Impact of fugitive sources and meteorological parameters on vertical distribution of particulate matter over the industrial agglomeration

Environmental impact assessment of the coal yard and ambient pollution

This study investigates the vertical distribution of pollutants emitted from coal yards using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Vertical concentration measurements of black carbon (BC) and particulate matter (PM) in a range of 1 m to 100 m above ground level (AGL) in the central coal yard showed clear spatial patterns and gradients of these pollutants. In addition, measurements were taken at specific heights (1 m, 30 m AGL, and 60 m AGL) at seven locations approximately 3 km from the yard. Thirteen measurements were carried out during the non-heating period under similar weather conditions. The measured BC concentrations decreased significantly with increasing altitude, with ground-level concentrations reaching 1.88 ± 0.61 µg/m3 and decreasing by over 46% at 80 m AGL. Similarly, PM10 concentrations at 60 m AGL decreased by 21.7%, with values of 25.99 ± 9.24 µg/m3 measured near the ground level and 16.52 ± 8.31 µg/m3 at 60 m AGL. The maximum coal particle pollution from the coal depot ranges from 500 to 1,000 m. The study showed a significant decrease in BC concentrations with height above the coal yard surface. Concentrations of PM10 and PM10-TSP showed a complex distribution influenced by local emissions and long-range particle transport. Meteorological factors, especially wind speed and direction, significantly influenced the pollutant dispersion. In addition, higher pollutant concentrations were measured during dry periods than after rainfall. The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the dispersion patterns and potential impacts of coal dust, enabling the implementation of targeted mitigation strategies and improved pollution control measures.

Direct Measuring Particulate Matters in Smoke Plumes from Chimneys in a Textile Dyeing Industrial Park by a Self-Developed PM Detector on an UAV in Yangtze River Delta of China

Directly measuring particulate matters (PM) from chimneys in an industrial park is difficult due to it being hard to reach the peak heights. A self-developed PM detector on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had been deployed to directly measure the PM emissions in smoke plumes from chimneys in a textile dyeing industrial park. Compared with a commercial PM device (LD-5R, SIBATA, Kyoto, Japan), the self-developed detector showed similar performance with a good correlation (R² varying from 0.911 to 0.951) in simultaneously vertical PM measurements on UAV. The PM emissions from chimneys after different textile treating processes, including pigment printing, dyeing process, and digital printing, were investigated. PM mass concentrations and particle number concentrations (PNC) in different sizes were found to be significantly higher in pigment printing than those in dyeing process and digital printing by 2 or 3 times after electrostatic precipitation. The activated carbon adsorption and electrostatic precipitation were the major PM controlling techniques in the park. The PM mass concentrations and PNC were the highest in the process of dyeing after activated carbon adsorption with the concentrations of PM₁ (1000 μg·m^-3), PM_2.5 (1600 μg·m^-3), and PM₁₀ (2000 μg·m^-3), respectively. According to the results of PM and PNC, PM_2.5 was found to be the dominant particles accounting for 99% of the PM emissions. It may be due to the high temperature in thermo-fixing machine, which is beneficial to the PM_2.5 generation. This study revealed PM_2.5 was the dominant particles to be reduced in textile dyeing enterprises to mitigate PM pollution.

Ultra-Light Airborne Measurement System for Investigation of Urban Boundary Layer Dynamics

Winter smog episodes are a severe problem in many cities around the world. The following two mechanisms are responsible for influencing the level of pollutant concentrations: emission of pollutants from different sources and associated processes leading to formation of secondary aerosols in the atmosphere and meteorology, including advection, which is stimulated by horizontal wind, and convection, which depends on vertical air mass movements associated with boundary layer stability that are determined by vertical temperature and humidity gradients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based measurement system developed for investigation of urban boundary layer dynamics. The evaluation was done by comparing the results of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and particulate matter fraction with aerodynamic diameter below 10 μm (PM₁₀) concentration vertical profiles obtained using this system with two reference meteorological stations: Jagiellonian University Campus (JUC) and radio transmission tower (RTCN), located in the urban area of Krakow city, Southern Poland. The secondary aim of the study was to optimize data processing algorithms improving the response time of UAV sensor measurements during the ascent and descent parts of the flight mission.

