Faculty of Civil Engineering & Built Environment

ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERING
BFC 32403

CHAPTER 8
AIR POLLUTION
 Chapter 8:
Air Pollution
Topics: (3 hours lecture)
8.1 Classification of Air Pollutant
8.2 Air Pollution Standards
8.3 Good consideration in the Built Environment
8.4 Methods For Control Of Particulate
Emissions
8.5 Ambient Air Quality Monitoring at
Construction Activity
8.6 Air Pollution Mitigation/Control at
Construction Site
8.1 CLASSIFICATION OF AIR POLLUTANT
AIR POLLUTION

AIR POLLUTION ?

Any substance that

people introduce
into the atmosphere
that has damaging
effects on living
things and the
environment
 8.1 CLASSIFICATION OF AIR POLLUTANT

Air pollutants are classified into two types, which are

primary pollutants and secondary pollutants.

• Primary pollutants: Pollutants that are formed and

released directly from particular sources. Examples are
particulates, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur
oxide.
• Secondary pollutants: Pollutants that are formed in the
lower atmosphere by the intermingling and chemical
reactions of primary pollutants. The two examples are
ozone and secondary organic aerosol (haze).
 8.1 CLASSIFICATION OF AIR POLLUTANT
PARTICULATE POLLUTANTS

❑ Particulate pollutants in air pollution is the particles that being suspended in

the form of droplets, solid particles and mixtures of two.

❑ These particles are results of anthropogenic processes like vehicles,

industries, construction sites/ activities or natural source such as volcanic
eruptions.

❑ Size ranges from 0.001 to 500 micrometres in diameter

❑ Particulate pollutants caused vast damage to the human respiratory system

❑ Examples: Lead, Fly ash, metallic oxides, nanoparticles

 8.1 CLASSIFICATION OF AIR POLLUTANT
GASEOUS POLLUTANT

❑ Gaseous pollutants exist in gaseous state at normal temperature and

pressure.

❑ Gaseous air pollutant emitted from natural sources such as volcanoes and
forest fires.

❑ Anthropogenic emissions of some gases may become more worst with the
linear increase of population growth and industrialization.

❑ Examples : carbon monoxide, carbo dioxide, chlorofluorocarbon, ozone,

nitrogen oxide and sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compound and etc.
 8.1 CLASSIFICATION OF AIR POLLUTANT
AIR POLLUTION PERSPECTIVE

Chemistry & Composition of Atmosphere

It is of importance because of the interactions Atmospheric Chemistry
between the atmosphere and living organisms.
Branch of atmospheric
Atmospheric Composition science
Chemistry of the Earth’s
▪ Nitrogen, N2 - 78.084% atmosphere & that of the other
planets is studied.

▪ Oxygen,O O–2 –
▪ Oxygen, 20.946%
20.946% Multidisciplinary field of
2
research
▪ Argon
▪ Argon – 0.934%
– 0.934%
Draws on environmental
Minor constituents: chemistry, physics, meteorology,
computer modeling,
▪ CO2, Ne, He, CH4, Kr, oceanography, geology &
H2, H2O(g) volcanology and other
disciplines.
Note: The mean mol. mass of
air is 28.97 g/mol.
 8.1 CLASSIFICATION OF AIR POLLUTANT
AIR POLLUTION PERSPECTIVE

Atmosphere Layers
Earth's atmosphere can be divided into five main layers. These layers are
mainly determined by whether temperature increases or decreases with altitude.

104 km Exosphere

up to 693 km
Thermosphere

up to 85 km
Mesosphere

up to 51 km
Stratosphere

7 – 17 km
Troposphere
8.1 CLASSIFICATION OF AIR POLLUTANT
SUMMARY OF AIR POLLUTION EFFECTS
 8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS
diesel-burning engines and
Carbon Monoxide
produced by the incomplete
burning of carbon-
containing fuels, such as
petrol, coal and wood.
Sulphur dioxide
Text in
produced here of
by burning
fossil fuels (e.g. fuel oil and
coil). A large proportion is
produced by power stations
and metal smelters which
burn sulphur-containing
coal, and also by the
manufacturing industries
which burn fuel oil.
Nitrogen oxides
produced by petrol- or
coal/oil furnaces. Ozone
produced by the reaction of
oxygen gas with free atoms of
oxygen which are formed from
the reactions between nitrogen
oxides and hydrocarbons in
sunlight.
Major Air
Pollutants
Particulates
produced by refuse
incineration, factories, diesel
vehicles, construction sites,
Hydrocarbons and coal/charcoal burners.
Particulates are solid or
formed from the liquid particles which are so
evaporation of materials small that they remain
such as petrol, diesel and suspended in the air for a
solvents when exposed to long period of time.
air.
 8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS
Air Pollutant Index (API)

❖The air quality in Malaysia is described in terms of

Air Pollutant Index (API).

