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Air Pollution Control: A Design

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Contents

Preface to the Fourth Edition xv

1 An Overview 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Definitions and Types of Pollutants 2
1.3 Pollutants of Global Concern 6
Ozone Depletion 6
Global Climate Change 7
Sources of Global Climate Change 10
What Can We Do? 15
1.4 Legislative and Regulatory Trends
in the United States 17
Federal Legislation 17
Federal Regulations and Standards 22
The Permitting Process 29
1.5 The Ideal Gas Law and
Concentration Measurements in Gases 30
1.6 Other Applications of the Ideal Gas Law 34
1.7 Gas Flow Measurement 37
1.8 Causes, Sources, and Effects 48
Particulate Matter 50
Sulfur Dioxide 53
Nitrogen Oxides 54
Photochemical Oxidants and VOCs 56
Carbon Monoxide 57
An Air Quality Index 59
1.9 National Air Quality Trends 61
▲ Problems 66 References 70

v
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vi Contents

2 What Is Process Design? 75


2.1 Introduction 75
2.2 General Design Considerations 77
Process Flow Sheets 77
Material Balances and Energy Balances 79
Enthalpy 84
2.3 Simple Analysis of a Coal-Fired Power Plant 85
2.4 Engineering Economics 93
Optimizing Fixed Capital and Operating Costs 93
Depreciation 94
Incremental Rate of Return on Investment 96
Comparison of Several Alternatives 98
Payout Period 98
2.5 APC Equipment Cost Estimation 98
Equipment Costs 102
2.6 Preliminary Fixed Capital Cost Estimates
for Pollution Control Projects 103
2.7 Annual Operating Cost Estimates 105
▲ Problems 106 References 110

3 Particulate Matter 111


3.1 Introduction 111
3.2 Characteristics of Particles 111
3.3 Particulate Behavior in Fluids 120
The Drag Force 120
External Forces 124
Gravitational Settling 124
Collection of Particles by Impaction,
Interception, and Diffusion 127
3.4 Overview of Particulate Control Equipment 129
▲ Problems 131 References 134

4 Cyclones 135
4.1 Introduction 135
Cyclone Dimensions 138
4.2 Theory 140
Collection Efficiency 140
4.3 Design Considerations 141
Collection Efficiency 141
Pressure Drop 146
Other Considerations 148
4.4 Costs 152
▲ Problems 155 References 159
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Contents vii

5 Electrostatic Precipitators 161


5.1 Introduction 161
5.2 Theory 163
5.3 Design Considerations 169
Plate Sizing 169
Corona 170
Particulate Resistivity 170
Internal Configuration 174
Plates and Wires 178
Removal of Particle Dust 179
Power Consumption 181
Flue Gas Conditioning 182
5.4 Wet ESPs 185
5.5 Costs 186
▲ Problems 188 References 191

6 Fabric Filters 193


6.1 Introduction 193
6.2 Theory 195
6.3 Design Considerations 200
Reverse-Air and Shaker Baghouses 201
Pulse-Jet Baghouses 210
Other Considerations 218
6.4 Costs 220
▲ Problems 224 References 228

7 Particulate Scrubbers 231


7.1 Introduction 231
Spray-Chamber Scrubbers 231
Cyclone Spray Chambers 233
Orifice and Wet-Impingement Scrubbers 233
Venturi and Venturi Jet Scrubbers 235
Other Designs 235
Typical Wet Scrubber Applications 236
Advantages and Disadvantages of Wet Scrubbers 237
7.2 Theory and Design Considerations 239
Spray Chambers 239
Venturi Scrubbers 243
Contacting Power Approach
in Wet Scrubber Design 247
7.3 Other Considerations 252
Elimination of Liquid Entrainment 252
Humidification of Scrubbed Gases 252
7.4 Costs 257
▲ Problems 258 References 260
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viii Contents

8 Auxiliary Equipment: Hoods, Ducts, Fans, and Coolers 263


8.1 Introduction 263
8.2 Hoods 263
8.3 Ducts 267
8.4 Fans 277
Fan Curves 279
Fan Laws 279
Fan Rating Tables 286
Fan Selection 286
8.5 Cooling Hot Airstreams 294
Air Dilution 294
Water Injection 294
Heat Exchange 296
8.6 Costs 300
Hoods 300
Ducts 300
Fans 302
Coolers 308
▲ Problems 310 References 312

9 A Particulate Control Problem 313


9.1 Introduction 313
9.2 Problem Statement 314
9.3 Options for Final Control 315
9.4 Major Items of Equipment 316
The Cyclone 318
The Cooler 319
Final Control Device—Alternative 1: Baghouse 320
Final Control Device—Alternative 2: ESP 322
Ductwork 323
Induced Draft Fan 324
Stack 326
9.5 Summary 326
▲ References 326

10 Properties of Gases and Vapors 327


10.1 Introduction 327
10.2 Vapor Pressure 328
10.3 Diffusivities 331
10.4 Gas-Liquid and Gas-Solid Equilibria 332
Solubility 332
Adsorption 333
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Contents ix

10.5 Chemical Reactions 334


Kinetics 334
Thermodynamics 337
▲ Problems 339 References 341

11 VOC Incinerators 343


11.1 Introduction 343
11.2 Theory 345
Oxidation Chemistry 345
The Three Ts 349
Predicting VOC Kinetics 351
Nonisothermal Nature of VOC Oxidation 356
Catalytic Oxidation 356
11.3 Design Considerations 357
Thermal Oxidizers 357
Catalytic Oxidizers 365
Heat Recovery 369
Flares 374
11.4 Costs 375
Purchased Equipment Costs 376
Heat Exchangers 378
▲ Problems 379 References 382

12 Gas Adsorption 385


12.1 Introduction 385
12.2 Adsorption Theory 387
Physical and Chemical Adsorption 387
Adsorption Isotherms 387
Adsorption Potential 390
Experimental Determination of Isotherms 390
12.3 Physical Properties of Adsorbents 392
Activated Carbon 392
Other Adsorbents 394
12.4 Fixed-Bed Adsorption Systems 394
Breakthrough Curves and
Their Relationship to System Design 394
Pressure Drop Across Fixed Beds 396
Adsorbent Regeneration 399
Safety Considerations 401
12.5 Design of Fixed-Bed
Carbon Adsorption Systems 401
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x Contents

12.6 Economics of Fixed-Bed Adsorption Systems 407


Capital Costs Estimates 407
Adsorber Operating Costs 408
12.7 Fluidized-Bed Adsorbers 411
▲ Problems 413 References 415

13 Gas Absorption 417


13.1 Introduction 417
Gas Absorption Equipment 418
13.2 Absorption Tower Design 418
Mass Transfer Theory 418
Mass Transfer in Packed Towers 423
Absorption and Chemical Reaction 431
Flooding, Pressure Drop, and Allowable
Gas and Liquid Rates in Packed Towers 432
Design Simplification for
Lean Gas Applications 440
13.3 Estimating the Cost of Absorption Towers 446
Absorption Tower Operating Costs 447
13.4 Stripping Operations 449
▲ Problems 449 References 453

14 Biological Control of VOCs and Odors 455


14.1 Introduction 455
14.2 Theory and Descriptive Information 458
14.3 Key Considerations in the Design
and Operation of Biofilters 468
Design 468
Operating Considerations 472
Case Study 477
Cost Estimation 480
▲ Problems 482 References 483

15 Control of Sulfur Oxides 485


15.1 Introduction 485
15.2 Overview of Control Strategies 486
Fuel Desulfurization 487
SO2 Removal Techniques 489
Throwaway Processes 490
Regenerative Processes 495
15.3 Limestone Scrubbing 500
Process Chemistry and Operational Factors 501
SO2 Mass Transfer 502
Physical Factors 504
Material and Energy Balances 506
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Contents xi

15.4 Mercury Control 516


15.5 Costs 517
▲ Problems 519 References 520

16 Control of Nitrogen Oxides 523


16.1 Introduction 523
16.2 Chemistry of NOx Formation 526
Thermal NOx 526
Fuel NOx 534
16.3 NOx Control: Stationary Sources 535
Combustion Modifications 537
Flue Gas Treatment Techniques 543
16.4 Costs 551
▲ Problems 554 References 555

17 A Vapor Control Problem 561


17.1 Introduction 561
17.2 Problem Statement 561
17.3 Selecting a Design Flow Rate 568
17.4 Carbon Adsorption System 570
17.5 Thermal Incineration System 570
17.6 Catalytic Incineration System 571
17.7 Biofilter System 571
17.8 Summary 572

18 Mobile Sources: An Overview 573


18.1 Introduction 573
18.2 Magnitude of the Problem 575
Non-Road Sources 580
18.3 Characteristics of Engines in Mobile Sources 582
18.4 Vehicle Emissions and Emission Controls 589
18.5 Other Measures for Control of
Air Pollution from Vehicles 604
▲ Problems 609 References 612

19 Air Pollution and Meteorology 613


19.1 Introduction 613
19.2 General Atmospheric Circulation Patterns 614
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xii Contents

19.3 Local Circulation Effects 619


The Land-Sea Breeze 619
Mountain-Valley Winds 620
Wind Roses and Low-Level
Pollutant Dispersion Patterns 620
19.4 Atmospheric Stability and Vertical Mixing 620
The Hydrostatic Equation 622
Adiabatic Heating and Cooling
during Vertical Air Movement 623
The Effect of Lapse Rate on Vertical Stability 625
Temperature Inversions 626
19.5 Photochemistry and Smog 631
Causes of Photochemical Smog 631
Anatomy of a Smog Episode 636
The Chemistry of Photochemical Smog 637
The Nitrogen Dioxide Photolytic Cycle 638
The Effects of Smog 642
The Control of Photochemical Smog 643
19.6 Meteorology and Air Pollution 644
Air Pollution Surveys 644
Selection of Plant Sites 645
Specification of Emission Rates 645
Stack Design 645
▲ Problems 646 References 648

20 Atmospheric Dispersion Modeling 651


20.1 Introduction 651
20.2 A Physical Explanation of Dispersion 653
20.3 The Gaussian Model 655
Atmospheric Stability Classes 659
The Dependence of Concentration
on Averaging Time 665
Estimating the Maximum Downwind
Ground-Level Concentration 666
Estimating the Downwind Concentration
under an Elevated Inversion 669
20.4 Tall Stacks and Plume Rise 671
Design Procedures 672
Plume Rise 673
Critical Wind Speed 679
Other Stack Design Considerations 680
Stack Costs 682
20.5 Computer Programs for
Dispersion Modeling (Point Sources) 684
20.6 Mobile Sources and Line Source Models 685
▲ Problems 690 References 693
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Contents xiii

