Technology in Air Pollution Reduction - Research Paper Example

? Technology in Air Pollution Reduction Introduction Air pollution occurs when gases, solid and liquid particles contaminate the environment. Scientists have linked air contaminations to complications such as respiratory diseases and cancer. Air pollution also leads to damage to buildings and artifacts as evidenced by the corrosion of Parthenon marble statues in Athens. Agricultural products, including crops and trees, are also damaged. Gases in the atmosphere absorb particulate pollutants causing poor visibility and climate change; this interferes with air transport. Hence, this essay seeks to explore some ways of reducing air pollution using technology. Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs) Particulate matter can also be removed using an Electrostatic Air Cleaner (or Electrostatic Precipitator). An Electrostatic Air Cleaner is used in industries such as pulp mills, oil & fired utilities and oil refineries. Putantunda (2013) suggests that this air pollution control method uses the energy generated by an induced electrostatic charge, to collect particulates from any flowing gas. The filtration devices are efficient and effective in trapping particles, like dust and smoke, from a stream of gas. The mechanism of Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs) involves: gas ionization, electric charging of the gas particles, transportation of the particles to the collection surface of the ESP neutralization of the charge of the gas particles and removal of dust particles from the collecting surface. The ESP is advantageous because it is can be modified during manufacture so that it has a near perfect efficiency of collecting particulates. The electrostatic precipitator can also work automatically when fitted with control devices. An important consideration when determining whether to engage in technology is cost. The ESP has a very low maintenance cost demands. However, the capital required to apply this technology is substantial. This technology is only restricted to trapping particulates only. It is impossible to trap air pollutants like the sulfur oxides using ESP. Wet scrubber Sulfur oxide (SO2) is removed by the limestone wet scrubber method. The exhaust gas is passed to a tower after solid fly ash has been removed in coal burning electrical plants. The incoming exhaust gas is sprayed with limestone generating carbon dioxide and solid calcium sulfate (Kumar, n.d.). The lime scrubber method is also used to remove sulfur oxide where lime instead of limestone is used instead. The scrubbing liquid is usually water. The particulate collection process can be follows four steps: transportation of the particles, collision of the particles with water droplets due to surface tension and the removal of water droplets from the particles. Wet scrubber technique is useful in trapping air pollutants in the form of solids and gases. It is however expensive to maintain because it easily corrodes. Another demerit of using this technology is that, it has a waste system consisting of the scrubbing liquid laden with the pollutants. After it has been used, this liquid poses a danger of water pollution if not properly disposed. Compared to the ESP technology, the wet scrubber uses more energy in terms of electricity. This is because energy is used in the flowing scrubbing liquid that traps air pollutants. However, for the ESP, the only energy applied is for the particulates being collected. Catalytic converters The Advanced Clean Air Technologies (ACAT) unveiled an advanced catalytic converter that can reduce emissions drastically; testing parameters depict a high efficiency in reducing of particulate matter released to the atmosphere and a subsequent air pollution reduction. Catalytic converters involve unsophisticated technology for the appropriate tuning of vehicle engines to control vehicle emissions. For catalytic converters to function properly, they require platinum and palladium catalysts which are attached to a ceramic material. This technology is very effective in controlling car emission as it provides a high surface area, of hundreds of meters squared, for the contact with the pollutant exhaust gases. The pollutants are converted into less harmful products including water vapor and carbon dioxide. Bio-filters Bio-filtration is also another technique that has been proven to reduce air pollution by curbing emissions from livestock barns. Shah, Workman, Yates, Basden, Merriner and deGraft-Hanson (2011) reported that bio-filters, coupled with heat-exchangers, are effective in removing ammonia emissions and heat at a high efficiency and within a short time interval. The process of pollution removal by bio-filtration involves polluted air being passed through a medium that is organic, including wood chips or compost, which contains bacteria. The bacteria in the medium come in contact with the pollutants, decomposing them into less harmful components than they