Bipolar charged aerosol agglomeration and collection by a two-zone agglomerator

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Aerosols and environmental pollution

The number of publications on atmospheric aerosols has dramatically increased in recent years. This review, predominantly from a European perspective, summarizes the current state of knowledge of the role played by aerosols in environmental pollution and, in addition, highlights gaps in our current knowledge. Aerosol particles are ubiquitous in the Earth’s atmosphere and are central to many environmental issues; ranging from the Earth’s radiative budget to human health. Aerosol size distribution and chemical composition are crucial parameters that determine their dynamics in the atmosphere. Sources of aerosols are both anthropogenic and natural ranging from vehicular emissions to dust resuspension. Ambient concentrations of aerosols are elevated in urban areas with lower values at rural sites. A comprehensive understanding of aerosol ambient characteristics requires a combination of measurements and modeling tools. Legislation for ambient aerosols has been introduced at national and international levels aiming to protect human health and the environment.     

The state of ambient air quality in Pakistan—a review

Background and purpose  

Pakistan, during the last decade, has seen an extensive escalation in population growth, urbanization, and industrialization, together with a great increase in motorization and energy use. As a result, a substantial rise has taken place in the types and number of emission sources of various air pollutants. However, due to the lack of air quality management capabilities, the country is suffering from deterioration of air quality. Evidence from various governmental organizations and international bodies has indicated that air pollution is a significant risk to the environment, quality of life, and health of the population. The Government has taken positive steps toward air quality management in the form of the Pakistan Clean Air Program and has recently established a small number of continuous monitoring stations. However, ambient air quality standards have not yet been established. This paper reviews the data being available on the criteria air pollutants: particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and lead.     

Nitrogen Dioxide in the Workplace Environment

Concentrations of nitrogen dioxide were measured in shops and car parks over a 19 week period during the winter. For the shops indoor:outdoor ratios varied from 0.34 to 0.54 with an average value of 0.44. NO2 levels ranged from 13 to 38 µg m-3. With little or no contribution from indoor sources, ambient concentrations are the primary factor in determining indoor levels. Concentrations of NO2 in car parks were similar to those measured at the kerb side. Concentrations in the payment booths were higher than those in shops and ranged from 42 to 60 µg m-3. Despite ventilation systems in the payment booths ratios of booth:car park NO2 varied from 0.65 to 0.86.     

Indoor Air Quality at Rural and Urban Sites in Pakistan

In the developing world, the vast majority of people rely on solid biomass fuels for cooking and heating which results in poor indoor air quality. The present study determined indoor air quality in some rural and urban areas of Pakistan. Measurements were made of particulate mass (PM10, PM2.5 and PM1), number concentration and bioaerosols in different micro environments. PM10 concentrations of up to 8,555 μg/m³ were observed inside the kitchens where biofuels were used as energy source. Cleaning and smoking was identified as a major source of indoor particulate pollution and concentrations of more than more than 2,000 μg/m³ were recorded in the living room during these activities. Indoor number concentrations in Lahore were typically greater than those observed outdoors in European cites. At a rural site the highest Colony Forming Units (CFUs) were in the 0.5 μm–2 μm size fraction, while at the urban location CFUs were dominant for 2 μm–16 μm. It was observed that CFUs(Colony Forming Units) counts were higher inside living rooms than kitchens. It is important to note that women and children were exposed to extremely high levels of particulates during cooking. Overall, indoor air quality in Pakistan was poor and there is a dire need to take a serious step to combat with it.     

The state of indoor air quality in Pakistan—a review

Background and purpose  

In Pakistan, almost 70% of the population lives in rural areas. Ninety-four percent of households in rural areas and 58% in urban areas depend on biomass fuels (wood, dung, and agricultural waste). These solid fuels have poor combustion efficiency. Due to incomplete combustion of the biomass fuels, the resulting smoke contains a range of health-deteriorating substances that, at varying concentrations, can pose a serious threat to human health. Indoor air pollution accounts for 28,000 deaths a year and 40 million cases of acute respiratory illness. It places a significant economic burden on Pakistan with an annual cost of 1% of GDP. Despite the mounting evidence of an association between indoor air pollution and ill health, policy makers have paid little attention to it. This review analyzes the existing information on levels of indoor air pollution in Pakistan and suggests suitable intervention methods.     

