Air Pollution

Dr. Muhammad Wakeel Rana

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
 Air pollution

Any visible or invisible particle or gas found in the air

that is not part of the original, normal composition
 Types of Air Pollution
Natural
•Volcanic eruption (Mount Pinatubo, 1991)
•Smoke and gases from forest fires
•Pollen grains
•Windblown dust from deserts
•Salt seaspray
Unnatural
•Man-made
•Coal
•Wood
•Other fuels used in cars, homes, and factories for
energy
 Pollutant

Pollutant is a substance or energy introduced into the environment

that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a
resource
Primary Air Pollutant
Harmful substance that is emitted directly into the atmosphere
from a specific source (Power plant stack)
a. Mobile (Automobiles)
b. Stationary (Coal-fired electric power generator)
Secondary Air Pollutant
Harmful substance formed in the atmosphere by complex
chemical reactions involving the primary pollutant and sunlight
 Major Classes of Air Pollutants

• Particulate Material
• Nitrogen Oxides
• Sulfur Oxides
• Carbon Oxides
• Hydrocarbons
• Ozone
 Particulate Material
• Extremely small fragments of solids or liquid droplets suspended
in air are called particulates.
• The particulate materials of most concern with regard to adverse
effects on human health are generally < 10 µm in size (PM10)
 On the basis of size and phase (solid or liquid)
i. Dust particles (1-100 µm in size)
ii. Smoke or fumes (< 1 µm in size)
iii. Mist (0.1-10 µm in size)
iv. Spray (> 10 µm in size)
v. Aerosols: Quantity of any small particles, liquid or solid,
suspended in air
 Nitrogen Oxides
• Gases produced by the chemical interactions between
atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen at high temperature
• NO oxidized to NO2, in the presence of sunlight, react with HC to
form photochemical smog
• NO2 also react with OH- to form HNO3, which contribute to the
problem of acid rain
Problems
• Greenhouse gases
• Pungent
• Irritating
• Give smog to reddish brown color
 Sulfur Oxides
Gases are produced by the chemical interactions between sulfur
and oxygen, causes acid precipitation

S + O2 SO2 (Primary pollutant)

2SO2 + O2 SO3

SO3 + H20 H2SO4 (Secondary pollutant)

 Carbon Oxides
During complete combustion of fossil fuels, C atom in the fuel
combine with O2 to form CO2

Incomplete combustion of the fuel

Oxygen supply insufficient,
Combustion temp. to low,
Residence time in the chamber too short,

2C + O2 CO (colorless, odorless, tasteless)

 Hydrocarbons
• Diverse group of organic compounds that contain only
hydrogen and carbon (ex: CH4- methane)

• Some are related to photochemical smog and greenhouse

gases
 Ozone

• Tropospheric Ozone
– Man- made pollutant in the lower atmosphere
– Secondary air pollutant
– Complex chemical reaction between NO2 and VOC
– Component of photochemical smog
• Stratospheric Ozone
– Essential component that screens out UV radiation in the
upper atmosphere
– Man- made pollutants (ex: CFCs) can destroy it
 Sources of Outdoor Air Pollution

• Two main sources

– Transportation
– Industry
• Intentional forest fires
 Effects of Air pollution

Humans
Plants
Animals
Buildings
Global environment
 Effects of air pollution on humans

 Acute: short lasting but severe, may even result in death

 Chronic: long term effects include asthma, bronchitis, lung
cancer etc.
 Temporary: Intermittent periods of eye or throat irritation,
coughing, chest pain and general discomfort.
 Effects of air pollutants

 Headaches and dizziness

 Disruption of endocrine, reproductive and immune system
 Neuro behavioral disorder
 Cardiovascular problems
 Cancer
 Premature death
 Health effects of air pollutants
• Sulfur Dioxide and Particulate material

– Irritate respiratory tract and impair ability of lungs to exchange gases

• Nitrogen Dioxides

– Causes airway restriction

• Carbon monoxide

– Binds with iron in blood hemoglobin

– Causes headache, fatigue, drowsiness, death

• Ozone

– Causes burning eyes, coughing, and chest discomfort

 Pollution effects on plants

 Have adverse effect on plants

 Cause widespread damage to natural vegetation and economic
crops
 Bleaching and killing of plant
 Reducing growth
 Causing leaf to fall
 Many species are susceptible at low concentrations
 Air pollution on plants

Fluoride injury Sulfur dioxide Ozone injury

Sulfur damage Cement dust coating Ammonia injury

 Pollution effect on animals

• Acid life destroy fish in lakes and streams

• Ozone can damage lungs of animals
• Cause skin cancer in animals
 On buildings
• Air pollution causes damage to property/buildings
• Damage to property covers corrosion of metals, eroding of
building surface
• Deterioration of work of art
 Global Air Pollution
• Air pollution problems are not necessarily confined to a local or
regional scale
• Atmospheric circulation can transport certain pollutants far away
from their point source
• Global pollution does not mean that the pollutants disperse over
entire world but that the pollution occurs at various places around
the globe and is not unique to individual location
 Global air pollution