21 Indoor Air Quality and Control 695


21.1 Introduction 695
21.2 Some Pollutants of Concern 697
VOCs (including Formaldehyde) 698
Inorganic Gases—Combustion Products 700
Respirable Particles (including Tobacco Smoke) 701
Radon 701
Biological Contaminants
(including Molds, Mildews, and Allergens) 702
21.3 Source Control and Ventilation 703
Source Control 704
Ventilation 704
Air Cleaning 705
21.4 Material Balance Models
for Indoor Air Quality 706
21.5 Practical Solutions to IAQ Problems 713
21.6 Case Studies 716
Case 1: A Water Damaged Hotel 716
Case 2: Another Case of Water Damage 717
▲ Problems 718 References 720

22 Control of Carbon Dioxide 721


22.1 Introduction 721
22.2 Magnitude of the CO2 Problem 728
22.3 CO2 Prevention 733
Conservation 735
Alternative Fuels 735
Efficiency Improvements 736
Supercritical PC Power Plants 737
Integrated Gasification
Combined Cycle (IGCC) Plants 738
Oxy-fuel Combustion 741
22.4 CO2 Capture 742
Wet Scrubbing of CO2 742
Biogenic Capture 746
Other Methods for Capturing CO2 751
22.5 Transportation and Sequestration of CO2 751
Ship Transport 753
Pipeline Transport 754
Sequestration in Geological Formations 755
Ocean Sequestration 756
2.6 Summary 757
▲ Problems 758 References 760
Cooper-Alley 4E.book Page xiv Tuesday, October 1, 2013 9:26 AM

xiv Contents

Appendixes 765
Appendix A: Conversion Factors 766
Appendix B: Properties of Air and Other Materials 769
Appendix C: Some Properties of
a Gaussian Distribution 786
Appendix D: Computer Programs 790
Appendix E: Practice Problems (with solutions)
in Air Quality for the P.E. Examination
in Environmental Engineering 797
Appendix F: Answers to Odd-Numbered Problems 813

Index 819
Cooper-Alley 4E.book Page xv Tuesday, October 1, 2013 9:26 AM

Preface to the
Fourth Edition

Engineers working in air pollution control have many responsibil-


ities. One of the most demanding, yet satisfying, of these is the design
of air pollution control systems. This textbook describes the philoso-
phy and procedures for the design of such systems, and will help
young engineers prepare for the challenges and rewards awaiting
them as designers. In addition, this text presents numerous chapters
on specialized control equipment that contain the necessary equations
and data to design and specify new systems and/or to analyze existing
systems. Therefore, it also serves as a good source of information
about air pollution control for more experienced engineers.
Our text has two main objectives. The first is to present informa-
tion about the general topic of air pollution and its control. The sec-
ond, perhaps more important, objective is to aid in the formal design
training and instruction of engineering students. Design of equipment
and systems has often been underrepresented in air pollution books;
however, it is a key function of engineers, and should be emphasized
in engineering curricula.
Engineering textbooks generally must be updated on a regular
basis because of ongoing discoveries, innovations, and developments
in all the engineering fields. In this Fourth Edition, all the chapters
have been extensively revised and updated. However, the main addi-
tion to this text is a new chapter devoted to carbon dioxide control
(more about that shortly). As in the previous edition, reference to the
World Wide Web as a data source is demonstrated frequently, and
more emphasis has been placed on PC-based spreadsheet applications
for solving problems throughout the book. We have included an appen-
dix containing several practice P.E. Exam problems and step-by-step
solutions. It is hoped that students will find these extra problems
helpful in learning to master the problem-solving techniques needed
for this exam.

xv
Cooper-Alley 4E.book Page xvi Tuesday, October 1, 2013 9:26 AM

xvi Preface to the Fourth Edition

Back in 2000, Phillip Abelson, editor of Science, endorsed the idea


of removing large quantities of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion gases,
and then sequestering it underground in abandoned oil fields and coal
mines (Science, 289, August 25, 2000). In the Preface to the Third Edi-
tion, we stated that one day many of today’s students will be engaged
in finding solutions to this global problem. Well, that day has come.
Global climate change poses some enormous challenges for human-
kind (indeed for all living creatures), and we engineers must provide
solutions. In a new, final chapter to this text, we outline the basics of
the technological approaches that likely will be used to capture and
sequester carbon dioxide.
The authors would like to express our acknowledgments to Mr.
Kurt Westerlund, Ms. Johanna Clifford, Mr. Mark Ritner, and Ms.
Jessica Ross, graduate students at UCF who helped tremendously by
solving end-of-chapter problems and putting them into presentable
shape. We also want to acknowledge the helpful and professional work
of Laurie Prossnitz and Debi Underwood, our excellent editor and
graphic artist (respectively), at Waveland Press.

C. D. Cooper
F. C. Alley
Cooper-Alley 4E.book Page 1 Tuesday, October 1, 2013 9:26 AM

An Overview

As I was walking in your Majesties Palace at Whitehall . . . a pre-


sumptuous Smoake . . . did so invade the Court . . . [that] men could
hardly discern one another for the Clowd. . . . And what is all this, but
that Hellish and dismall Clowd of SEA-COALE . . . [an] . . . impure
and thick Mist, accompanied with a fuliginous and filthy vapour. . . .
John Evelyn, 1661

 1.1 Introduction
The preceding quote was chosen to herald the start of this chapter
and this book because it clearly demonstrates that air pollution is not a
new phenomenon, but was a problem in some local areas centuries ago.
In fact, according to Te Brake (1975), the smoke from the burning of
“sea-coale” in lime kilns in London was a serious problem as early as
A.D. 1285. The air pollution situation in London persisted, and, in
1307, King Edward I banned the burning of sea coal in lime kilns (Te
Brake 1975). By the last quarter of the fourteenth century, the problem
diminished, only to reappear by the middle of the sixteenth century.
According to Te Brake (1975), the periods of peak air pollution
problems in preindustrial London corresponded roughly to periods of
population expansion and fuel “crises”; that is, sea coal (the less-desir-
able and more-polluting fuel) was burned when wood (the preferred
fuel) went into periods of short supply and/or high prices. British
woodlands were subjected to many population-related pressures
including the need for arable land, the need for building materials,
and the need for fuel. The sudden switch in the fifteenth century from
the use of the polluting sea coal to clean-burning wood may have been
the result of the sudden drastic decline in London’s population caused
by the Black Death (plague).
Today much of our air pollution is directly related to the combus-
tion of fuels for industrial production, for transportation, and for pro-

1
Cooper-Alley 4E.book Page 2 Tuesday, October 1, 2013 9:26 AM

2 Chapter One An Overview

duction of electricity for domestic use. Although isolated air pollution


problems were of local significance centuries ago, air pollution did not
become a global concern until the advent of the industrial revolution.
Fuel combustion in a country is directly related to the number of peo-
ple and their standard of living (that is, energy consumption). Since
the early 1800s, world population has increased about one order of
magnitude, and per-capita energy consumption has increased about
two orders of magnitude. Of course, much greater than average
increases have occurred in the industrialized urban centers of the
world. Therefore, it is not surprising that air pollution has become an
international concern.
However, if Te Brake’s arguments and conclusions are accepted,
then some of the reasons for the air pollution problems of today’s soci-
ety are similar to those that existed more than 700 years ago. Let us
hope that our present environmental problems are resolved by our
technological abilities and not by a drastic global calamity.

 1.2 Definitions and Types of Pollutants


According to one dictionary, pollution is a synonym for contami-
nation. Therefore, air pollutants are things that contaminate the air
in some manner. The federal government, as well as each state, has
incorporated into law a more precise definition of air pollution. The
legal definition in the state of Florida (all such definitions are similar)
is as follows:
Air pollution is the presence in the outdoor atmosphere . . . of any
one or more substances or pollutants in quantities which are or
may be harmful or injurious to human health or welfare, animal or
plant life, or property, or unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment
of life or property, including outdoor recreation.
(Florida Administrative Code 1982)
By the preceding definition, any solid, liquid, or gas that is present in
the air in a concentration that causes some deleterious effect is consid-
ered an air pollutant. However, there are several substances that, by
virtue of their massive rates of emission and harmful effects, are con-
sidered the most significant pollutants.
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) have been
established for six criteria air pollutants—five primary (meaning
emitted directly) and one secondary pollutant (so-called because it
is formed in the lower atmosphere by chemical reactions among pri-
mary pollutants). The term criteria pollutant comes from the fact
that health-based criteria were used to establish the NAAQS for
these pollutants.
The five primary criteria pollutants are particulate matter less
than 10 µm in diameter and particulate matter less than 2.5 µm in
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Section 1.2 Definitions and Types of Pollutants 3

diameter (PM-10 and PM-2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide


(NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate lead; the secondary cri-
teria pollutant is ozone (O3). Of these, the first four are emitted in the
United States (and other large industrialized countries) in quantities
measured in millions of metric tons per year and are sometimes called
major primary pollutants. When speaking of emissions of the criteria
pollutants, the data often are presented in classes: PM-10 and/or PM-
2.5, sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Another class of
compounds—volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—though not a crite-
ria pollutant, is recognized as a major primary pollutant because of its
large emissions and its importance in the reactions that form ground-
level ozone.
Some clarification is needed in regard to VOCs. As used in this
text, VOCs include all organic compounds with appreciable vapor
pressures. Some VOCs (for example, propylene) are reactive in the
atmosphere, whereas others (for example, methane) are inert. Some
VOCs are hydrocarbons (contain only hydrogen and carbon), but oth-
ers may be aldehydes, ketones, chlorinated solvents, and so on.
In the United States, emissions of the primary air pollutants
increased rapidly following the end of the Great Depression. As the pop-
ulation increased and became more mobile and as industrial production
soared, it was inevitable that air pollution would increase. However—
perhaps because of the development of legislative and technical con-
trols—the emissions of all the major pollutants peaked in the early
1970s and then began to decline. In recent years, this decline in emis-
sions has slowed. Figure 1.1 illustrates the trends in U.S. emissions
for particulates, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and VOCs. Carbon
monoxide and lead data are presented separately in Figure 1.2
because different scales are required.
It is important to note that air pollution is not just a problem of
the United States, but rather it is an international problem. While
much of the data in this text comes from the American experience,
industrialized and developing nations throughout the world have
experienced and are continuing to experience severe air pollution
problems. According to one author (Nadakavukaren 2006), the less-
developed countries (LDCs) have the most serious air pollution prob-
lems in the world today. The largest, most crowded cities are particu-
larly impacted. Of the urban areas that are consistently ranked
among the world’s “most polluted,” several are in China and India—
the world’s most populous countries.
Furthermore, as the populations of the LDCs grow and their econ-
omies expand (both at rapid rates), their contributions to global air
pollution will become a greater part of the whole. In the early 1970s, it
was thought that the United States contributed about 30–50% of
world air pollution emissions, depending upon the specific pollutant.
However, owing to vigorous and effective air pollution control efforts
Cooper-Alley 4E.book Page 4 Tuesday, October 1, 2013 9:26 AM