❖The API is an indicator of air quality status and

developed based on scientific assessment to
indicate in an easily understood manner, the
presence of pollutants and its impact on health.

❖The API system of Malaysia closely follows the

Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) developed by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency
(US-EPA).

❖Parameters: ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO),

nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and
particulate matter 10μm (PM10).
8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS
Air Pollutant Index (API)
Air Pollutant Index Process Flowchart
 8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS

Air Pollutant Index (API)

Air pollutant index (API) is an indicator for the air quality status at any
particular area.

API DIAGNOSIS
0 -50 Good
51-100 Moderate
101-200 Unhealthy
201-300 Very unhealthy
300 > Hazardous
Source: Air Pollutant Index of Malaysia (APIM), 2022
 8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS

Determination of Air Pollutant Index (API)

 8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS

Determination of Air Pollutant Index (API)

 8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS

Determination of Air Pollutant Index (API)

 8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS

Determination of Air Pollutant Index (API)

Recommended Malaysia Air Quality Guidelines (at 25º C and 101.13 kPa) adopted in air pollutant
index calculation

Malaysia Guidelines
Pollutant and Averaging time
method ppm Ug/m³

Ozone 1 hour 0.10 200

Carbon monoxide 8 hour 9 10

Nitrogen dioxide 1 hour 0.17 320

Sulfer Dioxide 24 hour 0.04 105

PM10 24 hours - 150

Source: Air Pollutan Index in Malaysia (2000)

 8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS
Determination of Air Pollutant Index (API)
Significant harm level to API value 500
Concentration
Pollutant and averaging time
Ug/ m3 ppm

Carbon monoxide 57, 500 50

8hour
Nitrogen dioxide 3,700 2.0
1 hour
Ozone 3,700 2.0
1hr
Particulate matter 600 -
24hr
Sullfur dioxide 2,260 1.0
24 hours

Source: Air Pollutan Index in Malaysia (2000)

 8.2 AIR POLLUTANT STANDARDS
Reporting Air Pollutant Index (API) – example
 8.3 GOOD CONSIDERATION IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
1. Minimizing waste
• Increasing the efficiency of operation, choosing technologies help in reducing
waste and optimizing supplies and materials of construction.
• Proper segregation and filtration of construction product to avoid poisonous
wastewater from pollute water body
2. Explore recycling options
• Follow the EPA’s industrial recycling program which the programs focuses on
recycling construction and help in saving resources to a great extent.
3. Use environmentally tools or materials.
• Use environmentally tools, products and materials which are designed to
minimize waste and energy consumption on construction site
4. Go for green solutions.
• Look for materials and products that are environmentally friendly and designed
for sustainability and a greener future.
5. Protect ecological resource
• Construction work aim to protect the animals and marine life in a particular area
 8.4 METHODS FOR CONTROL OF PARTICULATE
EMISSIONS
Industrial sources of particulate emissions

❖ Iron & Steel Mills, the blast furnaces, steel making furnaces.
❖ Petroleum Refineries, the catalyst regenerators, air-blown asphalt stills, and sludge
burners.
❖ Portland cement industry
❖ Asphalt batching plants
❖ Production of sulfuric acid
❖ Production of phosphoric acid
❖ Soap and Synthetic detergent manufacturing
❖ Glass & glass fiber industry
❖ Instant coffee plants
 PARTICULATE CONTROL
A settling chamber consists of
Settling Chamber
a large box installed in the
ductwork. Settling chambers
use the force of gravity to
remove solid particles. The
gas stream enters a chamber
where the velocity of the gas
is reduced. Large particles
drop out of the gas and are
recollected in hoppers.

Settling chambers are simple in design and can be manufactured from almost
any material. However, they are rarely used as primary dust collectors because
of their large space requirements and low efficiency. Because settling
chambers are effective in removing only larger particles, they are used in
conjunction with a more efficient control device (as a precleaners).
 PARTICULATE CONTROL Cyclone
❖High speed rotating (air)flow is established
within a cylindrical or conical container called a
cyclone. Air flows in a helical pattern, beginning
at the top (wide end) of the cyclone and ending
at the bottom (narrow) end before exiting the
cyclone in a straight stream through the center of
the cyclone and out the top.
❖Larger (denser) particles in the rotating stream
have too much inertia to follow the tight curve of
the stream, and strike the outside wall, then
falling to the bottom of the cyclone where they
can be removed.
❖Large scale cyclones are used in sawmills to
remove sawdust from extracted air. Cyclones are
also used in oil refineries to separate oils and
gases, and in the cement industry as components
of kiln preheaters.
❖Cyclones can be used on dry dusts but are not
suitable for sticky materials or for gases
containing small particles.
❖It can be used however for cleaning gases at high
temperatures up to 1200°c
 Baghouse PARTICULATE CONTROL
• In a baghouse, dirty air flows into and through a number of cloth filter bags that are
placed in parallel. The filters remove the particulate from the gas stream while the
cleaned gas passes through the cloth and is exhausted to the atmosphere. The
fabric filters do some filtering of the dust particles; however, their more important
role is to act as a support for the layer of dust (filter cake) that quickly accumulates
on it. This layer then acts in a highly efficient manner to filter both the large and
small particles from the gas stream and becomes the main filtration mechanism
throughout the process.

