Atmospheric chemistry is the study of atmospheric pollutants which are on the rampage in the atmosphere, occur both indoor as well as outdoor, both through nature and human activity. This includes acidic deposition, global warming, photochemical haze, poisonous air pollutants, and ozone diminution. It explains any unnecessary substances and other resources that pollute the air we take in, resulting in the dreadful conditions of atmospheric excellence. Fossil fuels are used as a source of energy by humans for comfort.
Acidic Deposition
The most important open-air pollutants include oxides of carbon, nitrogen, and lead given off from road automobiles, wastes from industries, hydrocarbons, and a complex mixture of natural and lifeless substances present in the environment in the form of liquid and solids. These pollutants experience a sequence of difficult effects and are converted to secondary pollutants, called photochemical pollutants.
Research by Chang Raymond (2006) showed that indoor pollutants are oxides of carbon and nitrogen given out from gas heaters pressure cookers, compounds from cigarette smoke, vinyl flooring, paints, dust mites, and mold. We spend 90% of our time living inside, we are therefore likely to affect our health due to bad air quality. Natural sources include volcanoes, dust storms, remains from life decay and forest fires, and lightning from thunderstorms.
Ozone, a photochemical pollutant, is formed by the oxidation of explosive organic compounds in the presence of sunlight and oxides of nitrogen in the atmosphere. Fossil fuels are made of many substances (Simpson, D., Tuovinen, J.-P, Emberson, L. D., and Ashmore, M. R., 2003). Oxidation of the carbon-based compounds in the fuels produces vast amounts of carbon dioxide and is known to be a major contributor to the greenhouse effect which causes an increase in the atmospheric temperature.
When coal in fossil fuels burn, waste heat produced by the combustion of sulfur is released into the atmosphere as sulfur dioxide. This oxidizes in the air to sulphuric acid that survives as vapors in the air. These fall on the surface of the earth with a multiplicity of ecological dangers.
According to (Seinfield, J. H. and Pandis, S. N., 1998), atmospheric pollutants dilapidate air quality. Acidification of ecological units is an environmental alarm The conversion of sulfur dioxide into sulfur trioxide is used as a source of energy elsewhere in the chemical works.
Water cannot be used to absorb the sulfur trioxide because when two compounds are mixed, a mist of sulphuric acid is formed, which will not readily condense as a liquid. Such a mist is a major pollution hazard.
The small amount of sulfur dioxide remaining, cause acid rain, and is removed before the nitrogen present is released in the atmosphere.
High applications of sulphuric acid vapors are so hazardous that these cause rigorous respiratory problems in human beings.
Since most of the sulfur plummets in uninhabited areas, can cause damage to plant life, metals from the soil are released into the lakes, rivers, and seas causing damage to marine life.
The carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and oxides of sulfur that occur naturally in an unpolluted atmosphere are expected to give rainwater a pH of about 5.6-5.0. Globally the natural and industrial gases are similar. In the Northern Hemisphere over 90% of all sulfur dioxide emissions occur as a result of industrial activity. It is thought that oxides of nitrogen from car exhausts may oxidize sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide. But once in the air, these pollutants know how to travel extensive distances prior to returning to the earth’s surfaces either in a dry form and as rain or snow. Acid rain washes nutrients from soils and lowers the pH of rivers and lakes. It also significantly damages limestone and marble in buildings, sculptures, and other artificial constructions like the Taj Mahal, Acropolis, and Cathedrals. Evaluating transformations in acidic deposition and identifying regions open to the elements of acidification is a constant warning to the environment for the reason that the deposition intensities are exceeding the environmental damage level.
References
- General Chemistry: The Essential Concepts, Chang Raymond, Fourth Edition, McGraw Hills, 2006.
- Seinfield, J. H. and Pandis, S. N., 1998, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. From Air Pollution to Climate Change, John Wiley and Sons, inc., New York.
- Simpson, D., Tuovinen, J. –P, Emberson, L. D., and Ashmore, M. R., 2003b, Characteristics of an Ozone Deposition Module ii: sensitivity analysis, Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 143, 123 – 137.