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MP4D06
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
SEMESTER 2 EXAMINATION 2008-2009
MP4D06 - CLEAN TECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
April 2009

Time Allowed: 2 hours

INSTRUCTIONS
1.

This paper contains FOUR (4) questions and comprises FOUR (4) pages including an
Appendix.

2.

Answer ALL questions.

3.

All questions carry equal marks.

4.

This is a CLOSED-BOOK examination.

1(a)

(i)

Explain in your own words what you understand by Industrial Ecology.

(4 marks)

(ii)

The two world views of industrial ecology are biological and systems. Briefly
outline the main features of both world views.
(5 marks)

(b)

One way to minimize waste is to Design for Minimal Consumption. What do you
understand by this? Illustrate your answer with examples.
(4 marks)

(c)

Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluates the environmental impact of a product from its
design to end-of-life disposal.
(i)

What are the FOUR (4) primary phases of any LCA?

(4 marks)

(ii)

Data is crucial to any LCA. Elaborate on the characteristics of the data that
you must take note of.
(4 marks)

(iii)

There are essentially THREE (3) impact categories in any LCA. State what
they are and briefly elaborate on each.
(4 marks)

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MP4D06
2.

A house is located not too far away from two electric power stations using heavy
diesel oil as fuel (see Figure 1). The first power station is located 600 m away in the
NNE direction from the house. It burns 30000 kg/day of fuel containing 0.5% of
sulphur by weight. The other power station is 500 m away in the NNW direction from
the house. This power station burns the same type of fuel but twice the amount of the
other power station. If the effective height of the chimney for both the power stations
is 50 m, calculate the SO2 concentration at the house when there is a wind blowing
from the north at a speed of 3 m/s. The atmosphere stability condition is class B. You
may assume that the SO2 concentrations resulting from the two sources could be
superimposed and all the sulphur contents in the fuel are converted into SO2 in a way
that every kg of sulphur produces 2 kg of SO2 after oxidation.

Figure 1: The relative position of the house from the two power stations.
(25 marks)
3(a)

Almost all the gasoline cars in Singapore comply with the EURO II emission
standard. This means that almost every gasoline car is equipped with a 3-way catalytic
converter for the purpose of emission control. Give a detailed explanation of how the
3-way catalytic converter reduces car pollutants.
(12 marks)

(b)

Unburned hydrocarbon (HC) is one of the components whose emissions from gasoline
cars are controlled. Explain, in detail, the sources of HC emission from gasoline cars
and in what way such emission could be reduced.
(7 marks)

(c)

In the United States, gasoline fuel from the petrol station is blended with at least 10%
of ethanol. What are the effects on gasoline engines when ethanol is added to the fuel?
What would be the environmental impact when ethanol is used as partial replacement
of gasoline fuel?
(6 marks)
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MP4D06
4 (a)

Describe briefly the mechanisms that lead to the depletion of the ozone layer in the
stratosphere. (Chemical equations are not necessary). List the effects of the depletion
of the ozone layer.
(7 marks)

(b)

The total radiant energy flux from the sun, just outside the earths atmosphere, is
1.353 kW/m2 and 30% of this incoming solar radiation is reflected back to outer
space. The total energy generated within the earth from various activities, such as
combustion and chemical processes, is 2 1012 kW. Assuming that 35% of the
outgoing radiation from the earth is blocked by the atmosphere, determine the mean
temperature of the earth surface. The diameter of the earth is 12.75 106 m. The
Stefan-Boltzmann constant is 5.672 10-11 kW/m2K4. The surface area of a sphere is
D 2 where D is the diameter of the sphere.
(9 marks)

(c)

A particle-laden air stream flows through a gravity settler which is 12 m long and 2 m
high. The air flows horizontally along the length of the gravity settler and its velocity
in the settler is assumed to be constant at 0.1 m/s. Determine whether a 10 micrometre
particle, which is initially at the mid-height at the settler inlet, will be captured by the
settler as it travels through the length of the settler. The density of the particle is 2400
kg/m3 and the dynamic viscosity of air is 1.8 10-5 Ns/m2. State any assumptions.
(9 marks)

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MP4D06
Appendix I
Equations:
Point Source on Ground Level
C x, y , z

1 y 2 z 2
exp 2 2

u y z
2 y z
Q

Point Source at Elevation H above Ground Level (no reflection)

2

Q
1 y2 z H

C x, y , z
exp 2

2
2 u y z
z
2 y

Point Source at Elevation H above Ground Level (with reflection)

z H 2
z H 2

y 2
Q

C x, y , z
exp

exp 2 exp
2
2
2 u y z
2 z

2 z

2 y

Line Source at Elevation H above Ground Level (with reflection)

Q
C x, z
2 u z

z H 2
z H 2

exp

exp
2
2
2 z

2 z

Table 2: Approximate Values of y and z as a Function of

Downwind Distance For Various Stability Classes In Meters
Distance
(km)
0.1
0.2
0.4
0.7
1.0
2.0
4.0
7.0
10.0
20.0

A
27
50
94
155
215
390

Stability Classes and y Values

B
C
D
E
19
13
8
6
36
23
15
11
67
44
29
21
112
74
48
36
155
105
68
51
295
200
130
96
550
370
245
180
880
610
400
300
1190 840
550
420
2150 1540 1000 760

F
4
8
14
24
34
64
120
200
275
500

Stability Classes and z Values

A
B
C
D
E
14
11
7
5
4
29
20
14
8
6
72
40
26
15
11
215
73
43
24
17
455
110
61
32
21
1950
230 115
50
34
500 220
77
49
780 360 109
66
1350 510 135
79
2900 950 205
110

End of Paper

4 of 4

F
2
4
7
11
14
22
31
39
46
60