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Title of Project: Effect of Air pollution on Chittagong city.

1.ABSTRACT:

Chittagong is the second largest and port city of Bangladesh, with a population over than 4 million. The
SPM concentration of different areas during the winter season ranges on an average minimum 279
µmg/m3 to 784 µmg/m3 . However, the average concentration (550 µmg/m3) is much higher than the
permissible limit (400 µmg/m3) given for human being. The SPM concentration during the rainy period
usually lower than that of wintertime, except few commercial and industrial areas, where it is above the
limit. The summer air shows a lower amount than the tolerable limit. It observed that the concentration
of pollutants is high in air when wind speed is low and directions are N, NW or W. But pollutants
concentration is low when wind speed is high and wind directions are S, SSE. The SO2 concentration in
winter and rainy seasons at different areas varies in between 27 to 89 µmg/m3. Summer concentrations
are much lower (35 to 40 µmg/m3) than that observed in wintertime. South and SE higher wind speed (12
knots) are favorable to sweep the SO2 pollutants. As a result, a significant lower (< 35 µmg/m3)
concentration is observed in comparison to the low (< 6 knots) north and NE direction wind, when the
concentration is about 50 µmg/m3. During winter, a higher concentration (110 µmg/m3) of NOx is
observed in some industrial area. A lower concentration of this usually persists in rainy time. Summer
concentration of NOx is far below the threshold value. The concentration of this pollutant in relating to
wind speed and directions are same as observed for other pollutants. SPM, SO2, and NOx were about 382,
30, and 17 µgm/m3 in the year 1996 when the number of vehicle about 75,000. In the year 2003 recorded
vehicles number are about 1, 03,660and the said pollutants concentrations are 520, 82, and 88 µgm/m3
respectively. It is very important to note that the concentration all pollutants (SPM, SO2, NOx) in the air
of Chittagong city area gradually increasing in every year. The present study shows that the concentration
of SPM, SO2 and NOx are increased about twice times within a span of seven-year time (1996-2003), and
since 2002 concentrations of all these three pollutants already crossed the threshold limit. Considering
above alarming facts, it is the high time to establish and to implement the national environmental policy
to protect the city from further deterioration.
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2.Introduction:
Chittagong city, the second largest and port city of Bangladeshis located within the geographical
coordinates 22º 05/ -22º 22/ N and 91º 40/ -91º 52/ E (Fig. 1). More than four million people live
in this city within the 158 km2

Figure 1: Map of Chittagong city

area with a steady increase rate of 5 %. The study area is stands on the right bank of the river
Karnaphuly. Being a part of subtopic, this area is blessed with monsoon rain. The average annual
rainfall is approximately 3000 mm. The average minimum and maximum temperatures are 16-
35 C respectively. Humidity is high (85%) in summer and goes down up to 65 % in winter. Wind
speed is maximum (12 km/h) in monsoon and summer, and minimum (5 km/h) during winter
period. There are several sources of air pollution in Bangladesh (Kitada and Azad, 1999), among
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them unfit vehicles and industries are notable. The numbers of mostly reconditioned vehicles are
increasing in every year, one third of these vehicles do not have any fitness certificate. It is
reported that the number of vehicles were about 75, 350 in the year 1996. This number increases
and reach about 1,10,800 in the year 2003. Due to port facility, this city is attractive for the money
investors to build up industry. A number of ‘Export Processing Zones’ (EPZ) have been established
by the local and foreign investors. Most of the industries are not following the environmental
rules and regulations. The greenery around Chittagong city and the monsoon heavy rainfall helps
to reduce the intensity of air pollution. But these vegetation covers are disappearing rapidly
because of indiscriminate cutting for wood-logs.

Air: The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, commonly known as air, that surrounds the
planet Earth and is retained by Earth's gravity. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by
creating pressure allowing for liquid water to exist on the Earth's surface,
absorbing ultraviolet solar radiation, warming the surface through heat retention (greenhouse
effect), and reducing temperature extremes between day and night (the diurnal temperature
variation).
By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon
dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor,
on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere. Air content
and atmospheric pressure vary at different layers, and air suitable for use
in photosynthesis by terrestrial plants and breathing of terrestrial animals is found only in
Earth's troposphere and in artificial atmospheres.
The atmosphere has a mass of about 5.15×1018 kg, three quarters of which is within about 11 km
(6.8 mi; 36,000 fit) of the surface. The atmosphere becomes thinner and thinner with increasing
altitude, with no definite boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. The Kármán line,
at 100 km (62 mi), or 1.57% of Earth's radius, is often used as the border between the
atmosphere and outer space. Atmospheric effects become noticeable during atmospheric
reentry of spacecraft at an altitude of around 120 km (75 mi). Several layers can be distinguished
in the atmosphere, based on characteristics such as temperature and composition.
The study of Earth's atmosphere and its processes is called atmospheric science (aerology).
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3.Objective
i) To assess the various percentage of air elements in Chittagong city.
ii) To point out the various sources of Air pollution.
vi) To know the various harmful effects on the Environment of Chittagong city.
iii) To control the emission and mitigate the effects of air pollution from different sources.
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4.Literature Review:

4.1Introduction

Any activity involving burning things/fuels and mixing substances that because chemical
reactions may release toxic gases in the process and some activities like construction,
mining, transportation, etc. produce large amounts of dust which has the potential to cause
air pollution. There are about half billion cars on the road today. Virtually all of them are
powered by gasoline and diesel engines that bur petroleum to release energy. Petroleum
is made up of hydrocarbons (large molecules built from hydrogen and carbon) and, in
theory, burning them fully with enough oxygen produces nothing worse than carbon dioxide
and water. In practice, fuels are not pure hydrocarbons and engines do not burn them
cleanly. As a result, exhausts from engines contain all kinds of pollution, notably particulates
(soot of various sizes), carbon monoxide (CO), a poisonous gas, nitrogen oxides (NOx),
volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and Lead (Pb) and indirectly produced ozone. Mixing
up these noxious gases together and energizing it with sunlight produces sometimes
brownish, sometimes bluish fog of pollution called smog, which can hang over cities for
many days

(Chris Woodford 2014).

