Air Quality Issue

The issue of air pollution (across the world - I am from Netherlands) is so complex, the first thing really is Awareness. Awareness is the primary mover for change. The gov in NL is smartly covering the harm of (ultra)fine nanoparticles/pollution, but awareness is increasing. What is the situation in India on awareness? I guess much higher? more  

This is the first letter to the Hon. CM CM DELHI Tue, May 3, 2016 at 12:00 PM To: MIN TPT DELHI Cc: kaushikkd.vyas@gmail.com Sir, This email has been received at CM's official email ID. It is being forwarded for your kind perusal and appropriate necessary action at your end. Regards, Rajeev Gupta O.S.D. - Chief Minister's Office -------- Original Message -------- From: "Kaushikk D. Vyas" Date: May 2, 2016 8:54:52 AM Subject: Odd even formula for VEHICLES To: cmdelhi@nic.in Shri Arvind Kejriwalji, A VIEW WITH DIFFERENCE. THE FIRST LESSON AT Harvard Business School they taught is about 'A CHANGE IS ALWAYS RESENTED" Is the classic example of what is going on about your such creative action, in the interest of one and all. But all political parties who bent upon any good thing for centuries and don't come out of their match box to see the world around them with a difference. Your efforts in curbing and reducing smog in and around Delhi in coming years, are really appreciated. Some may keep on making noise and you and your most learned CM, who keeps on fighting for trivial issues may focus on more creative and not always at loggerhead with others. Sir,your mind and ideas are now only stuck on one single point. But there are more reasons to eye your critical watch on car , trucks manufacturing companies, The Oil refineries who produces, DIESEL, PETROL , AND OTHER INDUSTRIAL FUELS. Did your CM and all your colleagues know what quality, complying to which POLLUTION STANDARDS, ARE THEY SUPPLYING THEIR CERTIFICATE ALONG WITH EACH CAR AND DO THEY GIVE UNDERWRITING ABOUT IT? SAME IS THE CASE WITH OIL REFINERIES WHO PRODUCES ALL SUCH FUEL AND SALE IN THE MARKET, DO THEY GIVE THE COMPLIANCE, QUALITY CERTIFICATE WITH EACH DIESEL , PETROL, INDUSTRIAL FUEL BUYERS of VEHICLES are being sold in the market by those manufacturers, WHO CROSS CHECK IT? WHY DON'T THE PETROLEUM RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION INSTITUTE IS NOT BROUGHT INTO ACTION BY DELHI GOVT? IT MAY OPEN THE PANDORA BOX PERHAPS. WHY ONLY THE CAR, TRUCK USERS HAVE TO KEEP PUC CERTIFICATE? YES EXCEPT BAD MAINTENANCE OF THE VEHICLE , IMPROPER ENGINE CONDITIONS, DUPLICATE ENGINE OILS THE EXHAUST GASES MAY CROSS THE LIMITS OF EMISSION, BUT THEN WHAT ARE THE RTOs are doing all these years. What Transport ministry is doing? why the vehicle owners are not summoned on a fixed schedule for all such check ups? If one do not produce that check certificate no petrol or diesel should be sold to all such vehicles whether Govt or private . The above cited are just few steps for fulfilling your govt's goal towards achieving the goal of smog free Delhi and may clean peoples mind also. it will also show directions to all states in our country. Simply all the time put common citizen under the scanner and actions against them is totally bias minded and subjective steps to think we are improving, yes in a way but NO TOTALLY WRONG. With kind request to view it in the overall interest of DELHI but whole nation. will prove a real steps towards achieving air quality and health, and will save all citizens of their travel hardship due to traffic congestion. I have written about this issues to the CENTRAL GOVT.TRANSPORT MINISTRY and state Govt also. but as usual no one has time to read and respond in our democratic system . Alone you and me cannot fight against the system. and I cannot change the system, but that doesn't stop me from expressing my individual original,views . Sincerely, more  

