Tutorial5:AirPollution

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Theexhaustgasfromanautomobilecontains1.0%byvolumeofcarbonmonoxide.Expressthis
concentrationinmg/mat25Cand1atm.
(Ans:11,445mg/m)

Atypicalmotorcycleemitsabout20gofCOpermile.
(a) WhatvolumeofCOwoulda5miletripproduceafterthegascoolsto25C(at1atm)?
(b) Per meter of distance travelled, what volume of air could be polluted to the air quality
standardof9ppm?
(Ans:[a]0.087m[b]1.2m/m)

Findthegrossheatofcombustionwhenmethaneisburned.ReferringtoExample5.3howmuch
inpercentageofgrossheatingvalueislostwhenwatervapourisnotcondensed.
(Ans:890.2kJ/molofCH4,10%)

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FromExp5.5,iftheHenrysconstantforTCEis560at20Cinunitsofatm,whatwillthewater
concentrationbeinthepresenceof0.01molesofair?
(Ans:75.7g/L)
IthasbeenestimatedthattheemissionofSO2fromacoalfiredpowerplantis1,656.2g/s.At3
kmdownwindonanovercastafternoon,whatisthecenterlineconcentrationofSO2ifthewind
speedis4.50m/s?(Note:centerlineimpliesy=0.).Whatisthisconcentrationinppm?
Stackparameters:
Height=120.0m
Diameter=l.20m
Exitvelocity=10.0m/s
Temperature=315C
Atmosphericconditions:
Pressure=95.0kPa
Temperature=25.0C

Severalauthorshaveproposedrulesofthumbtocorrectfortheaveragingtimedifference
betweenthestandardsandtheestimatesprovidedbyequationandthestandarddeviationfigures.
Thesecorrectionsrangefrom0.33to0.63foranhourlyaverage.Usingtheserules,determinethe
maximumonehourconcentrationanddetermineifitcomplieswithNAAQS.

(Ans: 1.45 x 103 g/m of SO2, 0.59 ppm, (0.1950.372ppm) this comply with NAAQS onehour
standard)

Comment:
1. Theplumestandarddeviationsobtainthroughfiguresarebasedonfieldmeasurementsusing
a10minutesamplinglime.Thefieldmeasurementswereconductedinrelativelyopencountry.
Applicationoftheequationstoothersettingsisnotrecommended.
2. Thestacktemperatureusedforthisexampleisabithighforcoalfiredpowerplants.Forbrick
andlinedstacksthetemperaturedropalongtheheightofthestackisabout0.9C/m(0.5F/ft).
Thetemperatureofthegasenteringthestackisontheorderof320C.Thus,amorerealistic
temperaturewouldhavebeenabout210C.

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Determinethedistancedownwindfromastackatwhichwemustswitchtotheinversionform
ofthedispersionmodelgiventhefollowingmeteorologicalsituation:
Effectivestackheight:50m
Inversionbase:350m
Windspeed:7.3m/s
Cloudcover:none
Time:1130h
Season:summer
(Ans:5km)

Giventhemeteorologicalandpowerplantdatashownbelow,determinethemaximumdownwind
concentrationofSO2andthedistancefromthestackthatitoccurs.
Meteorologicalconditions:
Windspeedat10m=4m/s
Sunnysummerafternoon
Powerplantconditions:
SO2emissionrate=151g/s
Effectivestackheight=150m
(Ans:1km,2.8104g/mofSO2)
Estimatetheconcentrationofnonmethanehydrocarbons(NMHC)300mdownwindofahighway
at5:30PMonanovercastdaywithawindspeedof4m/s.Thewindisfromduesouthandisatan
angleof60tothehighway.Themeasuredtrafficflowis8,000vehiclesperhour.Theaverage
speedis40milesperhour(mph)andtheemissionrateis0.25g/mile.
(Ans:6.52106g/mofNMHC)
DeterminetheheightofapackedtowerthatistoreduceNH3inairfromaconcentrationof0.10
kg/m3toaconcentrationof0.0005kg/m3giventhefollowingdata:
Columndiameter=3.00m
Operatingtemperature=20.0C
Operatingpressure=101.325kPa
Hg=0.438in
Hl=0.250in
Qg=10.0kg/sofair
Ql=10.0kg/soH2O
IncomingliquidiswaterfreeofNH3.
DeterminetheconcentrationofNH3inthewatereffluent.

GivenfromChemicalEngineersHandbook(PerryandChilton,1973):

(Ans:7.6m,82,380mg/LofNH3)

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Determinethecrosssectionalareaanddepthofcatalysttomeeta95%destructionefficiencyfor
methylethylketone(MEK).Theexhaustgasflowrateenteringthecontrolequipmentis5.66m3/s.
Combustionairissuppliedatarateof0.6m/s.Boththeexhaustgasandthecombustionairflow
ratesareat20C.Themanufacturersspecificationsrequirethatthecatalystbeoperatedat480C
andthatthebedgasvelocitybelimitedto6.0m/s.AssumethattheMEKcombustionreaction
followsfirstorderkineticsandthattherateconstantat480Cis100s1.
(Ans:2.68m,0.18m)