• Advances in environmental research
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• 제4권4호
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• pp.219-231
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• 2015

In recent years, raising air pollutants has become as a big concern, especially in metropolitan cities such as Tehran. Therefore, forecasting the level of pollutants plays a significant role in air quality management. One of the forecasting tools that can be used is an artificial neural network which is able to model the complicated process of air pollution. In this study, we applied two different methods of artificial neural networks, the Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Radial Basis Function (RBF), to predict the hourly air concentrations of toluene in Tehran. Hourly temperature, wind speed, humidity and $NO_x$ were selected as inputs. Both methods had acceptable results; however, the RBF neural network produced better results. The coefficient of determination ($R^2$) between the observed and predicted data was 0.9642 and 0.99 for MLP and RBF neural networks, respectively. The results of the mean bias errors (MBE) were 0.00 and -0.014 for RBF and MLP, respectively which indicate the adequacy of the models. The index of agreement (IA) between the observed and predicted data was 0.999 and 0.994 in the RBF and the MLP, respectively which indicates the efficiency of the models. Finally, sensitivity analysis related to the MLP neural network determined that temperature was the most significant factor in air concentration of toluene in Tehran which may be due to the volatile nature of toluene.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.147-162
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• 2020

The main objective of this study is to estimate the levels of pollution to which the community is presently exposed and to model the regimes of local air quality. Diurnal, daily, and monthly variations of NO, NO₂, SO₂, and O₃ were thoroughly investigated in three areas; namely, residential, industrial, and terminal in Ras Al-Khafji. There is obvious diurnal variation in the concentration of these pollutants that clearly follows the diurnal variation of atmospheric temperature and main anthropogenic and industrial activities. Correlation analysis showed that meteorological conditions play a vital role in shaping the pattern and transportation of air pollutants and photochemical processes affecting O₃ formation and destruction. Bivariate polar plots, an effective graphical tool that utilizes air pollutant concentrations' dependence on wind speed and wind direction, were used to identify prevailing emission sources. Non-buoyant ground-level sources like domestic heating and street transport emissions, various industrial stacks, and airport-related activities were considered dominant emission sources in observatory sites. This study offers valuable and detailed information on the status of air quality, which has considerable, quantifiable, and important public health benefits.

• 분석과학
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• 제8권4호
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• pp.731-738
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• 1995

Toxic air pollutants are investigated in a petrochemical industrial park in Taiwan by using a movable open path FTIR. The results show the qualitative and quantitative analysis of emission gases from plants, and also provide the emission rate of different compounds. More than twenty compounds under usual operation are found from this industrial park. The concentration variation with time can be correlated exactly with wind direction. It means that by changing the measuring points, the source of emission can be unambiguously identified. An EPA proved PAL model is applied to estimate the emission rate of either a point or an area source. Local atmospheric stability is determined by releasing the $SF_6$ tracer. The origins of errors come mainly from the uncertainty of source's configuration and the variation of meteorological condition. Through the continuous measurement (half an hour base in this study) of OP-FTIR sensor, the maximum value of emission rate and the annual amount of emission can be derived. The emission rate of the measured toxic gases are derived by the model technique and the results show that the emission amount are in the order of ten to hundred tons per year.

• 한국환경과학회지
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• 제16권6호
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• pp.715-723
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• 2007

The air pollutant emission is mainly caused by line sources in urban area. For example, the annually totaled air pollutant emission is known to consist of about 80% of line sources in Daegu. Hence, the appropriate assessment on the air pollutants of line sources is very important for the atmospheric environmental management in urban area. In this study, we made a comparative study to evaluate suitable dispersion model for estimating the air pollution from line sources. Two air pollution dispersion models, ISCST3 and CALINE4 were the subject of this study. The results were as follows; In the assessment of air pollution model, ISCST3 was found to have 4 times higher concentration than CALINE4. In addition, actual data obtained by measurement and estimated values by CALINE4 were generally identical. The air pollution assessment based on ISC3 model produced significantly lower values than actual data. The air pollution levels estimated by ISCST3 were very low in comparison with the observational values.

• 대기
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• 제24권3호
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• pp.331-341
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• 2014

In this study, the effects of building-roof cooling on scalar dispersion in three-dimensional street canyons are investigated using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. For this, surface temperature of building roof is systematically changed and non-reactive pollutants are released from street bottom in urban street canyons with the aspect ratio of 1. The characteristics of flow, air temperature, and non-reactive pollutant dispersion in the control experiment are analyzed first. Then, the effects of building-roof cooling are investigated by comparing the results with those in the control experiment. In the control experiment, a portal vortex which is a secondary flow induced by ambient air flow is formed in each street canyon. Averaged air temperature is higher inside the street canyon than in both sides of the street canyon, because warmer air is coming into the street canyon from the roof level. However, air temperature near the street bottom is lower inside the street canyon due to the inflow of cooler air from both sides of the street canyon. As building-roof temperature decreases, wind speed at the roof level increases and portal vortex becomes intensified (that is, downdraft, reverse flow, and updraft becomes stronger). Building-roof cooling contributes to the reduction of average concentration of the non-reactive pollutants and average air temperature in the street canyon. The results imply that building-roof cooling has positive effects on improvement of thermal environment and air quality in urban areas.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• 제12권3호
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• pp.204-214
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• 2018