• Operating
temperatures are low
to moderate.
• Baghouses are used in
fossil fuel power plants,
fertilizer plants, steel
mills, food processing,
hospital waste
incinerators, cement
manufacturing, paper
mills, mining plants,
industrial waste
incinerators and
pharmaceutical
production.
 GASES CONTROL
Absorption
•The removal of one or more selected components from a gas mixture by
absorption is probably the most important operation in the control of gaseous
pollutant emissions.
•Absorption is a process in which a gaseous pollutant is dissolved in a liquid
(chemical solvent) – e.g. 10% NaOH, H2SO4.
•As the gas stream passes through the liquid, the liquid absorbs the gas, in much
the same way that sugar is absorbed in a glass of water when stirred.
•Absorbers are often referred to as scrubbers, and there are various types of
absorption equipment.
•The principal types of gas absorption equipment include spray towers, packed
columns, spray chambers, and venturi scrubbers.
•In general, absorbers can achieve removal efficiencies grater than 95 percent. One
potential problem with absorption is the generation of waste-water, which converts
an air pollution problem to a water pollution problem
Adsorption GASES CONTROL
❖When a gas or vapor is brought into contact with a solid, part of it is taken up by
the solid. The molecules that disappear from the gas either enter the inside of the
solid, or remain on the outside attached to the surface. The former phenomenon
is termed absorption (or dissolution) and the latter adsorption.
❖The most common industrial adsorbents are activated carbon, silica gel, and
alumina, because they have enormous surface areas per unit weight.
❖Activated carbon is the universal standard for purification and removal of trace
organic contaminants from liquid and vapor streams.
Carbon adsorption systems are either regenerative or non-regenerative.

Regenerative system usually contains more than one carbon bed. As one bed
actively removes pollutants, another bed is being regenerated for future use.

Non-regenerative systems have thinner beds of activated carbon. In a non-

regenerative adsorber, the spent carbon is disposed of when it becomes
saturated with the pollutant.

❖Ex of adsorbent: activated carbon, zeolite

 GASES CONTROL

Direct combustion
• Direct combustor is a device in which air and
all the combustible waste gases react at the
burner..
• A flare can be used to control almost any
emission stream containing volatile organic
compounds.
• Studies conducted by EPA have shown that
the destruction efficiency of a flare is about
98 percent.
In thermal incinerators the combustible
waste gases pass over or around a burner
flame into a residence chamber where
oxidation of the waste gases is completed.
Thermal incinerators can destroy gaseous
pollutants at efficiencies of greater than 99
percent when operated correctly.
Gas incinerator
 8.5 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING AT CONSTRUCTION SITE

• Air quality monitoring in construction activity is carried out to

assess the extent of pollution, ensure compliance with national
legislation and evaluate control options.
• Most monitoring plans are designed with human health
objective in mind, and monitoring station are therefore
established in population centers (housing, school, hospital or
area with human activity)
• Therefore Main Consultant for the project should clearly
identify the sampling station as “Air monitoring Station “ in
Construction Drawing (Early site investigation is needed to
point out existing environment and land used at the proposed
site)
 8.5 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING AT CONSTRUCTION SITE

OBJECTIVE OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING IN CONSTRUCTION SITE

• To comply with Action and Limit (A/L) Levels for air quality as
defined by DOE and Arahan Kerja JKR
• To audit the compliance of the Contractor with regard to dust
control, contract conditions and the relevant dust impact criteria
• To determine the effectiveness of mitigation measures to control
fugitive dust emission from activities during construction phase;
• To recommend further mitigation measures if found to be
necessary;
• To identify the extent of construction dust impacts on sensitive
receivers;
 8.5 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING AT CONSTRUCTION SIDE

• In Malaysia all construction activity should comply with

Environmental Control Plan as described in The Bill of
Quantity (BQ) at Non Physical Works for Air Quality
Monitoring

