Air pollution and control Flashcards
Are defined as a stationary source or group of stationary sources that emit or have the potential to emit 10 tons per year or more of a hazardous air pollutant or 25 tons per year or more of a combination of hazardous air pollutants.
Major sources
Any stationary source that is not a major source.
area source
Provide public health protection,
including protecting the health of “sensitive” populations such as asthmatics, children, and the
elderly.
Primary standards
Provide public welfare protection, including protection against
decreased visibility and damage to animals, crops, vegetation, and buildings.
Secondary standards
Defined as the burning of municipal, bio-medical and hazardous wastes, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes
incineration
The minimum required capacity during stack sampling test is ___ or the normal operating capacity
90%
Term used to describe a variety of vehicles, engines, and equipment that generate air pollution and that move, or can be moved, from place to place.
Mobile Sources
____ mobile sources of air pollution refer to vehicles and transportation activities that emit pollutants while in operation on roads and highways
On-road
Example of On-road Mobile Sources
Cars and Light-Duty Trucks
Heavy-Duty Trucks and Buses
Motorcycles and Scooters:
Commercial Vehicles
Construction and Maintenance Vehicles
Idling Vehicles
_____ mobile sources of air pollution refer to vehicles and equipment that operate outside of paved roads or highways.
Off-road
Example of Non-road Mobile Sources
Agricultural Equipment
Off-Road Recreational Vehicles
Marine Vessels Airport Ground Support Equipment Mining and Quarrying Equipment
Refer to any building or immobile structure, facility or installation which emits or may emit any air pollutant, and may be defined generally as individual points of air emissions.
Stationary sources
Examples of Stationary sources
Power Plants
Industrial Facilities
Oil and Gas Operations
Commercial and Residential Heating
Waste Management Facilities
Fossil Fuel Combustion
Refineries and Chemical Plants
Waste Incineration
Any type of pollutant emitted directly into the environment.
Primary pollutants
Sometimes called particle pollution or simply PM, is a term that refers to a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets that can be found in the air.
Particulate matter
Are a family of poisonous, highly reactive gases that form when fuel is burned at high temperatures. These gases are generally brown in color.
Nitrogen oxides
Are a group of pollutants that contain both sulfur and oxygen molecules. It is colorless but has a distinct smell and taste that can be detected if the gas has a high enough concentration.
Sulfur oxides
Oil can be desulfurized in refineries in a catalytic process known as the _____, in which hydrogen gas is blown through the oil to remove the sulfur.
Claus process
Is a gas that forms from the
incomplete combustion of fuels such as propane, natural gas, gasoline, oil, coal, or wood. It is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas, so it cannot be detected without a specialized piece of
equipment
Carbon monoxide
Are organic molecules - specifically hydrocarbons - that are classified as a pollutant as they produce undesirable effects in the atmosphere.
Volatile organic compounds
Is a heavy metal that can act as a significant air pollutant when released into the atmosphere.
Lead
Are pollutants which form in the atmosphere.
Secondary pollutants
Is a secondary pollutant formed through chemical reactions between
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Ground-level ozone layer
Are also referred to as acyl peroxy nitrates, are a component of photochemical smog, produced in the atmosphere when oxidized volatile organic compounds combine with nitrogen dioxide.
Peroxyacyl nitrates
Is produced when water in the air combines with nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, two types of pollutants, and then falls down the surface of the Earth.
Acid rain
Measures the general amount of pollution present in a broad area
Ambient air sampling
Metho of collecting representative samples at the place of origin to determine the total amount of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere
Source emission testing
Is defined by RA 8749 as the general amount of pollution present in a
broad area and refers to the atmosphere’s average purity in a broad area as distinguished from discharge measurements taken at the source of pollution.
Ambient Air Quality
Sampler should be at least ___ meters (m) from trees, buildings or other large obstacles.
20
A general placement rule is that the sampler should be located at least ____ as far away from obstacle as the
height of the obstacle
twice
Sampler inlet should be ___ above the ground.
2m to 7m
Is a wet-chemical system that samples ambient air for up to three different pollutant gases simultaneously. It tests for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and other pollutant gases.
Tri-Gas Sampler
Also known as stack testing or source testing, is a systematic process used to measure and analyze the pollutants emitted from industrial stacks or chimneys.
Source emission testing
The potential for vertical mixing of a released air pollutant is primarily controlled by the degree of
_____.
atmospheric stability
A relatively well-defined body of air that acts as a whole and has a constant
number of molecules.
