Tarlin Saini
Ms.McCuaig
SCH3U1-01
24 November 2014
Reducing Acid Rain through Mining and Smelting Industries http://miningandacidrain.weebly.com What is Acid Rain?
Acid rain is rain that has been made acidic by certain pollutants in the air and has low pH levels that can harm the environment. It is a type of acid deposition that can appear in many forms such as, wet deposition, which can be rain, sleet snow or fog that is more acidic than normal, and dry deposition, where gases and dust particles become acidic. (Epa.gov) Acid deposition in wet and dry forms, falls on buildings, cars and trees and makes lakes acidic, which then leads to the danger of plant and animal life. Dry acid deposition though, can be inhaled by humans, which can then cause health problems. (Epa.gov)
How is Acid Rain Created?
When fossil fuels are burned to create electricity pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air. They then mix with oxygen and water in the air to form acid rain. These chemicals can travel long distances in the rain before being deposited. (Epa.gov)
There are several different pollutants that can lead to acid rain such as SO2, SO3, NO2, and CO2. These pollutants react with water to create acids as shown below.
Sulfur dioxide + water sulfurous acid
Sulfur trioxide + water sulfuric acid
Nitrogen dioxide + water nitric acid + nitrous acid
Carbon dioxide + water carbonic acid
Although Mining does not directly create acid rain, it does lead
Acid deposition can come in two forms, dry and wet. Wet deposition is when the acid falls in the form of fog, snow or other precipitation. Dry deposition is found in dry areas where it does not precipitate often. In these areas the chemicals fall as dust or smoke, and stick to whatever they land on. Acid deposition can be result to both natural and manmade sources. Natural sources of acid deposition include electrical storms, volcanoes, and decaying vegetation. Man-made emissions, from power plants that burn fossil fuels are released into the atmosphere as nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). These elements react to oxygen, water, and other gasses in the atmosphere in order to form acidic compounds. These acidic compounds then fall in either a wet or dry form. Acid rain can have a potentially devastating effects on the ecosystem it falls on. When acid rain hits the ground, it faces a natural buffer in the soil often in the form of limestone and calcium carbonate. The water will then travel into either a stream or a lake, where it affects fish. If the fallen rain has a pH at or below 5 undesirable species invade, often in the form of mosses or plankton. The top layer of water becomes too acidic for the inhabitants reproductive cycle to work properly, slowly killing off the
Acid precipitation is a wide term that incorporates any type of precipitation with acidic parts, for example, sulfuric or nitric acid that tumble to the ground from the climate in wet or dry structures. This can incorporate into rain, snow, haze, hail or even clean that is acidic. Acid rain as numerous natural impacts, yet none is more prominent than its effect on lakes, streams, wetlands, and other amphibian situations.
Acid rain is created through discharges of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, which reacts with water molecules and creates an acid. Acid rain breaks down rock and soil with contact through the Earth’s atmosphere, which is also known as weathering (Washington University).
