AIR POLLUTION

CONTROL OF AIR POLLUTION

2
 CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION

Industries and automobiles make a major contribution towards causing air

pollution.

14 000 cars are coming on to the roads per day

Annually 5.5 million people are losing life due to air pollution world wide.

Annually 1.6 million people are losing life due to air pollution in China.

Annually 1.4 million people are losing life due to air pollution in INDIA.
 Formation of pollutants can be prevented and their emission can be
minimized 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.
Control of air pollution

1. Source correction methods

a) Substitution of raw materials
b) Process modification
c) Modification of existing equipment
d) Maintenance of existing equipment
2. Diffusion of pollutants in air
3. Vegetation
4. Zoning
5. Pollution control equipment
1.Source correction methods

A. 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.

 (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.
 1 kg of uranium (U235) will produce 1500 tones of high grade coal
equivalent energy

 With a complete combustion approx. 8 kWh of heat can be generated

from 1 kg of coal, approx. 12 kWh from 1 kg of mineral oil and around
24,000,000 kWh from 1 kg of uranium-235.

 Related to one kilogram, uranium-235 contains two to three million times

the energy equivalent of oil or coal.

 The illustration shows how much coal, oil or natural uranium is required
for a certain quantity of electricity.

 Thus, 1 kg natural uranium - following a corresponding enrichment and

used for power generation in light water reactors - corresponds to nearly
10,000 kg of mineral oil or 14,000 kg of coal and enables the generation of
45,000 kWh of electricity.
 CO2 Emissions per kWh energy generation at the source for various fuel
as follows:

 Coal – 0.98 kg of CO2 /kWh

 Including Transmission losses – 2.02 kg of CO2 /kWh by coal

 Compressed Natural Gas – 0.52 kg of CO2 /kWh

 Oil – 0.77 kg of CO2 /kWh

Below is comparison of Current Fuel Prices in Delhi, (as on 2nd September
2014)

 Petrol Rs. 68.51 / Lit

 Diesel Rs. 58.97 / Lit

 CNG Rs. 38.15 / kg Gas

 LPG Rs. 47.94 / Litre

Average Mileage for various fuels (in City)

 13 to 14 kmpl by Petrole

 17 to 18 kmpl by Diesel

 19 km/kg by CNG

 12 kmpl by LPG (liquefied petroleum gas)

Compressed Natural Gas
 CNG is odorless, tasteless and non-toxic.

 It is made up of 93.05% methane,

nitrogen, carbon dioxide, propane and
traces of ethane.

 It is an environmentally clean alternative

fuel, as its combustion process emits a
lower percentage of greenhouse gases
when compared to other fuels.
Advantages of CNG
 Reduced Fuel Cost

 Domestically Produced

 Abundant Fuel

 Environmentally Friendly
•Reduced Maintenance Cost

•Performance Advantages

•Safety Advantage
Source correction methods…
B. 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.
Source correction methods…
D. 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 vapours from storage

tanks due to evaporation, temperature changes or displacement during
filling etc. can be reduced by designing the storage tanks with floating
roof covers.

 (c) Pressurising the storage tanks in the above case can also give similar
results.
E. 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.
2. Diffusion of Pollutants in Air:
 Dilution of the contaminants in the atmosphere is another approach to

the control of air pollution.

 If the pollution source releases only a small quantity of the contaminants

then pollution is not noticeable as these pollutants easily diffuse into the
atmos­phere but if the quantity of air contaminants is beyond the limited
capacity of the environment to absorb the contaminants then pollution is
caused.
 However, dilution of the contaminants in the atmosphere can be

accomplished through the use of tall stacks which penetrate the upper
atmospheric layers and disperse the contaminants so that the ground
level pollution is greatly reduced.

 The height of the stacks is usually kept 2 to 2 1/2 times the height of
nearby structures.
 Dilution of pollutants in air depend on atmospheric temperature, speed and
direction of the wind.

 The disadvantage of the method is that it is a short term contact measure

which in reality brings about highly undesirable long range effects.

 This is so because dilution only dilutes the contaminants to levels at which

their harmful effects are less noticeable near their original source whereas
at a considerable distance from the source these very contaminants
eventually come down in some form or another.
3. Vegetation:
 Plants contribute towards controlling air-pollution by utilizing carbon

dioxide and releasing oxygen in the process of photosynthesis.

