Transcript Air Pollution - Ocean County Vocational Technical School

Air Pollution
Causes, Effects, and Solutions
Terms to be familiar with…
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CAA – Clean Air Act
CO – carbon monoxide
NOx – nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxides
PM – Particulate Matter
SOx – Sulfur dioxide and sulfur oxides
VOC’s – Volatile Organic Compounds
Our Atmospheric Composition
Composition of
dry atmosphere, by volume
ppmv: parts per million by volume
Gas
Volume
Nitrogen (N2)
78.084% (780,840 ppmv)
Oxygen (O2)
20.946% (209,460 ppmv)
Argon (Ar)
0.9340% (9,340 ppmv)
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
375 ppmv
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 (highly variable)
typically 1%
Air Pollution
Air Pollution Control Act of 1955
1st federal air pollution law
1960s - Clean Air Act of 1963
– (Emissions standards set for stationary
sources such as power plants and steel mills)
1970 – The Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970
– EPA was formed to enforce air pollution laws
(change in national policy from advisor to
enforcer) – Six major air pollutant types
1990 – The Clean Air Act of 1990
– Clean Air Act of 1970 is re-written and new
titles established
Six Common Air Pollutants
 Particulate Matter
 Carbon monoxide
 Nitrogen dioxide
 Lower Troposphere OZONE producing activities
 Sulfur dioxide
 Lead
The EPA asked to Obama Administration to
consider Carbon dioxide as a new common air
pollutant.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency- July 19, 2011
Particulate Matter (PM)
 It is known as “Particle Pollution” and can
range in sizes and effects on humans
 Particle sizes:
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10 um (diameter) greater health threat
than “Course particles” found near
roadways and in mining and concrete
industries.
Carbon monoxide (CO)
 CO is a colorless-odorless gas produced by
the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.
 Motor vehicle exhaust contributes to 56% of
the CO produced in the U.S.
 Over 20% comes from other engines, boats
and equipment not on-road.
CO Pollution
EPA : 1999 Data
Updated On 11/30/2011, Published on 12/27/2011
Environmental Epidemiology Program, Bureau of Epidemiology, Division of
Disease Control and Prevention, Utah Department of Health, Salt Lake City, UT
84114-2104
Nitrogen dioxide (NOx)
 Generic term for multiple combinations
of nitrogen and oxygen
 Colorless and odorless but sometimes
NO2 can be seen as a brown-red gas
 Sources include motor vehicles,
electric utilities, industry, and
commercial and residential fossil fuel
usages.
NOx is Alarming
 Contributes to the formation of acid rain
 Can contribute to nutrient load that affects
water quality
 Contributes to Global Warming (traps long
wave radiation on Earth) which becomes
Thermal Radiation.
Los Angeles California: the smog is the brown layer in the
picture
Source: http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv8898.php
New York city picture: This 1963 photo shows a massive smog episode in
New York City. (Photo: AP/Wide World Photo, EPA Journal Jan/Feb 1990.
OZONE
 It is not usually emitted directly into the air,
but at ground level is created by a chemical
reaction between oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in
the presence of sunlight.
 Sunlight and hot weather cause groundlevel ozone to form in harmful
concentrations in the air.
Good
Ozone is “Bad” Here
Good
Ozone
There are two forms of Ozone. The Ozone
that limits UV rays from reaching the Earth is
in the Stratosphere (10 – 30 miles above the
Earth’s surface. The “Bad” Ozone is in the
lower Troposphere.
Sulfur dioxide (SOx)
 Common in raw materials like coal, ore, and
crude oil.
 Over 65% of SO2 released to the air, or
more than 13 million tons per year, comes
from electric utilities, especially those that
burn coal.
SOx emission
Source: http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/so2/what1.html
Acadia, ME
Big Bend, TX
Bryce Canyon, UT
Lead
 These emissions have been phased
out in the U.S., but NOT globally.
 The major sources TODAY are
smelters, waste incinerators, utilities
and lead-acid battery manufacturers.
Notice the
change in lead
emission sources
since the
banning of lead
fuel use in the
early 1980’s in
the U.S.
Source:
http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/lead/what.h
tml
Lead Concerns
 Affects young children and infants more
 Is still found at high levels in urban and
industrial areas
 Deposits are in soil and water and harms
animals and fish
Air Pollution Health Impacts
Air Pollutant
Respiratory
Other
Particulate Matter
Yes
Limited
Carbon monoxide
Yes
Neurologic
Nitrogen oxides
Yes
Limited
Ozone
Yes
Limited
Sulfur oxides
Yes
Limited
Lead
Limited
Organ/Neuro
Normal Lung Aveoli (Left) versus Emphysema (Right)
Solutions to Industrial Emissions
 Wet Scrubbers
 Baghouse (Venturi) Filters
 Electrostatic Precipitators
 Cyclone Separators
Wet Scrubbers
 The purge stream, which
contains the particulate
and sulfur oxides
removed from the flue
gas, may either be
treated in the refinery's
existing wastewater
treatment system or may
be treated in a dedicated
PTU (Purge Treatment
Unit).
Cyclone Separators
 Cyclone dust collectors
have been used as a
pre-filter before a
cartridge or baghouse
collector,
 Effective for larger,
more abrasive dust
particles that can
easily damage
standard media filters.
Baghouse filter
 "Baghouse" is an
example of surface
filtration
 "Filter" is a membrane
(sheet steel, cloth, wine
mesh, or filter paper)
with holes smaller than
the particles.
 It is usually the cake on
the filter that stops
particles from flowing
through
Electrostatic Precipitators
 Electrostatic precipitators have collection
efficiency of 99%, but do not work well for flyash
with a high electrical resistivity (as commonly
results from combustion of low-sulfur coal). Flyash
is a common emission from the burning of fossil
fuels
Indoor Pollutants
VOCs
VOC’s (emitted from dishwashers)
Over-insulated homes can cause
pollutants to be held indoors
Solvents (common) from paints, etc
Poorly maintained heating systems
What’s up with Carbon dioxide?
Is it the cause of Global Warming?
“Global Climate Change”
Human-caused carbon dioxide
Ocean pH