Background: The negative effects of air pollution on morbidity and mortality have been known since the mid 20th century. The two most well known examples are the Meuse Valley disaster in the 1930’ies and the London black fog in December 1952. Whilst there are numerous epidemiological studies, in which associations between morbidity and mortality and high levels of pollutants have been reported, the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Two of the main air pollutants are particulate matter (PM) mostly emanating from diesel exhaust (DE), and ozone, both of which are highly oxidative. Exposure to DE has resulted in adverse effects both in the respiratory tract and in the cardiovascular system. High ozone levels have also been shown to be associated with increased admissions to hospital for respiratory as well as cardiovascular conditions. The main aim of this thesis was to investigate the respiratory and cardiovascular effects of a combination of exposures to ozone and DE. DE generated during the urban part of the standardized European Transient Cycle (ETC) was compared to DE generated by an idling engine. It was also evaluated whether an acute exposure to ozone would have any effects on the cardiovascular system as assessed by venous occlusion forearm plethysmography and heart rate variability (HRV). In addition, fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) was evaluated as a potential marker for acute exposure to ozone or DE. Methods: Four double-blind randomized cross-over exposure studies were conducted to investigate the effects of ozone and DE on both the respiratory tract and the vascular function in healthy volunteers. All of the exposures were performed in purposely built “walk-in” chambers with strictly controlled exposures. In the first study, the volunteers were exposed to DE (300µg/m3) generated by an idling engine or to air, for one hour in the morning and to ozone (200 ppb) for two hours in the afternoon. A bronchoscopy with bronchial wash (BW) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed 24 hours after the initial exposure. In study II and III, an assessment of vascular function using venous occlusion forearm plethysmography was performed after an exposure to DE (250 µg/m3) generated under transient running conditions, compared to air exposure (study II) and ozone and air exposure (study III). HRV was assessed under a 24 hour period starting before each exposure (study III). In study IV, FENO measurements were conducted after DE and ozone exposures to investigate whether the previously established airway inflammation would be detectable by this non-invasive method. Results: DE exposure enhanced the established ozone-induced airway inflammation in terms of a pronounced neutrophilia in BW. DE generated under transient running conditions, impaired vascular function in healthy volunteers, whereas exposure to ozone did not. HRV were not altered by exposure to ozone. Exposure to DE caused a significant increase in FENO at the 10  (FENO10) and 50 (FENO50) mL/s flow rates at 6 hours post-exposure, but ozone exposure did not affect FENO at any flow rate or time point. Conclusion: We have tried to mimic real-life exposure to air pollutants. In the first study, an exposure to DE followed by an exposure to ozone in the afternoon resulted in an enhanced airway inflammation, suggesting an additive or synergistic effect, supporting the epidemiological findings of unfavorable effects of the combination of these two air pollutants. DE generated by an engine running at the urban part of the standardized European Transient Cycle impaired two important and complementary aspects of vascular function, the regulation of vascular tone and endogenous fibrinolysis. This has previously been shown with DE generated at idling conditions. This suggests that the mechanisms behind the adverse effects can be found in the properties of the particles and not in the gaseous components. In these studies, exposure to ozone did not impair vascular function in healthy subjects, or cause any alterations in HRV. This suggests that the epidemiological evidence for an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality following acute exposure to ozone might not be totally accurate. Previous controlled exposure studies with ozone have not shown an airway inflammation affecting the endothelium, at least not in the same time-frame as following DE exposure. FENO could possibly be a useful tool for assessing airway inflammation caused by DE, whereas the powerful oxidant ozone did not affect FENO. This suggests that the airway inflammatory effects caused by these two pollutants are regulated via different mechanisms.