Indoor air quality was investigated in homes and daycares located in areas with heavy traffic in Seoul, South Korea from November 2013 to January 2014. Indoor and outdoor air quality measurements were collected for 48 hours in four children's homes and daycare centers. The I/O ratio (Indoor to outdoor ratio) for each major air pollutant ($NO_2$, black carbon, $PM_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$) was calculated, and $NO_2$ and $PM_{10}$ concentration profiles were analyzed based on indoor activity diaries recorded during the 48 hours. Most I/O ratios for $NO_2$, black carbon, $PM_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$ at daycare centers were less than one. At homes, I/O ratios for black carbon, $PM_{10}$, and $PM_{2.5}$ were less than one; however, most I/O ratios for $NO_2$ were greater than one due to the usage of gas stoves. The children's exposure to indoor air pollutants was calculated using a time-weighted average exposure method, and the daily intake level for each pollutant was determined.

• 한국대기환경학회지
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• 제17권5호
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• pp.375-384
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• 2001

Optical remote sensing techniques are particularly advantageous over the conventional fixed point methods because with these methods large-area monitoring can be possible and sample preparation difficulties are avoidable. Instruments based on the differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique are widely used for monitoring air pollutants in urban areas in recent years. In this study, $O_3$, SO$_2$, NO$_2$, and VOCs (benzene, toluene, xylene, and styrene) are measured continuously at Sihwa industrial area using a DOAS from February to November. 1999. Intercomparison between the DOAS method and the conventional methods (filed point samplers for $O_3$, NO$_2$, and SO$_2$, and adsorbent sampling methods and gas chromatography for VOCs) are performed simultaneously at the same site. The time series of the DOAS data and that of fixed point method show good match at the view point of the tendency, but the absolute concentration values of these two methods differ quite a lot from each other; correlation coefficients shows 0.78 for $O_3$and 0.97 for SO$_2$. However, the results of VOCs measurements are not quite satisfactory ; the spectral interference with $O_2$and $O_3$appears to be the major cause of the errors for VOCs .

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• 제35권12호
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• pp.3475-3481
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• 2014

This paper describes how primary contaminants in ambient air affect the performance of the cathode in fuel cell electric vehicle applications. The effect of four atmospheric pollutants ($SO_2$, $NH_3$, $NO_2$, and CO) on cathode performance was investigated by air impurity injection and recovery test under load. Electrochemical analysis via polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was performed for various concentrations of contaminants during the impurity test in order to determine the origins of performance decay. The variation in cell voltage derived empirically in this study and data reported in the literature were normalized and juxtaposed to elucidate the relationship between impurity concentration and performance. Mechanisms of cathode degradation by air impurities were discussed in light of the findings.

• 한국대기환경학회지
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.73-84
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• 1990

The study was carried out to investigate the extent of indoor air pollution in living rooms of apartment houses(residential area) and offices(traffic area A : no smoking space, B : smoking space) in Seoul and to determine the health significance of indoor air pollution. Indoor and outdoor concentrations of major air pollutants were observed simultaneously from February 13 to 17, and July 24 to 28, 1988. The concentrations of carbon monoxide(CO), nitrogen oxides(NOx), sulfur dioxide($SO_2$), carbon dioxide($CO_2$) and total suspended particulate(TSP) in living room and offices were measured and the results were summarized as follows: 1. Both in summer and in winter, the indoor concentrations of CO, $CO_2$, and TSP in offices were higher than the outdoor concentrations, on the other hand, $SO_2$ was higher in the outdoors and NOx was lower than the outdoor concentration only in office A where smoking is not permitted. 2. The indoor and outdoor pollution of offices in winter was significantly higher than that in summer, and the concentrations of CO, NOx and $SO_2$ in indoor and outdoor air in living room in winter were also higher than those in summer. These results suggest that indoor levels of air pollutants are affected by smoking and winter heating systems.

• 한국대기환경학회지
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• 제22권5호
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• pp.679-692
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• 2006

The carbonyl compounds in the atmosphere belong to one of the regulatory pollutants for the malodor control designated by the Korean Ministry of Environment(KMOE). In the present study, the emission concentration levels of carbonyl compounds were measured along with a number of criteria odor pollutants from a total of 47 individual companies(June 2004 to January 2005). The results of our study showed that a number of carbonyl compounds(such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, and butyraldehyde) maintained significantly high mean concentrations of 298 to 372 ppb. In contrast, other carbonyl compounds were low enough with the mean valves of 0.54 to 19.1 ppb. It was found that except for such industries as metal production or leather processing, their emissions were generally quite significant. If the measured values were evaluated in terms of malodor intensity, butyraldehyde appeared to be the most significant contributor to the malodor release. According to the measurements made in strong source areas, it can be concluded that several carbonyl compounds(acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, and valeraldehyde) are useful enough to diagnose malodor release from those source areas. It should also be addressed that a number of carbonyl compounds added newly as the result of malodor control legislation were not sensitive enough to diagnose malodor release from such sources.