CE374

AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Course objectives:
• To understand the various forms of air
pollutants and their effects on human and
environment
• To know the various methods of controlling air
pollutants
Course Outcomes:
• Create an awareness among students regarding
air pollution problems
• To understand the various techniques that can
be adopted for managing air pollution related
problems.
 Text Books
• 1. C.S.Rao, “Environmental Pollution Control Engineering”, New Age
International Pub., 2006
• 2. M.N. Rao & H.V.N Rao ,Air Pollution, Tata McGraw Hill Co. Ltd, Delhi, 1990.
• 3. Peavy H S, Rowe, D.R. Tchobanaglous “Environmental Engineering” McGraw
Hill Education, 1985

References:
• 1. Chhatwal G.R, Encyclopedia of Environmental Pollution and Control, Volumes
1,2,3, Anmol Publications, 1996
• 2. J. R. Mudakavi, Principles and Practices of Air Pollution Control and Analysis,
IK International Pvt Ltd, 2012
• 3. Perkins H.C, “Air Pollution” McGraw Hill Publications, 2004
• 4. S C Bhatia, Textbook of Air Pollution and Its Control , Atlantic publishers, 2007
• 5. S P Mahajan, Air Pollution Control, Common Wealth of Learning, Canada,
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 2006
• 6. Stern.A, “Air Pollution” (Volume I ,II & III) ,Academic Press New York, 1962
 Module -1

Introduction - Components of Environment-

Definition – Air Pollution - History of air
pollution episodes - Various Sources of Air
pollution – Air Pollutants - Types of Air
Pollutants
 ENVIRONMENT
Environment can be defined as the natural
surroundings of that organism which
directly or indirectly influences the growth
and development of the organism.
Environment is the sum total of all living and
non living factors that compose the
surroundings of man.
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT

On the basis of basic structure, the

environment may be divided into :
• Physical environment
• Biological environment
• Cultural environment
 Components Of Environment
Atmosphere

Physical Hydrosphere

Lithosphere

Abiotic
Environment Biological Producer

B iotic Consumer

Decomposer

Society

Cultural Economy

Politics
 1.) PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

•Physical Components of the environment divided into three

parts.
• Solid i.e. lithosphere (solid earth)
• Liquid i.e. hydrosphere (water component)
• Gas i.e. atmosphere (gaseous component)
• Atmosphere • Hydrosphere
•Lithosphere
(gas) (liquid) (solid)
 Atmosphere
 A layer of gases

 Surrounding a planet

 Other material body of sufficient mass

 That is held in place by the gravity of the

body
Atmosphere
Major layers of the Atmosphere
Atmospheric Composition
 Hydrosphere
It includes the surface water and its surrounding interface

Water is the most abundant substance on the Earth’s surface. The

oceans cover approximately 71% water of the planet, glaciers and ice
caps cover additional areas. Water is also found in lakes and streams,
in soils and underground reservoirs, in the atmosphere, and in the
bodies of all living organism. Thus, water in all its forms- ice, liquid,
water and water vapor- is very familiar to us.
Hydrological Cycle
 Lithosphere

It is the outer boundary layer of solid earth and

the discontinuity within the mantle.

Basically lithosphere is nothing but a crustal

system composed of various layers: Core, mantle
and outer crust.
An outline of earth layer
2.) BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT
 Abiotic components
Abiotic components are
non-living chemical and physical factors
in the environment.

E.g- Temperature, sun light, pH, soil

components, etc.
This component consists of all living things like plants, animals
and small micro-organisms like bacteria.

All ecosystems consist of three

different types of living organisms.

Producer

Biotic
Consumer
Component

Decomposer
 Producers
 Generally green plants
and other photosynthetic
bacteria

 Produces various o
rganic substances

 With the help of water,

soil and light energy.
 Consumer
Consumers depend for
their nutrition on the
organic food produced
by the green plants,

E.g animals.
 Decomposers
Bring about the
decomposition of dead
plants and animals

Return various
important minerals

For the running of the

biogeochemical cycles
 3.) CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
• This component is mainly consists of various
groups of population of different living beings
like birds, animals, etc.
 Cultural Environment
The Cultural Environment gives an idea of learned behavioral traits those
are clear and shared by members of society
The most important thing about the cultural environment is that it cannot be physically
represented,
but it is there anyway.
 AIR POLLUTION

Absentees :

10-02-2023: Second hour –

15, 23, 28, 29, 35, 36, 38, 39, 45, 46, 52, 53, 55, 63,67

46 and 53 came after second hour.

