Air pollution engineering

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Maduna ◽  
Vesna Tomašić
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Pollutants Emission ◽  
Multiple Challenges

Abstract Air pollution is an environmental and a social problem which leads to a multitude of adverse effects on human health and standard of human life, state of the ecosystems and global change of climate. Air pollutants are emitted from natural, but mostly from anthropogenic sources and may be transported over long distances. Some air pollutants are extremely stable in the atmosphere and may accumulate in the environment and in the food chain, affecting human beings, animals and natural biodiversity. Obviously, air pollution is a complex problem that poses multiple challenges in terms of management and abatements of the pollutants emission. Effective approach to the problems of air pollution requires a good understanding of the sources that cause it, knowledge of air quality status and future trends as well as its impact on humans and ecosystems. This chapter deals with the complexities of the air pollution and presents an overview of different technical processes and equipment for air pollution control, as well as basic principles of their work. The problems of air protection as well as protection of other ecosystems can be solved only by the coordinated endeavors of various scientific and engineering disciplines, such as chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, chemical engineering and social sciences. The most important engineering contribution is mostly focused on development, design and operation of equipment for the abatement of harmful emissions into environment.

Deep Learning-based Framework for Smart Sustainable Cities

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 76-107
Author(s):  
Nagarathna Ravi ◽  
Vimala Rani P ◽  
Rajesh Alias Harinarayan R ◽  
Mercy Shalinie S ◽  
Karthick Seshadri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Deep Belief Network ◽  
Motor Vehicles ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Belief Network

Pure air is vital for sustaining human life. Air pollution causes long-term effects on people. There is an urgent need for protecting people from its profound effects. In general, people are unaware of the levels to which they are exposed to air pollutants. Vehicles, burning various kinds of waste, and industrial gases are the top three onset agents of air pollution. Of these three top agents, human beings are exposed frequently to the pollutants due to motor vehicles. To aid in protecting people from vehicular air pollutants, this article proposes a framework that utilizes deep learning models. The framework utilizes a deep belief network to predict the levels of air pollutants along the paths people travel and also a comparison with the predictions made by a feed forward neural network and an extreme learning machine. When evaluating the deep belief neural network for the case study undertaken, a deep belief network was able to achieve a higher index of agreement and lower RMSE values.

scholarly journals Response of Global Air Pollutant Emissions to Climate Change and Its Potential Effects on Human Life Expectancy Loss

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 3670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianwen Cheng ◽  
Manchun Li ◽  
Feixue Li ◽  
Haoqing Tang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Geographical Environment

Geographical environment and climate change are basic factors for spatial fluctuations in the global distribution of air pollutants. Against the background of global climate change, further investigation is needed on how meteorological characteristics and complex geographical environment variations can drive spatial air pollution variations. This study analyzed the response of air pollutant emissions to climate change and the potential effects of air pollutant emissions on human health by integrating the air pollutant emission simulation model (GAINS) with 3 versions and CMIP5. The mechanism by which meteorological characteristics and geographical matrices can drive air pollution based on monitoring data at the site-scale was also examined. We found the total global emission of major air pollutants increased 1.32 times during 1970–2010. Air pollutant emissions will increase 2.89% and 4.11% in China and developed countries when the scenario of only maximum technically feasible reductions is performed (V4a) during 2020–2050. However, it will decrease 19.33% and 6.78% respectively by taking the V5a climate scenario into consideration, and precipitation variation will contribute more to such change, especially in China. Locally, the air circulation mode that is dominated by local geographical matrices and meteorological characteristics jointly affect the dilution and diffusion of air pollutants. Therefore, natural conditions, such as climate changes, meteorological characteristics and topography, play an important role in spatial air pollutant emissions and fluctuations, and must be given more attention in the processes of air pollution control policy making.

scholarly journals How Effective Is Traffic and Production Restriction for Air Pollution? Evidence From a Quasi-natural Experiment in China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiqing Chen ◽  
Deyun Wang ◽  
Adnen Elamraoui ◽  
Haixiang Guo
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Structural Break ◽  
Control Policy ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Spring Festival ◽  
Break Points ◽  
Pollution Control Policy

