Reporter: Asiatico, Edlyn Kate ; Antonio, Maria Ellaine; Daria, Glory Ann; Crescini, Sherrie Mae

Chapter 6: AIR QUALITY

Pure air- mixture of gasses
78.1% nitrogen 0.002% neon 0.9% argon
20.9% oxygen 0.0005% helium 0.04% carbon dioxide
0.9% argon 78.1% nitrogen 0.002% neon
0.04% carbon dioxide 20.9% oxygen 0.0005% helium

Sulfur compound - classified as air pollutant when it - The rate at which the temperature of a
reduces the pH of the rain when emitted in the parcel of dry air decreases as the parcel is
atmosphere and results in acidic rivers and lakes lifted in the atmosphere
-not valid as pollutant if emitted from natural sources, Wet Adiabatic lapse rate
such as volcanoes and hot springs - When there is moisture in the air because of
 The pollutants emitted into the atmosphere the evaporation and condensation
must travel to through the atmosphere to influences the temperature of the air parcel
reach people, animals, plants, or things to
have an effect. Whereas in water pollution Prevailing lapse rate
this carriage of pollutants is by water - Actual temperature-elevation measurement
currents, in air pollution wind is the means Superdiabatic lapse rate
for transport of pollutants. - Also called strong lapse rate
METEOROLOGY AND AIR MOVEMENT - Occurs when atmospheric temperature drops more
Troposphere than 1◦C/100 m
- where most weather occurs Subdiabatic lapse rate
- 80% of air is well- mixed - Also called weak lapse rate
Stratosphere - characterized by a drop of less than 1◦C/100 m
-temperature profile is inverted Inversion
- little mixing takes place - special case of weak lapse rate
- where pollutants stay for many years - a condition where warmer air is above the
- high ozone concentration colder air
Mesosphere and Thermosphere MAJOR POLLUTANTS
-contains only about 0.1% of the air Particulate
- can be classified to dust, smoke, fumes, mists,
KINDS OF WINDS or spray
Global wind patterns caused by the differential Dust – solid particles that are
warming and cooling of Earth as it rotates under the a. entrained by process gases directly from the
sun material being handled or processed (e.g., coal,
Local winds caused by differential temperatures ash and cement)
between land and water b. direct offspring of a parent material
masses undergoing a mechanical operation (e.g.,
Sea Breeze – a wind caused by the progressive sawdust from woodworking)
warming of the land during a sunny day c. entrained materials used in a mechanical
Stability- how much vertical air movement is taking operation (e.g., sand from sandblasting)
place Fumes - also a solid particle, frequently a metallic
oxide, formed by the condensation of vapors by
PREVAILING AND DRY ADIABATIC LAPSE RATE sublimation, distillation, calcination, or chemical
Adiabatic – a term denoting no heat transfer reaction processes
between the air parcel and the surrounding air Ex. Lead and zinc oxide
Mist - an entrained liquid particle formed by the
Adiabatic lapse rate (moist saturation) condensation of a vapor and perhaps by chemical
- The rate that which temperature of an air reaction
parcel changes in response to the Smoke – made up of entrained solid particles formed
compression and expansion associated with as a result of incomplete combustion of
elevation change carbonaceous materials
Dry Adiabatic lapse rate

Reporter: Asiatico, Edlyn Kate ; Antonio, Maria Ellaine; Daria, Glory Ann; Crescini, Sherrie Mae
Spray – a liquid particle formed by the atomization
of apparent liquid and settles under gravity
Measurement of Particulate
The measurement of PM10 has been
historically done by using the high-volume sampler
The particulate concentration measured by
a high-volume sampler is often referred to as total
suspended particulates (TSP) to differentiate it from
other measurements of particulates
Respirable particulates (PM2.5)
-A collective group of fine solid particles,
aerosols, mist, smoke, dust, fibers and fumes
Gaseous Pollutants
• In the context of air pollution control,
gaseous pollutants include 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.
