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The
Atmosphere
And Air
Pollution

GROUP 4
Table of Contents
Today's Agenda

The atmosphere and air pollution & Functions of the atmosphere 03

Constituents of the atmosphere 06

Atmospheric layers and temperature inversions & Temperature

07

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Inversion and photochemical smog

Environmental effects of ozone 11

Ozone and the SST 12

Recent findings in the stratospheric ozone 13

Decreasing the ozone layer in the atmosphere & Consequences in

15
decreasing the concentration of ozone in the stratosphere

Air pollution 17

Primary air pollutants, sources and effects 18

Strategies for controlling air pollution 20

The atmosphere and air pollution

The atmosphere is a collection of gases that gravity holds in a thin

envelope around the earth. The lowest layer, the troposphere, extends
up 10km. and gets colder with altitude.

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Next to the troposphere is the stratosphere, a layer where the
temperature increases with altitude to about 40 km.

The mesosphere is the coldest region of the atmosphere. Thermosphere,

which is the hottest region, follows and the exosphere is the outer ost
layer, while hydrogen is the chief constituent.
Roughly, the
distances of these
layers above the
earth are as follows:

1. The troposphere, 0-10 km;

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2. The stratosphere, 10-40 km;

3. The mesosphere, 40-70 km;

4. The thermosphere, 70-400 km;

5. The exosphere, 400 and beyond

Functions of the atmosphere

The atmosphere provides limitless sources of oxygen, carbon dioxide,

and nitrogen, which are essential to animal and plant life. It also provides

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the water that is essential to life. The atmosphere transmits the radiation
from the sun that is needed for photosynthesis, at the same time it
shields the earth from the deadly UV radiation as well as from the
powerful cosmic rays and from meteors that constantly shower down on
the earth from space.
Constituents of the atmosphere

The atmosphere is a mixture of colorless gases. A gas called nitrogen makes up

78% of the air. Nearly 20.22% is oxygen. Oxygen is the element that almost all
lives must have.The air contains traces of still other gases. Helium and hydrogen

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are found in very small amounts. So is ozone, a special form of oxygen. Among
other gases are argon, krypton, neon, and xenon.

The water vapor in the air is water in a gaseous form. Water vapor is found mostly
in the lower part of the atmosphere. Winds pick it up from the surfaces of bodies
of water and carry it through the air.

In addition, the lower atmosphere is filled with countless specks of dust.

Atmospheric Layers
and Temperature
Inversions
The trend in which cooling occurs with increasing
elevation persisted through the troposphere, but it
does not carry over into the stratosphere. In
stratosphere captures UV radiation. Absorption of
the radiation warm the upper stratosphere to
about 30°F. The lower stratosphere becomes
cooler with increasing altitude, and the next layer,
the stratosphere, becomes warmer with added
height from.

Because warm air is less dense than cold air,

warm air has the tendency to rise and cold air to
sink. Thus, in the troposphere, warm air near the
ground normally rises into the cold regions
above, and the cold air descends As a result, the
troposphere is mixed by these currents of air.
Atmospheric Layers and Temperature
Inversions
The stratosphere is quite different. Here, the warm air is already above
the cold air. There is no tendency for the two to mix, and therefore,
vertical air current and precipitation are absent. The stratosphere is a

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vast, essentially stagnant air encircling the earth.
In the troposphere layer, similar situations may occur where air current
disappears for a time in certain regions. This calmness leads to erratic
feature of the atmosphere that affects man: inversion layers. These are
layers of stagnant air that appear, from time to time in various parts of the
troposphere. Most often, they occur next to the ground (ground
temperature inversions) and they can extend upward from a few yards to
a few miles.
Atmospheric Layers and Temperature
Inversions

Ground temperature inversion occurs very frequently at night. Without

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sunlight, the earth's surface and the adjacent air cool rapidly because of
radiation energy losses from the ground. Soon, the air hugging the cold
ground becomes cooler than the air above. This condition leads to
stagnation.
Temperature Inversion and
Photochemical Smog
There are two types of smog (gray air and brown air), both of which occur major cities;

