Course Title:           Fundamentals of Air Pollution Control

 

Course Number:         ENVE 460 (Undergraduate)*

ENVE 560 (Graduate)*

* A term project is required for graduate students.

 

Level:                         Senior Undergraduate

First Year Graduate

 

Instructor:                  Dr. Mehrdad Lordgooei

                                    Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering

                                    School of Environmental Science, Engineering & Policy

                                    Drexel University

                                    Philadelphia, PA 19087

 

Continuing advancement in technological development and industrial production, along with global economical growth require control of undesirable by-products that are discharged into the environment.  Air discharges comprise majority of the industrial pollutant releases in the environment; therefore, an economical control of air pollution is one of the most important challenges that the industry is facing to tackle.

In this course, fundamental topics with regard to the formation and control of air pollutants are studied. This course intends to provide a strong foundation for design and development of engineering solutions, devices and systems for industrial air pollution prevention and control. Environmental, chemical, and mechanical engineering students, as well as environmental science students, are among the groups who could mostly benefit from this course.

 

Course Objectives:

Specific objectives of this course are:

1)      Students will become familiar with the classification and type of anthropogenic air pollutants while they learn that air discharges comprise the majority of the industrial pollutant releases in the environment.

2)      Students will understand the need for economical control of undesirable by-products that are discharged into the environment by the continuing advancement in technological development and industrial production, as well as with the rise in the global economy.

3)      Students will become familiar with the fundamental physical and chemical principles regarding formation and control of air pollutants in industrial and technological processes.

4)      Students will learn how to design devices and systems for air pollution control in collaboration with professionals from other engineering and scientific disciplines. 

5)      Students will learn how to predict the concentration of air pollutants, resulted from uncontrolled industrial or accidental discharges dispersed in the atmosphere, as a function of time, location and meteorological conditions.

6)      To provide students with the job skills required for an engineer in the industry, government, or consulting firms involved in air pollution issues.

 

Course Outline:

 

Topic

Date

Reading

Assignment

Introduction

Air Pollutants

Strategies for Prevention and Control of Air Pollutants 

Fundamental Computations

Mass and Volumetric Flow Rates

Concentrations of Contaminants

Rate Concepts

Chemical Equilibrium

Chemical Kinetics

Chemical Equilibrium & Steady State

Week 1

Chapter 1 of Heinsohn and Kabel (HK)

Formation of Pollutants in Combustion Systems

Fundamentals of Combustion 

Combustion Devices & Power Cycles 

Free Radical Chemistry in Flames 

Carbon Oxides

Nitrogen Oxides

Sulfur Oxides

Unburned Hydrocarbons

Particulates (Fly Ash, PAHs & Soot)

Dioxins and Furans

Metals 

Emission Factors

Week 2

Chapter 7 HK

Prevention & Conventional Pollution Control of Combustion 

Carbon Oxides

Nitrogen Oxides

Sulfur Oxides

Unburned Hydrocarbons

Dioxin & Furan

Particulate

Week 3

Chapter 7 HR

Uncontrolled Pollutant Emission Rates

Measurements of Process Gas Streams

Pollutant Material Balance

AP-42 Emission Factors

Empirical Equations

Evaporation & Diffusion

Diffusion Through Stagnant Air

Evaporation of Single Component Liquids

Single-Film Theory for Multicomponent Liquids  

Evaporation in Confined Spaces

Drop Evaporation

Leaks

Week 4

Chapter 8 HK

Capturing Gases and Vapors

Condensation

Adsorption

Absorption

Absorption & Chemical Reaction

Thermal Oxidation

Week 5

Chapter 10 HK

Capturing Gases and Vapors (cont.)

