Week2studyguide.pdf

MEE 6501, Advanced Air Quality Control 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit I

Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

6. Estimate the impact of air pollution on the environment.
6.1. Discuss the chemical composition of the atmosphere and its pollutants.
6.2. Discuss the subsequent interactions of atmospheric chemicals and atmospheric pollutants.

Course/Unit
Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

6.1

Unit Lesson
Chapter 1, pp. 1-23
Chapter 2, pp. 25-73
Unit I Assessment

6.2

Unit Lesson
Chapter 1, pp. 1-23
Chapter 2, pp. 25-73
Unit I Assessment

Reading Assignment

Chapter 1: Atmosphere, pp. 1–23

Chapter 2: Atmospheric Pollution and Pollutants, pp. 25–73

Unit Lesson

Environmental Management

As you will notice, this class is one of several classes within this program of study designated as Master of
Environmental Engineering (MEE). As scholar-practitioners of environmental management, we find ourselves
once again needing to apply environmental engineering principles in to adequately establish controls
within industrial work systems. Rather than accepting contemporary air quality as a passive variable within
our work systems, we want to consider how air quality may be engineered to reflect continuously improved
variables within those same work systems. Consequently, in this course we will learn to effectively engineer
air quality to acceptably safe control levels.

With Godish, Davis, and Fu’s (2014) textbook, this unit is going to allow us to take a step back and evaluate
the atmosphere from a chemical perspective, even while evaluating other chemicals present that may be
pollutants to pristine air chemistry. What we discuss together in this first unit will largely inform our ability to
recognize data-based health implications of current air quality, engineer controls to improve the air quality,
and, subsequently, forecast future air quality chemistries.

First, given the nature of air chemistry, it is imperative that we understand the concept of reduction and
oxidation (redox reactions). You will find as we work through the first two chapters of the textbook that we
must be able to grasp the role of oxygen at play in most of the chemical reactions, within atmospheric and
ambient air, during the formation of chemical sinks.

By definition, we refer to a body of water or land that releases more materials than it accepts—such as carbon
dioxide (CO2) or nitrous oxides (NOx)—as a source. Sources may be generated from either nature’s activities
(such as decaying plant biomatter, as well as animal and plant respiration, volcanoes, and forest fires) or

UNIT I STUDY GUIDE

The Atmosphere and Atmospheric Pollutants

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anthropogenic activities (such as hydrocarbon combustion from transport vehicles and ships, chemical
manufacturing emissions, oil and gas refining emissions, painting operations, and even environmental
contamination remediation activities). These sources may be in the form of particulate matter, aerosol vapors,
or gases (Vallero, 2014).

Conversely, we refer to a body of the same three possible matrices that accepts and stores more materials
than it releases (thereby affording pollutants to be naturally removed from the atmosphere) as a sink (Withgott
& Laposata, 2018). Water sinks may include bodies as small as a lake or as large as an ocean. Land sinks
may include vegetation, soil, and even structures (Vallero, 2014). As a specific example, some of the excess
CO2 in our atmosphere is currently being absorbed by the world’s ocean forests, making both the affected
oceans and forests functional CO2 sinks (Withgott & Laposata, 2018; Phalen & Phalen, 2013). This
sequestration function of sinks is then a matter of chemical reactions taking place, altering the original
pollutant’s chemical composition and rendering it as immobile from the ambient atmosphere. Very often, this
is accomplished through a natural chemical reaction called a redox reaction (Godish et al., 2014).

