UNIT II-AIR POLLUTION

Meteorological aspects of pollution dispersion

Meteorological factors have an important effect on the amount of pollution in the atmosphere.
Temperature and solar radiation affect the quantities of pollutant emitted by their influence on the
amount of space heating required. Sunshine is required in a photochemical production of oxidants
forming smog. The wind velocity, turbulence and stability affect the transport, dilution and dispersion
of the pollutants. The rainfall has a scavenging effect in washing out ("rainout") particles in the
atmosphere. Finally, the humidity is a frequent and important factor in determining the effect that
concentrations of pollutants have on property, vegetation and health.

In view of these effects, meteorologists are involved in the following aspects of air pollution control:-
 Forecasting air pollution potential so that air pollution control agencies may alert industry to
carry out temporary abatement action
 Selecting sites and designing emission systems for large industrial sources.
 Establishing air monitoring surveys.
 Carrying out research in air pollution control methods.

The meteorological parameters which have the most important influence on the diffusion of pollutants
in the atmosphere are:

a) Wind Direction: The wind direction and its persistence are very important factors in
predicting the air pollution potential of an area when the principal sources of the pollutants
are high-level emitters (industrial sources; central heating systems for industrial, commercial
and institutional multi-building complexes; and municipal incinerators. Etc) located near each
other in an industrial-zoned portion of the city. These factors are not important for areas in
which low-level emitters (combustion sources, incinerators etc) cause the greater proportion
of the pollution. Since the wind directs the travel of the pollutants, the expected persistence of
the wind direction, as related to the topographic features and the locations of the receptors,
must be considered both in forecasting the air pollution potential as well as in selecting sites
for plants.
b) Wind Speed: When high pollutant concentrations occur at a monitoring station, wind data
records can determine the general direction and area of the emissions. Wind carries air
contaminants away from their source, causing them to disperse. The higher the wind speed,
the more contaminants are dispersed and the lower their concentration. The effect of an
increase in wind speed on the concentrations resulting from low-level sources of emissions is
to dilute the pollutants - the concentration of pollutants in a downwind location from a
ground-level source is inversely proportional to the wind speed. High air pollution potential
 forecasts for most large urban areas where low level emissions are the principal sources of
pollution include light wind speed as one of the criteria.
c) Temperature: Temperature and sunlight (solar radiation) play an important role in the
chemical reactions that occur in the atmosphere to form photochemical smog from other
pollutants. Favorable conditions can lead to increased concentrations of smog. Warm air sits
near the ground and the air can rise easily and carry away pollutants. A temperature inversion
exists when the temperature increases with height. In a temperature inversion, cold air is
trapped near the ground by a layer of warm air.
d) Humidity: Like temperature and solar radiation, water vapour plays an important role in many
thermal and photochemical reactions in the atmosphere. As water molecules are small and
highly polar, they can bind strongly to many substances. If attached to particles suspended in
the air they can significantly increase the amount of light scattered by the particles increase
the amount of light scattered by the particles (measuring visibility). If the water molecules
attach to corrosive gases, such as sulphur dioxide, the gas will dissolve in the water and form
an acid solution that can damage health and property.
(a) Rainfall: Rain has a 'scavenging' effect when it washes particulate matter out of the
atmosphere and dissolves gaseous pollutants. Removing particles improves visibility. Where
there is frequent high rainfall, air quality is generally better. If the rain dissolves gaseous
pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide, it can form acid rain resulting in potential damage to
materials or vegetation.

Adiabatic and Environmental lapse rate

The lapse rate is the rate of change in temperature observed while moving upward through the earth's
atmosphere. There are two important lapse rates namely, environmental lapse rate and adiabatic lapse
rate. It is positive when the temperature decrease with elevation, zero when the temperature is
constant with elevation, and negative when the temperature increase with elevation.
Environmental Lapse Rate: The environmental lapse rate also called normal lapse rate, is the lapse
rate of non-rising air. It is highly variable. It is affected by radiation, convection, and condensation. Its
value is approximately equal to 6.5°C per kilometre in the lower atmosphere.

