AIR POLLUTION

AND POLLUTANTS
CONTENT
Definition, Composition of atmospheric
air, Classification and sources of air
pollutants. Effects of air pollution on
human, plant and material, Air
pollution control methods, equipment
and safety.
WHAT IS POLLUTION ???

 Pollution is “change in background conc.”.

 “Anysubstance introduced into the

environment that adversely affects the
usefulness of a resource”.

 Pollution happens because no process is

100% efficient; each process produces
pollution.
AIR POLLUTION

 Air pollution defined as the of one or more

contaminants or combinations in such
quantities and of such durations as may be or
tend to be injurious to human, animal or plant
life, or property, or which unreasonably
interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of life
or property or conduct of business.
 Composition of
dry atmosphere, by volume
ppmv: parts per million by volume
Gas Volume
Nitrogen (N2) 780,840 ppmv (78.084%)
Oxygen (O2) 209,460 ppmv (20.946%)
Argon (Ar) 9,340 ppmv (0.9340%)
Carbon dioxide
375 ppmv
(CO2)
Neon (Ne) 18.18 ppmv
Helium (He) 5.24 ppmv
Methane (CH4) 1.745 ppmv
Krypton (Kr) 1.14 ppmv
Hydrogen (H2) 0.55 ppmv
Not included in above dry atmosphere:
Water vapor
typically 1%
(highly variable)

Mean Atmospheric Water Vapor.

Source for figures above: NASA. Carbon dioxide and methane updated (to 1998) by IPCC TAR table 6.1 [1]. The NASA total was 17 ppmv over 100%, and
CO2 was increased here by 15 ppmv. To normalize, N2 should be reduced by about 25 ppmv and O2 by about 7 ppmv.

Gas Volume
Minor components of air not listed above include:
nitrous
0.5 ppmv
oxide
xenon 0.09 ppmv
ozone 0.0 to 0.07 ppmv
nitrogen
0.02 ppmv
dioxide
iodine 0.01 ppmv
carbon
trace
monoxide
SOURCE AND CLASSIFICATION
 Natural

 Man- made or anthropogenic

 Natural- pollen grains, volcanic eruptions,

forest fires, dust storms, spores, bacteria
and other microorganisms.
 Man- made- industrial units, thermal power
plants, automobile exhausts, fossil fuel
burning, mining, nuclear explosions,
SOURCE AND CLASSIFICATION
 Stationary

 Mobile

⚫ Point source- large stationary source

⚫ Area source- small stationary source and
mobile source with indefinite routes
⚫ Line source- mobile source with definite
routes
AIR POLLUTANTS
 Substance dwelling temporarily or permanently in the air.

 Alters the environment by interfering with the health, the

comfort, or the food chain, or by interfering with the
property values of people.

 A pollutant can be solid (large or sub-molecular), liquid or

gas .

 It may originate from a natural or anthropogenic source

(or both).
 Itis estimated that anthropogenic sources have
changed the composition of global air by less
than 0.01%.

 Even a small change can have a significant

adverse effect on the climate, ecosystem and
species on the planet.
CLASSIFICATION OF POLLUTANTS

 Pollutants can be grouped into two categories:

(1) primary pollutants, which are emitted

directly from identifiable sources, and

(2) secondary pollutants, which are produced

in the atmosphere when certain chemical
reactions take place among primary pollutants.
PRIMARY POLLUTANTS

The major primary pollutants include:

⚫ particulate matter (PM),

⚫ sulfur dioxide,
⚫ nitrogen oxides,
⚫ volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
⚫ carbon monoxide, and
⚫ lead.
SECONDARY POLLUTANTS

 Some primary air pollutants react with one

another or with other chemicals to form
secondary pollutants.
 Atmospheric sulfuric acid is one example of a
secondary pollutant.
 Air pollution in urban and industrial areas is often
called smog.
 Photochemical smog, a noxious mixture of
gases and particles, is produced when strong
sunlight triggers photochemical reactions in the
atmosphere.
 The major component of photochemical smog is
ozone.
MAJOR POLLUTANTS SOURCES AND
EFFECTS
 Carbon monoxide (CO)- colorless, odorless, tasteless
gas.
 No effect at normal conc. (0.1ppm)
but higher conc. seriously affect.

 Volcanoes, natural gas emissions,

seed germination contribute to CO.

 Transport sector contribute 75% CO.

 Residential wood burning 10%, industrial process

15% CO.
Effects:
 Reduce oxygen carrying capacity of blood.

 Decrease in vision and causes cardio vascular

disorders.

 Carbon dioxide (C02)- Fossil fuel combustion.

 Jet plane use O2 and release CO2.

 Burning

Effects:
 Causes headache and nausea.

 Effect on climate, increase global temp.

 Oxides of nitrogen – NOx group contains NO, NO2, N2O.
 Fuel combustion in automobiles and industries.

 Lightening.

 Forest fires.

 Natural ionizing radiations.

