AIR POLLUTION PREVENTION
AND CONTROL
Pollution Prevention Strategies
• Pollution prevention [vs. control] offers important economic
benefits and at the same time allows continued protection of the
environment.
• While most pollution control strategies cost money, pollution
prevention has saved many firms thousands of dollars in treatment
and disposal costs.
• More importantly, pollution prevention should be viewed as a
means to increase company productivity.
• By reducing the amount of raw materials that are wasted and
disposed of; manufacturing processes become more efficient,
resulting in cost savings to the company.
• Pollution prevention should be the first consideration in
planning for processes that emit air contaminants.
• Undertaking pollution prevention practices may reduce
air emissions enough to allow a business or industry to
avoid classification as a major air emission source.
What is Pollution Prevention?
• Pollution prevention is the elimination or prevention of wastes (air
emissions, water discharges, or solid/hazardous waste) at the
source. In other words, pollution prevention is eliminating wastes
before they are generated.
• Pollution prevention approaches can be applied to all pollution
generating activity: hazardous and nonhazardous, regulated and
unregulated. Pollution prevention does not include practices that
create new risks of concern.
Pollution Prevention Act
In 1990, the US Congress established federal policy on
pollution prevention by passing the Pollution
Prevention Act. The Act states:
1. pollution should be prevented or reduced at the source
whenever feasible (i.e., source reduction),
2. pollution that cannot be prevented should be recycled
in an environmentally safe manner whenever feasible,
3. pollution that cannot be prevented or recycled should
be treated in an environmentally safe manner
whenever feasible, and
4. disposal or other release into the environment should
be employed only as last resort and should be
conducted in an environmentally safe manner.
The Pollution Prevention Act defines pollution prevention as
source reduction. Recycling, energy recovery, treatment and
disposal are not considered pollution prevention under the
Act.
SOURCE REDUCTION
• Product Changes
• Designing and producing a product that has less environmental impact
• Changing the composition of a product so that less hazardous
chemicals are used in, and result from, production
• Using recycled materials in the product
• Reusing the generated scrap and excess raw materials back in the
process
• Minimizing product filler and packaging
• Producing goods and packaging reusable by the consumer
• Producing more durable products
• Input Material Changes
• Material substitution Using a less hazardous or
toxic solvent for cleaning or as coating
• Purchasing raw materials that are free of trace
quantities of hazardous or toxic impurities
Equipment and Process Modifications
•Changing the production process or flow of materials through the
process.
•Replacing or modifying the process equipment, piping or layout.
•Using automation.
•Changing process operating conditions such as flow rates,
temperatures, pressures and residence times.
•Implementing new technologies
Good Operating Practices
• Instituting management and personnel programs such as
employee training or employee incentive programs that
encourage employees to reduce waste.
• Performing good material handling and inventory control
practices that reduce loss of materials due to mishandling,
expired shelf life, or improper storage.
• Preventing loss of materials from equipment leaks and spills.
• Segregating hazardous waste from non-hazardous waste to
reduce the volume of hazardous waste disposed.
• Using standard operating procedures for process operation
and maintenance tasks
• Performing preventative maintenance checks to avoid
unexpected problems with equipment.
• Turning off equipment when not in use.
• Improving or increasing insulation on heating or cooling
lines.
• Environmentally Sound Reuse and Recycling
Control of Gaseous Pollutants
• Absorption
• Adsorption
• Oxidation
• Reduction
Absorption
Primary application: inorganic gases
Example: SO2
Mass transfer from gas to liquid
Contaminant is dissolved in liquid
Liquid must be treated
Adsorption
Primary application: organic gases
Example: trichloroethylene
Mass transfer from gas to solid
Contaminant is ‘bound’ to solid
Adsorbent may be regenerated
Common Adsorbents
Activated carbon
Silica gel
Activated alumina
Zeolites (molecular sieves)
Oxidation
• Thermal Oxidation
• Catalytic Oxidation
• A thermal oxidizer (or thermal oxidiser) is a process unit for air
pollution control in many chemical plants that decomposes
hazardous gases at a high temperature and releases them into the
atmosphere.
