Enviro Pollution and Control

(Part 2)

Dr. K. S. Baig
Department of Chemical Engineering
WEC, U of W
Pollution

Environmental pollution is defined as the

undesirable change in physical, chemical and
biological characteristics of our air, land and water

the presence in or introduction into the environment of

a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.
 Categories of Pollutants
(a) Biodegradable pollutants -Biodegradable pollutants are
broken down by the activity of micro-organisms and enter
into the biogeochemical cycles. Examples of such pollutants
are domestic waste products, urine and fecal matter, sewage,
agricultural residue, paper, wood and cloth etc.

(b) Non- Biodegradable pollutants -Non-biodegradable pollutants

are stronger chemical bondage, do not break down into
simpler and harmless products. These include various
insecticides and other pesticides, mercury, lead, arsenic,
aluminum, plastics, radioactive waste etc.
Types of Environmental Pollution

• Land Pollution
• Water pollution
• Air pollution

• Soil Pollution
• Noise Pollution
• Thermal Pollution
• Light Pollution
Land Pollution

Land pollution is the result of human actions

In other words, it is the degradation or

destruction of earth’s surface and soil, directly
or indirectly as a result of human activities.

Anthropogenic activities are conducted citing

development, and it affects the land drastically,
It lessens the quality and/or productivity of the
land as an ideal place for agriculture,
forestation, construction etc.

The degradation of land that could be used constructively in other words is land pollution.
 Deforestation carried out to create dry lands is one of
the major concerns. Land that is once converted into
a dry or barren land
Causes of Land Pollution
Farmers often use highly toxic fertilizers and
pesticides to get rid off insects, fungi and
1. Deforestation and soil erosion bacteria from their crops. However with the
2. Agricultural activities overuse of these chemicals, they result in
3. Mining activities contamination and poisoning of soil.
4. Overcrowded landfills
5. Industrialization Nuclear plants can produce huge amount of energy
through nuclear fission and fusion. The left over
6. Construction activities radioactive material contains harmful and toxic
7. Nuclear waste chemicals that can affect human health. They are
8. Sewage treatment dumped beneath the earth to avoid any casualty.

Large amount of solid waste is leftover once the

sewage has been treated. The leftover material is
sent to landfill site which end up in polluting the
environment.
 Fixing Land Pollution
What if it isn't fixed?
Landfills and waste dumps increase in size. Which takes up a lot
of land and space from wildlife and humans.
Land pollution becomes hazardous to our health.
Land will become unreliable for life and our agriculture.
Why may people not want to help stop land pollution?
No time or patience to recycle and use organic products.

People argue that preventing this issue is too expensive,

impossible, and unimportant.

Land pollution has already escalated to a point where it can’t be

helped by human beings.
 How land pollution can be stopped?

1. Make people aware about the concept of Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.

2. Reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural activities.

3. Avoid buying packages items as they will lead to garbage and end up in landfill site.

4. Ensure that you do not litter on the ground and do proper disposal of garbage.

5. Buy biodegradable products.

6. Do Organic gardening and eat organic food that will be grown without the use of
pesticides.

7. Create dumping ground away from residential areas.

 Water pollution
Water pollution is the
contamination of
water bodies,
usually as a result of
human activities.

Water bodies include

for example lakes, rivers,
oceans, aquifers and
groundwater.

Water pollution results when contaminants are introduced into the natural environment.
Water Source Pollution
Point Source Pollution
comes from a specific source,
like a pipe, factories, industry,
municipal treatment plants.

can be monitored and controlled

by a permit system

Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution

NPS is pollution associated with stormwater or runoff

NPS pollution cannot be traced to a direct discharge point such as
a wastewater treatment facility
 Water pollution is any chemical, biological or physical change in water quality that has a
harmful effect on living organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired uses.

Oxygen demanding wastes (Dissolved oxygen): This degradation consumes dissolved

oxygen in water. The saturated point of DO varies from 8 to 15 mg/L

Organic wastes such as animal manure and plant debris that can be decomposed by
aerobic (oxygen-requiring) bacteria. Large populations of bacteria decomposing these
wastes can degrade water quality by depleting water of dissolved oxygen. This causes
fish and other forms of oxygen-consuming aquatic life to die.

Dissolved Oxygen (DO) is the amount of oxygen dissolved in a given quantity of

water at a particular pressure and temperature.
Problem statement
Determine the ThOD of 108.75 mg/L of glucose.

