AIR POLLUTION STUDY GUIDE (Quiz 1)

QUIZ 1
Lecture 1:
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Air pollutant: contaminant present in the atmosphere at concentrations high

enough to adversely affect human health, welfare and/or plant life. Natural
and anthropogenic sources. Have sinks and sources.
Spatial scales (depends on atmospheric lifetime):
o Outdoor: local, regional, global
o Indoor: home, work
N2 = 78.1% O2 = 20.9% Ar = .9%
Ppmv = (moles compound)/(10^6 moles air)
Mg/m^3 = ppm x MW x (P/RT)
Ex 1) human health: London Killer Smog Dec 11, 1952
Ex 2) human health: 4 day pollution episode Denora, PA = 20 deaths + 600
illnesses
Ex 3) property damage: outdoor statue in Germany circa 1700
Ex 4) crop damage: acid rain or singular emitter
Anthopogenic air pollution depends on:
o Population
o Economic activity per person
o Pollutant emissions per unit economic activity
Global impact: gases that spread around the globe (CO2, CFCs) w/ long
liftetime; unreactive
Local impact: gases/contaminants that react more quickly; short lifetime;
(particulates)
Primary pollutants: emitted directly into the atmosphere
Secondary pollutants: formed by rxns in atmosphere; in gas phase or
particulates (e.g. ozone)

Lecture 2:
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Ways to control ambient concentrations

1) Limit emissions
2) Limit ambient concentrations
3) Market/emissions trading
Clean Air Act: 40 CFR contains air pollution laws
NAAQS: National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NSPS: New Source Performance Standards governs new stationary pollutant
sources
NESHAP: National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Pollutants or Air Toxics
PSD: protect areas that are cleaner than NAAQS (visibility in parks)
Nonattainment areas: explains what must be done in areas where NAAQS are
not met
Mobile sources: vehicle emissions controlled by federal gov
Criteria pollutants: (6) originally regulated by Air Quality Criteria CO, Pb,
NO2, O3, SO2, PM

Primary standards: protect public health and include adequate margin of

safety; worry about most sensitive ppl, not cost/technology
Secondary standards: protect public welfare (crops, structures, animals,
fabrics); MORE stringent, usually dont exist or are same as primary
HOW TO DETERMINE SAFE AMBIENT LEVELS:
o Epidemiological studies:
Intentional: animal studies
Retrospective: historical studies
Prospective: monitor air pollution/quality simultaneously
Determining safe ambient levels:
o Generate dose response curve
o Threshold concentration: level @ which effect is indistinguishable from
normal variation within population
Emission standards exist for hazard air pollutants (NESHAP) 188 pollutants
(air toxics/hazardous pollutants)
Need permit if:
o > 100 tons/yr criteria permit
o > 25 tons/yr hazardous pollutant
Established by ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygenists)
o TWA: time weighted average
o STEL: short term exposure limits
Industrial levels are higher because
o Difference in length of exposure (40 hrs/wk v. 24/7)
o Work doesnt usually affect the most susceptible people
o People can leave
o Not meant to protect everyone
Separate legislation governs workplace (not Clean Air Act)
More difficult to control secondary pollutants than primary
California standards are typically stricter than federal
O3 (ozone) and paritculates are the biggest issues in Ohio

Lecture 3:
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2 types of sampling reqd:

o Ambient
Issues: best sampling location? Public access?
Power/shelter/controlled temp/protection from vandalism?
o Source
Issues: bends can influence measurements (especially for
particles) inner part of bend less concentrated than outer part;
need to average inner and outer; gases easier to sample than
particles b/c particles dont follow flow scheme as precisely;
Stationary:
Mobile:
Standard analytical methods
o Methods prescribed by EPA

Define pollutants (interference from other species may become an

issue)
o Reference method (Table 4.1) v. equivalent method (faster/cheaper)
o Need to correct flows to standard conditions to ensure compliance
(gas composition, T, P)
Less direct monitoring
o fence-line: monitoring gaseous pollutants near a plant (not generally
accepted for emissions estimates)
o From space images
Emissions factor: allows you to estimate emissions in advance based on an
estimate flow of material entering the process (AP-42)
o

Lecture 4:
-

At a given site, air quality varies even though emissions are constant
Troposphere: (10-16 km) 80-90% of the gas
Troposphere + stratosphere: (~50 km) <99% of the gas
Troposphere stratosphere mesosphere thermosphere exosphere
Troposphere decreases in (temp, density, pressure, water content) w/
increasing distance fr/ sea level b/c increasing distance from heated ground
Stratosphere increases in temp w/ increasing distance fr/ sea level b/c
absorption of solar radiation by O3
Wind speed increases in troposphere w/ increase in elevation
Large scale motion in the atmosphere is driven by:
o Heating by sunlight (buoyancy)
o Rotation of the earth (friction)
Tilt angle of the earth influences region of max solar insolation (seasons)
For stationary, uniform planet, solar radiation strongest at equator
o Air moves from poles to equator
o Air rises at equator due to convergence and convection
For uniform, rotating planet
o Regions of rising air: low pressure, moist unstable air, storms
o Regions of subsiding air: stable, dry air, high pressure, fair weather,
low rainfall
o Circulation patterns distribute solar energy
Vertical motion is driven by temperature profile
Stable air wants to stay at its current height
Unstable air wants to rise or sink and causes mixing
Troposphere = generally unstable
Stratosphere = stable
Minimal mixing between troposphere and stratosphere
Relative thickness of earths atmosphere (1/4 thick pancake w/ 11 ft
diameter) promotes horizontal over vertical motion
Large scale circulation patterns stem from earths rotation
Adiabatic lapse rate can be used to determine whether an air mass is stable
or unstable.
Adiabatic lapse rate = = -dT/dz = g/cp = 9.76 degC/km ~ 1 degC/100 m
If - (dT/dz)real > unstable mixing

