Name-Abhishek Banerjee

Faculty-Science
Department- Chemistry
Reg. No.-AU/BSC/2015/426

Rain water harvesting

Introduction
It was very difficult to imagine few decades
before that you will require to buy drinking. The
use value of water was never undermined, but its
about time that even its exchange value is given
due importance. Fresh water today is a scarce
resource, and it is being felt the world over. More
than 2000 million people would live under
conditions of high water stress by the year 2050,
according to the UNEP (United Nations
Environment Programme), which warns water
could prove to be a limiting factor for
development in a number of regions in the world.
About one-fifth of the worlds population lacks
access to safe drinking water and with the
present consumption patterns; two out of every
three persons on the earth would live in waterstressed conditions by 2025. Around one-third of
the world population now lives in countries with
moderate to high water stresswhere water
consumption is more than 10% of the renewable
fresh water supply, said the GEO (Global
Environment Outlook) 2000, the UNEPs
millennium report. Pollution and scarcity of water
resources and climate change would be the
major emerging issues in the next century, said
the report. These issues would be followed by
problems of desertification and deforestation,
poor governance at the national and global
levels, the loss of biodiversity, and population
growth, said the report - The Observer of
Business and Politics, 12 October 1999

Water is the most common or major substance

on the earth, covering more than 70% of its
surface. Out of the total volume of water
available on the
surface of the earth,
only 2 percent (over
28,000,000 km3) is
fresh water. The fresh
water is used for the
purpose of human use,
industries and
agriculture. The
different forms of fresh water in which it is
available on earth are given in Table-1. In India,
the water availability per capita is declining. The
per capita availability of water at the national
level is reduced from about 5,177 m3 in the year
1951 to the present level of 1,869 m3.
Rainwater harvesting, in its broadest sense, is a
technology used for collecting and storing
rainwater for human use from rooftops, land
surfaces or rock catchments using simple
techniques such as jars and pots as well as
engineered techniques. Rainwater harvesting has
been practiced for more than 4,000 years, owing
to the temporal and spatial variability of rainfall.
It is an important water source in many areas
with significant rainfall but lacking any kind of
conventional, centralised supply system. It is also
a good option in areas where good quality fresh
surface water or groundwater is lacking. The

application of appropriate rainwater harvesting

technology is important for the utilisation of
rainwater as a water resource.
Causes & effects
Global Population Growth
Global population has more than doubled since
1950 and reached six billion in 1999. The most
recent population forecasts from the United
Nations indicate that, under a mediumfertility
scenario, global population is likely to peak at
about 8.9 billion in 2050.
Given that many natural resources (such as
water,soil, forests and fish stocks) are already
beingexploited beyond their limits in some
regions,significant effort will be required to meet
the needsof an additional three billion people in
the next 50 years.
In parallel with these changes, there have
beenprofound demographic shifts as people
continue tomigrate from rural to urban areas in
search of workand new opportunities. Since
1950, the number ofpeople living in urban areas
has jumped from 750million to more than 2.5
billion people.Urban environmental impacts and
demands are also
different. By 2025, the total urban population is
projected to double to more than five billion, and
90 per centof this increase is expected to occur
in developing countries.
The Global Water Crisis

Rapid population growth, combined with

industrialisation, urbanisation, agricultural
intensification andwater-intensive lifestyles is
resulting in a global water crisis. About 20 per
cent of the population currentlylacks access to
safe drinking water, while 50 per cent lacks
access to a safe sanitation system. Falling
watertables are widespread and cause serious
problems, both because they lead to water
shortages and, in coastalareas, to salt intrusion.
Both contamination of drinking water and nitrate
and heavy metal pollution of rivers,lakes and
reservoirs are common problems throughout the
world. The world supply of freshwater cannot
beincreased. More and more people are
becoming dependent on limited supplies of
freshwater that arebecoming more polluted.
Water security, like food security, is becoming a
major national and regionalpriority in many areas
of the world.
Other Reasons
The replenishment of ground water is
drastically reduced due to paving of open areas.
Indiscriminate exploitation of ground water
results in lowering of ground water table (GWT)
rendering many bore-wells dry, which has led to
drilling of bore wells of greater depth. This further
lowers the water table such frequent fluctuations
in GWT results in presence of higher
concentration of salts in ground water. In coastal
areas, over exploitation of ground water results in
seawater intrusion thereby rendering fresh
ground water bodies saline.

