Introduction
(Air Quality)
• The Earth's atmosphere is a mixture of gases and particulate-phase
substances.
• The most abundant of these, nitrogen (N₂) and oxygen (O.), comprise
approximately 78 and 21%, respectively, of atmospheric mass and
volume.
• A number of trace gases make up the remaining 1%.
• These include gases present in essentially constant concentrations:
N₂, O₂, argon (Ar), Neon (Ne), helium (He), krypton (Kr), hydrogen
(H₂), and xenon (Xe).
• These include water vapor (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon
monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), O, the nitrogen oxides (nitrous oxide
(N₂O), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)), ammonia (NH,),
formaldehyde (HCHO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), a number of reduced
sulfur compounds (dimethyl sulfide ((CH₃)₂S), carbon disulfide (CS),
carbonyl sulfide (COS), and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S)), and odd hydrogen
species (hydroxyl radical (OH), hydroperoxyl radical (HO₂), and
hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)).
• In addition to these gas-phase substances, the atmosphere contains
trace quantities of particulate nitrate (NO₂), ammonium (NH₄), and
sulfate (SO₂)
• Water vapor is the atmospheric constituent with the highest degree of variability (0.1 to
30,000 ppmv).
• Like CO2, it is a major greenhouse gas, absorbing thermal energy radiated from the Earth's
surface.
• Water vapor is significant in the atmosphere because it readily changes phase.
• On cooling, It condenses to form tiny droplets of liquid H2O
• Helium, Ar. Ne, Kr. and Xe are noble gases. They are inert and, as a consequence do not appear
to have any major effect on, or role in, the atmosphere
•
Many of the variable trace gases are produced either bio or geogenically.
• Most important among these are NH3, CH4,H2S, CO. and SO2
• Ammonia, CH2 and H2S are produced primarily by biological decomposition. Methane is a
thermal absorber and serves as a greenhouse gas.
• Water
• Water in its liquid phase covers approximately 70% of the Earth's surface; in its
solid phase it forms the polar ice caps, glaciers, episodic snow and ice of our
season and ice crystals of cold and very cold clouds. In its vapor phase it is a
significant component of the atmosphere, varying from trace levels up to (-
3)% .
• Water is a unique constituent of the atmosphere in that it occurs under ambient
conditions as a solid, liquid, and gas.
• In some circumstances, all three phases present at the same time. Phase
changes are significant in atmospheric process that produce "weather."
• Atmospheric Pollution and Pollutants
• The atmosphere is a mixture of gaseous substances produced over a Earth’s
long history by biogenic, geogenic and atmospheric processes
• As human evolved the atmosphere began to be affected by human activities
• Iinitially these effects were small and insignificant
• With the enormous growth in human numbers, resource use and
technological advancements, the impact of humans on atmosphere has been
and continues to be significant
•
• We generally view (in the absence of human activity) the atmosphere and other environmental media,
such as water and land, to be "clean"
• On contamination with our "wastes," they become "polluted."
• The concept of pollution includes a sense of degradation, a loss of quality, a departure from purity,
• and adverse environmental effects.
• Air becomes polluted when it is changed by the introduction of gas or particulate-phase substances or
energy forms (heat, noise, radioactivity) so that the locally, regionally, or globally altered atmosphere poses
harm to humans, biological systems, materials, or the atmosphere itself
• Air pollution concerns, historically, have focused on the freely moving of the outdoor
environment described as ambient air.
• It is pollution of the ambient air that is the primary focus of regulatory program.
• However, it is but one of several air pollution or air quality concerns.
• Significant air pollutant exposure occur in industrial workplaces and the built environments of our homes,
offices, and industrial buildings, and from personal habits such as smoking
NATURAL AIR POLLUTION
• Contamination or pollution of the atmosphere occurs as a consequence of natural processes
as well as human activity (the latter are called anthropogenic).
