acid rain main

8/9/2019 Acid Rain Main

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ACID RAIN

In Partial Fulfillment of the requirement of the MBA,

Session 2009-10

Submitted by: Supervised by

Rajiv Bhatia Prof. Karnail Singh Sandhu.

B.Tech(S!".

#ni.Roll no. $%&'&.

('rdSemester"

Submitted to:

Guru Nanak e! "ni!ersit#Amritsar$


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Definition

)*cid rain) is a popular term referring to the deposition of +et

(rain, sno+, sleet, fog and cloud +ater, de+" and dry(acidifying particles and gases" acidic components. * more

accurate term is -acid deposition. /istilled +ater, +hich

contains no carbon dio0ide, has a neutralp1of %. 2i3uids +ith

a p1 less than % are acidic, and those +ith a p1 greater than %

are basic. -lean or unpolluted rain has a slightly acidic p1 of

about 4.&, because carbon dio0ide and +ater in the air react

together to form carbonic acid, a +ea5 acid (p1 4.6 in distilled

+ater", but unpolluted rain also contains other chemicals.

1&7(l" 8 7&(g" 9 1&7'(a3"

arbonic acid then can ionie in +ater forming lo+

concentrations of hydroniumions:

&1&7(l" 8 1&7'(a3" 7'&;

(a3" 8 &1'78

(a3"

The e0tra acidity in rain comes from the reaction of primary air

pollutants, primarily sulfur o0ides and nitrogen o0ides, +ith

+ater in the air to form strong acids (li5e sulfuric and nitric
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distilled_waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_Dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_Dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroniumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuric_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distilled_waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_Dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroniumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuric_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acid


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acid". The main sources of these pollutants are industrial

po+er;generating plants and vehicles

Acid Rain - Causes

> million tons of sulfur

dio0ide, %>?percnt@ of that in the +orld.

*utomobiles produce about half of the +orldAs nitrogen

o0ide. *s the number of automobiles in use increases, so

does the amount of acid rain. Po+er plants that burn fossil

fuels also contribute significantly to nitrogen o0ide

emission.

Though human causes are primarily responsible for acid

rain, natural causes e0ist as +ell.


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year.

7nce the tiny pollutant molecules have entered the

atmosphere, they can travel for thousands of miles.

!ventually, the particles +ill combine +ith other

compounds to produce ne+, often harmful, chemicals.

*cid rain comes do+n to the earth in the form of rain,sno+, hail, fog, frost, or de+. 7nce it reaches the ground,

the acidity in the substance can harm and even destroy both

natural ecosystemsand man;made products, such as car

finishes.

Emissions of chemicals leading to acidification

The most important gas +hich leads to acidification is sulfurdio0ide. !missions of nitrogen o0ides+hich are o0idied to

form nitric acid are of increasing importance due to stricter

controls on emissions of sulfur containing compounds. %>

Tg(S" per year in the form of S7& comes from fossil fuel
http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Science/ecosystems.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_oxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuelhttp://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Science/ecosystems.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_oxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel


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combustion and industry, &.$ Tg(S" from +ildfires and %;$

Tg(S" per year from volcanoes.

Natural Phenomena

The principal natural phenomena that contribute acid;

producing gases to the atmosphere are emissions from

volcanoes and those from biologicalprocesses that occur on

the land, in +etlands, and in the oceans. The major biological

source of sulfur containing compounds is dimethyl sulfide.

*cidic deposits have been detected in glacial icethousands of

years old in remote parts of the globe.

Human activity

The principal cause of acid rain is sulfur and nitrogen

compounds from human sources, such as electricity generation,

factories, and motor vehicles. oal po+er plants are one of the

most polluting. The gases can be carried hundreds of

5ilometers in the atmosphere before they are converted to acidsand deposited. n the past, factories had short funnels to let out

smo5e, but this caused many problems locally@ thus, factories

no+ have taller smo5e funnels. 1o+ever, dispersal from these

taller stac5s causes pollutants to be carried farther, causing

+idespread ecological damage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfireshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanoeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomenahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_atmospherehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_sulfidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_generationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehiclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfireshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanoeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomenahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_atmospherehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_sulfidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_generationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle


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Chemical processes

Gas phase chemistry

n the gas phasesulfur dio0ide is o0idied by reaction +ith the

hydro0ylradical via an intermolecularreaction:

S7&8 71C 9 17S7&C

+hich is follo+ed by:

17S7&C 8 7&9 17&C 8 S7'

n the presence of +ater, sulfur trio0ide(S7'" is converted

rapidly to sulfuric acid:

S7'(g" 8 1&7(l" 9 1&S7D(l"

Eitric acidis formed by the reaction of 71 +ith nitrogen

dio0ide:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_phasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxylhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermolecularhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_trioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuric_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_phasehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxylhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermolecularhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_trioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuric_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_acidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxide


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E7&8 71C 9 1E7'


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Wet deposition

Get deposition of acids occurs +hen any form of precipitation

(rain, sno+, etc" removes acids from the atmosphere and

delivers it to the !arthAs surface. This can result from thedeposition of acids produced in the raindrops (see a3ueous

phase chemistry above" or by the precipitation removing the

acids either in clouds or belo+ clouds. Get removal of both

gases and aerosols are both of importance for +et deposition.

Dry deposition

*cid deposition also occurs via dry deposition in the absenceof precipitation. This can be responsible for as much as &> to

6>I of total acid deposition. This occurs +hen particles and

gases stic5 to the ground, plants or other surfaces.

