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MT2 Air Pollution
MT2 Air Pollution
AIR POLLUTION
Introduction
In this lesson you will learn about the various types of air pollution; its impacts,
treatment, prevention and protection.
Learning Outcomes
Intended Learning Outcome 2 (Syllabus)
Identify the various effects of environmental pollution and describe the
engineer's role in the manipulation of materials and resources.
Topic Outcomes:
Identify the sources of pollution and discuss how to control them
Air Pollution
(Discussion is heavily based on Environmental Science (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2015).)
Air Pollution means any alteration of the physical, chemical and biological
properties of the atmospheric air, or any discharge thereto of any liquid, gaseous or
solid substances that will or is likely to create or to render the air resources of the
country harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health, safety or welfare or which
will adversely affect their utilization for domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural,
recreational, or other legitimate purposes (RA 8749, 1999).
Smoke, haze, dust, odors, corrosive gases, noise, and toxic compounds are
among our most widespread pollutants.
Shown above is a photo of the atmosphere and the setting sun. In this thin line
is where the air pollutants are trapped. Almost all of what we release in the
atmosphere will go back to any point in this line, thus the adage “Tapat ko linis ko” is
not applicable especially in air pollution.
Globally, air pollution is estimated to contribute to over 3 million deaths per
year. Because these deaths are usually widespread, and in developing areas where
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ENGG 413 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Main Topic 2: Natural Resources and Pollution in the Environment
government regulation can be weak in the first place, it is more difficult to translate
these risks into new policies.
Air Pollutant
- any matter found in the atmosphere other than oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor,
carbon dioxide, and the inert gases in their natural or normal concentrations,
that is detrimental to health or the environment, which includes but not limited
to smoke, dust, soot, cinders, fly ash, solid particles of any kind, gases, fumes,
chemical mists, steam and radio-active substances.
- the general amount of pollution present in a broad area; and refers to the
atmosphere's average purity as distinguished from discharge measurements
taken at the source of pollution
Ambient Air
- The air around us
Primary Pollutants
- released directly from the source into the air in a harmful form.
Secondary Pollutants
- converted to a hazardous form after they enter the air or are formed by
chemical reactions as components of the air mix and interact.
Fugitive Emissions
- those that do not go through a smoke stack.
- By far the most massive example of this category is dust from soil erosion, strip
mining, rock crushing, and building construction (and destruction).
- Fugitive industrial emissions are hard to monitor, but they are extremely
important sources of air pollution.
- Leaks around valves and pipe joints, and evaporation of volatile compounds
from oil-processing facilities, contribute as much as 90% of the hydrocarbons
and volatile organic chemicals emitted from oil refineries and chemical plants.
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Six Conventional or Criteria Pollutants
1. Sulfur dioxide
2. Nitrogen oxides
3. Carbon monoxide
4. Ozone
5. Lead
6. Particulate Matter
- These six conventional or criteria pollutants were addressed first because they
contributed the largest volume of air quality degradation and also are
considered the most serious threats to human health and welfare
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Sulfur Dioxide
- Natural sources of sulfur in the atmosphere include evaporation of sea spray,
erosion of sulfate-containing dust from arid soils, fumes from volcanoes and hot
springs, and biogenic emissions of hydrogen sulfide (H 2S) and organic sulfur-
containing compounds.
- Total yearly emissions of sulfur from all sources amount to some 114 million
metric tons.
- Worldwide, anthropogenic sources represent about 2/3 of the all airborne
sulfur, but in most urban areas they contribute as much as 90% of the sulfur
in the air.
- The predominant form of anthropogenic sulfur is sulfur dioxide (SO 2) from
combustion of sulfur-containing fuel (coal and oil), purification of sour (sulfur-
containing) natural gas or oil, and industrial processes, such as smelting of
sulfide ores.
- China and the United States are the largest sources of anthropogenic sulfur,
primarily from coal burning and smelting.
- Colorless corrosive gas, directly damaging to both plants and animals.
- Once in the atmosphere, it can be further oxidized to sulfur trioxide (SO3), which
reacts with water vapor or dissolves in water droplets to form sulfuric acid
(H2SO4), a major component of acid rain.
- Some of the smelliest and most obnoxious air pollutants are sulfur compounds,
such as hydrogen sulfide from pig manure lagoons or mercaptans (organo-
sulfur thiols) from paper mills.
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Lead
- Most abundantly produced metal air pollutant.
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- Lead is toxic to our nervous systems and other critical functions. Lead binds to
enzymes and to components of our cell, such as brain cells, which then cannot
function normally.
- Airborne lead is produced by a wide range of industrial and mining processes.
- The main sources are smelting of metal ores, mining, and burning of coal and
municipal waste, in which lead is a trace element and burning of gasoline to
which lead has been added.
- Leaded gasoline was the main source of lead in the United States, but leaded
gas was phased out in the 1980s. Banning leaded gasoline in the US was one of
the most successful pollution-control measures in American history.
- Worldwide atmospheric lead emissions amount to about 2 million metric tons
per year, or 2/3 of all metallic air pollution. Globally, most of this lead is still
from leaded gasoline, as well as metal ore smelting and coal burning.
