8/21/2007

Lecture - 11

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
from
PROCESS INDUSTRIES

In this lecture Pollution -

• Pollution and Pollutants
• Types of Pollution
• Effects of Pollution
• Managing Pollution
Introduction by man, waste matter or surplus
energy into the environment, which directly or
indirectly causes damage to man and his
environment

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The Issue
Pollutant - A substance or effect which
adversely alters the environment by changing
the growth rate of species, interferes with the • We use Resources extensively
food chain, is toxic, or interferes with health,
comfort amenities or property values of people and then are NOT responsible for

• The Consequences !!!

Aral Sea

Man made environmental

disaster

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EFFECTS ON BIOSPHERE

1. Damage to human health by specific

chemical substances present in the air, food, Pollution and effects
water and radioactive material
2. Damage to natural environment affecting
vegetation, animals, crops, soil and water
Minamata Disease
3. Damage to visual quality by smoke, fumes,
dust, noise and waste (Jinzu river, Japan)
4. Damage by carcinogens, radioactive
materials and excessive noise

Learning from the Past … Japan Bioaccumulation

• Fueling consumerism …. Doubling income
…… three basic consumer items ….. e.g DDT

zooplankton small fish large fish birds

water 0.04 ppm 0.5 ppm 2 ppm 25 ppm

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Story
of Bold eagle
In
from Paracelsus
Toxicity ......
is Quantity related
USA

Anything and
Everything is toxic if
the dose is made so !!

Paracelsus
(1493-1541)

Waste takes many forms

Drinking water and death ! ..
• Woman dies
after water-
drinking
contest
SACRAMENTO, Calif. –

A woman who competed in a radio

station’s contest to see how much
water she could drink without going
to the bathroom died of water
intoxication, the coroner’s office said
Saturday.

2007 !

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TYPES OF POLLUTION Water Pollution

• Water Pollution
• Air Pollution
• Land Pollution
• Noise Pollution
• Thermal Pollution
• Electro Pollution
• Visual Pollution

Water Pollution – with what? Water Pollution

• Water ( about 99%) Inorganic materials - alkalis, acids, inorganic salts, ammonia,
• Solids phosphates, etc.
Heavy metals - chromium, mercury, nickel, copper,
• Carbohydrates cadmium etc.
• Proteins These are referred to as
Disinfection byproducts - trihalomethanes
Other harmful substances - organochlorides etc.
• Fats ‘organic material’ Physical factors - turbidity, colour, temperature etc.
• Nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorus)
• Microorganisms.
(On average there are about 10 million per
ml of wastewater. Many are pathogens)

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Industrial Sources Responsible

for Organic Pollution
Organic Pollutants
Distillery
Inorganic Pollutants
Canning
Heavy metal Pollutants organic Depletion of DO
Sugar matter
Pathogenic Pollutants
Cheese Making

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Industrial Sources
Responsible for Inorganic
Pollution
Dissolved Oxygen Sources Effluent Problems
Fertilizer algal blooms
reduced light
Soap and detergent penetration
ammonia and
Rubber and latex re-aeration
phosphates (eutrophication)
Agricultural farms

Fertiliser Application
Eutrophication

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Industrial Sources Responsible for Heavy

Metal Pollution
Sources Effluent Problems
Paper and pulp Mercury - Minamata disease
Chromium toxic to aquatic life
Tanneries Iron and self purifying
Nickel organisms
Textile Lead
Zinc Toxic to humans
Coke-oven Arsenic
Cadmium - Itai-itai disease
Metal plating Copper Bio accumulate
Silver

Sources Discharging Pathogenic

Organisms b) Air Pollution
Sources Organism Diseases
Air is considered safe when it contains no
Sewage Cholera, typhoid,
Bacteria dysentery, harmful dust and gases.
Farm slurry gastroenteritis
diarrhea, salmonellosis Polluted air affects:
Hospital waste Viruses polio, hepatitis,
Protozoa Diarrhea, dysentery, Humans
Medical laboratory (Giardia, amebiasis Animals
Cryptosporidium)
Food processing Helminths Roundworm infestation, Vegetation
pinworm,
beef tapeworm, Materials
pork tapeworm