were. This process also enables the nitrogen to be recycled; the used medium is applied to crops supplying fertilizers to the crops. This process is however costly to farmers. Technology involving bio-filters has both low investment and operational costs. Absence of combustion in this technology is also a plus because this ensures that no pollutants are produced including he Volatile Organic Compounds, odor and heat. The absence of chemical usage is also a merit because water pollution that could arise from chemical effluents. This technology is used to control more that one pollutant including odors, Volatile Organic Compounds and other toxic compounds. Flue denitrogenation One method of controlling emissions of nitrogen oxides is fuel denitrogenation. In this case, nitrogen in liquid fuels is removed by mixing them with hydrogen gas, raising the temperature of the mixture with a catalyst leading to the combination of nitrogen and hydrogen producing ammonia and fuel that is clean. In their studies, Ni, Herber, Lim and Tao (2008) found soybean oil to be effective in controlling dust, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, methane odor and carbon dioxide emissions and odor in hog facilities. The treated barn also released less of particulates compared to the barn that was not treated with soybean oil. The oil spray removes the dust. The dust absorbs greenhouse gases and carries odor. One challenge facing the application of this technique is the expensive cost of application, cleaning and safety. Some oil spills on the floor, pigs, feeders and fans rendering the cleaning process difficult. More research is yet to be done on technological control of air pollution. Dust cyclone Oil refineries and cement industries use dust cyclones to remove particulate matter in the kiln Pre-heaters (Putantunda, 2013). The dust cyclone technology is a dust cleaning technique that requires little capital and has low maintenance cost. However, it is prone to cause noise pollution due to the noise generated when operating. Compared to the other technologies for arresting air pollutants, the dust cyclone technology is the most used technology because it is the cheapest and the most adaptable. It is also important that during the designing of the dust cyclone technology, the diameter should be appropriate because a small diameter will result in low output. Flue gas treatment Flue gas treatment can take two forms when used to control nitrogen oxide emissions. The first method involves the ammonia addition to the flue gas that is passed over a catalyst. The catalyst promotes the chemical reaction of ammonia and the nitrogen oxides generating water and molecular nitrogen. According to Kumar (n.d.), this method has a significant efficiency in removing nitrogen from flue gas. In the second method, where both nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides are removed, combustion gases are passed on a copper oxide bed. The sulfur oxides react with copper to form copper sulfate. Copper sulfate assumes the role of a catalyst in reducing the nitrogen oxides to ammonia. Likewise, this method has an almost perfect efficiency in removing nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides from flue gases. Gas flare technique The gas flare technique is used to control air pollution by controlling the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the atmosphere. The electron beam technique can also be used in reducing the VOCs emitted from combustions. This technology is specifically effective in trapping the poly-nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which are the most dangerous VOCs (Chmielewski, Ostapczuk, Zimek, Licki and Kubica, 2002). The gas flare method is economically advantageous in that one is able to treat a large solvent of gases. Combustion does not require a fuel at all and it is suitable for emissions which are periodic or fluctuating. One disadvantage of this technology is that heat produced is lost and can act as an air pollutant. It can also result to other pollutants including odor and noise. Technologies in reducing fuel emissions This high fuel consumption and mileage infer that improvements in the efficiency of fuel consumption could lead to the saving of energy and the reduction of global warming (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2008). Equipping the trucks with aerodynamic features for new designs will be helpful because, at high speeds, most of the vehicle power is meant for surpassing the aerodynamic drag. Current heavy trucks are designed with new features such as integrated roof fairings, fuel tank fairings, round shaped bumpers, hidden exhaust stacks and reducers for the trailer gap. All these features contribute to economic fuel consumption as opposed to the old truck models which lack these features. Most heavy duty trucks travel with trailers. The shape of the trailers provides many avenues for improving fuel consumption. Technological adjustments can be made to lessen