𝐶6 𝐻12 𝑂6 + 6𝑂2 ↔ 6𝐶𝑂2 + 6𝐻2 𝑂

6𝐶 = 72
12 𝐻 = 12
6 𝑂 = 96 6𝑥2 𝑂
ቊ
= 192
= 180

It takes 192 g of oxygen to oxidize 180 g of glucose to CO2 and H2O, Therefore
108.75𝑚𝑔 192 𝑔 𝑂2 𝑚𝑔
𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒 = 116 𝑂2
𝐿 180 𝑔 𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝐿
Determination of Oxygen Demand
The rate at which oxygen is consumed is directly proportional to the concentration
of degradable organic matter remaining at any time.
𝑑𝐿𝑡
= −𝑟𝐴
𝑑𝑡

𝐿𝑡 =𝑂𝑥𝑦𝑔𝑒𝑛 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡,𝑚𝑔/𝐿

− 𝑟𝐴 = −𝑘𝐿
k= reaction rate constant, d-1 𝑑𝐿𝑡
= −𝑘𝑑𝑡
𝐿𝑡

𝐿𝑡
𝑡
𝑑𝐿𝑡
න = −𝑘 න 𝑑𝑡
𝐿𝑡 0
𝐿0
 𝐿𝑡
ln = −𝑘𝑡
𝐿0
𝐿𝑡 = 𝐿𝑜 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
𝐿𝑜 = oxygen equivalent of organic compounds at time t=0

BOD is the difference between the initial value 𝐿𝑡 and 𝐿𝑜

𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑡 = 𝐿𝑜 − 𝐿𝑡
= 𝐿𝑜 − 𝐿0 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡
= 𝐿𝑜 (1 − 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 )

𝐿𝑜 is often referred to as ultimate BOD, i.e. the maximum oxygen demand

when the waste has been completely degraded.
𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑡 = 𝐿𝑜 (1 − 10−𝐾𝑡 )
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑘 = 2.303 (𝐾)
Problem statement 1
If the BOD of a waste is 75 mg/L and K is 0.15 d-1 . What is the ultimate BOD?

75 = 𝐿𝑜 (1 − 10− 0.150 (3) )

75
𝐿0 = = 116 𝑜𝑟 120 𝑚𝑔 /𝐿
0.645

𝐵𝑂𝐷 = 𝐿𝑜 (1 − 𝑒 −𝑘𝑡 )
75 = 𝐿𝑜 (1 − 𝑒 −(2.303)(0.150)(3) )
𝐿0 = 116 𝑜𝑟 120 𝑚𝑔 /𝐿
Water Pollutants
Nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus)

Pathogenic organisms (Bacteria, Viruses, Protozoa, and Parasitic worms.)

(cholera and typhoid are endemic disease in the world with over 384000 cases and
16 million cases of typhoid per year. These kills cause 20000 and 600000 deaths
respectively.

Suspended solids
Salts
Pharmaceutical and Personal care products
Endocrine disrupting chemicals
Heat
Endocrine disruptors
Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormone)
systems at certain doses.
These disruptions can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects, and other developmental
disorders.
Specifically, endocrine disruptors may be associated with the development of learning
disabilities, severe attention deficit disorder, cognitive and brain development problems;
deformations of the body (including limbs); breast cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid and
other cancers; sexual development problems such as feminizing of males or masculinizing
effects on females,

Xenoestrogens, Alkylphenols, Bisphenol A (BPA), Bisphenol S (BPS), DDT,

Polychlorinated biphenyls, Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, Phthalates,
Perfluorooctanoic acid
Problem Statement 2 𝑁𝑎 = 23.0
ቐ 𝐹 = 19.0
The fluoride concentration in 𝑁𝑎𝐹 = 42.0
drinking water may be increased to The mass of Fluoride in the bag =
help prevent tooth decay by adding
Sodium Fluoride; however, if too 19.0 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙
= 25 𝑘𝑔 𝑥 = 11.31 𝑘𝑔
much Fluoride is added, it may 42.0 𝑔/𝑚𝑜𝑙
cause discolouring of teeth.
The optimum dose of fluoride in
The optimum concentration of Fluoride in water =
drinking water is about 0.053 mM
(milllimole/Liter). If Sodium 𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑔
Fluoride is purchased in 25 kg 0.053 𝑥 19.0 𝑥 1000 𝑚𝑔/𝑔
= 𝐿 𝑚𝑜𝑙
bags, How many gallons of 1000 𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑙/𝑚𝑜𝑙
drinking water would a bag treat.
= 1.01 𝑚𝑔/𝐿
The mass concentration of a substance in a fluid is =
𝑚
𝑐 =
𝑉
M is mass of substance, V is the volume of the fluid

