Air quality management in Portugal: example of needs and available tools

The Framework Directive (FWD) and the proposed Daughter Directives are the newest legislative instruments concerning a new political strategy and air quality management approach for Europe. Additionally, the member countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe have included the concepts of critical load and level for planning air pollution abatement strategies and as a base of international agreements concerning limitation of the emissions of air pollutants. These concepts imply an accurate knowledge about pollutants deposition fluxes. The paper describes the main needs and the tools available to define a strategy of air quality management in Portugal. Two study cases are presented: (1) extensive monitoring plan to assess the impact of an urban incinerator plant; and (2) contribution to a methodology to estimate critical levels for a coastal region in Portugal. These different approaches allowed illustrating the complexity of the implementation of an air pollution management strategy.     

Modelling and mapping long-term risks due to reactive nitrogen effects: an overview of LRTAP convention activities

Long-range transboundary air pollution has caused severe environmental effects in Europe. European air pollution abatement policy, in the framework of the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) and the European Union Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) programme, has used critical loads and their exceedances by atmospheric deposition to design emission abatement targets and strategies. The LRTAP Convention International Cooperative Programme on Modelling and Mapping Critical Loads and Levels and Air Pollution Effects, Risks and Trends (ICP M&M) generates European critical loads datasets to enable this work. Developing dynamic nitrogen flux models and using them for a prognosis and assessment of nitrogen effects remains a challenge. Further research is needed on links between nitrogen deposition effects, climate change, and biodiversity.     

A Pilot Indoor-Outdoor Study of Organic Particulate Matter and Particulate Mutagenicity

Abstract

Many large metropolitan areas experience elevated concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution during the summertime “smog season”. Local environmental or health agencies often need to make daily air pollution forecasts for public advisories and for input into decisions regarding abatement measures and air quality management. Such forecasts are usually based on statistical relationships between weather conditions and ambient air pollution concentrations. Multivariate linear regression models have been widely used for this purpose, and well-specified regressions can provide reasonable results. However, pollution-weather relationships are typically complex and nonlinear—especially for ozone—properties that might be better captured by neural networks. This study investigates the potential for using neural networks to forecast ozone pollution, as compared to traditional regression models. Multiple regression models and neural networks are examined for a range of cities under different climate and ozone regimes, enabling a comparative study of the two approaches. Model comparison statistics indicate that neural network techniques are somewhat (but not dramatically) better than regression models for daily ozone prediction, and that all types of models are sensitive to different weather-ozone regimes and the role of persistence in aiding predictions.     

A Cost-Benefit Approach to Air Pollution Control

Air pollution has plagued the urban areas of our Nation for many years, both as a serious health hazard and as a costly economic burden. Users of the air as a waste disposal medium have treated it as a free resource with no regard for the damages incurred by receptors of the dirty air. Unfortunately, no self-regulating market forces exist that will bring this diseconomy into an acceptable equilibrium. An outside regulating force, which can affect abatement of air pollution, is needed to achieve control of air pollution to a level acceptable to a community. A prerequisite of any proposed regulatory action to be applied by an outside force, however, is the need to define an acceptable level of pollution. One means of accomplishing the task is to apply an economic evaluation, in the form of a cost-benefit analysis, to the problem. Previous analyses of the economic aspects of air pollution have stressed only one side of the problem. That is, they have dealt only with the cost of control or the damages caused by air pollution. No analysis has combined both aspects into a meaningful analysis of the overall economic impact. The objective of this paper is to present a technique that can be used to find the level of pollution abatement in an area that balances the cost of controlling pollution with the benefits received from its control. To present a clearer picture of this technique and its results, it has been applied to the Washington, D. C. area to find the optimum level of particulate abatement. This method is generally applicable to any area, in which an air pollution problem exists.     

Air pollution reduction via use of green energy sources for electricity and hydrogen production

The implementation of renewable wind and solar energy sources instead of fossil fuels to produce such energy carriers as electricity and hydrogen facilitates reductions in air pollution emissions. Unlike from traditional fossil fuel technologies, air pollution emissions from renewable technologies are associated mainly with the construction of facilities. With present costs of wind and solar electricity, it is shown that, when electricity from renewable sources replaces electricity from natural gas, the cost of air pollution emission abatement is more than ten times less than the cost if hydrogen from renewable sources replaces hydrogen produced from natural gas. When renewable-based hydrogen is used instead of gasoline in a fuel cell vehicle, the cost of air pollution emissions reduction approaches the same value as for renewable-based electricity only if the fuel cell vehicle efficiency exceeds significantly (i.e., by about two times) that of an internal combustion vehicle. The results provide the basis for a useful approach to an optimal strategy for air pollution mitigation.     

