Hello, I need help on the existing assignment that im currently working on, The part that I need to add more details on are : Abstract, Introduction and Conclusion. Document is attached

WEEK 6: COURSE PROJECT: TEAM DRAFT

Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees

DeVry University, LAS432

Abstract

The abstract should be one paragraph of between 150 and 250 words. It is not indented. Section titles, such as the word Abstract above, are not considered headings so they don’t use bold heading format. Instead, use the Section Title style. This style automatically starts your section on a new page, so you don’t have to add page breaks. (To see your document with pagination, on the View tab, click Reading View.) Note that all text styles for this template are available on the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Styles gallery.

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The body of your paper uses a half-inch first line indent and is double-spaced. APA style provides for up to five heading levels, shown in the paragraphs that follow. Note that the word Introduction should not be used as an initial heading, as it’s assumed that your paper begins with an introduction.

The global society is facing a difficult situation in air pollution. Many aspects of daily life generate pollution, making fast and significant change nearly impossible. Air pollution particles are microscopic in size and permeate the air in massive amounts. Today’s advances in technology allow us the ability to take advantage of science to generate some creative solutions to the issue of air pollution.

Particle ionization is one solution that has presented interesting results. An ion is “an atom or group of atoms having an electrical charge because of a loss or gain of electrons.” (Cherif, 2008) “When enough energy is introduced, an electron jumps from one air molecule to another.” (Jiang, Ma, & Ramachandran, 2018) This basic science concept can be utilized to turn pollutants into ions and then draw them from the air by providing an opposing electrical charge for them to be attracted to.

The Smog Tower developed by designer Daan Roosegaarde uses a technology from ENS Clean Air, called the Aufero air purifying system. ENS Clean Air is a company that is taking advantage of ionization. The Aufero does not use the traditional filters to clean air, instead it provides a positive charge to the air as it is pulled into the device. The positively charged particles in the air are drawn down to a negatively charged plate in the bottom of the chamber. (ENS Clean Air, 2021)

(Cherif, 2008)

Because the particles have adhered to the plate, clean air flows out of the chamber, leaving dust on the plate. This dust can easily be collected from the plate and removed. This form of air purification uses significantly less energy than its more popular filter forms.

Another basic principle of science is chemical reactions. Chemical reaction is the process in which two or more reactants are combine and form a new substance. These reactions often require energy and produce heat, as well as the compound, as by products. (Cherif, 2008)

Direct Air Capture or DAC is an air pollution technology that uses chemical reactions to pull pollution particles, specifically carbon, from the air. This process can be engineered in many ways and can lead to vastly different ethical concerns. One such way has been developed by Carbon Engineering. (Swain, 2021) Carbon Engineering has designed a system that uses fans to draw polluted air across a filter containing potassium chloride, or potash. The potash reacts with the carbon in the air and creates a liquid compound that is then filtered through calcium hydroxide, or builder’s lime. The flake by products are then heated to release the CO2 into a storage container. The potash and builder’s lime return to their previous states and can be reused in the process. This creates a closed reaction system or no waste products.

            Using relative new innovative solutions, a significant opportunity exists in regards to correcting air pollution. As a matter of consensus, the world is experiencing a climate change problem that is directly linked to excess carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere (Swain, 2021). However, a correction of air pollution has not been overly feasible using the available tools due to the complexity of the air pollution phenomenon. The underlying problem is that “most carbon capture focuses on cleaning emissions at the source: scrubbers and filters on smokestacks that prevent harmful gases reaching the atmosphere. But this is impractical for small, numerous point sources like the planet's billion or so automobiles. Nor can it address the CO2 that is already in the air,” (Swain 2021). It is against this background we argue for several possible air pollution solutions like the use of smog tower and direct air capture (DAC) as tools to deal with this global menace. For instance, with DAC as a solution, it is argued that you can remove virtually any emission, anytime, and anywhere, making it a powerful tool for correcting air pollution (Swain, 2021). On the other hand, a smog tower is air purifier that can clean air within a certain radius to facilitate a clean air delivery within its location (Anand, 2020). Despite its shortcomings, the smog tower is gaining currency over most air pollution correction solutions because its output seems to be significant for a possibility of correcting air pollution to exist.

