ENVS805 Air & Water Quality
Air Quality exercise
Due: 13 September 2018; 6pm through iLearn
You should give the workout details for every calculation. Scan of hand writing is
acceptable. Final answer without the detailed explanation of the calculations will
be assumed as wrong answer.
1. In maximum 500 words summarise all of the effects from emissions of SO2
and NOx to the environment. (3 mark)
2. Using the NPI database determine the total emissions of benzene for electricity
generation for the last 8 years, and:
– provide linear and best fit polynomial regression analysis (0.5 mark)
– determine the mean value and standard deviation (0.5 mark)
– draw a boxplot for the time series (0.5 mark)
– provide up to 100 words summary of the results (1 mark)
For the overall benzene emissions in Australia:
– determine the 5 major diffuse sources and 5 major industrial sources of
emissions of benzene in Australia (0.5 marks)
– 5 major facilities and their % contribution to national emissions of benzene.
With a sentence or two describe the major activity of each industry (1 mark)
– In 200 words describe the impacts of benzene on local and regional air quality
(1.5 mark)
3. In maximum 300 words describe how primary and secondary PM is formed
and what are the potential sources of each type (natural and anthropogenic). (2
marks)
4. Determine the overall Air Quality Index for Sydney east, Sydney north-east and
Sydney south-west accounting for the readings from the 12 air monitoring
stations located around Sydney:
Explain how the index was calculated (1 mark)
5. An urban location has VOC at 1.8 ppmC, while the NO2 concentration is 0.05
ppm.
(a) Determine the concentration of ozone in this urban airshed (0.5 mark).
(b) In 300 words discuss the VOC and NOx emission sources and summarise how
to reduce the tropospheric ozone by at least 20% (1 mark).
6. How do local, regional and global meteorology and atmospheric structure
affect air quality dispersion? (300 words) (2 marks)
Pollutants Ozone Nitrogen Visibility Carbon Sulfur Particles
O3 dioxide NEPH monoxide dioxide PM10
NO2 CO SO2
pphm pphm Bsp ppm ppm µg/m3

Averaging Periods 1-hour 1-hour 1-hour 8-hour 1-hour 24-hour
average average average average average average
Sydney
east
Rozelle 1.7 1.8 0.17 0.1 0.08 32.1
Lindfield 1.3 5.1 0.02 0.12 0.07 38.4
Earlwood 1.9 5.3 0.2 0.5 0.05 33.1
Sydney
northwest
Richmond 1 7.2 0.21 0.4 0.03 29.3
St Marys 0.6 4.5 0.18 0.4 0.07 31.2
Vineyard 1.8 7 0.13 0.2 0.01 29.3
Prospect 2.1 7.1 0.05 0.1 0.05 29.5
Sydney
southwest
Bargo 1.8 6.4 0.32 1.1 0.01 30.1
Bringelly 2.2 5.4 0.18 1.2 0.06 28.7
Liverpool 2.1 3.8 0.18 0.1 0.09 51.2
Macarthur 2.3 6.1 0.21 0.3 0.01 44.1
Oakdale 2.4 7.1 0.23 1.4 0.03 47.2
7. A proposed rural power plant will burn coal with SO2 stack emissions of 55.5
g/s. The effluent gases will be emitted from a 45 metres high stack with a
diameter of 1.3 metres at a temperature of 110oC and an exit velocity of 8 m/s.
The conditions are strong incoming solar radiation during the day with surface
wind speed of 5.2 m/s, temperature 25oC and at atmospheric pressure.
Calculate:
i) Wind speed at stack height (1 mark)
ii) Plume rise (1 mark)
iv) Ground level concentration of SO2 at 1 km downwind direction (1.5 marks)
v) Ground level concentration of SO2 at 3 km downwind and 300 m height (1.5
mark)