 This purifies the air (removal of gaseous pollutant—CO 2) for the

respiration of men and animals.

 Gaseous pollutants like carbon monoxide are fixed by some plants,

namely, Coleus Blumeri, Ficus variegata and Phascolus Vulgaris.

 Species of Pinus, Quercus, Pyrus, Juniperus and Vitis depollute the air by
metabolising nitrogen oxides.

 Plenty of trees should be planted especially around those areas which

are declared as high-risk areas of pollution.
4. Zoning:
 This method of controlling air pollution can be adopted at the planning

stages of the city.

 Zoning advocates setting aside of separate areas for industries so that they

are far removed from the residential areas.

 The heavy industries should not be located too close to each other.

 New industries, as far as possible, should be established away from larger

cities (this will also keep a check on increasing concentration of urban

population in a few larger cities only) and the locational decisions of large
industries should be guided by regional planning.
 The industrial estate of Bangalore is divided into three zones namely light,

medium and large industries.

 In Bangalore and Delhi very large industries are not permitted.
5. 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
 If pollution control at source is not possible then we have to treat the
pollutants being emitted.
A. Control devices for particulate contaminants
1. Gravitational settling
2. Cyclone separators
3. Fabric filters
4. Electrostatic precipitators
5. Wet collectors
i) Spray tower ii) Venturi scrubber iii) Cyclonic scrubber
B. Control devices for gaseous contaminants
1. Wet absorption methods
2. Dry absorption methods
1. Gravitational settling chamber
 For removal of particles
exceeding 50 µm
 Polluted gas stream enter
from one side of the chamber
 Horizontal velocity of gas
stream is low (< 0.3 m/s) in
order to give sufficient time
for particles to get settled.
 Particles having higher
density settle at the bottom
2. Cyclone separators
 Centrifugal force is utilized to separate
particulates
 Centrifugal force several times greater than
gravitational force can be generated by a
spinning gas stream.
 Hence it can remove even smaller
particulates not removed by gravitational
separator.
 Dust laden gas (dust loaded gases) enter
tangentially and receives a rotating motion.
 Due to centrifugal force developed
particulates are thrown to the walls of the
separator and gas spirals upward inside the
cone.
 Particulates slide down the walls of cone
and are discharged
3. Fabric filter
 Stream of polluted gas is made
to pass through a fabric that
filters out particulates
 Particulate matter left in the
form of a thin dust mat on the
insides of the bag acts as a
filtering medium for further
removal of particulates
 This helps to remove even sub
micron particles (0.5 µm)
 Must be cleaned occasionally to
prevent too many particulate
layers from building up on the
inner surfaces of the bag.
HEPA Filter
 High Efficiency Particulate Absorbing/Particulate Arresting
 Can theoretically remove 99.97% of dust, pollen, bacteria or any airborne

particles with a size of 0.3 µm.

 Composed of a mat of randomly arranged fibers with airspace between the

fibers greater than 0.3 µm.

 They trap particulates by 3 mechanisms:

1. interception: particles following one line of flow come within one

radius of a fiber and adhere to it.
2. impaction: due to curving contours of air stream larger particles are
unable to avoid fibers and will adhere to one of them.
3. diffusion: particles below 0.1 µm collides with gas molecules and are
delayed in their path through the fiber. This increases the probability that
the particles are stopped by any one of the above mechanism.
Appln: Nuclear fuels and Nuclear power generation industries to prevent
spread of airborne radioactive contaminants.
4. Electrostatic precipitator

 Electrically charged particulates are separated under the influence of an

electric filed.
 A high voltage is applied (50 kV)
 Gas enters from bottom and when gas enters the electric filed will get
ionized.
 -ve ions migrate to grounded electrode, giving their –ve charge to the
dust particles.
 -vely charged dust particles move to +ve electrode and get deposited there.
 It has 99% efficiency
Contd..
Condensing WESP

 Condensing Wet Electrostatic Precipitator

has a water jacket around the positively
charged tube wall.
 Water jacket causes condensation of
moisture in gases thus maintaining a
constant water film to wash the surface.
 Water film prevents particulate build up
on collection surface.
5. Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)
 Gaseous or liquid reactant (ammonia or urea) is added to the flue gases
and is absorbed onto a catalyst.
 It is similar to coagulation method of water treatment.

