ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY

Air Pollutants

• Air pollutants = gases and particulate material added to

the atmosphere
• Can affect climate or harm people or other organisms
• Air pollution = the release of pollutants
• Outdoor (ambient) air pollution = pollution outside
• Has recently decreased due to government policy and
improved technologies in developed countries
• Developing countries and urban areas still have
significant problems
Natural sources pollute: volcanoes
• Release particulate matter,
sulfur dioxide, and other
gases
• Can remain for months or
years
• Aerosols = fine droplets of
sulfur dioxide, water, oxygen
• Reflect sunlight back to
space
• Cool the atmosphere and Volcanoes are one source
surface of natural air pollution, as
shown by the Mount Saint
Helens eruption in 1980
Natural sources pollute: fires
• Fires pollute the atmosphere with soot and gases
• Over 60 million ha (150 million acres) of forests and grasslands
burn per year
• Human influence makes fires worse
• Fuel buildup from fire suppression, development in fire-
prone areas, “slash-and-burn” agriculture
• Climate change will increase drought and fires

In 1997, unprecedented forest fires

sickened 20 million and caused a plane
to crash
Natural sources pollute: dust storms

• Wind over arid land sends huge

amounts of dust aloft
• Even across oceans
• Businesses, schools, and
governments close
• Unsustainable farming and grazing
promote:
• Erosion
• Desertification
 Outdoor air pollution
• Air pollution comes from mobile or stationary sources
• Point sources = specific spots where large quantities of pollutants
are discharged (power plants and factories)
• Non-point sources = more diffuse, consisting of many small sources
(automobiles)
• Primary pollutants = directly harmful and can react to form
harmful substances (soot and carbon monoxide)
• Secondary pollutants = form when primary pollutants interact or
react with components of the atmosphere
• Tropospheric ozone and sulfuric acid
 Pollutants exert local and global effects
• Residence time = the time a pollutant stays in the
atmosphere
• Pollutants with brief residence times exert localized impacts
over short time periods
• Particulate matter, automobile exhaust
• Pollutants with long
residence times exert
regional or global impacts
• Pollutants causing
climate change or
• ozone depletion
 Pollutants: CO , SO2 and NO2
• Carbon monoxide (CO) = colorless, odorless gas
• Produced primarily by incomplete combustion of fuel
• From vehicles and engines, industry, waste combustion, residential wood
burning
• Poses risk to humans and animals, even in small concentrations
• Sulfur dioxide (SO2) = colorless gas with a strong odor
• Coal emissions from electricity generation, industry
• Can form acid precipitation
• Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) = a highly reactive, foul-smelling reddish brown
gas
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx) = formed when nitrogen and oxygen react at high
temperatures in engines
• Vehicles, industrial combustion, electrical utilities
• Contribute to smog and acid precipitation
Pollutants: particulate matter and lead