4 Chapter One An Overview

Emission rate, millions tons/year 40

35
VOCs
30
PM-10
25
SOx
20

15
NOx
10

0
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year
Figure 1.1
Long-term trends in U.S. annual emission rates for SOx, VOCs, NOx, and
PM-10.
Notes: PM-10 data inconsistent prior to 1990; PM includes fugitive dust after 1980; PM-2.5
unavailable before 1990.
(Sources: EPA-454/R-00-003, 2000; U.S. EPA, “National Emissions Inventory (NEI),” n.d.)
Pb Emissions Rate – thousands of tons/year
CO Emissions Rate – millions of tons/year

250

200

CO

150

100
Pb

50

0
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
Figure 1.2
Long-term trends in U.S. annual emission rates for CO and lead.
Note: Lead data unavailable prior to 1970.
(Sources: For CO data, U.S. EPA, “National Emissions Inventory (NEI),” n.d.; for lead data,
Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Table 4-46: Estimated National Emissions of Lead, n.d.)
Cooper-Alley 4E.book Page 5 Tuesday, October 1, 2013 9:26 AM

Section 1.2 Definitions and Types of Pollutants 5

over the past forty years, the United States has reduced its total emis-
sions, whereas in many other countries, emissions have risen rapidly.
By 1987, it was estimated that the United States emitted from 12%
(for particulate matter) to 40% (for hydrocarbons) of total world emis-
sions (Faiz et al. 1992). By the early 2000s, due to growth in China,
India, and other LDCs, and to improved pollution control in the
United States, U.S. emissions accounted for less than 10% of the
world’s particulate emissions, and no more than about one-third of
worldwide emissions of any other pollutant. Over the last twenty
years, leaders in the World Bank and other organizations and the
individual governments of these countries have recognized these cru-
cial air quality problems. It is encouraging to note that they have now
started to address their air pollution problems through technical and
regulatory approaches.
The only secondary pollutant for which there is an AAQS and
which is also of major concern in urban centers throughout the world
is ozone (or more generally, photochemical oxidants). Oxidants are
secondary pollutants because they are not emitted directly; rather,
they are formed in the lower atmosphere by chemical reactions involv-
ing sunlight, VOCs, and nitrogen oxides. It is important to distinguish
between ozone near the ground (the pollutant) and ozone in the upper
atmosphere (which helps protect us from ultraviolet radiation).
The pollutants mentioned above mostly impact people and the
environment on a local or urban scale. However, a pollutant with seri-
ous regional-scale impact is acid rain (more correctly, acidic deposi-
tion). Acid precursors, such as sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, react
with oxygen and water in the atmosphere to form acids that can then
fall to the ground with rain, snow, sleet, or as dry particulates. The two
most important constituents of acid deposition are HNO3 and H2SO4,
which contribute about 98% of the free acidity found in acid rain (Lik-
ens 1976). In the 1970s, over two-thirds of the acidity in rainfall was
sulfur based and one-third was nitrogen based. Title IV of the Clean
Air Act Amendments of 1990 called for significant reductions of both
SO2 and NOx emissions. These reductions have mainly come from the
largest sources (power plants for SO2 and motor vehicles for NOx).
Since 1990, U.S. sulfur oxides emissions have been reduced by 43% and
nitrogen oxides have dropped by 33%. The overall amounts of acids
deposited in the U.S. have decreased proportionately, but now the acid-
ity in rainfall derives almost equally from sulfur and nitrogen com-
pounds. More information about the acid rain program and its
successes can be found in the comprehensive report “National Acid Pre-
cipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) Report to Congress: An Inte-
grated Assessment” (National Science and Technology Council 2005).
Monitoring in the eastern United States and in Scandinavia
showed a marked decrease in the pH of rainfall from the mid-1950s
through the mid-1970s. Rainfall pHs were measured in the range from
Cooper-Alley 4E.book Page 6 Tuesday, October 1, 2013 9:26 AM

6 Chapter One An Overview

less than 2 to 5.5 (U.S. EPA 1979). In many lakes with little natural
buffering capacity, lake water pH dropped rapidly. At pHs less than
about 4.5, fish die because of the acidity itself and because of the acid
leaching of toxic metals from nearby soils into the water; at pH 5, most
fish eggs cannot hatch (U.S. EPA 2008). Other effects include disrup-
tion of terrestrial ecosystems, forest and soil degradation, corrosion of
steel structures, deterioration of paint and stone (e.g., marble and
limestone), and indirect effects on human health (U.S. EPA 2007,
2009). An aggressive program to reduce emissions of SOx from power
plants since 1990 has helped stop this trend in increasing acidity. Cur-
rent pH monitoring data—including isopleths of pH maps of the coun-
try—can be found at http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu.

 1.3 Pollutants of Global Concern


For the first time since humans began roaming the earth, we (in the
twenty-first century) have the numbers and the power to change our
environment on a global scale. Two air pollution problems that confront
modern society fall into the category of pollutants of global concern.

Ozone Depletion
In the 1930s, chemists invented a “miracle” chemical. It was
extremely stable, nontoxic, nonflammable, and could be used in many
commercial applications. This chemical and its derivatives that fol-
lowed are called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs (also known as fre-
ons) came to be used throughout the world (as refrigerants, aerosol
propellants, foam-blowing agents, cleaning solvents, air conditioning
gases, and other substances).
For a long time, no one suspected any adverse consequences to the
use of CFCs. However, in 1974, the theory was put forward that
CFCs—which are stable in the lower atmosphere—break down in the
stratosphere, releasing chlorine atoms (Molina and Rowland 1974).
Chlorine atoms and other radicals remove stratospheric ozone very
effectively through a set of catalytic reactions that regenerate the
chlorine atom or radical; thus, tens of thousands of ozone molecules
can be destroyed by one chlorine atom before it is removed from the
stratosphere. Stratospheric ozone is a key factor in protecting all life
on earth, because it absorbs almost all of the ultraviolet (UV) radia-
tion coming into the earth’s atmosphere, preventing the UV radiation
from reaching ground level. Again, keep in mind that while ozone near
the ground is a pollutant with serious health effects, ozone in the
stratosphere is good and must be protected.
In 1985, the dramatic discovery of a huge ozone “hole” over Ant-
arctica proved the theory of ozone depletion. The hole (as big as the
United States) showed as much as 50% reduction in the protective
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Section 1.3 Pollutants of Global Concern 7

ozone layer in that region during the winter months. Since that time,
ozone depletion also has been observed over the northern latitudes,
including parts of Canada, the United States, Europe, and Russia.
Such ozone depletion has likely already accounted for millions of cases
of skin cancers and cataracts among humans, similar effects among
livestock and wild animals, perhaps billions of dollars of damages in
reduced crop yields, and degradation of plastics due to the increased
UV radiation reaching the earth’s surface.
The discovery of the ozone hole was dramatic; it shocked the world
into action. In 1987, 46 countries manufacturing CFCs developed a
treaty (the Montreal Protocol) to reduce CFC production and use on a
scheduled basis, and by 1989, 39 countries had ratified it. In 1992, the
U.S. Congress voted to accelerate the phaseout of CFCs. However, no
provisions have been made for recovering and destroying the millions
of tons of CFCs that still exist in items such as old refrigerators and
old cars. Because CFCs released in the past are still working their way
up to the stratosphere, ozone depletion will be a concern for many
years to come. For more information, a good Web site to visit is
www.epa.gov/docs/ozone/index.html.

Global Climate Change


As severe a problem as ozone depletion is, at least the world has
undertaken steps to solve it. There is, however, another air pollution
problem that far overshadows ozone depletion, and that is global cli-
mate change (GCC). This problem may be the most significant and
the most difficult problem ever faced by humankind. Global climate
change (also called global warming or the greenhouse effect) is a com-
plex issue, and can only be addressed briefly in this text. Nevertheless,
its importance must not be underestimated. Engineers, scientists, and
political leaders throughout the world must constantly be aware of
this problem if we are to mitigate its potentially devastating effects.
The term greenhouse effect is popular but a bit misleading. The
name refers to the retention of infrared (IR) radiation (heat) by certain
gases in the atmosphere before that heat is lost to space. The first rea-
son that the popular name is misleading is that atmospheric heat
retention is essential to life on Earth. Our comfortably warm climate
is only possible because of this heat-trapping ability of (primarily) car-
bon dioxide and water vapor. Without this natural “greenhouse effect”
in our atmosphere, Earth would be approximately 33 degrees C (60
degrees F) colder than it is right now. So, when people talk of the
greenhouse effect, they really refer to the recent, rapid, unwanted
increases in the atmosphere’s heat-retention ability.
An interesting example of the natural greenhouse effect is
obtained by comparing the so-called radiation temperatures (the calcu-
lated average temperatures that would be obtained if there were no
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8 Chapter One An Overview