11.31 𝑘𝑔 𝑥 106 𝑚𝑔/𝑘𝑔

𝑉 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 =
𝑚𝑔 𝐿
1.01 𝑥 3.785
𝐿 𝑔𝑎𝑙

= 2.97 𝑥 106 𝑔𝑎𝑙

The five-day BOD of a diluted sample is given

𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑖 − 𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑓
𝐵𝑂𝐷5 =
𝑃
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑃 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 =
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 + 𝐷𝑖𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
BOD of a waste
BOD of a waste itself (BODw) can be determined

𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑚 𝑉𝑚 = 𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑤 𝑉𝑤 + 𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑑 𝑉𝑑 (A)

𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑚 = BOD of waste water and the seeded dilution water

𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑤 = BOD f the waste water alone
𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑑 = BOD of the seeded dilution water alone (the blank)
𝑉𝑤 = the volume of waste water in the mixture
𝑉𝑚 = the volume of the mixture= Vd + Vw
𝑉𝑑 = the volume of the seeded dilution water in the mixture

Let P = the fraction of the mixture i.e. wastewater = Vw/Vm

(1-P) = the fraction of the mixture that is the seeded dilution water = Vd/Vm
 𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑑 𝑉𝑚
𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑤 = 𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑚
𝑉𝑤
− 𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑑
𝑉𝑤
𝑥
𝑉𝑚
(b)

𝑉𝑑
1 𝑉𝑚
𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑤 = 𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑚 − 𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑑 𝑐
𝑉𝑤 /𝑊𝑚 𝑉𝑤
𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑤 = 𝐷𝑂𝑖 − 𝐷𝑂𝑓
𝑉𝑚
𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑑 = 𝐵𝑖 − 𝐹𝑓
By definition of ‘P’ and (1-P)
𝐵𝑖 = initial DO in the seeded water (Blank)
𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑚 − 𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑑 1 − 𝑃
𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑤 = 𝐵𝑓 = final DO in the seeded dilution water
𝑃

𝐷𝑂𝑖 − 𝐷𝑂𝑓 − 𝐵𝑖 − 𝐵𝑓 1 − 𝑃
𝐵𝑂𝐷𝑤 =
𝑃
Problem Statement 3

A test bottle containing just seeded dilution water has its DO level drop bu 1.0 mg/L in
five-day test. A 300 ml BOD bottle filled with 15 mL of waste water and the rest seeded
water (sometimes expressed as a dilution 1:20) experience a drop of 7.2 mg/L in the
same time period. What would be the five-day BOD of the waste ?

The dilution factor P is : P 15/300 = 0.05

The five-day BOD of the waste would be

7.2 − 1.0 (1 − 0.05)

𝐵𝑂𝐷5 = = 125 𝑚𝑔/𝐿
0.05
Carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand or CBOD

CBOD is a method defined test measured by the depletion of dissolved oxygen by biological
organisms in a body of water in which the contribution from nitrogenous bacteria has been
suppressed.

Nitrogenous oxygen demand (NOD)

NOD is a quantitative measure of the

amount of dissolved oxygen required for
the biological oxidation of
nitrogenous material,
for example, nitrogen in ammonia, and
organic nitrogen in waste water
Problem Statement 4
A waste water treatment plant serving a city of 200000 discharges 1.10 m3/s of
treated effluent having an ultimate BOD of 50.0 mg/L into a stream that has a flow
of 8.70 m3/s and a BOD of its own equal to 6.0 MG/l. The deoxygenated constant kd
is 0.20/day.

a) Assuming complete and instantaneous mixing estimate ultimate BOD of the

river just downstream from the outfall.

b) B) If the stream has a constant cross section so that it flows at a fixed speed
equal to 0.3 m/s, estimate BOD remaining in the stream at a distance of 30000 m
downstream
Problem Statement 5

The waste water in Problem statement 4has a dissolved oxygen concentration of 2.0
mg/L and a discharge value of 1.10 m3/s. The river that is receiving this stream is
equal to 8.3 mg/L, a flow rate of 8.70 m3/s and a temperature of 20 oC. Assuming
complete and instantaneous mixing, estimate the initial dissolved oxygen deficit of
the mixing of wastewater and river water just downstream from the discharge point.
Problem Statement 6

