Solutions to Outdoor Air pollution

Summarizes ways to reduce emissions of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter from stationary sources such as electric power plants and industrial plants that burn coal. Until recently, most of the emphasis has been on dispersing the pollutants with tall smokestack, or on adding equipment that removes some of the prticulate pollutants after they are produced. Under the sulfur reduction requirment of the cean air arct of 1990. More utilities are switching to low-sulfur coal to reduce SO₂ emissions.Emviromntalists call for taxes on air pollutant emissions and greater emphases on prevention methods.

Some ways to reduce emissions from motor vehicles, the primary culprits in producing photochemical smog.catalytic converters that reduces automotive airpollutants are not as effective as we think. When the car’s accelerator is held down (as for passing), the sensors that maintant the chemical balance needed forthe catalystto work are bypassed,and emission rates increase sharphy.

(Figure) solutions , four commonly used methods for removing particulates fromthe exhaust gases of electric power and industrial plants. Of these, only baghouses filters emove many of the more hazardous line particies. All the methods produce hazardous materials that must be disposed of sately and except for cyclone separators all of them are exspensive. The wet scrubber is alsoused toreduce sulfur dioxide emissions.