UNIT -1

AIR POLLUTION MANAGEMENT

Air pollution management aims at the elimination, or reduction to acceptable levels, of

airborne gaseous pollutants, suspended particulate matter and physical and, to a certain
extent, biological agents whose presence in the atmosphere can cause adverse effects on
human health (e.g., irritation, increase of incidence or prevalence of respiratory diseases,
morbidity, cancer, excess mortality) or welfare (e.g., sensory effects, reduction of visibility),
deleterious effects on animal or plant life, damage to materials of economic value to society
and damage to the environment---- Air pollution management, therefore, requires a
multidisciplinary approach as well as a joint effort by private and governmental entities.
SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION: The sources of man-made air pollution (or emission
sources) are of basically two types:
 stationary, which can be subdivided into area sources such as agricultural production,
mining and quarrying, industrial, point and area sources such as manufacturing of
chemicals, nonmetallic mineral products, basic metal industries, power generation and
community sources (e.g., heating of homes and buildings, municipal waste and sewage
sludge incinerators, fireplaces, cooking facilities, laundry services and cleaning plants)
 mobile, comprising any form of combustion-engine vehicles (e.g., light-duty gasoline
powered cars, light- and heavy-duty diesel powered vehicles, motorcycles, aircraft,
including line sources with emissions of gases and particulate matter from vehicle traffic).
Types of Air Pollutants: Air pollutants are usually classified into suspended particulate
matter (dusts, fumes, mists, smokes), gaseous pollutants (gases and vapors) and odors.
Some examples of usual pollutants are presented below:
---- Suspended particulate matter (SPM, PM-10) includes diesel exhaust, coal fly-ash,
mineral dusts (e.g., coal, asbestos, limestone, cement), metal dusts and fumes (e.g., zinc,
copper, iron, lead) and acid mists (e.g., sulphuric acid), fluorides, paint pigments, pesticide
mists, carbon black and oil smoke. Suspended particulate pollutants, besides their effects of
provoking respiratory diseases, cancers, corrosion, destruction of plant life and so on, can
also constitute a nuisance (e.g., accumulation of dirt), interfere with sunlight (e.g., formation
of smog and haze due to light scattering) and act as catalytic surfaces for reaction of
adsorbed chemicals.
--- Gaseous pollutants include Sulphur compounds (e.g., Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Sulphur
trioxide (SO3)), carbon monoxide, nitrogen compounds (e.g., nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen
dioxide (NO2), ammonia), organic compounds (e.g., hydrocarbons (HC), volatile organic
compounds (VOC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), aldehydes), halogen
compounds and halogen derivatives (e.g., HF and HCl), hydrogen supplied, carbon
disulphide and mercaptans (odours).
Clean Air Implementation Plans
Air quality management aims at the preservation of environmental quality by prescribing the
tolerated degree of pollution, leaving it to the local authorities and polluters to devise and
implement actions to ensure that this degree of pollution will not be exceeded.
---- Typical measures in air quality management are control measures at the source, for
example, enforcement of the use of catalytic converters in vehicles or of emission standards
in incinerators, land-use planning and shut-down of factories or reduction of traffic during
unfavourable weather conditions.

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 The basic aim of air pollution management is to derive a clean air implementation plan (or air
pollution abatement plan) which consists of the following elements:
 description of area with respect to topography, meteorology and socioeconomy
 emissions inventory
 comparison with emission standards
 air pollutant concentrations inventory
 simulated air pollutant concentrations
 comparison with air quality standards
 inventory of effects on public health and the environment
 causal analysis
 control measures
 cost of control measures
 cost of public health and environmental effects
 cost-benefit analysis (costs of control vs. costs of efforts)
 transportation and land-use planning
 enforcement plan; resource commitment
 projections for the future on population, traffic, industries and fuel consumption
 strategies for follow-up.

