AIRPOLLUTION 507 has developed the following equations that provide an approximate fit.

(6-22) (6-23) were

Sy = axO.894," Sz = cxd + f where the constants a, c, d, and f are defined in Table 6-7. These equations developed to yield Sy and Sz in meters for downwind distance x in kilometers.

Example 6-4. It has been estimated that the elnission of 502 from a coal-fired power plant is 1,656.2 gis. At 3 kIn downwind on an overcast summer afternoon, what is the centerline concentration of 502 if the wind speed is 4.50 m/s? (Note: "centerline" implies y = 0.) Stack parameters: Height = 120.0 m Diameter = 1.20 m Exit velocity = 10.0 m/s Temperature = 315C Atmospheric conditions: Pressure = 95.0 kPa Temperature = 25.0C

Solution.

We begin by determining the effective stack height (H). dB dB = QQ~~ = 8.0m [1.5 + (2.68 X 10-i95.0)~~~~ 1.20) ]

H = 120.0 + 8.0 = 128.0 m Next, we must determine the atmospheric stability class. The footnote to Table 66 indicates that the D class should be used for overcast conditions. From Figures 6-19 and 6-20, we can determine that at 3 kIn downwind with a D stability the plume standard deviations are as follows: Sy = 190m Sz = 65 m Thus, X = 1T(190)(65)(4.50)exp 1,656.2 128 [-2:;; ( 0 ) ] exp [ -21 (65 ) ] 1
2

= 1.36 X 10-3 gim3 or 1.4 X 10-3 gim3 of 502

508

INTRODUCTIONTO ENVIRONMENTALENGINEERING

VerticalProfile of PollutantConcentration

T
I~

XL
-.I~

XL
-~I

FIGURE6-21
Effect of elevated inversion on dispersion.

Inversion aloft. When an inversionis present,the basic diffusion equationmustbe modified to take into accountthe fact thatthe plume cannotdispersevertically onceit reachesthe inversionlayer. The plume will begin to mix downward when it reaches the baseof the inversion layer (Figure 6-21). The downward mixing will begin at a distance XL downwind from the stack.The XL distanceis a function of the stability in the layer below the inversion. It has beendeterminedempirically that the vertical standarddeviation of the plume can be calculated with the following formula at the distanceXL: Sz = O.47(L -H) where L = height to bottom of inversion layer, m H = effective stackheight, m When the plume reachestwice the distanceto initial contact with the inversion base,the plume is said to be completely mixed throughoutthe layer below the inversion. Beyond a distanceequal to 2XLthe centerline concentrationof pollutants may be estimatedby using the following equation: (6-24)

E X = (2'7T)1/2Sy(u)(L)

(6-25)

Note that Syis determined by the stability of the layer below the inversion and the distanceto the receptor.We call this the "inversion" or "short form" of the dispersion

equation.
Example 6.5. Detennine the distancedownwind from a stackat which we must switch to the "inversion fonn" of the dispersion model given the following meteorologic situation: Effective stackheight: 50 m Inversion base:350 m

Wind speed: m/s 7.3

Cloud cover: none Time: 1130 h

Season: summer

.
AIRPOLLUTION 509

Solution. Determine the stability classusing Table 6-6. At > 6 rn/s with strongradiation, the stability classis C. Calculate the value of Sz. Sz = 0.47(350 m -50 lIt) = 141 m Using Figure 6-20, find XL. With Sz = 141, draw a horizontal line to stability classC. Drop a vertical line to the "distance downwind." Find XL = 2.5 kIn. Therefore, at any distance equal to or greaterthan 5 kIn downwind (2XL), use the "inversion form" of the equation (Equation 6-25.) For distancesless than 5 kIn, we use Equation6-19 with szdetermined from the distanceto the point of interestand the stability. Thus, in no casedo we use Sz computed from Equation 6-24 to calculate X.

6-9

INDOOR AIR QUALITY MODEL

If we envision a house or room in a house or other enclosedspaceas a simple box (Figure 6-22), thenwe can constructa simple massbalancemodelto explore the behavior of the indoor air quality as a function of infiltration of outdoor,indoor sources and sinks, and leakageto the outdoorair. If we assumethe contentsof the box are well mixed, then Rate of Rate of Rate of Rate of Rate of 11 tant = pollutant + pollutantbox -leaving box -PO 11 tant pollutant ~o u entering entering l ~ b (6-26) Increase .eavmg ox . box box from from Indoor by leakage m d .. d bY decay out oors eInlSSlOnS to out oors

or
dC Vd! = QCa + E -QC -kCV (6-27)

