Scribd
Upload
6 views

Chapter 1- Air Pollutants

The document discusses various types of air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, particulates, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides, detailing their sources, effects, and contributions to environmental issues such as smog and acid rain. It highlights the harmful impacts of these pollutants on human health and the atmosphere, emphasizing the need for regulation and mitigation strategies. Additionally, it categorizes air pollutants into gases, particulates, and aerosols, providing a comprehensive overview of their characteristics and dangers.

Uploaded by

tttrr6125
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
6 views

Chapter 1- Air Pollutants

The document discusses various types of air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, particulates, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides, detailing their sources, effects, and contributions to environmental issues such as smog and acid rain. It highlights the harmful impacts of these pollutants on human health and the atmosphere, emphasizing the need for regulation and mitigation strategies. Additionally, it categorizes air pollutants into gases, particulates, and aerosols, providing a comprehensive overview of their characteristics and dangers.

Uploaded by

tttrr6125
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/ 16

Air Pollutants

Chapter 1
Types of Pollution
Land
Air Disposal of the chemicals,
Release undesired materials to industry and human waste on
the atmosphere due human and/or underground. Poor
activities in addition to natural agricultural practices, mineral
catastrophic and oil exploration,
POLL transportation
UTIO
Water N
Thermal
Dumping or disposing of
Discharge of waste heat via
chemicals or biological
energy dissipation into the
materials to the ocean or sea.
cooling water and subsequently
This case degrades the quality
into nearest water
of the water
Air Pollution
• It is the presence of
undesirable materials in air
(atmosphere), in quantities
high enough to produce
harmful effects
• Particulates
- dust (1 – 1000 µm)
- smoke (0.5 – 1 µm)
- fumes (0.03 – 0.3 µm)
- CO, SOx, VOC, NOx
- In USA 120 millions tons ˂ of
these pollutants are emitted
due to human activities
Air Pollutants
• Air pollutants are those substances added to air by human activities that affect
the environment.
• Air pollutants are classified in three forms gases, particulates and aerosols.

Type and
amount of
pollutant

Level of
air
Meteorological
pollution Ways in which
the pollutants
conditions
are emitted
Air Pollutants
Major air pollutants include:
1. Carbon monoxide (CO)
2. Sulfur oxides (SO2 and SO3)
3. Particulates
4. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
5. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) e.g. NO, NO2, N2O
6. Ozone, which is formed through atmospheric reactions. (major component of
Smog)
1 – Carbon monoxide:
• Colorless, odorless, poisonous gas.
• Produced by incomplete combustion of carbon in gasoline fuel.

- Most abundant of all pollutant gases.


- CO prevents the hemoglobin from carrying O from the lungs to body cells.
- Dizziness, headaches and visual aberrations.
- Refer reactions on page 5
- Air quality standard set for CO is max of 9 ppm for an eight hour interval.
- Refer graph on page 8
2 – Sulfur Oxides
(SO2, SO3)
• Arise primarily from burning of fossil fuels and oxidation of sulfur.

- is a colorless, suffocating odor if > 3 ppm.


- Results damage to upper respiratory tract, lung tissues and lung disease.
- Another problem,

- Major source of acid rain phenomena. Refer page 5 & 6.


- Remove sulfur from coal and oil before burning.
- Remove from gases by lime. (Refer reaction in page 6)
3 – Particulates/Aerosols
• Presence of very small particles (0.01 to 10 microns) in
• Dust from dry soil, volcanic ashes, pollen, fly ash are sources of particulates.
• Aerosols are solid or liquid matter suspended in air.
• Particles > 1 micron are natural sources
• Particles < 1 micron originates from combustion.
Example:
Refer page 6
Distance = velocity x time
Time = d/v = 4.6 days
4 – Hydrocarbons or Volatile Organic
Compounds (VOC)
• Carbon and hydrogen atoms of HC are VOCs.
• Sources: petroleum use, trash incineration, evaporation of solvents
like benzene, xylene, evaporation of gasoline, biological decay of
vegetation to methane gas.
• VOCs plays active role in formation of photochemical smog.
5 – Nitrogen oxides and photochemical
smog
(NO, NO2, N2O, N2O4)
• These substances are primary components of smog
• Smog refers to primarily unpleasant condition of pollution in certain urban
environments that occurs when weather conditions produce a relatively stagnant
air mass
• This type of smog is described as photochemical smog because photochemical
smog process play a major role in its formation
(nitric oxide)
- Forms in small quantity in the cylinder of internal combustion engines
- This NO is rapidly oxidized in air to form nitrogen dioxide ()

- Photo dissociation of requires 304 KJ/mole to occur


5 – Nitrogen oxides and photochemical
smog
- The atomic oxygen formed undergoes several possible reactions, one
which forms ozone

- In the upper atmosphere, ozone is very essential to screen UV but it is


undesirable pollutant in the troposphere. Ozone is a toxic and
extremely reactive
- HC reacts with free oxygen and NO, NO2 to form very reactive radicals
that are strongly oxidizing agents leads to eye irritation. Eg. PANs
(Peroxyacyl nitrates)

You might also like