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ABSTRACT

Air pollution are basically the foreign material in the air—can be manmade or occur
naturally, and are concentrated where people are concentrated. Pollution is injurious to health
and its prevention places an economic burden on the citizen. Further emission reductions from
automobiles, and transportation measures and programs will be more difficult to accomplish, but
the challenge has been presented. The decision is up to the citizenry as to whether there shall be
clean air for all—and at what price. Air pollution has been a menace in recent years posing
serious threats to environmental and social wellbeing. Government, authorities and industry have
been at the forefront to tackle air pollution with the help of policy reformation and technological
innovation. The aim is to understand the innovation activity in the technology domain and the
different ways to observe patterns in relation to diffusion of innovation in different jurisdictions.
We emphasize on prominent Indian company active in air pollution control measure dewy
innovative technology business and R&D practices. Paper highlights various countries on the
priority list of industry technologies for protection and exploitation of developed technologies.
Suggestions for future adopted technologies for air pollution control adopted under Indian
criterion is also suggested.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Air pollution has become a matter of serious concern in many parts of the world. India is
no exception and facing critical air pollution problems, particularly in its urban centres. The
problems as well as solutions are complex due to presence of variety of sources and pollutants.
Realizing the gravity of the problems, the Government of India has formulated strategies for
prevention and control of air pollution. The paper presents these strategies along with statutory
regulations, administrative structure and various steps, initiated/taken by various Government
Agencies for protection of environment in India. The paper also discusses some of the pollution
control programmes, being implemented for reduction in air pollution levels.

The Ministry of Environment & Forests and Central Pollution Control Board at national
level and Department of Environment & State Pollution Control Boards at State level have been

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established, which work in collaboration for protection of environment. The mandates and
administrative controls of these agencies are well defined and a strong linkage does exit among
Central & State Government agencies. With regard to the strategies evolved for prevention &
control of air pollution, the approach involves

(i) tackling of the pollutants;

(ii) (ii) controlling the pollution at source; and
(iii) Tackling of the polluted areas. For implementing the above strategies, a number of
legislation has been enacted. Besides this, various pollution prevention & control
programmers are being implemented. The efforts made by Government Agencies
with public participation have started paying dividends in terms of checking the air
pollution levels.

There is very little we can do about natural disturbances, we can definitely restrict our
interventions with the natural processes so that there are no known harmful impacts (short or
long-term) of our activities to our living and to the atmosphere. We should, therefore, limit
the discharges of air pollutants to the atmosphere only to an extent, which would have
minimal adverse impacts on the air environment. This is the basic philosophy of the air
pollution prevention and control and should be the key-point while planning any pollution
control strategies. The strategies should focus, the extents to which the development can be
sustained by the local environment and also to decide on appropriate technologies, designs
and pollution control or amelioration measures. The air pollution is now considered as a
serious threat to the quality of our life and possibly to its very existence. There has been,
therefore, increasing pressures for the necessity of having proper strategy for pollution
control and its implementation. The Government of India has been fully conscious about this
as also evident from the various existing pollution control programmes under
implementation.

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CHAPTER 2

CAUSES OF AIR POLLUTION

2.1 Major Primary Pollutants Generates by Human Activity

 Nitrogen oxides (NOx) - especially nitrogen dioxide are emerges from high temperature
combustion. Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula NO2. It is one of the
several nitrogen oxides. Carbon monoxide (CO)- It is a product by incomplete combustion of
fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust is a major source of carbon monoxide.

 Volatile organic compounds - VOCs are an important outdoor air pollutant. In this field they
are often divided into the separate categories of methane (CH4) and non-methane (NMVOCs).

 Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter (PM), atmospheric particulate matter,

or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas. In contrast, aerosol refers
to particles and the gas together. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles,
power plants and various industrial processes also generate significant amounts of aerosols.

 Persistent free radicals connected to airborne fine particles could cause cardiopulmonary
disease.

 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - harmful to the ozone layer emitted from products currently
banned from use.

