I have taught this one-semester course (E1458) for the first time during my sabbatical leave at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, c/o Prof. G. Q. (Max) Lu. It is a problem-based, collaborative learning course taken by seniors and/or graduate students. The objective is to synthesize relevant knowledge in chemistry, physics, thermodynamics, kinetics, transport phenomena and elementary economics and thus gain both fundamental and practical insights into the science and technology of air pollution control.
Note: Some of the material presented here requires that you be able to open Mathematica notebooks. If you don't have the Mathematica software, you can download MathReader from www.wolfram.com/mathreader.
CONTENTS:
1. Brief introduction to clean air legislation/politics.
2. The atmosphere: from air pollution to global warming.
3. Acid rain: removal of NOx and SOx.
4. Smog: removal of CO, particulates and VOCs.
The class is divided into five groups. Each group works on four tasks which progress from the more general toward the more specific issues.
Task 1 is designed to teach students how to communicate with politicians and the general public. It answers the following two basic, though often overlooked questions: What exactly is the issue? Why is it important?
Tasks 2 and 3 are designed to show the students how to integrate their textbook knowledge and to demonstrate that the solution to real-world problems requires a synthesis of compartmentalized information.
Task 4 is designed to show the students how to apply their textbook knowledge to solve a selected real-world problem in sufficient detail and with some authority.
Task 1: Collect and analyze statistical data on worldwide, regional and/or local emissions of sulfur oxides.
Task 2: Discuss the thermodynamics and kinetics of SOx formation and removal.
Task 3: Analyze the elementary economics of sulfur removal before, during and after fuel combustion.
Task 4: Study the design of a flue gas desulfurization process.
Task 1: Collect and analyze statistical data on worldwide, regional and/or local emissions of nitrogen oxides.
Task 2a: Describe the NO2 photolytic cycle and its relevance in smog formation.
Task 2b: Discuss the thermodynamics of NO to NO2 conversion.
Task 3: Discuss thermal NOx vs. fuel NOx using the Zeldovich mechanism of thermal NOx formation.
Task 4: Study the design of a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) control technology.
Task 1: Collect and analyze statistical data on worldwide, regional and/or local emissions of CO and CO2.
Task 2: Describe the role of CO in smog formation and compare it with that of NOx and VOCs.
Task 3: Discuss the nature of the relationship between CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere and global warming.
Task 4: Study the design of a catalytic converter in automobiles.
Task 1: Collect and analyze statistical data on worldwide, regional and/or local emissions of particulate matter.
Task 2a: Describe the dynamics of particles in fluids.
Task 2b: Discuss the concept of particle collection efficiency.
Task 3: Analyze PM removal in cyclones, filters and scrubbers.
Task 4: Study the design of an electrostatic precipitator.
Task 1: Collect and analyze statistical data on worldwide, regional and/or local emissions of volatile organic compounds.
Task 2: Summarize the fundamental issues in combustion/incineration of hydrocarbons.
Task 3: Discuss the design of an incinerator of VOCs.
Task 4: Study the design of an adsorption system for VOC removal and recovery.
The entire class meets once a week. Each group meets with the instructor at least once a week. Daily contact by e-mail is encouraged, both among classmates and with the instructor. Most of the workload consists in preparing written reports and oral presentations for each one of the tasks. The goal here is to implement the idea that the best way to learn is to teach. Together with the lectures and permanently updated web pages, the oral presentations and the instructor-annotated written reports are the principal learning tools for the entire class. These are supplemented by detailed readings from the following textbooks:
"Process Engineering and Design for Air Pollution Control," by J. Benítez, PTR Prentice-Hall, 1993.
"Air Pollution Control Engineering," by N. de Nevers, McGraw-Hill, 1995.
"Earth Under Siege: From Air Pollution to Global Change," by R. P. Turco, Oxford University Press, 1997.
"Air Pollution: Its Origin and Control," by K. Wark, C. F. Warner and W. T. Davis, Addison-Wesley, 1998.
Course evaluation is based on the following formula:
-Task 1 progress report: 10% (7% written and 3% oral)
-Task 2 progress report: 15% (10% written and 5% oral)
-Task 3 progress report: 20% (12% written and 8% oral)
-Final report: 35% (20% written and 15% oral)
-Comprehensive final exam (open-book): 20%
Here is a sample final exam and a summary of its solution.
Note: Each group is a team and is thus assigned collective 'baseline' grades for the reports and the presentations. However, the final grade assignments are individual; they are based on peer evaluation of individual contributions to the team. After the completion of every task, the students are asked to evaluate their teammates on the following scale: 1-above average; 2-average; 3-below average.
lrr3@psu.edu (revised 11/25/98)