• Though regulatory programs focus exclusively on anthropogenic air pollution, it is important to understand that
nature contributes to atmospheric pollution and, in some instances, causes significant air quality problems.
• As evidenced by volcanic activity in the 19th century (eg. Tambora and Krakatca) and the more recent eruptions
of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State, El Chinchon in Mexico, and Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines,
as well as the 1988 forest fires in Yellowstone National Park and the western US, pollutants produced
naturally can have significant effects on regional and global air quality
• In addition to volcanoes and forest fires, natural air pollution occurs
from a variety of sources; plant and animal decomposition, pollen and
spores, volatile hydrocarbons (HC’s) emitted by vegetation, soil
erosion and mineral weathering (he process of breaking down
minerals and rocks) by wind, emission by gas phase substances from
soil and water surfaces
• Emission to the atmosphere associated with geochemical processes
are describes as geogenic; those associated with biological processes
are biogenic
• With the exception of major events like dust storms, forest fires and
volcanoes, natural air pollution has not been a major societal concern.
On a mass basis, nature pollutes more than humans do,
as vocal opponents of contemporary air pollution control efforts maintain.
However, such pollution has relatively low significance in causing health and welfare effects since
(1) level of contaminants associated with natural air pollution are typically very low;
(2) large distances often separate sources of natural pollution and large human populations and
(3) (3) major sources of natural pollution, such as forest fires, dust storms are occasional and temporary
• Anthropogenic air pollution
• Is a serious environmental and public health problem
• SMOG
• The term smog is broadly applied to atmospheric pollution conditions
characterized by a significant reduction in visibility
• The term is applied without consideration of pollutant types, sources
or smog forming processes
• HAZE
• The term haze is often used in the nomenclature of air quality.
• Although haze and smog are closely related in the nomenclature both
representing environmental conditions characterized by visibility
reduction, they differ in both intensity and geography.
• Haze typically refers to the large-scale, low-level pollution-caused
visibility reduction observed during the summer months over much of
the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast
• Non traditional air pollutants
• Gases and particles
(MVN rao)
• Classification of air pollutants
• Natural contaminants (eg: pollen grains, bacteria and products of
volcanic eruption)
• Aerosols (particulates)
• Eg: dust, smoke, mist, smog
• Gases and vapours
Natural
Contaminants
Among natural contaminants pollen is important because of its peculiar properties irritating to some individuals
They are discharged into the atmosphere from weeds, grasses and trees.
Because of wind pollination, thousands of pollen grains are liberated
While air transported pollen grains range chiefly between 10 and 50 (micron) in size, some
have been found to be as small as 5 micron and as large as 100 micron in diameter.
From the point of view of pollution, air-borne pollutants are significant because
of the allergic responses produced in sensitive individuals.
Many people suffer from asthma or hay fever
While most victims have an un complicated type of hay fever in which the symptoms disappear
at the end of the pollen season, some develop bronchitis, bronchial asthma, and dermatitis
Aerosols
Aerosols refer to the dispersion of solid or liquid particles of microscopic size in gaseous
media, such as dust, smoke, or mist.
An aerosol can also be defined as a colloidal system in which the dispersion medium is a
gas and the dispersed phase is solid or liquid
The term 'aerosol' is used during the time it is suspended in the air.
After it has settled either by virtue of its weight, by agglomeration, or by impact on a solid or liquid
surface, the term no longer applies.
Thus, particulate matter is an air pollutant only when it is an aerosol.
However, it is a nuisance both as an aerosol (visibility reduction) and as settled or deposited matter
(soiling of surfaces, corrosions).
Aerosols differ widely in terms of particle size, particle density and their importance as pollutants.
Their diameters generally range from 0.01 or less, up to about 100 μ.
The following are the various aerosols.
Dust
Smoke
Mist
Fog
Fume
• Dust
• Dust is made up of solid particles predominantly larger than those found in
colloids and capable of temporary suspension in air or other gases.
• They do not tend to flocculate except under electrostatic forces; they also do
not diffuse but settle under the influence of gravity.
