Acid rain report
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Acid rain is caused by sulfur and nitrogen compounds emitted from human activities like burning fossil fuels and industrial processes. These compounds react in the atmosphere to form acids that fall to Earth as rain, snow, or dry particles. Acid rain harms plants and aquatic animals by damaging soils and lowering pH levels in bodies of water. It also corrodes infrastructure like buildings and statues. Areas most affected include Eastern US, Southwestern Canada, and parts of Europe and Asia. Reducing emissions from coal plants and vehicles can help prevent further acid rain damage.
Acid rain report
- 1. Acid Rain By: Group 1 By: Aubrey Vale Sagun
- 2. What is an Acid rain? 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). Refers to a mixture of deposited material, both wet and dry, coming from the atmosphere containing more than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. Simply put, it means rain that is acidic in nature due to the presence of certain pollutant in the air due to cars and industrial processes .
- 5. Acidity is determined on the basis of the pH level of the water droplets. Normal rain water is slightly acidic with a pH range of 5.3-6.0, because carbon dioxide and water present in the air react together to form carbonic acid, which is a weak acid. When the pH level of rain water falls below this range, it becomes acid rain.
- 6. Causes of Acid Rain formation
- 7. How acid rain is formed? It occurs due to natural and human activities. Erupting volcanoes contains some chemicals that can cause acid rain. Apart from this, burning of fossil fuels, running of factories and automobiles due to human activities are few other reasons behind this activity.
- 9. Formed in Acid rain Sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive strong mineral acid with the molecular formula H2SO4. Nitric Acid – acid that contains nitrogen and that is used in making fertilizers. Causes Acid rain Sulfur dioxide (also sulphur dioxide) is the chemical compound with the formula SO2. it is a toxic gas with a pungent, irritating, and rotten smell. Nitrogen oxide In areas of high motor vehicle traffic, such as in large cities, the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted into the atmosphere as air pollution can be significant. gases react to form smog and acid rain
- 10. Human Activity Sulphur and nitrogen compounds from human sources such as: a) Electricity generations b) Motor vehicles c) Air pollution d) Factories
- 13. Human Attribution • Human emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides contribute to the acidification of rain • Emissions began during the industrial revolution, remaining unchecked until the 1970s • Biggest contributor is the burning of coal • Annually 70Tg (1012 g) of Sulfur emissions comes from fossil fuel burning, compared to 8Tg from volcanoes and 2.8Tg from wildfires
- 14. Burning of coals in power plants. Oil and natural gas in power stations makes electricity, giving off sulphur dioxide. Burning petrol and oil in vehicle engines give off nitrogen oxides as gases.
- 15. The Coal Power Plant Problem Burning coal is extremely cheap and efficient but dirty, releasing sulfur dioxide which becomes sulfuric acid in the atmosphere Areas downwind of power plants receive heavy acid rain Smoke stacks built to counteract direct deposition of sulfuric acid only spread the problem
- 19. Natural Activities Natural acid rain can be caused by volcanic emissions and biological processes Eruption of Volcanoes Lightning
- 24. Effects on Human Contribute heart and lung problem including Asthma and Bronchitis.
- 27. On Nature It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals and infrastructure. Not many things can grow in acidic conditions Low pH and high aluminum concentrations can damage or kill fish and aquatic populations Soils can be damaged by the hydronium ion, which mobilizes aluminum and encourages leaching of minerals such as magnesium essential for plant life Forests suffer from soil damage, however most food crops are unharmed because the nutrients lost are replaced in fertilizer
- 34. Effects on Infrastructure Effect on Architecture and Buildings – Acid rain on buildings, especially those constructed with limestone, react with the minerals and corrode them away. This leaves the building weak and susceptible to decay. Modern buildings, cars, airplanes, steel bridges and pipes are all affected by acid rain. Irreplaceable damage can be caused to the old heritage buildings.
- 35. Other Effects • Monuments made of Calcium Carbonate (limestone and marble) will react with acid rain to form Gypsum • Increases the oxidation rate of metals such as copper and bronze
- 40. Acid rain can occur in form of rain, snow, fog or dry material that settle to earth.
- 41. Wet Deposition When the wind blows the acidic chemicals in the air to the areas where the weather is wet, the acids fall to the ground in the form of rain, sleet, fog, snow or mist. It removes acid from the atmosphere and deposit them on the earth’s surface. When this acid flows through the ground, it affects large number of plants, animals and aquatic life. The water from drain flows into rivers and canals which is them mixed up with sea water, thereby affecting marine habitats.
- 44. Dry Deposition If the wind blows the acidic chemicals in the air to the areas where the weather is dry, the acidic pollutants slip into dust or smoke and fall to the ground as dry particles. These stick to the ground and other surfaces such as cars, houses, trees and buildings. Almost 50% of the acidic pollutants in the atmosphere fall back through dry deposition. These acidic pollutants can be washed away from earth surface by rainstorms.
- 47. Areas of Highest Concern Current problem areas are: Eastern United States South Western Canada Eastern Europe East Coast of China Potential future problem areas: Southern India West Africa Indonesia Thailand
- 48. Prevention • Coal burning power plants use Flue gas desulfurization requiring a reaction tower that extracts the sulfuric acid by reacting it with lime or limestone slurry and removing the product with scrubbers • Reduction in automotive emissions cuts down on nitrogen oxides • Emissions trading put into practice to put economic incentive into cleaning industrial activities