scholarly journals Emission Sources and Their Contributions to Ambient Air Concentrations of Pollutants

10.5772/5297 ◽  
2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dragana Djordevic
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Air ◽  
Emission Sources ◽  
Air Concentrations

scholarly journals Air Concentrations of Gaseous Elemental Mercury and Vegetation–Air Fluxes within Saltmarshes of the Tagus Estuary, Portugal

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 228
Author(s):  
Rute Cesário ◽  
Nelson J. O’Driscoll ◽  
Sara Justino ◽  
Claire E. Wilson ◽  
Carlos E. Monteiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Area ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Tagus Estuary ◽  
Contaminated Site ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Mercury Flux ◽  
Sarcocornia Fruticosa ◽  
Air Concentrations

In situ air concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg(0)) and vegetation–atmosphere fluxes were quantified in both high (Cala Norte, CN) and low-to-moderate (Alcochete, ALC) Hg-contaminated saltmarsh areas of the Tagus estuary colonized by plant species Halimione portulacoides (Hp) and Sarcocornia fruticosa (Sf). Atmospheric Hg(0) ranged between 1.08–18.15 ng m−3 in CN and 1.18–3.53 ng m−3 in ALC. In CN, most of the high Hg(0) levels occurred during nighttime, while the opposite was observed at ALC, suggesting that photoreduction was not driving the air Hg(0) concentrations at the contaminated site. Vegetation–air Hg(0) fluxes were low in ALC and ranged from −0.76 to 1.52 ng m−2 (leaf area) h−1 for Hp and from −0.40 to 1.28 ng m−2 (leaf area) h−1 for Sf. In CN, higher Hg fluxes were observed for both plants, ranging from −9.90 to 15.45 ng m−2 (leaf area) h−1 for Hp and from −8.93 to 12.58 ng m−2 (leaf area) h−1 for Sf. Mercury flux results at CN were considered less reliable due to large and fast variations in the ambient air concentrations of Hg(0), which may have been influenced by emissions from the nearby chlor-alkali plant, or historical contamination. Improved experimental setup, the influence of high local Hg concentrations and the seasonal activity of the plants must be considered when assessing vegetation–air Hg(0) fluxes in Hg-contaminated areas.

the emission; this is the entrance of the airborne pollutants into the open atmosphere. The local position of this entrance is the emission source, - the transmission, including all phenomena of transport, dispersion and dilution in the open atmosphere, - the immission; this is the entrance of the pollutant into an acceptor. As we are regarding odoriferous pollutants, the immisson is their entrance into a human nose. About air pollution from industrial emission sources, i.g. S02 from power plants, a wide knowledge is available, including sophisticated methods of emission measurement, atmospheric diffusion calculation and measurement of immission concentration in the ambient air. In most countries we have complete national legal regulations, concerning limitation of air contaminent emissions, calculation of stack height and at least evaluation and determination of maximum inmission values. Within this situation the question arises, whether these wellproved methods and devices are suitable for agricultural odour emissions from agricultural sources too. It is well known that all calculations and values, established in air pollution control, are based on large sets of data, obtained by a multitude of experiments and observations. The attempt to apply these established dispersion models to agricultural emission sources, leads to unreasonable results. A comparison in table 1 shows that the large scale values of industrial air pollutions, on which the established dispersion models are based, are too different from those in agriculture. In order to modify the existing dispersion models or to design other types of models, we need the corresponding sets of observations and of experimental data, adequate to the typical agricultural conditions. There are already a lot of investigations to measure odour at the source and in the ambient air. But we all know about the reliability of those measurements and about the difficulties to quantify these results adequate to a computer model calculating the relation between emission and immision depending on various influences and parameters. So we decided to supplement the odour measurements by tracer gas measurements easy to realise with high accuracy. The aim is to get the necessary sets of experimental data for the modification of existing dispersion models for agricultural conditions. 2. INSTRUMENTAL 2.1 EMISSION the published guideline VDI 3881 /2-4/ describes, how to measure odour emissions for application in dispersion models. Results obtained by this method have to be completed with physical data like flow rates etc. As olfactometric odour threshold determination is rather expensive, it is supplemented with tracer gas emissions, easy to quantify. In the mobile tracer gas emission source, fig. 2, up to 50 kg propane per hour are diluted with up to 1 000 m3 air per hour. This blend is blown into the open atmosphere. The dilution device, including the fan, can be seperated from the trailer and mounted at any place, e.g. on top of a roof to simulate the exaust of a pig house or in the middle of a field to simulate undisturbed air flow. 2.2 TRANSMISSION For safety reasons, propane concentration at the source is always below the lower ignition concentration of 2,1 %. As the specific gravity of this emitted propane-air-blend is very close to that of pure air (difference less than 0,2%) and as flow parameters can be chosen in a wide range, we assume

1986 ◽  
pp. 114-114
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Emission Source ◽  
Emission Sources ◽  
Dispersion Models ◽  
Tracer Gas ◽  
Open Atmosphere ◽  
Gas Measurements ◽  
Odour Emissions

Vanadium in Ambient Air: Concentrations in Lung Tissue from Autopsies of Mexico City Residents in the 1960s and 1990s

2002 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Imelda Fortoul ◽  
Alma Quan-Torres ◽  
Ivonne Sánchez ◽  
Irma Elena López ◽  
Patricia Bizarro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mexico City ◽  
Lung Tissue ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Air Concentrations
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