Adiabatic Lapse Rate: An adiabatic condition is a condition where no heat exchange occurs between
the given system and its surroundings. As said, the adiabatic lapse rate is the rate at which the
temperature of an air parcel changes in response to the compression or expansion associated with
elevation change under adiabatic conditions. There are two adiabatic lapse rates, namely,
1. Dry adiabatic lapse rate: The dry adiabatic lapse rate for air depends only on the specific heat
capacity of air at constant pressure and the acceleration due to gravity. The dry adiabatic lapse
rate for the Earth’s atmosphere equals 9.8°C per kilometre.
2. Moist adiabatic lapse rate: When an air parcel (or air bubbles, vary in size from a few mm to
several km) that is saturated with water vapour rises, some of the vapour will condense and
release latent heat. This process causes the parcel to cool more slowly than it would if it were
not saturated. Therefore, this rate would be lesser than the dry adiabatic lapse rate.

Vertical Temperature Profiles: [Environmental lapse rate (ELR); Dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR)]

 ELR > DALR =sub adiabatic condition, atmosphere is stable.

 ELR >> DALR= Inversion conditions. Very stable atmosphere.
 ELR= DALR= atmosphere is neutral.
 ELR< DALR = super adiabatic condition, atmosphere is unstable.

Turbulence and stability of atmosphere

(a). Atmospheric Stability

Vertical motion of air is an important factor in the development of weather. Sometimes rising air is
made visible by the development of clouds or by the rising dust in dust whirls. Violent vertical motion
can be seen in tornados. The strength of vertical motion in the atmosphere is largley determined by
the vertical stability of the atmosphere. A stable atmosphere will tend to resist vertical motion, while
an unstable atmosphere will assist it. When the atmosphere neither resists nor assists vertical motion it
is said to have neutral stability. Vertical motion and instability are responsible for atmospheric
turbulence and cloud formation.

The atmosphere is considered to be stable, unstable, neutral or conditionally unstable as follows:

 if, because of the vertical temperature distribution, a lifted parcel is cooler and therefore
denser than the surrounding air, the parcel will tend to sink. Thus the environment is defined
as being stable;
  if, because of the vertical temperature distribution, a lifted parcel is warmer and less dense
than the surrounding air, the lifted parcel will continue to rise.
 In this case the environment is defined as being unstable; if, because of the vertical
temperature distribution, a lifted parcel is the same temperature as the surrounding air,
conditions are said to be neutral

Temperature inversions are of interest when considering stability because:

 they generally limit vertical development of clouds

 they trap pollutants that reduce visibility
 noticeable changes in aircraft performance sometimes occur when flying through them
 turbulence is frequently encountered when flying through and/or near inversions.
 fog and low cloud often form in light winds within low-level inversions, when moisture levels
are high.

(b). Turbulence: atmospheric turbulence, small-scale, irregular air motions characterized by winds
that vary in speed and direction. Turbulence is important because it mixes and churns the atmosphere
and causes water vapour, smoke, and other substances, as well as energy, to become distributed both
vertically and horizontally. Atmospheric turbulence near the Earth’s surface differs from that at higher
levels.

There are four main causes of turbulence:

1. Thermal turbulence: Turbulence caused by rising warm air is called thermal turbulence.
Warm air rises because of convection. The movement of molecules creates a convection
current. Convection currents can cause thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are a common
cause of thermal turbulence.

2. Mechanical turbulence: Mechanical turbulence happens when natural or human-made

objects on the Earth’s surface disrupt airflow. The wind moves like waves creates swirls
of air called eddies.

3. Wind shears: Jet streams travel very fast. When they meet slower-moving air, they form
eddies where warm air and cold air meet. For example, this happens when cold Arctic air
meets warm air from the south. These rapid changes in wind speed are called wind shears.

4. Wake turbulence: Airplanes themselves can cause turbulence. Think of the pointy tips on
airplane wings. When they push through air, they create eddies. And these eddies
cause wake turbulence.
Indoor Air Pollution

Indoor air pollution is the degradation of indoor air quality by harmful chemicals and other materials.
This is because contained areas enable potential pollutants to build up more than open spaces. The
principal sources of indoor air pollution are: Combustion, building material, and bioaerosols. The
combustion products of biomass fuels contribute most to indoor air pollution in developing nations. In
India, out of 0.2 billion people using fuel for cooking; 49% use firewood; 8.9% cow dung cake; 1.5%
coal, lignite, or charcoal; 2.9% kerosene; 28.6% liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); 0.1% electricity;
0.4% biogas; and 0.5% any other means.

The incomplete combustion products of biomass fuels include suspended particulate matter, carbon
monoxide, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, polyorganic matter, formaldehyde, etc., which have adverse
effects on health. The combustion of coal results in production of oxides of sulphur, arsenic, and
fluorine. Pollutants such as aldehydes, volatile, and semi volatile organic compounds are produced
from resins, waxes, polishing materials, cosmetics, and binders. Lastly; biological pollutants like dust
mites, molds, pollen, and infectious agents produced in stagnant water, mattresses, carpets, and
humidifiers too pollute indoor air.

