ADDIS ABABA SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

College Of Engineering
Department of Environmental Engineering
Transport Phenomena For Environmental Engineering (EnEg 3107) Chapter
5: Chemical transport in environmental medias
Lecture 3
(2017E.C /
2024G.C)
LECTURE 3 CONTENT
• Source of pollutants

• Atmospheric stability

 adiabatic lapse rate

 Mixing height

• Indoor air pollution

• Out door air pollution

2
TRANSPORT OF CHEMICALS IN THE ATMOSPHERE

What is Air pollutants

• Any substance capable of damaging organisms and/or materials present in an
amount that disrupts the natural balance with an influx to a given system greater
than the assimilation rate detected by an organisms and/or materials via the
increased concentration of the substance.

3
Transport Of Chemicals In The Atmosphere
Sources of Air Pollutant:
Primary Pollutants emitted directly from source.
I. Particulates
II. Sulphur oxides(SOX)
III. Carbon monoxide (CO)
IV. Nitrogen oxides (NOX)
V. Hydrocarbons(HC)-Aliphatic hydrocarbons- alkenes, and
VI. Carcinogenic substances like aromatic hydrocarbons.

SECONDARY POLLUTANTS: Formed by photochemical reactions

between two primary pollutants & sun light
3 6

I. Ozone O O

N+
II. Formaldehyde 4
-O 1
O
5 7
O 8

III. PNA (peroxyacetyl nitrate). C2 HNO6 O

9
peroxyacetyl nitra 4te
 Transport Of Chemicals In The Atmosphere

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION

-It is the Pollution of inside home or buildings.

TYPES OF INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
I. Tobacco smoke;
II. Chemicals released from synthetic carpets, furniture, Pesticides, and household cleaners.
III. Combustion inside homes and buildings,
IV. air exchange with from outdoor
Transport Of Chemicals In The Atmosphere
Indoor air can be exchanged with outdoor air by the following
mechanisms:
I. Natural ventilation
It occurs when windows or doors are opened to increase air circulation.

II. Forced ventilation

when mechanical air handling systems induce air exchange using fans or blowers.

III. Infiltration: :-it is natural air exchangeprocess which occurs

between a building and its environment whendoors &
windows are closed through various cracks and holes of the
building.
Transport Of Chemicals In The Atmosphere
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTION
TO FIND INDOOR POLLUTANT CONCENTRATION
A BOX MODEL FOR TRANSIENT
ANALYSIS

OUT
IN COMING COMING
FLOW FLOW
RATE RATE
Q Q

VOLUME BOX V

RATE OF Concentration in the

POLLUTANT ,S box and leaving box,c
POLLUTANT
RXN RATE
K
Transport Of Chemicals In The Atmosphere
MASS BALANCE FOR
POLLUTION IN THE BUILDING

dC
V  S  Ca IV  CIV  KCV INDOOR CONCENTRATION C

dt VOLUME C

Where
V = volume of conditioned space in building (m3/air change)
I = air exchange rate (ach) Infiltration I
DECAY
S RATE K

s = pollutant source strength (mg/hr) SOURCE SINK

C = indoor concentration (mg/m3)

Ca = amblent concentration (mg/m3) BOX MODEL FOR INDOOR AIR POLLUTION

K = pollutant decay rate or reactivity (1/hr)

General solution Steady - state solution

C(t) 
S/ V  Ca I
I K
 
1eIKt  C(0)eIKt can be found by setting dc/dt  0
S/ V  C a I
Where C(0)  Intial concentrat ion in the buldin gC() 
IK
Transport Of Chemicals In The Atmosphere
EXAMPLE
The apartment is heated with an unvented kerosene heater. The air volume of
the apartment is 200m3. If the heater emits SO2 at a rate of 50 μg/s, and the
ambient (outdoor air) 100 μg/m3, the ventilation (air exchange rate) is 50L/s,
and your ceiling fan is sufficiently mixing the air (i.e. the control volume is
assumed to be well-mixed), what is the indoor concentration of SO2 in your
apartment after 1 h?