absorption of IR energy by the planetary atmospheres) of Mars, Earth,


and Venus. Mars has essentially no atmosphere, while Venus has a
very dense atmosphere that is 97% carbon dioxide. The results of
these calculations produce the following conclusions (U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency 1983): Mars exhibits a 3-degree C green-
house effect, Earth shows a 33-degree effect, but Venus obtains a huge
temperature boost of 468 degrees C!
Another reason that the term greenhouse effect is misleading is
that it conveys a vision of a mild or gentle warming. However, a
change in the average temperature of the earth of even a few degrees
is certain to result in severe changes in large-scale regional weather
patterns. Therefore, it is not just the warming that is of concern.
Shifting rainfall patterns and ocean currents combined with more
energy retention in the atmosphere likely will result in big increases
in the frequency and intensity of the extremes of weather—such as
hurricanes, tornados, heat waves, droughts, and floods. Major shifts in
rainfall might well result in massive crop failures in some areas, much
like what is thought to have happened in the fertile crescent of the
Middle East 3000 years ago. Another likely major impact is a rise in
average sea level. Kim and associates compiled predictions of sea level
rise by the year 2100 from 16 different sources and performed a statis-
tical analysis. The average prediction (after discarding two outliers)
was 0.94 meters. Even a rise of half this much will flood a large per-
cent of coastal wetlands and severely impact low-lying countries like
Bangladesh, Egypt, and the Netherlands. For all these reasons, we
believe that global climate change is a more descriptive phrase than
greenhouse effect.
An indicator of global warming is the earth’s average global
temperature (AGT). The AGT for the earth in the twentieth century
was about 15 °C, but increased significantly during the last 30 years.
Furthermore, from the depths of the last ice age 18,000 years ago
(when AGT was about 9 °C) to the present time, average global tem-
perature has increased by 6 degrees C (Barnola et al. 1987). This is a
drastic change for AGT, the reasons for which are not completely
understood. Therefore, any examination of recent temperature
records, especially over short periods of time, and especially in trying
to determine cause and effect, must be made with extreme caution.
The AGT is not the best measure of climate change. For one thing,
it is a single number being used to measure a massive and compli-
cated system. Also, averaging temperatures near the poles with other
temperatures near the equator does not allow tracking of any regional
trends. A more precise way to track the changes over time is to mea-
sure the temperature deviation or temperature anomaly at each sta-
tion. The temperature anomalies can be tracked and averaged with
more justification since each tracks the temperature change over time
at just one place. Temperature anomaly is a “noisy” variable (meaning
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Section 1.3 Pollutants of Global Concern 9

that the deviations from year to year can be large compared to the rate
of change of the long-term average); nevertheless, it is being reported
and used today by many groups.
The average global temperature anomaly (AGTA) for the
past 130 years is plotted in Figure 1.3. The average of the years 1951
through 1980 is the base period from which the temperature devia-
tions are calculated. Examination of Figure 1.3 reveals an interesting
and sobering trend. From the late 1800s to the mid-1940s, the AGTA
increased by about 0.3 degrees C. From then until about the mid-
1970s, the AGTA fluctuated up and down but showed no trend. Since
the mid-1970s, however, the AGTA has increased by an incredible 0.6
degrees C. The total change over the past 130 years has been about 1.0
degree C. This is a huge temperature change over a very short (geolog-
ical) time period. It seems an almost inescapable conclusion that such
a change must be due in large part to anthropogenic emissions.
As can be seen in Figure 1.3, the bulk of the warming has occurred
in two periods—from 1910 through 1940 and from 1980 to the present.
Part of the argument against global climate change in the past has
been that climate models have been unable to properly reproduce the
temperature deviations (both AGTA and those at various locations
throughout the world). This is especially true of the earlier period of
temperature rise (Zwiers and Weaver 2000). Thus, it was argued that
natural forcings (such as changes in the sun’s intensity and volcanic

0.6
Temperature Anomaly, deg C

0.4

0.2

0
Base period:
1951–1980
-0.2

-0.4
1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year
Figure 1.3
Recent behavior of average global temperature anomaly (land and ocean
combined).
(Source data from http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp.graphs/)
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10 Chapter One An Overview

eruptions) are the predominant cause of global warming. However, in


a comprehensive modeling study using state-of-the-art climate mod-
els, Stott and associates produced excellent agreement of their model
predictions with both land and sea temperature changes over the
entire period from 1860 through the end of the twentieth century
(Stott et al. 2000). They included both natural and anthropogenic forc-
ings, and showed that both must be considered. They further extended
their model to the year 2100 with a standard set of assumptions for
continued emissions. The resulting prediction was that average tem-
peratures rise by 2.5 °C over the next 100 years (as compared with an
average rise of 0.9 °C over the past 100 years).

Sources of Global Climate Change


The main contributor to global climate change over the past cen-
tury has been carbon dioxide; however, three other gases are now sig-
nificant—methane, nitrous oxide, and CFCs. First we will discuss the
effects of carbon dioxide, then we will return to the importance of
these other gases.
The idea of a greenhouse effect—that is, that the burning of fossil
fuels puts more carbon dioxide into the air, which in turn warms the
earth—is not a new idea. It was first published in a scientific journal
by a Swedish chemist, Svante Arrhenius, back in 1896. Arrhenius had
noticed that people of his day were burning more and more wood and
coal, and he put two and two together. According to Weiner (1990),
Arrhenius summed it all up as follows:
We are evaporating our coal mines into the air. . . . [which must
eventually cause] a change in the transparency of the atmosphere.
According to Pilson (2006) however, while Arrhenius might have
believed this to be true, there is no evidence that he ever actually
wrote this whole sentence.
The main source of excess carbon dioxide emissions into the atmo-
sphere is the burning of fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas. Worldwide, coal is
the biggest source of energy for electricity and is the biggest contributor
to carbon emissions. Liquid petroleum is the second largest source of
carbon emissions. Worldwide, energy consumed by burning liquid petro-
leum fuels (mainly for transportation) is actually greater than the
energy consumed by coal, but accounts for slightly less carbon emissions.
Natural gas combustion is the third largest source of carbon dioxide.
Global CO2 emissions are measured in gigatons (Gt). One Gt is one
billion metric tons—a very large number. The emissions can be
reported as either Gt of CO2 or as Gt of carbon (C); the two are related
by the ratio of their molecular weights. Table 1.1 presents data on the
history of CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels by geographic
area of the world. Note the huge growth in Asia (mostly due to China
and India).
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Section 1.3 Pollutants of Global Concern 11

Table 1.1 World CO2 Emissions from the Burning of Fossil Fuels, Gt of CO2

Geographic area 1980 1990 2000 2006


North America 5.49 5.81 6.81 6.95
Central & South America 0.63 0.72 0.99 1.13
Europe 4.71 4.57 4.50 4.72
Eurasia 3.09 3.83 2.36 2.60
Middle East 1.49 0.73 1.09 1.51
Africa 0.54 0.73 0.89 1.06
Asia & Oceania 3.56 5.30 7.37 11.22
World total 18.50 21.68 24.01 29.20

Source: Energy Information Administration, Dept. of Energy: http://www.eia.doe.gov/iea/


carbon.html

444444444
Example 1.1
Assume an average car in the United States gets 20 miles per gal-
lon of gasoline, is driven 12,000 miles per year, and weighs 3500
pounds. Further assume that gasoline weighs 5.9 pounds per gallon
and contains 85% carbon by weight. Is there any truth to the state-
ment that each car emits its own weight in carbon dioxide each year!?
Next, given that there are about 800 million vehicles worldwide,
estimate the annual global carbon emissions from motor vehicles. Give
your answer in Teragrams (1 Tg = 1 trillion grams = 1 million metric
tons) per year.
Solution
The carbon contained in the gasoline burned annually is
12, 000 mi 1 gal 5.9 lbs 3010 lbs C
¥ ¥ ¥ 0.85 =
year 20 mi gal year
The carbon dioxide emitted is
3010 lbs C/yr ¥ 44 lb CO2 /12 lb C = 11,040 lbs CO2 /yr
So the average U.S. car emits much more than its own weight in car-
bon dioxide each year!
To estimate worldwide emissions from vehicles, we must make a
number of gross assumptions as to the average vehicle in the world
(including cars, trucks, buses, mopeds, and so on). Let us assume that
the average vehicle in the world travels 24,000 km per year, gets 9 km
per liter, and burns fuel with a density of 0.75 kg/L and with a carbon
content of 87%. With these assumptions, annual carbon emissions
from vehicles are:
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12 Chapter One An Overview

24, 000 km 1L 0.75 kg 6 1 Tg


¥ ¥ ¥ 0.87 ¥ 800 (10) veh ¥ 9 =
year 9 km L 10 kg
1392 Tg
(about 1.4 billion metric tons/yr or about 1.4 Gt/yr)
year

It is interesting to note that the answer from this simple approach


compares favorably with published estimates.

Altogether it is estimated that about 29 Gt of carbon dioxide
(about 7.9 Gt of C) per year are emitted worldwide from the combus-
tion of fossil fuels (EIA 2008). The burning of fossil fuels is the major
contributor to the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, but it is not
the only contributor—deforestation has been a big contributor over
the past three centuries. In the more recent past, decomposing solid
waste in landfills has become a significant contributor, especially with
regard to methane emissions.
Deforestation hurts in two ways. First, when large tracts of forest
lands are cleared and burned (almost all the wood is burned within
months of clearing)—and, by the way, they are being cleared at an
incredible rate worldwide—a lot of tree-stored carbon gets put back
into the atmosphere. Second, deforestation decreases that part of the
earth’s biomass that removes CO2 from the air. Trees are especially
good at storing carbon and keeping it out of the air for years.
The earth’s biomass (plants and animals) used to be essentially
balanced with regard to uptake and release of carbon dioxide. How-
ever, because of huge increases in human population and huge
decreases in forestlands over the past 300 years, the forest biomass is
now much smaller. Reasonable estimates of net biomass additions of
carbon emissions to the air range between 0.5 and 1.6 billion metric
tons per year (Leggett 1990).
Other processes remove carbon dioxide from the air besides the
photosynthesis activity of trees. The oceans are the major sink for
CO2, holding far more CO2 than the atmosphere. Plankton and other
plants in the water remove CO2 through photosynthesis like plants on
land. Also, CO2 dissolves directly from the air into the water. How-
ever, the oceans also release CO2 back into the air, and right now the
oceans and the atmosphere are pretty much in balance, with a little
more CO2 going into the oceans than is coming out (IPCC 2007).
The fact remains that about 7.9 Gt of carbon (29 Gt of CO2) con-
tinue to be added to our air every year by the burning of fossil fuels.
The oceans are absorbing more CO2 than they are releasing, and other
recent changes in land use (including reforestation in many areas) are
helping to absorb some of those excess emissions. But there continues
to be an accumulation of CO2 in the air. Over the last hundred years
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Section 1.3 Pollutants of Global Concern 13

or so, about half of the new emissions have remained airborne (Mas-
ters 1991), steadily increasing the CO2 content of the atmosphere.
Based on measurements of air bubbles trapped in glacial ice corings, it
is widely accepted that, prior to the industrial revolution, the carbon
dioxide content of the atmosphere was fairly stable at 280 parts per
million (ppm). [Parts per million is a common unit of measure for gas
concentrations and will be defined later in Eq. (1.4).] By 1900, the
level had reached about 300 ppm, reflecting the net increase in global
emissions of carbon dioxide.
In 1958, the first accurate and precise measurements of atmo-
spheric CO2 concentrations were begun by Charles D. Keeling at the
Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii (see Figure 1.4). His now-classic
work showed that the 1958 concentration of CO2 was 315 ppm (Bacas-
tow, Keeling, and Whorf 1982). Compared with the CO2 level of 200
years earlier, the 1958 level of 315 ppm was a 12.5% increase (giving
an average annual rate of increase over two centuries of 0.0625% per
year). By 1980, the CO2 level was 340 ppm, and by 2008 it had
reached 387 ppm—a 22% increase from its 1958 value (giving an aver-
age rate over 50 years of 0.44% per year, a sevenfold increase in the
rate of growth).
The other three gases in the atmosphere that are responsible for
the recent increases in the heat retention capability of the atmo-

