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Team Draft





WEEK 6: COURSE PROJECT: TEAM DRAFT

Abstract

Air pollution has become one of the most harmful pollutions in the world today. Technology is being used to generate various solutions to solving air pollution through science. Air ionization and chemical reactions are the two main solutions discussed here in. Additional preventive measures against air pollution also have been determined and discussed in the paper. These measures include using renewable energy in industries and at home to reduce the volume of toxic gases emitted into the air and strict adherence to government mitigation policies. The paper concludes that air pollution is harmful to human health and the ecosystem and the smog towers have been proven to be effective preventive measures.

Keywords: Air pollution, technology, scientific innovation, ionization, toxic gases

Contents

Abstract 2

Ethical Discussion on the Smog Tower and Direct Air Capture as Air Pollution Solutions 5

Air Pollution 5

Possibility of Correcting Air Pollution 6

Preventive Solutions 7

Smog Tower/Air Ionization 8

Direct Air Capture 10

Science and Technology 11

Air ionization 12

Aufero air purifying system 12

Chemical reaction 13

Direct Air Capture 13

Ethical Considerations 14

Hassan’s doc here. 14

Potential Drawbacks 14

Construction Pollution 15

Construction Dust 15

Diesel 15

Noxious vapors 15

Materials Waste 15

Noise 16

Water 16

Financial Burden 16

Location 17

Conclusions 18

References 20

Ethical Discussion on the Smog Tower and Direct Air Capture as Air Pollution Solutions

Smog towers are a burgeoning technology which show promise in becoming a part in the solution to air pollution because they offer a way to clean the air post pollution, allowing society to take the time it needs to transition to a zero-carbon footprint and allowing industries that can not achieve that goal an option to clean the pollution they make. Air pollution is a global issue that creates many concerns for public health, both now and for future generations. “Approximately 82 million people nationwide lived in counties with pollution levels above the primary NAAQS in 2019.” (Overview of the Clean Air Act and Air Pollution, 2020) Society needs to work towards a solution that can prevent future pollution and clean up current pollution. This is not an easy task and will be very costly. “In 2019, about 70 million tons of pollution were emitted into the atmosphere in the United States.” (Overview of the Clean Air Act and Air Pollution, 2020) Solutions need to include considerations for cost and funding, land resourcing and public health and safety. Government, corporations, and public citizens will need to work together to make any solution viable.

Air Pollution

Air pollution refers to the emission of toxic gases into the atmosphere, which is harmful to human health and ecosystems. Air pollution is caused by the use of unclean energy at home and in prominent industries, leading to the emission of these toxic gases. Also, the industries emit releases gases without purifying them to prevent pollution of the atmosphere. Air pollution, therefore, is caused by the emission of carbon dioxide gas and methane gases into the atmosphere, which causes an increase in temperatures across the globe. When the heat increases, there is a formation of smog in the atmosphere, causing radiation to the planet. Air pollution can cause severe damage to human health, including heart diseases, lung cancer, and fatal respiratory diseases. It can also lead to global warming and climate change resulting from increased temperatures on the planet. Technology today has made it possible for scientists to develop ways in which air pollution can be prevented and contained by taking advantage of scientific innovations. These innovations include the use of chemical reactions to trap air pollutants from the atmosphere. Using renewable energy sources has reduced air pollution in high percentages because there are fewer toxic gasses emitted. Today's renewable source includes solar energy, wind energy, and hydroelectric energy, which provides complete combustion of toxic gases.

Possibility of Correcting Air Pollution

            Using relatively new innovative solutions, a significant opportunity exists in regard 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). 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.

Preventive Solutions

            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).

Smog Tower/Air Ionization

            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

            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.  

Science and Technology

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.

Air ionization

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.

Aufero air purifying system

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)

Hello, You would only have to do the file "Task To Do" with MS word, the other file was for you to see what i I have done past couple of weeks. So  for this task I would need to write 2 pages of self 1

(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.

Chemical reaction

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

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.