Volume=V Concentration C = Q, Ca Emission Rate=E DecayRate =k Q, C

FIGURE 6-22 Mass-balance modelfor indoor pollution. air

510

INTRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTALENGINEERING TO

TABLE 6-8

Reaction rate coefficients for selected pollutants

Pollutant k, S-1

CO HCHO NO NO,(asN) Particulates 0.5,...m)

Radon SO2

0.0 1.11x 10-4 0.0 4.17x 10-5 1.33 10-4 X

211 X 10-6 6.39 X 10-5

Source: W. Traynor, al.. IndoorAir Pollution G. et from Portable Kerosene-Fired Space Heaters, Wood-Burning Stoves, Woodand BurningFurnaces, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Report LBLNo. 14027. March,1982.

where V = C = Q = Ca = E = k =

volume of box, m3 concentrationof pollutant, g/m3 rate of infiltration of air into and out of box, m3 Is concentrationof pollutant in outdoorair, g/m3 emissionrate of pollutant into box from indoor source,gls pollutant reactionrate coefficient, S-l

Reactionrate coefficients for a selectedlist of pollutants are given in Table 6-8. The general solution for Equation 6-27 is E Ct = ~ V The steady-state solution for Equation 6-27 may be found by settingdCldt = 0 and solving for C: C = QCa + E Q+kV When the pollutant is conservativeand does not decay with time or have a significant reactivity, k = O. In the specialcase when the pollutant is conservativeand the ambient concentrationis negligible and the initial indoor concentrationis zero, Equation 6-27 reducesto: Ct = g[l-exp(-(~)t)] (6-30) (6-29) Q [1- exp(- (~+ k)t)] + coexp[ -(~+ k)t] (6-28)

Example 6-6. An unventedkeroseneheateris operatedfor one hour in an apartment having a volume of 200 m3. The heateremits 802 at a rate of 50 p,g/s. The ambientair concentration(Ca)and the initial indoor air concentration(Co) of 802 are 100 p,g/m3.

AIRPOLLUTION 511

If the rate of ventilation is 50 LIs, and the apartmentis assumed be well mixed, what to is the indoor air concentrationof 802 at the end of one hour? Solution. The concentrationmay be determinedusing the general solution form of the indoor air quality model (Equation 6-28). The decay rate for 802 from Table 6-8 is 6.39 X 10-5 S-1 and 50 LIs is equivalentto 0.050 m3/s. 50 j.Lg/s 100 g/ 30.050 m3/s (200 m3) + j.L m 200 m3 Ct = 0.050 m3/s 6 39 10-5-1 200m3 +. X s

( (0.050 m3/s
-200 m3

-5 + 6.39 X 10 s 1 (3600 s) ) ) ~ ~

+ (100 j.Lg/m3) [ -(Q:~~~ exp

-exp

+ 6.39 X 10-5 S-1)(3600 S)]

= 876.08(1 -exp( -1.13 + lOOexp(-1.13) = 876.08(1 -0.323) + 100(0.323) = 593.09 + 32.3 = 625.39 or 630 j.Lg/m3

6-10 AIR POLLUTION CONTROL

OF STATIONARY SOURCES

Gaseous Pollutants
Absorption. Control devices based on the principle of absorption attempt to transfer the pollutant from a gas phase to a liquid phase. This is a mass transfer process in which the gas dissolves in the liquid (see Section 3-1). The dissolution mayor may not be accompanied by a reaction with an ingredient of the liquid. Mass transfer is a diffusion process wherein the pollutant gas moves from points of higher concentration to points of lower concentration. The removal of the pollutant gas takes place in three steps: 1. Diffusion of the pollutant gas to the surface of the liquid 2. Transfer across the gas/liquid interface (dissolution) 3. Diffusion of the dissolved gas away from the interface into the liquid Structures such as spray chambers (Figure 6-23) and towers or columns (Figure 6-24) are two classes of devices employed to absorb pollutant gases. In scrubbers, which are a type of spray chamber, liquid droplets are used to absorb the gas. In towers, a thin film of liquid is used as the absorption medium. Regardless of the type of device, the solubility of the pollutant in the liquid must be relatively high. If water is the solute, this generally limits the application to a few inorganic gases such as NH3, Ch, and SO2. Scrubbers are relatively inefficient absorbers but have the advantage of being able to simultaneously remove particulates. Towers are much more efficient absorbers but they become plugged by particulate matter.

512

INTRODUCTIONTO ENVIRONMENTALENGINEERING

Cleaned Air + ist arator

Spray FluidSprays

...Air
F==::~-

and

Particles

+ Sludge

FIGURE 6-23 Spray chamber.