Following is a list of suggested measures which should be adopted to curb the menace of indoor air
pollution:

 Public awareness: One of the most important steps in prevention of indoor air pollution is
education, viz., spreading awareness among people about the issue and the serious threat it
poses to their health and wellbeing.
 Change in pattern of fuel use: Fuel use depends on its availability, and most importantly, its
affordability. At present, majority of low income families rely solely on direct combustion of
biomass fuels for their cooking needs as this is the cheapest and easiest option available to
them; however, this could be rectified by promoting the use of cleaner energy sources such as
gobar gas which utilizes cow dung to produce gas for cooking.
 Improvement in ventilation: Ventilation is specially required for commercial and industrial
spaces to control indoor air quality by diluting and displacing indoor pollutants. Ventilation
also controls temperature, humidity and air motion. Flame proof Exhaust fans should be used
which helps remove fumes, dust, smoke or steam from poorly ventilated areas
 Intersectoral coordination and global initiative: Indoor air pollution can only be controlled
with coordinated and committed efforts between different sectors concerned with health,
energy, environment, housing, and rural development.
Richardson Number

The Richardson number is used as a rough measure of expected air turbulence. A lower value
indicates a higher degree of turbulence. Values in the range 10 to 0.1 are typical, with values below
unity indicating significant turbulence.

The Richardson number, Ri, is the dimensionless ratio of buoyant suppression of turbulence to shear
generation of turbulence and is defined as:

where g is the acceleration of gravity, β a representative vertical convective stability (commonly

∂θ/∂z, where θ is potential temperature), and ∂u/∂z (the change of wind speed with height) is a
characteristic vertical shear of the wind.

The Richardson number is a turbulence indicator and also an index of stability.

Plume raise, plume behaviour and characteristics

Plume rise means the vertical distance from the point at which an effluent stream is discharged into
the outdoor atmosphere to the highest point attained by the centre line of the effluent stream.

Plume behaviour refers to the dispersal pattern of gaseous pollutants in atmosphere depending upon
wind conditions, atmospheric stability and vertical temperature profile.
 i. Looping plume: It takes place when the atmosphere is very unstable, wind speed is
greater than 10 ms-1, has super-adiabatic lapse rate and is accompanied with solar
heating. It follows a wave like pattern and provides high degree of mixing at lower
levels, sometimes reaching the ground.
ii. Fumigation: It occurs when plume reaches the ground level along the length of the
plume and is caused by a super-adiabatic lapse rate beneath an inversion. The super-
adiabatic lapse rate at the ground level occurs due to the solar heating and is quite
undesirable since the pollutants remain at ground level. This condition is favoured by
clear skies and light winds.
iii. Coning plume: It results when the vertical air temperature gradient occurs between
dry adiabatic and isothermal, the air being slightly unstable with some horizontal and
vertical mixing occurring. Coning is most likely to occur during cloudy or windy
periods.
iv. Fanning plume: They spread out horizontally but do not mix vertically. Fanning
plumes take place when inversion condition exists in atmosphere, that is, the air
temperature increases with altitude. The plume rarely reaches the grounds level
unless the inversion is broken by surface heating or a topographical barrier such as a
hill. At night, with light winds and clear skies, fanning plumes are quite common.
v. Lofting plume: It diffuses upward but not downwards and occurs when there is a
super-adiabatic layer above a surface inversion. A lofting plume will generally not
reach the ground surface, so there is less pollution at ground level.
vi. Trapping: This condition is accompanied by weak lapse below inversion aloft.
Effective Stack Height
Stack is a system used in chemical industry that acts as an exhaust to release gaseous waste streams.
Stacks are the highest construction in any factory and also higher than the surrounding buildings.

Applications of stacks: Furnaces-Discharge of flue gas, Absorbers-discharge of clean gas,

Desalination industry-discharge of non-condensable gases, Wastewater treatment, Cooling tower in
nuclear reactors. The effective stack height is the sum of the actual physical height of the top of the
stack, plus any plume rise due to buoyancy or initial momentum (inertia) of the rising effluent, minus
any downwash.

The effective stack height depends on a number of factors. The emission factors include the gas flow
rate, the temperature of the effluent at the top of the stack, and the diameter of the stack opening.

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