One major aspect of environmental pollution affecting human life and climate is air pollution. The harmful pollutants in the air include mostly hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides as well as soot and other particulate matter. These pollutants result in several damaging effects on environment and living beings which include acid rain, photochemical smog, global warming and various health hazards in human beings even cancer. Major contribution of these pollutants is from man-made sources such as industrial and automotive emissions that employ fossil fuels. In our country, diesel constitutes more than 40% of the fossil fuel consumption. Studies show that diesel engine emissions contribute to 80% of nitrogen oxides amongst other air pollutants. In the context of stringent emission regulations being implemented all over the world, exhaust emission control, in general and nitrogen oxide emission in particular, is gaining significant importance. A review of recent literature indicates the significance and popularity of electrical discharge based non thermal plasma for exhaust cleaning applications in general, and NOx cleaning in particular. While the existing pre-combustion and catalyst based post-combustion nitrogen oxides (NOx) abatement techniques have inherent disadvantages owing to short shelf life, saturated engine modifications, cost concerns etc., the electrical discharge based non- thermal plasma techniques offer certain advantages in terms of cost and life factors. Several non-thermal plasma techniques viz., pulsed plasma, surface plasma, dielectric barrier discharge plasma etc., have been studied under different laboratory conditions. Interestingly, due to the high oxidizing environment that prevails in the discharge plasma zone, complete reduction of NOx by the plasma alone is becoming a challenging task. This has led the researchers to utilize additional processing techniques in cascade with discharge plasma. This additional gas cleaning technique may involve the use of adsorbents, catalysts or some other secondary treatment for eliminating the nitrogen oxides produced due to oxidizing reactions in the plasma chamber. One such additive can be an adsorbent, which can be commercially obtained or prepared from industrial wastes. In this thesis the adsorption properties of two industrial wastes were explored for the first time in conjunction with discharge plasma. The synergistic effect of plasma combined with an adsorbent shows promising results in NOx removal thus offering an effective solution to two environmental issues namely air pollution and open waste dumping. While the plasma, generally, refers to direct plasma treatment of exhaust, it can also be used for generation of ozone in a separate reactor which can subsequently be injected into the exhaust stream resulting in indirect plasma treatment. The current work focuses on both direct and indirect dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment for NOx reduction in diesel engine exhaust cascaded with either oyster shells, a mariculture waste or lignite ash from lignite coal fired plant. Instead of conventional petro-diesel, biodiesel produced from the seeds of pongamia pinnata is used as the fuel. This biofuel, on one hand, causes considerable reduction in volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, soot, oil mist etc., but on the other hand may have higher concentrations of nitrogen oxides, an aspect that has motivated us to take up the research work envisaged in this thesis. It was observed in the laboratory environment that for a given power, both direct and indirect plasma treatments have resulted in NOx removal to the tune of 85 to 95% when cascaded with the adsorbents studied.

Os ácidos anacárdicos (AAs) provenientes do líquido da casca da castanha de caju têm propriedades antioxidantes e anti-inflamatórias. Seus efeitos são bem estabelecidos em vários sistemas in vitro, no entanto não há publicações a respeito de suas ações no tecido pulmonar. No presente estudo, foram analisados os efeitos da suplementação dos AAs em modelo de inflamação subaguda induzida pelas partículas resultantes da combustão do diesel (DEP) em camundongos. Camundongos BALB/c machos receberam por 20 dias consecutivos instilação intranasal de 50 g DEP diluídos em 10 L de salina. Como pré-tratamento, 10 dias antes do ínicio da instilação intranasal com DEP, os animais foram tratados por via oral com 50, 150 ou 250 mg/kg de AAs diluídos em 100 L de óleo da castanha de caju ou apenas 100 L de óleo da castanha de caju (veículo). Foram analisados: a densidade de células inflamatórias, as células imunomarcadas para TNF-, NF-B e KC e a área imunomarcada para 8-isoprostano no parênquima pulmonar. Além disso, foi mensurado o perfil celular e de citocinas no LBA e a área imunomarcada por VCAM e KC nos vasos peribronquiolares. As atividades das enzimas antioxidantes GR, GPx, GST e CAT foram analisadas no tecido pulmonar e no sangue periférico. O tratamento com os AAs foram capazes de agir como substâncias protetoras no parênquima pulmonar. A dose de 50 mg/kg demonstrou efeitos mais proeminentes na redução dos marcadores de inflamação pulmonar, no entanto as três doses foram capazes de atuarem como substâncias antioxidantes