Abstract Air pollution seriously affects human health. The traffic and production restriction is widely used for controlling heavy air pollution. However, the effectiveness of these two policies has not been scientifically verified through a city-level study. COVID-19 pandemic caused lockdowns in many cities, which makes it possible to verify the effectiveness of these two policies. Taken Wuhan as the study area, this study firstly verifies the existence of lockdown effect on air pollution and analyzes the evolution rule of six air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO and O3) using statistical methods. Then the structural break points in six air pollutants are detected with the regression discontinuity design model. Because Spring Festival overlapping COVID-19 may also affect the air pollution, in order to avoid the disturbance of Spring Festival on the results, the Spring Festival effect is also validated. The results illustrate that the effects of traffic and production restriction on six air pollutants are obviously different, in which the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 decrease significantly, while traffic and production restriction has no apparent effects on SO2, CO and O3. Moreover, the structural break points are verified in the four air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and CO), and the structural break points are caused by lockdown instead of Spring Festival. This study revealed how the traffic and production restriction affected the air pollution at a city level, and provided strong implementation basis to the air pollution control policy.

scholarly journals Use of a mobile laboratory to evaluate changes in on-road air pollutants during the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (21) ◽  
pp. 8247-8263 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Wang ◽  
T. Zhu ◽  
J. Zheng ◽  
R. Y. Zhang ◽  
S. Q. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Control Period ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
In Situ Monitoring ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Mobile Laboratory ◽  
The Road ◽  
On The Road

Abstract. China implemented systematic air pollution control measures during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and Paralympics to improve air quality. This study used a versatile mobile laboratory to conduct in situ monitoring of on-road air pollutants along Beijing's Fourth Ring Road on 31 selected days before, during, and after the Olympics air pollution control period. A suite of instruments with response times of less than 30 s was used to measure temporal and spatial variations in traffic-related air pollutants, including NOx, CO, PM1.0 surface area (S(PM1)), black carbon (BC), and benzene, toluene, the sum of ethylbenzene, and m-, p-, and o-xylene (BTEX). During the Olympics (8–23 August, 2008), on-road air pollutant concentrations decreased significantly, by up to 54% for CO, 41% for NOx, 70% for SO2, 66% for BTEX, 12% for BC, and 18% for SPM1, compared with the pre-control period (before 20 July). Concentrations increased again after the control period ended (after 20 September), with average increases of 33% for CO, 42% for NOx, 60% for SO2, 40% for BTEX, 26% for BC, and 37% for S(PM1), relative to the control period. Variations in pollutants concentrations were correlated with changes in traffic speed and the number and types of vehicles on the road. Throughout the measurement periods, the concentrations of NOx, CO, and BTEX varied markedly with the numbers of light- and medium-duty vehicles (LDVs and MDVs, respectively) on the road. Only after 8 August was a noticeable relationship found between BC and S(PM1) and the number of heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs). Additionally, BC and S(PM1) showed a strong correlation with SO2 before the Olympics, indicating possible industrial sources from local emissions as well as regional transport activities in the Beijing area. Such factors were identified in measurements conducted on 6 August in an area southwest of Beijing. The ratio of benzene to toluene, a good indicator of traffic emissions, shifted suddenly from about 0.26 before the Olympics to approximately 0.48 after the Olympics began. This finding suggests that regulations on traffic volume and restrictions on the use of painting solvents were effective after the Olympics began. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of air pollution control measures and identified local and regional pollution sources within and surrounding the city of Beijing. The findings will be invaluable for emission inventory evaluations and model verifications.

scholarly journals What Impact has air pollution on health of human beings and environment? Is there any relation between covid-19 & air pollution?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piyush Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Cardiovascular System ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Years Of Life Lost ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Life Years ◽  
Prime Concern