Air Pollution renders air unfit for respiration by humans and animals. Air pollution problem
has been aggravated by the tremendous increase in the number of mobile sources (motor
vehicles) in urban areas. The latest available data on air quality have prompted WHO to call
for greater awareness of health risks caused by air pollution, implementation of
effective air pollution mitigation policies and close monitoring of the situation in cities
worldwide. In April 2014, WHO issued new information after estimating that outdoor
air pollution was responsible for the deaths of about 3.7 million people under the age of
60 in 2012 (TNI 2014). Figures 4.1 and 4.2 illustrate the deaths attributable to ambient
air pollution in 2012, by disease, age and sex respectively (WHO-PHE 2014)
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Figure 4.1 Picture depicting the deaths attributable to ambient air pollution in 2012, by disease.
(ALRI: Acute lower respiratory disease; COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; IHD:
Ischemic heart disease).

Figure 4.2 Picture depicting the deaths attributable to ambient air pollution in 2012, by age and
sex.
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4.2 Air Quality Index:

United States Environmental Protection Agency designated a standardized air pollution level
indicator known as the Air Quality Index (AQI), which mainly consists of six common air pollutants
called as criteria air pollutants that can injure health, harm the environment and cause property
damage are carbon monoxide (CO), Lead (Pb), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Ozone (O3), particulate
matter (PM), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) (USEPA-APM).

In India, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has specified CO, NO2, SO2 and PM as criteria
pollutants for monitoring through its National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). The
United States’ AQI category with AQI rating for four criteria pollutants has been given in the Table
1.1 (Mahboob et al 2008).

4.3 Vehicles’ Contribution of Air Pollution in Urban Centers:

Vehicles constitute a major source of pollutants in metropolitan cities. Air pollutants such as CO,
NOx, SPM and HC are emitted from motor vehicles into the atmosphere in significant quantities
in addition to CO2 emission, causing serious environmental and health problems. Health
problems due to air pollution have assumed serious proportions in major metropolitan cities and
other urban parts of India and vehicular emissions have been identified among the major
contributors in the deteriorating air quality in these urban centers (CPCB 1999).

Increase in air pollution levels in urban centers of the world is closely identified with increase in
the number of motor vehicles (Mage et al 1996; Mayer 1999). Air pollution from motor vehicles
is one of the most serious and rapidly growing problems in urban centers of India, like in any
other urban parts of the world (UNEP-WHO 1992; CRRI 1998).

In Delhi, the daily pollution load has increased from 1,450 tons in 1991 to 3,000 metric tons in
1997 (MoEF 1997). The share of the transport sector has increased from 64% to 67% during the
same period while that of the industrial sector (including power plants) has been decreased from
29% to 25% (MoEF 1997).

Another study carried out in Delhi shows the contribution of industrial (including thermal power
plants), vehicular and domestic sources of pollution to the ambient air in Delhi is shown in Table
4.1 during the periods 1970-71 to 2000-01.

Table 4.1 Contribution of air pollution from various sources in Delhi in percentage during the
periods 1970-71 to 2000-01
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2000-01
Source 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91
(Projected

Industrial 56% 40% 29% 20%

Vehicular 23% 42% 64% 72%

Domestic 21% 18% 7% 8%

(Source: MoEF, 1997; CPCB, 2003)

Table 4.1 clearly indicates the percentage decrease in air pollution due to industries and domestic
sector as compared to percentage increase due to vehicular air pollution over a period of 4
decades. It is also an indication of the palpable increase in use of motor vehicles in urban areas.

The contributors of air pollution at Delhi and Chennai indicated in Figure 3.3 which clearly shows
that the transportation sector causes about 70% of the air pollution in metropolitan cities,
presently.

(Source: Urban Air Quality Management @ TNPCB, 2013)

Figure 4.3 Picture shows the contributors of air pollution in two of the metropolitan cities of
India: Delhi and Chennai.

4.4 Review on use of Solid State Gas Sensors for Air Quality Monitoring System:

In general, commercial sensors have application in a variety of fields such as environmental

engineering, indoor climate control and ventilation control, medicine diagnostics and breath
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analysis in medicine, structural monitoring, surveillance, disaster management, emergency

response, gasoline vapor detection in automobiles, leak detection and fire detection in safety,

food process control and fermentation control in food and other industrial productions. Sensors
integrated with Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) facilitate monitoring and controlling of physical
environments from remote locations with better accuracy.

Duk-Dong Lee and Dae-Sik Lee (2001) state that natural atmospheric environment has become
polluted and is rapidly deteriorating due to the dramatic growth in industrial development and
urbanization. Thus, monitoring and control of such pollutants is imperative for prevention of
environmental disasters. Use of conventional analytical instruments for monitoring purpose is
time consuming, expensive and seldom used in real-time in the field. An effective alternative is
use of solid state gas sensors that are compact, robust with versatile applications and low cost.
They have also presented comparison between analytical instruments and briefed about the
various solid-state gas sensors namely semiconducting type, capacitor type and electrolyte types
sensors.

