Mathematical Modeling for the Design of Greenbelts for Air Pollution Control: An Engineering Perspective

If trees and smaller plants are viewed as if they are pollution control devices in the hands of environmental engineers, they can be perceived as biopumps, particulate traps, reactive absorbers of pollutants, and cooling towers. But whereas the usual engineering devices do not make a pretty sight and can?t launch a thousand poems, trees and other vegetation can. Nor can the usual pollution control devices attract birds and other colourful fauna as trees do. From the environmental engineer?s perspective, the species of trees and shrubs can be scientifically chosen and planted in a pattern around a source of air pollutant, and in a manner so as to effectively reduce the pollution caused by that source. The entire system can be optimized to ensure maximum pollutant removal of target pollutants at minimum utilization of land and other costs. In this paper the work of this group on the design of greenbelts based on mathematical modeling has been summarized in the context of the global stat-of-the-art.