Study on particulate matter dispersion by correlating direct measurements with numerical simulations: Case study—Timisoara urban area

The control of toxic emissions has become of great scientific interest due to the continuous increase of pollutants released into the atmosphere. The fact that the fine particles suspended in the atmosphere have been proved to have a negative impact on human health has also contributed to an increasing interest. This paper focuses on two important items: (1) the experimentally obtained pollution maps of Timisoara, showing the spatial distribution of the concentration of particulate matter (between 0.3–2.5 μm and 2.5–5 μm) over the city area; and (2) the simulation of the dispersion of pollutants emitted by Pro Air Clean Ecologic incinerator in Timisoara, based on specific meteorological conditions. The transport process of the pollutants was investigated numerically with the Close View software. This uses at input the concentration and the properties of the pollutants detected experimentally at the combustion chimney, the effective height of the chimney and the specific meteorological conditions, i.e., air pressure and humidity, velocity and direction of the wind.