WO1990011433A1

WO1990011433A1 - A system reducing air, water and soil pollution

Info

Publication number: WO1990011433A1
Application number: PCT/AU1989/000150
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wladyslaw Fedorowicz
Original assignee: Wladyslaw Fedorowicz
Priority date: 1989-03-20
Filing date: 1989-04-07
Publication date: 1990-10-04
Also published as: HU906016D0

Abstract

Systems for the removal of pollutants/contaminants from effluent gases and/or the atmosphere by combinations of particulate screenings, water/steam scrubbing of oxides of sulfur, oxygen mediated combustion of flammable gases and catalytic conversion. Three specific systems are disclosed for the cleaning of: (i) flue and stack gas fumes, (ii) atmospheric air (on a large scale), (iii) exhaust fumes from motorized vehicles (automobiles, aeroplanes etc.).

Description

A S y s t e m

S e d u c i n g A i r , W a t e r a n d S o i l P o l l u t i o n

This invention represents a system reducing infestation of the air, water and soil by poisonous wastes released to the atmosphere by combustion outlets in thousands of residential chimneys and industrial smokestacks around the world. Of all the commercial substances released to the atmosphere, about 200 of them have been identified as possibly carcinogenic. (Carcinogenic Asβesment groupformed in 1976).

To preserve the constant ecological stability of the troposphere and the vitally protective stratosphere, it is imperative to recognize and control all sources of destructive infestation, released incessantly by man-made industrial installations. The burning of fossil fuels produces a variety of potentially harmful gases, such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxi de and nitrogen oxides. As a result of the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, more than a half billion metric tons of aerosols enter the atmosphere each year.

The most abundant is carbon dioxide, which is vital to all plant life, but the addition of industrial carbon dioxide to the natural supply may have long term effects on the global climate.

The gas plays an important role in a process called-g r e e n h o u s e e f f e c t because it tends to reflect heat back towards the Earths surface, that would otherwise escape into space. Too much carbon dioxide could cause a world wide warming trend.

In comparaison of historical levels of CO₂ we find an increase of 27% since the mid-10th century. CO₂ holds heat close to the Earth, so the greenhouse effect is not just a wild idea, but basic physics.

The greenhouse effect, with a potential for altering climate, melting the polar caps and raising ocean levels can be called as one of the most serious medium and long term environmental issues.

The most significant thing noticed in the past few years has faeen the increase in other "greenhouse gas"- methane and the chlorofluorocarbons.

As a result of the known causes of global contamination by various pollutants it is necessary to expose the most dangerous chemicals and their sources of emission. in order to prevent a future catastrophic disasters.

The following list of chemicals and the sources of their emissions are hereby classified, to emphasize tne magnitude of contaminating substances. 1. Arsenic-As- from coal and oil furnaces,glass manufacturing (lung cancer)

2. Cadmium-Cd-from smelters,burning waste,coal and oil furnaces (damages

kidneys,lungs,weakens bones)

3. Carbon monoxide-CO-motor vehicles,coal and oil furnaces,smelters,steel

plants(damages heart)

Hydrogen chloride-HCl- from incinerators(irritates eyes,lungs)

5. Mercury -Hg-from coal and oil furnaces.smelters(causes tremors,behavioral problems)

6. Nitric acid-HNO ₃- formed from NO₂- a major component of acid rain(respiratory ailments)

7. Nitrous acid-HONO-formed from NO₂-and water vapor s(respiratory ailments) 8. Nitric oxide- NO- from motor vehicles, coal and oil furneces,rdadily

oxidized to NO₂.

9. Nitrogen dioxide-NO₂-formed from NO produces ozone(causes bronchitis,

lower resistance to influenza) .

10. Sulfur dioxide -SO₂- from coal and oil furn_aces,smelters(obstruct breathing irritates eyes)

11. Sulfuric acid-H₂SO₄- formed in sunlight from solfur dioxide and hydroxyl ions (respiratory ailments)

12. Nickel-Ni- from smelters, coal and oil furnaces (high exposuremay cause

lung cancer)

13. Hydroxyl radical-OH- formed in sunlight from hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxid

(reacts with other gases to form acid droplets) . 1 4. OzoneO₃- formed in sunlight from nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons(irritates eyes, aggravates asthma) .

