OUTLINE OF AIR

POLLUTION DISPERSION
Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of

particulates, biological molecules, or
other harmful materials into Earth's
atmosphere, causing disease, death
to humans, damage to other living
organisms such as food crops, or the
natural or built environment.
Air pollution may come from
anthropogenic or natural sources.
Basic Mechanisms in the Movement of a Plume

Advection
Dispersion
Dispersion

Air pollution dispersion distribution

of air pollution into the atmosphere.
Dispersion refers to what happens to
the pollution during and after its
introduction; understanding this may
help in identifying and controlling it.
Air pollution emission plumes

Air pollution emission plume flow of

pollutant in the form of vapor or
smoke released into the air.
There are three primary types of air
pollution emission plumes
Buoyant plumes
Dense gas plumes
Passive or neutral plumes
Buoyant plumes

Buoyant plumes Plumes which are lighter than air because they
are at a higher temperature and lower density than the ambient air
which surrounds them, or because they are at about the same
temperature as the ambient air but have a lower molecular weight
and hence lower density than the ambient air. For example, the
emissions from the flue gas stacks of industrial furnaces are
buoyant because they are considerably warmer and less dense than
the ambient air. As another example, an emission plume of
methane gas at ambient air temperatures is buoyant because
methane has a lower molecular weight than the ambient air.
Dense gas plumes

Dense gas plumes Plumes which are heavier than air

because they have a higher density than the surrounding
ambient air. A plume may have a higher density than air
because it has a higher molecular weight than air (for
example, a plume of carbon dioxide). A plume may also
have a higher density than air if the plume is at a much
lower temperature than the air. For example, a plume of
evaporated gaseous methane from an accidental release
of liquefied natural gas (LNG) may be as cold as -161 C.
Passive or neutral plumes

Passive or neutral plumes Plumes

which are neither lighter or heavier
than air.
Continuous & Puff Plume

Continuous Plume: The release and

the sampling time are long compared
with the travel time.

Puff Diffusion / Instantaneous

Plume: The release time or sampling
time is short when compared with the
travel time
Types of Plume Rise

Types of Plume Rise

Buoyancy Effect: Rise due to the

temperature difference between stack
plume and ambient air.

Momentum Rise: Rise due to exit

velocity of the effluents (emissions).
Buoyant Gaussian air pollutant dispersion plume
Types of air pollutant emission sources

Sources, by shape there are four basic shapes which an emission source
may have. They are:Point source single, identifiable source of air
pollutant emissions (for example, the emissions from acombustionfurnace
flue gas stack). Point sources are also characterized as being either elevated
or at ground-level. A point source has nogeometricdimensions.
Line source one-dimensional source of air pollutant emissions (for
example, the emissions from thevehicular trafficon a roadway).
Area source two-dimensional source of diffuse air pollutant emissions (for
example, the emissions from aforest fire, alandfillor the evaporated vapors
from a large spill of volatile liquid).
Volume source three-dimensional source of diffuse air pollutant
emissions. Essentially, it is an area source with a third (height) dimension
(for example, the fugitive gaseous emissions frompipingflanges,valvesand
other equipment at various heights within industrial facilities such as
oil refineriesandpetrochemicalplants). Another example would be the
emissions from an automobile paint shop with multiple roof vents or
multiple open windows.
 Sources, by motion
Stationary sourceflue gasstacks are examples of stationary sources
Mobile source busesare examples of mobile sources
Sources, by urbanization level whether the source is within a city or not is
relevant in that urban areas constitute a so-calledheat islandand the heat
rising from an urban area causes the atmosphere above an urban area to be
more turbulent than the atmosphere above a rural area
Urban source emission is in an urban area
Rural source emission is in a rural area
Sources, by elevation
Surface or ground-level source
Near surface source
Elevated source
Sources, by duration
Puff or intermittent source short term sources (for example, many
accidental emission releases are short term puffs)
Continuous source long term source (for example, most flue gas stack emissions are
continuous)
Atmospheric stability

Definition: The resistance of the atmosphere to

vertical motion
This definition and its explanation were based on the
parcel method of analysis
This method employs some assumptions:
Air parcel - a distinct blob of air that we will imagine we can
identify as it moves through the atmosphere
The sounding applies to an atmosphere at rest;
A small parcel of air in the sampled atmosphere, if caused to
rise, does not exchange mass or heat across its boundary;
and
Rise of the parcel does not set its environment in motion.
adiabatic lifting.
Air parcels and stability

Stable: if the parcel is displaced vertically, it will

return to its original position
Unstable: if the parcel is displaced vertically, it will
accelerate away from its original position in the
direction of the initial displacement
Neutral: if the parcel is displaced vertically, it will
remain in its new position/movement happens depend
on other factors
Lapse Rates

What happens to the size of an air parcel

as it moves vertically in the atmosphere?
What happens to the temperature of an
air parcel as it expands (rises) or
compresses (sinks)?
Adiabatic process a process in which an
air parcel does not mix with its environment
or exchange energy with its environment
An air parcel will expand and cool as it rises
and will compress and warm as it sinks.
Lapse Rates

Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate the rate at which an unsaturated

air (dry air) parcel will cool if it rises or warm as it sinks (applies
to an air parcel with a relative humidity of less than 100%)
Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate (DALR) = 10 C / km
Moist/Wet Adiabatic Lapse Rate the rate at which a
saturated air (wet air) parcel will cool if it rises or warm if it
sinks (applies to an air parcel with a relative humidity of 100%)
Moist Adiabatic Lapse Rate (MALR) = 6 C / km (on average in the
troposphere)
Environmental Lapse Rate The amount by which the
temperature of the atmosphere decreases over each unit of
vertical distance is called theenvironmental lapse rate, a
measure of how rapidly the temperature of the atmosphere
decreases with altitude at any particular moment in time.
It varies from place to place and time to time. (On the long-term, global
average, it is about 6.5C / km)
Lapse Rates

Why is the moist adiabatic lapse rate different?