Assume there is no significant decay, and steady state conditions

Transport Of Chemicals In The Atmosphere
AREA-SOURCE MODELS

C = pollutant concentration in the airshed,Cm = concentration in the incoming air

qs = emission rate per unit of area ,L = length of airshed, W = width of airshed 64
H = mixing height,u = average wind speed against one edge of the box.
Transport Of Chemicals In The Atmosphere
rate of 
 
Rate of change of pollution  rate of pollution   pollution 
 
 in the box   entering in the box   leaving in 
 the box 

dC
LWH  q s LW  WHuC in  WHuC
dt
ut 

ut
 qs
Ct    C in  1 e L   C0e L
 uH  

C = pollutant concentration in the airshed,Cm = concentration in the incoming air
qs = emission rate per unit of area ,L = length of airshed, W = width of airshed
H = mixing height,u = average wind speed against one edge of the box.
 dC
LWH  qs LW  WHuCin WHuC
dt
ut 
 qs 

ut
Ct    C in  1 e L   C0e L
 uH  

 Steady-state concentration is
proportional to emission rate(qs) and
inversely proportional to ventilation
coefficient. (u.H).
 qs * L 
C    C in 
 u*H 
TRANSPORT OF CHEMICALS IN THE ATMOSPHERE CONT. Vertical temperature
Air Pollutants Dispersion. profile of the atmosphere

This is called
lapse rate

13
TRANSPORT OF CHEMICALS IN THE ATMOSPHERE CONT.
Air Pollutants Dispersion.

In Troposphere, the air mass cool as it rise and expand but, it warm and compress as it
sink down

Adiabatic Lapse Rate: The

adiabatic lapse rate is the rate at
which the temperature of an air
parcel changes in response to the
compression or expansion
associated with elevation change,
under the assumption that the
process is adiabatic; that is, no heat
exchange occurs between the given
air parcel and its surroundings
TRANSPORT OF CHEMICALS IN THE ATMOSPHERE CONT.

WIND SPEED
Wind speeds increase with height a wind at an
elevation higher than standard 10-m can be
calculated using following power law expression.

 z1 
p
u1
 
u2  z2 

Where
u1, u2 = wind speed at the higher and lower elevation, respectively
Z1, Z2 = higher and lower elevation, respectively
P=Dimensionless parameter that varies with atmospheric
stability.
TRANSPORT OF CHEMICALS IN THE ATMOSPHERE CONT.

Atmospheric Stability And Smoke Stack Plumes Characteristics

A. If smoke stack emit pollutants in to
neutrally stable atmosphere,
the plume is called coning.

B. If smoke stack emit pollutants in to

unstable atmosphere, the plume is
called looping.

C. If smoke
stack emit pollutants in to
stable atmosphere, the plume is called
.
fanning plume
TRANSPORT OF CHEMICALS IN THE ATMOSPHERE CONT.

GAUSSIAN DISPERSION MODEL

Model Assumptions

I. It is based on looping model.

II. Center line is located above the actual stack height. The
highest concentration of pollutants are found along this line.
III. Rate of emissions from the source is constant.
IV. Wind speed is constant both in time and elevation.
V. Pollutants are conservative that is it is not lost by decay
chemical reactions or depositions when it hits the ground.
VI. None is absorbed and all is reflected.
TRANSPORT OF CHEMICALS IN THE ATMOSPHERE CONT.
 Gaussian Dispersion Equation
Q  Z  H2  y2
C(x,y,z)  exp .exp
u  2z 2 2 2
y z y
Our concern is the impact of pollutants on
receptor (people and eco system) at z=0, the
Ground level concentration will be
Q  H2  y2
C(x, y,0)  exp .exp
u  2 z 2 2 y 2
y z
where
C(x,y,z) = downwind concentration at ground level, g/m3
Q = emission rate of pollutants, g/s
σy, σz = plume standard déviations, m
u = wind speed, m/s at the effective stack height.
x, y, z, distances m and
H =effective stack height H=h+∆h , exponential = 2.7182
 Q  Z  H2  y2
C(x, y, z)  exp .exp
u  2 z 2 2 y 2
y z

Q  H2  y2
C(x,y,0)  exp .exp
u  2 z 2 2 y 2
y z
Line-source Dispersion Model
EXAMPLES:-
I. Motor vehicles travelling along a straight
highway,
II. Agricultural wastes burning
along the edge of a field,
III. Line of industrial sources on the banks of
a river.
Ground level concentration of pollutant at distance X from the source

DISTANCE
End_CH5_Lec3

23