GasOut GasOut
.Liquid Liquid In

Distributor

Shell Tray
Downspout

Liquid In

. Packmg Restrainer Shell

Froth
Ran

Liquid Re-distributor Pac

GasIn

-Support

Packing

GasIn Liquid

Out

..Liquid Packed Tower

Out

Plate Tower

FIGURE 6.24 Absorption systems.

AIRPOLLUTION 513

The amountof absorptionthat can take place for a nonreactivesolutionis governed by the partial pressure of the pollutant. For dilute solutions, as we have in pollution control systems,the relationship betweenpartial pressureand the concentration of the gas in solution is given by Henry's law: Pg = KHCequil where ~ l\ l P g = partial pressureof gas in equilibrium with liquid, kPa KH = Henry's law constant,kPa. m3/g Cequil= concentrationof pollutant gas in the liquid phase,g/m3 (6-31)

Equation6-31 implies that the partial pressureof the gas mustincreaseasthe liquid accumulatesmore pollutant or else it will come out of solution. Since the liquid is removing pollutant from the gasphase,this meansthe partial pressureis decreasing as the gasis cleaned.This is just the reverseof what we want to happen.The easiest way to get around this problem is to run the gas and liquid in oppositedirections. This is called countercurrentflow. In this manner,the high concentrationgas is absorbedinto a liquid with a high pollutant concentration. The lower concentration gas is absorbedby liquid with no pollutants in it. A mass-balance diagram of a countercurrentflow absorptioncolumn is shown in Figure 6-25. The mass-balance equationis (Gml)(Yl) -(Gm2)(Y2) = (Lml)(Xl) -(Lm2)(X2) (6-32)

where Gml, Gm2= total gas flow (air plus pollutant) into and out of the column respectively, kg .mole/h

Lm.z Ls
Xz (2)

Gm.z Gc
Yz

Xz

T= canst
P= canst

Yz

Cross-sectional area,A

====

dZ

(1)
Lm.1 Gm.1

Ls
XI XI

Gc
YI Y1 FIGURE 6-25 Notation for a counterflow packed absorptiontower.

514

INTRODUCTIONTO ENVIRONMENTALENGINEERING

YI, Y2 = mole fraction of pollutant in the gas phase at inlet and outlet of column, respectively51 Lml, Lm2 = total liquid flow (solventplus absorbedpollutant) out of and into the column respectively,kg .mole/h Xl, X2 = mole fraction of pollutant in the liquid phaseout of and into the column, respectively Three variables of interest in the design of a packed tower are the gas flow rate, the liquid flow rate, and the height of the tower. As you might expect,the three are related. If we consider a differential height of the absorber,dZ, as shown in Figure 6-25, the total interfacial area opento mass transferis defined as area for mass transfer = (a)(A)(dZ) where a = area per unit volume of packing A = cross sectionalareaof column As we did in Section3-1, we may describethe rate of mass transfer of a gas, i, into solution (Ni) by the following differential equation: Ni = ~ (6-33)

dt

= Ky(Y -y*)

(6-34)

where Ky = overall mass transfer coefficient for gas y, y* = mole fraction of gaseouspollutant and equilibrium mole fraction, respectively The rate of transferof speciesi then is rate of mass transfer = (NJ(A)(a)(dZ) (6-35)

This massis equal to the massloss from the gas phaseas it passesthrough the differential height dZ: massloss = d(Gmy) (6-36)

We may expandthis expressionby defining two new tenDS:the mass flow rate per unit area G;" and the mole ratio: y y = -(6-37)

l-y
and noting that GcY = Gmy (6-38)

51 mole fraction defined follows: A is as

y= P -

P = partialpressure gas of P t = totalpressure gas of y. = (rIP,)

P,

AIRPOLLUTION 515

where Gc is the massflow of the carrier gas without the pollutant. Equatingthe mass transfer(Equation6-34) with the massloss (Equation6- 36) and makingsubstitutions from Equations6-35, 6-37, and 6-38 yields Kya(y -y")dZ
1 = ~ :ndy
-y

(6-39)

or
G'dy dZ = Kya(y _mY")(l -y) (6-40)

The overall driving force (y -y") at any location in the tower may be written in the form y -y" = (1 -y") -(1 -y) (6-41)

It is convenientthen to define the log-meanvalue of (1 -y") and (1 -y): (1 -y") -(1 -y)] (1 -y)LM = In [(1 -y")/(l -y) (6-42)

Multiplying the numeratorand denominatorof Equation6-40 by (1 -y) LM, we obtain dZ =

