Air Quality and Pollution Air Composition Coal fired

Air Quality and Pollution

Air Composition

Coal fired Power Plant

Primary Pollutants - their sources and effects • Carbon monoxide – incomplete combustion of fossil fuels – headaches and death • Sulfur dioxide – combustion of fossil fuels – respiratory irritant, stomate damage, converts to H 2 SO 4 • Nitrogen oxides – NO, NO 2 – combustion of fossil fuels – respiratory irritant, converts to HNO 3 and photochemical smog containing ozone • Particulate matter – combustion of fossil fuels, wood, manure – agriculture, road construction – respiratory irritant • Volatile organic compounds – evaporation of fuels, solvents, paints – forms ozone • Lead – Gasoline additive, coal combustion

Secondary Air Pollutants • Sulfuric Acid – H 20 + SO 2 -> H 2 SO 4 – acid precipitation – irritant to plants, animals, aquatic organisms, decomposition of rock(marble, limestone) and metal structures • Nitric Acid -H 2 O+ NO 2 -> HNO 3 - acid precipitation • Hydrogen Peroxide – H 2 O 2 – surface irritant • Ozone – O 3 – respiratory irritant • Ammonium – NH 3 – respiratory irritant

Air Quality Protection • US Clean Air Act - 1970 – Identified 6 Criteria Pollutants – Sulfur dioxide(SO 2), Nitrogen Oxides (NOX), Carbon monoxide (CO), Particulates(SPM), Tropospheric Ozone(O 3), Lead (Pb) limits amounts and concentrations of these gases 2007 – Supreme Court added Carbon dioxide Requires emission controls – catalytic converters, auto emission testing, electrostatic precipitators, scrubbers

Electrostatic Precipitator

Air Scrubber

Air Pollution Control at Coal fired Power Plant

Greenhouse Gases • Water vapor • Carbon dioxide (CO 2) • Methane (CH 4) • Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) • Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) • All produce an exaggerated Greenhouse Effect

Climate Change Effects • Warmer and fewer cold days and nights • Warmer and more frequent hot days and nights • More heat waves • Heavy precipitation events and flooding • Areas of drought increases • More intense cyclone, hurricane and tropical storms • Increased incidence of high sea level and flooding

International Air Quality Controls • Kyoto Protocol – 1997 – international meeting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 5. 2% below 1990 levels by 2012 • US 7% reduction- not signed by US Senate – Al Gore and Clinton supported , 8% European reduction, 0% Russian, China, India reduction • 2001 – GW Bush argued against CO 2 emission control for US, wanted international controls • 2007 – US Supreme Court ruled that EPA had authority to regulate greenhouse gases in Clean Air Act • 2010 – Obama supported fuel efficiency but no ratification of protocol • 192 countries have ratified – not USA

Carbon sequestration