• In the BQ , the requirement for air quality monitoring is stated

• The air pollutant to be monitored according to the standard

enforced by “Arahan Kerja JKR” or DOE
 8.5 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING AT
CONSTRUCTION SITE
AMBIENT AIR QUALITY GUIDELINES

Recommended Malaysian Air Quality Guidelines (RMAQG)

❖There are no ambient air quality standards in Malaysia. The

Malaysian government, however, established ambient air quality
guidelines in 1988.
❖Pollutants addressed in the guidelines include ozone, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, total suspended
particles, particulate matter under 10 microns, lead and dust fall.
❖The averaging time, which varies from 1 to 24 hours for the
different air pollutants in the RMAQG, represents the period of
time over which measurements are monitored and reported for
the assessment of human health impacts of specific air pollutants.
8.5 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING AT CONSTRUCTION SITE

Extracted
from the BQ
8.5 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING AT CONSTRUCTION SITE

Extracted
from the BQ,
could vary
from one
project to
another
 8.5 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING AT CONSTRUCTION SITE

In other projects, the Total Suspended

Particulate (TSP) for 24 hours period at
identified location is required

For the purpose of benchmarking, TSP

level of 260 ug/m3 (24 hrs average)
should be used as a benchmark to
compare the air quality at the project
site. This is a standard value as in
Recommended Air Quality Guidelines
(Malaysia). Particulate sampler for
monitoring the TSP
 8.5 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING AT CONSTRUCTION
SITE
CLEAN AIR ACT (EPA)

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

❖The Clean Air Act, which was last amended in 1990, requires EPA to set
National Ambient Air Quality Standards for pollutants considered
harmful to public health and the environment.

❖The Clean Air Act identifies two types of national ambient air quality
standards.

❖Primary standards provide public health protection, including

protecting the health of "sensitive" populations such as asthmatics,
children, and the elderly.

❖Secondary standards provide public welfare protection, including

protection against decreased visibility and damage to animals, crops,
vegetation, and buildings.
 8.5 AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MONITORING AT
CONSTRUCTION SITE
CLEAN AIR ACT (EPA)

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

❖EPA has set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for six
principal pollutants, which are called "criteria" pollutants.
oCarbon Monoxide
oLead
oNitrogen Dioxide
oOzone
oParticle Pollution
oSulfur Dioxide
❖Units of measure for the standards are parts per million (ppm) by
volume, parts per billion (ppb) by volume, and micrograms per
cubic meter of air (µg/m3).
 8.6 AIR POLLUTION MITIGATION/ CONTROL AT
CONSTRUCTION SITE

Commonly used methods for air pollution control

PARTICULATE
• Cyclones
• Electrostatic Precipitators
• Fabric Filter
• Wet Scrubbers
• Settling chamber

GASES
• Adsorption
• Absorption
• Direct combustion
8.6 AIR POLLUTION MITIGATION/ CONTROL AT CONSTRUCTION
SITE

• Watering on the work sites

• Skip hoist for material transport should be totally enclosed by
impervious sheeting;
• Vehicle washing facilities should be provided at every vehicle exit
point;
• The area where vehicle washing takes place and the section of the
road between the washing facilities and the exit point should be
paved with concrete, bituminous materials or hardcores;
• Every main haul road should be scaled with concrete and kept
clear of dusty materials or sprayed with water so as to maintain
the entire road surface wet;
8.6 AIR POLLUTION MITIGATION/ CONTROL AT CONSTRUCTION
SITE

• Every stock of more than 20 bags of cement should be covered

entirely by impervious sheeting placed in an area sheltered on the
top and the three sides
• All dusty materials should be sprayed with water prior to any
loading, unloading or transfer operation so as to maintain the
dusty materials wet;
• Every vehicle should be washed to remove any dusty materials
from its body and wheels before leaving the construction sites
• The dusty materials stockpiled on site should be covered;
• The load of dusty materials carried by vehicle leaving a
construction site should be covered entirely by clean impervious
sheeting to ensure dust materials do not leak from the vehicle.
Water spraying

Cement covering
Construction site : Exit wash
/wash through
 TUTORIAL
• What is air pollution?
• Explain in detail what is haze?
• Give the composition of air.
• List the atmosphere layer.
• Give the major air pollutants and its sources.
• Define the primary and secondary air pollutants and give examples of each
group.
• What is API? List the pollutants for API calculation.
• What is standard /guideline for air pollution in Malaysia?
• Explain in detail the US National ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) including
primary and secondary standard.
 TUTORIAL

• Explain the effects of air pollutants towards human health and

environment.
• NOx
• SOx
• CO
• Ozone
• PM
• Explain the air pollutant controller –
• Dust collector
• Gas collector