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Effects from Air Pollution

Air Pollution
• Global warming has
• Ozone depletion No
(Ozone hole) Boundaries
• Acid Rain
• Various
respiratory
illnesses

Metal foundry refining in early industrial Germany, 1870s

Pollution of air
Particulate Matter PM10 (<10ìm)
- Dust (e.g. cement dust, bagasse, foundry
dust and wind blown solid dust)
- Mist
- Smoke
- Carbon black
- Aerosols

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Air Pollution and Health

The
Problem
of
DUST

SPM
PM 10
PM 2.5
etc.

Radioactive
nucleids

Some Polluting Process Industries TRANSPORTATION

Three modes of transport

Sulfuric Acid Plants
Thermal Power Stations
Nitric Acid Plants
• Air ( airplanes etc.)
• Sea (ships, boats etc.)
• Land (automotive & locomotive)

Cement Plants Products of combustion of fuels are CO, CO2,

Foundaries NOx, hydrocarbons, particulate matter and
Plastic Industries traces of SO2, formaldehyde and Pb.

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c) Land Pollution
Urbanization and Concentration of Population

Municipal Solid Waste

Industrial Waste and Hazardous Waste

Uncontrolled “Land Treatment”

This is within our
Burning open dumps and forest fires university
Deforestation

Mining and Erosion

d) Noise Pollution

Exposure to prolong noise affects speech,

hearing, general health and behaviour.

Noise Levels – dB
Intensity
frequency
periods of exposure and
duration

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Human hearing and Frequency

Intensity (Loudness)

• Measure of acoustic
energy of the sound
vibrations
• Expressed in terms of
sound pressure
• Decibels (dB) are the
unit of measurement
on the Loudness
scale

0 16 Hz 20 kHz 5 MHz

Physical Characteristics of Sound How sound is measured

• Measurement and human perception of •Pressure, P, usually Pascals
Sound involves three basic physical P = 1/f
•Frequency, f, usually Hertz
characteristics: I = W/A
•Intensity, I, usually W/m2
– Intensity L’ = log (Q/Qo)
•Bels, L’, derived from logarithmic ratio
– Frequency •Decibels, L, derived from bels L = 10*log (Q/Qo)

– Duration
E.g. Implications of the decibel scale: doubling sound level
would mean that the sound will increase by 10*log2 = +3dB
Ten times the sound level = 10*log10 = +10dB

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Comparative Noise Levels (dB)

Adding decibels
Walkman (1/2 volume) 94
Telephone Dial tone 80
Talking at Three Feet 65
Quiet Urban Daytime 50
Quiet Urban Nighttime 40
Quiet Rural Nighttime 25

Industrial Noise Sources Electropollution !

• Metal fabrication (pressing, grinding, chipping etc.)
• High pressure burners in furnaces
• Turbines
- a growing
• Compressors problem
• Pumps
• Welding machines
• Cranes and other vehicles
• Pipe lines carrying high velocity fluids and solids
•Vibrating and grinding equipment

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Power Lines and Pollution Management

Leukemia
• “..children living in proximity to
high voltage powerlines are at
increased risk of childhood
leukaemia, but in finding effects
up to 600 metres away, they http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3967073.stm
Pollution can be controlled by
invoke electric field corona ion
effects as a possible causal proper choice of preventive
mechanism.
and remedial measures
Prof. Denis Henshaw, Professor of
Human Radiation Effects at the
University of Bristol

http://www.electric-fields.bris.ac.uk/

Techniques are changing … Wastewater Treatment

Cleaner
Waste water treatment
Production
Sustainable
Pollution Development
Prevention
Preventive Curative
Recycling

Pollution
Control
Complexity of Environmental Issue Volume reduction Strength reduction Physical Chemical Biological
Dispersion

1960 1980 1990

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Typical Wastewater
Processing
Air emissions

Wastewater Water
Primary Secondary Tertiary
Treatment Treatment Treatment

Primary sludge Secondary Sludge Tertiary Sludge

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Physical Methods Biological waste water treatment

Objective Aerobic treatment
• Solvent extraction
Remove solid or Anaerobic treatment
liquid pollutants • Evaporation
based on density • Distillation The organic load is defined by the Biological
Oxygen Demand (BOD).
difference or other • Filtration
physical property In aerobic systems the water is aerated with
• Reverse Osmosis compressed air (in some cases oxygen).
(eg. SS or floating
• Electrodialysis
solids) Anaerobic systems run under oxygen free
• Adsorption conditions – biogas is a useful product.