 Odors — such as from garbage, sewage, and industrial processes

 Radioactive pollutants - produced by nuclear explosions, nuclear events, war explosives, and
natural processes such as the radioactive decay of radon. Secondary pollutants include:

 Ground level ozone (O3) formed from NOx and VOCs. Ozone (O3) is a key constituent of the
troposphere. It is also an important constituent of certain regions of the stratosphere commonly
known as the Ozone layer.

 Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) - similarly formed from NOx and VOCs. 2. Measures to Control
Air Pollution.

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 Activated carbon is one of the most popular forms of air pollution control. This type of control
involves the use of a pollution filter, carbon, to reduce the amount of pollutants that are allowed
to escape into the air. When in use, these filters absorb pollutants helping to cleanse the air of
any possible toxins.

 Biofiltration is another effective type of air pollution control. It uses microorganisms, often
bacteria and fungi, to dissolve pollutants. Industries that employ biofiltration systems include
food and waste plants, pharmaceutical companies, and wastewater management facilities. While
this method of air pollution control works rather well, a large space is required in order to
operate a biofiltration system. Many industries do not have this amount of available space, so
this method is often disregarded.

 Change in Fuel: This technique involves the use of less polluting fuel to reduce air pollution.
Use of low sulfur fuel instead of high sulfur fuel by electric utilities is an example of this
method. Remember that low sulfur fuel is much more expensive than high sulfur fuel.

 The other choice for an electric utility can be the use of natural gas as a fuel. Fuel switching
based on meteorological conditions or air pollution forecasts have been used to prevent air
pollution problem in many areas.

 Use of oil with low ash content or natural gas for a dryer at an asphalt plant to reduce
particulate matter is another example of this method. Introduction of compressed natural gas,
propane, ethanol and oxygenated fuels for automobiles have helped in the reduction of air
pollutants

 Nuclear power plants are relatively pollution free when compared to the coal fired power
plants. However, they have been subjects of controversy in their overall environmental impact.

 Improve Dispersion: This approach is based on the concept that dilution of air contaminants
before they reach ground will lower the concentrations to which the population is exposed. The
use of this approach for industry is discouraged by the US EPA.

 The emissions from the plant are passed through a control device before releasing to
atmosphere. The pollutants are removed, destroyed or transformed in the control device before
discharging into ambient air.

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 The scrubbing or flue gas desulphurization (FGD) processes can be classified as

(i) Throwaway or regenerative processes or

(ii) Wet or dry processes.

2.2 Use of Fuels

2.3 USE OF CONTROL DEVICES THE DEVICES ARE DISCUSSED IN THE

FOLLOWING SECTIONS.

The major FGD processes are:

 Limestone scrubbing Control and treatment of VOC and
 Lime scrubbing organic hazardous air pollutant

 Dual Alkali processes emissions are generally accomplished by

 Lime-spray drying  Adsorption,

 Wellman-Lord process The SO2 is  Incineration,

removed by inducing exhaust gases to  Condensation

react with a chemical absorbent as they  Gas absorption.
pass through a tower. 5. Control of VOC

This is one of the most commonly used methods, especially for controlling emissions
from small sources. It can be physical adsorption or chemisorption.

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The later is rarely used for the VOC emission control because, it involves a less-
reversible chemical bonding of the adsorb ate (pollutant) and the adsorbing solid ( packing)
and is relatively expensive. Physical adsorption uses the Van der Waals force, giving the
advantage of reversibility and regeneration due to the weaker bonding of the gas and
adsorbent material. The adsorbed material can be either recovered or incinerated.
Regeneration is usually accomplished by heating or extraction/displacement. Activated
carbon is a commonly used adsorbent.

2.4 Future adopted technologies for air pollution control adopted under Indian
criterion

The following items are commonly used as pollution control devices by industry or
transportation devices. They can either destroy contaminants or remove them from an
exhaust stream before it is emitted into the atmosphere.

