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Acid Rain

Lecture: 04

Acid Rain, a form of air pollution can be defined as: "Acid rain is a broad term referring to a mixture of wet and dry deposition (deposited material) from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. The corrosive nature of acid rain causes widespread damage to the environment. It is formed when sulphur dioxides and nitrogen oxides from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, and oil, and from certain kinds of manufacturing, as gases or fine particles in the atmosphere, combine with water vapor and precipitate as rain, snow, or fog.

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Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides react with water and other chemicals in the air to form sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and other pollutants. These acid pollutants reach high into the atmosphere, travel with the wind for hundreds of miles, and eventually return to the ground by way of rain, snow, or fog, and as invisible dry forms. It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. The chemicals found in acid rain can cause paint to peel, corrosion of steel structures like bridges and stone statues to begin to appear old and worn down.

Formation of Acid Rain

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The process that leads to acid rain begins with the burning of fossil fuels. Burning, or combustion, is a chemical reaction in which oxygen from the air combines with carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and other elements in the substance being burned.

The new compounds formed are gases called oxides. When sulfur and nitrogen are present in the fuel, their reaction with oxygen yields sulfur dioxide and various nitrogen oxide compounds.
Once in the atmosphere, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides undergo complex reactions with water vapor and other chemicals to yield sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and other pollutants called nitrates and sulfates.

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The acid compounds are carried by air currents and the wind, sometimes over long distances. When clouds or fog form in acid-laden air, they too are acidic, and so is the rain or snow that falls from them. Acid pollutants also occur as dry particles and as gases, which may reach the ground without the help of water. When these dry acids are washed from ground surfaces by rain, they add to the acids in the rain itself to produce a still more corrosive solution. The combination of acid rain and dry acids is known as acid deposition.

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Acidity is measured using a pH scale with units from 0 to 14. Acidic substances have pH numbers from 1 to 6the lower the pH number, the stronger, or more corrosive, the substance. Bases have pH numbers from 8 to 14, with the higher values indicating increased basicity.

Figure: pH ranges, Most of acid rain has a pH range of 4.0 5.0, but it can be even more acidic and have a lower pH.

Effects of Acid Rain

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The acids in acid rain react chemically with any object they contact. Pure water has a neutral pH of 7it is not acidic or basic. Rain, snow, or fog with a pH below 5.6 is considered acid rain. Rain, snow, and fog formed in regions free of acid pollutants are slightly acidic, having a pH near 5.6. But when precipitation is highly acidic, with a pH below 5.6, naturally occurring acid buffers become depleted over time, and natures ability to neutralize the acids is impaired.

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Acid rain has been linked to widespread environmental damage, including Soil and plant degradation, depleted life in lakes and streams, and erosion of human-made structures. The effects can be broadly classified as:

Soil Agriculture Surface water Plants and animals Human-made structures Human health

Effects on Soil

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The depletion of nutrients from the soil is a long-term consequence of acid rain. When acids accumulate, important nutrients, such as calcium, magnesium and potassium are depleted from the soil, making the environment less fertile for plants. Acid rain can also cause dangerous substances, such as Aluminum, to be released from the soil. Aluminum can be very harmful to wildlife, particularly fish.

Effects on Agriculture

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Most farm crops are less affected by acid rain than are forests. The deep soils of many farm regions, can absorb and neutralize large amounts of acid. Mountain farms are more at riskthe thin soils in these higher elevations cannot neutralize so much acid. Farmers can prevent acid rain damage by monitoring the condition of the soil and, when necessary, adding crushed limestone to the soil to neutralize acid. Excessive amounts of nutrients leaching out of the soil, farmers can replace them by adding nutrient-rich fertilizer.

Effects on Surface Water

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Acid rain falls into and drains into streams, lakes, and marshes. In the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, the water in some lakes now has a pH value of less than 5 as a result of acid rain. This means they are at least ten times more acidic than they should be. In the Adirondack Mountains of New York State, a quarter of the lakes and ponds are acidic, and many have lost their brook trout and other fish. In the middle Appalachian Mountains, over 1,300 streams are afflicted. All of Norways major rivers have been damaged by acid rain, severely reducing salmon and trout populations.

Effects on Plants and Animals


By removing useful nutrients from the soil, acid rain slows the growth of plants, especially trees. It also attacks trees more directly by eating holes in the waxy coating of leaves and needles, causing brown dead spots. If many such spots form, a tree loses some of its ability to make food through photosynthesis. Also, organisms that cause disease can infect the tree through its injured leaves. Once weakened, trees are more vulnerable to other stresses, such as insect infestations, drought, and cold temperatures.

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If a population of one plant or animal is adversely affected by acid rain, animals that feed on that organism may also suffer. Ultimately, an entire ecosystem may become endangered. The flux of acid greatly affects wildlife, particularly fish and amphibians which interferes with their reproduction. They tend to produce fewer eggs, most of which never hatch. Land animals dependent on aquatic organisms are also affected. Scientists have found that populations of snails living in or near water polluted by acid rain are declining in some regions.

Effects on Human-made Structures


Acid rain damage buildings, statues, automobiles, and other structures made of stone, metal, or any other material exposed to weather for long periods.

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The corrosive damage can be expensive and, in cities with very historic buildings, tragic. Both the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, and the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, are deteriorating due to acid pollution.

Effects on Human Health

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The acidification of surface waters causes little direct harm to people. It is safe to swim in even the most acidified lakes. However, toxic substances leached from soil can pollute local water supplies.
In Sweden, as many as 10,000 lakes have been polluted by mercury released from soils damaged by acid rain, and residents have been warned to avoid eating fish caught in these lakes. In the air, acids join with other chemicals to produce urban smog, which can irritate the lungs and make breathing difficult, especially for people who already have asthma, bronchitis, or other respiratory diseases.

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Solid particles of sulfates, a class of minerals derived from sulfur dioxide, are thought to be especially damaging to the lungs. Acid pollution has one surprising effect that may be beneficial. Sulfates in the upper atmosphere reflect some sunlight out into space, and thus tend to slow down global warming.
Scientists believe that acid pollution may have delayed the onset of warming by several decades in the middle of the 20th century.

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Efforts To Control Acid Rain


Reduce amount of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen released into the atmosphere
Use less energy (hence less fuel burnt) Use cleaner fuels Coal that contains less sulfur "Washing" the coal to reduce sulfur content Natural Gas Bio-fuel

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Use other sources of electricity (i.e. nuclear power, hydroelectricity, wind energy, and solar energy) Remove oxides of sulphur and oxides of nitrogen before releasing Flue gas desulphurization Catalytic Converters Once acid rain has occurred, a few techniques can limit environmental damage. In a process known as liming, powdered limestone can be added to water or soil to neutralize the acid dropping from the sky.

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References
1) Manahan, Stanley E. 2000 Environmental Chemistry, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, New York. 7th Edition 2) Textbook of Environmental Studies by Bharucha, Universities Press, India, 2005 3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_rain Erach

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