aumentando a atividade das enzimas antioxidantes e reduzindo a expressão de VCAM nos vasos pulmonares na presença da sobrecarga oxidativa induzida pelas DEP. Portanto, os AAs demonstraram ter potencial preventivo contra os efeitos das DEP no sistema respiratório, atuando como substâncias naturais com propriedades anti-inflamatórias e antioxidantes / Anacardic acids (AAs) from cashew nut shell liquid have important antioxidant properties. However despite their well established effects in several systems in vitro, there were no reports about their effects in lung tissue. In this present study, we examined the effects of AAs supplementation in a model of low diesel exhaust particles (DEP) induced lung inflammation in mice. Male BALB/c mice received intranasal instillation of 50 g DEP diluted in 10 L of saline solution during 20 days. Ten days before instillation, animals were oral treated by the following 30 days with 50, 150 or 250 mg/Kg AAs diluted in 100 L of cashew nut oil (CNO) or vehicle (100 L of CNO). In order to evaluate anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, we analyzed the influx of inflammatory cells, TNF-, NF-B and KC positive cells; and the expression of 8-isoprostane in alveolar parenchyma. In addition, we measured the cellular profile and cytokines level in BALF and the VCAM and KC expressions in peribronchiolar pulmonary vessels.The activities of antioxidant enzymes GR, GPx, GST and CAT were analyzed by spectrophotometric method to assessing oxidative status in the lung tissue and in the peripheral blood. Treatment with AAs was able to act as a protective substance in lung tissue. The dose of 50 mg/kg showed more prominent effects in decreasing the inflammatory markers caused by DEP, however all the three doses are able to preserve antioxidant enzymes activities in the presence of oxidative charge and decreased the expression of VCAM in vessels. Furthermore, we demonstrated that AAs, which are natural substance, have potential effects against air pollution-related effects in respiratory system, acting as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties

La Réduction Catalytique Sélective (SCR) par l'ammoniac, ou l'urée, est un procédé connu de post-traitement permettant de réduire efficacement les oxydes d'azote émis par les motorisations Diesel, en azote et en eau. Les zéolithes échangées au cuivre sont parmi les meilleures formulations pour une application sur véhicules légers, puisque efficaces sur une large zone de température. Le but de cette thèse était d'étudier la stabilité hydrothermale de ce type de catalyseur. L'approche utilisée au cours de ce travail repose sur l'étude des différentes fonctionnalités d'un catalyseur commercial de NH3-SCR présent sous forme de monolithe, à l'état frais et pour différentes conditions de vieillissement, au Banc Gaz Synthétique couplée à une analyse physico-chimique précise de la phase active du catalyseur. Ceci nous a permis de comprendre les phénomènes de désactivation intervenant au cours d'un vieillissement hydrothermal et de mesurer leur impact sur l'activité et la sélectivité de ce type de catalyseur. Après traitement hydrothermal, on assiste à une désalumination plus ou moins importante de la zéolithe, pouvant conduire à l'effondrement de sa structure, ainsi que d'importantes modifications au niveau du cuivre dès les plus faibles températures de vieillissements. Les résultats ont montré l'importance de maintenir une teneur minimal de cuivre en position d'échange, afin de conserver une capacité de stockage en ammoniac suffisante, mais surtout pour garantir une bonne efficacité à basse température en SCR du NO. Le maintien de la structure de la zéolithe semble essentiel pour que le catalyseur conserve une bonne efficacité et sélectivité au cours du temps. / The Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) by ammonia, or urea, is a well-known after-treatment process used for converting efficiently the nitrogen oxides, emitted by Diesel engines, into nitrogen and water. Copper-exchanged zeolites are among the most efficient formulations for light-duty applications, since effective over a wide temperature-range. The aim of this thesis is to study the hydrothermal stability of this type of catalyst. The approach used is this work is based on the study of the catalytic properties of a fresh commercial monolith catalyst for NH3-SCR in fresh and after different ageing conditions, at synthetic gas test bench, coupled with a comprehensive physicochemical analysis of the catalyst active phase. This allowed us to understand the deactivation phenomena occurring during a hydrothermal ageing and the impact on the catalyst activity and selectivity. A hydrothermal treatment induces a dealumination of the zeolite, into a more or less significant extent, which can lead to its collapse, as well as important modifications of the copper sites, even at low ageing. The results showed the importance to maintain a minimal copper content into exchanged sites, in order to retain a sufficient ammonia storage capacity, and especially to provide a good efficiency for the SCR of NO at low temperature. The preservation of the zeolite structure seems to be essential in order to maintain the catalyst efficiency and selectivity over time.