Third hour given for project
This is what earth looks like
 AIR POLLUTION
• It is an undesirable change in the physical ,
chemical or biological characteristics of air .
• Air pollution is caused due to an increase in
the content of harmful substances in air such
as oxides of nitrogen, sulphur etc
 AIR POLLUTION
• Air pollution is the presence in the outdoor
atmosphere of one or more air contaminants ( i.e dust,
fumes, gas, mist, odour, smoke or vapour) in
sufficient quantities, of such characteristics, and of
such duration as to be or to threaten to be injurious to
human, plant or animal life or to property, or which
reasonably interferes with the comfortable enjoyment
of life or property.
 Various Sources of Air pollution
• The main sources of air pollution are :
1. Natural sources
2. Unnatural/Man made sources
Man made sources can be :
a. Mobile sources
b. Stationary sources
Stationary sources are further classified into:
1.) Point Sources
2.) Non point sources
Natural:
 volcanoes, dust and aerosols
 Micro-organisms & pollens
 Radio active minerals
Sea spray are aerosol particles formed from the ocean, mostly by ejection
into Earth's atmosphere by bursting bubbles at the air-sea interface.[1] Sea
spray contains both organic matter and inorganic salts that form
sea salt aerosol (SSA).SSA has the ability to form
cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and remove anthropogenic aerosol
pollutants from the atmosphere. Coarse sea spray has also been found to
inhibit the development of lightning in storm clouds.

Sea spray is directly (and indirectly, through SSA) responsible for a

significant degree of the heat and moisture fluxes between the atmosphere
and the ocean, affecting global climate patterns and tropical storm
intensity. Sea spray also influences plant growth and species distribution in
coastal ecosystems and increases corrosion of building materials in coastal
areas.
• Man made sources :
 Combustion of fuels
 Industries, vehicular exhaust
 Thermal power houses
 Man made sources
Stationary sources - those that are fixed in
location.

Mobile sources - those that move while

polluting, e.g. trucks, cars, buses etc. 60% of
air pollution from motor vehicles. 80-88% in
major cities!
Types of stationary sources
• Point source - single,
identifiable source
e.g. smokestack,
drainpipe etc
• Non-point/area
source -
dispersed source,
e.g. runoff from
pesticides, fertilizers
Point source
Non-point sources
 AIR POLLUTANT
An air pollutant is a substance in the air that
adversely effect human beings and eco-system
or
Any substance occurring in the atmosphere that may have adverse
effects on humans, animals, plant life or inanimate materials

Pollutants can categorized in to two ; Primary pollutants and

Secondary pollutants.
 Primary air pollutants
Harmful chemicals that are released
to the atmosphere directly from a
source.
Eg: Carbon oxides (CO & CO2 ),
Nitrogen oxides, Sulphur oxides,
Volatile organic compounds
(mostly hydrocarbons) and
Suspended particular matter.

S
e
c
o
n
d
a
 Types of Primary Air Pollutants
i. Sulphur oxides (SOx):
SO2 is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial
processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain
sulphur compounds, their combustion generates sulphur
dioxide.
ii. Nitrogen oxides (NOx):
Especially nitrogen dioxide are emitted from high
temperature combustion. Nitrogen dioxide is the
chemical compound with the formula NO2. It is
responsible for photochemical smog, acid rain etc.
iii. Carbon monoxide:
It is a colourless, odourless, non-irritating but very
poisonous gas. It is a product by incomplete combustion
of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular
exhaust is a major source of carbon monoxide.
iv. Carbon dioxide (CO2):
A greenhouse gas emitted from combustion but is also a
gas vital to living organisms. It is a natural gas in the
atmosphere.
v. Volatile organic compounds:
VOCs are an important outdoor air pollutant. Methane is
an extremely efficient greenhouse gas which contributes
to enhanced global warming.
vi. Particulate matter:
Particulates, alternatively referred to as
particulate matter (PM) or fine particles, are tiny
particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas.
vii. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – harmful to the
ozone layer emitted from products currently
banned from use.
viii. Radioactive pollutants – produced by nuclear
explosions, war explosives, and natural
processes such as the radioactive decay of radon
Types of SecondaryAir Pollutants
• Secondary air pollutants are those which are
produced in the air by the reaction of two or
more primary pollutants.
• Ozone
• Photochemical smog
• Peroxy acetyl nitrate (PAN)
• Aerosols
Ozone
• Pale blue gas with distinct pungent smell