400
390
CO2 concentration, ppmv

380
370
360
350
340
330
320
310
300
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

Year
Figure 1.4
Growth in concentration of atmospheric CO2 as measured at Mauna Loa,
Hawaii.
Note: Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 are expressed in parts per million by volume
(ppmv) and reported as a dry mole fraction.
(Source: Tans, P. “Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide.” National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration, Earth System Research Laboratory, n.d. Accessed March 2010 from http://
www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends)
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14 Chapter One An Overview

sphere are methane, nitrous oxide, and CFCs. All have increased rap-
idly. Methane grew from 1.48 ppm in 1978 to 1.69 ppm in 1988, a
14% increase in 10 years. Nitrous oxide (N2O) grew from 296 parts
per billion (ppb) in 1978 to 307 ppb in 1989, a 4% increase. CFC-11
concentration in the atmosphere grew from about 157 parts per tril-
lion (ppt) in 1978 to 232 ppt in 1987 (Studt 1991), a 48% increase in
nine years.
There have been a number of estimates made about how much of a
contribution each of these gases makes to the overall warming effect.
Each gas absorbs infrared differently, with some CFCs being as much
as 15,000 times as powerful as carbon dioxide (molecule for molecule)
in terms of heat retention. Previous estimates (Flavin 1989) put the
relative contributions as follows: carbon dioxide, 57%; CFCs, 25%;
methane, 12%; and nitrous oxide, 6%, based on their concentrations in
the air. However, based on more recent data regarding the current
rates of emissions of all these gases (EIA 2008), carbon dioxide emis-
sions have grown much faster, and it is now thought to have a relative
contribution of more than 75% of the total.
There is no doubt that greenhouse gases are increasing rapidly in
our atmosphere. AGT appears to be increasing as well, but what evi-
dence is there that global climate change is occurring? Other evidence
of global warming is more anecdotal, partly because the weather is
subject to large fluctuations from season to season and from year to
year, and partly because the earth is so huge that it takes a long time
for real changes to show up. “Real changes” are defined here as those
that are large enough to say “without a doubt” that they are not part
of the “noise” (normal random fluctuations about the mean), and that
they are caused by global warming. However, there are several exam-
ples of anecdotes that seem particularly compelling. The U.S. Weather
Service keeps temperature records that show that 8 of the 10 hottest
years in the previous century occurred in the ten years from 1990
through 1999. The year 2000 was the warmest in the twentieth cen-
tury. There were widespread incidents of droughts and fires through-
out the United States during the 1990s. The Inuit Indians in
northwestern Canada have stated in research interviews that there
are fewer seals and polar bears to hunt due to thinning sea-ice, and
warmer weather has brought more mosquitoes that stay longer
(Orlando Sentinel 2000). Biologists have noted that the range where
certain butterflies live has crept northward by more than 100 miles
during the past 30 years. It was noticed in the year 2000 (for the first
time since such observations have been recorded) that there was no
solid ice—only open water—at the north pole.
Because there are so many apparently random influences on local
weather, and so much natural variation from place to place and from
year to year, most people cannot grasp the concept of climate changes
over a 100- to 200-year period. They want hard scientific evidence of
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Section 1.3 Pollutants of Global Concern 15

cause and effect in weather differences over, say, a five-year period. So


far, the changes in climate due to GCC have been small enough to be
largely masked by the “noise” in the system. Despite the many pieces
of anecdotal evidence, there are still many skeptics. A common techni-
cal criticism is that local surface temperature measurements may be
contaminated by local urban heat island effects. Temperature records
at rural sites, and records of sea surface temperatures, do not show
the same rapidly increasing trends that have been observed at urban
sites. For more data and discussions of some of the technical issues
involved with GCC, there are numerous sites on the Web that have
good information. There are also many that have old or erroneous
information, or that advance one agenda or another. But two sites
appear fact-filled and reliable:
• http://www.giss.nasa.gov/
• http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/index.html/
Everyone agrees that steps to mitigate GCC are very expensive,
and may require substantial sacrifices by many people. It has been
argued that to undertake such steps prematurely would be foolish.
However, to wait much longer may be even more foolish. Many people
are now calling for action, and many governments around the world
(and even individual states within the United States) have begun tak-
ing actions to reduce emissions of CO2. Our global climate models,
while good, are far from perfect. Yet, these models do predict that
major effects will occur within the next several decades. The sad fact
is that the inertia of the earth-atmosphere system is so great that,
once begun, these changes cannot easily nor quickly be reversed.

What Can We Do?


Anecdotal evidence suggests that GCC has already begun. World
political leaders created the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and opened it for signatures in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. By June 1993, there were 66 country
signatories to the “Rio Accord,” and now many more have joined. This
was a very general treaty, but established three very important agree-
ments. First, it acknowledged that there was a problem, that the prob-
lem likely was of human making, and that countries should begin
taking steps to address the problem. Second, it strongly supported the
concept of sustainable development for future growth. Third, it laid
the groundwork for future, more specific agreements.
The Kyoto Protocol was one subsequent product of the UNFCCC.
This agreement was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, and
as of September 2000 had 84 signatories. The Kyoto Protocol com-
mits the industrial countries to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to
7% below their 1990 levels by 2008–2012. Assuming normal eco-
nomic growth, this is projected to be about 20–30% below the level of
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16 Chapter One An Overview