15. Lead-Pb- from motor vehicles, smelters(causes brain damage , high blood

pressure impairs growth)

16. Benzene-C₆H₆ -from refineries, motor vehicles(long exposure may cause

leukemia) .

17. Chlorine-Cl₂- from chemical industries, form HCl (irritates mucus membrane) 18. Formaldehyde -HCHO- from motor vehicles, chemical plants(irritates eyes, nose) 19. Peroxyacetyl nitrate-p AN- formed in sunlight from nitrogen oxides and hydro carbon (irritates eyes, aggravates asthma) .

To reduce poisonous chemicals in the atmosphere it would be desirable to cut back the use of fossil fuels, a measure not having much acceptance in

industrialized countries. As a result of careful examination of the above list, it is obvious that all outlets spreading wastes of fossil fuels, oils and chemical poisons, are the culprits of disastrous consequences, hanging over unsuspecting victims in each area of the Globe. The forms of man-made pollutants most often trapped by inversion are gases and tiny airborne particles or droplets referred to as aerosols. The basic ingredient of an inversion is the presence of a warm layer of air aloft that prevents the surface air and the pollution it containes from rising.

It is those in the middle range, such as sulfates, nitrates and soot, that are most dangerous because they often lodge in the minute passages of the lungs aggravating bronchial disorders.

However the volume of man-made gases entering the atmosphere every year is almost 10 times that of aerosols.

Considering well known causes of contamination by multiple pollutants, it is necessary to name the most endemic chemicals and their sources of emission in order to prevent future catastrophic global disasters.

C a r b o n d i o x i d e -CO₂-fossil fuels vital to all plant life but the addition of industrial carbon dioxide to the natural supply may have long term effects on the global climate.

S u l f u r d i o x i d e - SO₂- and SO₃- are the major pollutants emanating from industrial plents, coal. oil furnaces and smelters.lt has been the most trouble seme during last several centuries, because of the large scale burning of oil and coal,espacially since the industrial revolution. (The combustion of 10 tons of bituminous coal produces a ton of sulfur dioxide) .

When sulfur dioxide mixes with water in fog or rain-it forms sulfuric acid an extremely corrosive and irritating liquid, which can eat steel, dissolve limestone and marble or affect delicate human tissue.

S m o g -probably holds more than 30 impurities- the most damaging are sulfur dioxide gases, along with hydrofluric acid-HF-(corrosive volatile liquid, used for etching glass and as a condensing agent in chemical syntheses such as alkylation) a by-product of iron or smelters.

N i t r i c a c i d -UNO,- formed from NO₂- is a major component of acid rain. A colorless and mildly toxic reddish gas, when in the troposphere reacts with ultraviolet rays from the sun. Heat is absorbed by the nitrogen dioxide moleβules, which causes oxygen atoms to break loose from each molecule and thereby recreate the nitric oxide gas.

Meanwhile , the stray oxygen atoms join with a common two atom oxygen molecule in the air to form the three atom ozone molecule . A c i d r a i n a composition of two familiar fossil fuels by-products- sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. Apart from these compounds, many other windborne contaminants afflict destruction on distant and unsuspecting victims. Tall smokestacks disperse the pollutants to alleviate some local problems, but it spreads the waste products to previously uncontaminated areas.

F r e o n - chlorofluorocarbon-used in most cans, the aerosol spray was classified as a threat to the ozone layer. Harmless to humans, it does not react with other substances when released into the air. It than rises unchanged through the troposphere and arrives intact in the stratosphere, where it is exposed to ultraviolet Light.

Here it splits into constituent atomic parts and attacks ozonemolecules.

O z o n e d e s t r u c t i o n .

I n t h e u p p e r atmosphere ultraviolet light breaks off a chlorine atom from a chlorofluoro carbon molecule. (1)

The chlorine attacks an ozone molecule, breaking it apart. (2)

An ordinary oxygen molecule and a molecule of chlorine monoxide are forme d(3) After a free oxygen atom breakes up the chlorine monoxide, the chlorine is free to begin the process again. (2)

L e a d - P B - is a noxious substance from car exhaust recently removed from lead-free petrol. Lead particles can be harmful, be cause when inhaled they enter the blood stream and rupture red blood cells, and also damage cells in the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system.