• Created by chemical reactions between NOx & VOC in

the presence of sunlight

• Causes chest pain, throat irritation, congestion

• Reduces the lung function, inflame lung lining

• Repeated exposure permanently scar the lung tissue

Photochemical Smog
• Smog of 2 types: Photochemical, Coal induced

• Chemical reaction of sunlight, NOx, and VOCs in the

atmosphere producing ground level ozone and air borne
particles like PAN etc

• Common in cities with sunny, warm and dry climate with

large number of automobiles

• Conditions: 1) Air stagnation 2) abundant sunlight 3) high

concentration of HC & NOx

• Can inflame the breathing passages, shortens the breath,

causes wheezing, eye and nose irritations etc
Peroxy Acetyl Nitrate(PAN)

• Nitrates produced by reaction between VOC s

with peroxy radicals and NOx

• Toxic & powerful respiratory and eye irritant

• Causes extensive damage to vegetations

• Mutagenic. Can be a factor for skin cancer

Aerosols

• Colloid of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air

• Natural & Artificial emissions release large amount of

aerosols of NOx & SOx causing acid rains

• Aerosols scatter sunlight directly back into the space and

absorb terrestrial radiation thereby contributing to climate
change
 History of air pollution episodes
An air pollution episode is an unusual combination of
emissions and meteorology that gives rise to high levels of
air pollution over a large area.
Examples of air pollution episodes include :
• Meuse valley 1930
• Donora pensylvania 1948
• Great London smog-1952
• Los Angeles smog -1973
• Bhopal gas trajedy-1984
• Kuwait oil fires -1991
• Yokkaichi astma -1960-1972
• Melbourne dust storm-1983
• Malaysian haze-2005
 1930 Meuse Valley Episode

• The 1930 Meuse Valley fog killed 60 people in

Belgium due to a combination of industrial air
pollution and climatic conditions in December
that year.
• The main symptom was dyspnea (shortness of
breath)
• Danish scientist and world's leading authority
on fluorine, determined that it was the fluorine
gas from the nearby factories that was the killer
 1939 Saint Louis Episode
• The 1939 St. Louis smog was a severe smog
episode that affected St. Louis, Missouri, in the
United States in 1939. Visibility was so limited that
streetlights remained lit throughout the day and
motorists needed their headlights to navigate city
streets.

• Smoke pollution had been a problem in St. Louis for

many decades prior to the event, due to the large-
scale burning of bituminous (soft) coal to provide
heat and power for homes, businesses and transport
 1948 Donora Episode

• The 1948 Donora smog was a historic

air inversion that resulted in a wall of smog
that killed 20 people and sickened 7,000 in
Donora, Pennsylvania, a mill town on the
Monongahela River, 24 miles (39 km)
southeast of Pittsburgh.
• it was causing coughing and other signs of
respiratory distress
 1952 London Episode

• The Great Smog of London, or Great Smog of

1952 was a severe air-pollution event that affected
the British capital of London in early-December
1952.
• A period of cold weather, combined with an
anticyclone and windless conditions, collected
airborne pollutants – mostly arising from the use of
coal – to form a thick layer of smog over the city
• Death of 4000 people due to accumulation of air
pollutants for 5 consecutive days.
 1997 Indonesian forest fires Episode

• The 1997 group of forest fires in Indonesia

that lasted well into 1998 were probably
among the two or three, if not the largest forest
fires group in the last two centuries of
recorded history.
 2005 Malaysian Haze Episode

• Haze is caused by "hotspots" (zones with high

temperature levels as seen via satellite imagery) in
Malaysia and Indonesia.

• Lingering smoke from forest fires on the

Indonesian island of Sumatra are identified as the
primary cause. Farmers regularly burn scrub and
forest to clear land during the dry season for
agricultural purposes, but this had been the worst
haze to hit Malaysia since the 1997 haze.
 2006 Southeast Asian Haze Episode

• The 2006 Southeast Asian haze event was

caused by continued uncontrolled burning
from "slash and burn" cultivation in Indonesia,
and affected several countries in the Southeast
Asian region and beyond
 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy Episode

• Union Carbide pesticide plant leak kills up to

2,000 with up to 350,000 injured and 100,000
with permanent disabilities
• Methyl isocyanate (MIC)—used as an
intermediary in manufacture of Sevin (Carbaryl)
• CO + Cl = phosgene
• Phosgene + methylamine = MIC
• MIC—irritant to the lungs---edema, fluid (cause
of death, bronchospasms, corneal opacity
• Attendance – 17 -02-2023 – 10 to 12

• Absentees
• 3, 6, 7, 12, 15, 20, 30, 35, 36, 38 ,40, 44, 52,
56, 64, 67,