emissions that otherwise would be occurring at that time. Many


actions to achieve the reductions, including emissions trading, are
allowed. The United States and a number of other countries have not
ratified this treaty; the U.S. has stated that meaningful commit-
ments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions must be made by devel-
oping countries as well.
In our view, the United States needs to be a leader in adopting an
energy policy that stresses reducing carbon emissions. A strong com-
mitment to energy conservation and to the rapid development of com-
mercial solar power should be the cornerstones of our national policy.
In addition, it might prove necessary to capture carbon dioxide from
the stack gases of fossil fuel-fired power plants, and then sequester it
underground (Abelson 2000). While expensive, this would be a direct
and effective way to reduce emissions to the atmosphere. A strong
international commitment is also needed to control emissions of trace
gases. We as a nation should strive to halt deforestation and encour-
age reforestation in countries around the world. Finally, we as a
nation should work toward world population control.
In the interim, what can be done by citizens? Obviously, as individ-
uals we can reduce our own energy consumption, we can reduce waste,
we can plant trees locally, and, by our purchasing practices, we can
encourage recycling and product substitution in all areas that involve
the greenhouse gases. As environmental engineers, we should each
maintain a keen awareness of this issue, and be prepared to discuss it
publicly. We should try to get involved politically and to educate our
political and industrial leaders. And of course, in the application of our
profession, we must continue to look for ways to improve technology to
reduce emissions and/or find alternative sources for energy and certain
products. We must all do all we can to try to mitigate global climate
change. Let us follow the popular advice—think globally, act locally.
Unfortunately, the discussion in this section has been an all-
too-brief review of the complex issues of global climate change. How-
ever, as stated earlier, the focus of this book is on the engineering
design and analysis of air pollution control systems. These systems
typically are built to control local or regional air pollution problems,
and thus, our attention will focus on the major pollutants as defined
earlier. However, because the U.S. EPA declared CO2 a pollutant in
2009, it is now appropriate, within the framework of this text, to con-
sider the engineering controls of carbon dioxide. To that end, the
authors have added Chapter 22, which is devoted to carbon dioxide
prevention, capture, and disposal.
Before we discuss the causes, sources, and effects of the major pol-
lutants, we will briefly review the legislative and regulatory history of
air pollution control. If we are familiar with the events of the past, we
may be better able to deal effectively with the future.
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contained. It was the room in which his son had died. The windows
were closely shuttered, but admitted the air at the top. The floor was
of wood and bare. A bedstead, couch, and chairs of bamboo
comprised the furniture.
At one side of the room were two spacious closets. One of these
contained a portable bath-tub, a rack of fresh white towels, and
plenty of water. The other contained clothes depending from hooks.
“You’ll find your own suit of clothes there, Sir Harold,” said the major.
“I intended to send them to England, but I am as fond of
procrastination as ever. It’s just as well though, now. You can take
them home yourself.”
Sir Harold sat down in the nearest chair.
“Home!” he whispered. “How are they—Octavia? Neva?”
“All well—or they were when I heard last.”
“Tell me what you know of them?” And Sir Harold’s great hungry
eyes searched the major’s face. “They believe me dead?”
“Certainly, Sir Harold. Everybody believes you dead. And I am dying
to know how it is that you are alive. Where have you been these
fifteen months? How did you escape the tiger?”
The desired explanation was delayed by the appearance at the door
of Mrs. Archer, who brought a jug of warm spiced drink and a plate of
food. The major took the tray, and shut his wife out, returning to his
guest.
Sir Harold was nearly famished, and ate and drank like one starving.
When his hunger was appeased, and a faint color began to dawn in
his face, he pushed the tray from him, and spoke in a firmer voice
than he had before employed.
“I have imagined terrible things about my wife and Neva,” he said.
“My poor wife! I have thought of her a thousand times as dead of
grief. Do you know, major, how she took the report of my death?”
“I have heard,” said the major, “she nearly died of grief. For a long
time she shut herself up, and was inconsolable, and when she did
venture out at last, it was in a funereal coach, and dressed in the
deepest mourning. There are few wives who mourn as she did.”
Sir Harold’s lips quivered.
“My poor darling!” he muttered inaudibly. “My precious wife! I shall
come back to you from the dead.”
“Lady Wynde is heart-broken, they say,” said the major. “One of the
men in our mess, a lieutenant, is from Canterbury and hears all the
Kentish gossip, and he says people were afraid that Lady Wynde
would go into a decline.”
“My poor wife!” said Sir Harold, with a sobbing breath. “I knew how
she loved me. We were all the world to each other, Major. I must be
careful how she hears the news that I am living. The sudden shock
may kill her. Have you any news of my daughter also?”
“She was still at school when I last heard of her,” answered the
major. “There is no more news of your home, Sir Harold. Your family
are mourning for you and you will bring back their lost happiness.
You ought to have seen your obituaries in the London papers. Some
of them were a yard long, and I’d be willing to die to-day if I could
only read such notices about myself. That sounds a little Hibernian,
but it’s true. And your tenantry put on mourning, and they had funeral
sermons and so on. By all the rules, you ought to have been dead,
and, by the Lord Harry, I can’t understand why you are not.”
Sir Harold smiled wanly.
“Let me explain why I am not,” he said. “You remember that I was
taking my last ride in India, and was about to start for Calcutta, to
embark for England, when I disappeared? Some three days before
that I had a quarrel, if I might call it so, with the Hindoo Karrah—”
“I know it. He told me about it for the first time this morning.”
“You understand then that I had incurred his enmity by kicking him
out of this house? I found him stealing the effects of my dead son.
He had also stolen from me. The letters he was stealing he was
acute enough to know were precious to me, and there was George’s
diary, for which I would not have taken any amount of money. The
scoundrel meant to get away with these, and then sell them to me at
his own terms. I took back my property, and punished him as he
deserved. I have now reason to believe he went away that night to
his friends among the hills—”
“He did. He told me he did. But what did he go for?” cried the major
excitedly.
“You can soon guess. The next morning Karrah came back,
professing repentance,” said Sir Harold. “I reproached myself for
having been too harsh upon the poor untaught heathen, and took
him back. He accompanied me upon that last ride, and was so
humble, so deprecating, so gentle, that I even felt kindly toward him.
We rode out into the jungle. I was in advance, riding slowly, and
thinking of home, when suddenly a monstrous tiger leaped out of a
thicket and fastened his claws in the neck of my horse. I fought the
monster desperately, for he had pinned my leg to the side of my
horse, and I could not escape from him. We had a frightful struggle,
and I must have succumbed but for Karrah, who shot at the tiger,
wounding him, I think, in the shoulder, and frightening him into
retreat.”
“And so you escaped, when we all thought you killed?” cried the
major.
“My horse was dying,” said the baronet, “and I was wounded and
bleeding. I thought I was dying. I fell from my saddle to the ground,
groaning with pain. Karrah came up, and bent over me, with a
devilish smile and moistened my lips with brandy from a flask he
carried. Then, muttering words in his own language which I could not
understand, he carried me to his own horse, mounted, with me in his
arms, and rode off in the direction in which we had been going, and
away from your bungalow.”
“The scoundrel! What was that for?”
“After a half-hour’s ride, we came to a hollow, where three natives
were camped. Karrah halted, and addressed them. They gathered
around us, and then Karrah said to me, in English, that he hated me,
that he would not kill me, but meant me to suffer, and that these men
were his brothers, who lived a score of miles away up among the
mountains. I was to be their slave. He transferred me to their care,
disregarding my pleas and offered bribes, and rode away on his
return to you. I was carried on horseback, securely bound, a score of
miles to the north and westward. How I suffered on that horrible
journey, wounded as I was, I can never tell you. A dozen times I
thought myself dying.”
“It is a wonder you did not die!”
“It is,” said Sir Harold. “We went through savage jungles, and forded
mountain torrents. We went up hill and down, and more than once
leaped precipices. I was in a dead faint when we reached the home
of the three Hindoos, but afterward I found how wild and secluded
the spot was, and that there were no neighbors for miles around.
Their cabin was niched in a cleft in a mountain, and hidden from the
eye of any but the closest searcher. Had you searched for me, you
would never have found me. It was in a rear hut, small and dark, with
a mud floor, and windowless walls, that I have been a prisoner for
fifteen months, major. My enemies, for the most part, left me to
myself, and I have dragged out my weary captivity with futile plans of
escape. Ah, I have known more than the bitterness of death!”
“If we had only known it, we’d have scoured all India for you, Sir
Harold,” said the major hotly. “We’d have strung up every native until
we got the right ones. But that episode of the tiger—for it seems that
the tiger was only an episode, coming into the affair by accident, but
greatly assisting Karrah’s foul treachery—threw us off the scent, and
made us think you dead. Why did we not suspect the truth?”
“How could you? Don’t reproach yourself, major. My chiefest
sufferings during these horrible fifteen months have been on account
of my wife and my daughter. To feel myself helpless, a slave to those
Hindoo pariahs, bound continually and in chains, while Octavia and
Neva were weeping for me and crying out in their anguish, and
perhaps needing me—ah, that was almost too hard to bear! Now
and then Karrah came to taunt me in my prison, and to tell me how
he hated me, and how sweet was his revenge. He told me that you
had heard through a friend that my poor wife was dying of her grief.
After that I tried, with increased ingenuity, to find some way of
escape. Last night the three Hindoos went away—upon a marauding
expedition, I think. After they had gone, one of the women brought
me my usual evening meal of boiled rice. I pleaded to her to release
me, but she laughed at me. She went out, leaving the door open,
intending to return soon for the dish. The sight of the sky and of the
green earth without nerved me to desperation. I was confined by a
belt around my waist, to which an iron chain was attached, the other
end of the chain being secured to a ring in the wall. I had wrenched
my belt and the chain a thousand times, but last night when I pulled
at it with the strength of a madman, it gave way. I fell to the floor—
unfettered!”
“You bounded up like an India rubber ball, I dare swear?” cried the
major, wiping his eyes sympathetically.
“I leaped up, and darted out of the door. There was a horse tethered
near the hut. I bounded on his back and sped away, as the woman
came hurrying out in wild pursuit. I knew the general direction in
which your bungalow lay. I rode all night, going out of my road, but
being set straight again by some kindly Hindoos; and here I am,
weary, worn, but Oh, how thankful and blest!”
The baronet bowed his head on his hands, and his tears of joy fell
thickly.
“You’re safe now, Sir Harold,” cried the major. “I hear a hubbub
outside. My fellows have got back, with Karrah, no doubt. I want to
superintend the skinning him, and while I am gone, you can refresh
yourself with a bath, and put on a suit of Christian garments. My wife
is dying to see you. I hear her pacing the hall like a caged
leopardess. Get ready, and I’ll come back to you as soon as you
have had a little sleep. You’re among friends, my dear Sir Harold;
and, by Jove, I’m glad to see you again!”
He pressed Sir Harold’s hand, catching his breath with a peculiar
sobbing, and hurried out.
His servants had returned, but Karrah had escaped. The major
indulged in some peculiar profanity, as he listened to this report, and
then withdrew to his wife’s cool room, and told her Sir Harold’s story.
The baronet, meanwhile, took a bath and went to bed. He slept for
hours, awakening after noon. He shaved and trimmed his beard,
dressed himself in the suit of clothes he had formerly worn, and
which were now much too large for him, and came forth into the
central hall of the dwelling. Major Archer was lounging here, and
came forward hastily, with both hands outstretched, and with a
beaming face.
“You look more like yourself, Sir Harold!” he exclaimed. “Mrs. Archer
is out on the veranda, and is full of impatience to see you.”
He linked his arm in the baronet’s and conducted him out to the
veranda, presenting him to Mrs. Archer, who greeted him with a
certain awe and kindliness, as one would welcome a hero.
The little Archers were playing about under the charge of an ayah,
and they also came forward timidly to welcome their father’s guest.
Tiffin—the India luncheon—was served on the veranda, and after it
was over, and the young people had dispersed, Sir Harold said to his
host:
“When does the next steamer leave for England?”
“Three days hence. You will have time to catch the mail if you write
to-day,” said Major Archer.
“Write! Why, I shall go in her, Major!”
“Impossible, Sir Harold. You are not fit for the voyage,” said Mrs.
Archer.
“I must go,” persisted the baronet, in a tone no one could dispute.
“Think of my wife—of my daughter. Every day that keeps me from
them seems an eternity. Major, I was robbed by Karrah of every
penny I possessed. Plunder was a part of his motive, as well as
desire for revenge. I shall have to draw upon you for a sufficient sum
for my expenses.”
“It’s fortunate, and quite an unprecedented thing with me, that I have
a couple of hundred pounds in bank in Calcutta,” said the major. “I
wish it were a thousand, but you’re quite welcome to it, Sir Harold—a
thousand times welcome. I appreciate your impatience to be on your
way home. If it were I, and your wife was my Molly, I’d travel day and
night—but there, I’ve said enough. I’ll go to Calcutta with you, and
see you off on the Mongolian. I wish I could do more for you.”
“You can, Major. You can keep silence concerning my
reappearance,” declared Sir Harold thoughtfully. “My wife is reported
to be dying of grief. If she hears too abruptly that I still live, the shock
may destroy her. Major, I am going home under a name not my own,
that the story of my adventures may not be bruited about before she
sees me. I will not reveal myself to any one in Calcutta, nor to any
one in England, before reaching home. I will go quietly and unknown
to Hawkhurst, and reveal myself with all care and caution to Neva,
who will break the news to my wife.”
“Sir Harold is right,” said Mrs. Archer. “Lady Wynde and Miss Wynde
should not first hear the news by telegraph, or letter, or through the
newspapers. Their impatience, anxiety, and suspense, after hearing
that Sir Harold still lives, and before they can see him, will be terrible.
The shock, as Sir Harold suggests, might almost be fatal to Lady
Wynde.”
“My wife is always right,” said the burly major, with a glance of
admiration at his spouse. “Sir Harold, you cannot do better than to
follow your instincts and my Molly’s counsels. It is settled then, that
you return to England under an assumed name, and see your own
family before you proclaim your adventures to the world. What name
shall you adopt as a ‘name of voyage,’ to translate from the French?”
“I will call myself Harold Hunlow,” said the baronet. “Hunlow was my
mother’s name. I am rested, Major, and if you can give me a mount,
we’ll be off at sunset on our way to Calcutta.”
It was thus agreed. That very evening Sir Harold Wynde and Major
Archer set out for Calcutta on horseback, arriving in time to secure
passage in the Mongolian. And on the third day after leaving Major
Archer’s bungalow, Sir Harold Wynde was at sea, and on his way to
England. Ah, what a reception awaited him!
CHAPTER XXIII.
NEVA’S DECISION ABOUT RUFUS.

