Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels

of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids. overnments have made efforts since the !"#$s to reduce the release of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere with positive results. %itrogen oxides can also be produced naturally by lightning stri&es and sulfur dioxide is produced by volcanic eruptions. 'he chemicals in acid rain can cause paint to peel, corrosion of steel structures such as bridges, and erosion of stone statues.

Definition
"Acid rain" is a popular term referring to the deposition of wet (rain, snow, sleet, fog, cloudwater, and dew) and dry (acidifying particles and gases) acidic components. Distilled water, once carbon dioxide is removed, has a neutral pH of . !i"uids with a pH less than are acidic, and those with a pH greater than are al#aline. "$lean" or unpolluted rain has an acidic pH, but usually no lower than %. , because carbon dioxide and water in the air react together to form carbonic acid, a wea# acid according to the following reaction& H'( ()) * $(' (g) H'$(+ (a")

$arbonic acid then can ioni,e in water forming low concentrations of hydronium and carbonate ions& H'( (l) * H'$(+ (a") H$(+- (a") * H+(* (a")

However, unpolluted rain can also contain other chemicals which affect its pH (acidity level). A common example is nitric acid produced by electric discharge in the atmosphere such as lightning..)/ Acid deposition as an environmental issue (discussed later in the article) would include additional acids to H'$(+.

History

0rees #illed by acid rain 0he corrosive effect of polluted, acidic city air on limestone and marble was noted in the ) th century by 1ohn 2velyn, who remar#ed upon the poor condition of the Arundel marbles..'/ 3ince the 4ndustrial 5evolution, emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere have increased..+/.6/ 4n )7%', 5obert Angus 3mith was the first to show the relationship between acid rain and atmospheric pollution in 8anchester, 2ngland..%/ 0hough acidic rain was discovered in )7%+, it was not until the late )9:;s that scientists began widely observing and studying the phenomenon..:/ 0he term "acid rain" was coined in )7 ' by 5obert Angus 3mith.. / $anadian Harold Harvey was among the first to research a "dead" la#e. <ublic awareness of acid rain in the =.3 increased in the )9 ;s after 0he >ew ?or# 0imes published reports from the Hubbard @roo# 2xperimental Aorest in >ew Hampshire of the myriad deleterious environmental effects shown to result from it..7/.9/ (ccasional pH readings in rain and fog water of well below '.6 have been reported in industriali,ed areas..+/ 4ndustrial acid rain is a substantial problem in $hina and 5ussia.);/.))/ and areas downwind from them. 0hese areas all burn sulfurBcontaining coal to generate heat and electricity..)'/ 0he problem of acid rain has not only increased with population and industrial growth, but has become more widespread. 0he use of tall smo#estac#s to reduce local pollution has contributed to the spread of acid rain by releasing gases into regional atmospheric circulation..)+/.)6/ (ften deposition occurs a considerable distance downwind of the emissions, with mountainous regions tending to receive the greatest deposition (simply because of their higher rainfall). An example of this effect is the low pH of rain which falls in 3candinavia.

Emissions of chemicals leading to acidification

0he most important gas which leads to acidification is sulfur dioxide. 2missions of nitrogen oxides which are oxidi,ed to form nitric acid are of increasing importance due to stricter controls on emissions of sulfur containing compounds. ; 0g(3) per year in the form of 3(' comes from fossil fuel combustion and industry, '.7 0g(3) from wildfires and C7 0g(3) per year from volcanoes.

Natural phenomena
0he principal natural phenomena that contribute acidBproducing gases to the atmosphere are emissions from volcanoes. 0hus, for example, fumaroles from the !aguna $aliente crater of <oDs Eolcano create extremely high amounts of acid rain and fog, with acidity as high as a pH of ', clearing an area of any vegetation and fre"uently causing irritation to the eyes and lungs of inhabitants in nearby settlements.AcidBproducing gasses are also created by biological processes that occur on the land, in wetlands, and in the oceans. 0he maFor biological source of sulfur containing compounds is dimethyl sulfide. >itric acid in rainwater is an important source of fixed nitrogen for plant life, and is also produced by electrical activity in the atmosphere such as lightning. Acidic deposits have been detected in glacial ice thousands of years old in remote parts of the globe. 3oils of coniferous forests are naturally very acidic due to the shedding of needles, and the results of this phenomenon should not be confused with acid rain.

Human activity

0he coalBfired Gavin <ower <lant in $heshire, (hio 0he principal cause of acid rain is sulfur and nitrogen compounds from human sources, such as electricity generation, factories, and motor vehicles. 2lectrical power complexes utilising coal are among the greatest contributors to gaseous pollutions that are responsible for acidic rain. 0he gases can be carried hundreds of #ilometers in the atmosphere before they are converted to acids and deposited. 4n the past, factories had short funnels to let out smo#e but this caused many

problems locallyH thus, factories now have taller smo#e funnels. However, dispersal from these taller stac#s causes pollutants to be carried farther, causing widespread ecological damage.

