INTRODUCTION

Composition of the Atmosphere The earths atmosphere consists of an abundance of chemical elements. Its main constituents are nitrogen (volume ratio 78.1%) and oxygen (21.0%). Water vapor is also highly prevalent in the atmosphere though quantities vary. Other than this, existing in extremely minor quantities are trace gases. Should wind shift in the atmosphere be weakly defined, gaseous components would likely undergo a diffusive separation. This is due to the fact that individual elements differ in mass from one another, resulting in heavier elements sinking to lower regions, while lighter elements would rise to regions higher in the atmosphere. However, in reality, due to the existence of wind conditions in the regions below the tropopause, 11 kilometers above ground, the elements are well mixed. The mixing ratio is relatively the same. However, traces gases, excluding noble gases, are not equally distributed throughout the atmosphere by source or photochemical reaction within the atmosphere. But rather, their concentrations and distribution differ, effected by such factors as altitude, latitude, longitude, and time of year. Concentration also differ depending on place, such as in urban areas.

AIR POLLUTION AND TREATMENT PROCESSES

AIR POLLUTION AND AIR POLLUTANTS

When the substances which have been emitted into the atmosphere exist throughout the atmosphere, over and above the natural physical diffusion and deposition functions, chemical elimination functions, and biological purification functions, is dispersed throughout the atmosphere and their volume exceeds natural conditions, they have a direct or indirect influence on living beings, including human being. This is called air pollution, air pollutants are generally defined as those substances which alter the composition of the natural atmosphere.

The Types of Air Pollutants Air pollutants are divided into primary pollutants like carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbon species, dust and soot, which are emitted directly by air pollutant sources, and secondary pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, photochemical ozone, and aerosols, which are created by chemical changes which occur in the atmospheric environment. Physically, they are also divided into gas particles and particulate matter.

The Sources of Air Pollutants Sources of air pollutants are divided into those which derive from natural causes and those which are brought about by human power. These are called natural sources and anthropogenic sources. Some of the major natural sources include volcanic emissions, forest fires, pollen scattering, sandstorms and yellow sand being blown up from the surface of the earth by winds, sea salt particles being blown up from the surface of the sea by winds, and ozone which has subsided from the

AIR POLLUTION AND TREATMENT PROCESSES

stratosphere to the troposphere. Some of the major anthropogenic sources include factories and thermal power stations, substances emitted due to the burning of fossil fuel in engines like those of automobiles, gases and particulate matter created in the production process, and suspended particulate matter and chemical substances created in the process of waste disposal. 1. Thermal Power Station The thermal power station is an important facility to support our civilization, but is also causing air pollution. The technology of thermal power generation includes the steam power station which makes electricity by rotating the electrical generator via steam turbines that are driven by high pressure steam generated by the boiler, the electric generation which uses internal combustion engines, and that which combines the former two technologies. The sources of air pollutant are the former two systems which use coal, oil and natural gas as a fuel. 2. Source of Dust The pulverization or crushing which fragments a solid material by mechanical force and makes fine particles is the oldest mechanical operation of humankind, By this operation, the handling of solid becomes easier and the rate of reaction and dissolution and the catalyst reactivity are improves because the surface area of solid is increased. These effects are readily seen in such processes as coal pulverization in the pulverized coal combustion facility and ore processing in the puddling. Also, the polishing is an operation to smooth out the surface of solid materials. The particulate matter that is generated and scattered during smashing or other mechanical operations, or associated with the accumulation of the

AIR POLLUTION AND TREATMENT PROCESSES

materials obtained through these processes, is called the dust and is attracting attention as a source of air pollution. The major source of dust includes the pulverizing equipment, polishing machine, sieve, particulate transport facility, pile of ore or soil, and cokes oven. Generally, the size of dust generated by the mechanical operation such as pulverization or crashing is relatively large and is about a few m and its range is rather broad, unlike the fine fume generated by the chemical reaction. 3. Chemical Process The chemical industry is an essential factor for the prosperity of humankind, nut it has been causing many air pollution problems because it deal with various chemical substances, As this kind of chemical industry is diverse, only some typical examples of incidence of the emission of air pollutant will be described below. A. Cement Industry Dust scattering from the cement industry has been often a subject of claims. Cement is a generic name of inorganic colloid containing plaster, lime, magnesia, volcanic ashes, There is a dry process and etc. a wet

process in the manufacturing method of cement. The rotary kiln is the largest source of air pollutant in the cement industry, and generates air pollutants such sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and heavy metal fumes. The major air pollutant in this industry is the dust generated from processes such as crushing and mixing, silo storage, transportation, burning process, and drying, and the sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides are also generated from the rotary kiln and rotary dryer. Particularly, the concentration of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas of the rotary kiln is as cement dust,