In rural areas also, government policies

on subsidized power supply for agricultural
pumps and piped water supply through bore and
open dug wells are resulting into decline in GWT.
The solution to all these problems is to replenish
ground water bodies with rainwater by man
made means .

Advantages
Rainwater harvesting systems can
provide water at or near the point where water is
needed or used. The systems can be both owner
and utility operated and managed. Rainwater
collected using existing structures(i.e., rooftops,
parking lots, playgrounds, parks, ponds, flood
plains, etc.), has few negative environmental
impacts compared to other technologies for

water resources development. Rainwater is

relatively clean and the quality is usually
acceptable for many purposes with little or even
no treatment. The physical and chemical
properties of rainwater are usually superior to
sources of groundwater that may have been
subjected to contamination.
The rainwaters environmental advantage and
purity over other water alternatives makes it the
sustainable option, even though the precipitation
cycle may fluctuate from year to year. The
collection of rain water not only leads to
conservation of water but also energy since the
energy input required to operate a centralized
water system designed to treat and pump water
over a vast service area is bypassed. Rainwater
harvesting also lessens local erosion and flooding
caused by runoff from impervious cover such as
pavement and roofs, as some rain water is
captured and stored. Rain water quality almost
exceeds that of ground or surface water as it
does not come into contact with soil and rocks
where it dissolves salts and minerals and it is not
exposed to many of the pollutants that often are
discharged into surface waters such as rivers,
and which can further contaminate groundwater.
However, rainwater quality can be influenced by
characteristics of area where it falls, since
localized industrial emissions affect its purity.
Thus, rainwater falling in non-industrialized areas
can be superior to that in cities which are
dominated by heavy industry or in agricultural
regions where crop dusting is prevalent.

Some Other Advantages of Rainwater Harvesting

Include:
a. Rainwater harvesting can coexist with and
provide a good supplement to other water
sources and utility systems, thus relieving
pressure on other water sources.
b. Rainwater harvesting provides a water supply
buffer for use in times of emergency or
breakdown of the public water supply systems,
particularly during natural disasters.
c. Rainwater harvesting can reduce storm
drainage load and flooding in city streets.
d. Users of rainwater are usually the owners who
operate and manage the catchment system,
hence, they are more likely to exercise water
conservation because they know how much
water is in storage and they will try to prevent
the storage tank from drying up.
e. Rainwater harvesting technologies are flexible
and can be built to meet almost any
requirements. Construction, operation, and
maintenance are not labour intensive.
working principle disadvantages
Components Of Rain Harvesting System
A rainwater harvesting system comprises
components of various stages - transporting
rainwater through pipes or drains, filtration, and
storage in tanks for reuse or recharge. The
common components of a rainwater harvesting
system involved in these stages are illustrated
here.

1. Catchments
The catchment of a water harvesting system is
the surface which directly receives the rainfall
and provides water to the system. It can be a
paved area like a terrace or courtyard of a
building, or an unpaved area like a lawn or open
ground. A roof made of reinforced cement
concrete (RCC), galvanised iron or corrugated
sheets can also be used for water harvesting.
2. COARSE MESH
At the roof to prevent the passage of debris.
3. GUTTERS
Channels all around the edge of a sloping roof to
collect and transport rainwater to the storage
tank. Gutters can be semi-circular or rectangular
and could be made using:
* Locally available material such as plain
galvanised iron sheet (20 to 22 gauge), folded to
required shapes.
* Semi-circular gutters of PVC material can be
readily prepared by cutting those pipes into two
equal semi-circular channels.
* Bamboo or betel trunks cut vertically in half.
The size of the gutter should be according to the
flow during the highest intensity rain. It is
advisable to make them 10 to 15 per cent
oversize.
Gutters need to be supported so they do not sag
or fall off when loaded with water. The way in
which gutters are fixed depends on the
construction of the house; it is possible to fix iron