the turbulent flow of air in front of the truck trailer, the underside and the rear of the trailer. These adjustments combined with the usage of single wide tires will improve fuel consumption economy by over substantially (Bachman, Erb and Bynum, 2005). Lowering of the rolling resistance of the heavy truck tires will reduce fuel consumption. This can be achieved by changing the design of the tire, the material used to manufacture them and the air pressure level of the tires. Presently, most truck trailers use double tires on each axle except for the steering tires. Single wide tires offer aerodynamic advantages that reduce the rolling resistance. The Union of Concerned Scientists (2008) suggest that single tires provide reduced weight because the single tire and rim weigh far less than two tires and two rims. To increase the weight advantages, aluminum rims can be used instead. A reduction in tire weight allows for improved fuel consumption efficiency and allows a heavier load to be carried while meeting the weight restrictions for the highway. The US Environmental Protection Agency (2013) reports that good maintenance of the tire pressure is beneficial in optimizing fuel consumption efficiency, safety and tire wear. The systems of auto tire inflations assist in the maintenance of the tire levels of inflation always as opposed to periodic intervals. The EPA has estimated that these systems can contribute to a 0.6% increase in fuel consumption efficiency. Technologies to capture methane emissions from natural gas systems According to National Resource Defense Council (2012), various technologies can be used to capture methane gas emissions from natural gas systems including well completions and liquid petroleum drilling systems. The Green completion technology involves the routing of liquids and gases to a separation tank using temporary processing equipment in a well site. This method collects all the fluid emanating from the wells being drilled, repaired of stimulated in the process of hydraulic fracturing. With this technology, it would be emissions involving methane gas, Volatile Organic Compounds and other Hazardous Air Pollutants will be controlled. Conclusion The reduction of air pollution using technology is particularly effective. However, it is expensive but the benefits of the process if far outweigh the cost implications. As outlined above, various considerations should be made before a particular technology is used to control air pollution. Among the factors to be considered include: cost of the technology, the effects of engaging in the technology, the nature of pollutants to be controlled and the availability knowledge to apply the technology. Some environmental bodies have taken a step in embracing technology in reducing pollution. The US Environmental Protection Agency has taken a synchronized approach in reducing air pollution and maintaining air quality by controlling the emissions from power plants. This has set a good example that other stakeholders, including power industries, can emulate in a bid to control air pollution with the using the tools of technology. References Bachman, J. L. Erb, A. and Bynum C.L. (2005). Effect of Single Wide Tires and Trailer Aerodynamics on Fuel Economy and NOx emissions of Class 8 Line-Haul Tractor-Trailers, SAE International. Retrieved from www.epa.gov/smartway/documents/.../sae.../effects-on-fuel-economy. Chmielewski, A.G., Ostapczuk, A., Zimek, Z., Licki, J. and Kubica, K. (2002). Radiation Physics and Chemistry [Abstract]. Elsevier Science Ltd, 63 (3), 653-655. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969806X01006557 Kumar, A. (n.d.). Technology for Air Pollution Control. Retrieved from http://www.eng.utoledo.edu/~akumar/IAP1/Pollution%20Control.htm National Resources Defense Council. (2012). Leaking Profits. National Resources Defense Council. Retrieved from http://www.nrdc.org/energy/leaking-profits.asp Ni, J., Herber, A.J., Lim, T.T. and Tao, P.C. (2008). Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emission from Two Pig Finishing Barns. Journal of Environmental Quality, 37 (6). doi: 10.2134/jeq2007.0386 Putatunda, R. (2013). Air Pollution Control Equipment Systems. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/air-pollution-control-equipment-systems.html Shah, S.B., Workman, D.J., Yates, J., Basden, T.J., Merriner, C.T., deGraft-Hanson, J. (2011). New Tech removes Air Pollutants, may reduce Energy Use in Animal Ag Facilities. North Carolina State University. Retrieved from http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wmsshahheat/ Union of Concerned Scientists. (2008). Reducing Global Warming Pollution: Technology Options for Tractor-Trailers. Clean Vehicles. Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/smart-transportation-solutions/better-fuel-efficiency/technology-options-for.html US Environmental Protection Agency. (2013). Moving Freight the SmartWay. US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/smartway/ Read More