CONTROL MEASURES
Control measures for industrial facilities include adequate, well-designed, well-installed,
efficiently operated and maintained air cleaning devices, also called separators or collectors.
A separator or collector can be defined as an “apparatus for separating any one or more of
the following from a gaseous medium in which they are suspended or mixed: solid particles
(filter and dust separators), liquid particles (filter and droplet separator) and gases (gas
purifier)”. The basic types of air pollution control equipment (discussed further in “Air pollution
control”) are the following:
 for particulate matter: inertial separators (e.g., cyclones); fabric filters (baghouses);
electrostatic precipitators; wet collectors (scrubbers)
 for gaseous pollutants: wet collectors (scrubbers); adsorption units (e.g., adsorption beds);
afterburners, which can be direct-fired (thermal incineration) or catalytic (catalytic
combustion).
Wet collectors (scrubbers) can be used to collect, at the same time, gaseous pollutants and
particulate matter. Also, certain types of combustion devices can burn combustible gases
and vapours as well as certain combustible aerosols. Depending on the type of effluent, one
or a combination of more than one collector can be used.
The control of odours that are chemically identifiable relies on the control of the chemical
agent(s) from which they emanate (e.g., by absorption, by incineration). However, when an
odour is not defined chemically or the producing agent is found at extremely low levels, other
techniques may be used, such as masking (by a stronger, more agreeable and harmless
agent) or counteraction (by an additive which counteracts or partially neutralizes the offensive
odour).
It should be kept in mind that adequate operation and maintenance are indispensable to
ensure the expected efficiency from a collector. This should be ensured at the planning stage,
both from the know-how and financial points of view. Energy requirements must not be
overlooked. Whenever selecting an air cleaning device, not only the initial cost but also
operational and maintenance costs should be considered. Whenever dealing with high-

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toxicity pollutants, high efficiency should be ensured, as well as special procedures for
maintenance and disposal of waste materials.
The fundamental control measures in industrial facilities are the following:
Substitution of materials. Examples: substitution of less toxic solvents for highly toxic ones
used in certain industrial processes; use of fuels with lower sulphur content (e.g., washed
coal), therefore giving rise to less sulphur compounds and so on.
Modification or change of the industrial process or equipment. Examples: in the steel
industry, a change from raw ore to pelleted sintered ore (to reduce the dust released during
ore handling); use of closed systems instead of open ones; change of fuel heating systems
to steam, hot water or electrical systems; use of catalysers at the exhaust air outlets
(combustion processes) and so on.
Adequate housekeeping and storage. Examples: strict sanitation in food and animal
product processing; avoidance of open storage of chemicals (e.g., sulphur piles) or dusty
materials (e.g., sand), or, failing this, spraying of the piles of loose particulate with water (if
possible) or application of surface coatings (e.g., wetting agents, plastic) to piles of materials
likely to give off pollutants.
Adequate disposal of wastes. Examples: avoidance of simply piling up chemical wastes
(such as scraps from polymerization reactors), as well as of dumping pollutant materials
(solid or liquid) in water streams. The latter practice not only causes water pollution but can
also create a secondary source of air pollution, as in the case of liquid wastes from sulphite
process pulp mills, which release offensive odorous gaseous pollutants.
Maintenance. Example: well maintained and well-tuned internal combustion engines
produce less carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
Work practices. Example: taking into account meteorological conditions, particularly winds,
when spraying pesticides.
By analogy with adequate practices at the workplace, good practices at the community
level can contribute to air pollution control - for example, changes in the use of motor
vehicles (more collective transportation, small cars and so on) and control of heating facilities
(better insulation of buildings in order to require less heating, better fuels and so on). ---
Control measures in vehicle emissions are adequate and efficient mandatory inspection and
maintenance programmers which are enforced for the existing car fleet, programmed of
enforcement of the use of catalytic converters in new cars, aggressive substitution of
solar/battery-powered cars for fuel-powered ones, regulation of road traffic, and
transportation and land use planning concepts.
Reduction of VMT is an additional means of controlling vehicle emissions by control
strategies such as
 use of more efficient transportation modes
 increasing the average number of passengers per car
 spreading congested peak traffic loads
 reducing travel demand.

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 MEASUREMENT AND MODELING OF AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution modeling is a numerical tool used to describe the causal relationship between
emissions, meteorology, atmospheric concentrations, deposition, and other factors. Air
pollution measurements give important, quantitative information about ambient
concentrations and deposition, but they can only describe air quality at specific locations and
times, without giving clear guidance on the identification of the causes of the air quality
problem. Air pollution modeling, instead, can give a more complete deterministic description
of the air quality problem, including an analysis of factors and causes (emission sources,
meteorological processes, and physical and chemical changes), and some guidance on the
implementation of mitigation measures. Air pollution models play an important role in science,
because of their capability to assess the relative importance of the relevant processes. Air
pollution models are the only method that quantifies the deterministic relationship between
emissions and concentrations/depositions, including the consequences of past and future
scenarios and the determination of the effectiveness of abatement strategies. This makes air
pollution models indispensable in regulatory, research, and forensic applications.
The concentrations of substances in the atmosphere are determined by:
1) Transport, 2) Diffusion, 3) Chemical Transformation, And 4) Ground Deposition.

