Sustainable Air Quality ME 449, 2007

Health Care The physicians evaluate a patient’s health by measuring the temperature, pulse rate, the cholesterol level and other vital signs. For diagnosis, doctors use many tools, like x-ray images, ultrasound scans, usually in combination. Sustainability

Living Earth The Earth is also like a living organism. Following James Lovelock, it has become necessary to monitor the health of people as well as the health of planet Earth itself. The Earth is constantly changing due to physical aging and evolution of the biosphere. Some of the changes occur slowly in a steadily and foreseeably, other changes occur quickly, unexpectedly, and unevenly in space and time. From human point of view, many of these abrupt changes are catastrophic events. Some of the changes, short and long term, are caused by human activities and those are controllable.

Major Biogeochemical Processes Visualized by Aerosols Dust storms VolcanoesAnthropogenic pollution These processes are producing visible aerosols in form of dust, smoke, and haze. The quantity and spatial-temporal distribution of dust and smoke and haze can be used to characterize the flow of substances through the atmosphere. Fires

Explaining Change The basic elements of life including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium are in constant circulation between the earth’s major environmental compartments: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. These earth’s compartments remain in balance as long as the rate of flow of matter and energy in and out of the compartments is unchanged. Changes in the environmental compartments will occur if the circulation (in and out flow) of the substances is perturbed. For example, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing because the rate of input is larger than the rate of output from the atmosphere.

Sensory-Motor Response to Changes Regardless whether the Earth is considered ‘healthy’ or ‘sick’, the inevitable and unforeseeable environmental changes require response to these changes: The response includes the following major steps: The above three steps are the necessary conditions for sustainable development. This is logical since all living organisms use this type of sensory-motor feedback to maintain their existence. Sensing and recognition (monitoring) Reasoning and explaining (sciences) Decision making, action (management)

Air Quality Management: Sensory Data to Action Air Quality Assessment Compare to Goals Plan Reductions Track Progress Controls (Actions) Monitoring (Sensing) Set Goals CAAA NAAQS Assessment performs data analysis to turn data into useful knowledge for decision making and actions Multi-sensory data are collected through Monitoring and delivered for Assessment

Example: London Fog Population: London, a cold December week in 1957 Activity: home heating using soft, high-sulfur coal Emissions: SO 2 Transport: low wind speed – SO 2 is accumulated Chemical transformation: SO 2  SO 4 2-  acid aerosols (H 2 SO 4 ) Effect: 4000 deaths above normal (2.6% increase) Regulation: Reduce the use of soft coal Change Activity: fuel switching – change to hard coal, oil, gas, electricity

The activities of humans result in direct emissions of pollutants to the atmosphere Once airborne, these pollutants are transported, transformed, and concentrated The resulting pollutants may have negative effects on humans, plants, animals, and nature As a result of negative effects, laws and regulations are promulgated to either alter the activities or control their emissions with “end of the pipe” controls. Both of these strategies aim to reduce emissions.

The Earth System Atmosphere –Conveyer of mass, moves mass source to receptor –Small storage capacity Hydrosphere –River system – conveyer collects substances in watershed –Oceans – long-term geochemical reservoir Lithosphere –Solid shell of inorganic matter at surface of the Earth made of up of soil particles and rock down to 50km –Within soil, biochemical reactions by microorganisms are responsible for most of the chemical changes of matter Biosphere –Thin shell of organic matter on the Earth’s surface (occupies the least volume) –Chemical pump for much of the flow of matter through nature –Responsible for grand scale recycling of energy and matter on the Earth

Source Types and Emissions Primary pollutants –Substances that are emitted directly into the atmosphere –E.g. VOCs, NO X, CO, particulate matter (PM) Secondary pollutants –Pollutants formed in the environment through chemical or photochemical transformations of primary pollutants –E.g. tropospheric ozone, PM Anthropogenic sources –Cars: NO X, VOCs, Pb, CO –Power plants: NO X, CO 2, CO, SO 2 –Agriculture: PM, NH 4 Natural sources –Wind blown dust: PM –Plants: VOCs –Volcanoes: SO 2, PM –Fires: smoke (PM), CO 2, Hg

Effects of Air Pollution Air pollution affects the following: –Human health (acute and chronic effects) –Animals –Plants –Materials –Visibility –Climate Pollution Exposure (Dose)

Sustainability – Reuse of Materials

Population - Energy/Goods Consumption– Materials Flow - Emissions E k =  c jk EM j =   b ij c jk GE i =    a i b ij c jk P Industr. Energy Transp. Energy ResCom.Engy Coal Oil GasElectric Energy SOx NOx HC PM Goods &Energy,(GE) iFuels&Mater.(FM), j Emission (EM), k Ind. Chemicals Industr. Goods Pop., P Metals Mercury a i Consump./Person b ij Fuels/Energy c jk Emission/Fuel- jjiiij Consumption of Goods and Energy:GE =  a i P Fuels and Materials Flow:FM =   a i b ij P Emission of Pollutants:EM =    a i b ij c jk P Industrial Prod. Transportation ResComercial EconMeasure(EM)