Acid Rain

Acid RainWORKED BY GERI VISHA

11Index:Introduction.Some Historical facts.Detailed explanation of the problem.Sources of acid rain.Effects of acid rain.Preventive measures.Conclusion.

221. Introduction.Acid rain Rain that is more acidic than normal is called acid rain.In other words the precipitation containing acid in amount more than usual is called acid rain.Acid rain has pH value very low.33What is pH?pHConvenient measure of acidity for dilute solutionpH = -log[H+], where [H+] is hydrogen ion conc. in mole l-1pH scale for acid varies from 0 to 7. If lesser the pH more will be acidity.Acid rain has Ph value varying from 2 to 5.

442. Some historical facts.Dr. Gene E. Likens discovered acid rain in North AmericaThe English chemist Robert Angus invented the term acid rain for the first time. He is sometimes referred to as the 'Father of Acid Rain.

Dr. Gene LikensRobert angus553.Detailed explanation of the process.Acid Rain refers to the deposition of acidic components in either wet forms (e.g. dew, smog) or dry forms (e.g. sulphates, nitrates)

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

66Detailed explanation. 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 due to it.

774.Sources of acid rain.Sulfur.Nitrogen.Carbon.Methane. (In very small amount)These gases react with air to form oxides and than with moisture to form acids. 8

8Reactions taking place:The gases mentioned above forms oxides and reacts with atmospheric moisture to form gaseous acids.Reactions:1. N2O+H2O=2HNO3 N2O3+H2O=2HNO2 (nitric acid)2. SO3+1/2 O2+H2O=H2SO4 (sulphuric acid) 99Some diagrammatic representation

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12125.Effcts of acid rain.There are intense effects of acid rain on various components:Effects on monuments and sculptures..Effects on trees and vegetation.Effects on animals.Effects on humans.13

13Effects on sculptures.Many buildings are made of concrete or stone.

These compounds act as bases and react with acid.

The building technically weathers very fast, or Non technically crumbles.14

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EuropeThe US Capital

1515Effects on vegetation.

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Forests affected by Acid Rain:

Northeast USCanadaNorthern Europe

1717Effect on animals.Mostly aquatic life suffers due to acid rain.18

18Effect on humans.Major respiratory problems. Asthma, along with dry coughs, headaches, and throat irritations can be caused by the sulphur dioxides and nitrogen oxides from acid rain.

Brain damage, kidney problems, and Alzheimer's disease has been linked to people eating "toxic" animals/plants.

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19Preventive measures.Industry should reduce the production of dyes and fertilizers needs sulfur and nitrogen as raw materials.Cleaning scrubbers in factories, washing sulfur out of coal can help. One can use natural manure, vermi technology, biogas remnants as fertilizers instead of artificial nitrogen containing fertilizers.20

20Conclusions.Acid rain is the rain containing acid in more proportion than usual.Acid rain is caused by two major gases: sulfur and nitrogen.Sulfur and nitrogen comes from environmental sources like volcanoes or biological cycles or from man-made sources like industries and automobiles.Effect of acid rain is dangerous. It is causing damage to health and human resources. We must take preventive steps.2121