Effects:
 Reduce blood carrying capacity.

 Causes lung problems.

 Oxides of sulphur – generally called SOx, include SO2,
SO3.
 67% SOx pollution due to volcanic activities and other
natural sources.
 Remaining due to fossil fuel burning, transportation.

 Industrial activities.

Effects:
 Respiratory problems

 Marbles, clothes, paper, leather also affected.

 Plants also heavily affected.

 Hydrocarbons (HC) – these include methane, ethylene,
acetylene, terpenes etc.
 Sources include coal fields, natural fires.

 Incomplete combustion

 Forest fires

 Agricultural burning

Effects:
 Carcinogenic effect

 Form ozone and PAN which are harmful.

 Damage plants, rubber materials, fabric and paints.

PARTICULATE MATERIALS

 Particles of different substances suspended in the

air

 In the form of solid particles and liquid droplets

 Particles vary widely in size

 Different particulate materials are aerosols, dust,

smoke, fumes, mist, fog, fly ash etc.
 Fine particles come from a variety of sources:
-diesel trucks and buses
-construction equipment
-power plants
-woodstoves
-wildfires

 Also, Chemical reactions in the atmosphere can

transform gases into fine particles.
Effects:
 Premature death

 Aggravated asthma

 Acute respiratory symptoms

 Chronic bronchitis

 Decreased lung function (shortness of breath)

 People with existing heart and lung disease, as well

as the elderly and children, are particularly at risk
EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON HUMAN
 around 30-40% of cases of asthma and 20-30%
of all respiratory disease.
 effect our health in many ways with both short
term and long term effect.
 Short term effect are: irritation to nose, eye,
throat, bronchitis, headache etc.
 Long term affect are: lung disease, chronic
respiratory problem, damage to heart, brain,
eyes etc.
 Eye irritation due to NOx, O3, PAN, particulates.
 Nose and throat due to SO2, NOx etc.
 Gaseous pollutants like H2S, SO2, NO2 and
hydrocarbons cause odor nuisance.
 Irritation of respiration tract caused by SOx, NOx,
CO, O3.
 Increase in mortality.

 High conc. of SO2, NO2 and SPM causes

bronchitis and asthma.
 CO and NO react with haemoglobin and reduce O2
carrying capacity of blood.
 Heavy metals like lead can cause poisoning. High
conc. cause damage to liver and kidney.
FACTORS AFFECTING HUMAN HEALTH
 Nature of the pollutants

 Concentration of the pollutants

 Duration of exposure

 State of health of receptor

 Age group of the receptor

EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON PLANT
 Decrease yield in agriculture.

 Suppressed growth of vegetables.

 Leaf injury and damage to young plants.

 Decreased growth rate and increased death

rate.
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
 Cannot be fully prevented but can be
controlled.
1. Preventative measures
2. Control measures using equipments.

Preventative measures (source control)

 Selection of suitable fuel. (Low sulphur coal in power
plant, using of CNG)
 Modification in industrial process.

 Selection of suitable site and zoning for industrial unit.

Control measures

 When source control not possible some measures

taken to prevent pollution.
 Collecting pollutants by using equipments.

 Destroying the pollutants by thermal or catalytic

combustion.
 Changing the pollutants to less toxic form.

 By releasing the pollutants through tall chimneys for

greater dispersion.
AIR POLLUTION CONTROLLING EQUIPMENTS

Cyclone separator
 Centrifugal force is utilized to

separate the particulate matter.

 It can remove 10 to 50 μm

particle size.
 Used mostly in industries.
Advantages
 Low initial cost.

 Require less floor area.

 Simple construction and maintenance.

 Can handle large volume of gas at high temp.

Disadvantages
 Requires large head room.

 Less efficiency for smaller particles (<10μm).

 Sensitive to variable dust load and flow rate.

Electrostatic precipitators

 Works on the principle of electrical charging of

particulate Matter (-ve) and collecting it in a +ve
charged surface.

 99% efficiency.

 Can remove particle size range of 0.1 μm to 1 μm.

Advantages
 High collection efficiency.

 Particles may be collected dry or wet.

 Can be operated at high temp. (300-450˚c).

 Maintenance is normal.

 Few moving parts.

Disadvantages
 High initial cost.

 Require high voltage.

 Collection efficiency reduce with time.

 Space requirement is more.

 Possible of explosion during collection of

combustible gases or particulates.
Fabric filters
 Flue gas is allowed to

pass through a woven

Fabric, which filters out
Particulate matter.
 Small particles are

retained on the fabric.

 Remove particles up to 1 μm.

 Its efficiency up to 99%.

Advantages
 Higher collection efficiency for smaller than

10 μm particle size.
 Performance decrease becomes visible, giving
prewarning.
 Normal power consumption.

Disadvantages
 High temp. gases need to be cooled.

 High maintenance and fabric replacement cost.

 Large size equipment.

 Fabric is liable to chemical attack.