Reductant (REDUCING AGENT ) reacts with NOx and form H2O and N2.
 A vanadium based catalytic converter is commonly used.
 But SCR catalutic converters work well only in a small temp. range. So
flue gas temp. monitored by the ECU.
 Ammonia slip can occur if:
1. exhaust gas temp is too cold for SCR reaction to occur.
2. ECU supplies too much ammonia into exhaust stream than reqd. for the
NOx present.
6. Wet Scrubber
 Used to remove/neutralize harmful contaminants in the flue gas.
 It works via the contact of target compounds or particulate matter with
scrubbing solution.
 Solution may be water (for dust) or complex reagents for specific
compounds.
 Removal efficiency improved by increasing residence time of pollutants in
scrubber or by increasing surface area of scrubber solution.
 Increase in surface area is achieved by:
1. Spray tower: water is introduced from top. Droplets greater than 10 µm
are carried and get settled at the bottom
2. Venturi scrubber
3. Cyclone scrubber
Venturi scrubber
 Submicron particles (0.5 to 5
µm) in smoke and fumes are
removed.
 Polluted gases pass through
venturi shaped throat at the
velocity of 60 – 180 m/s.
 Coarse water stream is injected
upwards into the throat where it
gets atomized due to impact of
high velocity gases.
 Liquid droplets collect
particulates as they collide.
 To separate droplets carrying
particulate matter from the gas
stream, this gas-liquid mixture is
passed through a cyclone
separator.
Cyclone scrubber
 Dry cyclone chamber can be
converted to wet cyclone
scrubber by inserting high
pressure spray nozzles at various
places.
 High pressure spray nozzles
generate fine spray that intercepts
the small particles in the polluted
gas.
 Centrifugal force throws these
particles towards the wall from
where they are drained
downwards.
 One side effect of scrubbing is
that the contaminants removed
from gas, which now are in solid
form should be properly
contained or buried to prevent
further pollution.
7. Flue Gas Desulphurisation
 It is the current state-of-the art technology used for removing SO 2 from flue
gases coming out of power plants using fuels like coal.
 SO2 is removed by:
1. wet scrubbing using a slurry of sorbent, usually limestone or lime, to
scrub the gases.
2. spray-dry scrubbing using similar sorbent slurries
3. Dry sorbent injection
 Since SO2 is an acid gas, the sorbent slurries should be alkaline.
 When wet scrubbing is done with CaCO 3 (limestone-slurry), CaSO3 (calcium
sulfite-solid) and CO2(gas) is formed.
 When wet scrubbing is done with Ca(OH) 2 (lime-slurry), CaSO3 (calcium
sulfite-solid) and H2O(liquid) is formed.
 Wet scrubbing uses a high energy liquid stream to contact the gas stream and
effect mass transfer.
Gas Flare
 An elevated vertical stack or chimney found in oil wells, rigs, chemical
plants, refineries, etc., to burn unusable waste gas or inflammable gas
released by the pressure relief valves.
 Flaring and venting of natural gas in oil wells is a main source of green
house gases.
 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas is flared or vented annually.
 It is equivalent to combined annual gas consumption of Germany and
France.
Photochemical smog
 Conditions for formation of photochemical smog are air stagnation, abundant sunlight and
high concn. of HC and NOx in atm.
 Smog arises from photochemical reactions in the lower atmosphere by interaction of HC and
NOx. This interaction results in a series of complex reactions which may produce secondary
pollutants like ozone, ketones, aldehydes and peroxyacyl nitrates.
 NO2 absorb UV light from sun forming nitric oxide and highly reactive atomic oxygen.
 Atomic oxygen immediately combines with molecular oxygen to form ozone.
 Under normal circumstances O3 reacts with NO to form NO2.
 But when HC is present in atm NO reacts with hydrocarbon radical peroxyacyl (RCO 3) and
results in building up of O3 concn in atm.
 Hydrocarbons react with atomic oxygen to form acyl radical (RCO).
 Acyl radical react with molecular oxygen to form RCO 3.
 Peroxyacyl radical reacts with HC, NO and O3 to form aldehydes, NO2 and Ozone.
EURO Norms
END