• Particulate matter = suspended solid or liquid particles

• Primary pollutants: dust and soot
• Secondary pollutants: sulfates and nitrates
• Damages respiratory tissue when inhaled
• From dust and combustion processes
• Lead = in gasoline and industrial metal smelting
• Bioaccumulates and damages the nervous system
• Banned in gasoline in developed, but not in developing,
countries
 Lead
• Sources of lead emissions vary from one area to another.
• At the national level, major sources of lead in the air are ore and
metals processing and piston-engine aircraft operating on leaded
aviation fuel.
• Other sources are waste incinerators, utilities, and lead-acid battery
manufacturers. The highest air concentrations of lead are usually found
near lead smelters.
• Volcanic activity and airborne soil are the primary natural sources of
atmospheric lead.
 Particulate Matter
• Sea salt, soil dust, volcanic particles, smoke from forest fires account
for particulate emissions each year.
• Small particles are removed from the atmosphere by accretion to water
droplets, which grow in size until they are large enough to precipitate.
• Larger particles are removed by direct washout by falling raindrops.
Nitrous Oxides
• Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is one of a group of highly
reactive gases known as oxides of nitrogen or
nitrogen oxides (NOx).
• Although some is naturally occurring, NO2 primarily
gets in the air from the burning of fuel.
• NO2 forms from emissions from cars, trucks and
buses, power plants, and off-road equipment.
Sulfur Oxides
• At high concentrations, gaseous SO2 can harm trees and plants
by damaging foliage and decreasing growth and can contribute
to acid rain which can harm sensitive ecosystems.
• Short-term exposures to SO2 can harm the human respiratory
system and make breathing difficult. Children, the elderly, and
those who suffer from asthma are particularly sensitive to
effects of SO2.
Reduced emissions and improved the
economy
• Technology and policies
• Cleaner-burning engines and
catalytic converters
• Permit-trading programs and
clean coal technologies reduce
SO2 emissions
• Scrubbers = chemically convert
or physically remove pollutants
before they leave smokestacks
• Phaseout of leaded gasoline
Toxic substances pose health risks
• Toxic air pollutants = substances that cause:
• Cancer, reproductive defects
• Neurological, developmental, immune system, or respiratory
problems
Industrializing nations suffer increasing
pollution
• Outdoor pollution is getting worse in developing nations
• Factories and power plants pollute
• Governments emphasize economic growth, not pollution
control
• People burn traditional fuels (wood and charcoal)
• And more own cars
• China has the world’s worst air pollution
• Coal burning, more cars, power plants, factories
• Causing over 300,000 premature deaths/year
Smog: most common air quality problem
• Smog = an unhealthy mixture of
air pollutants over urban areas
• Sulfur in burned coal combines
with oxygen to form sulfuric acid
• Industrial (gray air) smog =
industries burn coal or oil
• Regulations in developed countries
reduced smog
• Coal-burning industrializing Smog in Donora
countries face health risks killed 21 people
• Coal and lax pollution control and sickened 6,000
Synthetic chemicals deplete stratospheric
ozone
• Ozone layer = ozone in the lower stratosphere
• Blocks incoming ultraviolet (UV) radiation
• Protecting life from radiation’s damaging effects
• Ozone-depleting substances = human-made chemicals
that destroy ozone by splitting its molecules apart
• Halocarbons = human-made compounds made from
hydrocarbons with added chlorine, bromine, or fluorine
• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) = a halocarbon used as
refrigerants, in fire extinguishers, in aerosol cans, etc.
• Releases chlorine atoms that split ozone
CFCs destroy ozone
• CFCs are inert (don’t react)
• CFCs remain in the
stratosphere for a century
• UV radiation breaks CFCs
into chlorine and carbon
atoms
• The chlorine atom splits
ozone
One chlorine atom can
• Ozone hole = decreased
destroy 100,000 ozone
ozone levels over Antarctica
molecules
Acid deposition
• Acid deposition is another transboundary issue
• Acidic deposition = the deposition of acid, or acid-
forming pollutants from the atmosphere onto Earth’s
surface
• Acid rain = precipitation containing acid
• Rain, snow, sleet, hail
• Atmospheric deposition = the wet or dry deposition on
land of pollutants (mercury, nitrates, organochlorines)
• From automobiles, electric utilities, industrial facilities
Burning fossil fuels produces acid rain
• Burning fossil fuels releases sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides
• These compounds react with water, oxygen, and oxidants to
form sulfuric and nitric acids
Impacts of acid deposition
• Nutrients are leached from topsoil
• Soil chemistry is changed
• Metal ions (aluminum, zinc, etc.) are converted into
soluble forms that pollute water
• Affects surface water and kills fish
• Damages agricultural crops
• Erodes stone buildings, corrodes cars, erases writing on
tombstones
Indoor air pollution in the developing
world
• Stems from burning wood,
charcoal, dung, crop
wastes with little to no
ventilation
• Fuel burning pollution
causes 1.6 million
deaths/year
• Soot and carbon monoxide
• Pneumonia, bronchitis, lung cancer, allergies, cataracts,
asthma, heart disease, etc.
VOCs pollute indoor air
• The most diverse group of indoor air pollutants
• Released by everything from plastics and oils to perfumes and
paints
• Most VOCs are released in very small amounts
• Unclear health implications due to low concentrations
• Formaldehyde leaking from pressed wood and insulation
irritates mucous membranes and induces skin allergies
• Pesticides seep through floors and walls
• Are brought in on shoe soles
Sources of indoor air pollution
We can reduce indoor air pollution
• In developed countries:
• Use low-toxicity materials, limit use of plastics and treated
wood, monitor air quality, keep rooms clean
• Provide adequate ventilation
• Limit exposure to known toxicants
• Test homes and offices and use CO detectors
• In developing countries:
• Dry wood before burning
• Cook outside
• Use less-polluting fuels (natural gas)
POLLUTION

