Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research

VoL 62, August 2003 , pp 827-833

Seasonal Variation of PMlO and SPM Levels in Ambient Air Around a Cement Plant

Rajnikant Sharma and Shamsh Pervez*

Department of Chemistry, Government. Arts and Science College, Durg 491 00 I Chhattisgarh , Indi a

Received: 19 February 2002; rev reed : 05 March 2003 ; accepted : 06 March 2003

Monitoring of PM 10 (Particulate matter, aerodynamic diameter :5: 10 11m) and SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter) levels in ambient air around a cement plant at Jamul, District-Durg, Chhattisgarh state was carried out in post-rainy, winter and summer seasons. A significant contribution of PM I 0 and SPM levels in ambient air from stack emissions has been observed. PM I 0 and SPM levels were found to be in the ranges of 84-220 ~-tg/m3 (PM I 0) and 174-473 11g/m3 (SPM) in post­rainy season; 150-480 ~-tg/m3 (PM I 0) and 551-1 120 ~-tg/m3 (SPM) in winter season; and I I 0-460 ~-tg/m3 (PM I 0) and 365-978 11g/m3 (SPM) in the summer season , respectively, in downwind direction. Smaller values of such emissions were obtained in sites of upwind direction . Ratios of PM I 0 to SPM and correlation coefficient values between PM I 0 and SPM were also workout. A positive correlation coefficient was obtained between PM I 0 and SPM. Order of occurrences of PM I 0 and SPM at downwind direction in all three seasons was winter> summer> post-rainy.

Keywords: Seasonal variation , Particulate matter, Aerodynamic diameter, Suspended particulate matter, Ambient air, Cement plant

Introduction

Severity of the particulate pollution with the exponential growth of the industries has received lot of attention worldover. Cement plant is one of the major sources of the presence of stack emitted particulate matter in ambient air. The Indian cement industry is fourth largest in the world, and by 2010, it is expected to be next only to China'. The cement production capacity increased from 30 mt in 1980 to 100 mt in 1996. The average world per capita consumption of cement was 240 kg, while India's was 71 kg1

• For a dry process cement plant of 1 000 tid capacity, the dust loss may be as high as 1000 t/d from the kiln alone2

. Crushing, grinding, handling, conveying, calcining the material in various stages of fineness are the various sources of particulate generation in the cement plants3

. The rates of dust fall in the vicinity of a slag based cement plant of production capacity 1.38 mtly and portland­pozzolana cement plant of production capacity of 0.6 mtly, at a distance of one km, were reported by earlier investigators4

'5

• Monitoring and impact of cement dust have already been reported by many researchers6

-13

.

* Author for correspondence

Dust particulate is associated with numerous health effects. Non-respirable suspended particulate matter (NRSPM) can aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma. PM I 0 can be inhaled and deposited in the pulmonary region in the respiratory system. A robust epidemiological data set associated PM I 0 with adverse health effects, include bronchitis, chronic cough, respiratory illness, and lung cancer'4-'6.

In the last decade, a review of the National Air Quality Standards has been carried out in certain countries, prompted by the results of many epidemiological studies showing .a close relationship between fine particles and health effects17

. In 1987 the monitoring of TSP (Total Suspended Particles) was replaced by PMIO (Particulate matter :::; 10 J.!m, aerodynamic diameter) measurements in the US , as a result of a review of the National Standards 18

• More recently, a new review of the air quality standards resulted in the standardization of PM 2.5 (Particulate matter:::; 2.5 f.!m, aerodynamic diameter) in addition to PMIO measurement 19

• However the PM 2.5 measurements is not an adequate methodology for monitoring the impact of primary particulate emissions on air quality, since major ambient air particles derived from these emissions are mainly in

828 1 SCI IND RES VOL 62 AUGUST 2003

the range of 2.5-10 1.1m20. Meteorological factors have

maximum influence on the diffusion and transport phase of particulate matter. The factors of most concern in the transport and diffusion of particulate matter are wind and atmospheric stabi lit / 1

•

On the bas is of above observations, it was considered useful to measure the PM I 0 and SPM levels in ambient a ir, around a cement plant. The present work covered up monitoring of PM I 0 and SPM levels in ambient air around a cement plant located at Jamul , District-Durg, Chhattisgarh State, within the area of I 0 km radius. The data so obtained were used in determining the seasonal variation of PM I 0 and SPM level s in the ambient air around the cement plant.