If - (dT/dz)real < stable; no mixing

QUIZ 2
Lecture 5:
1. Why is an atmosphere with (dTamb/dZ) < stable?
-Parcels of air moved above will be higher density and higher temperature,
bringing them back down. Parcels of air moved below will be lower density
and lower temperature, bringing them back up.
2. Why is the average atmospheric lapse rate lower than the adiabatic lapse
rate?
-There is water vapor in the atmosphere and that water absorbs IR radiation.
When this water condenses it releases heat.
3. How can temperature inversions form?
-Forms daily. When the sun begins to sets, the earth cools by radiation and
the air near the ground cools first. This inversion then happens on clear and
very slightly clouded skies.
-Happens at night, in valleys, sea breeze, air over mountain, drainage, and
subsidence (sinking air mass).
4. Define mixing height.
-Average height below which mixing occurs. Can have negligible vertical
mixing above it.
-Pollutant layer and the top layer of cloud.
5. How are wind, temperature profiles, mixing height, and stability related?

Lecture 6:
1. Explain the phrase, All models are wrong, some models are useful.
-Models are really just simplifications.

2. What are some of the unrealistic assumptions made in a 1 box airshed

models.
-Perfect mixing, no walls, uniform source, instant vertical mixing, constant 1D
wind velocity. No fluxes to the sides, SS, pollutants are conserved.
3. What is source oriented modeling?
-Measurements at the source of the pollution.
4. What is receptor oriented modeling?
-Measurements away from the pollution.
Lecture 7:
1. What are some of the challenges in modeling indoor (enclosed) spaces?
-Excess pollution from our own lives in the home, sometimes from unknown
sources or from many sources.
2. What are some common indoor air pollutants? Sources?
-Chemicals used in everyday life, such as cleaners and perfume. Possible
combustion from fuels in kitchen. Animal dander. Also mold.
3. How can indoor air be cleaner than outdoor air?
-Ventilation to remove polluted air from the indoor space.
Lecture 8:
1. When the air is very unstable, what kind of plume does one expect?
-Lots of vertical motion: looping
2. What is the advantage of a very high stack?
-Decrease ground level concentrations of pollutant.
3. What is the transport mechanism invoked when deriving the Gaussian plume
equations?
-Transport by turbulent diffusion. Lagrangian box moving through the plume.
Dispersion is governed by Eddy diffusion.
4. When do we use the puff equation?
-Short term release of pollutant.
5. What happens to the pollutant at the surface?
-Pollutant can reflect (increasing ground level concentration... add virtual
source) or be absorbed (decreasing ground level concentration to 0...
subtract virtual source).
-The virtual source is the exp^-((z+z)^2 / 2*sigmaZ^2)
-A lid would be total reflection with extra terms... dont worry about it
6. How do we incorporate the mixing height?
Lecture 9/10:
1. What are some of the assumptions inherent in the Gaussian plume equation?
a. Are these always valid?
-Assume semi-infinite 1 m thick sheet that moves with the wind with no net
transport across the y-z surfaces. Conservation of mass in the x. Origin of
plume is fixed at (x,y,z) = (0,0,H). Steady state Eulerian equation.
-Assume: constant emission rate, constant wind speed, flat terrain, no
pollutants lost.

-These are not all valid assumptions because, by logic, the wind speed will
not be constant, secondary pollution can occur, the terrain is not constant,
and the emission rate can vary.
2. Where do the sigmaY and sigmaZ values come from?
-The two values are functions of x, depend on atmospheric stability, and are
experimentally derived.
3. How accurate are these predictions?
-Within a factor of 2.
4. What is the FLLS and how do I derive it from the usual Gaussian plume
equation?
-Finite Length Line Source, based on highways. Uses the Gaussian distribution
for calculations.
QUIZ 3
Lecture 11:
1. What are three strategies that can be used to deal with pollution?
a. Improve dispersion (build higher stacks, pollute intermittently, move
the problem)
b. Change the process (solvent based paint to water based, disposal of
waste SO2 stream to make H2SO4)
c. Add downstream pollution control devices
2. What is the preferred solution of the three?
-Change the process to produce no pollutants
3. Why do we worry about flow rates and pressure drops in pollution control
equipment?
-Determines the amount of power required to control deposition. Higher
pressure drop and higher flow rate consumes more power.
4. How are efficiency and penetration related?
-Efficiency = 1 Penetration.
5. Why use one over the other?
- Penetration is easier to use for the math of multiple control devices.
a. For devices in series, just multiply the Penetrations. Poverall = 1
Noverall = P1*P2
6. What is a non-homogenous pollutant?
-Many types of a specific pollutant based on different charges, sizes,
densities, compositions, or phases.
Lecture 12:
1. What is combustion?
-Oxidation of a fuel by reaction with O2 present in the air.
2. Why should we study combustion?
-Combustion is a major form of pollutants such as CO, NOx, SO2, PM
3. Are all air fuel mixtures combustible?
-No, not all air fuel mixtures are combustible.
4. What are some measures used to characterize combustible mixtures?
-Air to fuel ratio -> equivalence ratio ()