AIR POLLUTION AND TREATMENT PROCESSES

quite high. The pollutant that is attracting much attention recently, is the particle, and it is presently handled by the electrostatic precipitator. B. Sulfuric Acid Industry In the production of sulfuric acid, contact process is adopted. In this process, the elemental sulfur is oxidized by air to sulfur dioxide, then the latter is oxidized to sulfur trioxide using vanadium pentoxide as a catalyst. Then it is made into contact with sulfuric acid to obtain highly concentrated sulfuric acid. Sulfur dioxides has been obtained by burning iron sulfide before, but is now obtained by the method using elemental sulfur which is a byproduct of desulfurization of the heavy oil. The major air pollutants produced are sulfur dioxide and mist. C. Nitric Acid Industry In the production of nitric acid, a method using ammonia as a raw material is adopted. In this process, ammonia is oxidized by air in high temperature to form nitrogen monoxide, at the existence of platinum catalyst. Nitrogen dioxide, obtained by oxidizing the mixture of this nitrogen monoxide and air, is then absorbs into the water to form nitric acid. The major air pollutants emitted from this process are nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide exhausted from the absorption tower.

AIR POLLUTION AND TREATMENT PROCESSES

D. Chlorine Production Chlorine is produced by the electrolysis of sodium chloride water solution, and it is formed at the positive electrode. High temperature chlorine formed is cooled, and then washed by nitric acid to dry. It is then liquefied and shipped. Major cause of chlorine release is the discharge of gas that is not liquefied. 4. Metal Refinery A. Copper Refinery Major and particles. B. Zinc Refinery The major ore containing zinc is zinc blende (ZnS), so zinc is also mined as a sulfide ore like copper. In the refinery of zinc blende, the refined ore obtained through the concentration process is roasted to remove sulfur as sulfur dioxide. A sulfur dioxide is an air pollutant; it is used to manufacture sulfuric acid. C. Aluminum Refinery This refinery work has discharged hydrogen fluoride in the molten salt electrolytic process and caused air pollution problems. Carbon monoxide, tar and alumina particles are also generated in this process. D. Refinery of Titanium and Silicon Titanium is a super heat resisting metal with an excellent anticorrosion characteristics, and its alloy is used as a material for gas turbine air pollutants from the copper refinery process are sulfur dioxide

AIR POLLUTION AND TREATMENT PROCESSES

blade. Also, silicon, germanium, and zirconium are quite useful as a material for semiconductors and special purpose materials. Those elements are easily combined with chlorine to form chloride, and the chlorides of these elements are refined by hydrogen reduction after removing impurities through distillation. Primary air pollutant emission by those refinery processes is chlorine. 5. Petroleum Refinery The sources of air pollutant in the oil refinery to be noted are the storage tanks for crude oil and its products. The tanks are classified into a fixed roof type and a floating roof type, and both types of tank release hydrocarbon vapor as a result of the evaporation of oil. Furthermore, air pollutants are generated in the combustion process of heating furnace (pipe still), catalyst recovery furnace and boiler in the oil refinery. Particularly, carbon particles and fine particulate metal salts could be contained in the exhaust gas of the catalyst recovery furnace. The source substance of offensive odor in the oil refinery is mainly hydrogen sulfide and mercaptane. 6. Transportation Gasoline-engine vehicles Exhaust emission is what after the gasoline is burned in the engine, is discharged from the muffler in the form of CO2, NOx and H2O as the products of complete combustion, and CO and HC as the products of incomplete combustion. Next is blow-by gas which leaks into the crankcase through a gap between the

AIR POLLUTION AND TREATMENT PROCESSES

piston and cylinder wall and contains unburned fuel, mostly HC. Also, there is the evaporative emission. Because gasoline is a highly volatile fuel, it evaporates from the fuel supply equipment such as the fuel tank and the carburetor, polluting the atmosphere. Diesel-powered vehicles Because diesel fuels volatility is lower than gasolines, pollution of the air from emission evaporation after the fuel is burned is remarkably low. Also, as only air is pushed into the piston ring part in the early stages of burning, blow-by gas emissions are low resulting in a remarkably low concentration of HC. Therefore, most of the emissions from diesel engines that pollute the air are discharges from the exhaust. An air-excess condition in burning occurs mostly and there is little discharge of CO and HC. However, on the other side is much NOx emission, and, also, black smoke and particulate matter cannot be avoided because of the partial lack of oxygen in the latter part of the burn period. Moreover, because there is a high percentage of sulfur in diesel fuel than in gasoline, SO2 is discharged, too. 7. Sources of Offensive Odors WORKSITES Livestock and farming industry Chemical processing plants Paint factories Print works Food processing plants Petrol refineries Chemical plants Sewage Treatment plants Raw sewage treatment facilities Craft pulp manufacturing