Just below the point where a continuous discharge of pollution mixes with a river
the BOD is 10.9 mg/L and DO is 7.6 mg/L. The river and waste mixture has a
temperature of 20 oC, a deoxygentd constant kd of 0.2/day, an average flow speed
of 0.3 m/s, and an average depth of 3.0 m.
A simple Phosphorous Model
Rate of addition of P = Rate of removal of P

𝑄𝐶𝑖𝑛 + 𝑆 = 𝑄𝐶 + 𝑣𝑠 𝐴𝐶

S = the rate of addition of P from the point source (g/s)

C = the concentration of P in the lake = (g/m3)
𝐶𝑖𝑛 = the concentration of P in the incoming stream flow ( g/m3)
𝑣𝑠 = the P settling rate (m/s) [empirical value]
A= the surface area of the lake (m2)

At a steady state concentration is:

𝑄𝐶𝑖𝑛 + 𝑆
𝐶=
𝑄 + 𝑣𝑠 𝐴
Problem Statement 7
A P limited lake with surface area equal to 80 x 106 m2 is fed by
a 15.0 m3/s stream that has a P concentration of 0.010 mg/L. In
addition , effluent from a poinr –source adds 1g/s of P. the P
settling rate is estimated at 10 m/yr.

a. Estimate the average total P concentration

b. What are the rate of p removal at the wastewater treatment
plant would be required to keep the concentration of P in
the lake at an acceptable level of 0.010 mg/L
Air Pollution:
Air is mainly a mixture of various gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide,
nitrogen. These are present in a particular ratio. Whenever there is any
imbalance in the ratio of these gases, air pollution results.
Sources of Air Pollution
•Natural; such as, forest fires, ash
from smoking volcanoes, dust storm
and decay of organic matters.

•Man-made due to population

explosion, deforestation,
urbanization and industrializations.
Air Pollution According to Physical Form
•Air pollutants are classified as suspended particulate matter, gases and vapours that are
present in the atmosphere in abnormally high concentrations.

•Particulate matter affects more people on continuing basis than any other pollutant. The
main components are coarse particles such as soil and mineral ash or fine particles found
in wood smoke or coming from engine exhausts.

•Gaseous air pollutants are principally oxides of nitrogen (NOx), ozone (O3), carbon
monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO2), ammonia (NH3) and volatile organic compounds.

•Other air pollutants include chlorinated fluorocarbons (CFCs) and other "greenhouse"
gases, lead and other heavy metals and radon.
Recall your memories
Ideal gas law
Dalton’s gas law
Adiabatic expansion and compression
Conversion of µg/m3 to ppm
ppm

𝑉𝑝
𝑝𝑝𝑚 =
𝑉𝑑

Vp is the volume of pollutant

𝑀𝑝 𝐿
𝑉𝑝 = 𝑥 22.414
𝐺𝑀𝑊 𝐺𝑀

GMW, is the gram molecular weight if the pollutant,

Mp is the mass of pollutant
For readings at temperature and pressure other than STP
𝑀𝑝 𝑇2 101.33 𝑘𝑝𝑎
𝐺𝑀𝑊
𝑥 22.414 𝑥 273𝐾
𝑥 𝑃2
𝑝𝑝𝑚 = 𝐿
𝑉𝑑 𝑥1000 3
𝑚
Problem statement

A 1 cubic meter sample of air was found to contain 80 µg/ m3 of SO2. The
temperature and pressure was 25 oC and 103.193 kPa when the air sample
was taken. What was the concentration in ppm

GMW of SO2 = 64.07

Temperature = 25 oC + 273 K = 298 K

80𝜇𝑔 298 101.33 𝑘𝑝𝑎

64.07 𝑥 22.414 𝑥 273𝐾 𝑥 103.193
𝑝𝑝𝑚 =
𝐿
1.00 𝑚3 𝑥1000 3
𝑚

𝑝𝑝𝑚 = 0.030 ppm of SO2

Problem statement

A Thar coal is burned at a rate of 1.00 kg per second. If the analysis of the coal reveals a
sulfur content of 3.00 percent, what is the annual rate of emission of SO2?