• Dust is produced by the crushing, grinding, etc., of organic and inorganic
materials.
• Generally they are over 20 μ in diameter, although some are smaller. Fly ash
from chimneys varies from 80-3 μ; cement, from 150-10 μ; foundry dust, from
200-1 μ. Most of the dust particles settle to the ground as dust fall, but
particles 5 μ or smaller tend to form stable suspensions.
• Smoke
• Smoke consists of finely divided particles produced by incomplete
combustion It consists predominantly of carbon particles and other
combustible materials.
• Generally the size of the particles is less than 1 microns.
• The size of coal smoke particles range from 0.2-0.01 microns and oil
smoke particles from 1.0-0.03 microns
• Mists
• This term refers to a low concentration dispersion of liquid particles of
large size.
• In meteorology, it means a light dispersion of minute water droplets
suspended in the atmosphere.
• Natural mist particles formed from water vapour in the atmosphere
are rather large, ranging from 500-40 micron in size.
• The particles may coalesce.
• Fog
• Fog refers to visible aerosols in which the dispersed phase is liquid.
Formation by condensation is usually implied.
• In meteorology, it refers to dispersion of water or ice in the
atmosphere near the earth's surface reducing visibility to less than
km.
• In natural fog the size of the particles ranges from 40-1.0 μ.
• Fumes
• These are solid particles generated by condensation from the gaseous
state, and often accompanied by a chemical reaction such as
oxidation.
• Fumes flocculate and sometimes coalesce.
• Gases
• Following are the gases in air pollutants:
• Sulphur Dioxide
• This is one of the principal constituents of air pollutants.
• The main source of sulphur dioxide is the combustion of fuels, especially
coal.
• Therefore, its concentration in the atmosphere depends upon the
sulphur content of the fuel used for heating and power generation.
• The sulphur content of fuels varies from less than 1% for good quality
anthracite to over 4% for bituminous coal.
• In the USA in recent years, there has been a progressive decrease in
the average atmospheric concentrations of sulphur dioxide, of several
cities, owing to the increased use of coal with a low sulphur content.
• Air pollution control measures in St. Louis prohibit the use of high-
sulphur coal
About 80% of the sulphur in coal and nearly all that in liquid and gaseous
fuels is found in flue gases in the form of sulphur dioxide.
The remaining sulphur in coal is present as inorganic sulphur and thus remains in the ash.
Generally, the concentration of sulphur dioxide in flue gases ranges from 0.05-0.25°, and occasionally
is as high as 0.4%.
Another common source of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere, is metallurgical operations.
Many ores, like zinc, copper and lead, are primarily sulphides.
During the smelting of these ores, sulphur dioxide is evolved in stack concentrations of 5-
10% (SO2).
But, this can be recovered in the form of sulphuric acid
Among the miscellaneous operations releasing sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere are
sulphuric acid plants and paper manufacturing plants.
The open burning of municipal incinerators also contribute
some amount of sulphur dioxide to the atmosphere.
Hydrogen Sulphide
drogen sulphide is a foul smelling gas.
e sources of its nature emission include anaerobic biological decay processes on land, in marshes and in th
One of the major soures of hydrogen sulphide is the Kraft pulp industry, which as a sulphate promo
for manufacturing paper.
The other industrial sources of hydrogen sulphide are petroleum refineries, cake oven plants, viscose
rayon plants, and some chemical operations.
Other sulphur compounds that are of interest in air pollution, principally
becouse of their strong odours, are methyl mercaptan (CH3 SH), dimethyl sulphide (CH3SCH3),
dimethyl disulphide (CH3 SS CH3) and their higher molecular homologs.
• Hydrogen Fluoride
•
The major sources of fluorides are the manufacture of phosphate fertilisers,
the aluminium industry, brick plants, pottery, and ferro-enamel works.
• Small amounts are also emitted from other metallurgical operations, such
as zinc foundries and open-hearth steel furnaces.
