Air Pollution

Presentation

The atmosphere is a common good of humanity, it has no physical, geographical, or political boundaries. Understanding and caring for Earth's atmosphere is an obligation for all countries although sometimes history demonstrates otherwise. Episodes of air pollution with serious consequences for human health and the environment motivated the need to regulate the interaction between human activities and the atmosphere, translated into several protocols, conventions, and international agreements. This need for regulation also is at the origin of the implementation of monitoring networks of pollutants emissions from relevant anthropogenic activities and definition of reference documents on the best available technologies to develop such industrial activities. Activities related to the transformation and use of fossil energy stand out because they have a huge impact on pollutants emissions. Indoor air quality is critical to health and well-being and relies heavily on atmospheric air quality.

Programme

Environmental Engineering

Level of Qualification|Semesters|ECTS

| Semestral | 5

Year | Type of course unit | Language

2 |Mandatory |Português

Code

ULP287-6850

Recommended complementary curricular units

This curricular unit builds upon chemistry, mathematics, and physics background knowledge to allow comprehension of the pollutants¿ interaction in the atmosphere, with cosmic radiations and with the biosphere. To monitor pollutants concentrations in the atmosphere and emissions location is necessary to use air sampling technologies, instruments, and measuring equipment and geographic information systems. Mitigation of pollutant emissions to the atmosphere occurs at its origin source, often being large industrial facilities with fossil energy transformation processes. Technologies for reducing pollutants load in gaseous effluents must be adequate to the processes that generate it, and therefore this curricular unit addresses various physicochemical separation processes that are used in industry to remove pollutants. An environmental engineer must follow the national, regional, and international legal framework and the best available technologies for each type of industrial activity.

Professional Internship

Não

Syllabus

Atmosphere: structure and composition. Temperature and pressure variations. Functions of the atmosphere layers as protection systems and reservoirs: O3 layer.

Air pollution. Historical cases. International agreements. Properties of pollutants: SOX, NOX, O3, PM, heavy metals, VOC, POP. Natural cycles in the biosphere (C, S, N, P). Types of emission sources.

Air Quality: legislation and regulators. Monitoring: sampling and surveillance networks. Emission limits. Databases. Emissions inventories.

LCP emissions. Calculation of gaseous emissions. Emission factors. NOX emission treatment systems. Technologies for PM, aerosol and POP emissions. Treatment of liquid and gaseous pollutants.

Indoor Air Quality: consequences for human health. Microbiological, chemical, and nuclear contamination. Ventilation of indoor spaces.

Transport and Dispersion of pollutants: Gaussian model. Dry deposition. Removal by rain, clouds. Pollutants transformation by free radicals, kinetic action, and photochemistry.

Objectives

By the end of the curricular unit students should be able to know the: 1) structure and composition of the atmosphere and the natural cycles of ecosystem regulation; 2) properties and effects of the main air pollutants, their emissions sources, biogenic and anthropogenic, and the impact of these emissions on air quality; 3) databases and information systems for sampling, monitoring, recording and reporting emissions; 4) mechanisms of transport and dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere.

Students should be able to: 5) quantify gaseous emissions from some industrial processes; 6) select appropriate devices and samplers to measure pollutant emissions directly from emission sources; 7) select technologies for emissions mitigation and gaseous effluent treatment methods suitable for certain industrial activities; 8) relate indoor air quality with a) contamination of chemical, microbiological and nuclear origin; b) poor indoor ventilation and c) poor atmospheric air quality.

Teaching methodologies and assessment

The theoretical lessons are predominantly explanatory, supported by slideshow of didactic materials and regular use of videos demonstrating the operation of various processes and equipment. Practical lessons focus on solving real problems by applying theoretical knowledge, and include exercises resolution, critical thinking and debate of themes and practical cases. Practical lessons resort on the consultation of: 1) normative and best technologies reference documents; 2) websites: Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), European Environmental Agency, World Health Organization, UNECE, 3) databases: E-PRTR - European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, EMEP - European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme, QualAr (APA), LA-digital (APA), other.

Evaluation

Final Score = 0.55xT_final + 0.15xT₁ + 0.15xT₂ + 0.10xTRP + 0.05xPI

T_Final - Final test

T₁ and T₂ Two distributed continuous evaluation tests

TRP Practical assignment on a theme chosen by students

PI Individual active participation in class

References

Seinfeld, John H; Pandis, Spyros N. 2006. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: from Air Pollution to Climate Change. New York: John Wiley & Sons

Jacobson, Mark Zachary. 2002. Atmospheric pollution: history, science, and regulation. Cambridge University Press.

Hobbs, P. 2000. Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry. Cambridge University Press

Vallero, D. 2008. Fundamentals of Air Pollution, 4^th Ed. Elsevier

Tiwary, A.; Colls, Jeremy. 2010. Air pollution: measurement, modelling and mitigation. 3^rd Ed. Taylor & Francis

De Nevers, Noel. 2005. Air Pollution Control Engineering. 2^nd McGraw- Hill Chemical Engineering Series

Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente. (2020). QualAr - Base de Dados Online sobre a Qualidade de Ar. Lisboa, Portugal. Disponível em: https://qualar.apambiente.pt/

Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente. (2020). Inventário Nacional de Emissões Atmosféricas (INERPA). Lisboa, Portugal. Disponível em: http://www.apambiente.pt/index.php?ref=17&subref=150

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