Activated Sludge System

• Metabolism:
Bacterial decomposition and
hydrolysis
Organic Nitrogen NH3

NH3 + O2 NO2- + Energy

NO2- + O2 NO3- + Energy Nitrification

Anaerobic Zone Aerobic Zone

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Chemical Wastewater Treatment

Ozonation …...
• Neutralization - NaOH, Ca(OH)2, HCl, H2SO4
• Coagulation and
Flocculation - Alum, FeSO4,
• Oxidation - Sodium hypochlorite
• Disinfection - Cl2, O3, NaOCl
Dye Solutions
subjected to ozonation

Air Pollution Control

• Use tall stacks
Air Pollution and Control
• Source reduction by process and raw
material changes (eg. Improved furnace
design and low S fuel)
• Recover valuable material (eg. Hg)
• Bag filters, scrubbers, ESP, cyclone
separators
• Absorption, adsorption, combustion and
catalytic reaction

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Blue Skies over Puttalam 80% of the air pollution load is

contributed by the transport sector

Land Pollution Control

3R Principle
• Integrated Solid Waste Management
• Good agricultural practices
• Remediation of polluted soils • Reduce
• Prevention of erosion and silting
• Containment of hazardous waste and • Reuse
waste water treatment using land
treatment techniques • Recycle

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Paper
Deaf and Blind School
Compost
Production
Abans Env Services / Paper collection

Glass ( 3 types)

Glass Factory

Plastics (all types)

Different plastic recyclers

University Colour Code – Solid Waste

Noise Pollution Control
Blue – waste paper
Orange – Plastics (milk cartons , cups)
Green – Food waste • Control noise at source by proper choice
of equipment, design modification,
mounting and proper layout
• Isolation or use of baffles
• Use of ear protection devices

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Desiccated Coconut Industry

DC industry
Sri Lanka

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Waste takes many forms

Air Emissions

Some additional slides for

information Materials,
Energy,
Water, Products,
Labour, By-Products
Capital

Solid Waste Waste Energy, Wastewater

fertilisers
sewage
(liquid domestic
Harmful Substances
and industrial waste)
Sources Substances Problems
Eutrophication
The process of

minerals minerals Disinfection byproducts trihelomethanes carcinogenic

esp. nitrates esp. phosphates

Agricultural organochlorides persistent

organic material

Pesticides (DDT) bio accumulate

eutrophication

Acids and alkalis inorganic minerals affect biological

algal bloom life, affect
toxicity of CN-, S-
competition consumers can't
for light consume fast enough Plastic, lubricant, PCB persistent, lethal
rubber, paper even at low level
dead plants dead algae
Pharmaceutical, Phenols toxic to fish,MO &
Petrochemical aquatic life
detritus

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Physical Effects
Physical Parameter Causative Problem
Suspended Solids china clay, peroxide, settlement, turbidity
metal salts reduce light, photosynthesis
organic solids reduce DO

Temperature Cooling water from lower DO, speed up organic

power plants matter degradation

Oil and grease Refineries, terminals Prevents O2 exchange,

storage tanks lethal to birds

Colour pigments, dyes aesthetics, toxic, reduce light

penetration
Foaming anionic detergents, aesthetics, carry SS &
surfactants pathogens, affects aeration

Occupational Health & Safety

Occupational safety and health is the discipline

concerned with protecting the safety, health and
welfare of employees of the industry and the
general public.

Safety in process design can be considered under

the following broad headings.
1. Identification and assessment of the hazard
2. Control of hazards
3. Control of the process
4. Limitation of the loss.

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