• Among the gaseous pollutants of greatest
importance in terms of present knowledge
are carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons,
hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and
other oxidants, and sulfur oxides.
Measurement of Gases
• The earliest gas-measurement techniques
almost all involved the use of a bubbler. The
Air Pollution- unwanted constituent that can have
harmful effect on human health, on the health of
other creatures, on the value of property, and on the
quality of life.
Sources of Air Pollution
 Naturally occurring particulates (e.g. pollen
grains, fungus spores, salt spray, smoke particles
from forest fires and dust from volcanic
eruptions.)
 Gaseous pollutants from natural sources (carbon
monoxide-a breakdown product in the
degradation of hemoglobin, hydrocarbons in the
form of terpenes from pine trees, hydrogen
Reporter: Asiatico, Edlyn Kate ; Antonio, Maria Ellaine;
gas is literally bubbled through the liquid,
which either reacts chemically with the gas
of interest or into which the gas is dissolved.
Wet chemical techniques are then used to
measure the concentration of the gas.
Measurement of Smoke
• The density of smoke has for many years
been measured on the Ringlemann scale,
devised in the late 1800s by Maxmilian
Ringlemann, a French professor of
engineering.
• The scale ranges from 0 for white or
transparent smoke to 5 for totally black,
opaque smoke. The test is conducted by
holding a card, and comparing the blackness
of the card to the smoke.
Visibility
• One of the obvious effects of air pollutants is
a reduction in visibility. Loss of visibility is
often defined as the condition when it is just
possible to identify a large object.
• Reductions in visibility can occur due to
natural air pollutants, such as terpenes from
pine trees or from human-produced
emissions.
Sources and Effect of Air Pollution
sulfide resulting from the breakdown of cysteine
(a crystalline sulfur-containing amino acid
C3H7NO2S) and other sulfur-containing amino
acids by bacterial action, nitrogen oxides and
methane (natural gas).
 People-made sources of pollutants classified as
stationary combustion, transportation, industrial
process and solid waste disposal sources.
 Stationary combustion process (e.g. particulate
pollutants such as fly ash and smoke, and sulfur
and nitrogen oxides.
 Sulfur oxide emissions are a function of the
amount of sulfur present in fuel. Combustion of
coal and oil, both of which contain appreciable
Daria, Glory Ann; Crescini, Sherrie Mae
 amounts of sulfur yields significant quantities of
sulfur oxide.
Sulfur and Nitrogen Oxides and Acid Rain
One way in which SO2 is removed from the
atmosphere is the formation of acid rain. Normal,
uncontaminated rain has a pH of about 5.6(due to
CO2), but acid rain can be pH2 or even lower. Acid
rain formation is a complex process, and the
dynamics are not fully understood. In its simplest
terms SO2 is emitted from the
combustion of fuels containing sulfur and then reacts
with atmospheric components
S+O2 heat −→ SO2
SO2 +O sunlight −→ SO3
SO3 +H2O−→ H2SO4, where H2SO4 is sulfuric acid.
Sulfur oxides do not literally produce sulfuric acid in
the clouds, but the idea is the same. The precipitation
from air containing high concentrations of sulfur
oxides is poorly buffered, and its pH readily drops.
Nitrogen oxides, emitted mostly from automobile
exhaust but also from any other high-temperature
combustion, contribute to the acid mix in the
atmosphere. The chemical reactions that apparently
occur with nitrogen are
N2 +O2 −→ 2NO
NO+O3 −→ NO2 +O2
NO2 +O3 +H2O−→ 2HNO3 +O2 where HNO3 is nitric
acid.
The effect of acid rain has been devastating.
Hundreds of lakes in North America and Scandinavia
became so acidic that they no longer supported fish
life. In a study of Norwegian lakes, more than 70% of
the lakes having a pH less than 4.5 contained no fish,
and nearly all lakes with a pH of 5.5 and above
contained fish. The low pH not only affects fish
directly but contributes to the release of potentially
toxic metals, such as aluminum, thus magnifying the
problem.
