Industrial Air Pollutants (Gaseous,

Noise, Electromagnetic) and

Abatement Techniques
Dr. Shahid Amjad
Institute of Business Management
(IoBM)

The Pressure Gradient Force and Other Effects on Wind
Within the atmosphere, there are several forces that
impact the speed and direction of winds. The most
important though is the Earths gravitational force. As
gravity compresses the Earths atmosphere, it creates air
pressure- the driving force of wind. Without gravity, there
would be no atmosphere or air pressure and thus, no wind.
The force actually responsible for causing the movement of
air though is the pressure gradient force. Differences in air
pressure and the pressure gradient force are caused by the
unequal heating of the Earths surface when incoming solar
radiation concentrates at the equator. Because of the
energy surplus at low latitudes for example, the air there is
warmer than that at the poles.
Warm air is less dense and has a lower barometric pressure
than the cold air at high latitudes. These differences in
barometric pressure are what create the pressure gradient
force and wind as air constantly moves between areas of
high and low pressure.

Industrial Air Quality
There are big industrial estates, and small cottage industries that
generate hazardous and toxic chemicals and Air pollutants.

The fertilizer plants, textile industry, glass industry, steel plants etc.

These industries contribute SO
2
NO
2
, smoke, volatile organic
compounds, chlorine gas, particulate matter, ammonia, CO, CO
2
,
phenol, cyanide into the atmosphere.

The human health is affected by different-sized airborne particulate
matter. Larger particles PM
10
are trapped in the nose and throat,
whereas smaller particles (PM
2.5
) penetrate the lungs and are
associated with a range of respiratory symptoms.

Traces of metals such as lead, iron, and copper are particulates as
well as plant pollen.

Primary/Secondary Air Pollutant
Sources
Secondary air pollutants derive from reactions that occur
between primary pollutants and other atmospheric chemicals
Ozone PANs (peroxyacetyl nitrates) Acids: sulfuric and nitric
There are six pollutants which have the main
contribution in creating air pollution. They are
primary pollutants like
carbon monoxide (CO),
sulphur dioxide (SO
2
),
nitrogen oxide (NO),
lead (Pb), and
particulate matters (PM),
Primary pollutants react with water molecules to
form Secondary pollutants such as weak Nitric
acid, carbonic acid, sulphuric acid etc, and ground
level ozone (O
3
).


Control Devices And Equipments (End-of-the
Pipe Cleaning)
The strategy for this method is to remove the
particulate and gaseous pollutants after they
are formed.
The cleaning devices can be broadly classified
into 2 groups
(i) Particulate Control and
(ii) Gaseous Pollutant Control.

Particulate Control
Particulate Matters (PMs) are common pollutants
present in the emission of an industry. They are
formed in wide range of sizes, diameter varying
from 0.0002 to 500 micron (1 micron = 10
6
m).
PM Control Devices can be broadly divided into 3
categories, viz.,
Internal Separators,
Wet Collection Devices and
Electrostatic Precipitators.
Internal separators. Three types of devices are
commonly in use as internal separators. They are
(i) Gravitational settling chambers, (ii) Cyclone
separators and (iii) Bag filters or fabric filters.

Gravitational settling chambers are generally
used to collect larger particles of size greater
than 50 micron. A stream of dust-laden gas at
less than 3 m/s is passed into the settling
chamber where the velocity of the gas is
further reduced.
As a result, the dust particles settle down and
collected through a hopper at the bottom.
The collection efficiency can be increased by
installing a series of settling chambers in
parallel.

Cyclone separator utilizes centrifugal force to separate
the particulate matters from the carrier gas. The particle
laden gas receives a rotating motion as it enters the
cyclone cylinder. A centrifugal force is developed due to
the vortex formed which throws the particles towards
the wall. These particles get collected at the conical
bottom of the cyclone cylinder.
High efficient cyclones are designed. A series of cyclones,
called the multiclone, are used in many industries to
increase the efficiency of collection.
The settling efficiency of cyclone separator is higher than
that of gravity separator because the centrifugal force is
added to the gravitational force to settle the particles.
An ordinary conventional cyclone can have an efficiency
of 95-99% collection for particles greater than 40 micron
diameter. At the other end, for particles of size greater
than 5 micron, the collection efficiency can be 50-80%
with cyclones of very high efficiency

Bag filters are devices by which gas is purified
through various filtering cloths (cotton, wool,
chemical filters, fibre glass, etc.) or fabric filters
(filters made of granular materials like ceramics,
porous plastics, etc).
The dusts are collected in a hopper at the bottom.
Bag filters have high efficiency but the filters are
required to be cleaned and changed in regular
intervals. The Bag filters are attached to
Mechanical shakers.
Many filters made of clothes, plastics, etc. cannot
work at high temperatures.
However though bag filters are highly efficient,
these are more expensive and require frequent
maintenance.

