Air, Water, Drinking Water or Breathing, Drinking & Swimming

CE3501, Fall 2005

Air Quality Engineering

Introduction, andA Case Study (Acidic Deposition)

Air Quality Engineering: What is it?

Goal: • Control air pollutant emissions so that

impacts on– human health,– structures and crops, aesthetics, – ecosystem health, and– the atmosphere/climate system

are minimized, or are acceptable.

Air Quality Engineering: What is it?

Components: • Scientific understanding of the atmosphere:

– What determines air composition?– How do pollutants move, react?

• Understanding of the sources of air pollutionPollutant sources: who, where, control options.

Natural processes that interact.•Application of control techniques.

Acid Rain: History• 1872: Robert Angus Smith, “Air and

Rain: The Beginnings of a Chemical Climatology”:– Used the term “Acid Rain” – Studied rain composition around

Manchester, England: “that with carbonate or ammonia in the fields at

a distance, that with sulfate of ammonia in the suburbs and that with sulphuric acid or acid sulphate, in the town.”

History: Is it still a problem?• Coal contains S

– S + O2 --> SO2.– “Smog” (SMoke + fOG): SO2 and particles:

• London, 1952: 4000 deaths.• London, 1962: 700 deaths.• Denora, Pennsylvania, 1948: 20 deaths.• U.S., 1996, 15,000-45,000 premature deaths.

– To reduce SO2 concentrations:• Reduce emissions, or• Dilute and disperse the emissions.

Solution:Tall Stacks

Smelter at Sudbury, Ontario

1/2 km smokestack

Dilution is the Solution to Pollution

Map of Rainfall pH

Effects on Streams & Lakes

•Bulger et al., Univ. Virginia, Report for Trout Unlimited, June, 1998.

Buffer Capacity of Virginia Watersheds

> 50 ueq/L

20-50 ueq/L

0-20 ueq/L<0 ueq/L

Effects on Statues

U.S. Geological Survey

Emission Sources

• Sources: Most from utilities, industrial boilers.

National Science and Technology Council, National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program Biennial Report to Congress: An Integrated Assessment, May 1998.

Emission Control Options

• Change the fuel: – Coal S content ranges from <1 to >3%.– Oil – S content < 1%;– Natural gas – negligible S content

• Clean the exhaust.– Must clean a lot of gas: 1000 MW => 3 million cubic feet/minute

Limestone Scrubber

Air Pollution Control: A Design Approach, Cooper and Alley, 1994.

Note size of

cars

Spray: H2O + CaCO3

Reactions:Absorb SO2,

SO2+CaCO3

--> CaSO3 + CO2

Issues:•Mass transfer•Chemistry•Material balance•Energy balance

Regulations to Reduce EmissionsTwo Options:

• “Command and Control:” Set emission limits for each plant

• Emission Trading: Selected in 1990 Clean Air Act amendments.– Plants receive “allowances” that can

be traded.– Should be more efficient ($/ton)

Methods Used

Rainfall: Change in H+

J. Lynch et al., USGS, Open-File Report 96-0346, Trends in Precipitation Chemistry in the United States, 1983-94…

Learn More: • Faculty and instructors (Civ. & Env. Eng.):

– Prof. Richard Honrath– Prof. Kurt Paterson– Prof. Judith Perlinger

• Courses (Civ. & Env. Eng.)– CE4505: Air Quality Science and Engineering– CE5506: Air Quality Modeling– CE5505: Atmospheric Chemistry– CE5590: Applied Boundary Layer Meteorology

• Related Courses and Programs– Remote Sensing Institute.– Atmospheric Science: Meteorology, atmos. physics:

Physics, Geological Eng. & Sciences.– Atmosphere/biosphere interactions: Forestry

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/spain/segovia/aqueduct/aqueduct.html

Contributing authors include Prof. D.W.Hand

Offerings at MTU Topic Faculty CoursesWater Treatment Dr. D.Hand CE4507 - Wastewater Collection & Water Distribution

Dr. N. Hutzler CE4508 – Water & Wastewater Treatment and Design CE4509 – Environmental Process Simulation CE5501 – Environmental Process Engineering CE5503 – Physical-chemical Treatment Processes

Water Resources Dr. D. Watkins CE3620 – Water Resources EngineeringDr. B. Barkdoll CE4610 – Systems Analysis

CE4620 – Open Channel Flow CE4630 – Hydraulic StructuresGeoHydrology Dr. J.Gierke GE3850 - Geohydrology

Dr. A.Mayer GE4800 – Groundwater EngineeringWater Quality Dr. M.Auer CE4505 – Surface Water Quality Engineering

Dr. N.Urban CE5504 – Surface Water Quality Modeling CE5508 – Biogeochemistry

Engineering of unit processes, pipes, pumps, distribution systems, …

Employment Opportunities:

• Municipalities• Consulting firms (large and small)• Large, water treatment and supply firms• International Aid agencies• Graduate school, research

International Space Station WaterProcessor

Drs. David W. Hand & John C. Crittenden

AWWA Government Affairs What Water Utilities Can Do to Minimize Public Exposure to Cryptosporidium in Drinking Water

Byproduct of water-disinfection process found to be highly toxicJim Barlow, Life Sciences Editor217-333-5802; jebarlow@uiuc.edu9/14/04

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A recently discovered disinfection byproduct (DBP) found in U.S. drinking water treated with chloramines is the most toxic ever found, says a scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign…

               Water QualityNEW! 4/09/01 - Compassionate Environmentalists Warn President Bush: Test the Water at Your RanchSierra Club Blasts Decision to Withdraw Protections for Drinking WaterArsenic in Water Causes CancerMarch 20, 2001

Walkerton criminal charges met with anger

WALKERTON REPORT•Full Story (Part 2) •Full Story (Part 1) •Excerpts from report •Statement by Mike Harris

•Chronology of Events •Key Players •Collected Walkerton Letters •Walkerton Columns

WALKERTON -- At a news conference marked by angry outbursts from residents, Ontario Provincial Police announced yesterday they have charged the two brothers at the centre of the Walkerton tainted water tragedy. Stan Koebel, manager of the Walkerton Public Utilities Commission when the E. coli disaster hit in 2000, faces seven criminal charges. His brother, Frank, PUC foreman at the time, faces five criminal charges. Seven people died and more than 2,000 were sickened by E. coli contamination of Walkerton's water system in May 2000.

Excerpted from Canada Online (Canoe)http://canadaonline.about.com/od/walkerton/

PROTECTING ONTARIO’S DRINKING WATER:TOWARD A WATERSHED-BASED

SOURCE PROTECTION PLANNING FRAMEWORK

Advisory Committee on Watershed-based Source Protection Planning

Final ReportApril 2003

Surface Water Quality EngineeringSurface Water Quality Engineering

Surface Water QualitySurface Water QualityEngineeringEngineering

Definition: the application of scientific principles to the study of water quality in rivers, lakes and reservoirs and to the development of engineered works for the protection, remediation, and restoration of those systems.

• Transportation• Power

• Water supply• Waste disposal• Recreation• Aesthetics

Beneficial UsesBeneficial Uses

Scientists and engineers are typically sought for assistance when ‘beneficial uses’ are impaired

• Oxygen• Turbidity• Pathogens• Toxics• Taste and Odor• Exotic Species• pH• Color

Beneficial Use ImpairmentBeneficial Use Impairment

What types of human activities might lead to these ‘beneficial use’ impairments?

Surface Water Quality:Surface Water Quality:The Regulatory BasisThe Regulatory Basis

Clean Water Act of 1972 (since amended)• NPDES: permitting system• TMDLs: watershed loads

Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (since amended)• MCLs: 1 and 2 for organics, metals, etc.• SWTR: coliforms, protozoans, turbidity, DBPs

Limnology: Limnology: The Science of Surface WatersThe Science of Surface Waters

CiscoLake Trout

Sculpin

ZooplanktonBenthic Invertebrates

Phytoplankton

WhitefishCisco

Lake Trout

Sculpin

ZooplanktonZooplanktonBenthic Invertebrates

Phytoplankton

Whitefish

Plug Flow Reactor(rivers)

Surface Water Quality Surface Water Quality ModelingModeling

C Cout ink t exp

Reactor Analogs

Completely MixedFlow Reactor (lakes)

C Ckoutin

1

• Watershed protection• Point source controls• In-lake control actions

– Aeration– Biomanipulation– Dredging

Surface Water QualitySurface Water QualityManagementManagement

These are some of the scientific and engineering approaches used to manage water quality.

Case Study - Lake HuronCase Study - Lake HuronCladophora is a green algae which grows attached to solid substrate in the nearshore waters of the Great Lakes. Excessive phosphorus discharges to the lakes has led to nuisance growths of the alga, leading to beachfront deposition, with subsequent decay and loss of beneficial uses. We worked with U.S. EPA to determine the level of phosphorus control required to eliminate nuisance growth and implemented a demonstration project of P-removal at the Harbor Beach, Michigan wastewater treatment plant. The project led to elimination of nuisance conditions at the adjacent beach areas on Lake Huron.

Case Study - Green BayCase Study - Green BayGreen Bay is highly polluted due to the discharge of agricultural runoff and treated waste effluents from municipal and industrial sources. A marked gradient in water quality exists between the mouth of the Fox River and the boundary with Lake Michigan near Escanaba. Under a grant from U.S. EPA, we quantified pollutant inputs to the bay and studied their subsequent fate and transport. We developed a mathematical model which demonstrated the response of water quality conditions in the may to changes in the discharge of pollutants from the Fox River.

