AIR POLLUTION • Presence of one or more air contaminants in such

concentration and for such duration that it starts affecting

the life in the biosphere is called Air Pollution.
Biosphere – • Pollutants are broadly classified into Primary &
Zone in which all Secondary Pollutants
t h r e e • Primary pollutants have directly identifiable origin
Lithosphere, whereas when one or more primary air pollutants react
Hydrosphere and under favourable conditions, it leads to the formation of
Atmosphere secondary pollutants.
meets, and is • Primary Pollutants – Oxides of Sulphur, Oxides of
capable of Carbon, Oxides of Nitrogen, Lead, Hydrocarbons etc.
supporting the • Secondary Pollutants – Sulphuric Acid, Ozone,
life Formaldehyde, PAN
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY

!1 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !2

1 2

BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY

GAS LAW
• PV = nRT
• P in N/m2, T in Kelvin, R(Universal Gas
Constant) = 8.314 kJ/mole
• The temperature of the air parcel (or balloon)
decreases with elevation
• All gases at STP (Standard Temperature &
Pressure) i.e. 0ᵒC, 1 atm occupy 22.4 litres/
mole
Note that out of all the oxides of Nitrogen, only NO and
NO2 are classified as Pollutants !3 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !4

3 4
• The concentration of suspended particles and
gaseous pollutants are expressed in µg/m3 at
atmospheric temperature and pressure.
• The L/mol at STP is 22.4.
• The value at any other temperature and pressure
can be found by – (P1V1)/T1 = (P2V2)/T2
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY
Suspended Particulate Material (SPM)
• Thousands of different solid or liquid particles suspended in
air
– Includes: soil particles, soot (black powder after burning
of organic matter), lead, asbestos, sea salt, fog, mist and
sulphuric acid droplets
• Dangerous due to following reasons
– May contain materials with toxic or carcinogenic effects
– Extremely small particles can become lodged in lungs
leading to bronchitis, asthma etc.
Note –
Pneumoconiosis – lung disease caused due to inhalation of
silica & coal dust (usually to the people working in coal
mines)
!5 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !6

5 6

Nitrogen and Sulphur Oxides Carbon Oxides and Hydrocarbons

• Nitrogen Oxides • Carbon Oxides
– Gases produced by the chemical interactions between – Carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2)
atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen at high temperature – Greenhouse gases
– Problems – Chief source is automobile exhausts
• Greenhouse gases – CO is colourless, odourless, toxic gas and combines with
• Cause difficulty in breathing haemoglobin to form Carboxyhaemoglobin which reduces the
• Sulphur Oxides oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.
– Gases produced by the chemical interactions between • Hydrocarbons
sulphur and oxygen – Diverse group of organic compounds that contain only
– Causes acid rain hydrogen and carbon (ex: CH4 , C6H6 etc. )
– Originated from refineries, chemical plants, burning of fossil – Some are related to photochemical smog and greenhouse
fuels etc. gases
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !7 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !8

7 8
 Ozone Photochemical Smog
• Tropospheric Ozone • Smog is a mixture of Smoke (respiratory problems) and
– Man- made pollutant in the lower atmosphere Fog (reduces visibility).
– Secondary air pollutant • Conditions for formation of Photochemical Smog –
– Component of photochemical smog Hydrocarbons
• Stratospheric Ozone Nitrogen Oxides
– Essential component that screens out UV radiation Stagnant air (for chemicals to interact)
in the upper atmosphere Abundant Sunlight (happens during day or afternoon)
– Man- made pollutants (ex: CFCs) can destroy it • It consists of – PAN, Ozone, CO, CO2, Formaldehyde

BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !9 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !10

9 10

PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG OVER LOS ANGELES

BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY
!11
Formation of Photochemical Smog
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !12

11 12
 • Air parcel expands as it rises as air pressure
decreases with elevation (Ex. Helium Balloon)
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !13
13
• The rate at which temperature of parcel of air pollutant
(from automobile exhaust, chimney etc.) decreases with
increase in height above the earth’s surface is termed
as ADIABATIC LAPSE RATE (ALR)
[If a material changes its state (P, V or T) without any
heat being added to it or withdrawn from it, the change
is said to be adiabatic]
• It is taken as 6.0ᵒC/km for Wet Process (Wet ALR) and
9.8ᵒC/km for Dry Process (Dry ALR)
• WALR is lesser because of the heating produced by the
condensation of water vapour
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !15
15
DISPERSAL OF AIR POLLUTANTS
• Dispersal of the air pollutants in the atmosphere
depends upon the prevailing wind, temperature &
pressure conditions
• With the increase in the height, temperature of the
normal air decreases above the earth surface (in
troposphere) & the rate at which temperature
decreases with increase in height is termed as
LAPSE RATE or ENVIRONMENTAL LAPSE RATE
(ELR). Its value is 6.5ᵒC/km (average)
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !14
14
• ELR varies from time to time and place to place.
A Rawinsonde’s thermometer measures ELR.
• Depending upon the relative magnitudes of ELR
and ALR, following types of atmospheric
conditions are defined –
• Unstable Atmosphere
• Stable Atmosphere
• Neutral Atmosphere
• How do we determine the condition of
atmosphere?
By comparing the ELR with DALR or WALR
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !16
16
 EXPLANATION Unstable Atmosphere
• The environment become unstable for the pollutants
when ELR > ALR
• This is a favourable condition which leads to rapid
vertical mixing of the pollutants
• The prevailing ELR
in such a condition
is known as Super
Adiabatic Lapse
Rate, as it is more
than ALR

BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !17 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !18

17 18

Stable Atmosphere INVERSION

• The environment is said to be stable with respect to • If temperature above the surface of the earth
pollutants when it doesn’t lead to their thorough increases with the increase in height, this condition is
vertical mixing termed as Inversion
• Such condition occurs when ELR < ALR • The rate at which temperature increase with the
• It is unfavourable increase in height is called negative lapse rate
condition and the • Inversion is generally found when earth cools rapidly
prevailing ELR is in comparison to the air surrounding it (Radiation
called as Inversion) – Occurs in winter nights and becomes
Subadiabatic normal with the rays of the morning sun.
Lapse Rate as it is • Inversion also exists if high pressure region is
less than ALR. surrounded by low pressure (Subsidence Inversion)

BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !19 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !20

19 20
 SUMMARY - CONTROLLING
AIR POLLUTION
Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP)
Wet Scrubber
Gravitational Settling Chamber
Centrifugal Collector
Fabric/Bag Filter

BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !21 !22

21 22

ELECTROSTATIC Efficiency of Electrostatic Precipitator

PRECIPITATOR
• Deutch Anderson Equation
• Smokestacks with
electrostatic precipitator where,
w is migration velocity in m/s,
A is the effective collecting plate area of the precipitator
Without Electrostatic in m2
precipitator
Q is the gas flow through the precipitator in m3/s

With Electrostatic
precipitator

BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !23 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !24

23 24
Properties of ESPs WET SCRUBBERS
• The gas is made to pass through a highly ionized zone
where the particles get electrically charged & are • A l s o c a l l e d a s Ve n t u r i
scrubbers and spray tower
separated out from the gas with the help of electrostatic
• Smokestacks with scrubbers
forces in powerful electric field
• Can remove gaseous
• Widely used in thermal power plants, mining, iron and pollutants also Ex. SO2
steel plants etc.
• Particulate material can also
• Sensitive to variable dust loadings & flow rates be controlled
• Particles collected may be wet or dry • Hot gases can be cooled
• 99% or more efficiency can be obtained down
• Operated at high temperature • Maintenance cost is high
• A lot of waste water is
• Maintenance is nominal & power required is more as produced which requires
compared to other devices further disposal
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !25 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !26

25 26

GRAVITATIONAL SETTLING CHAMBER

• The largest particle that can be removed (d) is given by –

C - correction factor, usually 2

µ - viscosity of air in kg/m-sec
v – horizontal velocity of gas passing the chamber in m/sec
H & L are the Height and Length of the chamber
ρ – density of particles removed in kg/m3
• Simple to design and maintain
• Low head loss
• Requires large space, Collection efficiency is low
• Only large sized particles are separated
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !27 !28

27 28

CENTRIFUGAL
COLLECTORS
• Simple to design and economical
• Requires less floor area
• Used for industries like cement, petroleum, asphalt
etc.
• Efficiency is low for smaller particles, quite
sensitive.
• Can handle large volumes of gases at high
temperature
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY
29
PLUME BEHAVIOUR
• Gases evolved into the atmosphere are termed
as Plume and their source of emission is
termed as Stack.
• Depending upon the type of Environment,
following types of plume are observed –
a. Looping Plume (ELR > ALR) – This type of
plume is observed in Super-adiabatic
Environment and is characterized by rapid
downward mixing which requires the higher
stacks to avoid these interferences in
atmosphere.
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY
31
FABRIC/BAG FILTER
• Fabric Filters or Baghouses use
filtration to separate dust
particulates from dusty gases.
• They are one of the most efficient
and cost effective types of Dust
Collecting Filters available and can
achieve a collection efficiency of
more than 99% for very fine
particulates.
• Dust-laden gases enter the baghouse and pass through fabric bags
that act as filters. The bags can be of woven or felted cotton,
synthetic, or glass-fiber material in either a tube or envelope shape.
!29 !30
30
b. Neutral Plume ( ELR = ALR ) - This type of
plume is found in neutral environment and is
characterized by the vertically upward rise of
the pollutant into the atmosphere
c. Coning Plume ( ELR < ALR ) - This type of
plume is observed in stable atmosphere
generally when wind velocity is more than
32km/h
d. Fanning Plume - This type of plume is found in
inversion condition and is characterized by
horizontal spread of the pollutant. Higher stacks
are needed if Fanning plumes are observed
!31 BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !32
32
e. Lofting Plume – This type of plume is observed if Super-
adiabatic environment exist over surface inversion. This
plume is characterized with minimum downward mixing as
it is restrained by the inversion layer below the stack. This
type of plume is generally observed in winter.
f. Fumigating Plume – This type of plume is observed when
inversion condition exists over Superadiabatic Environment.
It is the worst possible plume as pollutant. Gases are never
able to escape as inversion layer exists over the stack.
g. Trapping Plume – This type of plume is observed when
inversion layer exists over and under the superadiabatic
environment. In this case, pollutant are trapped in between
the two inversion layer. Hence it is termed as Trapping
Plume.
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY
BY SAGAR SIR, MADE EASY !33 !34

33 34