Wet collection devices.
In the wet collection methods, various types of
scrubbers are used by which the particulate matters
are brought into contact with the scrubbing liquid,
usually water, and the wetted particles settle down.
This is similar to the natural process of cleaning of the
atmosphere by the water cycle. Wet collections have
the advantage of collecting.
not only particulates but also gaseous impurities by
suitable choice of the scrubbing liquid (which can
absorb the gases). But wet scrubbers have the
problems of corrosion.
The scrubbed water (slurry) is required to be treated
before disposal. In this system, air pollution problem is
passed on to the water environment.
The collection efficiency of spray towers can
be increased by the use of centrifugal
scrubbers in which the water spraying nozzles
are fitted inside a conventional dry cyclone.
The water spray acts on the particles in the
outer vortex and the particulate matters are
collected at the bottom as in dry cyclones but
in the form of slurry
Packed beds and plate columns
are well-known absorbers in chemical
industries. These can also be used as wet
scrubbers. These are distinguished by their
simple design and operation, stability in
service, low hydraulic resistance and low
energy consumption.
In a simple packed bed scrubber, the polluted
air stream moving upwards comes in contact
with the scrubbing liquid stream moving
downward over the packing (Figure 5.5).

Venturi scrubber
followed by cyclone separator, the venturi
scrubber offers a high performance collection of
fine particles (2-3 micron). The polluted gas
stream is accelerated by the passage through a
narrow throttle (velocity of the order of 60-120
m/sec).
Scrubbing liquid is injected at this throttle
through low pressure nozzles. The gas-liquid
mixture then goes to the cyclone separator.
The separated slurry is removed from the bottom
(Figure 5.6). Venturi scrubbers are particularly
suitable for sticky and flammable particles.

Electrostatic precipitation. The gaseous stream is
passed through a strong electric field where the
particulate matters get electrically charged and are
attracted towards the electrode of opposite charge. In
a typical Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP), the positive
electrode (grounded) is the collecting electrode and
the negative electrode is suspended at the top.
A high voltage DC current through the electrodes
produces a corona. The gas close to the negative
electrode is ionized. The electrons produced in the
ionization process move towards the positively charged
grounded surface.
During this passage, the particulate matters also get
negatively charged by the electrons and get collected
on the positive surface (Figure 5.7).
ESPs are considered as highly efficient particulate
collecting systems and are widely used in industries.

Gaseous Pollutant Control
Two techniques are generally followed for the
control of gaseous pollutants. They are
(i) Sorption of the pollutant (absorption in a
liquid or adsorption on a solid surface
(ii) Chemical Alterations (the pollutant is
converted to innocuous substances).

Absorption by a liquid The pollutant is brought
into contact with an appropriate liquid or solution
by counter current methods whereby the gaseous
impurity is transferred from the gaseous phase to
the liquid phase.
The gas absorption devices are similar to the wet
collection devices for particulate control
(scrubbers, spray towers, Venturi scrubber, etc.)
with minor modifications wherever necessary.
The different absorbent liquids or solutions used
for various pollutant gases are shown in Table 5.1.

Adsorption on solid surface. In this method, the polluted
air is passed through a column of absorbent solid, usually
activated carbon, activated alumina, silica gel and organic
polymeric compound (molecular sieve), etc. whereby the
pollutant in the air stream is held on the solid surface. This
method, though not very common, is useful for odour
removal.
The following lists some adsorbents and their common use.

Activated carbon : Used for odour removal, purification of
industrial gases, hydrocarbons, pesticides etc.
Silica gel : Used for dehydration of gases
Activated alumina : Used for dehydration of gases and for
removal of HF in aluminum smelter
Molecular sieves : Wide application, selective adsorption of
gases like NH
3
, SO
2
, etc.

CONSTRUCTION OF HIGH STACKS/CHIMNEYS
With all the control devices, it may not be always possible to
effectively remove the pollutants from the emission. Sometimes
the available technology for complete pollutant removal may be
cost-prohibitive.
The next best approach for control of pollution is to allow the
pollutant to be diluted to the maximum and dispersed to minimize
its adverse effect. This can be done by releasing the emissions at a
high altitude with long stacks. The height and the diameter of the
stack should be designed to keep the ground level concentration
within the permissible limits.
The concentration of the pollutant at the ground level decreases
exponentially with the height of the stack and is found to be
maximum at a distance of about 5 to 10 times the stack height at
normal meteorological condition.
The coal used in thermal power plants contains sulphur, weak acid
rain can be except in small pockets.
Installation of desulphurization unit requires heavy capital
investment. The sulphur dioxide control thermal power plants is
mostly done by maintaining long stack heights

Plume rise depends on momentum and
buoyancy. Buoyancy factor is due to the
temperature difference of the stack gases and
surrounding air and the momentum due to
the molecular weight of the exhaust gases
against air.
.
Ans, We Know that
1022
Exercise
A coal power plant has a physical stack height
(chimney) height of 500 m, with an inside
diameter of 10 m. The stack gas velocity is 20
m.sec
-1
. The stack gas temperature is 200
o
C
(473 K) and the ambient air temperature is
10
o
C (283 K). The atmospheric pressure is 1
bar; average wind speed is 5m. sec
-1
.
Calculate the effective stack height.
Ans = 1150.74 m

Exercise
A power plant which runs on coal burning,
consumes 50,000 tons of coal per day. The
Sulphur content of coal is 10 percent.