Almost all the countries around the world are experiencing high levels of air pollution. How does pollution impact our body in times of COVID-19? Air pollution and related climatic-environmental changes is one of the prime concern and biggest challenge globally in 21st century faced by most of the nations. The global impact of this public health problem can be assessed and understood from the data of morbidity and mortality as well as DALY (disability adjusted life years) & QALY (quality adjusted life years), YLL (years of life lost) measurements. Today global air is having several varieties and types of air pollutants which are taking lives of people on daily basis and the death count may be more as compared to covid-19 deaths. The finest and smallest particulate matters present in air as byproducts of several human and industry related activities are able to infiltrate the respiratory system through inhalation while breathing, leading to respiratory and cardiovascular system(CVS) diseases, reproductive and central nervous system(CNS) diseases and malfunctioning as well as various carcinoma. Ozone (O3) protects us from harmful effects of UV (ultra violet) radiations which can cause cancers, skin diseases as well as mutations etc but at the same time it is harmful when in high concentration at ground level, affecting the respiratory and cardiovascular system. Added to this other pollutants present in air such as nitrogen oxide(NO), sulfur dioxide(SO2), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), dioxins, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are all important air pollutants which are known to be harmful to human beings. Carbon monoxide (CO) can bind with haemoglobin (Hb) very tightly (not allowing oxygen to be released at tissue level causing tissue hypoxia) forming carboxy-haemoglobin which can cause poisoning when breathed in at high levels. Heavy metals for example lead (Pb) can lead to direct poisoning (plumbinism or saturnism) or chronic intoxication can lead to a variety of CNS, GIT(gastrointestinal tract), and reproductive system diseases, depending on the exposure. Air pollution usually causes respiratory problems such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma, bronchiolitis, lung cancer, cardiovascular events, central nervous system dysfunctions, and cutaneous diseases. Added to this, the climate change resulting from environmental pollution affects the geographical distribution of many infectious diseases like natural disasters as well as affects social and environmental determinants of health. The only way to tackle this problem is through public health awareness, strategies to reduce air pollution as well as environmental protection measures with a multidisciplinary Intersectoral approach by scientific experts of national and international organizations. The global leaders must address the emergence of this threat and propose sustainable and suitable solutions to deal this challenging issue.

scholarly journals A New Study on Air Quality Standards: Air Quality Measurement and Evaluation for Jiangsu Province Based on Six Major Air Pollutants

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueyan Liu ◽  
Xiaolong Gao
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Quality Evaluation ◽  
Jiangsu Province ◽  
Energy Structure ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Control Policies

China’s current Air Quality Index (AQI) system only considers one air pollutant which has the highest concentration value. In order to comprehensively evaluate the urban air quality of Jiangsu Province, this paper has studied the air quality of 13 cities in that province from April 2015 to March 2018 based on an expanded AQI system that includes six major air pollutants. After expanding the existing air quality evaluation standards of China, this paper has calculated the air quality evaluation scores of cities in Jiangsu Province based on the six major air pollutants by using the improved Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model. This paper has further analyzed the effectiveness of air pollution control policies in Jiangsu Province and its different cities during the study period. The findings are as follows: there are distinct differences in air quality for different cities in Jiangsu Province; except for coastal cities such as Nantong, Yancheng and Lianyungang, the southern cities of Jiangsu generally have better air quality than the northern cities. The causes of these differences include not only natural factors such as geographical location and wind direction, but also economic factors and energy structure. In addition, air pollution control policies have achieved significant results in Nantong, Changzhou, Wuxi, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Yancheng, Zhenjiang, Tai’an and Lianyungang. Among them, Nantong has seen the biggest improvement, 20.28%; Changzhou and Wuxi have improved their air quality by more than 10%, while Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Yancheng have improved their air quality by more than 5%. However, the air quality of Nanjing, Huai’an, Xuzhou, and Suqian has worsened by different degrees compared that of the last period within the beginning period, during which Suqian’s air quality has declined by 20.07% and Xuzhou’s by 16.32%.

scholarly journals The Impact of Atmospheric Pollutants on Human Health and Economic Loss Assessment

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1628
Author(s):  
Houli Zhang ◽  
Shibing You ◽  
Miao Zhang ◽  
Difei Liu ◽  
Xuyan Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Respiratory Diseases ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Atmospheric Pollutants ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
The Impact

The impact of air pollution on human health is becoming increasingly severe, and economic losses are a significant impediment to economic and social development. This paper investigates the impact of air pollutants on the respiratory system and its action mechanism by using information on inpatients with respiratory diseases from two IIIA (highest) hospitals in Wuhan from 2015 to 2019, information on air pollutants, and meteorological data, as well as relevant demographic and economic data in China. This paper describes the specific conditions of air pollutant concentrations and respiratory diseases, quantifies the degree of correlation between the two, and then provides a more comprehensive assessment of the economic losses using descriptive statistical methods, the generalized additive model (GAM), cost of illness approach (COI), and scenario analysis. According to the findings, the economic losses caused by PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO exposure are USD 103.17 million, USD 70.54 million, USD 98.02 million, USD 40.35 million, and USD 142.38 million, for a total of USD 454.46 billion, or approximately 0.20% of Wuhan’s GDP in 2019. If the government tightens control of major air pollutants and meets the WHO-recommended criterion values, the annual evitable economic losses would be approximately USD 69.4 million or approximately 0.03% of Wuhan’s GDP in 2019. As a result, the relevant government departments must strengthen air pollution control to mitigate the impact of air pollution on population health and the associated economic losses.

