Air quality and particulate emissions from the cement production cycle

The growing awareness of thc importancc of eflective action to protect the environment and the introduction of new concentration limits into the EU and national legislations bave led to the continuous development an d updating of measures to improve air quality ancl to prevent particulate matter (PM) pollution. Expanding and deepcning our knowledge of the sources of atmospheric particulates is important not only to clarify the complex connection bctween the chemical composition of PM ancl hea lth cffects, but also to defìne relial>le scientifìc measures ancl remediation plans. PM is a very complcx matrix as it contai ns a huge variety of sol id an d liquid panicles or ditferent sizes, fi·om many sourccs and differing in terms of physical and chemical char acteristics, eflects on human health and the ecosystem , persistence in the aunosphere, as well as the ability to react with each othcr. Atmospheric PM can ther efore be classified according to many cliffcrent criteria: organic and inorganic; natura! (e.g. marine aerosol, crustal materia!) and anthropogcnic (e.g. produced U)' combustion processes ancl industriai emissions); primary (emitted directly frorn the source) and secondary (produced in the atmosphere); fine (aerodynamic diameter below 2.5 mm) and coarse.