HOW IS MODELING USED?

In the United States, air quality managers use models to predict the impacts from potential
new emission sources. Managers also apply models to simulate ambient pollution
concentrations under different policy scenarios, as a tool to help make and inform decisions.
Models are also used to determine the relative contributions from different sources in tracking
trends, monitoring compliance, and making policy decisions.

SOURCE CORRECTION METHODS:

Industries make a major contribution towards causing air pollution. Formation of pollutants
can be prevented and their emission can be minimised at the source itself.
By carefully investigating the early stages of design and development in industrial
processes e.g., those methods which have minimum air pollution potential can be selected
to accomplish air-pollution control at source itself.
THESE SOURCE CORRECTION METHODS ARE:
(i) Substitution of raw materials:
If the use of a particular raw material results in air pollution, then it should be substituted by
another purer grade raw material which reduces the formation of pollutants. Thus,
(a) Low sulphur fuel which has less pollution potential can be used as an alternative to high
Sulphur fuels, and, (b) Comparatively more refined liquid petroleum gas (LPG) or liquefied
natural gas (LNG) can be used instead of traditional high contaminant fuels such as coal.
(ii) Process Modification:
The existing process may be changed by using modified techniques to control emission at
source. For example,
(a) If coal is washed before pulverization, then fly-ash emissions are considerably reduced.
(b) If air intake of boiler furnace is adjusted, then excess Fly-ash emissions at power plants
can be reduced.
(iii) Modification of Existing Equipment: : Air pollution can be considerably minimized by
making suitable modifications in the existing equipment:
(a) For example, smoke, carbon-monoxide and fumes can be reduced if open hearth
furnaces are replaced with controlled basic oxygen furnaces or electric furnaces. (b) In
petroleum refineries, loss of hydrocarbon vapors from storage tanks due to evaporation,
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temperature changes or displacement during filling etc. can be reduced by designing the
storage tanks with floating roof covers. (c) Pressurizing the storage tanks in the above case
can also give similar results.
(iv) Maintenance of Equipment: An appreciable amount of pollution is caused due to poor
maintenance of the equipment which includes the leakage around ducts, pipes, valves and
pumps etc. Emission of pollutants due to negligence can be minimized by a routine checkup
of the seals and gaskets.

AIR POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT:

Sometimes pollution control at source is not possible by preventing the emission of
pollutants. Then it becomes necessary to install pollution control equipment to remove the
gaseous pollutants from the main gas stream.
The pollutants are present in high concentration at the source and as their distance from the
source increases they become diluted by diffusing with environmental air.

Pollution control equipment’s are generally classified into two types:

(a) Control devices for particulate contaminants.
(b) Control devices for gaseous contaminants.

In the present book only the control devices for particulate contaminants are dealt with.

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 CONTROL DEVICES FOR PARTICULATE CONTAMINANTS:
(1) GRAVITATIONAL SETTLING CHAMBER:
For removal of particles exceeding 50 µm in size from polluted gas streams, gravitational
settling chambers (Fig 5.1) are put to use.

This device consists of huge rectangular chambers. The gas stream polluted with particulates
is allowed to enter from one end. The horizontal velocity of the gas stream is kept low (less
than 0.3 m/s) in order to give sufficient time for the particles to settle by gravity.
The particulates having higher density obey Stoke’s law and settle at the bottom of the
chamber from where they are removed ultimately. The several horizontal shelves or trays
improve the collection efficiency by shortening the settling path of the particles.

(2) Cyclone Separators (Reverse flow

Cyclone):
Instead of gravitational force, centrifugal
force is utilized by cyclone separators, to
separate the particulate matter from the
polluted gas. Centrifugal force, several
times greater than gravitational force, can
be generated by a spinning gas stream
and this quality makes cyclone
separators more effective in removing
much smaller particulates than can
possibly be removed by gravitational
settling chambers.