Simon et al (2001); Semantic et al (2001) have reviewed gas sensors and summarized that
semiconductor gas sensors known also as chemo-resistive gas sensors are typically based on
metal oxides (e.g. SnO2, TiO2, In2O3, WO3, NiO, etc.). They conclude that the applied studies of
recent findings and products have shown some significant trends on nanotechnologies and gas-
sensing layers to be employed. One of these trends aims to implement low cost, low-power
consumption, reliable, smart and miniaturized sensing devices and it shows the decisive
advantage of using micro-machined silicon platform as substrates for the sensitive layers.
According to them, the gas sensors can be improved in different ways by use of filters (Park et al
2002), catalysts and promoters or more specific surface additives (Vlachos et al 1997), selection
of the material for the sensing layer (Moseley 1992) and its physical preparation, analysis of the
transient sensor response (Distant et al 2002), selection of a fixed temperature to maximize
sensitivity to a particular analyte gas (Capone 2001) or by use of temperature modulated
operation mode (Andrew 1999).

Capone et al (2003) are of the opinion that the demand for gas detection and monitoring has
grown

following awareness about the need to protect the environment. According to them, the solid-
state gas sensors based on a variety of principles and materials, are the best choice for this
purpose. They also say that the great interest shown by industrial and scientific world on solid
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state gas sensors is due their numerous advantages, like small sizes, high sensitiveness in
detecting very low concentrations (at level of ppm or even ppb) of a wide range of gaseous
chemical compounds, possibility of on-line operation and due to possible low-cost bench
production.

Kawasaki et al (2004); West et al (2005) have classified sensors into semiconducting type, solid
electrolyte type, electrochemical type and catalytic combustion type. According to them, the
sensors have the advantages of rapid reactivity, high efficiency, and gas selectivity when suitable
additives are applied to it. Ceramics are most commonly used for making sensors, as they are the
most reliable materials in very severe conditions like high temperature, reactive or corrosive
atmosphere and high humidity. The gas-sensing materials for semiconductor type are SnO2,
WO3, In2O3, perovskite-structure oxides, etc., and the electrolyte for solid electrolyte-type gas
sensor is Na3Zr2Si2PO12. Sensing properties (mainly sensitivity and selectivity) as well as stability
over time of the oxide layer can be improved by reducing the metal oxide grain size down to
nanometer scale (Xu et al 1991; Gurlo et al 1998). Nanocrystalline semiconducting metal oxides
with controlled composition are indeed of increasing interest in gas sensing and constitute also
a new and exciting subject of fundamental research (Barsan et al 1999).

Korotcenkov (2007) has focused on the conductometric semiconducting metal oxide gas sensors
(especially surface conductive metal oxide). According to the author, they constitute currently
one of the most investigated groups of gas sensors. They have attracted much attention in the
field of gas sensing under atmospheric conditions due to their low cost and flexibility in
production, simplicity of their use and possibility of many application fields and the large number
of detectable gases. In addition to the conductivity change of gas-sensing material, the detection
of this reaction can be done by measuring the change of capacitance, work function, mass, optical
characteristics or reaction energy released by the gas/solid interaction. As per the author’s
review, there are numerous researchers who have shown that the reversible interaction of the
gas with the surface of the material is a characteristic of conductometric semiconducting metal
oxide gas sensors.

Chengxiang et al (2010) have reviewed sensitivity and influencing factors of Metal Oxide Gas
Sensors. They have come to the conclusion that the sensitivity of the metal oxide based materials
changes with the factors influencing the surface reactions, such as

(i) chemical components,

(ii) surface modification,
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(iii) microstructures of sensing layers,

(iv) temperature and
(v) humidity.

In their brief review, the study is focused on changes of sensitivity of conductometric

semiconducting metal oxide gas sensors due to the five factors mentioned above. As the authors
brief further, the surface reactions can be influenced by many factors, including internal and
external causes, such as natural properties of base materials, surface areas and microstructure
of sensing layers, surface additives, temperature and humidity, etc. One of the important
parameters of gas sensors is sensitivity that has been attracting increasing attention and much
effort has been made to enhance the sensitivity of gas sensors. There is no uniform definition of
gas sensor sensitivity as of now. Usually, sensitivity (S) can be defined as Ra/Rg for reducing gases
or Rg/Ra for oxidizing gases, where Ra stands for the resistance of gas sensors in the

reference gas (usually the air) and Rg stands for the resistance in the reference gas containing
target gases. Both Ra and Rg have a significant relationship with the surface reaction(s) taking
place.

Kwang (2011) says that air pollution caused by exhaust gases from automobiles has become a
critical issue. The principal gases that cause air pollution from automobiles are nitrogen oxides,
NOx (NO and NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). He has defined gas sensor as a device that can
substitute for human olfaction, and that converts a physical phenomenon into an electrical signal.
According to him many researches are being conducted to monitor air pollution by using these
gas sensors, the first decade of the 21st century has been labeled by some as the “Sensor
Decade.” Sensors can be interfaced between the physical world and the world of electrical
devices, such as

computers.