Open land &

villages

~' 13 .

13 ('

<'-

!2 22.

Simga

\summer

.1. !4

2. .iS

3 l.'

' N.H. 6

S.E.Railway

DURG CITY

<:~ ind Di rection

Figure not to scale.

Jj ;Zt

5

~s

1.'-1

4

BHILAI

Materials and Methods

Sampling Stations

Sampling stations, around the cement plant in selected three seasons (Post-rainy, winter, and summer for the period September 2000-June 200 I) were identified on the basis of prev10us meteorological records of wind direction and population of the study area which shows that wind direction in most of the days of post-rainy season is southwesterly, while westernly and northwesternly in summer and winter seasons, respectively. Ten sampling stations around the plant , up to a distance of 10 km, were decided for each season (Figure I and Table I) . Out of ten, stx sites were located in

N

r Hodali

8

1 !O

1!.0 9 1'

J amul H Z.'l

{.8

Z.3 U!

Jhola

..y ..v rl; ~

F·a r:n ~ n g la nd Jj

Ax -----'Y q --f'

Figure 1- Location map of sampl ing stations around the cement plant

SHARMA & PERVEZ: SEASONAL VARIATIONS OF PMIO & SPM LEVELS IN AMBIENT AIR

Table I-Discription of sampling stations arount the cement plant

Post-rainy season Summer season

Site no. Location Distance, Direction Site no. Location km

Ko~ka 3 WSW II Kurud

2 Khamria 5 WSW 12 Sirsa

3 Uri a 10 WSW 13 Ganyari

4 Supela 3 ssw 14 Kohka

5 Bhilai Nr. 5 ssw 15 Khamria

6 Borsi 10 ssw 16 Uri a

7 Khedamara 3 NNE 17 Bhilai-3

8 Birebhat 5 NNE 18 Puraina

9 Surdung 3 ENE 19 Hathkhoj

10 Mohdi 5 ENE 20 Charoda

downwind direction (Two each at the distances of 3, 5 and I 0 km) and four sites were located in the upwind direction (Two each at the distances of 3 and 5 km) from the plant. Meteorological parameters (wind direction, wind velocity, temperature, relative humidity and daily rainfall) were also recorded from local meteorological station throughout the sampling period. Percentages of wind direction measurements in selected seasons are shown in Figure 2a-c.

Sample Collection

Distance, km

3

5

10

3

5

10

3

5

3

5

a

b

c

Direction Site no.

WNW

WNW

WNW

WSW

WSW

WSW

ESE

ESE

ENE

ENE

.South-WCS1 ?)~·

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Winter season

Location

Kurud

Sirsa

Ganyari

Dhour

Basin

Boregaon

Bhilai-3

Puraina

Joratarai

Morid

Sm::th 6'Y.

Distance, km

3

5

10

3

5

10

3

5

3

5

S...""Uth-\Vest 3'Y..

829

Direction

WNW

WNW

WNW

NNW

NNW

NNW

ESE

ESE

SSE

SSE

Two sets of samplers, Respirable Dust Sampler (RDS) (Envirotech Model APM 460) and High Volume Sampler (HVS), (Envirotech Model APM 410) were used for the collection of PMIO and SPM, respectively. Each set was installed in downwind and upwind directional site at the height of I 0 ft and operated on 8 h basis round the clock (24 h) at an average flow rate of 1.1 m3/min for RDS and 1.3 m3/min for HVS 22

. Total five samples, each of PM 10 and SPM, were collected at each site on alternate days in each of three seasons (Post-rainy, summer and winter). After the completion of sampling, weights of PM! 0 and SPM which were collected on glass microfibre filters (size 8" x 10", Whatman make) having a low resistance to airflow, a low affinity for moisture and 98per cent collection efficiency for particles of 0.5 J..Lm or large size attached with Respirable Dust Sampler and High Volume Sampler, respectively, were recorded .