Particulate Matter
- Includes solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gaseous medium.
- Very fine solid or liquid particulates suspended in the atmosphere are aerosols.
These include dust, ash, soot, lint, smoke, pollen, spores, algal cells, and many
other suspended materials.
- Particulates are often the most obvious form of air pollution, because they
reduce visibility and leave dirty deposits on windows, painted surfaces and
textiles.
- Particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, such as those found in
smoke and haze, and produced by fires, power plants, or vehicle exhaust, are
among the most dangerous particulates because they can be drawn into the
lungs , where they damage respiratory tissues. Asbestos fibers and cigarette
smoke are among these dangerous fine particles. This fine particulate matter is
referred to as PM2.5, in reference to its size. Reducing sulfur in coal and diesel
fuel, which produces aerosol droplets of sulfuric acid, is one important strategy
for controlling PM2.5 particulates.
- Coarse inhalable particles are larger than 2.5 micrometers but less than 10
micrometers in diameter. These are known as PM10, and they are typically
found near roads or other visible dust sources. The “dust bowl” of the 1930s
involved mainly this kind of particulates. At that time, farmland soils were often
left bare, especially during severe drought, and billions of tons of topsoil blew
away from farmlands. Soil conservation on farmlands is one strategy for
reducing PM10; another strategy is better management of dust at construction
sites.
- Epidemiological studies have shown that cities with chronically high levels of
particulates have higher death rates, mostly from heart and lung disease.
- The dust also carries pollen, bacteria, viruses, fungi, herbicides, acids,
radioactive isotopes, and heavy metals between continents.
- Airborne dust is considered the primary source of allergies worldwide. Saharan
dust storms are suspected of raising asthma rates in Trinidad and Barbados,
where cases have increased 17-fold in 30 years.
- Aspergillus sydowii, a soil fungus from Africa, has been shown to be causing
death of corals and sea fans in remote reefs in the Caribbean.
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- Europe also receives airborne pathogens via dust storms. Outbreaks of foot-
and-mouth disease in Britain have been traced to dust storms from North
Africa.
- In the Philippines, a study of Simpas, et al. (2014) showed that traffic is the
main contributor to PM2.5 at all sites in Metro Manila while biomass burning
appeared to be the highest contributor in the areas outside NCR.
Other Pollutants
- Mercury
- Carbon dioxide
- Halogens
- Hazardous air pollutants(HAPs)
Mercury (Hg)
- Many toxic metals are released into the air by burning coal and oil,
mining, smelting of metal ores, or manufacturing. Lead, mercury, cadmium,
nickel, arsenic (highly toxic metalloid), and others are released in the form of
metal fumes or suspended particulates by fuel combustion, ore smelting, and
disposal of wastes. Among these, lead and mercury are the most abundantly
produced toxic metals.
- Mercury has become regulated relatively recently (in Philippines, DAO 1997-38)
- Like Lead, toxic in minute doses, causing nerve damage and other impairments,
especially in young children and developing fetuses.
- Volcanoes and rock weathering can produce mercury, but 70% of airborne
mercury derives from coal-burning power plants, metal processing (smelting),
waste incineration, and other industrial combustion.
- About 75% of human exposure to mercury comes from eating fish. This is
because aquatic bacteria are mainly responsible for converting airborne
mercury into methyl mercury, a form that accumulates in living animal tissues.
- Swordfish, shrimp, and other seafood are also significant sources of mercury in
our diet.
- Global air circulation also deposits airborne mercury on land. Half or more of
the mercury that falls on North America may come from abroad, much of it
from Asian coal-burning power plants.
- Increased burning coal burning in China, which for years built new coal-
burning power plants at the rate of one or two per week, is understood to be the
main cause of growing mercury emissions in the Pacific.
- Much of our understanding of mercury poisoning comes from a
disastrous case in Minamata, Japan, in the 1950s, where a chemical factory
regularly discharged mercury-laden waste into Minamata Bay. Babies whose
mothers ate mercury-contaminated fish suffered profound neurological
disabilities, including deafness, blindness, mental retardation, and cerebral
palsy. In adults, mercury poisoning caused numbness, loss of muscle control,
and dementia. The connection between “Minamata disease” and mercury was
established in the 1950s, but waste dumping didn’t end for another ten years.
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Carbon Dioxide
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- Some 370 billion tons of CO2 are emitted each year from respiration
(oxidation of organic compounds by plant and animal cells). These releases
are usually balanced by an equal uptake by photosynthesis in green plants.
- At normal concentrations, CO2 is nontoxic and innocuous, but
atmospheric levels are steadily increasing (about 0.5 percent per year) due
to human activities and are now causing global climate change, with
serious implications for both human and natural communities.
Carbon Dioxide
- Some 370 billion tons of CO2 are emitted each year from respiration (oxidation
of organic compounds by plant and animal cells). These releases are usually
balanced by an equal uptake by photosynthesis in green plants.
- At normal concentrations, CO2 is nontoxic and innocuous, but atmospheric
levels are steadily increasing (about 0.5 percent per year) due to human
activities and are now causing global climate change, with serious implications
for both human and natural communities.