-Lower explosive and upper explosive limits, where stoichiometric limit is in

between the two.
*Limits are found experimentally and are method dependent.
5. When >1, is the mixture fuel-rich or fuel-lean?
-Fuel rich
6. What is the adiabatic flame temperature?
-Corresponds to the combustion temperature reached without heat loss.
*Depends on fuel and oxidizer, flame size, air-fuel premixing and
preheat, and fuel-moisture content
Lecture 13:
1. Why are particles considered to be heterogeneous pollutants with respect
to collection efficiency?
-Atmospheric particles have a wide range of characteristics, like size and
shape and chemical composition and physical state, that all affect the
collection efficiency.
2. What processes contribute to the formation of large particles? Small
particles?
-Large: Greater than 10 m. Made by mechanical processes. Settling velocity
is high, atmospheric lifetime is short, and is primarily an aerosol.
-Small: Less than 2.5 m. Made by evaporation and condensation. Settling
velocity is low, atmospheric lifetime is long, and wants to agglomerate due to
higher surface area.
3. Why do we need to include the Cunningham correction factor when we
calculate the drag for a small particle in the air?
-When particles get small, the drag force on the particles decreases. The
Cunningham correction factor accounts for the non-continuum effects,
originally omitted from stokes law no-slip condition at walls, when calculating
the drag force on small particles. The Knudsen number here is high, between
continuum region and free molecular flow.
4. What is the aerodynamic diameter?

-Airborne particles have irregular shapes, and

their aerodynamic behavior is expressed in terms of the diameter of
an idealized spherical particle known as aerodynamic diameter.

5. Why do we want to know the aerodynamic diameter?

-Important for the design of control equipment to determine how far a
particle injected into a fluid will travel before stopping: helps to determine
diffusion of particles.
Lecture 14:
1. What is the difference between a monodisperse aerosol and one that is
polydisperse?
-Mono is particles of one size, poly is of many sizes.
2. Are atmospheric aerosols mono-modal?
-No, they are multi modal with 2-3 modes.
3. Where do the different modes come from?
-Molecular processes: Primary particles, droplets

-Mechanical processes: Wind-blown dust, sedimentation, sea spray,

volcanoes, plant particles
-OVERALL MODES: Nucleation, Accumulation, Coarse
4. Why are log-normal distributions important?
-Gaussian/normal distribution helps to find the area under the curve and
normalize the function to a bell curve.
-Does a good job of fitting single modes of real aerosols.
5. If one knows the Dmass-mean and sigma, how does one find the Dnumbermean
-> Dnumber = Dmass * exp((b-a)*sigma^2) where b is power of new
distribution and a is the power of old distribution

Lecture 15:
1. How must particles be collected?
-On the surface without making a large pressure drop
2. What strategies can we use?
-Bring a particle close to the surface (add a force)
-Bring surface close to the particle (divide the flow)
3. What forces may be involved?
-Gravity, centrifugal, electrostatic
4. In a gravity settler, what do we assume about the flow?
-Particles enter a long, wide chamber and settle to the bottom by gravity.
-Area of chamber / Area of inlet >> 1 in order to slow the flow... increasing
residence time... and to spread the flow
-ASSUMPTIONS:
a. Plug flow: no mixing vertically or axially
b. Mixed flow: no axial mixing, but does have perfect vertical mixing
(due to turbulence)
5. If two particles have the same collection efficiency, what else is the same?
-Properties of the particles, such as the diameter and density of the particles
6. Why do cyclones work?
-Cyclones are separators that rely on centrifugal forces
7. How did we derive the efficiency equations?
-> block efficiency = [settling velocity * Distance traveled in settler (L)] / [gas
velocity * height of the settler]
-Using the angular form from the gravity settling equations, in conjunction
with stokes law, such as:
-> L = pi*(Number of turns by outer gas in helix)*Diameter
-> H = Width of inlet
8. What are some advantages associated with cyclones?
-Built to either have high throughput (big particles only) or high efficiency
(small particles with higher velocities)
-Mositure is okay
-Low pressure drop
-Low capital costs
-High temp and pressure

-no moving parts

9. What are some disadvantages associated with cyclones?
-Low efficiencies for smaller particles
-Removal rate is a strong function of velocity