Air pollution and control Flashcards by Janine Demetrial

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

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Any stationary source that is not a major source.

area source

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Provide public health protection,
including protecting the health of “sensitive” populations such as asthmatics, children, and the
elderly.

Primary standards

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Provide public welfare protection, including protection against
decreased visibility and damage to animals, crops, vegetation, and buildings.

Secondary standards

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Defined as the burning of municipal, bio-medical and hazardous wastes, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes

incineration

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The minimum required capacity during stack sampling test is ___ or the normal operating capacity

90%

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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

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____ mobile sources of air pollution refer to vehicles and transportation activities that emit pollutants while in operation on roads and highways

On-road

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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

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_____ mobile sources of air pollution refer to vehicles and equipment that operate outside of paved roads or highways.

Off-road

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Example of Non-road Mobile Sources

Agricultural Equipment
Off-Road Recreational Vehicles
Marine Vessels Airport Ground Support Equipment Mining and Quarrying Equipment

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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

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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

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Any type of pollutant emitted directly into the environment.

Primary pollutants

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Are organic molecules - specifically hydrocarbons - that are classified as a pollutant as they produce undesirable effects in the atmosphere.

Volatile organic compounds

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Is a heavy metal that can act as a significant air pollutant when released into the atmosphere.

Lead

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Are pollutants which form in the atmosphere.

Secondary pollutants

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Is a secondary pollutant formed through chemical reactions between
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Ground-level ozone layer

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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

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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.

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