Ethical Considerations

Both technologies have possibilities in a long-term solution but require some ethical consideration. The Smog Tower, though beautiful by design, only effectively cleans air in a 10-meter radius. To be able to make significant impact, the devices, in current form, would need to be installed in massive numbers. If the design could be scaled up, it may become a more impactful solution. The DAC process developed by Carbon Engineering can remove large amounts of carbon from the air but requires a high amount of heat to produce the necessary chemical reactions. Suggestions have been made to attach DAC facilities to other production industries that have heat as a by-product to help reduce energy costs. In any air pollution solution, careful consideration of energy, land and water use will be needed to inform siting and to minimize resource impacts.

Hassan’s doc here. Potential Drawbacks

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 Pollution

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

Construction Dust

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.

Diesel

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.

Noxious vapors

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.

Materials Waste

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

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

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.

Financial Burden

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, could 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.

Location

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.

Conclusions

“Since 1990 there has been approximately a 50% decline emissions of key air pollutants.” (Overview of the Clean Air Act and Air Pollution, 2020) According to the EPA, the national average of air pollution in the United States is declining. The policies put in place by the Clean Air act appear to be working to help reduce the amount of toxins being released into the air. However, the amount of pollution in the air is still high. This continues to lead to poor health and higher rates of death among the population. There is still a need for solutions that will help pull pollutants from the air. Technologies such as smog towers and DAC hold a place in the long-term solutions necessary to bring our world back into balance. It will take involvement from the government and corporations, working together to make these solutions a reality. The government will need to be the ethical balance by creating policies and regulations to facilitate proper land use, as well as making sure the new facilities are not going to impose upon the citizens that live and work near them. Corporations should actively look at placing smog towers and DAC facilities on or near their businesses to help mitigate any pollution they might not be able to mitigate or to supply energy to with their heat byproduct. It has taken a long time to reach the place society is at now, and it will take time to find the way to a zero-carbon footprint. Smog towers and DAC technology is the solution to continue to clean air pollution while society transitions.

References

(n.d.). Retrieved from Smog Free Tower: https://www.studioroosegaarde.net/project/smog-free-tower

(2020, November 30). Retrieved from Overview of the Clean Air Act and Air Pollution: https://www.epa.gov/clean-air-act-overview

(2021). Retrieved from ENS Clean Air: https://www.ens-cleanair.com/en/

Air pollution and its effects on the immune system. (2020, May 1). Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 151, 56-68. doi:j.freeradbiomed.2020.01.179

Babadjouni, R. M., Hodisa, D. M., Radwanskia, R., Durazo, R., Patel, A., Liu, Q., & Mack, W. J. (2017, September). Clinical effects of air pollution on the central nervous system; a review. JOurnal of CLinical Neuroscience, 43, 16-24. doi:j.jocn.2017.04.028

Cardiovascular effects of air pollution. (2017, November). Archives of Cardiovascular Diseases, 110(11), 634-642. doi:j.acvd.2017.05.003

Chandramouli, K., Pannirselvam, N., Kumar, D., Avuthu, S., & Anitha, V. (2019). A Study on Smog Filtering Tower. Journal of Advanced Cement & Concrete, 2.

Cherif, A. H. (2008). Foundations of Modern Biology and Chemistry. Pearson Learning Solutions.

Hamanaka, R. B., & Mutlu, G. M. (2018). Particulate Matter Air Pollution: Effects on the Cardiovascular System. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 680. doi:10.3389/fendo.2018.00680

Jenniskens, D. G. (2017). Case study: Smog Free Tower (measurements in an urban environment). Cuijk: Environmental Nano Solutions. Retrieved from https://cdn.archilovers.com/projects/06505a46-61e1-4d28-a371-aa1ce924d3a4.pdf

Jiang, S.-Y., Ma, A., & Ramachandran, S. (2018, September 28). Negative Air Ions and Their Effects on Human Health and Air Quality Improvement. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(10), 2966. doi:10.3390/ijms19102966

Mackenzie, J. (2016, November 1). Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know. Retrieved from Natural Resources Defense Council: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/air-pollution-everything-you-need-know#sec1

Mannucci, P. M., & Franchini, M. (2017, September 12). Health Effects of Ambient Air Pollution in Developing Countries. International Journal of ENvironmental Research and Public Health, 1048. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/9/1048

Swain, F. (2021, March 11). The device that reverses CO2 emissions. Retrieved 03 21, 2021, from www.BBC.com: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210310-the-trillion-dollar-plan-to-capture-co2