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Acid Rain

Acid rain is caused by sulfur and nitrogen emissions from sources like power plants and vehicles reacting in the atmosphere and falling to Earth as rain, snow, or fog. It harms the environment by damaging forests and aquatic ecosystems, and poses risks to human health. While policies like the Clean Air Act have reduced acid rain in some areas, it remains a problem. Mitigating strategies include reducing sulfur and nitrogen emissions through methods like switching to cleaner fuels, improving pollution control technologies, and liming affected bodies of water.

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Saif Younus
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30 views17 pages

Acid Rain

Acid rain is caused by sulfur and nitrogen emissions from sources like power plants and vehicles reacting in the atmosphere and falling to Earth as rain, snow, or fog. It harms the environment by damaging forests and aquatic ecosystems, and poses risks to human health. While policies like the Clean Air Act have reduced acid rain in some areas, it remains a problem. Mitigating strategies include reducing sulfur and nitrogen emissions through methods like switching to cleaner fuels, improving pollution control technologies, and liming affected bodies of water.

Uploaded by

Saif Younus
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ACID RAIN AND ITS EFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Acid Rain

Charles Fletcher, Martyna S. Sowa, Svetlana Zusina, 


 What is acid rain and what is the scale of the problem?

 How do we know if the rain is acid?

 What causes acid rain (chemical reactions)?

 Where do the acid rain precursors come from?

 How does acid rain affect the environment?

 What can we do to protect our planet form acid rain?


Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a
mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids.

 Wet deposition
 rain
 hail
 snow
 fog

 Dry deposition
 gases and particles
The valid risk assessment
 The net acid deposition flux

the total acid deposition flux

deposition flux of base cations.


 The acidity status of precipitation is a result of a balance between

acidifying compounds (oxides of sulfur and nitrogen) and alkaline


compounds (ammonia and alkaline material in windblown soil dust).
 The acidity of precipitation is measured by the concentration of
hydrogen ion.
(pH value -below 5.6 is acidic).
Causes and chemistry
 a) Acid reactions with sulphur

S + O2 → SO2

2SO2 + O2 →2SO32-

SO32- + H2 O → H2SO4

 b) Acid reactions with nitrogen

N2 +O2 →2NO

2NO +O2 →2NO2

4NO2+O2 + 2H2 O →4 HNO3


PRECURSORS AND SOURCES
 The main precursors of acid rain are emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxides (NOx)

MAN MADE
 Fuel combustion in power plants (SO2)

 Exhaust pipes in automobiles (NOx)


NATURAL:

 Terrestial, tidal, and nutrient-rich oceanic areas

 Volcanic eruptions

 Forest fires

 Outgassings from anaerobic wetlands

 Breakdown of amino acids in organic wastes


TRANSPORT OF ACID RAIN
PRECURSORS

 Acid rain in a certain area can be caused by pollutants from


emissions that are hundreds, even thousands of kilometers away
especially through wet deposition.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS:
 Water and marine life
 Extinction of fish in lakes

 Flora
 Plants, forests, crops
 leaf necrosis, tissue damage, death of the whole tree

 Soil
 Improper growth of plants and trees

 Human Health
 respiratory problems
POLICIES AND TAKING ACTION

 Strategies for mitigating acid rain


Liming bodies of acidified water
 This process of neutralizing acidity in endangered lakes and streams is
through the addition of lime (calcium carbonate and calcium hydroxide)
Chemicals such as caustic soda, sodium carbonate, slacked lime and
limestone help raise pH of acidified water.
 Drawbacks:

 Very expensive

 Treatment needs to be repeated every 3-6 years

 Remote lakes are inaccessible

 Large pieces of lime dissolve slowly

 Doesn’t solve the problem for soil acidification


Reducing SO2 and NOx emissions
CHANGING THE FUEL USED:
 Changing from high to low sulfur coal

 Moving to non-fossil fuels such as nuclear power

 Using Solar, Wind or Hydro resources

COAL CLEANING
IMPROVING IN-PROCESS TECHNOLOGY
REDUCTION OF COMBUSTION TEMPERATURE (NOX)
Policy
Many policies and programs were established in the
past couple of decades once governments started to
become concerned with the harmful effects of air
pollution.
 1979 - Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution took
place with the idea to limit sulfur and nitrogen emissions was successfully
achieved

 1995-1997 Title IV of the Clean Air Act was established to reduce the adverse
effects of acid deposition through reductions in annual emissions of sulfur
dioxide of ten million tons from 1980 emission levels.
Results and Conclusions
 Acid rain remains an acute problem in many parts of the
world and is threatened by the rapid industrial development
of the developing countries
 The future strategies should concentrate on both the decrease
of acidifying compounds and the increase of alkaline elements
 Everyone should stayed informed and educated on the matter
of acid rain and lead an energy efficient lifestyle
Thank you!
www.steelumbrellas.com

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