1. Industrial smog is gray air that predominates in industrialized making life on land cities with

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cold, wet winters. London, New York, and Chicago are examples. These cities use fossil
fuel for heating, manufacturing, and producing electric power. The burning fuel releases
airborne pollutants, including dust, smoke, ashes, soot, asbestos, oil, bits of heavy metals,
and sulfur oxides. These pollutants, when not dispersed, may reach lethal concentrations.
In 1952, 4,000 people died in London because of industrial smog.
2.  Photochemical smog is brown and smelly which is characteristic of large cities found in
warm climates. When the surrounding land forms a natural basin as it does around Los
Angeles and Mexico City, photochemical smog can reach harmful concentrations. The main
culprit is nitric oxide, which is produced mainly by cars and other vehicles.
Environmental Effects of Ozone
Ozone is a vigorous oxidizing agent, and the following are its environmental
effects:

1. It damages vegetation. Leaves show discoloration patterns, often with

bleached spotty areas. Some crops, particularly tomato, tobacco, and some

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beans are sensitive to levels as low as 0.05 ppm.
2. It shortens the life of rubbers and textiles due to cracking and fading.
3. It is an irritant gas to humans, producing eye, nose, and throat symptoms, as
well as alteration to normal lung function. Poor performance of track athletes
is correlated with high ozone levels.
4. High concentrations of ozone are correlated with decreased life
expectancy in animals.

For all oxidant smog gases, including ozone and PAN, the limit concentration is
0.06 ppm for an hour. Most urban areas regularly exceed this limit. The
government has to make drastic changes in the pattern of life the cities to attain
the prescribed low levels like reducing the number of vehicles using fossil fuel.
Ozone and the SST

The formation of ozone in the upper-atmosphere 600 million years ago provided a
protective screen against deadly ultraviolet (UV) radiation, making life on land possible.
Ozone is still there, most of it in a band 10-25 miles above sea level where it reaches a
peak concentration of 10 ppm, and it provided is still protecting living organisms against the

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damaging molecular distruptions caused by high-energy UV radiation.

There has been widespread concern that the vital ozone shield has been damaged by the
flight of supersonic transports (SST) in the stratosphere.

The SST consumes enormous quantities of fuel- 66 tons for each hour of flight for the
proposed American SST. With each hour aloft, approximately 83 tons of water (H,0), 207
tons of carbon dioxide (CO), 3 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), and 3 tons of nitric oxide
(NO) enter the thin air of the stratosphere.
RECENT FINDINGS IN
STRATOSPHERIC OZONE
Recent findings, based on both ground-based and satellite measure ments, have established that
there has been an apparent downward trend in the total column amount of ozone over mid-latitude
areas of the Northern Hemisphere in all seasons.
The findings are:

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1. Starting in the early 1970's, predictions have been made that human activities will lead to the
diminishing of the earth's protective ozone layer.
2. The search for evidence of downward trends in the thickness of the ozone layer was inconclusive
until the discovery of the Antartic ozone hole in 1985.
3. Ozone decreases during the Antartic spring are now well documented.
4. Ozone decreases outside the Antartic, at southern mid-latitudes, have been reported, as well as
over the heavily populated northern mid-latitudes.
5. The Antartic ozone hole of 1989 was deep and long-lasting and demonstrated that 1987 was not
unusual.
6. The 1990 ozone hole was also quite deep, similar to both 1987 and 1989.
7. The area of the ozone hole has remained constant for the 4 years 1987, 1989, 1990, and 1991.
OZONE IN ANTARTIC FROM 1980 TO 1991

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Decreasing the Ozone Layer in the
Stratosphere
The ozone layer in the stratosphere may be decreased by:

1. Large-scale nuclear war (which would destroy most of the ozone layer);

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2. Direct injection of nitrous oxide (NO) from exhaust of supersonic airplanes flying
in the stratosphere; and
3. The movement from the troposphere to the stratosphere of chlorofluorocarbons
(freons) such as CCI2F2 released from aerosol cans and from discarded or
leaking refrigeration or air conditioning equipment when these chemicals come
under the influence of high energy UV radiation in the stratosphere. These can be
converted to highly reactive species capable of reacting with ozone decreasing its
concentration at the ozone layer.
Consequences of Decreasing the
Concentration of Ozone in the
Stratosphere

1. Increased number of skin cancer cases by 2 to 5% for each 1%

decrease in ozone concentration;

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2. Increased number of cases of severe sunburn in unprotected light
skinned people;
3. Damage of many species of land plants and some aquatic species
and possible decrease of the yields of some important food crops
such as corn, rice, and wheat; and
4. Unpredictable changes in the world climatic patterns.
Air Pollution
Air pollution is the presence of atmospheric contamination that may be injurious to life or
property. Contaminants in the atmosphere include dust, gases, fumes, and smoke. Some
contamination is produced by natural processes such as volcanic eruptions. It is the by-
product of the vast industri alization and urbanization that has so markedly changed the

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face of the earth and the lives of the people living on it. Air pollution control is a background
knowledge concerning desirable criteria for clean air, the ability to relate air quality to levels
of emission, the development of emission limits or other control standards, the means to
measure emission and air quality, and the availability of practical techniques to reduce air
pollutants emission.