Emily et al (2013) observe that historical approaches for monitoring air pollution generally use
expensive, complex, stationary equipment’s (Chow 1995; Fehsenfeld et al 2004) that work based
on the techniques MS, GC, FTIR, etc. limit data collection and access to the data. This paradigm
is changing with the materialization of lower-cost, easy-to-use and portable air pollution
monitors (sensors) that provide high-time resolution data in near real time. These attributes
provide opportunities for enhancement of the range of existing air pollution monitoring
capabilities and perhaps provide avenues to new air monitoring applications. Sensors associated
with to advances in computing and communication also provide enhanced availability and
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accessibility of air monitoring data. Sensor devices are currently available for monitoring a range
of air pollutants and new devices are continually being introduced (White 2012). Meanwhile, the
emergence of information on the high spatial variability of primary air pollutants (Seinfeld et al
1998; Solomon et al 2008; Baldauf et al 2008; Clements et al 2009; Olson et al 2009; Sioutas et al
2005; Venkatram et al 2009) and per capita increase in asthma or other health conditions
sensitive to air pollution (Solomon et al 2012) motivates finer-grained and more personalized air
monitoring data collection. Indeed, the attraction towards lower cost sensors is so great that
widespread data collection and data sharing using new sensors are already occurring even before
sensor performance has been characterized (http://airqualityegg.com/). However, challenges
remain, regarding the use of sensors and sensor data, chiefly sensor data quality and derivation
of meaningful information from data sets.

However, recent advances in Nano-technology have facilitated synthesis of materials with new
properties by means of the controlled manipulation of their microstructure on a nanometer
scale, enhanced the gas sensing properties thereby increasing the performance of solid state gas
sensors.

Review on Real Time Mobile Air Quality Monitoring Using Solid State Gas Sensors:

With improvements in technology, many air pollution systems have been designed and
developed using solid state gas sensors in various areas for monitoring air pollution. The sensors
in combination with WSN technology will greatly enhance monitoring of the natural environment
and in some cases, open up new technology for taking measurements or allow deployments of
sensors in those places considered impossible earlier. With the rapid development of micro-
electromechanical systems and WSN technology, it is possible to create cost effective & low
power air quality monitoring systems. The integration of an air pollutant monitoring system with
WSN technology will reduce installation costs and enable the quick and easy reconfiguration of
the data acquisition and control systems. These were reported in the recent literature which is
compiled hereunder.

Pummakarnchana et al (2005) are of the opinion that economic growth and industrialization are
proceeding at a rapid pace, accompanied by increasing emissions of air polluting sources. They
emphasize on the urgent need for suitable monitoring systems to ensure rapid detection of air
pollution levels and for reliable quantification of polluting sources in order to prevent further
deterioration in polluting levels.

The Authors state that a new generation of detectors, solid state gas sensors, offer excellent
alternatives for environmental monitoring due to low cost, light weight, extremely small size and
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also due to the reason that they can be deployed anywhere so as to receive data that can
eventually be transmitted through a Wireless GIS network system as a rapid monitoring tool to
the general public. In their research work, they have designed and developed a

portable device, comprising solid state gas sensor (NOx) integrated to a Personal Digital Assistant
(PDA) linked through Bluetooth communication tools and Global Positioning System (GPS) for
rapid dissemination of information on pollution levels at multiple sites simultaneously. They have
established air sampling points using solid state gas sensors at the same locations as the air
quality monitoring sites of the Pollution Control Department (PCD) in Bangkok, in addition to the
other places to compare the NOx concentration values acquired from the solid-state gas sensor
devices and the PCD’s air quality monitoring system. They have carried out air pollution
monitoring over extensive areas in Bangkok, Thailand and suggested that the Air Quality report
generated can be published using Internet GIS to provide a real-time information service for the
PCD, for increased public awareness and enhanced public participation. They also suggest the
use of local deterministic and geo-statistical interpolation methods used for spatial prediction,
based on observations at each monitoring site.

Abujayyab et al (2006) have proposed an abstract model of a system which is based on long-
range wireless communication for air pollution monitoring. In another study, Kwon et al (2007)
have developed an outdoor air pollution monitoring system using ZigBee networks with a
wireless sensor board in which dust, CO2, temperature, and humidity sensors are employed. Its
monitoring range is 270 m. It is used for monitoring air quality at a fixed location. Jung et al (2008)
have installed an air pollution geo-sensor network consisting of sensors and routers at various
locations to monitor several air pollutants. Tsow et al (2009) have developed a wireless sensor
system for real-time monitoring of toxic environmental Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
based on a smart sensor micro converter equipped with a network capable application processor
that downloads the pollutant level to a personal computer for further processing.

Tajne et al (2011) stated that conventional air quality monitoring approaches are limited with
respect to time, expense, and installation sites. Therefore, only limited data is available for the
estimation of ambient air toxins. Further, air quality monitoring systems built using conventional

equipment’s (MS, GC, FTIR) have spatial and temporal limitations, due to manual conduct of
measurements. According to the authors, the Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a fast-evolving
technology with a number of potential applications in various domains of daily life, such as
structural and environmental monitoring, medicine, military surveillance, condition based
maintenance etc. A WSN is composed of a large number of sensor nodes that are usually
deployed either inside a region of interest or very close to it. WSN nodes are low power
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embedded devices consisting of processing and storage components (a processor connected to

a RAM and/or flash memory) combined with wireless RF transceiver and some sensors/actuators.

In their study, they have proposed air pollution monitoring & control system comprises of sensor
nodes consisting of sensors and microprocessor and a communications system-WSN which has
been named as Mica2 mote, which allows the data to reach a server. The sensor nodes gather
data autonomously and the data network is used to pass data to one or more base stations that
shall forward it to a sensor network server.