No description available.

The growing municipal solid waste generation rates have necessitated more efficient, optimized waste collection facilities. The majority of the US collection fleet is composed of diesel-fueled vehicles which contribute significant atmospheric emissions including greenhouse gases. In order to reduce emissions to the atmosphere, more collection agencies are investigating alternative fuel technologies such as natural gas, biofuels (bio-gas and bio-diesel), and hybrid electric technology. This research is an in-depth environmental analysis of potential alternative fuel technologies for waste collection vehicles. This study will evaluate the use of alternative fuels by waste collection vehicles. Lifecycle emissions, cost, fuel and energy consumption were evaluated for a wide range of fossil and bio-fuel technologies. Moreover, the energy consumption and the tail-pipe emissions of dieselfueled waste collection vehicles were estimated using MOVES 2010a software. Emission factors were calculated for a typical waste collection driving cycle as well as constant speed. Finally, the selection of fuel type by the waste collection industry requires consideration of environmental, security, financial, operational, and safety issues. In this study, a qualitative comparison between alternative fuels was performed; a multifactorial assessment of these factors was conducted taking into account the opinion of the waste collection industry of the importance of each factor. Liquid-petroleum fuels have higher life-cycle emissions compared to natural gas; however landfill natural gas has the lowest life-cycle emissions compared to all other fuel categories. Compressed natural gas waste collection vehicles have the lowest fuel cost per collection vehicle mile travel compared to other fuel categories. Moreover, the actual driving cycle of waste collection vehicles consists of repetitive stops and starts during waste collection; iv this generates more emissions than constant speed driving. Finally, the multifactorial assessment indicates that natural gas and landfill gas have better environmental, economical, and energy security performance than current liquid-petroleum fuels.

No description available.

Experimentos anteriores realizados em nosso laboratório indicam que o sucesso gestacional é afetado pela poluição atmosférica. O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos biológicos associados a uma curva dose resposta das partículas de exaustão do diesel (PED) sobre o desenvolvimento embrionário inicial e o potencial de implantação, utilizando-se como modelo a fertilização in vitro e o cultivo embrionário de camundongos. No Experimento 1, encontrou-se um efeito negativo dose-dependente sobre o desenvolvimento embrionário inicial, o processo de eclosão, a alocação das células e a morfologia da massa celular interna (MCI) dos blastocistos. A análise post-hoc revelou que o desenvolvimento precoce do embrião não foi afetado pelas concentrações de 0,2 µg/cm2 ou 2 µg/cm2, mas foi significativamente afetado pela concentração de 20 µg/cm2 de PED. O processo de eclosão foi prejudicado pelas concentrações de 2 µg/cm2 e 20 µg/cm2. A alocação das células da MCI e a relação entre as células da MCI e do trofectoderma foram significativamente afetadas por todas as concentrações. Adicionalmente, observou-se um efeito negativo sobre a morfologia da MCI para as concentrações de 2 µg/cm2 e 20 µg/cm2. O Experimento 2, apesar de não mostrar efeito significativo sobre o potencial de implantação, evidenciado pela capacidade de adesão dos blastocistos e crescimento trofoblástico, revelou que a morfologia da MCI no dia 8 de cultivo, as taxas de viabilidade e de apoptose celular e a expressão de Oct4 e Cdx2 foram significativamente afetadas. O teste HSD-Tukey demonstrou que a presença de PED (0,2 µg/cm2 e 2 µg/cm2) durante o desenvolvimento embrionário aumentou significativamente a taxa de células em apoptose dos embriões tanto no dia 5 quanto no dia 8 de cultivo e, embora a proporção de células viáveis no dia 8 tenha sido prejudicada por ambas as concentrações, apenas a exposição a 2 µg/cm2 de PED diminuiu a viabilidade celular no dia 5. Por outro lado, tanto a concentração de 0,2 µg/cm2 como a de 2 µg/cm2 tiveram um efeito negativo significativo sobre a qualidade da MCI no dia 8 e a taxa de expressão de Oct4 nos blastocistos e aumentaram a porcentagem de células desses blastocistos expressando Cdx2, adicionalmente, a razão Oct4/Cdx2 dos embriões expostos a 0,2 µg/cm2 e 2 µg/cm2 foi significativamente menor. Frente a esses resultados, presumi-se que as PED poderiam estar envolvidas nos mecanismos que levariam à diminuição do sucesso reprodutivo observado em camundongos expostos à poluição atmosférica ambiental / Previous experiments conducted in our laboratory demonstrate that