or timber brackets into the walls, but for houses

having wider eaves, some method of attachment
to the rafters is necessary.
4. Conduits
Conduits are pipelines or drains that carry
rainwater from the catchment or rooftop area to
the harvesting system. Conduits can be of any
material like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or
galvanized iron (GI), materials that are commonly
available.
5. First-Flushing
A first flush device is a valve that ensures that
runoff from the first spell of rain is flushed out
and does not enter the system. This needs to be
done since the first spell of rain carries a
relatively larger amount of pollutants from the air
and catchment surface
6. FILTER
The filter is used to remove suspended pollutants
from rainwater collected over roof. A filter unit is
a chamber filled with filtering media such as
fibre, coarse sand and gravel layers to remove
debris and dirt from water before it enters the
storage tank or recharge structure. Charcoal can
be added for additional filtration
* Charcoal water filter
A simple charcoal filter can be made in a drum or
an earthen pot. The filter is made of gravel, sand
and charcoal, all of which are easily available.

* Sand filters
Sand filters have commonly available sand as
filter media. Sand filters are easy and
inexpensive to construct. These filters can be
employed for treatment of water to effectively
remove turbidity (suspended particles like silt
and clay), colour and microorganisms
Calculation of Required Storage Size
When using rainwater, it is important to
recognize that the rainfall is not constant
throughout the year; therefore, planning the
storage system with an adequate capacity is
required for the constant use of rain water even
during dry periods. Knowledge of the rainfall
quantity and seasonality, the area of the
catchment surface and volume of the storage
tank, and quantity and period of use required for
water supply purposes is
critical. For example, in Tokyo, the average
annual rainfall is about 1,400 mm. Assuming that
the effective catchment area of a house is equal
to the horizontal line of its roof surface area, and
given that that the roof surface area is 50 m2,
the average annual volume of rainwater falling
on the roof may be calculated as 70 m3.However,
in practice, this volume can never be achieved
since a portion of the rainwater evaporates from
the
roof surface and a portion may be lost to the
drainage system, including the first flush.
Furthermore, a portion of collected rainwater
volume may be lost as overflow from the storage

container if the storage tank has insufficient

capacity to store the entire collected volume
even in a heavy rain. Thus, the net usable or
available amount of rainwater from the roof
surface would be approximately 70% to 80% of
the gross volume of rainfall. In the above
example, the actual usable amount of rainwater
would be about 49 m3 to 56
m3 in a year.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of the rainwater harvesting
and utilisation systems are:
The catchment area and storage capacity of a
system are relatively small. There
is a great variation in weather. During a
prolonged drought, the storage tank
may dry up.
Maintenance of rainwater harvesting systems,
and the quality of collected water,
can be difficult for users.
Extensive development of rainwater harvesting
systems may reduce the income
of public water systems.
Rainwater harvesting systems are often not
part of the building code and lack
clear guidelines for users/developers to follow.
Rainwater utilisation has not been recognized
as an alternative of water supply
system by the public sector. Governments
typically do not include rainwater
utilisation in their water management policies,
and citizens do not demand

rainwater utilisation in their communities.

Rainwater storage tanks may be a hazard to
children who play around it.
Rainwater storage tanks may take up valuable
space.
Some development costs of larger rainwater
catchment system may be too high
if the costs are not shared with other systems as
part of a multipurpose network
case study

The Dhule town

Dhulia (Dhule) latitude 21o10' and longitude
75o20' is the chief town of the district as the
headquarter, lying 57 km. north of Chalisgaon on
the Bombay-Nagpur route of the central railway,
with which it is connected by a broad gauge line.
It is well connected by road network and is
located at the crossings of NH-3, NH-6 and NH211. It is situated on the southern bank of the
Panzara River on the outer side of the bend of the
river near the extremity of the easterly course
just before it turns northwards to join the river
Tapi. The town and its suburbs, covering an area
of nearly 26.68 km2 are well shaded by avenues
of fine trees. The town area is developing in all
directions. Many villages around the town have
developed and constitute the peri-urban
characteristics and are deprived of basic
amenities such as water supply and drainage.
Bermuda