Friends, I have been writing to the Hon. CM, Delhi since 2016 on the issue and latest Have suggested for along term action , how best we can control this air , smog problem in NCR and other surrounding cities. Kaushikk D. Vyas Mon, May 14, 7:56 AM to CM Respected Shri Arvind Kejriwalji, This is to pick up a thread from the last few years perennial problem about SMOG in Delhi region , with your efforts to control it, for better environment and health of people. I would like to bring to your kind knowledge the following information and further necessary remedial actions.This can be implemented across the country with diesel or petrol driven vehicles manufacturers uniformly. In the coming years we have to follow strictly the emission norms as per EURO IV, V, VI.......AND SO ON. SOONER THE BETTER. Urea tanks on diesel trucks -- that's the law in the United States starting in 2010 Automotive grade of world's most widely used nitrogen fertilizer used to meet new US environmental regulations to cut air pollution IFDC SHARE PRINT E-MAIL IMAGE? IMAGE: A PROTOTYPE DIESEL TRUCK WITH A UREA TANK AND SCR UNIT. view more CREDIT: DAIMLERCHRYSLER POWER SYSTEMS Urea tanks will be standard equipment for most new diesel trucks, buses, cars, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) manufactured in the United States after Jan. 1, 2010. An automotive grade of urea will be injected into the vehicles' exhaust stream to "scrub" nitrogen oxide (NOx) from the diesel exhaust. NOx, a major air pollutant, contributes to smog, which causes asthma and respiratory and heart diseases. The system, urea SCR or "urea-based selective catalytic reduction," is the only technology available that can remove enough NOx from diesel exhaust to comply with strict new limits imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), says Glenn Kedzie, Environmental Counsel for the American Trucking Associations. The automotive urea, called "diesel exhaust fluid" (DEF) in the United States and AdBlue, a trademarked name in Europe, reduces NOx by as much as 90% alone, and can take NOx to near-zero levels when used in combination with diesel particulate filter technology, says Kim Doran, spokesperson of the newly formed North American SCR Stakeholders Group and editor of FactsAboutSCR.com, a Web site dedicated to SCR news. DEF and AdBlue are an aqueous urea solution 32 (AUS 32), a clear 32.5% nitrogen solution of high-purity urea in demineralized water. The urea solutions are safe to handle, manufacturers claim. AdBlue can be bought in bulk in Europe or by the liter at some service stations. The advent of DEF and AdBlue is creating a new demand for urea, the world's most widely used nitrogen fertilizer. Some are concerned that the new use will drive fertilizer prices higher. Others think it will be an incentive for manufacturers to increase production and thus, lower prices. "We know about diversion of traditional food crops such as corn or sugarcane to biofuels like ethanol--but now urea, a basic input for food production, is also going into fuel," says Dr. Amit Roy, President and CEO of the International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC). "Ironically, cleaning our environment is a key reason for both technologies." Manufacturers Adopting Urea SCR Technology More than half a million diesel trucks in Europe now use urea SCR and the fleet is growing by about 25,000 trucks per month, according to Integer Research, a London-based market analysis firm specializing in urea SCR. Doran says that SCR technology is being adopted by passenger car and light truck manufacturers serving the United States including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, MiniCooper, and Volkswagen. Mercedes-Benz is introducing three new diesel-powered SUVs that use urea SCR technology into the United States in late 2008. Urea SCR is also used in Japan and Singapore and will soon be used in China. Manufacturers in the commercial trucking industry adopting SCR include Freightliner, Kenworth, Mack, Peterbilt, and Volvo. Leading engine manufacturers using SCR include Cummins and Detroit Diesel Corp. Future Demand Consumption of the urea solution is about 3% of the diesel consumption. Diesel trucks average 6.5 miles per gallon (2.8 km/liter). An average diesel truck will need to refill its 20-gallon tank of DEF every 4,000 to 6,000 miles (76 liters every 6,400 to 9,600 km). Urea to reduce NOx emissions now consumes 0.3 to 0.4 million metric tons (mt) of urea in Western Europe, says Stephen Zwart, Licensing Manager of Netherlands-based Stamicarbon, the world's largest licensor of urea plant technology. In 10 years the current truck fleet in Western