They can also cause brain damage in children.

C ar b o n m o n o x i d e -CO- from motor vehicles, coal and oil furnaces, smelter and steel plants, when it combines with _some of the haemoglobin in the human bloodstream it prevents the blood. transporting oxygen.

High concentrations can present a serious health hazard.

C a r b o n , A s h , M e r c u r y , L e a d particles.

Targe particles may remain in the air for only a few second, but others includinglead and smoke particles can stay aloft for weeks-some times rain brings them down, somwtimes by gravity alone, but mostly the windborne particles are deposited by impact when they collide with trees, buildings, hills and other topographic features. The sulfates, nitrates and soot, are most dangerous, because they often lodge in the minute air passages of the lungs, causing bronchial disorders and may possibly generate serious illnesses.

N i t r o u s o x i d e - NO₂- as long as five years after it leaves the ground may fially reach altitudes of 13 miles and above where it is broken apart by the same ultraviolet radiation that creates ozone.

The resulting fragments called -radicals-attack and destroy more ozone molecules. Another ozone killer is m e t h a n e , a carbon hydrogen compound produced by microbes in swamps, rice paddies and the intestines of sheep, cattle and termites, which are responsible for as much as 50% of total atmospheric me than, because they produce enormous amounts of gas as they digest woody vegetation. A single termite mound can emit five litres of methane a minute.

The methane escapes into the atmosphere not only to destroy ozone but also acts as a greenhouse gas- in its own right.

If ozone depletion in the Antarctic is an isolated phenomenon or a warning indicator of increasing rate of progressing ozone destruction worldwide ,it is imperative to curb fossil emissions-carbon dioxidemsulfur dioxide- trioxide, chlorine oxides, chlorofluorocarbons and many others without any delay.

O z o n e is a form of oxygen that rarely occurs naturally in the cool layer of the troposphere.lt is created when ordinary oxygen molecule -O₂- are bombarded with solar ultraviolet rays, usually in the stratosphere .

The radiation shatters the oxygen molecules, and some of the oxygen atoms recombine with -O₂- to form-O₃-.

This configuration can efficiently absorb ultraviolet light. In doing so ozone protects oxygen in lower altitudes from being broken up and keeps most of these harmful rays from penetrating to the Earth surface.

The energy of the absorbed radiation heats up the ozone, creating warm layers high in the stratosphere, that act as a cap on the turbulant troposphere below. Ozone molecules are constantly being made , but they can be destroyed by any numoer of chemical processes, for example by regular injections of nitrogen bearing compound(nitrous oxide ) in the stratosphere ,

The gas produced by microbes and fossil fuel combustion rides the rising air currents to the top of the troposphere. Forced higher still by the tremendous upward push of tropi cal storms, it finally drifts slowly into the stratosphere. Nitrogen is quite unreactive at room temperature , although nitrogen atoms are a component of many compounds. The lack of reactivity of molecular nitrogen can be attributed to the very strong triple bond between the atoms in nitrogen molecules. Nitrogen is an essential constituent of all plant and animal tissue in a compound called p r o t e i n .

C l i m a t o l o g i s t s have noted an increase in mean global temperature of about 1°F since the turn of the century-within the range predicted if the greenhouse effects is on the rise.

Scientists expect any excess greenhouse warming to be disguised for some time by the enormous heat absorbing capacity of the world' s oceans, which have more than 40 times the absorption capacity of the entire atmosphere.

To reduce air pollution from combustion sources it is necessary for authorities to place restrictions on fuel composition, including implementation of sokeless zones and to limit the sulfur content of oil and coal.

The main attribute of this invention are functional filters and the hot combustion channels removing dust, hard particles and toxic substances from the incoming fumes and gases.

The particles toosmall to be removed through glass or cellulosic fibres, can be removed through filters made of an activated carbon Kjaterial which absorbs the contaminating gas particles.

