Acid_Rain_Paper

Acid rain can be a very harmful addition to the environment. People’s everyday actions such as burning coal and oil in power plants, using factories and automobiles lead to an increased chance for acid rain. It is mostly dangerous to lakes, streams, forests, and deadly to the plants and animals that build their homes in these ecosystems. Acid rain can also strongly affect people when they are inhaled, causing possible health problems. Acid rain occurs when sulfuric acid and nitric acid form and fall to Earth’s surface as rain or snow. Sulfur dioxide, sulfur trioxide, and nitrogen dioxide are the compounds in the air that cause acid rain to occur. The four common acids formed by these compounds include sulfuric acid, sulfurous acid, nitric acid, and nitrous acid. Sulfur dioxide (SO2), the most damaging of the sulfur-containing compounds and produced by burning coal and oil in power plants, combines with water in the atmosphere producing sulfurous acid, one of the four common acids in acid rain. The chemical equation is as follows: SO2(g) + H2O(l) ↔ H2SO3(aq) Sulfur dioxide also reacts with O2 or O3 in the atmosphere and oxidizes to sulfur trioxide (SO3). The chemical equation for this reaction looks like this: 2SO2(g) + O2(g) → 2SO3(g) When sulfur trioxide (SO3) is formed it reacts with the moisture in the air thus creating sulfuric acid, another one of the four common acids. The chemical equation for this is: SO3(g) + H2O(l) → H2SO4(aq) Car exhausts is another factor that contributes to acidic air pollution which forms nitrogen oxides. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) then reacts with water to form nitrous acid (HNO2) and nitric acid (HNO3), the last two of the four common acids in acid rain. The equation for this reaction is: 2NO2(g) + H2O(l) → HNO2(aq) + HNO3(aq) As said earlier, the burning of coal in power plants can lead to acid rain. The reason for this is coal contains sulfur and when burned, coal sulfur dioxide in the troposphere which in turn leads to the harmful effect of acid rain. When there is precipitation of acid rain, the acidity of some soils can increase which removes the soil’s essential nutrients. A decrease in essential nutrients gives plants less resistance to disease, more insects and bad weather. Acid rain also affects bodies of water such as streams, rivers and lakes because the increase in acidity can hurt or kill aquatic life by lack of oxygen and it can strongly pollute the water. Buildings and monuments are even able to receive damage from acid rain. It can damage stained glass windows, bridges made of steel, and railroad tracks. It also fades paint color, weakens leather and corrodes metal. For structures made by marble or limestone, the acid rain is able to react with CaCO3 which is their major component. The acid and CaCO3 form soluble calcium bicarbonate which can be easily washed away and thus the acid rain erodes many monuments. As shown, there are many harmful effects of acid rain on things in our everyday life therefore measures have been made to reduce the pollution of acid rain. Coals containing high quantities of sulfur can be washed before being burned in power plants or the SO2 created from burning can be removed during the process by adding powdered limestone (CaCO3) to the combustion chamber. Lakes with limestone (CaCO3) beds go through less intense effects from acid rain than lakes with granite or silicate beds. The reason for this is that the hydrogen ion in acid rain and dissolved carbonate ions create hydrogen carbonate ions which serves as a buffer and absorbs additional hydrogen ions from acid rain to keep a stable pH. Lakes with granite or silicate beds are affected more by acid rain. Acid rain is extremely harmful to Earth’s environment and affects us and everything around us. We should all take charge and start to reduce the factors that cause acid rain such as burning of fossil fuels and the pollution of water to help the place we live.