Europe will have been replaced, and urea use will be 3 to 4 million mt. Future urea demands generated by SCR technology in the United States have been calculated by Dr. Carlos Baanante, IFDC Agricultural Economist. In 2003, 213 billion liters of diesel fuel were used for transportation in Europe and 146 billion liters in the United States, according to EarthTrends, an initiative of the World Resources Institute (http://earthtrends.wri.org/index.php). Baanante assumes that only 7% of the diesel trucks in the United States will use urea SCR in 2010--the new trucks purchased that year. "U.S. urea consumption for transportation will probably be the urea fertilizer equivalent of about 210,000 tons in 2010--but will be at least double that amount in 2011 and will increase rapidly afterward as older trucks are replaced with newer models that carry urea tanks," Baanante says. The estimates assume that a liter of the solution weighs about 1 kg and the urea fertilizer contains 46% N, Baanante explains. Thus, 1 kg of urea solution would consume the N needed to produce 0.7065 kg of urea fertilizer. A conversion factor of 0.7065 is used to calculate urea solution consumption in terms of mt of urea-fertilizer equivalent. "More than 90% of the world's urea production is for fertilizers--but new demands for urea SCR may change that," Baanante says. Urea is also used in animal feed, plastic and glue manufacture, highway de-icing, cloud seeding to induce rain, and tooth-whitening products. Stringent New EPA Exhaust Emission Rules Kedzie says that diesel-powered vehicles manufactured in the United States in 2010 can emit no more than 0.2 grams of NOx per brake horsepower hour--90% less than current emissions. The new EPA regulations will not apply to vehicles manufactured before 2010. Tractors, bulldozers, and other non-road vehicles must meet the new EPA standards by 2015. The U.S. timetable for ships and locomotive engines has not yet been set. "Some trucking agencies are now buying new trucks that were scheduled for replacement after 2010 to avoid the expenses of urea tanks and buying and transporting urea," Kedzie says. But Thom Albrecht, a transportation equity analyst with Stephens Inc. in Virginia, United States, thinks that most corporate carriers--the main buyers of heavy-duty trucks--will continue normal buying cycles as the next EPA emissions deadline looms in 2010. Albrecht reached that conclusion after surveying 88 carriers about their future buying plans. New Demands Could Affect World Fertilizer Market Keith Stokes, proprietor of Stokes Engineering and IFDC consultant on urea production, says, "Urea for NOx reduction will create a new demand that could drive up fertilizer prices--just as ethanol production did." But Doran of SCR Stakeholders says, "Demand for this automotive-grade urea is not expected to exceed 5% of the world's production. The new use of urea to control vehicle emissions could lead to increased investment and expand world capacity for urea production." How Urea SCR Systems Work Urea SCR cleans the exhaust after combustion. The urea solution is held in a separate storage tank and injected as a fine mist into the hot exhaust gases. The heat breaks the urea down into ammonia--the actual NOx-reducing agent. Through a catalytic converter, the ammonia breaks the NOx down to harmless nitrogen (N) gas and water vapor. The exhaust is no longer a pollutant; the atmosphere is about 80% nitrogen gas. Bill Herz, Vice President of Scientific Programs for The Fertilizer Institute, based in Washington, D.C., says, "You hear a lot about harmful effects of fertilizer on ecosystems--but little about the positive role of urea in stripping away pollutants." Doran says, "Because SCR technologies reduce NOx exhaust to almost zero, engines can be tuned to maximize fuel efficiency." The result is as much as a 3% more  

Rajeev g you still blame poor farmers. The problem lies in our atitude. Going in personnel car is a status symbol. Can we use metro or other public system. If we free Delhi for 3-4 weeks after that we can identify the main couse of pollution. Heavy trucks and other wehicles are allready bypassing Delhi. Various industries in or arround delhi are either closed or using non polluting fuel. So pls take the blame on our soulders only. If we reduce the load on roads then major problem will be solved. Dust and other carbon particals generation will stop. So pls take some safer steps usr publuc transport, cabs, seperate carbage at our ends and plant more trees in your house or parks. more  

You are right Mr. Sunil, everyone must act as a responsible citizen. It should start from school level education itself! more