The authors have illustrated a method of controlling the air pollution as shown in Figure 2.4,
which is that people can avoid polluted areas shown by pollution sign board with the red color
and can choose to travel in other paths. Travelling in less polluted areas by knowing the pollution
information through the display system at each sensor node can prevent further increase in
pollution at highly polluted areas.

Figure 3.4 Picture shows one of the methods of air pollution control by the way of real time air
pollution monitoring.

They have also simulated the sensors nodes in combination with WSN technology and have
drawn the following conclusions;
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(i) Recent technological developments in the miniaturization of electronics and wireless

communication technology have led to the emergence of Environmental Sensor Networks.
(ii) The Environmental Senor Networks will greatly enhance monitoring of the natural
environment and in some cause, open up new techniques for taking measurements or allow
previously impossible deployments of sensors.
(iii) WSN technology for air pollution and monitoring will be very beneficial for monitoring
different high-risk regions of the country and
(iv) WSN technology can provide real time information about the level of air pollution in these
regions, as well as provide alerts in cases of drastic change in quality of air.

The information provided can help the authorities to take prompt actions such as evacuating
people or sending emergency response teams. Thus, WSN networks can be used effectively for
monitoring air pollution in the areas where regular monitoring is needed.

Raja et al (2011) have attempted development of an effective solution for pollution monitoring
using wireless sensor networks (WSN) on a real-time basis, namely, real time wireless air
pollution monitoring system using commercially available discrete pre-calibrated gas sensors for
sensing

concentration of gases like CO2, NO2, CO and O2. These gas sensors were integrated with the
wireless sensor motes/modules for field deployment at the Indian Institute of Technology,
Hyderabad campus and the Hyderabad city using multi hop data aggregation algorithm. A light
weight middleware and a web interface to view the live pollution data in the form of numbers
and charts from the test beds were developed.

The authors have used Labellum Wasp motes as basic wireless communication modules and the
sensor boards with different gas sensors which comprise a communication unit and a processing
unit respectively that are shown in Figure 3.5.
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Figure 4.5 Sensor board with different gas sensors (processing unit) and Labellum Wasp mote
(communication unit)

Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) ports of the wireless nodes are programmed to periodically
sample the various gas sensors interfaced to the sensor board on a rotational basis. The collected
samples are packetized and sent to base station (Sung-Hwa et al 2007; Gongbo et al 2009) at
regular intervals from each of the sensor nodes, which forms the mesh network. Figure 3.6 shows
the sensor nodes and the communication network system.
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Figure 4.6 Multichip mesh network system architecture for the real time wireless pollution
monitoring system.

Dan et al (2011) have proposed an environmental air pollution monitoring system that measures
CO2, NO2, CO, HC & NH3 concentration using mobile sensors in urban environment. They have
designed, tested and built a reliable measurement device that can acquire information about the
air quality of its surroundings. In this system the acquired information about air pollution in
 Page 18 of 30

surroundings is stored in a temporary memory buffer and periodically relay it to a central on-line
repository. It uses a wireless GSM modem connection for transferring data to a central computer
and can be freely accessed by the public through on on-line web interface. Users can select and
view different gases and its concentrations overlapped on a map of the city.

Vidhya (2013) had come up with a proposal environmental monitoring system called ArduAir
which is a small and portable measurement system which includes various gas sensors (such as
CO, CO2, NO2, O3, etc.) and microcontroller that can be used by a number of persons
simultaneously. He has proposed a software for collecting data from the ArduAir and plotting it
in real-time which will provide the user with

(i) Low-cost and low-power measurement hardware that is suitable for mobile
measurement,
(ii) User-friendly data collection and processing software,
(iii) Gathering high quality data and
(iv) Easy to use instrument that can be used commercially by a large number of people.

The author has, for sample purposes connected one CO sensor to a module called an Arduino
microcontroller which is then connected to a computer through a serial communication. The data
collected by the Arduino microcontroller from the sensor is then sent to the computer software
where it gets recorded and plotted in real-time. In this way the Adair is designed and built in a
small size, portable and low-cost air pollution monitoring system to monitor CO. The author has
suggested that this sensor based system can also be used for various other gases such as SO2,
NO2, CO2, O3, etc. using different sensors. This system can thus be utilized effectively by the
general public for monitoring the quality of air around them.

It is learnt from the literature review that mobile monitoring device can be designed and
developed using solid state gas sensors and simultaneously information on the observed air
pollution information can be disseminated in real time. Vehicular emission consists mostly of
carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Hence, it is proposed to
carry out air pollution study in the Chennai Metropolitan Area using the air quality monitoring
device (AQMD), connected with inputs such as GPS receiver for identification of location (latitude
and longitude, date and time) and three gas sensors CO2, CO and NO.
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5.MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Material: List of particulate control mechanism equipment’s

i) Gravitational settling chamber
ii) Cyclone separator
iii) Fabric filter method
iv) Bag house
v) Electrostatic precipitator
vi) Wet scrubber
vii) Spray tower
viii) Centrifugal scrubber
ix) Packed beds
x) Venture scrubber,

5.1. Method of SPM analysis by cyclone separator:

A gas flowing in tight circular spiral produces a centrifugal force on suspended particles, forcing
them to move outward through the gas stream to a wall where they are collected. Thus, it is
possible to remove 95% particles in the diameter range 5 to 20 µm

Figure: Cyclone separator

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5.2. Method of gases pollutant analysis:

Analysis of NOx:

Spectrophotometry: NOx is collected over NaOH solution. The NO2 produced is allowed to react
with H3PO4, sulphanilamide and N (1-naphthyl) ethylenediamine dihydrochloride. The resulting
reddish purple azo dye is measured at 543 nm. The method is applicable to 0.01 to 1.5 µg NO 2
per ml. With 50 mL of absorbing reagent and a sampling rate of 200 mL min -1 for 24 hours, the
range is 20 to 740 µg m3 NOx. The interference of SO2 is removed by reaction with H2O2 to produce
H2SO4 before analysis.

