A. D. Bhanarkar

Air pollution modeling for an industrial complex and model performance evaluation.

Jamshedpur, the steel city of India situated in the eastern part of India is affected by increasing air pollution levels as a result of concentrated industrial activities. The impact of NOx emissions resulting from various air pollution sources, viz. industries, vehicles and domestic, was estimated using Industrial Source Complex Short-Term gaussian dispersion model. The contribution of NOx concentration from industrial, vehicular and domestic sources was found to be 53, 40 and 7%. Further statistical analysis was carried out to evaluate the model performance by comparing measured and predicted NOx concentrations. The model performance was found good with an accuracy of about 68%.

Assessment of air pollution from small scale industry

Air pollution due to small scale industries have been found tocause serious occupational health hazards and adverse effects on vegetation and heritage. The study for air pollution impactassessment for brick kiln industries was undertaken. The stackmonitoring exercise was carried out to estimate the pollution level of SPM, SO2, and NOx. The ambient air quality was also measured in the vicinity of brick kilns to assess the impact of stack emission on ground level concentration. Characterisation of SPM for toxic metals were studied. Modelling exercise was carried to predict the impact of emission of brick kiln on surrounding environment. To minimise the emission level and ground level concentration, airpollution mitigation measures are suggested.

Heavy metals contamination in road dust in Delhi city, India

Road dust samples were collected from four different areas having different landuse patterns: industrial, heavy traffic, residential and mixed use in Delhi city of India. The samples were analyzed for Ba, Co, Cr, Cu Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn by ICP-AES. Results indicate high levels of Co, Cr, Cu, Mn and Ni in samples collected from industrial area. Ba, Pb and Zn showed higher concentration levels in heavy traffic area while Fe did not show any discernible variation between the localities. The concentrations of Fe, Mn, Ba, Zn, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and Co showed a decreasing trend. The content of heavy metals was comparable to those in other cities in the world. A multivariate statistical approach which includes Pearson’s correlations and principal component analysis was used to identify the possible sources of metals in the road dust. Enrichment factors were estimated for further confirming the sources of contamination. Significant positively correlations between road dust metals Cu–Mn–Co–Cr–Ni suggest that major common source of origin is industrial activities. A meaningful correlation between Ba and Zn, and a moderate positive correlation between Pb and Ba indicate the influence of traffic activities. Enrichment factors calculation indicated that Pb, Cu, Cr and Zn are moderately enriched whereas Co, Ni and Mn are less enriched while Ba exhibited very low enrichment in the dust samples. The results indicate that industrial and vehicular traffic are the two major sources. Traffic appears to be responsible for the high levels of Zn, Cu and Ba. High concentration of Co, Cr, Cu and Mn may be due to industrial sources.

Concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at an oil refinery

This study measured and analysed individual volatile organic compounds (VOCs), total hydrocarbon and total VOCs at an oil refinery. Measurements were taken at various workplace locations, of the ambient air and at some off‐site facilities such as its gantry terminals, ETP and tank farms. The study also identified certain pollutants that are difficult to measure routinely but could give an indication of their presence in a refinery. The VOCs were sampled using charcoal adsorption tubes and desorbed using a thermal desorption technique. The samples were subsequently analysed by Varian 2200 GC/MS system. The 8‐h average concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes ranged between 23.48–113.05, 18.70–72.54, 2.91–9.80 and 5.83–27.64 µg/m3, respectively. Alongside substituted benzenes, such as 135 and 124, trimethylbenzenes and naphthalene were also detected. The total hydrocarbon ranged between 5.0–13.8 ppm and the NMHC was in the range of 2.2–9.0 ppm. The study indicates the concentration of fugitive emissions of VOCs in the refinery and its utilities.

Characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in fugitive PM10 emissions from an integrated iron and steel plant

Fugitive emissions of PM10 (particles <10μm in diameter) and associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were monitored in the vicinity of coking unit, sintering unit, blast furnace and steel manufacturing unit in an integrated iron and steel plant situated in India. Concentrations of PM10, PM10-bound total PAHs, benzo (a) pyrene, carcinogenic PAHs and combustion PAHs were found to be highest around the sintering unit. Concentrations of 3-ring and 4-ring PAHs were recorded to be highest in the coking unit whereas 5-and 6-ring PAHs were found to be highest in other units. The following indicatory PAHs were identified: indeno (1,2,3-cd) pyrene, dibenzo (a,h) anthracene, benzo (k) fluoranthene in blast furnace unit; indeno (1,2,3-cd) pyrene, dibenzo (a,h) anthracene, chrysene in sintering unit; Anthracene, fluoranthene, chrysene in coking unit and acenaphthene, fluoranthene, fluorene in steel making unit. Total-BaP-TEQ (Total BaP toxic equivalent quotient) and BaP-MEQ (Total BaP mutagenic equivalent quotient) concentration levels ranged from 2.4 to 231.7ng/m(3) and 1.9 to 175.8ng/m(3), respectively. BaP and DbA (dibenzo (a,h) anthracene) contribution to total-BaP-TEQ was found to be the highest.

Assessment Of Impacts Of A Fossil Fuel Based Power Plant

Prediction of air pollution impacts of a proposed fossil fuel-based power plant has been made using meteorological data, information on stack characteristics and emission rate, baseline air quality and validated model condition. It is observed that under normal operation, the emission rate of SO 2 and NO 2 is significant, while under a worst case scenario, the SPM emission rate is significant. It has been predicted that 24-hr average SO 2 , NO 2 and SPM concentrations due to proposed plant in normal operation would be around 38 w g/m 3 , 40 w g/m 3 and less than 1 w g/m 3 , respectively, beyond the site boundary. The total 24-hr average SPM concentration under the worst case beyond site boundary would be below the national air quality standard for SPM in a mixed industrial area. Therefore, the impact of proposed power plant on local air quality would be acceptable. However, the implementation of a green belt comprising various tree spacies which will act as dust attenuators around the site boundary alongwith efficient control measures at source would efficiently mitigate and minimised pollution impacts from the proposed power plant.