scholarly journals Contributions of mobile, stationary and biogenic sources to air pollution in the Amazon rainforest: a numerical study with the WRF-Chem model

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 7977-7995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameh A. Abou Rafee ◽  
Leila D. Martins ◽  
Ana B. Kawashima ◽  
Daniela S. Almeida ◽  
Marcos V. B. Morais ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Amazon Rainforest ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Future Scenario ◽  
Mobile Sources ◽  
The City ◽  
Stationary Sources

Abstract. This paper evaluates the contributions of the emissions from mobile, stationary and biogenic sources on air pollution in the Amazon rainforest by using the Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model. The analyzed air pollutants were CO, NOx, SO2, O3, PM2. 5, PM10 and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Five scenarios were defined in order to evaluate the emissions by biogenic, mobile and stationary sources, as well as a future scenario to assess the potential air quality impact of doubled anthropogenic emissions. The stationary sources explain the highest concentrations for all air pollutants evaluated, except for CO, for which the mobile sources are predominant. The anthropogenic sources considered resulted an increasing in the spatial peak-temporal average concentrations of pollutants in 3 to 2780 times in relation to those with only biogenic sources. The future scenario showed an increase in the range of 3 to 62 % in average concentrations and 45 to 109 % in peak concentrations depending on the pollutant. In addition, the spatial distributions of the scenarios has shown that the air pollution plume from the city of Manaus is predominantly transported west and southwest, and it can reach hundreds of kilometers in length.

Photocatalytic reaction mechanisms at the gas-solid interface for typical air pollutants decomposition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruimin Chen ◽  
Jieyuan Li ◽  
Hong Wang ◽  
Peng Chen ◽  
Xing‘an Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Reaction Mechanisms ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Adverse Impact ◽  
Ecological Environment ◽  
Photocatalytic Reaction ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Promising Technology

Various technologies have been developed towards the air pollution control to mitigate adverse impact of pollutants on human health and ecological environment. Photocatalysis is a promising technology because it can...

scholarly journals Use of a mobile laboratory to evaluate changes in on-road air pollutants during the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 12857-12898 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Wang ◽  
T. Zhu ◽  
J. Zheng ◽  
R. Y. Zhang ◽  
S. Q. Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Control Period ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
In Situ Monitoring ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Mobile Laboratory ◽  
The Road ◽  
On The Road

Abstract. China implemented systematic air pollution control measures during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and Paralympics to improve air quality. This study used an innovative mobile laboratory to conduct in situ monitoring of on-road air pollutants along Beijing's 4th Ring Road on 31 selected days before, during, and after the Olympics air pollution control period. A suite of instruments with response times of less than 30 s was used to measure temporal and spatial variations in traffic-related air pollutants, including NOx, CO, PM1.0 surface area (SPM1), black carbon (BC), and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and m-, p-, and o-xylene (BTEX). During the Olympics (8–23 August 2008), on-road air pollutant concentrations decreased significantly by up to 54% for CO, 41% for NOx, 70% for SO2, 66% for BTEX, 12% for BC, and 18% for SPM1 compared to the pre-control period (before 20 July). Concentrations increased again after the control period ended (after 20 September), with average increases of 33% for CO, 42% for NOx, 60% for SO2, 40% for BTEX, 26% for BC, and 37% for SPM1. Variations in pollutants concentrations were correlated with changes in traffic speed and the number and types of vehicles on the road. Throughout the measurement periods, the concentrations of NOx, CO, and BTEX varied markedly with the numbers of light- and medium-duty vehicles (LDVs and MDVs, respectively) on the road. Only after 8 August was a noticeable relationship between BC and SPM1 and the number of heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) found. Additionally, BC and SPM1 showed a strong correlation with SO2 before the Olympics, indicating possible industrial sources from local emissions as well as regional transport activities in the Beijing area. Such factors were identified in measurements conducted on 6 August in an area southwest of Beijing. The ratio of benzene to toluene, a good indicator of traffic emissions, shifted suddenly from about 0.26 before the Olympics to approximately 0.48 after the Olympics began. This finding suggests that regulations on traffic volume and restrictions on the use of painting solvents were effective after the Olympics began. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of air pollution control measures and identified local and regional pollution sources within and surrounding the city of Beijing. The findings will be invaluable for emission inventory evaluations and model verifications.

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