𝑆𝑖𝑛 = 𝑆𝑎𝑠ℎ + 𝑆𝑆𝑂2

𝑘𝑔
𝑆𝑖𝑛 = 1.00 𝑥 0.030
𝑠
𝑖𝑛 1 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 =
𝑘𝑔 𝑠 𝑑 5
𝑘𝑔
𝑆𝑖𝑛 = 0.030 𝑥 86400 𝑥 365 = 9.46𝑥10
𝑠 𝑑 𝑦 𝑦

Assuming that the sulfur has 5% ash

6
𝑘𝑔 4
𝑘𝑔
𝑆𝑎𝑠ℎ = 0.05 9.46 𝑥 10 = 4.73 𝑥 10
𝑦 𝑦
The amount of sulfur available for conversion to SO2
𝑆𝑖𝑛 = 𝑆𝑎𝑠ℎ + 𝑆𝑆𝑂2

5 4
𝑘𝑔 5
𝑆𝑆𝑂2 = 9.46 𝑥10 − 4.73 𝑥 10 = 8.99𝑥10
𝑦

The amount of SO2 formed:

𝑆 + 𝑂2 → 𝑆𝑂2
GMW = 32 +32 =64

64 𝑘𝑔
𝑆𝑆𝑂2 = 8.99 𝑥105
32 𝑦
6 𝑘𝑔
= 1.80𝑥10
𝑦
Problem statement
Determine weather or not a pulverized coal, dry bottom, wall fired boiler using
bituminous coal at a power plant rate 61 MW meets the NSPS for SO2 particulate
matter, and Nox. The power plant burns bituminous coal with with a sulfur content of
1.8 percent and ash content of 6.2 percent. The coal has a heating value of 14,000
BTU/lb. The boiler efficiency is 35%. Use EPA emission factors to eliminate the
emissions. Assume the efficiency of SO2 control is 85 % and the efficiency of
particulate control equipment is 99 percent.

Solution
Begin by calculating the coal firing rate 61 MW at a boiler efficiency of 35 percent
61 𝑀𝑊
= 174.3 𝑀𝑊 𝑜𝑟 174.3 𝑥 106 W
0.35

Using a one-hour time increment,

(174.3 x 106 W) (1 h) ( 3.414 BTU/ W-h) = 5.95 x 108 BTU
The mass of coal burned in an hour is

5.95 𝑥 108 1 𝑡𝑜𝑛

𝐵𝑇𝑈 = 21.25 𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠
14000 𝑙𝑏𝑚 2000 𝑙𝑏𝑚

Check the SO2 emission rate

Using the EPA emission factor of 38S bituminous coal:

Uncontrolled SO2 emission rate = (38) (1.8) – 68.4 lbm/ton pf coal

The estimated SO2 emission rate with 85 percent control is

(68.4 lbm/ton of coal) (21.25 tons/h) (1-0.85) = 218.03 lbm

The SO2 emission rate per million BTU is

218.03 𝑙𝑏𝑚 −7 𝑙𝑏𝑚
= 8 = 3.66 𝑥 10
5.95 𝑥 10 𝐵𝑡𝑢 𝐵𝑡𝑢
Particulate matter emission rate

Uncontrolled PM emission = (10) (6.2) = 6.2.0 lbm /ton of coal burned

The emission particular emission wih 99 percent control is

(62.0 lbm/ton of coal burned) (21.25 tons) (1-0.99) = 13.2 lbm

The particulate emission rate per BTU is

13.2 𝐵𝑡𝑢 8 𝑙𝑏𝑚
8 = 2.23 𝑥 10
5.95 𝑥 10 𝐵𝑡𝑢 𝐵𝑡𝑢

On a million Btu basis

𝑙𝑏 𝑙𝑏𝑚
2.23 𝑥 10−8 𝑚 106 = 0.022
𝐵𝑡𝑢 106 𝐵𝑡𝑢
NOx emission rate

Using the EPA emission factor of 22 lbm/ton, the estimated emission is

𝑙𝑏𝑚
22 = 467.5 𝑙𝑏𝑚
𝑡𝑜𝑛

The NO2 emission rate per million Btu is

467.5 𝑙𝑏𝑚 −7 𝑙𝑏𝑚
8 = 7.86 𝑥 10
5.05 𝑥 10 𝐵𝑡𝑢 𝐵𝑡𝑢

On a million Btu basis

−7 𝑙𝑏𝑚 𝑙𝑏𝑚
7.86 𝑥 10 106 = 0.79
𝐵𝑡𝑢 106 𝐵𝑡𝑢

The standard for bituminous coal is 0.60 lbm/ 106 Btu. The power plant does
not meet the NOx standard.
Self study

Indoor Air Pollution

Acid rain

Ozone depletion

Global warming