The island of Bermuda is located 917 km east of

the North American coast. The island is 30 km
long, with a width ranging from 1.5 to 3 km. The
total area is 53.1 km2. The elevation of most of
the land mass is less than 30 m above sea level,
rising to a maximum of less than 100 m. The
average annual rainfall is 1,470 mm .A unique
feature of Bermuda roofs is the wedge-shaped
limestone glides which have been laid to form
sloping gutters, diverting rainwater into vertical
leaders and then into storage tanks. Most
systems use rainwater storage tanks under
buildings with electric pumps to supply piped
indoor water. Storage tanks have
reinforced concrete floors and roofs, and the
walls are constructed of mortar-filled concrete
blocks with an interior mortar application
approximately 1.5 cm thick. Rainwater utilisation
systems in Bermuda a reregulated by a Public
Health Act which requires that catchments be
whitewashed by white latex paint; the paint must
be free from metals that might leach into water
supplies. Owners must also keep catchment
tanks, gutters, pipes, vents, and screens in good
repair. Roofs are commonly repainted every two
to three years and storage tanks must be
cleaned at least once every six years.
Island of Hawaii, USA
At the U.S. National Volcano Park, on the Island of
Hawaii ,rainwater utilisation systems have been
built to supply water for1,000 workers and
residents of the park and 10,000 visitors per day.

The Parks rainwater utilisation system includes

the rooftopof a building with an area of 0.4
hectares, a ground catchment area of more than
two hectares, storage tanks with two reinforced
concrete water tanks with 3,800 m3 capacity
each, and 18redwood water tanks with 95 m3
capacity each. Several smaller buildings have
their own rainwater utilisation systems as well. A
water treatment and pumping plant was built to
provide users with good quality water.

Acid Rain
Introduction:
Acid rain is a rain or any other form
of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning
that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions
(low pH). It can have harmful effects on plants,
aquatic animals and infrastructure. Acid rain is
caused by emissions of sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with
thewater molecules in the atmosphere to
produce acids. Some Governments have made
efforts since the 1970s to reduce the release of
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the
atmosphere with positive results. Nitrogen oxides
can also be produced naturally
by lightning strikes, and sulfur dioxide is

produced by volcanic eruptions. The chemicals in

acid rain can cause paint to peel, corrosion of
steel structures such as bridges,
and weathering of stone buildings and statues.

The Effects of Acid Rain on Ecosystems:

Effects of Acid Rain on Fish and Wildlife
The ecological effects of acid rain are most
clearly seen in aquatic environments, such as
streams, lakes, and marshes where it can be
harmful to fish and other wildlife. As it flows
through the soil, acidic rain water can leach
aluminum from soil clay particles and then flow
into streams and lakes. The more acid that is
introduced to the ecosystem, the more aluminum
is released.
Some types of plants and animals are able to
tolerate acidic waters and moderate amounts of
aluminum. Others, however, are acid-sensitive
and will be lost as the pH declines. Generally, the
young of most species are more sensitive to
environmental conditions than adults. At pH 5,
most fish eggs cannot hatch. At lower pH levels,
some adult fish die. Some acidic lakes have no
fish. Even if a species of fish or animal can
tolerate moderately acidic water, the animals or
plants it eats might not. For example, frogs have
a critical pH around 4, but the mayflies they eat
are more sensitive and may not survive pH below
5.5.

Effects of Acid Rain on Plants and Trees

Dead or dying trees are a common sight in areas
effected by acid rain. Acid rain leaches aluminum
from the soil. That aluminum may be harmful to
plants as well as animals. Acid rain also removes
minerals and nutrients from the soil that trees
need to grow.
At high elevations, acidic fog and clouds might
strip nutrients from trees foliage, leaving them
with brown or dead leaves and needles. The trees
are then less able to absorb sunlight, which
makes them weak and less able to withstand
freezing temperatures.

Visibility
The sulphuric acid produced from the emissions
of SO2 reacts with alkaline compounds in the air
to form fine particles of ammonium sulphate and
calcium sulphate, among others. These particles
produce haze, especially at high levels of
humidity. This effect is particularly evident in the
relatively clean air areas of the western states. In
many of the National Park areas the sulphate
creates 50 to 60percent of the degradation in
visibility. In the East it is closer to 70 percent, and
the total haze is much greater. It is difficult to
quantify the effect overshot periods because of
the many factors including humidity and
carbonaceous and soil particles that contribute to
the phenomenon. Nevertheless, historical studies
on a regional basis suggest that decreased

visibility is related to increased sulphate particle

concentration in both the western and eastern
United States.