• Small amounts are also liberated in the burning of coal, which normally
contains about 0.01% fluorine.
• Hydrogen fluoride is an important air contaminant even in extremely
low concentrations of 0.001-0.10 ppm by volume. In these
concentration levels, hydrogen fluoride is more important in terms of
injury to vegetation and animals than in terms of injury to humans
• The high degree of toxicity of fluorine compounds renders the control
of such emissions for industries manufacturing aluminium and
phosphate fertilisers
Chlorine and Hydrogen Chloride
Chlorine is found in polluted atmospheres as the element itself (chlorine),
as hydrogen chloride, as chlorine-containing organic compounds such as perchloroethylene
and as inorganic chlorides
The most common sources of chlorine in the atmosphere are from operations
in which it is manufactured or used to produce other chemicals.
Also as chlorine is used in water purification plants, in sewage plants and in swimming pools,
equipment failure sometimes leads to leakage of chlorine into the atmosphere
Hydrogen chloride is evolved in numerous industrial chemical processes, but it is so easy to
recover, that little reaches the atmosphere.
The main effects of chlorine and its compounds are respiratory irritation from chlorine,
corrosion by hydrogen chloride, and damage to vegetation from chlorine and hydrogen
chloride
Oxides of
Nitrogen
It is probable that oxides of nitrogen are the second most abundant atmospheric contaminants
in many cities, ranking next to sulphur dioxide.
Generally, the highest concentration of nitrogen oxides in gaseous emissions occurs in
effluents from industries where nitric acid is produced or used in chemical reactions.
The next highest concentration is in automobile exhausts
Then come effluents from large power plants, and then to a small extent those from low
heat burners and furnaces.
Out of seven oxides of nitrogen (N₂O, NO, NO2, NO2, N2O, N2O4, N₂O), only
nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide arise from many human activities and are classified
as pollutants In atmospheric analyses they are usually reported as 'total oxides of nitrogen" or "NO.“
It is a standard practice in the chemical industry to absorb and recover significant quantities of oxides of
nitrogen
• Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide, an odourless and colourless gas has its major origin in the
incomplete combustion of carbonaceous materials.
It is a highly poisonous gas and is generally classified as an asphyxiant.
The chief source of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere is combustion,
especially due to automobile exhausts.
However, except for motor vehicles and other internal combustion engines,
very little carbon monoxide is found in the gaseous emissions from properly adjusted, properly
operated installations.
Although certain industrial operations, such as electric and blast furnaces,
some petroleum refining operations, gas manufacturing plants, and coal mines,
are potential contributors of carbon monoxide to the atmosphere, automobile exhausts are by far the most
important sources.
• Ozone
• The origin of ozone that is found in the air has not been clarified, but
it is likely that combustion and sunlight are involved in its production.
• Ozone is poisonous and smelly. It exists in great abundance under
natural conditions in the upper atmosphere.
• Aldehydes
• These are produced by the combustion of gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and
natural gas
• Incomplete oxidation of motor fuel and lubricating oil leads to the
formation of aldehydes
• Lower aldehyde may be present in the atmosphere in concentration
about as high as Sulphur oxide
• They may also be formed in the air because of photochemical
reactions
• Formaldehyde is irritating to the eyes
• Organic Vapours
• These contaminants include a large number of chemical compounds, inclu
ding paraffins, olefins, acetylenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated
hydrocarbons, etc.
• They are produced by combustion processes (particularly in automobiles),
household incinerators, and petroleum processes.
• It is also probable that they undergo changes in the atmosphere which
contribute to the formation of smog
• Radioactive Gases
• A major source of radioactive gases and particulate is the nuclear
power reactor and related fuel handling facilities.
• The other sources are experimental accelerators, testing of nuclear
bombs in the atmosphere, agricultural, industrial and medical use of
radioactive isotopes.
• Another source of radioactive particulates and gases that is increasing
in importance, is the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant.