Could her guardian angel have whispered to Neva that her father did
indeed still live, and that at the very moment of her vivid dream he
stood upon the veranda of Major Archer’s Indian bungalow, weak,
wasted and weary, but with the principle of life strong within him,
what agony she might have been spared in the near future! what
terrors and perils she might perhaps have escaped!
But she did not know it—she could not guess that life held for her a
joy so rare, so pure, so sweet, as that of welcoming back to his
home her father so long and bitterly mourned as dead.
As we have said, she remained awake during the remainder of the
night, walking her floor in her white gown and slippered feet, now
and then wringing her hands, or sobbing softly, or crying silently; and
thus the weary hours dragged by.
Before the clear sunlight of the soft September morning, which stole
at last into her pleasant rooms, Neva’s dream lost its vividness and
semblance of reality, and the conviction settled down upon her soul
that it was indeed “only a dream.”
She dressed herself for breakfast in a morning robe of white, with
cherry-colored ribbons, but her face was very pale, and there was a
look of unrest in her red-brown eyes when she descended slowly
and wearily to the breakfast-room at a later hour than usual.
This room faced the morning sun, and was octagon shaped, one half
of the octagon projecting from the house wall, and being set with
sashes of French plate-glass, like a gigantic bay-window. One of the
glazed sections opened like a door upon the eastern marble terrace,
with its broad surface, its carved balustrade, and its rows of rare
trees and shrubs in portable tubs.
There was no one in the room when Neva entered it. The large table
was laid with covers for five persons. The glazed door was ajar, and
the windows were all open, giving ingress to the fresh morning air.
The room was all brightness and cheerfulness, the soft gray carpet
having a border of scarlet and gold, the massive antique chairs being
upholstered in scarlet leather, and the sombreness of the dainty
buffet of ebony wood being relieved by delicate tracery of gold,
drawn by a sparing hand.
Neva crossed the floor and passed out upon the terrace, where a
gaudy peacock strutted, spreading his fan in the sunlight, and giving
utterance to his harsh notes of self-satisfaction. Neva paced slowly
up and down the terrace, shading her face with her hand. A little later
she heard some one emerge from the breakfast room upon the
terrace, and come behind her with an irregular and unsteady tread.
“Good-morning, Miss Neva,” said Rufus Black, as he gained her
side. “A lovely morning, is it not?”
Neva returned his salutation gravely. She knew that Rufus Black had
slept under the same roof with herself the preceding night, after the
ball, and that a room at Hawkhurst had been specially assigned him
by Lady Wynde, now Mrs. Craven Black.
“You ought to have sacrificed your scruples, and come down to the
drawing-rooms last night,” said Rufus Black. “I assure you we had a
delightful time, but you would have been the star of the ball. I
watched the door for your appearance until the people began to go
home, and I never danced, although there was no end of pretty girls,
but they were not pretty for me,” added Rufus, sighing. “There is for
me now only one beautiful girl in the whole world, and you are she,
sweet Neva.”
“Did you ever love any one before you loved me?” asked Neva, with
a quiet frankness and straightforwardness, looking up at him with her
clear eyes full of dusky glow.
“Ye—no!” stammered Rufus, turning suddenly pale, and his honest
eyes blenching. “Almost every man has had his boyish fancies, Miss
Neva. Whatever mine may have been, my life has been pure, and
my heart is all your own. You believe me?”
“Yes, I believe you. Mr. and Mrs. Black have come down to
breakfast, Mr. Rufus. Let us go in.”
She led the way back to the breakfast room, Rufus following. They
found the bride and bridegroom and Mrs. Artress waiting for them.
Neva greeted Lady Wynde by her new name, and bowed quietly to
Craven Black and Mrs. Artress. The little party took seats at the
table, and the portly butler, with a mute protest in his heart against
the new master of Hawkhurst, waited upon them, assisted by skillful
subordinates.
Mrs. Craven Black, dressed in white, looked the incarnation of
satisfaction. She had so far succeeded in the daring game she had
been playing, and her jet-black eyes glittered, and her dark cheeks
were flushed to crimson, and her manner was full of feverish gayety,
as she did the honors of the Hawkhurst breakfast table to her new
husband.
Three years before she had been a poor adventuress, unable to
marry the man she loved. Now, through the success of a daring and
terrible conspiracy, she was wealthy, the real and nominal mistress
of one of the grandest seats in England; the personal guardian of
one of the richest heiresses in the kingdom; and the wife of her
fellow-conspirator, to obey whose behests, and to marry whom, she
had been willing to peril her soul’s salvation.
Only one thing remained to render her triumph perfect, her fortune
magnificent, and her success assured. Only one move remained to
be played, and her game would be fully played.
That move comprehended the marriage of Neva Wynde to Rufus
Black, and Mrs. Craven Black, from the moment of her third
marriage, resolved to devote all her energies to the task of bringing
about the union upon which she was determined.
The breakfast was eaten by Neva almost in silence. When the meal
was over Mr. and Mrs. Craven Black strolled out into the gardens,
arm in arm. Mrs. Artress, who had fully emerged from her gray
chrysalis, and who was now dressed in pale blue, hideously
unbecoming to her ashen-hued complexion, retired to her own room
to enjoy her triumph in solitude, and to count the first installment of
the yearly allowance that had been promised her, and which had
already been paid her, with remarkable promptness, by Lady Wynde.
Neva went to the music-room, and began to play a weird, strange
melody, in which her very soul seemed to find utterance. In the midst
of her abstraction, the door opened, and Rufus Black came in softly.
He was standing at her side when her wild music ceased abruptly,
and she looked up from the ivory keys.
“Your music sounds like a lament, or a dirge,” said Rufus, leaning
upon the piano and regarding with admiration the pale, rapt face and
glowing eyes.
“I meant it so,” said Neva. “I was thinking of my father.”
“Ah,” said Rufus, rather vacantly.
“I dreamed of papa last night,” said Neva softly, resting her elbow on
the crashing keys and laying one rounded cheek upon her pink palm.
“I dreamed he was alive, Rufus, and that I saw him standing before
the door of an Indian hut, or bungalow, or curious dwelling; and my
dream was like a vision.”
“A rather uncomfortable one,” suggested Rufus. “You were greatly
excited yesterday, Neva, I could see that; and, as your mind was all
stirred up concerning your father, you naturally dreamed of him. It
would make a horrid row if your dream could only turn out true, and
you ought to rejoice that it cannot. You have mourned for him, and
the edge of your grief has worn off—”
“No, no, it has not,” interrupted the girl’s passionate young voice. “If I
had seen him die, I could have been reconciled to the will of God.
But to lose him in that awful manner—never to know how much he
suffered during the moments when he was struggling in the claws of
that deadly tiger—oh, it seems at times more than I can bear. And to
think how soon he has been forgotten!” and Neva’s voice trembled.
“His wife whom he idolized has married another, and his friends and
tenantry have danced and made merry at her wedding. Of all who
knew and loved him, only his daughter still mourns at his awful fate!”
“It is hard,” assented Rufus, “but it’s the way of the world, you know.
If it will comfort you any, Neva, I will tell you that half the county
families came to the wedding breakfast to support and cheer you by
their presence, and the other half came out of sheer curiosity. But
few of the best families remained to the ball.”
“Papa thought much of you, did he not, Rufus?” asked Neva,
thinking of that skilfully forged letter which was hidden in her bosom,
and which purported to be her father’s last letter to her from India.
Rufus Black had been warned by his father that Neva might some
day thus question him, and Craven Black had told his son that he
must answer the heiress in the affirmative. Rufus was weak of will,
cowardly, and timid, but it was not in him to be deliberately
dishonest. He could not lie to the young girl, whose truthful eyes
sought his own.
“I had no personal acquaintance with Sir Harold Wynde, Neva,” the
young man said, inwardly quaking, yet daring to tell the truth.
“But—but—papa said—I don’t really comprehend, Rufus. I thought
that papa loved you.”
“If Sir Harold ever saw me, I do not know it,” said Rufus, cruelly
embarrassed, and wondering if his honesty would not prove his ruin.
“I was at the University—Sir Harold may have seen me, and taken a
liking to me—”
Neva looked strangely perplexed and troubled. Certainly the
awkward statement of Rufus did not agree with the supposed last
declaration of her father.
“There seems some mystery here which I cannot fathom,” she said.
“I have a letter written by papa in India, under the terrible foreboding
that he would die there, and in this letter papa speaks of you with
affection, and says—and says—”
She paused, her blushes amply completing the sentence.
A cold shiver passed over the form of Rufus. He comprehended the
cause of Neva’s blushes, and a portion of his father’s villainy. He
understood that the letter of which Neva spoke had been forged by
Craven Black, and that it commanded Neva’s marriage with Craven
Black’s son. What could he say? What should he do? His innate
cowardice prevented him from confessing the truth, and his awe of
his father prevented him from betraying him, and he could only
tremble and blush and pale alternately.
“Papa might have taken an interest in you, without making himself
known to you,” suggested Neva, after a brief pause. “Some act of
yours might have made your name known to him, and he might
secretly have watched your course without betraying to you his
interest in you, might he not?”
“He might,” said Rufus huskily.
“I can explain the matter in no other way. It is singular. Perhaps poor
papa might not have well known what he was writing, but the letter is
so clearly written that that idea is not tenable. After all, so long as he
wrote the letter, what does it matter?” said Neva wearily. “He must
have known you, Rufus—or else the letter was forged!”
Rufus averted his face, upon which a cold sweat was starting.
“Who would have forged it?” he asked hoarsely.
“That I do not know. I know no one base enough for such a deed. It
could not have been forged, of course, Rufus, but the discrepancy
between your statement and that in the letter makes me naturally
doubt. Papa was the most truthful of men. He hated a lie, and was
so punctilious in regard to the truth that he was always painfully
exact in his statements. He trained me to scorn a lie, and was even
particular about the slightest error in repeating a story. How then
could he speak of knowing you? Perhaps, though, I am mistaken. I
may find, on referring to the letter, that he speaks of liking you and
taking an interest in you, without alluding to a personal
acquaintance.”
“If I had known Sir Harold, I should have tried to deserve his good
opinion,” said Rufus, his voice trembling. “I have the greatest
reverence for his character, and I wish I might be like him.”
“There are few like papa,” said Neva, a sudden glow transfiguring
her face.
“How you loved him, Neva. If I had had such a father!” and Rufus
sighed. “I would rather have an honorable, affectionate father whom I
could revere and trust than to have a million of money!”
Neva reached out her hand in sympathy, and the young man seized
it eagerly, clinging to it.
“Neva,” he exclaimed, with a sudden energy of passion, “it is more
than a month since I asked you to be my wife, and you have not yet
given me my answer. Will you give it to me now?”
The girl withdrew her hand gently, and rested her cheek again on her
hand.
“I know I am not worthy of you,” said Rufus, beseechingly. “I am poor
in fortune, weak of character, a piece of drift-wood blown hither and
thither by adverse winds, and likely to be tossed on a rocky shore at
last, if you do not have pity upon me. Neva, such as I am, I beseech
you to save me!”
“I am powerless to save any one,” said Neva gently. “Your help must
come from above, Rufus.”
“I want an earthly arm to cling to,” pleaded Rufus, his tones growing
shrill with the sudden fear that she would reject him. “I have in me all
noble impulses, Neva; I have in me the ability to become such a man
as was your father. I would foster all noble enterprises; I would
become great for your sake. I would study my art and make a name
of which you should be proud. Will you stoop from your high estate,
Neva, and have pity upon a weak, cowardly soul that longs to be
strong and brave? Will you smile upon my great love for you, and let
me devote my life to your happiness and comfort?”
His wild eyes looked into hers with a prayerfulness that went to her
soul. He seemed to regard her as his earthly saviour—and such
indeed, if she accepted him, she would be, for she would bring him
fortune, and, what he valued more, her affection, her pure life, her
brave soul, on which his own weak nature might be stayed.
“Poor Rufus!” said Neva, with a tenderness that a sister might have
shown him. “My poor boy!” and her small face beamed with sisterly
kindness upon the tall, awkward fellow, the words coming strangely
from her lips. “I am sorry for you.”
“And you will marry me?” he cried eagerly.
The young face became grave almost to sternness. The lovely eyes
gloomed over with a great shadow.
“I want to obey papa’s wishes as if they were commands,” she said.
“I have thought and prayed, day after day and night after night. I like
you, Rufus, and I cannot hear your appeals unmoved. I believe I am
not selfish, if I am true to my higher nature, and obey the instincts
God has implanted in my soul. I must be untrue to God, to myself,
and to my own instincts, or I must pay no heed to that last letter and
to the last wishes of poor papa. Which shall I do? I have decided first
one way, and then the other. The possibility that that letter was—was
not written by papa—and there is such a possibility—I cannot now
help but consider. Forgive me, Rufus, but I have decided, and I think
papa, who has looked down from heaven upon my perplexity and my
anguish, must approve my course. I feel that I am doing right, when I
say,” and here her hand took his, “that—that I cannot marry you.”
“Not marry me! Oh, Neva!”
“It costs me much to say it, Rufus, but I must be true to myself, to my
principles of honor. I do not love you as a wife should love her
husband. I could not stand up before God’s altar and God’s minister,
and perjure myself by saying that I thus loved you. No, Rufus, no; it
may not be!”
Rufus bowed his head upon the piano, and sobbed aloud.
His weakness appealed to the girl’s strength. She had seldom seen
a man in tears, and her own tears began to flow in sympathy.
“I am so sorry, Rufus!” she whispered.
“But you will not save me? You will not lift a hand to save me from
perdition?”
“I will be your sister, Rufus.”
“Until you become some other man’s wife!” cried Rufus, full of
jealous anguish. “You will marry some other man—Lord Towyn,
perhaps?”
The girl retreated a few steps, a red glory on her features. A strange
sweet shyness shone in her eyes.
“I see!” exclaimed Rufus, in a passion of grief and jealousy. “You will
marry Lord Towyn? Oh, Neva! Neva!”
“Rufus, it cannot matter to you whom I marry since I cannot marry
you. Let us be friends—brother and sister—”
“I will be all to you or nothing!” ejaculated Rufus violently. “I will marry
you or die!”
He broke from the grasp she laid upon him, and with a wild cry upon
his lips, dashed from the room.
In the hall he encountered Craven Black and his bride, just come in
from the garden. He would have brushed past them unseeing,
unheeding, but his father, seeing his excitement and agitation,
grasped his arm forcibly, arresting his progress.
“What’s the matter?” demanded Craven Black fiercely. “What’s up?”
“I’m going to kill myself!” returned Rufus shrilly, trying to break loose
from that strong, unyielding clasp. “It’s all over. Neva has refused
me, and turned me adrift. She is going to marry Lord Towyn!”
“Oh, is she?” said Craven Black mockingly. “We’ll see about that.”
“We will see!” said Neva’s step-mother, with a cruel and fierce
compression of her lips. “I am Miss Wynde’s guardian. We will see if
she dares disobey her father’s often repeated injunctions to obey
me! If she does refuse, she shall feel my power!”
“Defer your suicide until you see how the thing turns out, my son,”
said Craven Black, with a little sneer. “Go to your room and dry your
tears, before the servants laugh at you.”
Rufus Black slunk away, miserable, yet with reviving hope. Perhaps
the matter was not ended yet? Perhaps Neva would reconsider her
decision?
As he disappeared up the staircase, Mrs. Craven Black laid her hand
on her bridegroom’s arm, and whispered:
“The girl will prove restive. We shall have trouble with her. If we
mean to force her into this marriage, we must first of all get her away
from her friends. Where shall we take her? How shall we deal with
her?”
CHAPTER XXIV.
LALLY FINDS A NEW HOME.

