1 / 18

Air Pollution

Air Pollution. Environmental Science Spring 2014. Quick Draw!. Draw a cartoon picture of air pollution in Atlanta! (leave space in the sky to write) Use a whole sheet of paper Turn it “Landscape”. What Causes Air Pollution?.

farrah-sweeney
Download Presentation

Air Pollution

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Air Pollution Environmental Science Spring 2014

  2. Quick Draw! • Draw a cartoon picture of air pollution in Atlanta! (leave space in the sky to write) • Use a whole sheet of paper • Turn it “Landscape”

  3. What Causes Air Pollution? • Air Pollution is the contamination of the atmosphere by solid, liquid, or gasses • Most air pollution is the result of human activities • Industrial burning • Automobile Exhaust • Some pollutants are natural • Dust • Pollen and spores • Volcanic eruptions (sulfur dioxide)

  4. Primary and Secondary Pollutants • Primary Pollutants – a pollutant put directly into the atmosphere by humans or nature • Ex. CO from car exhaust • Secondary Pollutants – a pollutant that is formed by a chemical reaction between a primary pollutant and another compound in the atmosphere (either natural or man-made) • Ex. Ground level ozone

  5. Primary Pollutants CO CO2 Secondary Pollutants SO2 NO NO2 SO3 Most hydrocarbons HNO3 H2SO4 Most suspended particles H2O2 O3 PANs 2 – NO3 and salts SO4 Most – Natural Sources Stationary Mobile Primary vs. Secondary Pollutants

  6. Types of Pollutants • Carbon monoxide (CO) • mainly comes from car exhaust • Nitrogen oxides (NOX) • auto exhaust, power plants and some industrial processes • Sulfur dioxide (SO2) • burning fossil fuels • Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) • burning fuel (gasoline vapors) • Particulate Matter • tiny particles (can be solids or liquids) – construction, agriculture, fires, vehicles, industry

  7. Automobile Emissions • One third (1/3) of air pollution comes from cars • Americans drove 2.6 trillion miles in 1998 • Only 10% of that was done by busses or trucks

  8. Clean Air Act of 1970 • Gives the EPA authority to regulate automobile emissions • The EPA required: • Elimination of leaded gasoline • Lead pollution has decreased 90% as a result • Catalytic converters had to be installed into cars • Cause a chemical reaction that changes the pollutants to less harmful substances • EPA estimates cars burn fuel 35% more efficiently and pollute 95% less now than 30 yrs ago

  9. Zero-Emission Vehicle • California began the Zero-Emission Vehicle program to encourage the development of less-polluting vehicles • Electric cars are the only true ZEV cars • 2 types of partial ZEV’s • Gasoline/Electric Hybrids (Toyota Prius) • Methanol Fuel Cells (all still prototypes)

  10. Industrial Pollution • Most power plants generate electricity by burning fossil fuels • Power plants emit at least 2/3 of all sulfur dioxide and more than 1/3 of all nitrogen oxides that pollute the air. • Dry cleaning, oil refineries, chemical manufacturing plants, furniture refinishers, and automobile repair shops all contribute to the VOCs in the air.

  11. Industrial Air Pollution • Clean Air Act also requires that industries remove pollution from their emissions • Scrubbers – remove gasses by spraying water into the exhaust to dissolve many soluble pollutants • Electrostatic Precipitators – gasses containing dust particles are blown through an electrically charged chamber – the dust sticks to each other and the side of the chamber • 20 tons of ash generated by coal burning power plants each year

  12. Smog • Air pollution that hangs over cities and reduces visibility • Smog is the result of chemical reactions involving sunlight, air, car exhaust, and ozone

  13. Temperature Inversions • Usually temperature decreases with altitude • A temperature inversion is when warm air is higher and the cold air is trapped beneath • Sometimes pollution is trapped beneath the warm air

  14. When Weather Changed History • Make a list of 10 Facts. • How could the mills and the local government acted differently so as to protect human lives? • What was the response of the Federal Government? (after many years)

  15. Take out your Air pollution drawing • Review your primary and secondary pollutants • Add the following picture • Listen for further instructions

  16. Layers of the Atmosphere

  17. Solar radiation Photochemical Smog Ultraviolet radiation NO Nitric oxide O Atomic oxygen O2 Molecular oxygen NO2 Nitrogen dioxide H2O Water Hydrocarbons PANs Peroxyacyl nitrates Aldehydes (e.g., formaldehyde) O3 Ozone HNO3 Nitric acid P h o t o c h e m i c a l S m o g

More Related