Atmospheric Concerns

Among the 1% of trace gases and 78% of nitrogen (N2) present in the atmosphere, oxygen (O2) comprises
approximately 21% of the total atmospheric gas (Godish et al., 2014) while accounting for approximately 60%
of an individual human’s total body weight (Hill & Feigl, 1987). The simple principle of a redox reaction is that
one cannot have one (oxidation or reduction) reaction without having the other. In any redox reaction, a
chemical substance that contributes an electron is said to be oxidized, and the chemical substance that
receives the electron is said to be reduced. As such, when one substance is oxidized, another substance is
simultaneously reduced (Hill & Feigl, 1987). This principle becomes increasingly important as Godish et al.
(2014) help us study metals undergoing simple oxidation, specifically with oxygen (p. 21), or even complex
peroxide compounds (peroxy radicals) being formed in the presence of nitrogen and carbon (organic)
pollutants (pp. 42, 57).

Second, we must acknowledge two additional variables critical in air chemistry. Temperature gradients and
pollutant particle size are sometimes easily overlooked after one spends a considerable amount of time
learning the stoichiometric chemistry of air. Ironically, these two variables work to largely inform our
application of air chemistry as a means of evaluating, protecting, and improving environmental air quality for
both human and ecological life (Phalen & Phalen, 2013).

Godish et al. (2014) are careful to discuss thermal radiation from the sun that defines our various atmospheric
zones (layers). Their discussion of the impact of gravity and subsequent atmospheric densities and pressures
will help us to understand the resulting phenomenon of wind and other global air circulations. Their discussion
of atmospheric aerosol particle sizes and shapes will then help us to understand predictable pollutant
behaviors in different climates around the world.

As such, this first unit will help us to understand why and how we can use chemistry and physics to anticipate
air quality problems, quantitatively measure air quality, engineer controls to remove and restrict pollutants
from the air, and forecast the engineered air quality for industrial applications. Spend the time that you need in
this first unit to fully grasp the concepts. The math and chemistry that we will learn together in subsequent
units will be built upon these basic principles.

Course Layout

As we progress through this class, we are going to be developing a quantitative air permit evaluation
document for a given scenario as a practical means of applying what we learn every week, within the context
of a course project. Beginning in Unit II, this course project will be working through the quantitative evaluation
of a work process for the potential need of a United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Title
V Air Permit. This will be through the development of a “Permit by Rule (PBR) Evaluation” related to a single
specific industry sector’s work system of your choice. We will collectively engineer considerations for
hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), complete with volatile organic compound (VOC) gas calculations, and then
carefully design the appropriate facilities and pollution control equipment (paint booths, ovens, ventilation
systems, emission stacks, and so on). As such, we will draw heavily upon each chapter of the textbook as we
engineer one section of the PBR evaluation document each week.

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Here is a quick look at the work that we will be doing as we evaluate our individually selected PBR evaluation
over the next six units. We will be using provided fictitious state-specific regulatory guidance thresholds in the
project scenario as a regulatory comparison tool to evaluate the implications of each calculated value that you
derive from each of your mathematical computations. Air quality engineering and permitting is a very
quantitative exercise. Consequently, it is very important to become comfortable with making algebraic
calculations in to effectively evaluate the work system’s air quality. Remember that we must make the
work system safe for human and ecological life well before we inject humans and the environment into that
work system. This is our most fundamental role as graduate-degreed environmental professionals.

 Unit II: (a) Review of the tabulated Safety Data Sheet (SDS) information for each material involved in

your selected industry sector’s work system for HAPs and development of a designed process flow
and (b) development of a formal process flow diagram for the operation.

 Unit III: Calculate VOC emissions and any affected exempt solvent content for each gallon of

paint/coating used in the process.

 Unit IV: Calculate maximum hourly and annual emissions rates, average emission rates over a five-
hour period, and the potential to emit compared to the DEQ permit limits.

 Unit V: Calculate the affected work area, filter, and face velocities for the operation.

 Unit VI: Calculate the VOC minus water and any affected exempt solvents’ emissions.

 Unit VII: Calculate the emissions of products of combustion from any heaters and ovens in the
process.