Halogens
- The EPA is charged with regulating six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur
hexafluoride. These are gases whose emissions have grown dramatically in
recent decades.
- Three of these six greenhouse gases contain halogens, a group of lightweight,
highly reactive elements (fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine). Because they
are generally toxic in their elemental form, they are commonly used as
fumigants and disinfectants, but they also have hundreds of uses in industrial
and commercial products.
- Halogen compounds are also powerful greenhouse gases: They trap more energy
per molecule than does CO2, and they persist in the atmosphere for decades to
centuries.
- Perfluorocarbons will persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years.
- The global warming potential (per molecule, over time) of some CFCs is
thousands of times greater than that of CO2.
- Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been banned for most uses in
industrialized countries, but about 600 million tons of these compounds are
used annually worldwide in spray propellants and refrigeration compressors
and for foam blowing. They diffuse into the stratosphere, where they release
chlorine and fluorine atoms that destroy ozone molecules that protect the earth
from ultraviolet radiation.
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Aesthetic Degradation
- Any undesirable change in the physical characteristics or chemistry of the
atmosphere, such as noise, odors, and light pollution.
- These factors rarely threaten life or health directly, but they can strongly impact
our quality of life.
- They also increase stress, which affects health.
- Factories that emit noxious chemicals sometimes spray “odor maskants” or
perfumes into smokestacks to cover up objectionable odors.
- Light pollution also is a concern in most urban areas, where ambient light
confuses birds and hides the stars.
Temperature Inversions
- Can greatly concentrate air pollutants.
- Inversions occur when a stable layer of warmer air lies above cooler air.
- The normal conditions, where temperatures decline with increasing height, are
inverted, and these stable conditions prevent convection currents from
dispersing pollutants.
- Inversions might last from a few hours to a few days.
- The most stable inversion conditions are usually created by rapid nighttime
cooling in a valley or basin where air movement is restricted.
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Stratospheric Ozone
Acid Precipitation
- The deposition of wet acidic solutions or dry acidic particles from the air.
- English Scientist Robert Angus Smith coined the term “acid rain” in his studies
of air chemistry in Manchester, England, in the 1850s.
- By the 1940s it was known that pollutants, including atmospheric acids, could
be transported long distances by wind currents. This was thought to be only an
academic curiosity until it was shown that precipitation of these acids can have
far reaching ecological effects.
- Unpolluted rain generally has a pH of about 5.6 due to carbonic acid created by
CO2 in air. Sulfur, chlorine, and other elements also form acidic compounds as
they are released in sea spray, volcanic emissions, and biological
decomposition. These sources can lower the pH of rain well below 5.6. Other
factors, such as alkaline dust can raise it above 7.
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Particulate Removal
- Involves filtering air emissions. Filters trap particulates in a mesh of cotton
cloth, spun glass fibers, or asbestos-cellulose. Industrial air filters are generally
giant bags 10 to 15 m long and 2 to 3 m wide. Effluent gas is blown through the
bag, much like the bag on a vacuum cleaner. Every few days or weeks the bags
are opened to remove the dust cake. Electrostatic precipitators are the most
common particulate controls in power plants.
Sulfur Removal
- Important because sulfur oxides are among the most damaging of all air
pollutants in terms of human health and ecosystem viability.
- Switching from soft coal with a high sulfur content to low sulfur coal is the
surest way to reduce sulfur emissions.
- Switching to cleaner oil or gas would eliminate metal effluents as well as sulfur.
- Cleaning fuels is an alternative to switching. Coal can be crushed, washed, and
gasified to remove sulfur and metals before combustion. This improves heat
content and firing properties, but may replace air pollution with solid-waste and
water pollution problems; furthermore, these steps are expensive.
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Hydrocarbon Controls
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- Don’t top off your fuel tank when you buy gasoline; stop when the automatic
mechanism turns off the pump. Don’t dump gasoline or used oil on the ground
or down the drain.
Reference:
Adam, David (October 31, 2008). Scientists discover cloud-thickening chemicals in trees
that could offer a new weapon in the fight against global warming, The Guardian.
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NASA (2009). Thin Line of Earth's Atmosphere and the Setting Sun. Retrieved from
Wikimedia Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thin_Line_of_Earth%27s_Atmosphere_and_
the_Setting_Sun.jpg#file
Pxfuel (n.d.) Retrieved August 8, 2020 from: https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-
oftgh
Simpas, J. G. Lorenzo and M.T. Cruz. 2014. Monitoring Particulate Matter Levels and
Composition for Source Apportionment Study in Metro Manila, Philippines. Book Chapter
in Kim Oanh, N.T. (Editor) Improving Air Quality in Asian Developing Countries:
Compilation of Research Findings. NARENCA. Retrieved August 8, 2020 from:
http://www.observatory.ph/publications/monitoring-particulate-matter-levels-and-
composition-for-source-apportionment-study-in-metro-manila-philippines/.
World Health Organization. (2018). Air Pollution – The Silent Killer, Retrieved August 8,
2020 from: https://www.who.int/airpollution/infographics/Air-pollution-
INFOGRAPHICS-English-1.1200px.jpg
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