Future Change in Effects

If acidic deposition were to increase, all effects
would, of course, be increased. Experimental
data and calibrated models allow us to estimate
the degree of enhancement where the effects at
ambient levels of acid deposition have been
quantified, such as with lakes. Since the public
and the political leadership are committed to
reducing air pollution, acid rain will not be
allowed to increase. In fact, the proposed
legislation would require a substantial decrease
in SO2 emissions. The only issues being
debated are the rate and extent of the reduction.
Therefore, it is not useful to analyze the effects of
increased emissions. In the short term over the
next several decades a worst-case scenario
might assume that present levels of emission and
acidic deposition would
continue unchanged. If so, the situation
described above with regard to human health,
the rate of building materials' damage, the
decline of high elevation red spruce trees, crops,
visibility, and the percent of lake area made
inhospitable to fish would not change. In the very
long term, sustained acid rain at present levels
might cause the leaching of sensitive soils to the
extent that tree nutrition could be affected and
some additional lakes and streams would become
too acid to sustain healthy fish populations.

Effects on other receptors would remain

unchanged. If the emissions of SO2 were abruptly
cut in half, as proposed by some legislation,
acidic deposition would be decreased by only
about 30 percent since the relationship is not
linear. Such a decrease would presumably be
beneficial to all receptors, but in the cases where
no significant negative effects have been
demonstrated crops, forests, building materials,
and human health we cannot quantify any
improvement. Visibility would improve over the
long term, but since only a fraction of the
interference is due to sulphate aerosols, the
improvement would be proportionally less than
the 30 percent reduction in acid formation. In the
glaciated and other areas where the lake and
stream chemistry is essentially in equilibrium
with the acidity of the rain, a new equilibrium
would be reached in less than a decade. Some of
the most affected surface waters would recover
to fishable status, but less than 30 percent of the
lake areas would do so.

Prevention of Acid Rain:

One side of prevention is government
environmental regulations, to limit the quantity of
emissions released into the atmosphere. To follow
these regulations, industries can add scrubbers
to their smoke stacks to reduce the amount of
sulphur released. Another option is washing the
coal before it is burned, which reduces the
amount of sulphur in the coal. To reduce the

amount of car exhaust pollution, catalytic

converters can be used in vehicles to make the
exhaust less harmless.
On a more personal level, there are many
things you can do to help prevent acid rain. Try to
use your car as little as possible: walk, use public
transportation, and carpool. Turn the heat down
in your house, and dont use air conditioning
(these things require more gas burning).
Conserve water by running a washing machine or
dishwasher only with a full load. And remember
to turn off lights, and use energy efficient
lightbulbs! By following these tips, you will
reduce the emissions of fossil fuels by using less
energy. If we all pitch in and do our part, we can
improve our quality of life and the beautiful earth
on which we live.

Chemical Equations Related to Acid Rain:

Pure water is neutral and has a pH of 7.
Natural rain water is slightly acidic mainly
because of dissolved CO2 which produces
carbonic acid or H2CO3
H2O(l) + CO2(g) <==> H2CO3(aq)
The pH of unpolluted rainwater ranges from pH 5
to 6.Acid rain is rain water with a pH of less than

5. In some parts of the Northern Hemisphere the

pH of the rain water has been as low as 2!Acid
rain is caused by industrial pollutants.The main
industrial gases responsible are SO2 and NOx (a
mixture of NO and NO2).

Major sources of industrial sulfur dioxide.

SO2(g) comes from mining smelters and the
burning of coal.
i) The roasting of minerals releases SO2(g) from
Metal sulfide + oxygen ----> Metal oxide + SO2(g)
ii) Electrical power stations that burn coal
produce sulfur dioxide from the sulfur impurities
in the coal.
S(s) + O2(g) ----> SO2(g)
The SO2(g) combines with water to produce
sulfurous acid.
H2O(l) + SO2(g) ----> H2SO3(g)
Note: Sulfur dioxide is not readily oxidized to
sulfur trioxide in dry clean air. Water droplets and
dust particles however, catalyze the reaction
between O2 and SO2 in the air producing sulfur
trioxide, SO3.This dissolves in water and
produces sulfuric acid which is a much stronger
acid. This can cause considerable damage to
buildings, vegetation and fish populations by
destroying fish eggs.
SO2(g) + O2(g) ---> SO3(g)