Selective Catalytic Reduction

Selective Noncatalytic Reduction

Flue Gas Desulfurization

Bioscrubbers, Biofilters, & Trickle-Bed Reactors

Ultraviolet-Ozone Oxidation

Supercritical Water Oxidation

Week 6

Chapter 10 HK

Midterm Take Home Exam

11/6

 

Motion of Particles

Drag

Physical Properties of Aerosols

Equation of Particle Motion

Freely Falling Particles in Quiescent Media

Horizontal Motion in Quiescent Air

Gravimetric Settling in Chambers

Gravimetric Settling in Ducts

Clouds

Stokes Numbers

Week 7

Chapter 11 HK

Capturing Particles                                                       

Overall Collection Efficiency

Cyclone Collector

Particulate Scrubbers 
Electrostatic Separators

Fabric Filters    

Week 8

Chapter 12 HK

Air Pollutants Dispersion & Stack Design

Box Model

Gaussian Plume Models

Plume Rise

Building Exhaust Stacks

Instantaneous Point Source: Puff Diffusion

Continuous Elevated Line Source

Numerical Dispersion Models

Week 9

Chapt 9 HK 

Introduction to Indoor Air Pollution & Industrial Ventilation
Duct Design

Week 10

Handouts

Final Exam

 

 

 


 

Course Grading:                    

Midterm Exam:
Final Exam for Graduate Students:

Final Exam for Undergraduate Students:
Assignments:
Term Paper for
Graduate Students:

Class Attendance & In Class Discussion:

 30%

 30 %

 40 %

 20 %

 10 %

 10 %

Grading Policy:

All evaluation sections will be weighted based on the statistical performance curve. Then, the final grades will be submitted based on the following scale:

A: 87-100, B: 75-86, C: 63-74, D: 51-62, F: < 50

Exams Format:

All exams will be open book and open note

Assignments:

There will be approximately 7 assignments distributed during the term. Assignments are due one week after the distribution date. Each assignment will be worth 100 points. A late submission is accepted with a reduction rate of 20 points/day late.

Term Paper:

Each graduate student is asked to write a paper about a topic related to the air pollution formation or control and present it in the class. The selected topics should be from the current published literatures (last two years).

Office Hours:

There will be two office hours in two different days during the week.

Required Texts:

Heinsohn R. J. and R. L. Kabel, 1999, Sources and Control of Air Pollution, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458, ISBN: 0-13-624834-9

Noel De Nevers, 2000, Air Pollution Control Engineering, McGraw-Hill, NY, NY, ISBN:0-07-039367-2

Reference Books:

Buonicore, A.J.; Davis, W. T. (2000) Air Pollution Engineering Manual, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, NY

Cussler, E. L. (1997)Diffusion Mass Transfer in Fluid Systems, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY

Crawford, M. (1976) Air Pollution Control Theory, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, NY

Flagan, R.C. and Seinfeld, J.H. (1988) Fundamentals of Air Pollution Engineering, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, CA

Friedlander, S.K. (1972) Smoke, Dust, and Haze, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY

Licht, W., (1988) Air Pollution Control Engineering, 2nd Edition, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, NY

Michaelson, H.B. (1986) How to Write and Publish Engineering Papers and Reports, 2nd Edition, ISI Press, Philadelphia, PA

Strauss, W. (1975) Industrial Gas Cleaning, Pergamon Press, New York, NY

United States Environmental Protection Agency, (1988) Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors, Volume 1, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, 4th Edition, Research Triangle Park, NC

Weast, R.C. Editor, CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL

Reference Periodicals

  Aerosol Science and Technology

  American Institute of Chemical Engineering (AIChE) Journal 

  Chemical Engineering Communications 

  Chemical Engineering Journal
  Chemical Engineering Research Design
  Chemical Engineering Science

  Carbon, Energy and Fuels
  Combustion & Flame
  Combustion Theory & Modeling 

  Environmental Progress 

  Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Fundamentals 

  Energy & Fuels (ASC) 

  Environmental Progress 

  Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) 

  Gas Separation and Purification
  Hydrocarbon Processing 

  Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Process 

  Journal of Aerosol Science 

  Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 

  Journal of Environmental Engineering (ASCE) 

  Journal of Membrane Science 

  Journal of the Air & Waste Management   Association
  Langmuire
  Separation and Purification Technology