TITLE:
Air Pollution in the Brazilian Road Transport and Its Environmental and Social Consequences
AUTHORS:
Geórgia Amaral Mothé, Marcelo Silva Sthel, Maria Priscila Pessanha de Castro, Rosane Toledo, Alexandre Stumbo, Marcelo Gomes, Israel Esquef, Helion Vargas
KEYWORDS:
Pollutant Gases, Particulate Materials, Electrochemical Sensors, X-Ray Fluorescence
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.5 No.15,
November
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: The use
of fossil fuels has been greatly increased since the eighteenth century with
advent of the industrial revolution. Currently, the use of these fuels is responsible
for, on average, 80% of energy generation in human society, producing large
emission of pollutant gases and particulate material. Thus the transport sector
is a major source of air pollution worldwide. This issue causes serious damages
to the environment through phenomena such as acid rain, global warming and
photochemical smog. Moreover, the emission of pollutants is also related to
damages in human health. Brazil is a country with great territorial dimensions
and its transport array is eminently by road, so it is a major consumer of
fossil fuels, such as diesel, which has been producing serious environmental
and social problems. Thus, this paper presents an analysis of the emission of
gaseous pollutants and particulate matter from the transport sector (buses and
trucks), gaseous pollutants such as NO2 and SO2 were
detected in ppmv concentrations using electrochemical sensors. The composition
constituents of the particulate materials emitted in diesel combustion and
their respective concentrations were determined by X rays fluorescence
spectrometry (XRF). The identified elements were: S, Fe, Si, Ca, Zn, P, Ni, Cr,
Ti, Mn and Cu.