Acid rain is any form of precipitation comprising of acidic components such as sulphuric acid, carbonic acid or nitric acid that falls from the atmosphere as rain, snow, fog, fail or dust. When sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere, they are transported by wind and air currents. Hence, the two substances react with water, oxygen and other chemicals to for sulphuric, carbonic and nitric acids. The intense extraction of copper in Queensland is one of the causes of acid rain because the large machines that drill into the ground contributes to the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in large masses. The roasting, smelting and converting of copper is another factor that contributes to acid rain. The ores are roasted to remove
Acid rain can hurt the plants in the forest environment because when the plant start drinking the acid rain it makes the plants natural defense weaker. In doing that they are easier to die by diseases because they do not have much natural defense to protect them. It can also cause fires to the environment. Acid rain is known to take the nutrients out of soil killing trees, plants, and crops. With the low nutrients it does damage to the red spruce tree
Rain drops that then fall through, or come in contact with, the acid will then increase their acidity. This is known as acid rain. This is a very large environmental issue because fossil fuels are burned to produce useful energy that is needed by society. But acid rain can reduce growth and even kill plants, trees and crops. It not only effects the part of the plant that is above ground, but drains the soil of its nutrients. The acidity of the rain will also lower the pH of water in lakes, killing the fish which live in it. Not only can the burning of fossil fuels ultimately lead to acid rain, but sulfur dioxide can also be the cause of many respiratory diseases like asthma and
Burning of fossil fuel in industries and transport sections, industrialization and urbanization have led to increase concentration of gaseous and particulate pollutants in the atmosphere leading to air pollution. The increased used to tall stacks for power plants and industries; atmospheric emissions are being transported regionally and even globally. Rain is one of the essential ingredients for human life. Although rain is naturally acidic, it is being increasingly acidified by pollution from homes, factories, power stations and cars. The term used to describe the problem is "acid rain". Acid rain has become a major environmental concern for several decades, it has broad economic, social and medical implications and has been called unseen plague of industrial age. The major components of acid rain is sulphur dioxide, sulphur trioxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide dissolves in rain. These components deposited as dry and wet depositions. One obvious consequence of acid rain is corrosive effect on exposed stone and metal structures, but there are also many biological that are not obvious. However, like many environmental problems, acid deposition is caused by accumulative actions of millions of individual people. It may not been seem as though acid rain is much as an issue, but it can cause more than you can imagine.
Acid rain occurs because of the dissolution of acidic oxides in the atmosphere. When these two compounds are released into the air, they form acid rain, which are nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide S + O2 SO2, which is produced by natural means, like volcanoes and industrial processes such as the burning of fossil fuels (brown coal) C + O2 CO2. The two compounds dissolve in water and are carried very far by wind where they become part of snow and fog. Oxides from sulfur and nitrogen react with moisture in the clouds
In latest days, the water in our atmosphere has indication that it is already polluted with nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide, both are chemical compounds that develop acid once joint with water. When the water vapor compresses and falls down to the land, it is usually denoted as acid rain, though acid rain likewise falls down as snow or as dried out small particles, blending with water once it touches surfaces on the land.
Acid rain is a form of rain that contains nitric and sulfuric acid, with a pH of less than 7.0. Acid rain can weaken the
The combustion of fossil fuels releases sulfur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which both contribute to acid rain. Acid rain is a broad term referring to a mixture of wet and dry deposition from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric
Acid rain has been a problem dating back to the 1800s, but it was not until the 1960s that attention was finally brought to the forefront of this problem. Acid rain is not just rain, it is also snow, fog, hail, and mist. Rain itself contains acid because it mixes with naturally occurring oxides in the air. According to Fact Sheet, unpolluted rain would have a pH level of between 5 and 6. When the air becomes polluted with nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide the acidity can increase to a pH level of 4 (p. 1). Rain with a pH below 5.6 is called acid rain (Hill & McCreary, p. 208). This low level causes many problems for our environment. Power plants, factories, car exhaust fumes and even natural pollutants all contribute to
Acid rain can be considered as broad term that is used to describe numerous ways wherein an acid falls out from
Human activities or actions are fond as a main cause of acid rain. Since few decades, human efforts have made many chemicals which have been continuously released to atmosphere where they mix together and make different compounds where power plants releases sulfur-dioxide and few amount of nitrogen-oxides then they burn fossil fuels such as coal, for producing electricity. Moreover, exhaust vehicles also releases the same type of gases into the air.
The major sources of what is called acid rain, are the nitrogen and sulphur produced by auto mobiles, industrial broilers, chemical plants, public utilities, and electric power stations generation burning of fossil fuels. When coal is burned sulphur impurities form sulphur dioxides. S +O2 SO2 this gas is also produced when fuel obtained from crude oil is burned. According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency(USEPA), 69% of sulphur dioxide emissions and 20 % of nitrogen oxides account for the human cause of acid rain.