AIR POLLUTION AND TREATMENT PROCESSES

EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION

Health Effects on Human The first target organs attacked by air pollutants are respiratory system organs. Of the air pollutants inhaled, the larger particulate matters are caught in the nasal cavity. However, so-called suspended particulate matters, measuring 10 m or less in diameter pass through the nasal cavity to reach the trachea and/or the alveola. Of the gaseous substances, sulfur dioxide, which is soluble in water, is absorbed mainly in the upper airway, causing bronchitis or asthma. On the other hand, ozone, nitrogen oxides and other insoluble gaseous substances advance deep in the lungs, causing asthma or chronic bronchitis or possibly pulmonary emphysema. Also, carbon monoxide, when coming into contact with hemoglobin contained in the blood in alveola, disturbs transportation of oxygen by the blood because the substance combines with hemoglobin more easily than oxygen.

Effect on Vegetation Plant damage resulting from air pollution largely entails the visible damage on leaf surfaces, etc. Although visible damage usually appears after short term exposure of to high gases, concentrations pollutant

plants fundamental physiological functions including photosynthesis, respiration,

AIR POLLUTION AND TREATMENT PROCESSES

transpiration, etc., are affected and plant development stunted by long term exposure to low concentrations of pollutant gases as well. Photosynthesis is particularly sensitive to pollutant gases and is affected even by extremely low concentrations. Hydrogen fluoride (HF) is most toxic followed by gaseous chlorine (Cl2), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Effects on materials and cultural properties The effects of air pollution are not only on peoples health and living things such as plants, but also extend to manmade items such as materials like metals and cultural properties. Hydrogen sulfide greatly affects silver and copper, and sulfuric acid has a large effect on iron, steel and stone. Also, ozone has a large effect on high molecule substances. In this way, depending on the material and its type, the degree of the effect of air pollutants will be different.

Visibility degradation When visibility is degraded, the surrounding scenery becomes difficult to see clearly compared with normal conditions. Peoples first experience of air pollution is visibility degradation. The light from the sun deteriorates through its being absorbed and scattered due to aerosols, absorption by

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air pollutants and water vapor, scattering by airborne particles, and so forth. The main cause of visibility degradation due to air pollution are aerosol and gases in the atmosphere, but the visibility conditions can differ greatly due to atmospheric conditions such as humidity, the optical characteristics of the target matter, and the strength and distribution of the light at the time in question. When air pollution is severe, the atmosphere appears to be colored but the color can vary depending on the type of pollution. Air pollution appears black when it is due to soot from the burning of fossil fuels, but has a whitish hue when it is due to photochemical air pollution.

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AIR POLLUTION MEASURING METHOD

Measurements are taken using collection-analysis (manual analysis), concentration meters, continuous (automatic) analyzers, and the other simple measuring equipment. MEASURING METHOD Manual Analysis FUNCTION Applicable compounds used equipment to most of be as that can such

with

ordinary

spectrophotometers and gas chromatographs, because once has been collected at fields, it has to be carried back to the laboratory for analysis Concentration meter Obtains on-site values in a portable form for the target gas Continuous analyzer Used for fixed and point records

observations,

both the time course and the mean concentration Simple Measuring Inexpensive, easy to operate and aims to be able to take measurements on-site Equipment

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AIR POLLUTION CONTROL

Reducing the emission of air pollutants into the atmosphere is indispensable for air pollution control. Many technologies are applied toward this purpose and the technology for the collection and treatment of pollutants such as dust collector and exhaust gas desulfurization and denitrification equipment is spreading widely. However, these are not the only means of air pollution control. Among many other control techniques are the improvement of fuels, combustion management, energy saving and process control. Methods to prevent air pollution include: 1. Separation of damaged areas and pollution sources. (Aim at reduction by widening the distance) 2. Heighten ventilation pipes and chimneys to avoid high concentrations on ground level. 3. Attachment of dust collecting equipment and toxic gas treatment. (Automobiles: three way catalytic converter) 4. Change over to better quality fuel. (Automobiles: low-pollution vehicles) as well as many other measures. Better fuel countermeasure By the use of better fuel controls, the creation of air pollutants is reduced. Ways to convert types of fuel (changing from burning coal to burning heavy oil or gas) and the method of using the better quality fuels within the same fuel type (switching from those with high sulfur content to low sulfur content) are being adopted. The effects of using better fuel 1. Gaseous fuels (natural gas, LPG, etc.) a) Burns with little excess air, burns efficiently b) Because they do not contain sulfur or ash, they do not create sulfur oxides or soot.