Air parcel
An air parcel will expand and cool. If the air temperature within an air parcel
is warmer than surrounding air, it will be less dense than the cooler surrounding air.
Buoyancy
Is the ratio of the decrease in air
temperature with increase in height
Lapse rate
Adiabatic processes are ones where no transfer of heat or mass occurs across the boundaries of the air parcel.
Dry adiabatic lapse rate
A rising parcel of dry air parcel that contains water vapor will cool at the dry adiabatic lapse rate until it reaches its dew point temperature
Wet adiabatic lapse rate
Is the actual temperature profile
of the atmosphere as a function of altitude. It is also referred to as the prevailing or atmosphere lapse rate.
environmental lapse rate
Is the maximum height an air parcel can ascend.
Mixing height
Is the air below the mixing height to the point of the air emission release.
Mixing layer
____ atmosphere resists vertical motion and thus will have a low ability to disperse air pollutants that are emitted to it.
Stable
During ____ conditions, vertical
movement of an air parcel in the atmosphere is encouraged upward or downward.
unstable
During ____ conditions, vertical movement of an air parcel is discouraged.
stable
_____occurs when the environmental lapse rate is the same as the dry
adiabatic lapse rate.
Neutral stability
A _____ occurs when a warmer layer of air resides above a cooler surface layer.
temperature inversion
Occur when the temperature of the atmosphere increases with height.
Inversions
Plume type that occurs in highly unstable conditions. A rapid turnover of air causes turbulence
Looping
Plume type that occurs in very stable
conditions. An inversion prevents vertical motion of the plume, but horizontal motion of the plume is not prevented downwind.
Fanning
Plume type that occurs under neutral
conditions where atmospheric conditions are slightly stable.
Coning
Plume type when release of air pollutants occurs just above the inversion.
Lofting
Plume type where air pollutants are
released just below an inversion layer.
Fumigation
Industrial activities that discharge pollutants to air must comply with these two
National Emission Standards for Source Specific Air Pollutants (NESSAP)
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
Sampling method for ozone
Neutral Buffer Potassium Iodide
Sampling method for carbon monoxide
Non-dispersive Infrared Spectrophotometry
Sampling method for lead
Atomic absorption spectrophotometry
Is defined as any organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis including dedicated energy crops and trees, agricultural
food and feed crop residues, aquatic plants, wood and wood residues, and other waste materials.
Biomass
It means biomass used in the production of energy – electricity; liquid, solid and gaseous fuels; and heat
Bioenergy
Is defined as any fuel that is derived from biomass — recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts, such as manure from cows.
Biofuel
This method involves physically shaking the fabric filter to dislodge the accumulated dust, which then falls into a collection hopper for disposal.
Mechanical shaker
In this method, a reverse flow of air is directed through the fabric filter, causing the dust cake to detach and fall into a collection hopper.
Reverse-air
It involves periodically releasing short bursts of compressed air through the fabric filter in the opposite direction of the gas flow
Pulse-jet
Uses electrical forces to remove particulate matter entrained within a gas stream.
electrostatic precipitator
A type of air pollution control device used to remove particulate matter from an air stream. It operates based on the principle of inertia.
cyclone separator
Are air pollution control devices used to remove pollutants from industrial exhaust gases. They operate by passing the contaminated gas stream through a scrubbing liquid.
Wet scrubbers
This type of scrubber incorporates a “throat” section within the ductwork, causing the gas stream to accelerate as it passes through a narrowing section and then expands afterward.
venturi / gas-atomized spray
Also known as entrainment or self-induced spray scrubbers, operate by directing the particle-laden gas stream over the surface of a pool of scrubbing liquid
Orifice
Often referred to as “afterburners” in certain industrial settings, are perhaps the most prevalent among oxidation systems
Thermal oxidizers
____ thermal oxidizers function in a manner similar to conventional
thermal oxidizers, with the main distinction being that the gas, post-flame passage, traverses through a catalyst bed.
Catalytic
Are specialized thermal oxidizers primarily used as safety devices for handling short-duration flows, typically occurring during upset conditions or accidental releases.
Flares
Is the process of concentrating a substance on the surface of porous solids; this process can be used to recover the pollutant for reuse, filter the discharge, or remove contaminants from an air stream.
Adsorption
It is the comprehensive federal law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. Among other things, this law authorizes EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and public welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants.
Clean Air Act
