Air pollution control and

equipment
IA ACTIVITY -1
NAME -MIHIR KORDE
ROLL NO - 22
 AIR POLLUTION
We depend on air for our respiratory needs. So, air pollution causes injury to all living organisms.In
case of plants, the growth and yield of crops are reduced and cause premature death. In animals
including man, serious metabolic and respiratory diseases are manifested due to air pollution. Air
pollution is also called as atmospheric pollution. The atmosphere is an invisible layer of gases that
surround the earth .

The major sources of air pollutants are - 1 Transportation (42%),2 Fuel combustion in stationary
sources (21%) 3 Industrial processes (14%), 4 Solid waste disposal (5%),5 Forest fires (8%) and 6
Miscellaneous sources including radioactive fallout (10%).

Effects of Air Pollution: Acute health hazard , Chronic diseases , Reduction in Visibility Effects on
plants , Effect on Climate.
 Control of Air Pollution
1. Use of tall chimneys: Industries should be asked to build up high chimneys for escape of smoke,
fumes so that harmful gases may not spread in the lower layer of atmosphere.

2. Use of CNG: Automobiles in Delhi account for 50% of air pollution and 90% of CO are released
to air from automobiles. Recently Delhi Administration has emphasized use of Compressed Natural
Gas’ (CNG) in place of petrol and diesel to reduce air pollution.

3. Removal of pollutant from fuel: A lead compound, tetraethyl lead (TEL) is mixed in petrol
for smooth and easy running of the vehicles. But the exhaust is leaded gas and particulate lead. Lead
mixed air when inhaled, is injurious for kidney, liver and blood. When mixed with food and water, it
may lead to poisoning. Therefore unleaded petrol must be available in the petrol pumps.
4. Use of catalytic converters: Removal of pollutants from fossil fuel with be possible by use of
catalytic converters in two, three and four wheelers. The catalytic converter has expensive metals
like platinum, palladium and rhodium as catalysts. When the poisonous exhaust gases pass
through catalytic converter, unburnt hydrocarbons are converted into carbon dioxide and water.
Carbon monoxide and nitric oxide are changed to carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas respectively.

5.Proper treatment of Organic Wastes: Public awareness regarding air pollution potential of
sewage and many other solid wastes will help in reducing air pollution. It should be mandatory for
municipalities to carry-out proper treatment of sewage and other wastes before disposal.

6. Development of green covers: More effort should be made for extensive green coverage
development because the green plants serve as sinks for air pollutants. Many plant species have
been evaluated for their scavenging potential against air pollutants.
 AIR POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT
1) Mechanical collectors use the inertia of the particles for collection. The particulate-laden gas stream is
forced to spin in a cyclonic manner. The mass of the particles causes them to move toward the outside
of the vortex. Most of the large-diameter particles enter a hopper below the cyclonic tubes while the
gas stream turns and exits the tube.
2)Gravity settling chamber: This category of control devices relies upon Gravity settling to remove
particles from the gas stream. Gravity Settling chambers are used only for very large particles in the upper
end of the super coarse size range (approximately 75 micrometers and larger).

3)Electrostatic Precipitators: An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) uses non-uniform, high-voltage fields

to apply large electrical charges to particles moving through the field. The charged
particles move toward an oppositely charged collection surface, where they accumulate.

4)Fabric Filters: Fabric filters collect particulate matter on the surfaces of filter bags. Most
of the particles are captured by inertial impaction, interception, Brownian diffusion, and sieving on
already collected particles that have formed a dust layer on the bags. Electrostatic attraction may also
contribute to particle capture in the dust layer and in the fabric itself.

5)Particulate Wet Scrubbers: Each particulate wet scrubber vessel is part of a large, and
sometimes complex, wet scrubbing system. It uses a venturi scrubber in a scrubbing system. The
evaporative cooler, located before the venturi scrubber in the system, cools the gas stream; Located after
the venturi scrubber, the cyclonic separator removes entrained water droplets from the gas stream leaving
the venturi.
Dry scrubber
1 .A dry scrubber or dry scrubber system is one type of scrubber that is used to remove
harmful materials from industrial exhaust gases before they are released into the environment.
2 Dry scrubbers are the type most commonly used in plants today, and they utilise a collection of dry
substances to remove acidic gases that contribute to acid rain.
3 Dry scrubbers work similarly to other scrubbers. The system sprays a collection of dry reagents
into an exhaust stream. These chemicals can react differently depending on which material they are
specifically targeting for removal.
4 Some of these materials neutralise harmful pollutants in the stream through a chemical reaction,
while others cause a material to react and turn into a different substance. That substance then falls
out of the gas stream or is caught in a particle screen.
 uses
1)Dry scrubbers are used mainly to remove acid gases from combustion sources. Generally, this is done by
introducing a series of dry reactants to exhaust gas at high speeds. This neutralises the pollutants in the gas.
2) This task is done in three steps: gas cooling, reagent injection, and filtering.First, gas cooling must be
done to prepare exhaust gases. In the gas cooling system, emission gases are cooled to make it easier to
remove pollutants and other toxins from the gas. The exhaust gas is diluted using an evaporative cooler.
Once the gas has been significantly cooled the reagent injection can begin.

3)It is in this step that the harmful components are actually removed from the gas. Components of the dry
reagent are generally chosen because of their neutralising properties, thus sodium bicarbonate is frequently
included. A variety of powders are mixed together and fired at high pressures into the exhaust gas. Chemical
reactions occur that reduce the acidity of the gas and remove harmful pollutants.

4)The final step is using a fabric filter to capture the used scrubbing powder as the cleaned gas exits the
scrubbing chamber. This spent powder can sometimes be cleansed and reused for dry scrubbing, but
frequently it must be disposed since it cannot be properly washed.
Advantages and Disadvantages
1)Dry scrubbing has been embraced widely, and one of the biggest advantages to using it is the positive
environmental impact. The removal of hazardous substances from exhaust gas is important as it prevents a
large number of pollutants from escaping into the air.

2)Dry scrubbers are also more commonly used than wet scrubbers mainly because they produce
comparatively little waste material. Most of this material that is sprayed into the exhaust is burned off in the
heat of the stream or is caught in a filter.

3)The use of dry scrubbers is less expensive as there is no associated cost with removing, transporting, and
storing waste water from wet scrubbers.

4)One disadvantage of dry scrubbing is the residual waste powder that must be disposed of because it is a
hazardous material. This waste must be handled by specialists because of its chemical makeup. Another
disadvantage is that the process of scrubbing is expensive. The final disadvantage to using a dry scrubber is
that they cannot remove all contaminants from the gas.