The American University in Cairo

Environmental Science
Air Pollution
Introduction

 The atmosphere is a mixture of gases

that forms a layer about 800 – 1000 km
around planet earth, it divided into four
layers:
 Troposphere
 Stratosphere
 Mesosphere
 Thermosphere
The Properties of Air Pollutants
 The major air pollutants are those produced in
significant amounts and those having
documented health or other environmental
effects.
 Oxides of Sulfur – Oxides of Nitrogen –
Gaseous Hydrocarbons and Other Volatile
Organic Compounds – Carbon Monoxide –
Carbon Dioxide – Photochemical Oxidants
(Ozone) – Particulate Matter – Metals –
Radioisotopes – Other Air Pollutants – Air
Toxics.
Oxides of Sulfur
 A number of oxides of sulfur have deleterious
environmental effects.
 The most notable is sulfur dioxide (SO2).
 Coal-burning electrical power plants are
blamed for producing most of the sulfur
dioxide problem in USA.
 High fuel sulfur contents 5% & low fuel sulfur
contents less than 1%
 Natural gas contains only trace amounts of
sulfur. (switching from coal to natural gas.
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 Sulfur dioxide is itself a poison, but it can

also react with other substances in the
atmosphere to form Sulfuric acid – it is
able to corrode limestone, metal, and
clothing, and it has a devastating effect
on delicate respiratory tissue.
 Sulfuric acid derived from sulfur-
containing air pollutants is a major
contributor to the acidity in acid rain.
Oxides of Nitrogen

 When air is fed into a combustion

mixture, particularly when combustion is
occurring at a temperature above 2000
F°, the oxygen and nitrogen present in
the air combine to form nitric oxide (NO)
 Nitric oxide is not thought to be very
harmful and does not do much damage
because it cannot readily dissolve in
water or in tissue.
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 Through the action of sunlight, nitric oxide can
combine with oxygen to form nitrogen dioxide,
which is a reddish brown toxic gas that has
considerable environmental impact.
 Nitrogen dioxide can form nitric acid which can do
much harm to materials and to health and it is
implicated in the formation of acid fogs (California).
 Nitrogen dioxide is produced in the combustion of
coal, oil, natural gas, and motor vehicle fuel and
wherever temperature are high enough to cause
atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen to combine.
Volatile Organic Compounds
 Some hydrocarbons-for instance, certain
polycyclic hydrocarbons may have
considerable direct effect on humans by virtue
of chemical carcinogenicity (ability to cause
cancer).
 Volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) which are
emitted at the rate of 18 million metric tons per
year in the United States, are a problem
largely because they participate in the
formation of ozone.
Carbon Monoxide
 It comes mainly from the incomplete
combustion of fuels – largely in the
automobile.
 Naturally produced carbon monoxide comes
mixed with methane and other substances in
march gases and other gases emitted from
decaying material.
 Carbon monoxide is the single most abundant
pollutant known to affect human health that we
vent into the atmosphere.
Carbon Dioxide
 Carbon dioxide is produced in respiration and
fermentation as sugars and other foods are oxidized.
 Relative to the other air pollutants, carbon dioxide is
unreactive and is not really considered a pollutant
because it has no direct health effects.
 The relationship between the facts that (1) carbon dioxide
has been increasing for some time, at least partly as a
result of fossil fuel combustion, (2) the earth does appear
to be getting warmer, and (3) even slight warming might
upset delicate energy balances, melt polar ice, and cause
ocean levels to rise, inundating coastal cities, means that
carbon dioxide is an air pollutant in every sense.
Photochemical Oxidants (Ozone)
 Ozone is responsible of the presence of the
family of photochemical oxidants that make up
photochemical “smog”. This is because ozone
may account for as much as 90% of the
oxidant chemicals in smog.
 Nitrogen dioxide is a very efficient absorber of
the ultraviolet light that does reach the earth’s
surface. As NO2 absorbs such radiation, it is
broken down (photolyzed – split by light) into
NO and O. In a subsequent reaction, O
combines with O2 to form O3 or ozone.
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 Ozone would break down as quickly as it

is formed by reacting with NO. However,
there are apparently two pathways other
than one as shown in the above figure.
By which NO can revert to NO2:
 RO2 + NO → NO2 + RO(1)
 Where R is a hydrocarbon or other
organic radical and:
 2NO + O2 →NO2(2)
Ozone as a Problem

 Some people feel the effects of ozone

when it is present at only 0.001 ppm.
 At 0.05 – 0.1 ppm, some people
experience impaired eye muscles
coordination and a drop in visual acuity.
 Pulmonary edema can be produced in
human test subjects at less than 1 ppm.
Outside Air Pollution Exposure
Limits (microgram/cubic meter
Substance Maximum Exposure Time of Exposure
Level
Sulfur Dioxide 350 One hour
150 24 hours
60 One year
Carbon Monoxide 30 mg/m3 One hour
10 mg/m3 8 hours

Nitrogen Dioxide 400 One hour

150 24 hours

Ozone 200 One hour

120 8 hours
Air Pollution Control
 There are obviously a number of very
fundamental technological and non-
technological approaches to the control of air
pollution, all of which are being used to some
degree. These might be enumerated as
follows:
 Alternatives – Reduction – Remove –
 Keep pollutants from escaping – Remove the
pollutants from ambient air – Change the
affected receptors.
Alternatives

 A number of kinds of alternatives could be

used: (a) We could change our lifestyles to
require less of the energy that brings pollution
with it. (b) we could find alternative ways to
achieve our desired lifestyle by finding
different technologies that are less pollution, or
(c) we could use alternative sources of energy
that do not have as much pollution as a by-
product.
Reduction

 We could continue to do the same sorts

of things but less of them. For instance,
we could switch to still smaller cars,
modify our technology to make cars still
more efficient, or make our overall
expenditure of energy more efficient by
insulating houses.
Remove Pollutants Generating
Materials
 Remove pollutant-generating materials
from fuels. An example of this kind of
technological fix would be to remove
sulfur from coal before it is burned.
Keep Pollutants from Escaping into
the Air
 Keep pollutants from escaping into the
air as fuels are burned. This can be done
by putting catalytic converters in
automobiles and installing scrubbers.
Remove the Pollutant from Ambient
Air
 We include this absurd strategic element
for the sake of completeness. It would be
more efficient to approach the problem of
minimizing air pollution by getting at the
offending material before it is scattered
throughout the environment.
Change The affected Receptors to
Protect Them
 Change the affected receptors to protect
them. For example, we could coat status
with protective materials, breed resistant
plant species, and add lime to lakes.
Mechanical Collector
Scrubber
Electrostatic Precipitator
Fabric Filter
Incineration of Flammable
Emissions
 Implemented and planned approaches involving the
automobile, for example, have included the following:
1. Reduction in size, horsepower, and compression
ratios of the internal combustion engine.
2. Improvements in the technology of controlling the
emission of pollutants from automobiles.
3. Reduction of the number of automobiles by improving
mass transit, encouraging carpooling, restricting
downtown parking, and establishing bicycle paths.
4. Periodic inspections of automobiles.
5. Replacement of the gasoline engine with electric or
steam engines.
 Strategies for reducing sulfur dioxide pollution by
power plants have included the following:
1. Substituting low-sulfur fuels for high-sulfur fuels.
2. Using smokestacks high enough to poke through
inversion layers.
3. Chemically scrubbing sulfur dioxide and other
compounds of sulfur from the effluent going up
stacks.
4. Removing sulfur from coal and oil and gas before it is
burned-in addition to reducing the demand for electric
power.