            Several preventive solutions exist when it comes to correcting air pollution. Reducing pollution by way of creating energy creation and usage policies tops the list of these preventive solutions. Examples of some planned climate-change mitigation policies include more efficient use of fossil fuels for electricity generation and industrial processes, increasing fuel efficiency of automobiles, switching to renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind, increasing forest cover, and enhancing nuclear power and carbon sequestration (Sierra-Vargas & Teran, 2012). Other policies may include drafting relatively strict policies to curb construction dust and embracing accelerated adoption of electric vehicle (EV) buses that can reduce transport dust by a significant margin. The adoption of electric vehicles is a move in the right direction in preventing carbon emissions. For instance, the US Environmental Protection Agency has already confirmed that adopting mitigating strategies like making changes to diesel engine technology would result in fewer fatalities due to reduced particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3) pollution, which remain a concern in the air pollution debate (Sierra-Vargas & Teran, 2012). Moreover, policies promoting some strategies, such as avoiding cooking with solid fuels, ventilating, as well as ventilating and isolating cooking areas can go a long way in preventing air pollution (Carlsten et al., 2020).

            It is noteworthy to state from the onset that it is in the after pollution solutions where air pollution smog tower finds its greatest use. A typical smog tower is just a 20 feet high air purifier that can clean up the air with a radius of between 100 and 500 meters and has a clean air delivery rate of 20 to 30 million cubic meters of air per day (Anand, 2020). Smog towers are credited to the effective removal of particulate matter that comprises PM2.5 (Anand, 2020). Some critics argue that the smog tower does not remove smog, but the whole matter seems controversial (Anand, 2020). Smog is visible air pollution, which is a mixture of smoke and fog (Anand, 2020). For instance, India successfully implemented the use of smog towers in a 2019 pilot, but still, researchers claimed that it was impossible to vacuum the country’s air pollution using smog towers. It is claimed that air pollution is dynamic where the air is moving at speed without any static boundaries (Guttikunda & Jawahar, 2020). Second, they also claim that polluted air comprises a complex mixture of chemical compounds constantly forming and transforming into other compounds (Guttikunda & Jawahar, 2020). However, since not all air pollution can be prevented at the source, the significance of smog tower cannot be underestimated. 

            Smog tower uses an air ionization mechanism to correct air pollution. The smog tower is a specially designed large-scale air purifier fitted with multiple layers of air filters which remove pollutants from the air as it passes through them to release clean air (Explained Desk, 2020). A smog tower reduces approximately 90 % of airborne matter. For instance, a smog tower at India’s Lajpat Nagar has a capacity of treating approximately 6,000,000 cubic meters of air daily and collects more than 75 % of particulate matter, that is, PM2.5 and PM10 (Explained Desk, 2020). The smog towers utilize carbon nanofibres as a major component and will be fitted along its peripheries which help to reduce the particulate load from polluted air (Explained Desk, 2020). In essence, the air particles removed become dust that is no longer airborne, something that also reduces the associated water pollution. The effectiveness of using smog towers to remove particulate matter in the air is unquestionable. In China, for example, a smog tower designed by revered Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde has been able to compress the carbon waste generated during purification to produce gemstones (Explained Desk, 2020). Great potential for using smog towers to correct air pollution exists based on the success smog towers have had in both India and China and the same results can be replicated in the U.S. 

            Smog towers even if they do not completely clean smog, can help the U.S to reduce bad air pollution even if it is by reducing particulate matter to have results like the ones recorded in China and India. For instance, the biggest world smog tower is located in China’s Xi city and it is reported to have decreased PM2.5 by 19 % in an area of close to 6 square kilometers within its vicinity (Explained Desk, 2020). The 100-meter tall tower has so far produced 10 million cubic meters of clean air every day since its installation in the city. On a heavily polluted day, the smog tower is capable of reducing smog to moderate levels (Explained Desk, 2020). Therefore, smog towers based on their outcomes can be used in the US as an alternative to large-scale direct air capture solutions.

