Reduction of AIr Pollutants

Question 1

Clean Air Act (CAA)

Answer 1

regulates the emission of air pollutants that affect human health

Question 2

What conservation efforts have been made to reduce automobile emissions?

Answer 2

• eliminating lead in gasoline

- encouraging cleaner technologies in transportation

Question 3

What conservation efforts have been made to reduce acid rain?

Answer 3

• determining levels of how much pollution is permissible by industries
• promoting technologies for reductions in sulfur dioxide & nitrogen oxides

Question 4

What conservation efforts have been made to phase out pollutants depleting Earth’s stratospheric ozone?

Answer 4

• implementing regulations for managing the releasing of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), HCFCs, and halons, which cause the breakdown of ozone molecules

Question 5

What cleaner fuels does the CAA support as alternative fuels for transportation?

Answer 5

• natural gas
• propane
• ethanol
• electricity
• biofuels

Question 6

What did the Clean Air Act require the EPA to create in regards to cleaner air?

Answer 6

• develop a National Renewable Fuel (RF) program, designed to significantly increase the volume of renewable fuels that can be blended into gasoline

Question 7

What conservation efforts have been applied to buildings and appliances?

Answer 7

• Energy efficiency in appliances & buildings reduce fuel use & emissions

Question 8

How have paints and cleaners’ VOCs been reduced?

Answer 8

• Water-based, instead of solvent-based, paints & cleaners reduce VOCs

Question 9

What conservation efforts have occurred regarding transportation to reduce fuel use?

Answer 9

• Improved transportation planning for passengers & freight reduce use & emissions
• Higher fuel standards & cleaner running engines for cars, trucks & planes reduce fuel use

Question 10

What have communities and individuals done to lessen their contribution to air pollution?

Answer 10

• Individual & community actions like composting, recycling, carpooling, no-idle zones, & other actions can have large impacts

Question 11

What is a vapor recovery nozzle and how does it reduce vapor emissions when drivers are putting fuel into their cars?

Answer 11

• Vapors escape while you put fuel in your car’s gas tank
• Vapor recovery system captures vapors & sends them to the underground storage tank
• Similar process occurs when gasoline is delivered by a fuel truck

Question 12

What regulations have the EPA implemented regarding vapor recovery systems in cars and at gas stations? What does ORVR stand for?

Answer 12

• Since 2006, EPA required the auto industry to make vehicles with onboard refueling vapor recovery systems (ORVR) that capture vapors & burn them in the car’s own combustion chamber
• After 2013, EPA no longer required gas pump nozzle systems, but states could choose to continue their use to manage air pollutants

Question 13

What is a catalytic converter?

Answer 13

• an air pollution control device for internal combustion engines that converts pollutants (CO, NOx, & hydrocarbons) in the exhaust into less harmful molecules (CO2, N2, O2, & H2O)

Question 14

Wet & dry scrubbers

Answer 14

air pollution control devices that remove particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams (like at coal-burning factories)

Question 15

What does the Clean Air Act require scrubbers to remove?

Answer 15

• sulfur oxides
• nitrogen oxides
• (primarily) particulates

Question 16

Which kind of scrubber is more effective?

Answer 16

• Although highly effective, dry scrubbers don’t remove as many pollutants as wet scrubbers

Question 17

Electrostatic precipitators

Answer 17

• use an electrical charge to reduce pollutants, used as an initial step before scrubbers are employed

Question 18

What is the downside to technologies like catalytic converts and scrubbers?

Answer 18

• All three technologies create waste that must be disposed of at a landfill or stored at the coal-fired power plants, the ash and sludge formed can cause problems

Question 19

What are strategies that municipalities are employing internationally to reduce air pollution? (Think gasoline usage, carbon emissions and vehicle emissions)

Answer 19

• Reduce gasoline spilled at the pump, restrict evaporation of dry-cleaning fluids, and use lighter fluid.
• Reduce use of wood-burning stoves and fireplaces
• Limit automobiles to every other day use or charge user fees for roads during heavy commute times

Question 20

What are the basic principles for addressing air pollution?

Answer 20

• Avoid emissions in the first place
• Use cleaner fuel
• Increase energy efficiency to reduce fuel use
• Control pollutants after combustion

Question 21

What are the technological strategies be used to reduce emissions after combustion?

Answer 21

• Remove sulfur dioxide from coal by fluidized bed combustion
• Install catalytic converters on cars.
• Use baghouse filters.
• Use electrostatic precipitators.
• Install scrubbers on smokestacks.