Final study terms (air pollution/SOLID WASTE) Flashcards
What are the different types of air pollution?
- industrial smog
- sulfurous smog
- photochemical smog
- criteria pollutants
- inside home/workplace pollution
What are the criteria pollutants
- CO
- NOx
- SOx
- VOC
- O3
- particulate matter PMx
What happens during unstable conditions of atmospheric stability?
- vertical movement of an air parcel in atmosphere is encouraged upward or downward
- Most commonly develop on sunny days with low wind speeds
- land surface quickly absorbs heat and transfers some heat to the surface air layer, air warms becomes less dense than surrounding air so it rises vertically
What happens during stable conditions of atmospheric stability?
- vertical movement of an air parcel is discouraged
- under very stable conditions, cooler layer of air near land surface is capped by an upper warmer air layer, this called inversion and prevents vertical motion of an air parcel
what happens during neutral stability conditions of atmospheric stability?
- occurs when the environmental lapse rate is same as dry adiabatic lapse rate, vertical movement of air is neither encouraged nor supported under these conditions
- typically occurs on a windy day when cloud cover prevents strong heating or cooling of the land
what is definition of temperature inversion?
occurs when a warmer layer of air resides above a cooler surface layer
- areas prone occur where large populations of humans reside (coastal zones, valleys, locations near mtns)
What are some environmental impacts of incineration?
- Emissions (chlorinated compounds, heavy metals)
- Collected ash - contains toxic materials (may have to be treated as hazardous waste, particulate matter size important)
favorable attributes to WTE incineration
- volume reduction
- immediate disposal
- less land requirement
- destruction of hazardous materials
- energy recovery
unfavorable attributes to WTE incinceration
- potential release of toxic substances
- potential hazardous ash recovery
- public perception
What some design criteria used for landfill design?
- solid waste quantity projections and site life requirements
- liner requirements
- leachate disposal requirements
- landfill support facilities
- landfill cover material requirements
- surface water management system requirements
- gas control requirements
- determine disposition of waste material already onsite
- local dimensional and construction methods requirements
- availability of local material, power and water, other utilities
- landfill closure requirements
Descriptors on leachate (how it forms, etc.)
- solid waste typically contains some moisture
- the water flowing through the waste is called leachate
- leachate contains dissolved contaminants from buried solid waste (TDS - total dissolved solids)
- Capture or restriction of leachate is controlled by liners, monitoring wells, piping, pumps and capping of landfill
What happens when waste starts to Decompose in landfills
decomposition is slow but it does happen
During the degradation, four processes happen:
- organic matter is stabilized
- leachate production
- landfill gas generation
- settlement
What are the different phases of landfill decomposition
- aerobic
- acid
- methanogenesis (unsteady)
- methanogenesis (steady)
Vancouver landfill gas collections goals
- goals in collecting and combusting landfill has include: odor reduction, landfill gas emission reductions, energy recovery
- methane has greenhouse gas potential of 21 times CO2
- collecting and burning PFG significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions due to the conversion of methane to CO2
What are some of the materials used for closure of a landfill?
- solid to contour the areas to achieve design elevations
- a geomembrane liner as an impermeable barrier
- aggregate to convey landfill gas and stormwater to collection systems below and above the liner
- topsoil to support the growth of grass and future vegetation