Calculate the rate of emission of Sulphur
dioxide in grams. sec
-1
into the atmosphere.

(At wt of Sulphur = 32, Oxygen = 16)

Ans= 115,740 gms. sec
-1

Exercise
Before the installation of an Electrostatic
Precipitator (ESP), the Stack gas of a power
plant contained 6.0 g particulates per m
3
of
gas. The gas flow rate is 350

m
3
/minute. The
new ESP can remove 2500 kg particulates/day.
i. Calculate the emission rate of particulates
before and after pollution control in Kg/day.
ii. What is the efficiency of the new ESP
iii. Will the new system meet the particulate
emission standard of 0.7 gms/m
3


Solution: Data
a) w=6gms/m
3
; flow rate Q=350m
3
; m=2500 kg/day.
350x6=2100gms/min or 2100x10
-3
kg/min.
2100x10
-3
x24x60 = 3024 kg/day (Before).
New ESP 2500 kg/day
3024-2500=524 kg/day
b) n=Quantity of dust collection x100
Quantity of dust in flowing gas
2500 x100 =82.7%
3024
c) Total particulates at source=6gms
ESP efficiency= 82.7%
Particulates removed 6x0.827 = 4.962gms.
Particulates remain 6.0 - 4.962 = 1.038 gms/m
3
So the new ESP system cannot meet emission standard of 0.7 gms/m
3
Case Study
A survey was undertaken to monitor the levels of atmosphere Suspended
Particulate matter in the industrial area of Korangi using a high volume
sampler. The PM

monitoring was done in December and subsequently as a
follow up, the process of particulates monitoring was also repeated in
month of July.
During the December observations, the fiber glass filter paper used had an
initial weight of 7.02345 gms. After 24 hrs of sampling using a high Volume
air sampler, the filter paper weighed 8.56432 gms. The volume of air flow
(measured using a rotameter) at the start and at the end of the
experiment was recorded to be 1.2 m
3
/min and 0.8 m
3
/min. respectively.
Similarly, in monsoonal month of July. The initial and final weight of the
fiberglass filter paper was 8.00234 and 8.16012 gms. The air flow at the
start and at the end of the experiment was recorded to be 2.2 m
3
/min and
1.8 m
3
/min. The sampling time was 24 hrs. respectively.
Calculate the concentration of suspended matter in the atmosphere in
ug/m
3
at the Korangi location in December and July accordingly. Explain
variation in SPM during July and December months. Does the air quality
meet the NEQs Standards.
Procedure
1. you have the data from a 24-hour run of a Mini Volume
SPM sampler. The data include:
Weight of the filter before sampling
Weight of the filter after sampling
Total time the sampler was running
Average flow rate of the sampler

2. Using the data provided, perform the step-by-step
calculation of ambient particulate concentration.

3. Compare and explain variation in the results of particulate
matter during summer and winter to the National
Environmental Air Quality Standard (NEQs)/Air Quality
Index (AQI)

Solution
Calculate the weight of particulate matter Final
and Initial weight of the Filter paper in g
(multiply weight in gm by 1000000.)
Calculate the average air flow (from the
rotameter data) (Start +End data/2) air Volume
sampled
Calculate the sampling duration in 24 hrs (i.e total
air flow duration of sampling. (Av flow x 60 x 24).
Total Suspended Matter Weight of Particulate
matter/Volume Air flow sampled).

Guideline for Control of Air Pollution
Pollution of air in the atmosphere cannot be fully abated but can be
controlled if certain measures are taken.
Develop peoples awareness in all spheres including the
governments.
Free burning of wood, coal, wastes of forest, agriculture waste and
many other solid matters must be discouraged in the open spaces.
Vehicular emissions must me checked periodically.
Use of natural gas (CNG) or low sulphur containing fuels should be
encouraged in place of petrol and diesel.
Industry must adopt waste gas treatment facility before releasing it
into the atmosphere.
Lead free petrol should be introduced to control lead pollution.
All sorts of waste materials must be disposed properly.
Greater emphasis should be put on the use of renewable energy
sources such as hydroelectric, solar and wind energies.
Use of chlorofluorocarbons and other toxic materials must be
reduced or substituted.