Automation of air quality system

An air quality measurement system is responsible for measuring the amount of contaminants present in the air.

When the air quality is good (it has few pollutants), people can breathe this air indefinitely without their health being affected. When it is bad, some health complications can occur such as: eye irritations, respiratory problems and even heart problems. Para mantener controlados los niveles de la calidad del aire en rangos que son admisibles, las autoridades del gobierno pueden tomar medidas como prohibir la circulación de los vehículos que emitan contaminación, o la operación de algunas industrias con ciertas características de emisiones.

Factors that affect air quality

Governments now have more controls and better regulations. With that, the benefits have increased. This is in addition to improvements in fuel quality.

Global warming

Worldwide it has been discovered that carbon dioxide emissions (or CO2 emissions) derived from the combustion of oil, coal and natural gas are generating in a decisive way in the increase of global temperature. This is due to the greenhouse effect that these emissions cause on the planet. However, it is important to clarify that these CO2 emissions are not the main cause of poor air quality that directly affect health. The main emissions that affect health are:

• sulfur oxides,
• nitrogen oxides,
• tropospheric ozone (at low altitude, different from stratospheric ozone, which is very beneficial),
• carbon monoxide,
• volatile organic compounds and
• suspended particles.

The main anthropic sources (of human origin) of air pollution are:

• Industrial factories or facilities without the right filters for aerial emissions.
• Thermoelectric plants.
• Vehicles with internal combustion engine.
• Heating of diesel, natural gas, coal or biomass.

Air quality can also be compromised by natural causes such as:

• Volcanic eruptions.
• [Viento] transport of suspended particles.

Industrial facilities

For each pollutant the maximum amount that can be discharged in air emissions is regulated. The maximum values are generally set by the national authority in charge of the environment. The regulations can be valid for the whole national territory, or specific for some regions in particular, due to their own characteristics. It is the responsibility of the emission producing companies to comply with the prescribed regulations. It is the responsibility of the companies to obtain the respective operating permits. Individual control over each individual emission producer and enforcement of the existing regulations is extremely important. However, it is not enough. In fact, if in a given area there are numerous industries that discharge air emissions, even if individual emission limits are respected, air quality can be affected. It is necessary to establish by law parameters that determine the maximum permissible degree of pollution. These parameters are of two types:

• Limit values: indicate, for each substance, the maximum acceptable quantity;
• Guide value :indicate, for each substance, the maximum desirable quantity;

National environmental regulations establish who is responsible for monitoring air quality and the various parameters. Industrial plants that produce particularly hazardous air emissions may even be restricted in relation to their location.