Modeling the air pollutant concentration near a cement plant co-processing wastes

Abstract

In this study, for the first time, we conducted full life-cycle studies on pollutants in a cement plant co-processing hazardous waste (HW) via the combined use of thermodynamic equilibrium calculations and the American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Regulatory Model. Results showed that the potential toxic elements (PTEs) can be classified into three categories: (1) non-volatized elements, Co; (2) semi-volatized elements, Cr and Ni; and (3) volatized elements, Cd, Pb and As. Besides, the spatial distributions of pollutants were strongly influenced by the prevalent wind direction and the size of the particulate matter they were absorbed on. The highest concentrations of most pollutants tended to be centralized at a distance in the range of 400 to 800 m away from the cement plant. Finally, validated results indicated that there is good agreement between the simulated and observed concentrations in this study. These findings can facilitate and assist local government authorities and policy makers with the management of urban air quality.