Analysis of SO2:

The modified West-Geake spectrophotometric method remains the standard method for
monitoring of 0.0005 to 5 ppm SO2 in ambient air. The method was developed by West and Geake
2
and later optimized. SO2 is collected in a scrubbing solution containing HgCl _ (HgCl2+KCl), the
4
collection efficiency being around 95%. The solution is allowed to react with HCHO and then with
para-rosaniline hydrochloride.

The reaction is
2 2
HgCl + SO2 + H2O HgCl2 SO + 2H+ + 2Cl
4 3
SO2 + H2O + HCHO HOCH2 SO2H
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+
NH
3

+
H3N+ C C NH + 3HOCH2 SO3H
3
Cl
Colorless
(in acidic medium)

NH+ CH2 SO3H

HO3S CH2 N C N CH2 SO3H + Cl— + 3H2O + 3H+

H H

Red violet dye

The absorbance of the product red-violet dye is measured at 548 mm. A block diagram of a
continuous SO2 monitor, based upon the West-Geake method and developed by Technicon in
the form of the Technicon Air Monitor IV instrument. The major interference from NO 2 (more
than 2 ppm), when present is eliminated by the addition of sulphamic acid H2NSO3H. This reagent
acts as a reducing agent converting NO2.

Analysis of H2S:

The two gases, H2S and SO2, coexist in the atmosphere. H2S is produced by the reduction of
sulphate and organosulphur compounds by the bacterium Desulphovibrio desulphuricans and
associated with methanethiol (CH3SH), dimethyl sulphide (CH3.S.CH3), dimethyl
disulphide(CH3.S.S.CH3), and carboxyl sulphide (COS). The odours of all these species are
objectionable even at very low concentrations. The TLV of H2S is 10 ppm. As H2S is readily oxidized
in air, it is trapped as the insoluble metal sulphide (CdS, ZnS, HgS or Ag2S) in the absorption
reagent.
 Page 22 of 30

6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

6.1. Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)

The concentration of SPM from the year 1996 to 2003 at different city areas are presented in the
(Table 1 and 2) respectively. SPM concentration ranges from 786 μgm/m3 to 539 μgm/m3 at
Industrial area (I/A), 769 μgm/m3 to 468 μgm/m3 at Commercial area (C/A) and 659 μgm/ m3 to
279 μgm/m3 at Residential area (R/A) during the winter seasons. It is very important to note that,
except the Paslaish park (R/A), where concentration of SPM is much higher than the permissible
limit (400 μgm/m3). The highest concentration (769 μgm/m3) is found in Bahadar hat and lowest
(279 μgm/m3) is in Paslaish park area respectively. SPM concentration ranges from 766 μgm/m3
to 412.81 μgm/ m3 at Industrial area (I/A), 448.84 μgm/m3 to 253.6 μgm/m3 at Commercial area
(C/A) and 399.11 μgm/m3 to 182.96 μgm/m3 at Residential area(R/A) during the rainy seasons.
The Table 1. shows that when the rainfall is higher (400-1000 mm) in the rainy season (July-
September), the concentration of SPM is low (<400 mm). The reverse situation is observed when
the rainfall is low (<50 mm) or nil. In winter (December-February). However, different situation
also observed in the month of July in three years 1996, 1999 and 2003 respectively. During the
said time, even the rainfall was appreciable (600-1000 mm), but the concentration of SPM was
above the permissible limit (DOE, 1991). In a comparative study in between the year 1996 and
2003, it is observed that the concentration during the year 2003 is not only higher than the
permissible limit but also higher in concentration that of the year 1996. Within seven-year times,
concentration of SPM increased about 25%. Increased number of vehicles and industries are
attributed for such alarming in rate of SPM. Considering the month of January and May for the
extreme coal and hot month for each year. It observed that the concentration of SPM never goes
above the normal value in summer time. Rather it remains below the permissible limit. On the
other hand, the concentration of SPM in winter raised higher (>400 μgm/m3) in goes up to 469
μgm/m3. In summer temperature, wind speed and rainfall are higher than the winter season.
The relationship between SPM and high temperature, wind speed and rainfall are reciprocal. So,
in summer season the concentration of SPM is lower than winter season. the concentration of
SPM is high in air when wind speed is low and directions are N, NW or W and is low when wind
speed is high and wind directions are S, SSE.
 Page 23 of 30

Table 1: Concentration of SPM, SO2 and NOX, in the Chittagong city at different month

during the year 1995-2003.