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c) Because they do not contain nitrogen they do not create fuel NOx (however we must pay attention to Thermal NOx) 2. Liquid fuels (heavy oil, light oil, kerosene, etc.) a) Heavy oils create soot, but not as much as coal. b) Because heavy oils contain sulfur and nitrogen, they create sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides. In this case, flue gas desulfurization and denitrification are performed. c) Low-sulfur heavy oils, made by removing sulfur by desulfurization, produce few sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxide. 3. Solid fuels (bituminous coal, anthracite coal, lignite, coke) a) Because they contain a lot of ash and sulfur, large quantities of soot and sulfur oxides are produced. b) Because they also contain nitrogen, they also produce nitrogen oxides. c) Large furnaces use pulverized coal firing and fluidized combustion, and by the exhaust treatment gas, soot and dust sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides are removed.

Combustion control Combustion control refers to the operation of combustion furnaces so that

the combustion efficiency is improved by rationalizing the combustion method and equipment maintenance.

Dust Collector Dust collecting is the operation which collects and separates the particles

contained in processing gases. Generally, the dust collector is used in the last step of the production process and it is called an air pollution control equipment.

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However, it is used in various fields with divergent purposes such as preservation of the work environment, purifying exhaust gas, recovery of useful particles and improving the purity of processes. Generally, fine particles are generated during mechanical operations such as pulverizing in addition to soot particles occurring during the combustion process, and these are generally called dust. Flue Gas Desulfurization Equipment Flue gas desulfurization is categorized into two separate procedures, the wet method and the dry process. The majority of equipment which s currently in operation utilizes the wet met method. Denitrification of Exhaust Gas Air pollution resulting from nitrogen oxides (NOx) can be improved through the use of the low NOX combustion and the flue gas denitrification. Reaction Agent Ammonia Catalytic NH3, (NH2)2CO Reduction Process Method Utilizes a catalyst, causes a reaction between ammonia and NOx, and separates the non-harmful nitrogen and water vapor Uses ammonia as a reduction agent, which is then sprayed into the exhaust gas, reduces NOx into N2 using a gas phase nonApplication Boilers, gas turbine, diesel garbage incinerator and heating furnaces

Non-catalytic reduction Method

NH3, (NH2)2CO

Petroleum heating furnaces, garbage incinerators

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Activated Carbon NH3 (simultaneous desulfurization denitrification)

Electron Beam NH3 Irradiation Method

Oxidation Reduction O3, Method NA2SO3

catalyst Adsorbs SO2 from the exhaust gas using activated carbon (or activated cokes), the NOx is decomposed to N2 by the NH3 agent utilizing activated carbon (activated cokes) as its catalyst NH3 is added to the exhaust gas and irradiated with an electron beam. The Sox is converted into ammonium sulfate and the NOx is converted into ammonium nitrate. ClO2, NO is oxidized using ozone or chlorine dioxide and adsorbed by a soda solution.

Boilers, incinerators

Still undergoes testing for verification of the method

Small boilers and heater furnaces

Toxic Gas Treatment Toxic gas emissions come in diverse forms depending on the source of this

emission. When selecting the collection method for polluted gas and the treatment methods, it is necessary to take into consideration the properties of the raw gas, at the same time taking into account the facility site, surrounding environment, and economical efficiency. The thermal combustion method,

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catalytic method, condensation method, adsorption method and absorption method are just some of the processes found when categorizing the treatment methods available. Hydrocarbon Species Emission Control Hydrocarbon species substances exist in the atmosphere as vapor or mist. They are mainly fuel types and various solvents. Treatment methods of hydrocarbon species are broadly divided into the condensation method, absorber method, adsorption method, direct combustion method and catalyzer oxidation method. Offensive Odor Deodorization Method Methods used for the removal of offensive odor include the thermal combustion method, adsorption method, wetscrubber method, biological deodorization method, ozone oxidation method, and the use of deodorants. These methods and their respective devices are selected based upon the physic-chemical qualities of the substance to the deodorized and the conditions of the facilities exuding the odor.

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