Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Chemistry
University of Misan
College of Engineering
Environmental Chemistry
BY
First stage
Civil engineering Department
Group: A
Supervised by
2024
Introduction
Environmental chemistry is that branch of chemical science that deals with the
production, transport, reactions, effects, and fates of chemical species in the water, air,
terrestrial, and biological environment and the effects of human activities thereon.
Environmental chemistry is not a new discipline. Excellent work has been done in this
field for the greater part of a century. Until about 1970, most of this work was done in
academic departments or industrial groups other than those primarily concerned with
chemistry. Much of it was performed by people whose basic education was not in
chemistry. Thus, when pesticides were synthesized, biologists observed firsthand some of
the less desirable consequences of their use. When detergents were formulated, sanitary
engineers were startled to see sewage treatment plant aeration tanks vanish under meter-
thick blankets of foam, while limnologists wondered why previously normal lakes
suddenly became choked with stinking cyanobacteria. Despite these long standing
environmental effects, and even more recent and serious problems, such as those from
hazardous wastes, relatively few chemists have been exposed to material dealing with
environmental chemistry as part of their education.
Environmental Resource:
An environmental resource is any material, service, or information from the environment
that is valuable to society. This can refer to anything that people find useful in their
environs, or surroundings. Food from plants and animals, wood for cooking, heating, and
building, metals, coal, and oil are all environmental resources. Clean land, air, and water
are environmental resources, as are the abilities of land, air, and water to absorb society's
waste products. Heat from the sun, transportation and recreation in lakes, rivers, and
oceans, a beautiful view, or the discovery of a new species are all environmental resources.
Types of Pollutants
1- Primary pollutants: The pollutants after their formation, enter the environment and
remain unchanged. For example, CO, SO2, NO, NO2.
2- Secondary pollutants: They are formed as the result of the chemical reactions
between primary pollutants present in atmosphere and those in the hydrosphere.
For example, peroxy acyl nitrate.
3- Biodegradable pollutants: This type of pollutants can be easily decomposed with
help of microorganisms and are not harmful. For example sewage, domestic, cow
dung.
4- Non-biodegradable pollutants: The pollutants that cannot be decomposed, and their
presence is very harmful for animals and human beings. For example, mercury,
DDT.
Types of Pollution:
1. Physical Pollution
2. Geological Pollution
3. Chemical Pollution
4. Mechanical Pollution
5. Biological Pollution
6. Destructive Pollution
Air pollution: This is caused by the addition of undesirable substances into the
atmosphere. It is of the following two types:
1- Tropospheric pollution: - It is caused by gaseous air pollutants like SO2, NO2, CO2,
or H2S.
2- Stratospheric pollution: - The damage to the ozone layer by the action of
compounds like nitric acid and chloroform carbons constitute this particular type of
pollution.
Acid rain is due to the large-scale emission of acidic gaseous oxides (NO2, SO2 etc) into
atmosphere by the thermal power plants, industries and automobiles. The oxides of
sulphur and nitrogen dissolve in rain water forming sulphuric acid and nitric acid
resulting in acid rain.
References
[1] Environmental Chemistry -Found at
https://unacademy.com/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/18.-Environmental-
Chemistry.pdf.
[3] https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-
maps/environmental-resources.