SPM
Year Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1996 405.7 412.8 334.9 389.5 376.7 230.4 456 284 351 459 466 417
1997 412.7 424.8 417.1 405.4 317 3091.6 430 302 387 401 456 462
1999 456.1 462.7 465.1 473.7 349 326.2 526 372 407 418 472 480
2001 469.1 438.6 465.7 438.4 426 327.7 323 4.7 449 491 493 513
2002 484.1 433.9 473.3 442.1 435.8 334 330.6 411 447 498 490 519
2003 604.4 469.5 675.2 532.2 473 367.8 533.5 529 478 511 528 531
SO2
1996 19 16.5 12 31 7.9 19.9 26.2 19.1 14 15 13 35.2
1997 43 51.8 53.4 57.2 33.2 22.8 41.4 23.5 42 51 63 65.7
1999 63.2 64.7 67.2 65.1 41.5 27.2 46.8 33.2 51 54 71 73.5
2001 87.1 79.5 83.9 71.3 58 38.9 31.2 47 63 380 82 93.0
2002 91.2 74.7 89.2 76.1 62.2 41.8 35.2 47.7 59 83 84 94.1
2003 97.57 76.7 95.6 89 71.2 47.8 69.5 73.3 78 86 89 101
NOx
1996 15.4 13.4 9.5 11 8.5 8.9 12.2 15 11 7.9 10 45.2
1997 47.8 56.2 58.7 49.2 25.1 23.3 46.7 33.4 50 58 70 67.5
1999 64.3 70.7 71.6 49.2 30.2 55 41 57.8 64 73 74 74.2
2001 93.6 83.2 91.9 82.9 63.3 39.5 46.8 56.4 71 81 81 92
2002 101 81.7 96.4 85.2 67.9 42.3 39.5 54.5 72 86 87 97.8
2003 107 83.1 108 102.4 73.9 51 76.2 79.9 82 89 92 107

6.2. Sulphur dioxide (SO2)

During winter, concentration of Sulphur dioxide (SO2) ranges from 97.6 μgm/m 3 to 64.69 μgm/
m3 at industrial area, 83 μgm/m3 to 27.56 μgm/m3 at commercial area and 88 μgm/m3 to 31.04
μgm/m3 at residential area. In rainy seasons the concentration of Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
concentration ranges from 70.02 μgm/m3 to 30.81 μgm/m3 at Industrial area, 63.23 μgm/m3 to
26.02 μgm/m3 at Commercial area, and 50.03 μgm/m3 to 22.04 μgm/ m3 at Residential area. The
observation of SO2 in winter season and rainy season graph shows that SO2 in within the
allowable limit (Table 1). The relationship between rainfall and the concentration of SO2 are
compared and presented in the Table 1. When the rainfall is higher (400-1000 mm, the
 Page 24 of 30

concentration of SO2 is low (< 100 mm). SO2 is also low (<100 mm) when rainfall is low (<50 mm)
but even the concentration SO2 is higher then the rainy season. Considering the month of January
and May for the extreme cold and hot month for each year. It observed that the concentration
of SO2 is higher in winter season but in rainy season SO2 concentration is lower the winter season
(Azad and Kitada, 1998). In summer time temperature, wind speed and rainfall are higher than
the winter season. The relationship between SO2 and high temperature, wind speed and rainfall
are reverse. So, in summer season the concentration of SO2 is lower than winter season. The
concentration of SO2 is high in air when wind speed is low and directions are N, NW or W. This
concentration is low when wind speed is high and wind directions are S, SSE.

6.3. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

NOx concentration ranges from 111.02 μgm/m3 to 79.35 μgm/m3 at Industrial area, 92.12
μgm/m3 to 21.67 μgm/m3 at Commercial area, and 92 μgm/m3 to 40.01 μgm/m3 at Residential
area during the winter seasons. NOx concentration ranges from 83.21 μgm/m3 to 52.87 μgm/m3
at Industrial area, 75.30 μgm/m3 to 28.7 μgm/m3 at commercial area, and 77.81 μgm/m3 to 24.58
μgm/m3 at residential area during the rainy seasons. From the year 1999 up to 2001, the NOx
concentration was within permissible limit but in 2002 and 2003 this concentration exceeds
permissible limit. When wind speed is low and

directions are N, NW or W, but this is low, when wind speed is high and wind directions are S,
SSE.

Table 2: Average annul maximum and minimum concentration of SPM, SO2, and NOx

since the year 1996-2003.

Concentration (µgm/m3) SPM NOx SO2

Area Maximum Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum Minimum
Reazuddin Bazar (C/A) 516.2 343.3 51.4 35.1 55.9 38.0
Agrabad (C/A) 569.9 339.1 77.6 39.3 86.2 49.4
Bahadar hat (C/A) 830.9 356.33 47.7 48.3 57.0 53.0
Pahartoli (I/A) 632.2 221.9 42.0 39.8 58.7 46.9
Paslaish park (R/A) 316.8 363.2 50.7 35.6 52.3 43.0
Potenga (I/A) 774.0 646.3 86.0 49.7 92.9 60.2
Kalurghat (I/A) 587.0 499.4 89.0 69.7 92.8 76.0
 Page 25 of 30

Effects of Air pollution:

1. Respiratory and heart problems:

The effects of Air pollution are alarming. They are known to create several respiratory
and heart conditions along with Cancer, among other threats to the body. Several
millions are known to have died due to direct or indirect effects of Air pollution.
Children in areas exposed to air pollutants are said to commonly suffer from pneumonia
and asthma.

2.Global warming:
Another direct effect is the immediate alterations that the world is witnessing due
to Global warming. With increased temperatures worldwide, increase in sea levels and
melting of ice from colder regions and icebergs, displacement and loss of habitat have
already signaled an impending disaster if actions for preservation and normalization
aren’t undertaken soon.

3.Acid Rain:
Harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are released into the atmosphere
during the burning of fossil fuels. When it rains, the water droplets combine with these
air pollutants, becomes acidic and then falls on the ground in the form of acid rain. Acid
rain can cause great damage to human, animals and crops.