            Direct air capture (DAC) is another after pollution correction solution that deals large- scale pollution removal to the tune of 1 million tons annually, and can serve as a substitute for smog towers. With direct air capture, it is possible to remove any kind of emission anywhere and anytime (Swain 2021). DAC is a powerful and appropriate tool in correcting air pollution because it is not possible to capture all carbon emission and excess CO2 at the source and that is where DAC comes in (Swain 2021). DAC technologies are costly and more efficient than smog towers in that they utilize a closed reaction system that does not produce waste materials. Besides, the CO2 removed from air aided by DAC has several uses. First, the CO2 can be sold to companies in the oil industry. For instance, Occidental Petroleum utilizes 50 million tons of CO2 annually in its efforts to undertake its enhanced oil recovery (Swain 2021). Consequently, the company has partnered with Carbon Engineering to install a DAC in Texas to enjoy tax credits of about $225 per ton of CO2 (Swain 2021). Secondly, CO2 obtained from DAC plants can be used to pressurize underground drilling caverns. Third, the CO2 can also be returned to underground oil fields and through sequestering fresh oil with fewer carbon emissions forms (Swain 2021). However, due to the high-cost outlay to build DAC plants, their effectiveness notwithstanding, smog towers are relatively cheaper hence their continued use as possible solution in the process of correcting air pollution is almost given.  

As the old saying goes, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” While smog towers present a means of purifying air during their operation, they may also have potentially negative impacts on the world.

Construction sites generally produce pollution during the construction of a structure. Construction produces pollution in several ways.

The most common materials used by builders during construction include concrete, cement, wood, stone, and silica. Most of those materials are prone to releasing large volumes of dust. That dust can disperse over a wide area. Construction contributes to windblown dust problems because that dust can remain in the air for days or weeks.

Machinery and vehicles used on construction sites generally rely on diesel as a fuel. Burning diesel releases particulate matter and gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons.

During construction, many hazardous chemicals are used which release noxious vapors that add to air pollution. Chemical products such as paint, thinners, wood treatments, oil, glue, cleaners, plastics, and other commonly used items all release vapors.

Many materials also go to waste on a construction site. Often, wood, concrete, paint, papers, and plastics are wasted. Producing these materials is an indirect contributor to pollution as well.

Noise pollution is a temporary problem associated with construction. However, because smog towers would generally be intended to operate within densely populated areas, noise pollution has the potential to affect many people.

Water pollution can occur at a construction site when chemicals or other debris run-off into the ground or a waterway. If chemicals seep into the ground, they can still eventually find their way into the water supply. This could happen if they seep down through the ground, to the water table below. This could be potentially lethal if the nearby area uses well water as a supply for drinking.

Like any structure, a smog tower would require a financial outlay for the cost of construction and continued maintenance throughout its lifetime. The question must be asked, cold those funds be put to better use elsewhere? Without detailed financial information for the construction and maintenance of a smog tower, the alternative uses for its funding can only be generally conceptualized.

Perhaps the funds used to construct a smog tower might instead be used at the sources of pollution, to fund improvements in manufacturing. Another alternative could be to use those funds to pay for enforcement of higher regulatory standards.

As a smog tower is intended to operate within a densely populated area, the location of the towers will play a vital role in their effectiveness. Lacking good peer-reviewed sources on the area of effectiveness of a smog tower, one must assume that the area will be limited. This would mean that multiple towers would need to be constructed within a city, for instance. This presents a logistical problem.

Most cities don’t have an abundance of empty land for use with these towers. As such, to construct a smog tower, land would need to be cleared. That would mean demolishing an existing structure—which comes with its own pollution effects—or using existing parkland. Using existing parkland would seem to be counter-productive, as that parkland should already naturally generate similar effects to a smog tower. So that leaves the option of demolishing existing structures.

In some urban areas, there may be some opportunities for removing unused or under-used structures. But more likely, existing structures will be actively used in some manner. Removing them could present many issues, from the previously mentioned demolition pollution to community backlash against removal of historic or meaningful structures to charges of economic racism.

The sheer number of smog towers that would need to be built to negate the effects of smog pollution in a city would mean that it is inevitable that these location issues will crop up.

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