Figure 2- a: Wind direction in post-rainy season; b: Wind direction in winter season; c: Wind direction in summer season

830 J SCI IND RES VOL 62 AUGUST 200)

Calculation Results and Discussions

Monitoring of ambient PM I0 and SPM arounda cement plant up to a distance of 10 krn in post-rainy, summer and winter season was conducted.Significant contribution of PM I0 and SPM inambient air through cement plant emission wasobserved. Results are discussed on the basis ofgeometric mean of levels of particulate matter,since the air pollutant concentration generally followa log normal distribution. Arithmetic mean isprobably more meaningful for any exposure

The concentrations of PM 10 and SPM for eachsite were then calculated by total volume of airsampled and weights of particulate matter depositedin microfibre filters attached to RDS and HVSrespectively. Arithmetic mean and geometric mean ofeach five measurements (24 h), Pearson correlationcoefficient between PM 10 and SPM and ratios ofPM 10 to SPM, for each site, were then calculatedusing Microsoft Excel- 1997, for each season and thevalues are shown in Tables 2-4.

Table 2- PM 10 and SPM levels (ug/m3) around a cement plant in post-rainy season

Site PM 10 levels" NRSPM levels" PM IO/SPMx I00SPM levels" 'r' between r2

no. AM GM GM Per centAM AM GM PM 10 and SPM

Sites of downwind direction

9~ 92 160 151 258 240 Ol)6 o.oz 37.77

(64-123) ( 141-19X) ( IX8-310)

2 219 210 268 260 4X7 473 0.94 O.X~ 44.7X

(I X4-247) (211-301) (420-512)

3 165 153 152 147 317 312 0.95 O'JO 51.5X

(I :34-2(1) (129-184) (259-329)

4 X7 ~4 94 90 IX I 174 1.00 0.99 4XD3

(36-94) (61-121 ) (127-235)

5 227 220 21~ 207 445 439 O.X7 0.74 50.9X

(I X4-25 I) (156-241) OX6-5 I9)

(, 151 146 114 101 265 252 D')l) O.l)~ 5(1.31

(110-194) (91-139) (214-310)

Sites of upwind direction

7 57 54 146 13X 203 19.1 0.74 055 27.~O

09-X4) (95-172) (149-24 I)

62 57 101 98 163 152 0.91 OX1 37.'JO

(42-X~) (76-135) (123-210)

9 76 70 324 317 400 3X9 O.XX D.77 I ~ ..15

(45-XO) (2H4-36IJ (349-434)

ID X2 75 274 264 356 34~ 0.')(' 0.92 22.X6

(49-95) (212-323) (33 I -499)

*A vcragc of Ii ve measurements (Range of fi ve measurements arc shown in brackets)

** Location of sampling site from plant (Direction and distance)

Average rainfall during the sampling month is Nil. Wind direction during most of the days of sampling was southwesterly

Temperature recorded in the range of I I -3 10 C. Wind speed is recorded in the range of 7.5-9.5 km/h

(AM-arithmctic mean, QM-geometric mean, r- pearson correlation coefficient values)

SHARMA & PERVEZ: SEASONAL VARIATIONS OFPMIO & SPM LEVELS IN AMBIENT AIR 831

Table 3- PM I 0 and SPM levels (ug/m3) around a cement plant in summer season.

Site PM I 0 level s* NRSPM SPM levels* 'r' between r2 PM I 0/SPMx I 00

no. AM GM levels*

AM GM AM GM PMIO& SPM

Per cent

Sites of downwind direction

II

12

13

14

15

16

327

(286-351)

477

(41 0-524)

156

(I 06-1 83)

270

(243-314)

441

(389-473)

11 3

(86-146)

320

460

147

264

435

110

487

(437-529)

509

(453-558)

246

( 186-294)

526

(470-581)

546

(50 1-600)

266

(234-305)

480

500

241

518

537

260

814

(771-851)

986

(944-1050)

402

(366-450)

796

(736-846)

987

(927-1 047)

379

(322-411)

810

975

394

790

978

365

0.97

0.98

0.96

0.99

0.96

0.98

0.94 40. 12

0.96 48.37

0.92 38.85

0.98 33.80

0.92 44.62

0.96 29.55

Sites of upwind direction

17

18

19

20

80

(66-126)

87

(65-136)

75

(37-100)

91

(44-145)

78

84

70

88

237

( 176-288)

211

( 181-249)

159

( 131-189)

154

(II 0-200)

230

204

150

150

317

(279-374)

298

(213-356)

234

(171-284)

245

(196-274)

310

388

227

238

0.99 0.98 24.78

0.98 0.96 29.58

0.99 0.98 3 1.56

0.98 0.96 36.84

*Average of five measurements (Range of five measurements are shown in brackets)

** Location of sampling site from plant (Direction and distance)

Average rainfall during the sampling month is Nil. Wind direction during most of the days of sampling was westerly