Nitrous oxide emission from some English and Welsh rivers and estuaries

Nutrient and N₂O concentrations in the water columns were measured seasonally over a full salinity range in the nutrified rivers Colne, Stour, Orwell, Deben, Trent, Ouse and Humber and their estuaries on the east coast of England between August 2001 and May 2002, and in the oligotrophic rivers Conwy, Dovey and Mawddach in North and West Wales between August 2002 and May 2003. Nutrient and N₂O concentrations in the nutrified English rivers and estuaries were much higher than those in the Welsh rivers. N₂O concentrations and % saturation in the estuaries were significantly correlated with nitrate, nitrite and ammonium concentrations in the water. The strongest correlation was with nitrite (r ² = 0.56, p < 0.01), suggesting that nitrite was the most significant factor among the different nutrients in regulating N₂O concentration in the estuaries. N₂O concentrations in the English rivers and estuaries were supersaturated throughout the year with annual averages from 186.9 to 992.9%, indicating that these rivers and estuaries were sources of atmospheric N₂O, whereas in the Welsh rivers N₂O concentrations were much lower with annual averages from 113.6 to 137.4% saturation. Although the estuarine area in the Colne was almost the same as that in the Conwy, the annual N₂O emission from the Colne was much higher (937498 mol N yr^?1) than in the Conwy (23020 mol N yr^?1). On the east coast, riverine emissions of N₂O were only 0.5–12.5% of the total emission from rivers and estuaries. Thus rivers were negligible, but estuaries were significant contributors to the UK N₂O inventory.     

Formation and Transport of Atmospheric Aerosol over Athens, Greece

The effects of meteorology on ambient aerosol concentrations and aerosol transport, within the Greater Athens Area during the summer period, was investigated. Measurements of size fractionated anions and cations were made at two sites (inland at Ag. Stefanos and on the coast at Pireas) within the Greater Athens Area. The wind regime exhibited a distinctinfluence such that the sea-breeze circulation strongly enhanced the formation of secondary aerosols. For sulphate the difference in concentration between the two sites was,on average, 8 times greater on sea-breeze days compared with Etesian days (warm days with NE winds). During `normal' days,any differences in concentrations were possibly due to localemissions. Elevated concentrations in the fine mode were detectedat both sites during the sea-breeze days. The sea-breezecirculation enhances the development of secondary aerosolswhich was clearly shown at the inland site. Nitrous acid,hydrochloric acid and particulate nitrate, sulphate andammonium increase during sea-breeze days. Elevated levelsof nitrate, 4 m diameter, were particularly observedon the days with a strong sea-breeze circulation. Sulphatewas well correlated with both sulphur dioxide and ammoniumsuggesting the production of NH₄HSO₄/(NH₄)₂SO₄ aerosols, formedthrough the neutralisation of NH₃ with sulphuric acids.Ammonium sulphate was found to be the major ammoniumcomponent in Athens.     

Modeling of Combined Aerosol and Photooxidant Processes in the Mediterranean Area

The combined UAM-AERO/RAMS modeling system has been applied to study the dynamics of photochemical gaseous species and particulate matter processes in the eastern Mediterranean area between the Greek mainland and the island of Crete. In particular, the modeling system is applied to simulate atmospheric conditions for two periods, i.e., 13-16 July 2000 and 26-30 July 2000. The spatial and temporal distributions of both gaseous and particulate matter pollutants have been extensively studied together with the identification of major emission sources in the area. New pre-processors were developed for the UAM-AERO model for evaluating detailed emission inventories for biogenic compounds, resuspended dust and sea salt. Comparison of the modeling results with measured data was performed and satisfactory agreement was found for a number of gaseous species. However, the model underestimates the PM₁₀ measured concentrations during summer. This is mainly due to the considerable underestimation of particulate matter emissions and in particular dust resuspension, the effect of forest fire emissions and the contribution of Saharan dust episodes.