Primary Air Pollution

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Primary Air Pollution

• Garret and Sina

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Sources of Pollutants

• Carbon Monoxide
• Oxides of Nitrogen
• Oxides of Sulfur
• Particulates
• Hydrocarbons

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Carbon Monoxide

• Natural Sources
• Volcanic Activity

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CO Concentrations
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Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

• Nitrogen Oxides refers to any of the following,
  or a combination thereof
• Nitric Oxide (NO)
• Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
• Dinitrogen Monoxide (N2O) (Nitrous Oxide)
• Dinitrogen Trioxide (N2O3)
• Dinitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4)
• Dinitrogen Pentoxide (N2O5)

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Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

• Man Made Sources
• Combustion
• When internal combustion engines run, a mixture
  of fuel and air is burned. When burning,
  temperatures can reach such high levels that the
  nitrogen in the air actually burns as well,
  creating various Oxides of Nitrogen
• Once Temperatures reach 2200F, N2 and O2
  dissociate into their atomic states and then
  undergo differing reactions, creating thermal
  NOx
• N2 O ? NO N
• N O2 ? NO O
• N OH ? NO H

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Sulfur Dioxide
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Sulfur Dioxide

• Natural Sources
• decomposition and combustion of organic matter
• spray from the sea
• volcanic eruptions

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Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

• Man-Made Sources
• smelting of mineral ores containing sulfur
• combustion of fossil fuels
• coal
• oil
• diesel fuel
• coal- and oil-fired power plants
• steel mills
• refineries
• pulp and paper mills

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SO2
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Particulates

• Particulates are tiny particles composed of
  liquid or solid that are suspended in gas.
• The size of these particles must be within 10
  Nanometers and 100 micrometers.
• Larger than this and gas can generally not carry
  the particles
• Sources of particulates
• There are two sources in which particulates are
  presented into the atmosphere
• Natural Sources
• Man Made sources

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Natural Sources of Particulates

• Wind is a great contributor of spreading
  particulates which occur from, but are not
  limited to
• Volcano activity
• Wind blown dust which is spread into the air
• Fires, either forest fires or brush fires
• Once particulates are formed, they are spread
  throughout the air by the wind, which can carry
  particulates up to several hundred miles.

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Human Sources of Particulates

• Humans contribute to the spread of particulates
  by
• The burning of fossil fuel from coal to oil in
  power plants and internal combustion car engines.
  
• Wind blown dust from sites where water or
  vegetation has been removed
• Logging
• Construction sites

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Particulates

• Two types of particulate emission
• Particulates emitted directly to the atmosphere
  are known as Primary Emissions.
• Particulates emitted as gasses and form particles
  in the atmosphere are known as Secondary
  Emissions.

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Hydrocarbons

• Hydrocarbons have low levels of entropy, and
  therefore are the most frequently used substance
  for energy.
• Hydrocarbons consist of any elements that only
  contain Carbon ( C ) and Hydrogen (H).
• They have carbon structures with Hydrogens
  attached to that structure.

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Examples of Hydrocarbon
Hexane
Benzene
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The Burning of Hydrocarbons

• Ideally, the burning of Hydrocarbons (in internal
  combustion engines) would emit only water and CO2
  but because coal is not pure, many toxic
  byproducts are released as well. Incomplete
  combustion creates CO2 as well.

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Health Effects
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Effects of Air Pollution on Health

• An estimated 3 million deaths occur annually
  indirectly due to air pollution.
• For example two gases that cause air pollution,
  Carbon Monoxide and Sulfur Dioxide are both
  deadly gases in high quantities.

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Health Effects Carbon Monoxide

• Small amounts of Carbon Monoxide can be dangerous
  to a persons health and can lead to hypoxic
  poisoning or death.
• Recent studies have indicated that exposure to
  Carbon monoxide has significant effects on life
  span.

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Health Effects Carbon monoxide

• Effects of Carbon monoxide in ppm (parts per
  million)
• 100 to 200 ppm (0.01-0.02)-slight headache
  within 2 to 3 hours
• 400 ppm (0.04)- Frontal headache within 1-2 hrs
• 800 ppm (0.08) Nausea, convulsions, and
  dizziness within 45 minutes. No sense remaining
  within 2 hrs.
• 1,600 ppm (0.16) Nausea, dizziness, and headache
  within 20 minutes. Death in 2 hours
• 3,200 ppm (0.32) Nausea, dizziness, and headache
  within 5-10 minutes. Death within 30 minutes.
• 6,400 ppm (0.64) Headache and dizziness in 1-2
  minutes. Death in 20 min
• 12,800 (1.28) Death in 3 minutes

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Health Effects Nitrogen Oxides