Polluted air contains particulate matter and gases, mostly matter and gases produced by
the combustion of fuel. It is estimated that about 56% of the air pollution is caused by
transportation vehicles; 15%, industry; 22%, fuel combustion; 5%, miscellaneous; and 2%,
refuse disposal.
Primary Air Pollutants, Sources and
Effects
Carbon Oxides- Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas
produced by the incomplete combustion of carbon. It is the main constituent of coal and
petroleums.

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Nitrogen Oxides. The term nitrogen oxides (NOx) stands for nitric oxide (NO), and
nitrogen oxides. Produced by combustion, NO is converted to NO2. About 50% of NO
and NO2, pollution comes from electric generating plants, 40% from cars, trucks, and
buses, and the remainder from forest fire and other open burning.

Sulfur Oxides- These are gases produced when materials containing sulfur are heated
and burned. The burning of coal produces 60% of the SO, emissions, the burning of
residual fuel oil about 14% and 22% comes from smelting metallic ores, refining
petroleum and producing steel and sulfuric acid.
Primary Air Pollutants, Sources and
Effects
Hydrocarbons- These compounds are composed solely of carbon and hydrogen
which are the main constituents of petroleum and petroleum products such as
gasoline, natural gas, and coal tar. Unburned and wasted HC is emited along with

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the CO from incompletely burned petroleum fuels.

Particulate Matter- This is the worst air problem which includes smokes, soot, fly
ash, dust, mists, and fumes. About a third of the total mass of polluting
particulates comes from electric power generating plants; a third, from open
burning such as forest fires, agricultural burning, refuse coal burning; a quarter,
from industrial processes; and the remainder, from vehicles, cars, trucks, buses,
railroad locomotive, ships and airplanes.
Strategies for Controlling Air Pollution

Control technologies are involved in three stages:

1. Pre-combustion techniques:
1.1. The use of low pollutant fuel

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1.2. Fuel cleaning to reduce sulfur and ash content of coal
1.3. Distillate oils used due to low sulfur content
1.4. Use of natural gas and nuclear power
1.5. Use of non-leaded gasoline

2. Combustion modification techniques:

2.1. Low NOx burners and fluidized bed combustion are employed to reduce SO2
and NOx emissions.
2.2. Catalytic reduction process
Strategies for Controlling Air Pollution
Control technologies are involved in three stages:
3. Post-combustion Techniques:
3.1. Removal of pollutants from flue gases and vehicle exhausts by:
3.11. settling chamber

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3.12. cyclone separators
3.13. bag filters
3.14. electrostatic precipitators

3.2. Using a combination of the methods mentioned in 3.1

3.3. Fuel gas desulfurization
3.4. Catalytic reduction to reduce NOx emissions
3.5. Introduction of chimneys and vents to domestic stoves and heaters
3.6. Use of catalytic converters to control motor vehicle pollutants
Strategies for Controlling Air Pollution
Control technologies are involved in three stages:

3.7. Use of low temperature hydro-metallurgical techniques which reduce SO2

emissions associated with smelting methods.

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3.8. Energy conservation measures
3.9. Use of fuel efficient, clean burning stoves
3.10. Use of less "smoky" fuel wood species
Thank you for
listening!

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"THERE'S SO MUCH POLLUTION IN
THE AIR NOW THAT IF IT WEREN'T
FOR OUR LUNGS THERE'D BE NO
PLACE TO PUT IT ALL."

-ROBERT ORBEN 
 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
MANGI, Daniel Anthony Lian
MAJAN, Jeanielle
MARTOS, Angle Paul
GABRANG, Allen
LEOY, Maria Kristel
LIREMA, Norhana
NOGODULA, Reymart
TUYAY, Vhelly Nicole
PETRAS, Ruby Alyssa
NABIO, Retchel
MANALO, Jonathan Roi