Nearly six weeks had intervened between Rufus Black’s proposal of


marriage to Neva Wynde on the road-side bank and his final
rejection by her in the music-room at Hawkhurst.
It will be remembered that there had been a hidden witness to the
half-despairing, half-loving, proposal of Rufus, and that this hidden
witness, seeing, but unseen, was no other than the wronged young
wife whom Rufus Black mourned as dead, and whom in his soul he
loved a thousand-fold better than the beautiful young heiress.
During the six weeks that had passed, what had become of Lally—
poor, heart-broken, despairing Lally?
We have narrated how she staggered away in the night gloom, after
seeing Rufus and Neva together in the square of light from the home
windows upon the marble terrace, not knowing whither she went, but
hurrying as swiftly as she might from her young husband, from
happiness, and from hope itself.
She had no thought of suicide. She had learned many lessons by the
bedside of her old friend the seamstress, whose dying hours she had
cheered. She had learned that life may be very bitter and hard to
bear, but that it may not be thrown aside, or flung back in anger or
despair to the Giver. Its burdens must be borne, and he who bears
them with earnest patience, and in humble obedience to the divine
will, shall some day exchange the cross of suffering for the crown of
a great reward. No; Lally, weak and frail as she was, deserted by
humanity, would never again seriously think of suicide.
She wandered on in the soft starlight and moonlight, a helpless,
homeless, hopeless creature, with nowhere to go, as we have said.
She had no money in her pocket, no food, and her shoes were worn
out, and her clothes were patched and darned and pitiably frayed
and worn. The very angels must have pitied her in her utter
forlornness.
For an hour or two she tottered on, but at last wearied to exhaustion,
she sank down in the shelter of a way-side hedge, and sobbed and
moaned herself to sleep.
She was awake again at daybreak, and hurried up and on, as if
flying from pursuit. About eleven o’clock she came to a hop-garden,
divided from the road by wooden palings. There were men and
women, of the tramp species, busy at work here under the
supervision of the hop farmer. Lally halted and clung to the palings
with both hands, and looked through the interstices upon the busy
groups with dilating eyes.
She was worn with anguish, but even her mental sufferings could not
still the demands of nature. She was so hungry that it seemed as if a
vulture were gnawing at her vitals. She felt that she was starving.
The hop-pickers, many of them tramps who lived in unions and alms-
houses in the winter, and who stray down into Kent during the hop
season, presently discovered the white and hungry face pressed
against the palings, and jeered at the girl, and called her names she
could not understand, making merry at her forlornness.
The hop raiser heard them, and discovering the object of their rude
merriment, came forward, opened a gate in the palings, and hailed
the girl. He was short of hands, he said, and would give her sixpence
a day, and food and drink, if she chose to help in the hop picking.
Lally nodded assent, and crept into the gate, and into the presence
of those who mocked at her. Her eyes were so wild, her manner so
strange and still, that the workers stared at her in wonder, whispered
among themselves, discovering that she was not of their kind, and
turned their backs upon her.
It was taken for granted that the new hand had had her breakfast,
and not a crust was offered to her. The hop raiser had doubts about
her sanity, and observed her narrowly, but a dozen times that day he
mentally congratulated himself on his acquisition. Lally worked with
feverish energy, trying—ah, how vainly—to escape from her
thoughts, and she did the work of two persons. She had bread and
cheese and a glass of ale at noon, and a similar allowance of food
for supper.
That night she slept in a barn with the women tramps, but chose a
remote corner, where she buried herself in the hay, and slept
peacefully.
The next day she would have wandered on in her unrest, but the
farmer, discovering her intention, offered her a shilling a day, and
she consented to remain. That night she again slept in her remote
corner of the barn, and no one spoke to her or molested her.
She made no friends among the tramps, not even speaking to them.
They were rude, vicious, quarrelsome. She was educated and
refined, had been the teacher and companion of ladies, and was
herself a lady at heart. She went among these rude companions by
the soubriquet of “The Lady,” and this was the only name by which
the hop farmer knew her.
For a week Lally kept up this toil, laboring in the hop-fields by day,
and sleeping in a barn at night. At the end of that period, the work
being finished, she was no longer wanted, and she went her way,
resuming her weary tramp, with six shillings and sixpence in her
pocket.
For the next fortnight she worked in various hop-fields, paying
nothing for food or lodging. Her pay was better too, she earning a
sovereign in the two weeks.
Three weeks after overhearing Rufus solicit the hand of Miss Wynde
in marriage, Lally found herself at Canterbury, shoeless and ragged,
a very picture of destitution. Her first act was to purchase a pair of
shoes, a ready-made print dress and a thin shawl. Her purchases
were all of the cheapest description, not costing her over five
shillings. She added to the list a round hat of coarse straw, around
which she tied a dark blue ribbon.
She found a cheap lodging in the town; and here put on her new
clothes. The lodging was an attic room, with a dormer window, close
up under the slates of a humble brick dwelling. There was no carpet

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