Economics of Coke Oven Charging Controls

This study was undertaken to determine which of several alternative air pollution abatement systems affords the most economical solution to the control of atmospheric emissions during the charging of coal into by-product coke ovens. The study was limited to the consideration of existing by-product batteries, and the assumption was made that no coking plant has the alternative to do nothing nor will the plant choose to delay abatement through legal procedures. The data indicate that a jumper pipe installation with a new larry car provides the most economical control.     

重庆市机动车尾气对大气环境的影响分析及减缓措施

在对重庆市机动车保有量、主城区交通状况进行深入调查的基础上，对机动车尾气排放对大气环境的影响进行了细致的分析与评估。阐述了机动车尾气是造成重庆市大气污染的重要因素。同时结合国内外一些先进的预防、控制和处理汽车尾气污染的方法，及近年来的观察、研究和试验，提出了合理减缓、控制机动车尾气污染的措施，以防止机动车尾气污染进一步蔓延。     

Critical loads and their exceedances at intensive forest monitoring sites in Europe

Intensive forest monitoring by means of harmonised methods has been conducted in Europe for more than a decade. Risks of atmospheric nitrogen and sulphur deposition are assessed by means of calculations of critical loads and their exceedances. In the present study throughfall and bulk deposition of nitrate (N-NO(3)), ammonium (N-NH(4)) and sulphate (S-SO(4)) show marked spatial patterns and temporal trends. In the period of observation (1999-2004), sulphate deposition on intensive monitoring plots decreased by about one quarter. This is in line with the reduction of S deposition by 70% since 1981 in Europe as a result of successful air pollution control politics under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). However, sulphate and especially nitrate and ammonium deposition were found to still exceed critical loads at many forest sites, indicating a continued need for further implementation of air pollution abatement strategies.     

Historical and future emission of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from gas-fired combustion in Beijing,China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The consumption of natural gas in Beijing has increased in the past decade due to energy structure adjustments and air pollution abatement. In this...     

Development of a GIS-based decision support system for urban air quality management in the city of Istanbul

A decision support system has been developed for urban air quality management in the metropolitan area of Istanbul. The system is based on CALMET/CALPUFF dispersion modeling system, digital maps, and related databases to estimate the emissions and spatial distribution of air pollutants with the help of a GIS software. The system estimates ambient air pollution levels at high temporal and spatial resolutions and enables mapping of emissions and air quality levels. Mapping and scenario results can be compared with air quality limits. Impact assessment of air pollution abatement measures can also be carried out.     

European Air Pollution, 1964

A study was made of the status of air pollution technology and research in Western Europe during the spring and summer of 1964. This report is based primarily upon information obtained by interview, visitation and observation at various industrial operations, governmental research laboratories, and communities. Various approaches to odor abatement are described. Vegetation damage from air pollution, and the community air pollution problem are discussed. Trends in research, standard sampling and analysis methods, and performance standards are reported.     

Economic damages of ozone air pollution to crops using combined air quality and GIS modelling

This study aims at presenting a combined air quality and GIS modelling methodological approach in order to estimate crop damages from photochemical air pollution, depict their spatial resolution and assess the order of magnitude regarding the corresponding economic damages. The analysis is conducted within the Greater Thessaloniki Area, Greece, a Mediterranean territory which is characterised by high levels of photochemical air pollution and considerable agricultural activity. Ozone concentration fields for 2002 and for specific emission reduction scenarios for the year 2010 were estimated with the Ozone Fine Structure model in the area under consideration. Total economic damage to crops turns out to be significant and estimated to be approximately 43 M€ for the reference year. Production of cotton presents the highest economic loss, which is over 16 M€, followed by table tomato (9 M€), rice (4.2 M€), wheat (4 M€) and oilseed rape (2.8 M€) cultivations. Losses are not spread uniformly among farmers and the major losses occur in areas with valuable ozone-sensitive crops. The results are very useful for highlighting the magnitude of the total economic impacts of photochemical air pollution to the area’s agricultural sector and can potentially be used for comparison with studies worldwide. Furthermore, spatial analysis of the economic damage could be of importance for governmental authorities and decision makers since it provides an indicative insight, especially if the economic instruments such as financial incentives or state subsidies to farmers are considered.     

Diagnostic Study of Critical Circuits of the Kraft Pulp Production Process Considering the Environmental Aspects

Abstract

This paper describes systematic work undertaken in the field of atmospheric emissions from Portuguese Kraft pulp mills. The study led to the determination of emission factors from stationary sources, which proved to be an important tool for assessing the need for investment in air pollution abatement equipment, specifically for malodorous gases.     