• Any material affecting the life is known as pollutant and the

phenomenon is known as pollution. The pollutants may be
inorganic, biological or radiological in nature.
•
Primary pollutants : These are emitted directly from the
sources. eg. inorganic gases such as H2S, SO2, CO, NO, HF,
NH3 radioactive substances or particulates such as smoke, ash,
dust, fumes.
•
Secondary pollutants : These are formed in the atmosphere
by chemical interactions among primary pollutants eg. SO3,
NO2, CH4, aldehydes, ketones, nitrates, sulphates, phenols.
• Bio-degradable pollutants : These are domestic wastes which
are rapidly decomposed by microorganisms.
•
Non-degradable pollutants : These include chemicals,
mercuric salts, lead compounds, pesticides etc.
•
Natural pollution : It is caused by radioactive substances,
volcanic eruptions, forests and mines fires, floods etc.
•
Artificial pollution : It is caused by industries, thermal plants,
automobile exhausts, sewage etc.
AIR POLLUTION
PHOTOCHEMICAL POLLUTANTS
SMOG
ACID RAIN
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
OZONE LAYER AND ITS DEPLETION
OZONE LAYER AND ITS DEPLETION
Effects of Pollutants on the Atmosphere

• The main sources of air pollution include combustion processes, industrial

processes, natural resource exploitation and proce ssing, commercial
services (e.g., dry-cleaning or painting), and biogenic or non-
anthropogenic proce sses.
• The most abundant air pollutants can be grouped and classified into 10
groups (see below ). The last six groups include many substances listed on
the U.S. EPA official Hazardous Air Pollutants lists (HAPs), derived from the
Clean Air Act.
• The majority are primary pollutants (i.e., those that are directly emitted to
the atmosphere), while others may form as secondary pollutants through
photochemical or other reactions in the atmo sphere.
The Greenhouse Effect

• An additional effect of combustion gases is the strong anthropogenic

contribution to the greenhouse effect,
• . This is primarily due to the augmented emissions of CO2 and NOx
into the atmosphere, promoted by unregulated increases in
population, transport, and industrial activity.
• The gas ofmajor concern is CO2because its concentration has been
steadily increasing over the last 100 years as a result of the
combustion of fossil fuels.
CONTROL OF AIR POLLUTION
WATER POLLUTION

• The contamination of water by foreign substances which would

constitute a health hazard and make it harmful for all purposes
(domestic, industrial or agriculture etc.) is known as water
pollution. The polluted water may have offensive odour, bad
taste, unpleasant colour, murky oily etc.
SOURCES OF WATER POLLUTION
EFFECTS OF IMPURITIES IN WATER
EFFECTS OF IMPURITIES IN WATER
AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC OXIDATION

• The oxidation of organic compounds present in sewage in

presence of good amount of dissolved or free oxygen
(approx. 8.5 ml/l) by aerobic bacterias is called aerobic
oxidation. When dissolved or free oxygen is below a certain
value the sewage is called stale anaerobic bacteria bring out
purification producing H2S, NH3, CH4, (NH4)2S etc. This type of
oxidation is called anaerobic oxidation.
• The optimum value of D.O. for good quality of water is 4-6
ppm (4-6 mg/l). The lower the concentration of D.O., the more
polluted is the water.