Air Pollution Flashcards by Dorio Venter

What are primary pollutants and list one?

Directly released into the atmosphere

Nox’s

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How are primary pollutants created?

 Combustion: Burning of a fuel - #1 Source of primary pollutants
 Evaporation: When volatiles such as gasoline or paint evaporate into atmosphere
 Grinding and Abrasion: Dust from ploughing, flaking of paint or asbestos

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How are secondary pollutants created?

 Created due to physical processes and chemical reactions

 i.e. Ozone

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How are anthropogenic emissions created?

man-made

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What are the Mobile Sources responsible for most of CO and almost half of NOx’s?

 Highway Vehicles (Cars and Trucks)
 Railroads
 Aircraft
 Farm Vehicles
 Boats and Ships

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What are the Stationary Sources responsible for most of the SOx, Hg, PMs VOCs and the
other half of the NOx’s?

 Fuel combustion from electrical power plants
 Fuel combustion from industrial energy systems
 Industrial processes (refining, chemical production etc.)

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What are some properties of CO?

 CO is an Asphyxiant
 Colourless
 Odourless
 Tasteless
 Less than perfect combustion – Carbon Monoxide

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When is CO formed?

 Insufficient O2
 Combustion temp too low
 Gas residence time at ++T
 Combustion Chamber Turbulence

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Which sector produces 80% of all CO emissions?

Transport Sector

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What are CO reductions at the expense of?

NOx

i.e. as CO levels drop in transport emissions, NOx‘s increase

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What are 95% of man-made emissions?

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What are VOC’s?

Volatile Organic Compounds

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How do VOS’s enter the atmosphere?

Evaporation

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List a secondary pollutant

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Define PM’s:

Complex mixture of solid and liquid particles of organic and inorganic substances suspended in the air

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What is the size range of PM?

Size ranges from 0.005μm to 100μm

Which pollutants affect people the most?

How is Acid Rain formed?

When SOx’s react in air

What are the differences between a rich mixture and a lean mixture?

Rich Mixture: More Petrol

Lean Mixture: More Air

What type of mixture does a diesel engine use and why?

Very lean mixture as it does not rely on spark

What are Two sources of emissions from automobiles?

 Exhaust Pipe

 VOC’s from the fuel tank

Which pollutants does a three way catalytic converter handle?

 CO
 HC
 NOx‘s

List the three alternative fuels:

Ethanol
Methanol
Biodiesel

What type of alcohol is ethanol?

Grain alcohol

What type of alcohol is methanol?

Wood alcohol

How much less CO2 emissions does biodiesel produce when compared to standard diesel?

1/4

What increases with Biodiesel?

NOx's

What is a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)?

 IC Engine and Electric Power (Generator, Electric Motor and Battery Storage)  Uses the battery for bursts of power (buffer, not energy source)  Regenerative braking to charge batteries

What is a Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)?

```  Similar to a HEV  Larger battery storage  Drive on battery power alone  Charge using national grid  Charge at night?  Shift in emission types ```

What is an electric vehicle (EV)?

```  Pure battery power, no IC engine  Electric motor, battery bank, transmission and power electronics  Ballast  90% efficient  Very low driving range ```

What is a fuel cell vehicle (FCV)?

 Electrochemical process |  Convert hydrogen carrying fuel to electricity using a catalyst

What are stationary sources?

Coal Fired Power Plants