Investment threshold and management reflection for industrial system cleaning: a case for China

Introduction  

The recognition that industrial activity plays an essential role in a sustainable society is now widespread. To understand the causal relationship between industrial pollution abatement expenditure and industrial system cleaning level in China is of considerable importance, especially under extremely rapid industrial growth and serious pressure of industrial pollutants abatement context.     

Air Pollution Abatement Facilities at Soybean Processing Plants

Soybean processing plants are typical of facilities in which solvent extraction is the major unit operation employed. Hexane solvent is used to treat soybeans, producing both a vegetable oil and a residue meal product. The hexane solvent is separated from the oil and the meal, recycled and used again in a closed loop fashion. At several points in the process vent streams are produced resulting in the atmospheric discharge of hexane vapor. This represents an air pollution problem and facilities are required to eliminate the problem. An economic analysis of pollution abatement requirements for soybean plants indicates that thermal incineration is the optimum system that can be used. However, at high levels of hexane content in the vent streams, a combination of activated carbon adsorption of the smaller stream plus thermal incineration of the larger stream should prove the most desirable form of pollution abatement. The analysis given in this report can be used to determine which pollution abatement system should be used, depending upon the hexane content of the vent streams.     

Marginal abatement cost curve for nitrogen oxides incorporating controls,renewable electricity,energy efficiency,and fuel switching

A marginal abatement cost curve (MACC) traces out the relationship between the quantity of pollution abated and the marginal cost of abating each additional unit. In the context of air quality management, MACCs are typically developed by sorting control technologies by their relative cost-effectiveness. Other potentially important abatement measures such as renewable electricity, energy efficiency, and fuel switching (RE/EE/FS) are often not incorporated into MACCs, as it is difficult to quantify their costs and abatement potential. In this paper, a U.S. energy system model is used to develop a MACC for nitrogen oxides (NO_x) that incorporates both traditional controls and these additional measures. The MACC is decomposed by sector, and the relative cost-effectiveness of RE/EE/FS and traditional controls are compared. RE/EE/FS are shown to have the potential to increase emission reductions beyond what is possible when applying traditional controls alone. Furthermore, a portion of RE/EE/FS appear to be cost-competitive with traditional controls.

Implications: Renewable electricity, energy efficiency, and fuel switching can be cost-competitive with traditional air pollutant controls for abating air pollutant emissions. The application of renewable electricity, energy efficiency, and fuel switching is also shown to have the potential to increase emission reductions beyond what is possible when applying traditional controls alone.     

Pollution Control by Locational Change and Technological Abatement

In recent years, there has been a downward trend in sulfur dioxide concentrations in downtown St. Louis. This paper examines the contribution to this trend from locational changes of polluting sources and from technological abatement. A simple diffusion model is used to relate annual average concentrations to annual emission data. The results suggest that, had there been no abatement activity, the changes in location of sources that occurred between 1963 and 1970 have more or less offset a 40% increase in annual emissions over that period. However, the abatement activity, essentially the consequence of air pollution regulations, may possibly be credited with a decline of 35% in the annual average concentration.     

Assessing the impact of air pollution controls on carbon monoxide reduction: the case of Taiwan

An inevitable external effect of economic growth, especially for countries in the early stages of growth, is air pollution. The Taiwan experience is a case in point. To control the pollution, Taiwan created the Environmental Protection Administration. This paper assesses the impact of the administration's abatement policy on a primary component of air pollution, carbon monoxide. Using recent advances in time series analysis, we fail to find evidence of a successful policy. If carbon monoxide is to be significantly reduced, it appears that the Administration needs to adopt more stringent standards and innovative approaches.     

Trends in Public Attitudes Toward Air Pollution

This paper attempts to bring together the findings relative to people’s attitudes about air pollution from a series of studies conducted by or for the U. S. Public Health Service. Trends are noted. These findings are presented in the light of planning for the implementation of air pollution abatement measures and probable public reactions to them. Further research needs are pointed out. Special emphasis is placed on the control officer’s needs for this type of information, its derivation, and its possible use in programming.     

Organic pollutants abatement and biodecontamination of brewery effluents by a non-thermal quenched plasma at atmospheric pressure

A preliminary study was carried out to investigate possible decontamination of the waste waters from a Cameroonian brewery by using a non-thermal atmospheric plasma. Samples of waste waters collected during periods of intense activity of production were first analysed for organoleptic, physical-chemical and organic parameters, and then exposed to a humid air electric discharge at ambient temperature and pressure. The resultant pollution abatement and germicidal effects are both ascribed to strong oxidising effects of OH and NO radicals formed in the plasma. The BOD removal efficiency of the process with brewery industrial wastewaters under BOD concentration of 385 and 1018 mg l(-1) were 74% and 98% respectively. The alkaline wastewaters are rapidly neutralised due to the pH lowering effects of the plasma treatment.