Acid rain and its effect

When rain or sno+ falling from the atmosphere contains acidsli5e 1&S7D and 1E7' then +e say there is acid rain. n other

+ords it is the polluted rain +ater. n order to understand the

term acid rain +e have to divide it into t+o categories: +et

deposition and dry deposition.

The term deposition has been used due to acid fallout of the

atmosphere. Get deposition refers to acidic rain, fog, and sno+.

/ry deposition refers to acidic gases and particles. The earthJs

gravity +or5s to continually pull dry particles bac5 to earth.

#neven heating of the earth results in global +inds in the

atmosphere. lobal +inds provide the energy for long;range

travel of the gases, li3uids, and dust in the atmosphere, before


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falling bac5 to the ground.


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Corrosive damage

*cid rain is very damaging *cid rain is found to speed up the

natural decay of stone monuments and historical buildings

made up of marble, limestone, slate etc. these materials on

reacting +ith rain +ater get damaged.

*s a

result

of

acid

rain

invaluable statues and buildings are deteriorating in reece and

taly. =any invaluable statues have partially damaged. Taj

=ahal of ndia is facing same problem.

The adverse effects on life in fresh +ater acid rain primarily

affects sensitive bodies of +ater, +hich are located in

+atersheds +hose soils have a limited ability to neutralise

acidic compounds (called )buffering capacity)". 2a5es andstreams become acidic (p1 value goes do+n" +hen the +ater

itself and its surrounding soil cannot buffer the acid rain

enough to neutralise it.


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n areas +here buffering capacity is lo+, acid rain also releases

aluminum from soils into la5es and streams@ aluminum is

highly to0ic to many species of a3uatic organisms.

t damages leaves of trees and plants and retards the gro+th offorests .t damages various 5inds of vegetation, including

agricultural crops and trees, chiefly by inhibiting nitrogen

fi0ation and leaching nutrients from foliage.

Water pollution

The rain +ater also corrodes metals, the acidified +ater

dissolves metal o0ides in the soil and releases *l (aluminium",

Ln (inc", =n (manganese",


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*cid rain has been sho+n to have adverse impacts on forests,

fresh+aters and soils, 5illing insect and a3uatic lifeforms as

+ell as causing damage to buildings and having impacts on

human health.Surface waters and aquatic animals

Both the lo+er p1 and higher aluminum concentrations in

surface +ater that occur as a result of acid rain can cause

damage to fish and other a3uatic animals. *t p1s lo+er than 4

most fish eggs +ill not hatch and lo+er p1s can 5ill adult fish.

*s la5es and rivers become more acidic biodiversity isreduced. *cid rain has eliminated insect life and some fish

species, including thebroo5 troutin some la5es, streams, and

cree5s in geographically sensitive areas, such as the

*dirondac5 =ountains of the #nited States. 1o+ever, the

e0tent to +hich acid rain contributes directly or indirectly via

runoff from the catchment to la5e and river acidity (i.e.,

depending on characteristics of the surrounding +atershed" is

variable. The #S !P*As +ebsite states: %&f the lakes an'streams sur!e#e', a(i' rain (ause' a(i'it# in )* +er(ent of the

a(i'i( lakes an' aout *0 +er(ent of the a(i'i( streams%.

Soils

Soil biology and chemistry can be seriously damaged by acid

rain. Some microbes are unable to tolerate changes to lo+ p1s

and are 5illed. The enymes of these microbes are denatured(changed in shape so they no longer function" by the acid. The

hydronium ions of acid rain also mobilie to0ins, e.g.

aluminium, and leach a+ay essential nutrients and minerals. NFO
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brook_trouthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzymehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denaturation_(biochemistry)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain#cite_note-EPA:_Forests-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brook_trouthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzymehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denaturation_(biochemistry)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain#cite_note-EPA:_Forests-18


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&18(a3"8 =g&8(clay"&18(clay"8 =g&8(a3"

Soil chemistry can be dramatically changed +hen base cations,

such as calcium and magnesium, are leached by acid rain

thereby affecting sensitive species, such as sugar maple(*cer

saccharum".

Forests and other vegetation

!ffect of acid rain on a forest, iera =ountains, ech

Republic

*dverse effects may be indirectly related to acid rain, li5e theacidAs effects on soil (see above" or high concentration of

gaseous precursors to acid rain. 1igh altitude forests are

especially vulnerable as they are often surrounded by clouds

and fog +hich are more acidic than rain.

7ther plants can also be damaged by acid rain but the effect on

food crops is minimied by the application of lime and

fertiliers to replace lost nutrients. n cultivated areas,limestone may also be added to increase the ability of the soil

to 5eep the p1 stable, but this tactic is largely unusable in the

case of +ilderness lands. Ghen calcium is leached from the

needles of red spruce, these trees become less cold tolerant and

e0hibit +inter injury and even death.

Human health

Scientists have suggested direct lin5s to human health.


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cancer and other diseases


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Potential pro!lem areas in the future

Places li5e much of South *sia (ndonesia, =alaysia and

Thailand", Gestern South *frica(the country", Southern ndia

and Sri 2an5a and even Gest *frica (countries li5e hana,

Togo andEigeria" could all be prone to acidic rainfall in the

future.

Prevention methods

Technical solutions

n the #nited States, many coal;burningpo+er plantsuse


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CONCL!"ON

The consensus of the +orldJs leading scientists is that *E

R*E is real and already under +ay.


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#"#L"O$RAP%&

.http:en.+i5ipedia.org+i5i*cidrain.&.+++.acid rain.org

'.+++.tribuneindia.com

D.+++.stopacidrain.org

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