For hundreds of years, chimneys have been swept with long steel brushes inserted manually into the chimney from the top and from the bottom. Chimney sweeps are exposed to soot, with concurrent exposure to sulfur dioxide and arsenic (Bagchi & Zimmerman, 1980). Soot is black particulate matter that is formed as a by-product of combustion or pyrolysis of organic (carbon-containing) materials, such...

Continued use of petroleum fuels is now widely recognized as unsustainable because of their depleting supplies and the contribution of these fuels to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the environment. Renewable, carbon neutral, transport fuels are necessary for environmental and economic sustainability. A microbial fuel cell (MFC), a novel form of microbial respiration has recently been dis...

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing continuously. Its accumulation in the air is one of the major causes of global warming and the change at equilibrium condition of weather and the environment. Utilization of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to produce useful chemicals could be a suitable solution to this problem. CO2 is not just a greenhouse gas, but also an ...

Using biodiesel in place of petroleum diesel is considered by several underground metal and nonmetal mine operators to be a viable strategy for reducing the exposure of miners to diesel particulate matter. This study was conducted in an underground experimental mine to evaluate the effects of soy methyl ester biodiesel on the concentrations and size distributions of diesel aerosols and nitric o...

Combustion of wildland fuels represents a major source of particulate matter (PM) and light-absorbing elemental carbon (EC) on a national and global scale, but the emission factors and source profiles have not been well characterized with respect to different fuels and combustion phases. These uncertainties limit the accuracy of current emission inventories, smoke forecasts, and source apportio...

This chapter summarizes the methodology used to assess the burden of disease caused by indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels. Most research into and control of indoor air pollution worldwide has focused on sources of particular concern in developed countries, such as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), volatile organic compounds from furnishings and radon from soil. Although the...

The mechanism of the low temperature oxidation of gaseous acetaldehyde was investigated in the temperature range of 1 50-400?°C. The minor, intermediate and major products were identified and measured quantitatively by sampling directly into the ionization chamber of an MS10-C2 mass spectrometer from the reactor. The formation of H2O, CO, CO2, HCOOH, H2, HCHO, CH3COOH and CH3OH as the major pro...

Since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, the use of fossil fuel and the clearing of land have led to a dramatic rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. This increase has significant implications for green plants because CO2 is the prime input to photosynthesis. Leaves are the first point of contact for the majority of carbon transfer from atmosphere to biospher...