Photochemical Smog
Reporter: Asiatico, Edlyn Kate ; Antonio, Maria Ellaine;
Important classification of air pollutants are primary
and secondary pollutants.
Primary pollutant defined as one that is emitted as
such to the atmosphere
combustion of fuels containing sulfur and then reacts
with atmospheric components
S+O2 heat −→ SO2
SO2 +O sunlight −→ SO3
SO3 +H2O−→ H2SO4, where H2SO4 is sulfuric acid.
Sulfur oxides do not literally produce sulfuric acid in
the clouds, but the idea is the same. The precipitation
from air containing high concentrations of sulfur
oxides is poorly buffered, and its pH readily drops.
Nitrogen oxides, emitted mostly from automobile
exhaust but also from any other high-temperature
combustion, contribute to the acid mix in the
atmosphere. The chemical reactions that apparently
occur with nitrogen are
N2 +O2 −→ 2NO
NO+O3 −→ NO2 +O2
NO2 +O3 +H2O−→ 2HNO3 +O2 where HNO3 is nitric
acid.
The effect of acid rain has been devastating.
Hundreds of lakes in North America and Scandinavia
became so acidic that they no longer supported fish
life. In a study of Norwegian lakes, more than 70% of
the lakes having a pH less than 4.5 contained no fish,
and nearly all lakes with a pH of 5.5 and above
contained fish. The low pH not only affects fish
directly but contributes to the release of potentially
toxic metals, such as aluminum, thus magnifying the
problem.
Photochemical Smog
Important classification of air pollutants are primary
and secondary pollutants.
Primary pollutant defined as one that is emitted as
such to the atmosphere
Secondary pollutants produced in the atmosphere by
chemical reactions (e.g. automobile exhaust)
nitrogen oxides formed in the combustion of gasoline
and other fuels and emitted to the atmosphere are
Daria, Glory Ann; Crescini, Sherrie Mae
acted upon by sunlight to yield ozone (O3), a
compound not emitted as such from sources and,
hence, considered a secondary pollutant. Ozone, in
turn, reacts with hydrocarbons to form a series of
compounds that includes aldehydes, organic acids,
and epoxy compounds.
Arie Haagen-Smit a Dutch born biologist working at
CalTech on the fumes emitted by pineapples, decided
to distill the contents of the Los Angeles air. He
discovered peroxy organic substances, which were no
doubt the source of the eye irritation
Ozone Depletion
Ozone (O3) is an eye irritant at usual urban levels, but
urban O3 should not be confused with stratospheric
O3, 7 to 10 mi above the earth’s surface. The latter
acts as an ultraviolet radiation shield, and its
alteration can increase the risk of skin cancer as well
as change the ecology in unpredictable ways. 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.
Reporter: Asiatico, Edlyn Kate ; Antonio, Maria Ellaine;
Two of the most important CFCs are
Trichlorofluoromethane (CFCl3) and
Dichlorodifluoromethane (CF2Cl2),
both are inert and not water soluble and, therefore,
do not wash out of the atmosphere.
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, and this can have a serious
potential effect on the incidence of skin cancer. While
basking in the sun is not a good idea in the first place,
doing so when the ozone layer is not effective in
screening out much of the ultraviolet rays is even
more risky.
Dobson units (DU) were developed to solve ozone
concentration, where 1 DU=0.01 mm of O3 at 1 atm
and 0◦C
When CFCs are introduced into the upper
atmosphere, ozone is destroyed. First, the CFCs react
with light energy and release chlorine. One form of a
CFC reacts as follows:
CF2Cl2 +hv−→ CF2Cl+Cl
acts as a catalyst speeding the destruction of ozone:
Cl+O3 −→ ClO+O2
ClO+O−→ Cl+O2
Daria, Glory Ann; Crescini, Sherrie Mae