Why is it less than the dry adiabatic lapse rate?
What happens to a saturated air parcel as it
rises?
1. The air parcel will cool as it rises
2. Water vapor will condense as the parcel rises (a
cloud forms)
3. As water vapor condenses latent heat is released
4. The latent heat that is released will offset some of
the cooling that occurred as the air parcel rose (the
amount of latent heat released will vary, but on
average will offset about 4 deg C / km of cooling)
 When ELR is less than both DALR & MALR
4
5 -1 -25 -9
km C C C
ELR
4 3 - DALR 3
-15
km C C
3 SALR

C
3 7 -
3 2
5 Height (km)
km C C
C
11 5 9
2 km
C C C 1

1 1
15
1 km 5 5
C C C
Distance ELR DALR 0
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
SALR 4C/km 10C/km Temperature (C)

6C/km

Rising parcels of unsaturated or saturated air will both end up

colder and denser than the surrounding environmental air.
If they are lifted and released, they will sink back to the ground.
The atmosphere is absolutely stable in this situation.
 When ELR is greater than both DALR & MALR

5 - - 8
-9
25
km 29C C 7
C ELR

4 - - - DALR
6

km 18C
15 3 SALR

C C 5

3 - - 3 4
Height (km)
km 7C 5C C
3

2 km 4C 5 9
C C 2

1 1
15 1
1 km 5 5
C C C
Distance ELR DALR 0

SALR 11C/km 10C/km Temperature (C)

6C/km

Lifted parcels of both unsaturated and saturated air end up

warmer and less dense than the surrounding air..
When released these parcels will continue to rise on their own.
The atmosphere is absolutely unstable in this case.
 When ELR is between DALR & MALR
5 - -25 -9 8

km 17C C C 7
ELR

4 - DALR
-9C -15 6
km 3 SALR
C
C 5

3 - -5 3
4
km 1C C C Height (km)

3
2 km 7C 5 9
C C 2
1 1
15 1
1 km 5 5
C C C
Distance ELR DALR 0

SALR 8C/km 10C/km Temperature (C)

6C/km
A rising parcel of unsaturated air ends up cooler and denser than the
surroundings.
A parcel of saturated air, which cools at a slower rate, ends up warmer than
the air around it. The condition for instability is that the air must be
saturated.
The atmosphere is conditionally unstable.
Conditions Determining Air Stability

Lapse rate Atmospheric

Remarks
relation stability
ELR is less than Absolutely Stable when the lower levels of the air are cooled by a
both DALR & cold ground surface,
MALR. or if warm air is advected over cool air.
It is also the case in the stratosphere, where the
air is heated from above by UV bombardment:
this is why the stratosphere is so stable.

ELR is greater Absolutely instable the lowest levels have the highest potential
than both DALR temperature: this upsets the hydrostatic
& MALR. equilibrium , and the lower air will thus tend to
rise.
This is the situation in which air is heated from
below by longwave emission from the ground
surface.

ELR is less than Conditional Air will be stable unless forced to rise to altitude
the DALR but instability where condensation occurs, whereupon
greater than the spontaneous uplift will occur.
SALR
Conditions Determining Air Stability

Atmospheri
Lapse rate relation
c stability Sub-adiabatic Lapse Rate
ELR < Sub-adiabatic Stable DAL (Stable)
DALR Lapse Rate R
Temperature Inversion
(Extremely Stable)
Altitude (z)
ELR > Super-adiabatic Unstable
DALR Lapse Rate

ELR = Neutral Lapse Rate

DALR

Inversion Temperature Extremely Super-adiabatic Lapse

increase with Stable Rate
increase in altitude (Unstable)
Temperature (T)
Conditions Determining Air Stability

The ground and the air above it cool during

the night. The atmosphere is usually most
stable early in the morning.
Temperature inversion - Extreme case of
atmospheric stability
Sunlight warms the ground and the air next
to it during the day. This steepens the
environmental lapse rate and makes the
atmosphere more unstable. Cooling air
above the ground has the same effect.
Temperature Inversion
Plume Dispersion

Classic Plume Types The dispersion of

Fanning Plume a plume is
Lofting Plume
Looping Plume
influenced by
Coning Plume rate of release
Fumigating plumes temperature of
Trapping release (buoyancy)
height of release
Wind speed
turbulence
atmospheric stability
Plume Dispersion

Looping Plume
Conditions:
Clear day
Strong solar heating
Super-adiabatic conditions
Unstable atmosphere
Light wind speed
Plume Dispersion

Coning Plume
Conditions:
night time
nearly neutral lapse rate
Moderate wind speed
Plume Dispersion

Fanning Plume
Conditions:
Inversion Condition
Night / Early morning
Temperature gradient is
positive
very stable conditions
Plume Dispersion

Lofting Plume
Conditions:
Inversion Condition below
and unstable above the plume
Early morning
Light winds & light
turbulence
Plume Dispersion

Fumigation Plume
Conditions:
inversion (stable) above
the plume and unstable
below.
Early morning after a
stable inversion night
Increase Ground Level
Concentration (GLC)
Plume Dispersion

Trapping Plume
Conditions:
Inversion layer exist both
above and below the stack
Diffuses within limited
vertical height