successful pregnancy is affected by air pollution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biological effects associated with a dose-response curve of the diesel exhaust particles (DEP) on early embryonic development and implantation potential, using mice in vitro fertilization and culture embryo as model. In Experiment 1, we found a negative dose-dependent effect on the embryonic development, hatching process, cell allocation and morphology of inner cell mass (ICM) of blastocysts. A post-hoc analysis revealed that the early development of the embryo was not affected by concentrations of 0.2 g/cm2 or 2g/cm2, but was significantly affected by the concentration of 20 g/cm2 of DEP. The hatching process was impaired by concentrations of 2 g/cm2 and 20 g/cm2. Cell allocation of ICM and the ratio between cells of ICM and trophectoderm were significantly affected by all concentrations. Addicionaly, we observed a negative effect on ICM morphology was observed for the 2 µg/cm2 and the 20 µg/cm2 concentrations. Experiment 2, despite showing no significant effect on implantation potential, as evidenced by the adhesion ability and trophoblast outgrowth, revealed that ICM morphology on day 8 of culture, rates of cell viability and apoptosis, and expression of Oct4 and Cdx2 were significantly affected. The Tukey HSD test showed that presence of DEP (0.2 g/cm2 and 2 g/cm2) during embryonic development increased significantly the rate of apoptotic cells in embryos as on day 5 as on day 8 of culture, although the proportion of viable cells on day 8 was impaired by both concentrations, only exposure to 2 g/cm2 PED decreased cell viability on day 5. On the other hand, both the concentration of 0.2 g/cm2 such as 2 g/cm2 had a significant negative effect on the quality of ICM on the day 8 and the rate of expression of Oct4 on blastocysts, and increased the percentage of cells from these embryos expressing Cdx2, also, Oct4/Cdx2 ratio were significantly lower in the blastocysts derived from embryos exposed to 0.2 g/cm2 and 2 g/cm2¬ concentrations. Given these results, the suggestion is that DEP could be involved in the mechanisms that lead to decreased reproductive success observed in mice exposed to environmental pollution

Syftet med arbetet har varit att undersöka hur arbetsmiljön och innemiljön med avseende på luftkvalitet har förändrats ombord fartyget M/S Aurora af Helsingborg efter konvertering från dieselelektrisk- till batteridrift. Resultatet har sedan jämförts med Arbetsmiljöverkets hygieniska gränsvärden, WHOs riktlinjer och tidigare mätning på Aurora som utfördes 2014, innan konverteringen till batteridrift. Då bestod framdrivningen av fyra Wärtsilä-Vasa 6R32E dieselmotorer som körde på miljödiesel. Under sju dagar i mars 2019, från nionde till sextonde, har mätdata samlats in på fartyget Aurora genom olika passiva provtagare för: Polycykliska aromatiska kolväten (PAH), lättflyktiga organiska ämnen (TVOC), temperatur, relativ luftfuktighet, partiklar, SO2 och NO2. Resultaten av mätvärdena visade att det är bra Luftkvalitet ombord på fartyget och att innemiljön blivit bättre sedan konverteringen. Alla uppmätta halter låg långt under de hygieniska gränsvärdena som Arbetsmiljöverket tagit fram. Nivåerna låg även under riktlinjerna bortsett från TVOC i separatorrummet där halterna är betydligt högre än riktvärdet. Arbetsuppgifterna ombord Aurora har förändrats till det bättre sedan konverteringen med bland annat mindre hantering av oljeprodukter. / The purpose of this study is to examine how the work environment and indoor air quality has changed onboard M/S Aurora af Helsingborg after the conversion from diesel electric to battery. The results have been compared to Swedish Work Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket) hygienic exposure limits, World Health Organizations (WHO) guidelines and previous measurements from 2014 done on Aurora before the conversion to battery drive. At that time Aurora was propelled by four Wärtsilä-Vasa 6R32E diesel engines running on environmental diesel. During seven days in March from 9th to 16th 2019, data was collected on the vessel Aurora by different types of passive samplers: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), benzo(a)pyrene, total volatile organic substances (TVOC), benzene, temperature, relative humidity, particulate matter (PM), SO2, NO2. The result from the data collected showed that the indoor air quality onboard and the inside environment has improved after the conversion. All measured data were much lower than the hygienic limit values that Swedish Work Environment Authority has set. The values of the data were also lower than recommendations except from TVOC in purifier room. The duties on board Aurora has changed for the better since the conversion, including less management of oil products.

