Acid Rain

form of air pollution in which airborne acids produced by electric utility plants and other
sources fall to Earth in distant regions. The corrosive nature of acid rain causes widespread
damage to the environment.
polluted rain: rain that contains dilute acid derived from burning fossil fuels and that is
potentially harmful to the environment
Rainfall made sufficiently acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes environmental harm,
typically to forests and lakes.

Acid Rain

Wet Deposition: Wet deposition refers to acidic rain,

fog, and snow. As this acidic water
flows over and through the ground, it
affects a variety of plants and animals.

Dry Deposition: Dry deposition refers to acidic gases

and particles. About half of the acidity
in the atmosphere falls back to earth
through dry deposition

FORMATION OF ACID RAIN

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 compound.
SOURCES
Burning coal, Oil and natural gas, in power stations makes electricity, giving off sulphur
dioxide gas.
Burning petrol and oil in vehicle engines gives off nitrogen oxides as gases.
These gases mix with water vapour and rainwater in the atmosphere producing weak
solutions of sulphuric and nitric acids which fall as acid rain.
Nitrogen oxides can also be produced naturally by lightning strikes and sulfur dioxide is
produce by volcanic eruptions.

CAUSES
Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the
water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
is came from the Heat and power generation facilities that use oil or coal containing
sulfur; sulfuric acid plants
strong-smelling toxic gas: a colorless pungent toxic gas and air pollutant formed by
burning sulfur or fuels containing sulfur. Use: food preservative, fumigant, bleaching
agent, manufacture of sulfuric acid
IMPACTS
On soil
On Non-Living
On Living

..On soil..
Acid rain may remove soil nutrients such as calcium and magnesium from soils in high elevation
forests. In spring when the snow melts, it will be more acidic than normal.
On Non-Living..
SURFACE WATERS
Acid rain falls into and drains into streams, lakes, and marshes. Where there is snow cover in
winter, local waters grow suddenly more acidic when the snow melts in the spring. Most natural
waters are close to chemically neutral, neither acidic nor alkaline: their pH is between 6 and 8. 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.
HUMAN-MADE STRUCTURES
Acid rain and the dry deposition of acidic particles damage buildings, statues, automobiles, and
other structures made of stone, metal, or any other material exposed to weather for long periods.
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.

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. Solid particles of sulfates, a class of minerals derived from sulfur dioxide,
are thought to be especially damaging to the lungs.
On Living
HUMAN HEALTH
Acid rain lead to the formation of toxic compounds by reacting with the naturally occurring
chemical compounds. Once these toxic compounds are formed, they can seep into the
drinking water and also enter the food chain. This contaminated food can damages the
nerves in children or result in severe brain damages or even death.
The sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide gases, cause problems like irritation of throat nose
and the eyes, headache and respiratory diseases like asthma, chronic bronchitis , etc
PLANTS & ANIMALS
The environmental effect of acid rain has been the loss of fish in acid sensitive lakes and streams.
Acid rain has eliminated insect life and some fish species, including the brook trout and creeks in
some lakes, streams etc.
At pHs lower than 5 most fish eggs will not hatch and lower pHs can kill adult fish. It reduces the
alkalinity and increases the acidity of the water.
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.
AGRICULTURE
Most farm crops are less affected by acid rain than are forests. The deep soils of many farm
regions, such as those in the Midwestern United States, 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. If excessive
amounts of nutrients have been leached out of the soil, farmers can replace them by adding
nutrient-rich fertilizer.

The Preventions
Vehicle emissions control reduces emissions of nitrogen oxides from motor vehicles.
Fluidized bed combustion also reduces the amount of sulfur emitted by power production.

A wet scrubber is basically a reaction tower equipped with a fan that extracts hot smoke
stack gases from a power plant into the tower.

Lime or limestone in slurry form is also injected into the tower to mix with the stack gases
and combine with the sulfur dioxide present.
Fit scrubbers into factorys chimneys, which are chemical filters that remove impurities
such as sulphur from smoke.
Cars can be fitted with special converters which remove dangerous chemicals.
Governments need to spend more money on pollution control.
Governments need to invest in researching different ways to produce energy.