by 2*pi instead of pi
• However, instead of doing that, let us first consider
a more pressing question:
– What happens when pollutants strike the ground?
– Do the molecules stick, or do they in effect bounce off?
Smokestack Plumes
• The answer is not simple.
• The proportion that stick depends upon the type of
surface (vegetation, building materials, etc.).
• Due to our lack of knowledge, this proportion is
generally not predictable in advance.
• It is simpler from a mathematical standpoint to
avoid this question and to assume that the
pollutants are reflected when they hit the ground.
• In this case, the generalization of the equation (15-
1) would be:
χ=
Q
2π uσ yσ z
e
−( y 2
2σ y2 )
[e −[ ( z − H ) 2σ z2 ]
2
+e −[ ( z + H ) 2σ z2 ]
2
]
15-2
Smokestack Plumes
Q −1 2[ ( y σ y2 ) + ( z 2 σ z2 ) ]
χ ( x, y , z ) =
2
• as required by a solution of e
π uσ yσ z
πσ yσ z u
Maximum Ground Level
Concentration
• If the ambient concentration
downwind from an elevated point
source is given by Eq. (15-3) with
empirical values for the x-dependence
of σy and σz, then several statements
can be made concerning the
magnitude and distribution of the
ground-level concentration.
• The location which received the
maximum ground-level concentration
will be of course on the plume line (y
Maximum Ground Level
Concentration
• It has been found that the maximum concentration χmax will
−1 2
occur where
σz = 2 H
• This location will of course depend upon the empirically
determined dependence of the standard deviation σz on the
value of x.
• For lack of simpler or more accurate alternatives, a power
law dependence is often assumed as introduced by O. G.
2− N 2
Sutton x x 2 − Mdistribution
C y for a 2normal
(1947) C z2 in y and z:
σy =
2
; σz = Variance in y and z space
2 2
QM − H 2
χ ( x,0,0, H ) = exp
2 15-5 (again)
πσ yσ z u 2σ z
Maximum Ground Concentration
• Substituting: 1− N
x 2C 1− N
x 2C
y
σy = and σ z = z
2 2
QM − H 2
• into χ ( x,0,0, H ) = exp
2
πσ yσ z u 2σ z
QM − H 2
χ ( x,0,0, H ) = exp 2 − N 2 15-7
x1− 2 C 1− N 2 x C z
N
y x Cz
π u
2 2
Maximum Ground Concentration
• Rewriting as:
QM 2 1 − H
2
χ =
x 2 − N exp 2 − N 2
πC C
y z u x C z
or
QM 2 N − 2 − H 2
χ =
πC C u
(x
) exp 2 − N 2
y z x C z
dχ
=0
• Now comes the FUN part…we want
dx
dχ
• We know dx
= 0 when ( ) =0
Maximum Ground Concentration
• Rearranging
2Q p − H 2
0= ( N − 2) x N − 3
× exp 2 − N 2 +
π uC y C z x Cz
N −3
2 2
− H − H
x N −2
× exp 2 − N 2 × 2 ( N − 2 ) x
x C z C z
− H2
( N − 2) x N − 3
× exp 2 − N 2 =
x Cz
− H2 − H2 N −3
x N −2
× exp 2 − N 2 × 2 ( N − 2 ) x
x Cz Cz
Maximum Ground Concentration
• That leaves us with:
H 2
H 2 This is where χ is
1 = x N − 2 2 or x 2 − N = 2 maximized at ground
Cz Cz level…the more vigorous
the vertical diffusion is,
the sooner it touches the
• Also since: ground
2− N Cz
σ z2 =x , we can subsititute in for the RHS to get :
2
2
H −1 This is where the
σz =
2
or σ z = 2 2 H maximum χ will
2
occur
QM − H 2
χ ( x,0,0, H ) = exp
2
πσ yσ z u 2σ z
Into
Maximum Ground Concentration
To get QM − H 2
χ= exp −1 2
(
π u 2 H 2 H )
C y −1 2 −1 2 2 2 H ( ) 2
Cz
QM C z − H 2
= −1 2 exp
−1 2
π u 2 H C y 2 ⋅ 2 H
2QM C z
= exp( − 1)
π uH C y
2
Finally: 2QM C z
χ maximum = (15-8)
π uH e C y
2
Maximum Ground Concentration
2QM C z
χ maximum =
π uH e C y
2
x 2 − N C y2 x 2 − M C z2
Sutton’s diffusion parameters for n=m in σ y2 = ; σ z2 =
2 2
Maximum Ground Concentration
• Of course, the values of the constants
applied in the evaluation of Equation (15-3)
must depend upon individual
circumstances.
• Generally one chooses values which
correspond to an elevation midway
between ground level and the height of the
exhaust stack.
• This is true for the wind speed, which also
appears in the formulas.
– Wind speeds are frequently found to increase by
30% to 50% from a height of 10 m to 300 m
Maximum Ground Concentrations
• The maximum ground-level concentration
from a plume released from a height H is
seen to be inversely proportional to H2
– The second power of H enters because the
plume is diffusing in two dimensions as it
travels downwind; thus the same mass of
pollutant is spread over a wider area, an area
which is effectively proportional to H2.
• However, the fact that χmax is also
proportional to Cz implies that the more
vigorous the vertical2 −diffusion,
N H2 the sooner
x = 2
the lower edge of the plume Cz touches
ground
Maximum Ground Concentrations