Air Pollution

David H.F. Liu, Bela G. Liptak, David H.F. Liu, Bela G. Liptak

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351467742
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Ciencias biológicas
• Subtopic: Conservación y Protección del Medio Ambiente

Whether considered a threat to the health of humans in particular or of the ecosystem in general, the problem of air pollution affects us all. In addition to the 189 chemicals listed in the air toxins category of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, smog, acid rain, ozone depletion, and global warming all arise from air pollution. You can debate the prime causes óacid rain, excessive lumbering or changes in the weather ó but the diminishing rainforest and the spreading desert speak for themselves.
Air Pollution addresses the sources and results of these problems, and how they influence the environment. It surveys all aspects of management, including dispersion modeling, emission measurements, air quality and continuous emission monitoring, remote sensing, and stack sampling. In addition, the book explores methods of reduction and control, with particular attention to gaseous emission controls and odor control.
This stellar resource addresses the prevention of pollution created by existing technology, and the design of future zero-emissions technology. A useful guide for engineers, students or anyone working for environmental protection, Air Pollution provides a solid foundation and presents a sound environmental philosophy.

Béla G. Lipták speaks on Post-Oil Energy Technology on the AT&T Tech Channel.

1

Pollutants: Sources, Effects, and Dispersion Modeling

Larry W. Canter | David H.F. Liu | Roger K. Raufer | Curtis P. Wagner

1.1
SOURCES, EFFECTS, AND FATE OF POLLUTANTS

Sources of Air Pollution

Point, Area, and Line Sources

Gaseous and Particulate Emissions

Primary and Secondary Air Pollutants

Emission Factors

Emission Inventories

Nationwide Air Pollution Trends

Effects of Air Pollution

Economic Losses

Visible and Quantifiable Effects

Biodiversity

Deterioration of Exposed Materials

Health Effects

Atmospheric Effects

Rainfall Quality

Tropospheric Ozone—A Special Problem

Brief Synopsis of Fate of Air Pollutants

Effects of Wind Speed and Direction

Effects of Atmospheric Turbulence

Effects of Atmospheric Stability

Effects of Topography on Air Motion

Other Factors

1.2
VOCs AND HAPs EMISSION FROM CHEMICAL PLANTS

Emission Points

Process Point Sources

Process Fugitive Sources

Area Fugitive Sources

Classification of VOCs and HAPs

1.3
HAPs FROM SYNTHETIC ORGANIC CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES

Hazardous Organic NESHAP

Process Vents

Storage Vessels

Transfer Operations

Wastewater

Solid Processing

Toxic Pollutants

1.4
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY

Basic Chemical Processes

Catalytic Oxidation of SO₂

Photochemical Reactions

Particulates

Long-Range Planning

1.5
MACRO AIR POLLUTION EFFECTS

Acid Rain Effects

Effects on Forests

Effects on Soil

Effects on Groundwater

Effects on Surface Water

Effects on Materials

Effects on Health

Losses in Stratospheric Ozone Layer

Global Warming

Ecological Impact

Impact on Water Resources

Impact on Agriculture

Impact on Air Quality

Impact on Human Health

1.6
METEOROLOGY

Wind

Scales of Air Motion

Wind Rose

Turbulence

Lapse Rates and Stability

Lapse Rates

Stability

Inversions

Precipitation

Topography

Land-Sea Breeze

Mountain-Valley Winds

Urban-Heat-Island Effect

1.7
METEOROLOGIC APPLICATIONS IN AIR POLLUTION CONTROL

Air Pollution Surveys

Selection of Plant Site

Allowable Emission Rates

Stack Design

1.8
ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION MODELING

The Gaussian Model

Plume Characteristics

Dispersion Coefficients

Stability Classes

Wind Speed

Plume Rise and Stack Height Considerations

Plume Rise

Briggs Plume Rise

Downwash

Tall Stacks

Computer Programs for Dispersion Modeling

Guideline Models

Model Options

Screening and Refined Models

Simple and Complex Terrain

Urban and Rural Classification

Averaging Periods

Single and Multiple Sources

Type of Release

Additional Plume Influences

Meteorology

Other Models

Mobile and Line Source Modeling

CALINE3 Model

CAL3QHC Model

BLP Model

1.1
SOURCES, EFFECTS, AND FATE OF POLLUTANTS

Air pollution is defined as the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more contaminants (pollutants) in quantities and duration that can injure human, plant, or animal life or property (materials) or which unreasonably interferes with the enjoyment of life or the conduct of business. Examples of traditional contaminants include sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, smoke, and haze. This list of air pollutants can be subdivided into pollutants that are gases or particulates. Gases, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides exhibit diffusion properties and are normally formless fluids that change to the liquid or solid state only by a combined effect of increased pressure and decreased temperature. Particulates represent any dispersed matter, solid or liquid, in which the individual aggregates are larger than single small molecules (about 0.0002 μm in diameter) but smaller than about 500 micrometers (μm). Of recent attention is particulate matter equal to or less than 10 μm in size, with this size range of concern relative to potential human health effects. (One μm is 10⁻⁴ cm).

Currently the focus is on air toxics (or hazardous air pollutants [HAPs]). Air toxics refer to compounds that are present in the atmosphere and exhibit potentially toxic effects not only to humans but also to the overall ecosystem. In the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAAs), the air toxics category includes 189 specific chemicals. These chemicals represent typical compounds of concern in the industrial air environment adjusted from workplace standards and associated quality standards to outdoor atmospheric conditions.

The preceding definition includes the quantity or concentration of the contaminant in the atmosphere and its associated duration or time period of occurrence. This concept is important in that pollutants that are present at low concentrations for short time periods can be insignificant in terms of ambient air quality concerns.

Additional air pollutants or atmospheric effects that have become of concern include photochemical smog, acid rain, and global warming. Photochemical smog refers to the formation of oxidizing constituents such as ozone in the atmosphere as a result of the photo-induced reaction of hydrocarbons (or VOCs) and nitrogen oxides. This phenomenon was first recognized in Los Angeles, California, following World War II, and ozone has become a major air pollutant of concern throughout the United States.

Acid rain refers to atmospheric reactions that lead to precipitation which exhibits a pH value less than the normal pH of rainfall (the normal pH is approximately 5.7 when the carbon dioxide equilibrium is considered). Recently, researchers in central Europe, several Scandinavian countries, Canada, and the northeastern United States, have directed their attention to the potential environmental consequences of acid precipitation. Causative agents in acid rain formation are typically associated with sulfur dioxide emissions and nitrogen oxide emissions, along with gaseous hydrogen chloride. From a worldwide perspective, sulfur dioxide emissions are the dominant precursor of acid rain formation.

Another global issue is the influence of air pollution on atmospheric heat balances and associated absorption or reflection of incoming solar radiation. As a result of increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other carbon-containing compounds in the atmosphere, concern is growing t...