Scales of pollutant transport in the atmosphere can be described as

 Local (Up to a few Km from point source)
 Regional (Up to 1000 Km from source)
 Continental (Up to a few thousand Km from point source)
 Global (More than a few Km from point source)
 Effects of global air pollution

Important air pollution problems that are generally considered

worldwide are
 Global warming
 Depletion of stratospheric ozone
 Acid deposition/Acid rain
 Global Warming
 Average land surface temperatures are increasing worldwide
 The decade of 1990s was considered as the warmest ever recorded
 Estimates indicates that mean temperature has risen roughly 0.5 0C
since the end of 19th century
 Carbon dioxide and other gases trap heat from the sun
 To understand the theory of global warming, it is important to
study the difference between natural greenhouse effect and
anthropogenic greenhouse effect
 Global warming

Natural greenhouse effect Anthropogenic greenhouse effect

The natural greenhouse effect is Anthropogenic greenhouse effect
a normal result of a blanket of is considered to be a direct result
air around earth of accumulation of trace gases in
the air by human activities

Without the natural greenhouse effect, life in its present

form would or would not be possible on earth?
 Green house gases

• Approximately 35 trace gases contribute to global warming (GW)

• Special importance in global warming are

 Carbon Dioxide (Contribute 60% in GW)

 Chlorofluorocarbons (Contribute 25% in GW)
 Methane
 Nitrous Oxide
 Ozone
 Green house effect

Any increase in Earth’s reflectivity is counterbalanced by a global

phenomenon called the green house effect
 Greenhouse Effect

Since liquid water is necessary for life, the average temperature on

earth must be in the range where liquid water can exist
• That is between 0 0C to 100 0C
• This is due to the presence of atmosphere (blanket of air)
• If earth has no atmosphere, the average temperature at the
surface would be -18 0C
 Ozone (O3)

 Plays an important role with regard to atmosphere chemistry in

both troposphere and stratosphere
 At ground level, it is pollutant but in stratosphere it is crucial for
life on earth
 Ozone hole or ozone depleted zone (During 1985 over
Antarctica)
 Ozone depletion in stratosphere
• Ozone Protects earth from UV radiation
• Part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths just
shorter than visible light
 Ozone depletion in stratosphere

• Ozone thinning/hole
– First identified in 1985 over
Antarctica
• Caused by
– human-produced bromine
and chlorine containing
chemicals
– Ex: CFCs
 Effects of ozone depletion

• Higher levels of UV-radiation

hitting the earth
– Eye cataracts
– Skin cancer (right)
– Weakened immunity
• May disrupt ecosystems
• May damage crops and forests
 Acid deposition
 Since the early 1970s, problem associated with acid
precipitation / acid rain have gained worldwide attention
 Caused damage or destroyed fish and plant life in thousands of
lakes throughout Europe, USA, Canada and China
 Many species of trees in forests throughout these regions have
been in decline
 Cause deterioration of painted surfaces, concrete, limestone
and marble buildings
 How acid deposition develops

• Rainwater is naturally acidic, even in regions far from human

activity, because atmosphere CO2 reacts with water vapors (H2O)

to form carbonic acid (H3CO3).

• Declining aquatic animal populations
(lowering the pH of lakes)
• Thin-shelled eggs prevent bird
reproduction
• Because calcium is unavailable in acidic
soil
• Forest decline
• Ex: Black forest in Germany (50% is
destroyed)
Acid deposition and forest decline
 International control efforts

In Montreal, 1986, 50% reduction in CFC (35 nations)

In Geneva, 1990, To cut CO2 emission by 20% by the year 2005 (12
European Nation).
In Berlin, 1995, Global warming conference (120 countries)
In Kyoto, 1997, set of binding emissions target and timetables for
developed nations
 Innovative technology for controlling global
warming

• Alternative energy source

• To cut back on energy use through conservation efforts and
use of more efficient automobiles and appliances.
• Carbon sequestration
 Pollution control strategies
• Complete source shut down would accomplish (Curtail highway
traffic)
• Source location (Air zoning)
• Fuel substitutions (Geothermal)
• Treating and desulfurizing dirty fossil fuels (Electric furnace
instead of open-hearth furnace)
• Correct operation and maintenance practices (Addition of S in
sulfuric acid formation without air, SO2 increase)
 Emission control for stationary sources

1) Control of particulate
a. Gravity settlers (40 µm in diameter)
b. Cyclones (law of Inertia)
c. Electrostatic precipitators (Electric charge)
d. Fabric filter (Bag house)
e. Wet scrubber
2) Control of gases
a. Absorption
b. Flue gas desulfurization (scrubber)
c. Adsorption (activated carbon)
d. Incineration
 Emission control for mobile sources

• Internal combustion engines

• Zero emission vehicles
• Hybrid vehicles