Temperature recorded in the range of 18-410 C. Wind speed is recorded in the range of 8.0-11.5 krn/h

(AM-arithmetic mean, GM-geometric mean, r- pearson correlation coefficient values)

evaluation23. Following inferences were drawn from

Tables 2-4:

(i) Wind direction was southwesterly, northwesterly and westerly in the most of the days of post­rainy, winter, and summer seasons, respectively (Figure 2a-c) . Higher occurrences of PM 10 and SPM in the downwind direction compared to upwind direction were observed m all three seasons. Geometric mean values of PM I 0 and SPM levels in down wind directions were found

to be in the ranges of 84-220 Jlg/m'~ (PM I 0) and 174-473J..1.g/m3 (SPM) in post-rainy season; 150-480 Jlg/m3 (PM I 0) and 551-1120 Jlg/m1 (SPM) in winter season; and 110-460 Jlg/m3 (PM 10) and 365-978 Jlg/m3 (SPM) m the summer season, respectively

(ii) Highest concentrations of PM I 0 and SPM were found in the sites situated at 5 km distances from the plant at downwind direction in post-rainy and summer seasons, while in winter, it was

832 J SCI IND RES VOL 62 AUGUST 2003

Table 4 ~ PM 10 and SPM levels (ug/m3) around a cement plant in winter season.

Site PM I0 levels* NRSPM levels* SPM levels* 'r' between r2 PM IO/SPMx 100

no. AM GM AM GM AM GM PMIO and SPM Per cent

Sites of downwind direction

21 488 480 641 634 1129 1115 0.88 D.77 44.02

(425-523) (600-712) ( I086-1 161)

22 446 441 625 609 1071 ID59 0.98 0.% 30.70

(400-493) (575-648) (I D23-1122)

23 165 150 405 389 570 551 0.88 D.77 37.80

(I 12-210) (379-466) (526-638)

24 449 438 678 670 1127 1120 0.95 0.90 50.24

(396-501 ) (624-729) (ID64-1164)

25 351 341 651 646 1002 986 0.97 0.94 39.38

(310-389) (588-641 ) (945-1074)

26 298 280 323 320 621 618 0.99 0.98 36.31

(226-351 ) (274-371) f550-(49)

Sites of upwind direction

27 138 124 206 191 344 330 D.9Ci D.92 28.63

(101-188) (164-260) (300-395)

28 114 101 333 318 447 441 0.89 0.79 19.27

(89-146) (296-37D) (382-49D)

29 107 98 331 325 438 425 D.95 0.90 23.69

(79-162) (277-305) (378-453)

30 115 86 259 248 374 365 0.97 0.94 17.80

(86-156) (210-320) (268-420)

* Average of five measurements (Range of live measurements are shown in brackets)

** Location of sampling site from plant (Direction and distance)

Average rainfall during the sampling month is Nil. Wind direction during most of the days of sampling was northwesterly

Temperature recorded in the range of 9-160 C. Wind speed is recorded in the range of 2.5-5.5 krn/h

(AM-arithmetic mean, GM-geomelric mean, r-pearson correlation coefficient values)

found at 3 km due to lowering in temperatureand slow wind velocity".

(iii) Almost all downwind directional sites haveshown higher occurrences of PM 10 and SPMcompared to the prescribed limits for PM 10 andSPM in ambient air24. It is evident from Tables2-4 that stack emissions from the plant has givensignificant contribution of PM 10 and SPM inambient air. It is also evident from Tables 2-4,that higher average values of PM 10/SPM ratiosin the downwind direction compared to upwind

direction and values of down wind sites werefound to be in the range (per cent) of; 37.77-56.31 (post-rainy), 29.55-48.37 (summer), and36.31-50.24 (winter),

(iv) Correlation values between the levels of PM 10and SPM for each site are calculated andpresented in Tables 2-4. A good positivecorrelation has been found between PM 10 andSPM, which showed that PM 10, and SPM hassame ongm.

SHARMA & PERVEZ: SEASONAL VARIATIONS OF PMIO & SPM LEVELS IN AMBIENT AIR 833

Due to harmful health effects and excess presence of PM I 0 in ambient air, a strict control of such emissions from stacks of cement plant is required .

Acknowledgement

One of the author, R K Sharma, is grateful to Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi and Department of Chemistry, Government Arts and Science College, Durg, Chhattisgarh, for providing financial assistance and laboratory facilities .

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