Scenario Analysis And Optimization Approach In Air Quality Planning: A Case Study In Northern Italy

Secondary pollution derives from complex non-linear reactions involving precursor emissions, namely VOC, NOx, NH3, primary PM and SO2. Due to difficulty to cope with this complexity, Decision Support Systems (DSSs) are key tools to support Environmental Authorities in planning cost-effective air quality policies that fulfill EU Directive 2008/50 requirements. The objective of this work is to formalize and compare the scenario analysis and the multi-objective optimization approach for air quality planning purposes. A case study of Northern Italy is presented.