 Nox Control  Catalytic converters

 Low NOx burners  Bio filters
 Selective catalytic reduction  Absorption (scrubbing)
(SCR)  Cryogenic condensers
 Selective non-catalytic reduction  Vapor recovery systems
(SNCR)  Acid Gas/SO2 control
 Catalytic converter (also for  Wet scrubbers
VOC control)  Dry scrubbers
 Scrubbers  Flue-gas desulfurization
 Baffle spray scrubber  Mercury control
 Cyclonic spray scrubber  Sorbent Injection Technology
 Spray tower  Electro-Catalytic Oxidation
 Wet scrubber (ECO)
 VOC control  K-Fuel

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CHAPTER 3
PREVENTIVE MEASUREMENTS
Statutory Regulations India is the first country, which has provided a provision for
environmental protection in its constitution. The constitution casts a duty on the State for taking
steps for protection and improvement of the environment and also makes obligatory on every
citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment. The specific laws for the control
of environmental pollution at national level was taken in the year 1974, when the Water
(Prevention & Control of pollution) Act was enacted as a follow-up action of the United Nations
Conference held in Stockholm in 1972. Since then, the environmental laws in India have come
through a long way. As on today, there are about 200 enactment which are linked to health,
pollution and environment. However, there are following seven legislation, which specifically
relate to environmental pollution control:

(i) The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; (ii) The Water (Prevention &
Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977;

(iii) The Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981;

(iv) The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986;

(v) The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988;

(vi) The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991; and

(vii) The National Environmental Tribunal Act, 1995 The Government has formulated several
rules, established many agencies and developed an administrative mechanism for
implementation of these Acts.

3.1 Administrative Structure for Environmental Protection

The administrative structure in India has a Central Government at the federal level and
State Governments at the State or provincial levels. The mandates and the administrative controls
at Central and State levels on various subjects have been well defined in the constitution of India.
There are strong linkages between the Central and State Governments for smooth functioning of
the Governments and implementation of various laws & Acts. With regard to the environmental
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pollution control, the linkage between Central and State Governments are complementary. The
administrative structure for environmental protection in India is presented in Fig.

Fig. Administrative Structure for Environment Protection

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CHAPTER 4

STRATEGY THE STRATEGY FOR POLLUTION CONTROL IN INDIA INVOLVES

THREE DIFFERENT APPROACHES:

(i) Tackling of the pollutants;

(ii) Controlling the pollution at source; and

(iii) Tackling of the polluted areas.

A combination of these approaches is an effective way to protect the environment.

4.1 Tackling of the pollutants This is aimed to minimize the quantity of the pollutants itself. The
waste minimization techniques include process modifications, use of clean/low waste
technologies, conservation of energy & natural resources, recycling of wastes, recovery of
valuable products out of wastes, etc. The reduction of lead content in motor spirit, reduction of
sulphur content in diesel, coal beneficiation, use of cleaner fuel in the industrial processes, etc.
are typical examples of the direct control of the pollutants. This approach is well reflected in the
policies & programmes of Government of India, particularly on environmental auditing and
promotion of cleaner technologies.

4.1.1 Environmental auditing

The Government of India has made environmental auditing mandatory and the industries
are required to submit environmental statements every year starting from 1992-93. Besides a
regulatory requirement, the industrial concerns should feel that they have a responsibility for
abatement of pollution and should use this tool as a self-regulatory mechanism. This not only
assists in regulatory compliance with laws & regulations but also helps in evaluating
performance of process and pollution control systems and serve as an eye-opener for waste
minimisation. This would result in reduction in losses and pollution load and, in turn, potential
cost-savings. An annual statement, constantly, helps in identifying and focussing attention on the
areas of concern, practices, that need to be changed and plans to deal with the adverse effects.

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4.1.2 Cleaner production technologies

Small-scale industries are a special feature of Indian economy. However, at times, it

becomes difficult for the small-scale industries to afford the costs towards pollution control. As
such, it is essential for the industrial sectors to explore the possibilities of adopting better &
cleaner process technologies giving no/low pollution. Government provides financial assistance
and technical support for identification and demonstration of such technologies. The
development and adoption of cleaner technologies including environment-friendly biotechnology
are also promoted.