• Everyone is exposed to Nitrogen Oxide in ambient
  air, although with higher levels of Nitrogen
  Oxide health problems can occur such as
• Exposures to high levels can cause respiratory
  damage.
• If exposed to the skin can cause skin rash and
  burn

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Health Effects Sulfur dioxide

• People are naturally presented with Sulfur Oxide
  through the burning of coal and oil but high
  levels of Sulfur dioxide can cause health risks
  and problems such as
• Respiratory illness
• Alterations in the lungs defenses
• Cardiovascular disease

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Particulates

• NASA image of
• Particulates
• Over the Northern
• India
• And Bangladesh

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Health Effects Particulate

• Like other forms of substances that are presented
  into the air, many of the particulates are caused
  due to the burning of fossil fuels and the use of
  automotives and industry, hence particulates can
  cause
• Respiratory problems in humans who are exposed to
  the matter
• Major cardiovascular disease of the contact with
  these particulates is prolonged
• Cancers such as lung cancer

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Health Effects Hydrocarbons

• Seeing that most of the electrical energy and
  heat is produced through the burning of
  substances that contain carbon, when exposed and
  sent into the air they can cause health problems
  such as
• Problems in breathing, especially in people who
  have previous cardiovascular problems
• Lung malfunctions and after long duration of time
  can lead to lung cancer and lung failure

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Reducing the Primary Air Pollutants
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Reducing the Primary Air Pollutants

• The following methods will be discussed
• CO catalytic converters
• NOx catalytic converters, lean burn engines,
  recirculation of exhaust gases
• SOx Alkaline scrubbing, removal of sulfur
  containing compounds from coal and oil,
  limestone-based fluidized beds
• Particulates- electrostatic precipitation
• Hydrocarbons- catalytic converters

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Catalytic Converters

• A catalytic converter is an instrument which
  reduces the emission of combustive substances, in
  this case CO through the combustion of CO and the
  emission of Carbon monoxide into the air.
• A catalytic converter is commonly used in
  automotive exhaust system but are also now being
  used more in generator sets, forklifts, mining
  equipment, and other machines.

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Catalytic Converters Cont.

• Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide to Carbon
  Dioxide 2CO O2 ? 2CO2
• Reduction of Nitrogen Oxides to Nitrogen NOx ?
  O2 N2
• Oxidation of hydrocarbons to Carbon Dioxide and
  Water CxHy nO2 ? xCO2 mH2O

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CO and Catalytic Converters

• Oxidation of Carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide is
  due to the use of catalytic converters
• 2CO O2 - 2CO2
• With the use of a catalytic converter, the
  process of combustion (redox) continues, but
  outside of the engines combustion chamber (in
  automotives), no useful energy is extracted

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Hydrocarbons

• Hydrocarbons are also reduced through the use of
  catalytic converters.

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NOx Absorbers

• A NOx Absorbers are used to reduce the oxides of
  nitrogen emitted in the exhaust of gas of a lean
  burn internal combustion engine.
• Lean burn is another form of internal combustion
  of lean air fuel mixtures.
• They occur with the form of new engines that
  cause higher levels of compression and thus
  provide better performance and more efficient
  fuel

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SOx and alkaline scrubbing and lime stone based
fluidized beds

• The goal of these processes is to convert SO2(g)
  to SO2(aq).
• The use of lime stone or lime helps remove
  sulfur dioxide from gases
• The process used to do this is called scrubbing.
  Scrubbers use high energy liquid streams to
  contact the SO2(g) and convert it to other forms.
  
• Alkaline Solutions must be used to do the
  scrubbing and hence lime is usually used.

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Particulates

• Electrostatic Precipitators
• A particulate collection device that removes
  particulates from gas with an electrostatic
  charge.
• The particles flow past a series of thin wires
  that have a large negative charge induced from a
  high voltage power supply, then keep flowing past
  positively charged collection plate that they are
  attracted to. Once they adhere to the collection
  plate their positive charge allows them to become
  part of the collection plate, hence allowing a
  high volume of particulate matter to pass through
  the Precipitator.

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The End
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Works Cited

• http//www.unl.edu/nac/conservation/atlas/Map_Html
  /Air_Quality/National/Sulfur_Dioxide/Sulfur_Dioxid
  e.htm
• http//www.usgs.gov/
• http//www.epa.gov/ebtpages/air.html
• http//www.greenfacts.org/air-pollution/index.htm
• http//www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofile
• http//www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?cdvLUK9O0Eb3
  5358
• http//www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/aw/air/health/sulfu
  rdiox.htm
• http//www.environment.nsw.gov.au/envirom/princair
  pol.htm