• Thermal Oxidizers are typically used to destroy Hazardous Air
Pollutants (HAPs) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from
industrial air streams.
• These pollutants are generally hydrocarbon based and when
destroyed via thermal combustion they are chemically changed to
form CO and H O.
Thermal Oxidation
Application: organic gases
Autogenous gases = 7 MJ/kg (heat value)
Operating temperatures: 700 - 1300 oC
Efficiency = 95 - 99%
By-products must not be more hazardous
Heat recovery is economical necessity
Catalytic Oxidation
• Catalytic oxidation is a relatively recently applied alternative for
the treatment of VOCs in air streams resulting from remedial
operations.
• The addition of a catalyst accelerates the rate of oxidation by
adsorbing the oxygen and the contaminant on the catalyst
surface where they react to form carbon dioxide, water, and
hydrochloric gas.
• The catalyst enables the oxidation reaction to occur at much
lower temperatures than required by a conventional thermal
oxidation
Catalytic Oxidation
Application: organic gases
Non-autogenous gases < 7 MJ/kg
Operating temperatures: 250 - 425 oC
Efficiency = 90 - 98%
Catalyst may be poisoned
Heat recovery is not normal
Control of Particulate
Pollutants
• Spray chamber
• Cyclone
• Bag house
• Venturi
• Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP)
Spray Chamber
Spray Chamber
Primary collection mechanism:
Inertial impaction of particle into water
droplet
Efficiency:
< 1% for < 1 um diameter
>90% for > 5 um diameter
Pressure drop: 0.5 to 1.5 cm of H2O
Water droplet size range: 50 - 200 um
Spray Chamber
Applications:
1. Sticky, wet corrosive or liquid particles
Examples: chrome plating bath
paint booth over spray
2. Explosive or combustible particles
3. Simultaneous particle/gas removal
Cyclone
Cyclone
(Multi-clones for high gas volumes)
Primary collection mechanism:
Centrifugal force carries particle to wall
Efficiency:
<50% for <1 um diameter
>95% for >5 um diameter
Cyclone
(Multi-clones for high gas volumes)
Pressure drop: 8-12 cm of H2O
Applications:
1. Dry particles
Examples: fly ash pre-cleaner
saw dust
2. Liquid particles
Examples: following venturi
Bag House
Bag House
Particle Collection Mechanisms
-
+
Screening Impaction Electrostatic
Bag House
Efficiency:
>99.5% for <1 um diameter
>99.8% for >5 um diameter
Fabric filter materials:
1. Natural fibers (cotton & wool)
Temperature limit: 80 oC
2. Synthetics (acetates, acrylics, etc.)
Temperature limit: 90 oC
3. Fiberglass
Temperature limit: 260 oC
Bag House
Bag dimensions:
15 to 30 cm diameter
~10 m in length
Pressure drop: 10-15 cm of H2O
Cleaning:
1. Shaker
2. Reverse air
3. Pulse jet
Bag House
Applications:
Dry collection
Fly ash
Grain dust
Fertilizer
May be combined with dry adsorption media
to control gaseous emission (e.g. SO2)
Venturi
Venturi
Primary collection mechanism:
Inertial impaction of particle into water droplet
Water droplet size: 50 to 100 um
Water drop and collected particle are removed by
cyclone
Venturi
Efficiency:
>98% for >1 um diameter
>99.9% for > 5 um diameter
Very high pressure drop: 60 to 120 cm of H2O
Liquid/gas ratios: 1.4 - 32 gal/1000 ft3 of gas
Venturi
Applications:
Phosphoric acid mist
Open hearth steel (metal fume)
Ferro-silicon furnace
Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP)
ESP Tube (a) and Plate (b) collectors
ESP Collection Mechanism
Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP)
Efficiency:
>95% for >1 um diameter
>99.5% for > 5 um diameter
Pressure drop: 0.5 to 1.5 cm of H2O
Voltage: 20 to 100 kV dc
Plate spacing: 30 cm
Plate dimensions: 10-12 m high x 8-10 m long
Gas velocity: 1 to 1.5 m/s
Cleaning: rapping plates
Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP)
Applications (non-explosive):
1. Fly ash
2. Cement dust
3. Iron/steel sinter