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3) FABRIC FILTERS (BAGHOUSE
FILTERS):
In a fabric filter system, a stream of the
polluted gas is made to pass through a
fabric that filters out the particulate
pollutant and allows the clear gas to
pass through. The particulate matter is
left in the form of a thin dust mat on the
insides of the bag. This dust mat acts
as a filtering medium for further
removal of particulates increasing the
efficiency of the filter bag to sieve more
sub micron particles (0.5 µm).

4) ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATORS:
The electrostatic precipitator (Fig. 5.4) works on the principle of electrostatic precipitation i.e.
electrically charged particulates present in the polluted gas are separated from the gas
stream under the influence of the electrical field.
(5) WET COLLECTORS (SCRUBBERS):
In wet collectors or scrubbers, the particulate contaminants are removed from the polluted
gas stream by incorporating the particulates into liquid droplets.
Common wet scrubbers are:
(i) Spray Tower
(ii) Venturi Scrubber

AIR QUALITY MONITORING & MANAGEMENT

AIR QUALITY MONITORING: is a process used to determine existing quality of air, evaluate
effectiveness of control programmed and to identify areas in need of restoration. Pollutants
such as Carbon Monoxide (CO), Particulate matter (PM 10 and PM 2.5), Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOCs), Nitrous Oxide (NOX), Sulphur dioxides (SO2) are monitored under the
programmer of NAMP with the help of agencies like CPCB, SPCB, NEERI, etc. The
monitoring is carried out for 24 hour duration with a frequency of twice a week.

BENEFITS OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING: Air quality is not same everywhere and it is
different by geographic pattern and weather conditions along with sources of air pollution
contributes towards the quality of air.
Below are some Important Benefits of Air Quality Monitoring.
1. The data collected from air quality monitoring helps us assess impacts caused by poor air
quality on public health.
2. Air quality data helps us determine if an area is meeting the air quality standards devised
by CPCB, WHO or OSHA.
3. The data collected from air quality monitoring would primarily help us identify polluted
areas, the level of pollution and air quality level.
4. Air quality monitoring would assist in determining if air pollution control programmes
devised in a locality are working efficiently or not.
5. Air quality data helps us understand the mortality rate of any location due to air pollution.
We can also assess and compare the short term and long term diseases/disorders which
are a result of air pollution.
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6. Based upon the data collected control measures can be devised for protection of
environment and health of all living organisms.
AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Air quality management refers to all the activities a regulatory authority undertakes to help
protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution. The
process of managing air quality can be illustrated as a cycle of inter-related elements.
 A government institution typically establishes goals related to air quality. An example is an
acceptable level of a pollutant in the air that will protect public health, including people who
are more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution.
 Air quality managers need to determine how much emissions reductions are needed to
achieve the goal. Air quality managers use emissions inventories, air monitoring, air
quality modeling and other assessment tools to understand the air quality problem fully.
 In developing control strategies, air quality managers consider how pollution prevention
and emission control techniques can be applied to achieve the reductions needed to
achieve the goals.
 To successfully achieve the air quality goals, air quality managers need to implement
programs for pollution control strategies. Regulations or incentive programs that lower
emissions from sources need to be put in place. Regulated industries need training and
assistance in how to comply with rules. And the rules need to be enforced.
 It is important to undertake on-going evaluation to know if your air quality goals are being
met.

PASSIVE AND ACTIVE MEASUREMENT

Air pollution is (broadly) measured in two different ways, passively or actively
Passive measurement
Passive devices are relatively simple and low-cost. They work by soaking up or otherwise
passively collecting a sample of the ambient air, which then has to be analyzed in a
laboratory. One of the most common forms of passive measurement is the diffusion tube,
which looks similar to a laboratory test tube and is fastened to something like a lamp post to
absorb one or more specific pollutant gases of interest. After a period of time, the tube is
taken down and sent to a laboratory for analysis. Deposit gauges, one of the oldest forms of
pollution measurement, are another type of passive device.[7] They are large funnels that
collect soot or other particulates and drain them into sampling bottles, which, again have to
be analyzed in a laboratory.
Active measurement
Active measurement devices are more automated, complex, and sophisticated, though not
always more sensitive or reliable.[6] They use fans to suck in the air, filter it, and either
analyze it automatically there and then or collect and store it for later analysis in a laboratory.
Active sensors use either physical or chemical methods. Physical methods measure an air
sample without changing it, for example, by seeing how much of a certain wavelength of light
it absorbs. Chemical methods change the sample in some way, through a chemical reaction,
and measure that. Most automated air-quality sensors are examples of active measurement.

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