In India, the expansion of industries and two-fold increase in motor vehicles over the last decade are posing a serious environmental crisis in the form of urban air pollution. Common pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrogen oxides produced by industry and motor vehicles. Air pollution results from a variety of sources. The natural sources include volcanoes, forest fire, scattering soil, biological decay, lightning strikes, dust storms etc. and man-made sources include thermal power plants, vehicular exhausts, incinerators and various other industrial emissions. More than 60% of the air pollution is contributed by these man-made sources. Amongst the gaseous pollutants, the major concern and a challenging task is to control oxides of nitrogen, commonly referred to as NOx. In case of diesel engines, despite the modification in engine design and improvement in after treatment technologies, large amount of NOx continues is get emitted and attempts to develop new catalyst to reduce NOx have so far been less successful. Further, with the emission standards becoming more stringent, estimates are that NOx and particulate matter emission must be reduced by as much as 90%. In this context, the emergence of electrical discharge plasma technique in combination with the few existing technologies is providing to be economically viable and efficient technology. In this thesis emphasis has been laid on the discharge based non-thermal plasma for NOx removal. NOx from simulated gas mixture and actual diesel engine exhaust has been treated. The thesis mainly addresses the following issues. . • Performance evaluation of pipe-cylinder and wire-cylinder reactor for NOx removal . • Study of effect of plasma assisted adsorbent reactor on NOx removal . • Study of effect of adsorption and plasma based desorption using different adsorbent material and electrode configuration The first chapter provides introduction about the air pollutants and the existing NOx control technologies, a brief history of electric discharge plasma, a detailed literature survey and scope of the work. A detailed experimental setup consisting of voltage sources, gas system (simulated flue gas and diesel exhaust), gas analyzers, adsorbent materials are discussed in the second chapter. In the third chapter, NOx is treated by three different methods and are described in separate parts. In first part we have done a comparative study of NO/NOx removal using two different types of dielectric barrier discharge electrodes: a) wire-cylinder reactor, b) pipe-cylinder reactor. Investigations were first carried out with synthetic gases to obtain the baseline information on the NO/NOx removal with respect to the two geometries studied. Further, experiments were carried out with raw diesel exhaust under loaded condition. A high NOx removal efficiency 90% was observed for pipe-cylinder reactor when compared to that with wire-cylinder reactor, where it was 53.4%. In second part an analysis has been made on discharge plasma coupled with an adsorbent system. The cascaded plasma-adsorbent system may be perceived as a better alternative for the existing adsorbent based abatement system in the industry. During this study the exhaust is sourced from a diesel generator set. It was observed that better NO removal in a plasma reactor can be made possible by achieving higher average fields and subsequent NO2 removal can be improved using an adsorbent system connected in cascade with the plasma system. This part describes the various findings pertaining to these comparative analyses. The third and last part of chapter 3 consists of gas desorption from an adsorbent by non-thermal plasma, which is an alternative to conventional thermal desorption, has been studied in relation to diesel engine exhaust. In this process saturated adsorbent material is regenerated using high energetic electrons and excited molecules produced by non thermal plasma. The last Chapter lists out the major inferences drawn from this study.