Vertical Distribution of Particulates within the Near-Surface Layer of Dry Bulk Port and Influence Mechanism: A Case Study in China

Knowing the vertical distribution of ambient particulate matter (PM) will help port authorities choose the optimal dust-suppression measures to reduce PM concentrations. In this study, we used an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to assess the vertical distribution (0–120 m altitude) of PM in a dry bulk port along the Yangtze River, China. Total suspended particulates (TSP), PM10, and PM2.5 concentrations at different altitudes were measured at seven sites representing different cargo-handling sites and a background site. Variations in results across sites make it not suitable to characterize the vertical distribution of PM concentration at this port using simple representative distributions. Bulk cargo particle size, fog cannon use, and porous fence all affected the vertical distribution of TSP concentrations but had only minor impacts on PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations. Optimizing porous fence layout according to weather conditions and cargo demand at port have the most potential for mitigating PM pollution related to port operation. As ground-based stations cannot fully measure vertical PM distributions, our methods and results represent an advance in assessing the impact of port activities on air quality and can be used to determine optimal dust-suppression measures for dry bulk ports.

Optical microscopy as a new approach for characterising dust particulates in urban environment

In urban environments airborne particulates (dust) must be managed to ensure that industry and community coexist in a mutually beneficial and sustainable manner. The composition of the dust is a function of the local environment and industry. In general, there is a view by many community members that a significant proportion of inhalable (PM₁₀) and respirable (PM_2.5) dust in these environments could be coal. Thus there is a need to have an analytical method that provides a quantitative analysis of the amount and size distribution of the different particulates that can be present in air samples. Australia's national research body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has developed a Coal Grain Analysis (CGA) system that uses reflected light optical microscopy to provide a unique visual perspective, a qualitative feeling of the sample and quantitative information on the composition and size of the individual particles greater than 1 μm. Furthermore, semi-automated Optical Dust Marker software uses each individual particle's colour reflectance fingerprint to classify that particle. These markers can currently identify coal, combustion chars, iron, quartz/dark minerals, pyrite/bright materials and particulates of organic origin. This paper presents a case study performed using CGA to evaluate the dust composition and proportion of coal and other particulates and also their size distribution in samples collected in an urban area along a coal rail corridor in Newcastle (Australia). In coastal environments a significant proportion of dust can be water soluble (salt) particulates; the proportion of soluble particulates in those samples varied from 46% to 52.3%. The concentration of insoluble particles in samples varied from 5.9 to 15.5 μg m^-3 in the PM_2.5-10 fraction and from 0.4 to 0.9 μg m^-3 in the PM_1-2.5 fraction. All samples consisted predominantly of particles of organic origin (mostly plant and insect remains) - 55.3%-85.3% by mass. Dark material particles of mainly inorganic origin (low reflecting material, mainly stone dust, clay, soot, rubber and soil), combustion char and metal particles (rust and iron oxides) were present in lower concentrations - 0.0% to 19.9% by mass. The amount of coal in the water insoluble fraction of the samples ranged from 5.3% to 19.7% by mass with 2.9%-13.5% by mass of coal particles in the thoracic (2.5-10 μm) and 0.3%-1.2% by mass in the respirable (1-2.5 μm) size fraction.

Characteristics and health risk assessment of heavy metals exposure via household dust from urban area in Chengdu, China

To investigate the characteristics of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu and Ni) in household dust in urban household environment of Chengdu, China, 90 household dust samples were collected from 6 districts of the city. The information of houses and residents were also recorded during dust sampling to identify the correlations between heavy metals in household dust and the house attributes. And also the principal component analysis and cluster analysis for sources and impactor factors. The concentrations of Pb (123mg·kg^-1), Zn (675mg·kg^-1), Cu (190mg·kg^-1), Cr (82.7mg·kg^-1), Cd (2.37mg·kg^-1) and Ni (52.6mg·kg^-1) in household dust are in low or moderate levels when compare with that from other counties or areas. The heavy metals of household dust samples from Chengdu is higher concentrations than that in the street dust from Chengdu, except for Cr. Statistical analysis result showed traffic sources and corrosion of alloys are important factors contributing to the rise concentrations of heavy metals in household dust. In addition, there is negative correlation (p<0.05) between the heavy metals concentrations and floor levels. The ingestion is the important pathway for Pb, Zn, Cu and Ni via household dust exposure to the residents, and the dermal contact was identified as a main route for Cr and Cd in household dust exposure to the residents. There are minor non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks from the heavy metals in household dust for the residents in Chengdu.

Environmental management as a pillar for sustainable development

There is a growing concern about how to minimize the impact of human activities on the environment. Already nowadays, in some places adaptation efforts are needed in order to avoid the irreversibility of negative human activities. Due to climate changes, and corresponding environmental and social changes, there is a great need for a more sustainable development of mankind. Over the years, research studies that analyzed the sustainable development of different communities with a multi-disciplinary approach, stressed the necessity of preserving the environment for next generations. Therefore, responsible and conscientious management of the environment is a pillar of the sustainable development concept. This review introduction article provides an overview of the recent top scientific publications related to sustainable development that mostly originated from previous SDEWES conferences.