Here are the industry sectors from which you will select (one) to work, even as you develop your quantitative
PBR evaluation document:

 Aircraft manufacturing exterior coating paint booth

 Rail tank car interior lining process

 Vehicle exterior coating paint booth

What you will notice is that, as we progress through
the application process, our ability to apply what we
are learning from Godish et al. (2014) will be
enhanced. We will be taking the theoretical concepts
and academic tools (mathematics) and be
operationalizing the work system’s processes in a
way that will inform the future operators of the work
system, as well as engineer the process to be in
automatic compliance with the affected state and
U.S. EPA environmental regulations. This tandem
engineering strategy works to increase the time-to-
market opportunities for the organization operating
the business unit’s facilities, and it subsequently
puts the environmental engineer in a position to
improve the business aspect of a return-on-
investment (ROI) for the affected business unit.

This type of strategic environmental engineering,
with a focus on business analytics, is how we as
environmental engineers can effectively help to
manage and positively impact the business units
within which we are called to work. Consequently, this becomes a very important strategy in contemporary
business environments that need consistent reassurance that health, safety, and environmental (HSE) efforts
are an active force in helping to create a profitable business unit. This is in contrast to the competing view that
HSE efforts are a necessary drain on the business unit’s profitability.

This may be your first opportunity to work as an environmental engineer. Learn absolutely as much as you
can in this class, consider the terms that you see in italics in this lesson, and think like an environmental
engineer as you work through the textbook and the air permit application. This is how we combine the science

Spray booth designs vary, but the calculations we will use cover
different types of applications.
(Grichenko, 2017)

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and math of engineering into our field of environmental management. Let’s get started engineering air quality
back into our local work and residential environment!

References

Godish, T., Davis, W. T., & Fu, J. S. (2014). Air quality (5th ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Grichenko, A. (2017). Inside an aircraft automotive spray paint booth (ID 105574353) [Photograph]. Retrieved

from https://www.dreamstime.com/inside-aircraft-automotive-spray-paint-booth-inside-aircraft-
automotive-spray-paint-booth-image105574353

Hill, J., & Feigl, D. (1987). Chemistry and life: An introduction to general, organic, and biological life (3rd ed.).

New York, NY: Macmillian.

Phalen, R. F., & Phalen, R. N. (2013). Introduction to air pollution science: A public health perspective.

Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Vallero, D. (2014). Fundamentals of air pollution (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Academic Press.

Withgott, J., & Laposata, M. (2018). Environment: The science behind the stories (6th ed.). New York, NY:

Pearson.

Suggested Reading

In to access the following resources, click the links below.

The following article provides a demonstration of how air quality engineers can forecast the aqueous hydroxyl
oxidation and photolysis of diverse, complex pollutant compounds in chemical sinks. This is a great example
of how we use redox reactions to inform our environmental engineering of air quality.

Epstein, S. A., & Nizkorodov, S. A. (2012). A comparison of the chemical sinks of atmospheric organics in the

gas and aqueous phase. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12, 8205–8222. Retrieved from
https://aerosol.chem.uci.edu/publications/Irvine/2012_Epstein_ACP_photolysis.pdf

The following article provides a practical application of Epstein and Nizkordov’s (2012) article, above. This
article is a presentation of a quantitative chemical transport model that speciates complex pollutant
compounds then forecasts the reactions within specified tropospheric chemical sinks through historical
benchmarking of global air quality engineering strategies.

Huijnen, V., Williams, J. E., van Weele, M., van Noije, T., Krol, M., Dentener, F., & …. Patz, H. (2010). The

global chemistry transport model TM5: Description and evaluation of the tropospheric chemistry
version 3.0. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions, 3(2), 445–473. Retrieved from
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=a9h&AN=55382701&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Learning Activities (Nongraded)

Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.

Click here to view a matching activity that covers important terminology from this unit.

https://aerosol.chem.uci.edu/publications/Irvine/2012_Epstein_ACP_photolysis.pdf

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=55382701&site=ehost-live&scope=site

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=55382701&site=ehost-live&scope=site

https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-111979347_1