Chemical processes
$ombustion of fuels produces sulfur dioxide and nitric oxides. 0hey are converted into sulfuric acid and nitric acid.

Gas phase chemistry

4n the gas phase sulfur dioxide is oxidi,ed by reaction with the hydroxyl radical via an intermolecular reaction& 3(' * (HI J H(3('I which is followed by& H(3('I * (' J H('I * 3(+ 4n the presence of water, sulfur trioxide (3(+) is converted rapidly to sulfuric acid& 3(+ (g) * H'( (l) J H'3(6 (a") >itrogen dioxide reacts with (H to form nitric acid& >(' * (HI J H>(+

Chemistry in cloud droplets

Khen clouds are present, the loss rate of 3(' is faster than can be explained by gas phase chemistry alone. 0his is due to reactions in the li"uid water droplets. Hydrolysis 3ulfur dioxide dissolves in water and then, li#e carbon dioxide, hydrolyses in a series of e"uilibrium reactions& 3(' (g) * H'( 3('IH'( 3('IH'( H* * H3(+H3(+- H* * 3(+'(xidation 0here are a large number of a"ueous reactions that oxidi,e sulfur from 3(4E) to 3(E4), leading to the formation of sulfuric acid. 0he most important oxidation reactions are with o,one, hydrogen

peroxide and oxygen (reactions with oxygen are cataly,ed by iron and manganese in the cloud droplets).

Acid deposition
Wet deposition
Ket deposition of acids occurs when any form of precipitation (rain, snow, and so on.) removes acids from the atmosphere and delivers it to the 2arthLs surface. 0his can result from the deposition of acids produced in the raindrops (see a"ueous phase chemistry above) or by the precipitation removing the acids either in clouds or below clouds. Ket removal of both gases and aerosols are both of importance for wet deposition.

Dry deposition
Acid deposition also occurs via dry deposition in the absence of precipitation. 0his can be responsible for as much as '; to :;M of total acid deposition.0his occurs when particles and gases stic# to the ground, plants or other surfaces.

Adverse effects

0his chart shows that not all fish, shellfish, or the insects that they eat can tolerate the same amount of acidH for example, frogs can tolerate water that is more acidic (i.e., has a lower pH) than trout. Acid rain has been shown to have adverse impacts on forests, freshwaters and soils, #illing insect and a"uatic lifeBforms as well as causing damage to buildings and having impacts on human health.

Human health effects

Acid rain does not directly affect human health. 0he acid in the rainwater is too dilute to have direct adverse effects. However, the particulates responsible for acid rain (sulfur dioxide and

nitrogen oxides) do have an adverse effect. 4ncreased amounts of fine particulate matter in the air do contribute to heart and lung problems including asthma and bronchitis.

Other adverse effects

2ffect of acid rain on statues Acid rain can damage buildings, historic monuments, and statues, especially those made of roc#s, such as limestone and marble, that contain large amounts of calcium carbonate. Acids in the rain react with the calcium compounds in the stones to create gypsum, which then fla#es off. $a$(+ (s) * H'3(6 (a") $a3(6 (s) * $(' (g) * H'( (l)

0he effects of this are commonly seen on old gravestones, where acid rain can cause the inscriptions to become completely illegible. Acid rain also increases the corrosion rate of metals, in particular iron, steel, copper and bron,e

Prevention methods
Technical solutions
8any coalBfiring power stations use flueBgas desulfuri,ation (AGD) to remove sulfurBcontaining gases from their stac# gases. Aor a typical coalBfired power station, AGD will remove 9%M or more of the 3(' in the flue gases. An example of AGD is the wet scrubber which is commonly used. A wet scrubber is basically a reaction tower e"uipped with a fan that extracts hot smo#e stac# gases from a power plant into the tower. !ime or limestone in slurry form is also inFected into the tower to mix with the stac# gases and combine with the sulfur dioxide present. 0he calcium carbonate of the limestone produces pHBneutral calcium sulfate that is physically removed from the scrubber. 0hat is, the scrubber turns sulfur pollution into industrial sulfates. 4n some areas the sulfates are sold to chemical companies as gypsum when the purity of calcium sulfate is high. 4n others, they are placed in landfill. However, the effects of acid rain can last for generations, as the effects of pH level change can stimulate the continued leaching of undesirable chemicals into otherwise pristine water sources, #illing off vulnerable insect and fish species and bloc#ing efforts to restore native life. Aluidi,ed bed combustion also reduces the amount of sulfur emitted by power production.

Eehicle emissions control reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides from motor vehicles.