(
Kya(l

G:n
-y)LM

)( (1 -y)LMdY )
(y -y")(l -y)

(6-43)

Although G:n,Kya, and (1 -y)LM vary alongthe absorptioncolumn, the first term of this equationis reasonablyconstant.This quantity is called the overall height of a transfer unit (Hog). As a first approximationto the height of the column, Equation 6-43 may be rewritten as
Z = (Ho ) f YI (1 -y)LM g Y2 (y -y")(l dy -y) (6-44)

The integral is called the number of transfer units (N OK). The height of the tower is computed from the following equation: Zt = (Hog)(Nog) (6-45)

For dilute solutions that obey Henry's law, the number of overall gas transferunits may be calculatedas follows:52 (l-A)+A Al -A\... ="'L\Y2-mX2J\~ '~.f"~J ]
og 1 -A

[ Yl-mX2 Inr{~~\(1

( 6-46

where Yl, Y2 = mole fraction of pollutant in the gasphaseat inlet and outlet of tower, respectively

s2Robert Treybal, E. MassTransfer Operations, York: McGraw-Hill, 253,1988. New p.

516

INTRODUCTION ENVIRONMENTALENGINEERING TO

m = slopeof equilibrium curve defined by Henry's law = y*/x* in mole fraction units (m has no units) X2 = mole fraction of pollutant in the liquid phaseenteringthe tower A = mQg/QI QI = liquid flow rate, kg .mole/h .m2 Qg = gas flow rate, kg .mole/h .m2 The height of a single overall masstransferunit (HTU) may alsobe expressed the as sumof the gas and liquid HTUs. Hog = Hg + AHI (6-47)

(I ,

where Hg and HI are complexfunctions of the flow rate, surfaceareaof the packing, viscosity of the liquid and air, and the diffusivity of the pollutant gas.
Example 6-7. Detennine the height of a packed tower thatis to reduceNH3 in air from a concentrationof 0.10 kgim3 to a concentrationof 0.0005kgim3 given the following

data:
Column diameter = 3.00 m Operating temperature = 20.0C Operating pressure = 101.325kPa Hg = 0.438 m HI = 0.250m Qg = QI = 10.0 kgis Incoming liquid is water free of NH3 Solution. We begin by converting to mole fractions. NH3 has a GMW of 17.030. For air we assumea GMW of 28.970 and a density of 1.185 kgim3 at 25C. Since the operatingtemperatureis 20C, we correctthe density of the air: 1.185 x m
298 -3

-1.205 kgim

Now we computethe mole fractions at the inlet (Yl) and outlet (Y2): 0.10 kgim3 = 17.030GMWNH3 Yl 1.205 kgim3 28.970 GMW air In a like manner,Y2 = 0.000706. Since the incoming liquid has no NH3, the mole fraction is zero, that is, X2 = 0.0. The Henry's law constantin mole fraction units mustbe detennined from experimental data. From the ChemicalEngineers' Handbook we find the following data:53 = 0.005872 = 014118 0.04159 .

S3Robert Perryand Cecil H. Chilton,ed8.,Chemical H. Engineers'Handbook, ed., NewYork: 5th McGraw-Hill,pp. 3-96, 1973.

AIRPOLLUTION 517

PNH3 (kPa)

kg NH3 per 100 kg H2

15.199 9.319 4.266 1.600

15 10 5 1

If we convert eachvalue to mole fractions and plot x' versus y' (the asteriskrefersto the steady-statecondition), the slope of the line will be m. An example calculation is shown for the first value of x' and y'. The total pressureis taken to be 101.325kPa. The GMW of H2O is 18.015. For 15 kg NH3 per 100 kg H2O: 15 kg .17.030 GMW NH3 x = 15 kg 100 kg 17.030GMW NH3 + 18.015GMW H2O x' = 0.1369 y.15.199kPa kPa = 101.325 y' = 0.1500 The value of m is then found by a least squareslinear regressionfit of a line through the four pairs of x' and y' values. The slope of the line is m. m = 1.068 The value of A is computed in mole units as follows: A =' 10.0kg/s of air 28.97 GMW of air 10.0 kg/s of H2O 18.015GMW of H2O = 0.6641 1 068

The number of gas transferunits is then In [0~~~1~ ~ li~~i~~) (1 -0.6641) + 0.6641 ] I -0.6641

Nog =

= 12.5545 The height of an individual gas transfer unit is Hog = 0.438 + 0.6641(0.250) = 0.6040 The height of the tower is then Z, = (0.6040)(12.5545) = 7.5832 Since the limiting concentration data were given to only one significant figure, the answerwould be Z, = 8m