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Air Pollution

LECTURE

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Dan Gerico L. Bacani
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6 views

Air Pollution

LECTURE

Uploaded by

Dan Gerico L. Bacani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 23

Air Pollution

➢ Air pollution results


from combustion,
where oxygen reacts
with a fuel to release
energy.

Products
Particulates, sulfur
dioxide, carbon dioxide,
Reactants nitrogen oxides, etc.
Fuel and Oxygen (O2)
2
Pure Fuels “Dirty” Fuels
Only contain the fuel. Additional non-combustible
elements mixed in with the
fuel.
Release carbon dioxide Release carbon dioxide,
and water vapor as sulfur, ash, and much
products. more.

Methane, gasoline, Coal, oil, wood


ethanol
3
Secondary pollutants are
Primary pollutants are directly formed when primary pollutants
released into the air from the react with gases in the
source. atmosphere.

4
1.
Atmosphere
Composition of each layer.
➢ The thermosphere blocks harmful
radiation from the sun.

➢ The mesosphere is the layer where meteors


and asteroids burn up as they approach
Earth.
➢ The stratosphere has a layer of ozone that
partially blocks some of the sun’s UV light.

➢ The troposphere contains all of our


weather, and all living organisms.
▻ Air cools rapidly as the altitude increases.
➢ Normally, the
atmosphere gets colder
as elevation increases.

▻ Warm air is less


dense, so it rises,
creating circulation.

7
➢ In thermal inversions, the
normal temperature
patterns reverse.

▻ The dense cold air


doesn’t rise.
▻ Pollution accumulates.

8
2.
Air Pollution
Most common forms and how they’re regulated.
➢ In 1948, a steel town in Pennsylvania called Donora
experienced a 5-day thermal inversion.
▻ A smog containing fluoride, sulfur, and other pollutants
released by the coal-burning steel and zinc plants sickened
thousands.

10
➢ In 1952, London experienced
an exceptionally cold winter,
forcing people to burn a lot of
coal to keep their homes
warm.
▻ Released a lot of sulfur
dioxide and particulates.

➢ A thermal inversion lasting 4


days caused pollution levels
build up to toxic levels, killing
over 4,000 people.
11
➢ The Clean Air Act was signed into law in 1970 in response to
public outrage following incidents like in Donora and London.

➢ The law directed the EPA to establish limits for criteria


pollutants – ones that caused the most environmental
damage and health hazards.

12
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
➢ Colorless, rotten
egg smell.
➢ Biggest source is
coal-burning power
plants.
➢ Causes burning in
the respiratory tract.
➢ Forms sulfuric acid
when it reacts with
water in the
atmosphere.
13
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
➢ Reddish-brown, sharp-
sweet smell.
➢ Biggest sources are
automobiles and
denitrification of fertilizer
by soil bacteria.
➢ Causes burning of the
respiratory tract.
➢ Forms nitric acid, smog,
and ozone in the
atmosphere.
14
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
➢ Colorless and odorless.
➢ Any fuel-burning device
can produce it: furnaces,
cars, hot water tanks.
➢ Blocks oxygen absorption
in blood, causing dizziness
and eventually death.
➢ No secondary pollutants.

15
Lead (Pb)
➢ Metal that can
become embedded in
particulates.
➢ Biggest source used
to be cars until leaded
gas was banned.
▻ Now aviation fuel
a and coal plants.
➢ Neurotoxin.
➢ No secondary
pollutants.
16
Ground Level Ozone (O3)
➢ Colorless gas.
➢ Not released into the air
directly -- created from
nitrogen oxides (NOx)
and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs).
➢ Highly reactive to living
tissues.
➢ Ozone IS a secondary
pollutant.

17
➢ Acid precipitation has a pH lower than normal rain.
▻ Normal rain has a pH of about 5.6.
▻ Acid rain has a pH of 4.2-4.4 due to sulfuric and nitric acid.

Normal rain
Acid Rain
➢ Acid rain causes
environmental
damage:

▻ Erodes limestone
structures.

▻ Lowers the pH of
surface waters.

▻ Leaches
aluminum from
soils into surface 19
➢ In 1985, scientists discovered a hole forming in the ozone
layer in the stratosphere, directly above Antarctica.
➢ The cause was found to be CFCs – chlorine-containing gases
used in spray cans and as refrigerants.

20
The Montreal
Protocol is an
international
agreement to
discontinue the
use of chlorine-
based aerosols
and refrigerants.
➢ Near complete
recovery
expected by
the mid-21st
century.

21
➢ The Clean Air Act required all
industry to cut sulfur dioxide
emissions in half by:

▻ Scrubber systems that use a


liquid spray to remove sulfates
from the air.

▻ A sulfur cap-and-trade program


where companies can purchase
“credits” from others.

22
➢ Stacks must be 500 feet to reach above potential thermal
inversions.

➢ Many power plants have switched from coal to natural gas,


which only produces carbon dioxide. 23

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