4.1.3 Tackling the pollutants generated from vehicles

A vehicular emission, which is a cause of major concern in urban areas, is a deadly

cocktail of poisonous gases and particulate, which affect the human beings, vegetation and
buildings. Realizing the gravity of the problem, CPCB has paid special attention towards the
curtailment of emission coming out of the vehicular exhaust. The strategy, for tackling the
pollutants emitted from automobiles, involves reduction of pollutants at two stages viz. (i) pre-
combustion stage, where the quality of fuel can be upgraded; and (ii) combustion stage, where
engine modifications are required.

4.1.3.1 Improvement in fuel quality

In order to improve the fuel quality, based on the recommendations of CPCB,

specifications for motor gasoline and diesel have been notified under the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986. These specifications came into effect from April 1996. The
specifications, prescribed in view of the adverse effect of benzene, lead, sulphur and aromatic
content on human health are provided. CPCB also issued directions to various oil refineries for
implementing these specifications. The schedules for implementation of specifications for
improved fuel quality with regard to sulphur in diesel and lead content in gasoline are provided
in tables 3 and 4.

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4.2 Controlling the pollution at source

After tackling the pollutants for minimizing their generation, the next strategic approach
is to control the pollution at source. It is always better to control the pollution at source before it
goes into the environment. Under this strategy, many schemes & programmers including fixing
of emission standards, action plan for controlling the pollution from highly polluting industrial
sectors, etc. have been formulated and implemented.

4.2.1 Formulation of emission standards

The Central Pollution Control Board develops industry-specific standards for discharge
of pollutants including emissions. Generally, two main aspects are taken into consideration for
development of standards. One relates to the adverse effects on human health & environment and
other to the achievability of limits of pollutants by incorporation of appropriate pollution control
measures. The latter approach aims at the use of best available and economically feasible
technology. The economics of the available technology assures that the cost of pollution control
measures will remain within the affordability of the industrial units. The standards developed on
these principles are techno-economic standards and are uniform throughout the country. An
advantage of the technology-based approach is that within a specific group of industries the
extent of pollution control measures is alike. In addition, these standards serve to preserve the
environmental quality in non-polluted areas without modifications. These standards, of course,
do not relate to the pollution potential or assimilative capacity of the local environment but
development of standards based on local environmental conditions is not a practicable
proposition for a country like India. However, in order to provide safeguard to the local
environment, the local enforcing authorities (SPCBs) are required to lower the limit values of
pollutants as per case to case evaluation of the local environmental conditions. On such exercise,
these standards serve both as specific for industry and location. The Central Pollution Control
Board, with the help of expert consultant(s), prepares industry-specific comprehensive
documents on environmental management. These documents are prepared on the basis of
thorough literature review; studies on process technologies, pollution potential, options for waste
minimisiation & reuse/recycle, pollution control technologies; and in-depth monitoring &
assessment of pollution levels in selective industries and, accordingly, a set of standards is
proposed. A typical flow-scheme of the methodology, which is used for arriving at the proposed

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emission standards for a particular category of industries, is provided at Fig. 2. The proposed set
of standards is presented before Peer & Core Committee, which constitutes members from
concerned industries, industrial associations and experts on the subject. This is discussed by the
committee with regard to its - impact on environment, techno-economic feasibility, timeframe
required for the implementation, etc. The standards are again reviewed by a committee of experts
at MoEF and then notified. As such, the emission standards for a specific category industry are
fixed with detailed deliberations & careful considerations, supported by scientific studies. The
emission standards for about 60 industrial sectors have been notified so far.

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CONCLUSION

From this it is clear that we have numerous ways of controlling air pollution. The only thing
requires is to use it inappropriate form. This paper represents the different technologies that are
employed in various industries and the use of different fuels that are immanent for the solution of
air pollution. Air pollution involves spate of pollutants which creates a lot of chronic and acute
diseases in human being so we have to put the foreign particles within the constraint of standard
limit. So we have come under a conclusion that the best technologies given for controlling NOX,
VOC, SO2, Mercury are given in the above article.

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References

[1] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air pollution

[2] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution

[3] www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › ... › Am J Public Health › v.61(1); Jan 1971

[4] nptel.iitm.ac.in/.../Environmental%20Air%20Pollution/air%20pollution%...

[5] www.ilo.org/oshenc/...pollution-control/.../507-air-pollution-managemen...

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