Neutralization of Airborne Contaminants

摘要

This paper addresses the following question: Can an airborne cloud of a chemical or other unwanted agent in a populated region be neutralized effectively by injecting a suitable neutralizing "remediant" into the cloud in sufficient amounts and at appropriate locations? The outdoor transport and dispersion of potentially dangerous, contaminants is controlled principally by the wind, its turbulent gusts, and how this complex airflow interacts with the geometry of the buildings and terrain. The possible effectiveness of agent neutralization, or mitigation, is a complex matter of chemical reaction of the agent and the remediant, progressive dilution of the two reactants, and fluid dynamic mixing of the reactants over time. This paper presents a simple analytic solution, including dilution, chemical neutralization, and turbulent mixing, to estimate where and when to deliver the remediant and what amounts are necessary.