Add to favorites

#Industry News

What causes air pollution?

The excess of pollutants in the atmosphere brings consequences and harmful effects for the environment and for people’s health.

Air pollution is a reality. The excess of pollutants in the atmosphere brings consequences and harmful effects for the environment and for people’s health. The greenhouse effect, acid rain and global warming are just some examples of the negative effects of air pollution, which affects our health and mortality rates worldwide.

But what causes air pollution? We can summarize the main causes of air pollution as follows:

Fuel combustion

When coal and oil are burned, they generate gases that are toxic to the environment. When combustion is carried out on a large scale, the problem is aggravated. This is the case of industries, which carry out large-scale combustion to develop their activity. As a result, we see the growing concern of society and industries themselves to seek solutions for these emissions.

Apart from oil and coal, there are industrial sectors that emit dangerous gases. That is the case of companies related to chemical activities such as painting processes, pharmaceuticals, coatings, adhesives, etc.

The lack of control of these emissions can lead to an environmental disaster. Both international regulations and local legislation require companies to implement toxic gas emission management systems. Thus we will be avoiding that many gases such as methane, ozone, carbon dioxide or nitrogen dioxide are released into the air without any control.

Vehicles and other transports

Vehicles and other transports emit carbon dioxide during operation. On a day-to-day basis, the sum of all these emissions generates high levels of air pollution. Worldwide, transport emits up to 25% of the total carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere.

In the European Union, the share of vehicle emissions is 30%. However, if we take into account the whole process of manufacturing, infrastructure, maintenance and distribution of those vehicles, the emissions share can reach 50%.

Therefore, owners of vehicles and transport companies are responsible, but also the automobile and logistics industry, who need to manage the entire production and sales process. Correct management of emissions from the manufacturing plants would mean a significant reduction in toxic gases in the environment.

Livestock and agriculture

The agricultural and livestock sector is an economic activity that also contributes to air pollution. According to the latest methane emission studies, cattle and sheep farming account for almost a quarter of all methane emissions on the planet.

All livestock produce approx. 115 million tonnes of methane gas per year. This amount is due to the number of cows or sheep but also due to a poor and excessively chemical diet. As in all other polluting actions, the solution to this problem can be technology. The idea is to replace traditional farming procedures with more ecological alternatives.

At its turn, agriculture brings pollution to the air as well. In this case, the gases cusually ome from the use of agrochemical agents, pesticides and insecticides.

Uncontrolled burning of waste

Waste management is one of society’s major problems. The location of garbage dumps is a problem for the inhabitants and the towns where they are placed. Dumpsters collect a wide variety of household waste. They contain organic waste such as food, paper and cardboard, and inorganic waste such as plastics, glass and metals. Among the latter, there are some hazardous materials such as pesticide containers, batteries, fluorescents, etc.

The burning of garbage emits 4 toxic gases: Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH), Nitrous Oxide (N2O) and Halocarbons. If they are not eliminated properly, these gases remain in the atmosphere for months to years. And if they remain in the atmosphere, they will affect the environment for sure.

To avoid the uncontrolled burning of waste, it is necessary and mandatory to correctly eliminate waste and the gases generated. There are technology solutions for the treatment of both the waste and the gases, thus avoiding their free emission into the atmosphere.

At Tecam Group we develop technological solutions for the treatment and management of pollutant air emissions generated by industrial activities. It is up to all of us to reduce the negative impact of human activities on the environment.

Details

  • Carrer Tramuntana, 13, 08213 Polinyà, Barcelona, Spain
  • Tecam

    Products associated