In order to establish a life preserving system, all outlets of combustion furnaces pumping thousands tons of chemicals into the air, water, soil and human bodies must be controlled by the proposed collectors, separators and final treatment pro cesses. Useful compounds could be extracted and recycled to aid food production and create a growing food supply to be rationally distributed between human and other creatures.

Global ecological symbiosis became endangered by overproduction of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide-trioxide and nitrogen dioxide with nitric oxide, all recognized as by-products of fossil fuel combustion.

The accumulation of all these compounds is responsible for the present problems facing the world i.e . the g r e e n h o u s e e f f e c t a n d a c i d r a i n . The accumulation of the highly corrosive and irritating sulfur oxides is an increasing serious problems as they form various concentrations of sulfuric acids. This, of course , is responsible for steel structures being literally eaten away together with the erosion of limestone and marble monuments. The most important problem though is the affect on human tissue . A p p l i c a t i o n o f this invented pollution treatment system.

1. Manufacturing Complexes.

As an attachment to an industrial chimneys and smokestacks and any other outlets to the atmosphere.

2. Mining Installations

As a means of extracting toxic gases from all working and operating areas and ensure that there are no hydrocarbons gas accumulations which would cause explosions or loss of human life.

3. Street.

In order to treat the toxic fumes present in our cities enabling people to live healthier lives with a decreasing need for health services.

4. Motor Vehicles/Shipping/Diesel Trains and Motor transporters/Aircraft.

The system is designed in a modular form and can therefore be utilized in most situations in consideration of size,space,climitic capacity,weight and resource availability.

5. Domestic.

The system, as described above can be applied to any house design, at a reasonable cost ensuring that clean air is all that is emitted from house chimneys.lt is a safe,reliable system which could be installed by domestic tradesman.

6. Chemical.

A further application is in event of chemical warfare the treatment process can be used quickly and efficiently to clear the air of toxic chemicals.

Claims

T h e C l a i m s , defining the invention are as follows:

1. A system illustrated in Drawing 1 represents the technical components used above or beside any combustion outlet for removal of hard particles, dust, soot, oil, wood and other chemical material

2. The fumes enter the stage of extraction by centrifugal action or

pressurized air, to separate hard particles, sulfur dioxide, nitric and carbon oxides together with other toxic substances.

It takes place when fumes passing the filters made from wire-mesh layers with inserted aluminium oxide, cha- coal, metal oxides, catalytic converters-platinum catalyst(in some cases) spread thinly over a porous ceramic support.

Iron oxide would be used for carbon dioxide-monoxide conversion.

cobalt molybdate would convert sulfur to hydrogen sulphide and remove it from various gases.

Copper and Zinc oxides with alumina used for low temperature carbon dioxide conversion.

3. Wire-mesh separators with various inserted catalysts will extrude sulfur oxides formed by penetrating water steam-vapors.

4. Special combustion chambers built with fire resistant clay-ceramic channels are heated by Bunsen burners enhanced with oxygen injection active along the high convection columns, will burn out carbon dioxide-monoxide, nitric oxides because of high temperature in each column. This and the other types of burners can be made to operate many inflammable gases-such as natural gas, bu tan oilgas, acetylene -C₂H₂- prepared by the action of water and calcium carbide.

5. The wire-mesh extractors with chosen types of catalysts inserted

between the layers, will reduce and remove remaining pollutants through the side outlets.

6. In the section above a single, double or triple combustion chamber any flow of remaining gases will pass by horizontal and vertical filters with sandwitched catalysts, be fore they reach tπe air above the chimney.

7. This system will purify infested air above the streets, parks, recreation reserves, churches, hosρitals,universi ties, schools, factories, food storage and essential mate rials, as it is pointed in drawing 2.

It will combat poisonous gases during the chemical warfare.

8. A mobile units installed in chimneys, ventiletors and incinerators will reduce poisonous smog, haze and foul smells in the air.

9. The same system could be utilized in mnines, underground sewerage systems and communication links between continents.

10. The effect of thousands diesel engines and other generators spreading tons of carbon-dioxide-monoxide, sulfur oxides, dust, soot and smog, could be completely eredicated by using mobile units attadhed to the respective exhaust systems.