UNIT-2

Ques: 1 What is air pollution chemistry?

Ans: Air pollution chemistry is a complex and fascinating field that studies the chemical reactions and
processes that occur in the atmosphere, transforming harmless components into harmful pollutants. It's
essentially the science behind the air we breathe and how these pollutants interact with each other, the
environment, and ultimately, our health.

Pollutants from various sources, like car exhaust, factory emissions, and even dust, act as the reactants.
Sunlight, temperature, and humidity play the role of catalysts, driving chemical reactions that create new
and often harmful products. These products, the secondary pollutants, can be even more harmful than the
original ones, create significant threats to human health and the environment.

Types of Pollutants:

Gases: These are invisible include carbon dioxide (CO2), a major greenhouse gas, nitrogen oxides (NOx),
which contribute to ozone formation and acid rain, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) lead to acid rain.

Particulate Matter (PM): These tiny, often microscopic particles come in various sizes and compositions,
from dust and soot to pollen and ash. PM2.5, particles with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometers, are
particularly concerning as they can penetrate deep into our lungs, causing respiratory problems.

Chemical Reactions:

Photochemical Reactions: Sunlight drives these reactions, triggering the formation of harmful pollutants
like ozone, a major component of smog.

Oxidation Reactions: These involve the transfer of electrons between molecules, leading to the formation
of secondary pollutants like nitric acid, a component of acid rain.

Adsorption and Absorption: These processes involve pollutants attaching to surfaces like dust particles or
water droplets. While this can remove them from the air, it can also concentrate them, making them more
harmful.

Impacts of Air Pollution:

Human Health: Respiratory problems, heart disease, cancer

Climate Change: Greenhouse gases like CO2 trap heat, contributing to global warming and its associated
consequences.

Studying Air Pollution Chemistry:

Monitor air quality: By tracking pollutant levels and their movements, we can identify pollution sources
and predict their impact.

Model air pollution: Complex computer models simulate atmospheric processes and predict future
pollution levels under various scenarios.

Develop control technologies: From cleaner engine designs to innovative air filtration systems, scientists
are constantly seeking ways to reduce emissions and purify the air we breathe.

Ques: 2 Metrological aspects of air pollution?

Ans: An air pollution problem involves three parts: the source, the movement of the pollutant and the
recipient. All meteorological phenomena are a result of interaction of the elemental properties of the
atmosphere, heat, pressure, wind and moisture.

a. WIND: Wind is simply air in motion. A study of air movement over relatively small geographical
regions can help in understanding the movement of pollutants. It is obviously important in
predicting pollutant dispersion to know the direction of wind. sweeping away pollution from its
source. When wind speeds are high, they effectively dilute and transport pollutants away from their
origin, reducing their concentration in localized areas. This can significantly improve air quality,
especially in cities where pollution tends to become high Trapping, In calm conditions, or when
winds encounter geographical barriers like mountains or valleys, they can trap pollutants in specific
areas
b. Urban Heat Islands: Urbanization negatively impacts the environment mainly by the production of
pollution. rise in temperature of any man-made area (industrial areas), resulting in warm island.
these have been indirectly related to climate change due to their contribution to the greenhouse
effect, and therefore, to global warming.
c. Urban Dust Domes: Urban dust domes are a meteorological phenomenon in which soot, dust, and
chemical emissions become trapped in the air above urban spaces. This trapping is a product of
local air circulations.. This cause smog through photochemical reactions that occur when strong
concentrations of the pollutants in these are exposed to solar radiation. These are one result of
urban heat islands: pollutants concentrate in a dust dome because convection lifts pollutants into
the air, where they remain because of somewhat stable air masses produced by the urban heat
island.
d. Atmosphere stability

Ques: 3 Atmospheric Stability and temperature lapse rate?

Ans: The ability of the atmosphere to disperse the pollutants emitted into it depends to a large extent
on the degree of stability.
 Types of Atmospheric Stability:

Stable: Stable air masses, like a tightly packed stack, suppress vertical motion. Pollutants get trapped
near the ground, leading to poor air quality in urban areas.

Neutral: Neutral air acts like a balanced stack, neither encouraging nor hindering vertical movement.
Pollutants disperse at a steady rate.

Unstable: Pollutants rise quickly, leading to better air quality near the ground but potentially forming
clouds and thunderstorms at higher altitudes.

Lapse Rate:

Types:
Ques: 4 What is wind velocity and turbulence?

Ans: Wind velocity: it is the speed of the wind, measured in units like meters per second, kilometers per
hour. It can vary greatly depending on a number of factors, including altitude, terrain, and weather
conditions. For example, wind speeds are typically higher at higher altitudes.

Wind Turbulence :it is a measure of the air’s unevenness. It is caused by a number of factors, including
changes in wind speed and direction, as well as obstacles in the air's path.

Turbulence can be a major nuisance for aircraft passengers, and it can also be dangerous for small aircraft.

Turbulence can be measured in a number of ways, but one common method is to use a device called an
anemometer. An anemometer measures the speed and direction of the wind, and it can also be used to
measure turbulence.

Ques:5 What is Plume Behaviour?

Ans: Plume behavior refers to the movement and dispersion of plumes, which are visible or invisible
columns of gas, smoke, or other substances emitted into the atmosphere. These plumes can originate from
various sources, including:

Industrial processes: factories can emit plumes of pollutants like sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and
nitrogen oxides.

Volcanic eruptions: Erupting volcanoes release enormous plumes of ash, gas, and steam.

Wildfires: Burning forests and vegetation create plumes of smoke and ash.

Everyday activities: Vehicle exhaust, burning fires, and even cooking can contribute to the formation of
small plumes.
Plume behavior is crucial for various reasons, including:

 Air pollution control

Different types of plume behavior can occur:

Lofting plumes: Rise vertically and disperse primarily upwards, often reaching higher altitudes and
minimizing ground-level pollution.

Looping plumes: Rise and then loop back down towards the ground, potentially causing higher pollutant
concentrations near the source.

Fanning plumes: Spread horizontally like a fan, resulting in wider ground-level impact.

Coning plumes: Maintain a relatively narrow, conical shape as they rise, with limited horizontal dispersion.

Trapped plumes: Get trapped under a layer of warmer air, preventing effective dispersion and
concentrating pollutants near the source.

Fumigating plumes: Disperse rapidly and horizontally close to the ground due to strong wind or unstable
atmospheric conditions.
Question:6 What is Gaussian Plume Model?

Ans: The Gaussian Plume Model is the most common air pollution model. The Gaussian plume model is a
mathematical model used to predict the 3- dimensional concentration of pollutants downwind from a point
source, such as a exhaust pipe.

It is used to estimate the local pollution levels. The dispersion of plume which is emitted from a chimney
depends on the various factors such as wind speed, wind direction, local terrain, temperature etc.

features of the Gaussian plume model:

Simplicity: It's relatively simple to use compared to other air dispersion models.

Accuracy: It can provide accurate predictions for short-range dispersion (up to a few kilometers).

Limitations: It has limitations, such as assuming steady-state conditions (no changes in wind speed or
direction)
Ques: 7 Plume dispersion and stack height?

Ans: Gases that are emitted from stacks are often pushed out by fans. As the turbulent exhaust gases exit
the stack they mix with ambient air. This mixing of ambient air into the plume is called plume dispersion/
entrainment.

stack height refers to the vertical distance from the ground to the top of a chimney or smokestack.

The final height of the plume, referred to as the effective stack height (H), is the sum of the physical stack
height (hs) and the plume rise (∆h). Plume rise is actually calculated as the distance to the imaginary
centerline of the plume rather than to the upper or lower edge of the plume