Case Study - Onondaga LakeCase Study - Onondaga LakeFor more than 100 years, Onondaga Lake has received the municipal and industrial waste discharges of the city of Syracuse, NY. The lake has been identified in the Congressional Record as the most polluted lake in the U.S. Since 1986, we have worked with Upstate Freshwater Institute in exploring options for lake cleanup, including advanced treatment at the 125 million gallon per day Syracuse Metropolitan Treatment Plant (METRO) and diversion of the METRO effluent to the adjoining Seneca River.

Case Study - NYC ReservoirsCase Study - NYC Reservoirs

The New York City drinking water supply system is composed of 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes located in southeastern upstate New York. The system has a usable capacity of 580 billion gallons and supplies an average of 1.4 billion gallons per day to 9 million people. Since 1992, we have been working with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection to assure a high quality source water despite increasing land use and pollution pressures in the watershed.

Case Study - Lake SuperiorCase Study - Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest lake in the world by surface area and the most pristine of the Great Lakes. It is also the least well known of these precious resources. Because of its relatively undeveloped watershed, most pollutants reach the lake from the atmosphere. Under grants from the National Science Foundation and the Michigan Great Lakes Protection Fund, we have been working to better understand how pollutants reaching the lake are transported from site to site and cycled within the food web.

Case Study: Lake Sempach, Switzerland

Lake Sempach is a deep, pre-alpine lake in the heart of lush farmlands in Switzerland. Agricultural runoff and sewage inputs caused severe eutrophication of the lake. Building tertiary sewage treatment plants was not enough to solve the problem, and in-lake treatment (aeration) also was ineffective. This situation has led the Swiss government to pass legislation stating that farmers cannot apply more fertilizer to the land than the land can absorb. We studied the processes in the sediments that promoted internal recycling of nutrients and exacerbated the eutrophication problem.

Case Study: Little Rock Lake, WI

Little Rock Lake, near Rhinelander, WI, is a seepage lake situated in glacial outwash sands. Such lakes have very little capacity to neutralize acid rain. This lake was divided in two with an artificial curtain, and one half was experimentally acidified for six years and then allowed to recover in order to study the effects of acid rain on lakes. We studied the processes in the lake that neutralize acid inputs and that determine the rate at which this lake is acidified.

Case Study: Torch Lake, MITorch Lake is a Superfund site on the Keweenaw Peninsula that had 20% of its volume filled with mine tailings (stamp sands). Trace metals have leached from these mine residues and reached toxic concentrations particularly in the sediments. The U.S.EPA elected not to remediate the lake because of the expense involved. However, our work has shown that the time required for the lake to recover on its own is a few hundred years. Senior design classes have examined the feasibility of capping the sediments of the lake to hasten its recovery.

Case Study: Torch Lake, MITorch Lake is a Superfund site on the Keweenaw Peninsula that had 20% of its volume filled with mine tailings (stamp sands). Trace metals have leached from these mine residues and reached toxic concentrations particularly in the sediments. The U.S.EPA elected not to remediate the lake because of the expense involved. However, our work has shown that the time required for the lake to recover on its own is a few hundred years. Senior design classes have examined the feasibility of capping the sediments of the lake to hasten its recovery.

• CE3610 - Hydrology• CE4505 - Surface Water Quality Engineering• CE5504 - Surface Water Quality Modeling• CE5508 - Biogeochemistry

• BL4451 - Aquatic Ecology• FW4220 - Wetlands

CourseworkCoursework

Students have the option of building a ‘concentration’ in surface water quality as part of the B.S. in Environmental Engineering at Michigan Tech.

• Government (NYC DEP, MPCA, U.S. EPA)• Industry (Detroit Edison, Kodak, GM)• Consulting (Limno-Tech, Hydroqual, Earthtech)• Graduate Study & Research (MTU, UFI, NOAA)

EmploymentEmployment

Check out the web pages of these organizations for professional opportunities.

WHAT IS UNIQUE?

W O R LD W A T ER S U PPLY

SALT W ATER (97.1% )

FRESHW ATER (2.9% )

ICE CAPS (78% )G round water (21% )

SURFACE W ATER (~1% )

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A fricanR iftLakes

S m alle r Lakes

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Gre

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The problem(s):• >20% of world’s population lacks safe drinking water;• Major rivers (Nile, Yellow R., Colorado R.) run dry

before reaching the ocean;• Water tables dropping in major food producing regions

(U.S. Great Plain, Chinese northern plain, India);• Lack of water is major constraint to industrial and

socioeconomic growth (China, India, Indonesia);• By 2025 two thirds (2/3) of world population will live in

water-stressed regions.

SUSTAINABILTY • Preserve limited water supplies;• Watershed or source protection;• Air pollutants move into aquatic systems;• Groundwater pollutants affect surface waters;

• Interconnections;• Population growth;• Lifestyles, culture;• Science, engineering, policy;• Economics, social science, …