4.Eutrophication:
Eutrophication is a condition where high amount of nitrogen present in some pollutants
gets developed on sea’s surface and turns itself into algae and and adversely affect fish,
plants and animal species. The green colored algae that is present on lakes and ponds is
due to presence of this chemical only.

5. Effect on Wildlife:
Just like humans, animals also face some devastating effects of air pollution. Toxic
chemicals present in the air can force wildlife species to move to new place and change
their habitat. The toxic pollutants deposit over the surface of the water and can also
affect sea animals.
 Page 26 of 30

6. Depletion of Ozone layer:

Ozone exists in earth’s stratosphere and is responsible for protecting humans from
harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Earth’s ozone layer is depleting due to the presence of
chlorofluorocarbons, hydro chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere. As ozone layer will
go thin, it will emit harmful rays back on earth and can cause skin and eye related
problems. UV rays also have the capability to affect crops.
 Page 27 of 30

7.CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

The permissible limits in most of the given standards depend on the time of exposure. In
Bangladesh, the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) is established by the ministry of
environment and Forest as Environmental Conservation Rules (ECR) through gazette notification
under Environmental Conservation Act, 1995. The Department of Environment (DOE) is
responsible for monitoring the levels and to take necessary action in this regard. The result of
present study also leads to a comparative study in between WHO, Bangladesh, India and China.
The Bangladesh Standards are promulgated in 1997 by Gazette notification (ECR, 1997) and given
in table 1.3. It is very alarming to note that in most cases within the study area, the SPM
permissible limits have already exceeded, and others two are very close to the threshold, which
is well documented in both the Tables 1, 2 and 3.

Table 3: Permissible Limits of Pollutant Concentration in Ambient Air

WHO Standard 8-Hr. for Commercial and Mixed-Use Zones

(μgm/m3) (μgm/m3)
Pollutants
Present Study Area
1-Hr. 8-HR 24-Hr Bangladesh India China
Max-Min
SPM -- -- 150 400 500 500 830-221
NOx 400 -- 150 100 120 100 89-31
SO2 350 -- 105 100 120 150 93-43

The results of the research work suggest that the environment of the city is moderately polluted
and heading towards a severe pollution. The levels of SPM, SO2 and NOx have already exceeded
the allowable limits set by the department of environment (DOE) of Bangladesh. The results imply
that immediate actions are imperative to improve the environmental quality of the city. In
developing Countries, Governments have fought for clean air by regulating major and many
minor sources of air pollutions and industrial emissions have been significantly reduced. As a
result of new motor vehicle emission standards introduced in 1988, new vehicles in developed
nations are 90% cleaner than those manufactured in the 1970s. So, further study is seemed
necessary to estimate the levels of other pollutants in the ambient air of the city. It is also
required to monitor regularly the changes of the pollutants concentration of the city for the
purpose of correlating these changes with the variation in socio-economic and infrastructure
indicators (Brandon, 1997). Following Recommendations are made which should be followed for
improving air pollution:

1. National Environment policy should be established.

 Page 28 of 30

2. Industries should be kept away from the residential area.

3. Burn of wood should be banned in the brickfield.

4. Fitness of the vehicle has to be checked frequently.

5. Deforestation has to be stopped immediately.

6. Use of chemicals both at agriculture and industry has to be restricted.

7. EIA should be mandatory for the establishment of industries.

8. Create aware ness among the citizen of the area.

9. Education about the air pollution has to be adopted at different academic

institutes.
 Page 29 of 30

8.REFERENCES:

1. Environmental Chemistry, 2005-2006, Anil Kumar De. y Formerly Professor of Chemistry,

Head of Department & Dean of Science Faculty, Visva-Bharati University, Santi Niketan, Birbhum,
West Bengal.

2. Wikipedia.

3. AIR POLLUTION IN CHITTAGONG CITY, BANGLADESH Conference Paper · October 2005, Golam
Sattar, University of Rajshahi and Nazim Uddin, International Islamic University Malaysia.
4. Azad A., and Kitada T. (1998) ‘Characteristics of the Air pollution in the city of Dhaka, Bangladesh in
Winter’ Atmospheric Environment, 32, 108-109.

5. Brandon, C. (1997) ‘Economic Valuation of Air and Water pollution in Bangladesh’ Workshop discussion
draft, The World Bank, May 1997 10 p.

6. DOE (1991), ‘Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) for Bangladesh, Department of Environment,
Bangladesh’. Report 28 p.

7. Directive 85/203/EEC. (1982) ‘Air quality standards for nitrogen oxide’ Office of the. J. Eur. Comm, L87.

8. ECR (1997) ‘Environmental Conservation Rules’ Department of Environment, Government of

Bangladesh.

9. Karim M., Matsui H., Ohno T and Hoque M. (1997) ‘Current State of Traffic Pollution in Bangladesh and
Metropolitan Dhaka’ in the proceeding of the 90th Annual Meeting of A&WMA, Toronto, Canada, June 7-
13, 1997.

10. Kitada T. and Azad A (1999) ‘Study on the Air pollution control system for Dhaka, Bangladesh’ Envy.
Technology, 19, 443-459.

11. Ostro, B. (1994), ‘The health effects of Air pollution: A method with and application to Jakarta’ World
Bank Working Series, No. 1301, Washington, DC, May 1993.

12.Tyson C. and Green C. (1987) ‘Cytotoxicity measures: choices and methods’. In: The Isolated
Hepatocyte, Use in Toxicology and Xenobiotic Biotransformation’s (Rauckman EJ, Padilla GM, eds).
Orlando, FL, Academic Press, 119-158.
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