H2O(l) + SO3(g) ---> H2SO4(aq)

Source of nitrogen oxides

Sources of NOx are more widespread. Nitrogen is
a diatomic molecule and is fairly inert because its
triple bond. However, at temperatures over
1300C, nitrogen combines with oxygen to form
nitrogen monoxide.
N2(g) + O2(g) --> 2NO(g)
These high temperatures can be achieved by
i) the internal combustion engine (human
activity)
ii) lightning in the atmosphere (natural source)
The nitrogen monoxide slowly combines with
oxygen to form soluble nitrogen dioxide gas.
2NO(g) + O2(g) --> 2NO2(g)
Nitrogen dioxide readily dissolves in water
producing a mixture of nitric and nitrous acids.
2NO2(g) + H2O(l) --> HNO3(aq) + HNO2(g)
Acidic rain is mainly caused by atmospheric
pollutants of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides.The chemical formula of acidic rain is
dependent upon the type of acids present. Acidic
rain is a complex mixture of nitrous, nitric,
sulfurous and sulfuric acids which all combine to
lower the pH.

Case Studies:

1.Acid rain in china

2003, acid rain fell on more than 250 cities
nationwide and caused direct annual economic
losses of 110 billion yuan ($13.3 billion), equal to
nearly three per cent of the countrys gross
domestic product. The regional acid-rain pollution
is still out of control in some southern cities,
especially in the southwestern areas. With the
exception of Chongqing, the average pH value of
the central districts was lower than 5.0 and the
acid rain frequency was 70 per cent. The acid
rain in southern China was mainly distributed in
the Pearl River delta and central and eastern
areas of Guangxi.In Beijing, the government is
pouring money into moving polluting industries
out of the capital in an effort to clean up the city
before the Olympics in 2008.

Causes:
Major causes of acid rain are the rapidly growing
number of cars on the roads, and the increasing
consumption of cheap, abundant coal, as the
country struggles to cope with energy shortages
and meet power demand. China is the worlds
largest source of soot and sulphur dioxide (SO2)
emissions from coal, which fires three-quarters of
the countrys power plants. More than 21 tonnes
of SO2 were discharged in China in 2003, a rise of
twelve per cent on the previous year. It is
estimated that the country will consume more
than 1.8 billion tons of coal in 2005, emitting an
additional six million tons of SO2. The growth of
nitrates, due to a swift rise of automobile and

coal consumption, plus overuse of fertilizers, is

playing an increasing role in the countrys acidrain pollution. In short, Chinas explosive
economic growth is outpacing environmental
protection efforts.

Possible solutions
The Chinese government has made significant
efforts and progress in energy saving and
consumption reduction. Energy consumption has
gone down year by year over the past two
decades. However, Chinas environment has
been ravaged by two decades of breakneck
growth, and by the pressure of feeding and
housing a population of 1.3 billion. In industry,
the rate of smoke and dust removal from
industrial waste gas has been reduced, and the
government has taken measures such as the
introduction of levying charges for pollution
emissions, and issuing licences for discharging
air pollutants. It has also promoted the adoption
of clean coal, energy conservation and
desulphurization technologies to help with the
prevention of acid rain. The Chinese government
hopes that by 2010 the total amount of
discharged pollutants in industrial wastewater
and the total amount of industrial waste
discharged will be lower than in 1995. This will be
achieved by setting quotas for SO2 emissions
from thermal power plants and urging them to
install desulphurisation facilities. China has
already banned the use of coal in the areas most
severely affected by SO2 emissions, but sulphur is

not the only enemy in the fight against acid rain.

2. Acid rain in India

Urban air pollution is probably the most wellknown problem created by rapid industrialization.
Air pollution around major factories, thermal
power plants, open mines and quarries has
attracted a lot of attention. Rain over India is
much less acidic than most of the other countries
in Asia, Europe and North America. However, it
has become more and more acidic over the last
few decades. The pH of rain in India ranges from
5.9 to 8.4, and the average is about 6.7. India
seems to be much better off than the USA (4.15
6.19), Canada (4.235.96), Germany (4.054.25),
Norway (4.104.40), and most other countries.
However, there are places in India where things
are not so good. Parts of south Bihar and West
Bengal are likely to be the worst affected, along
with the southernmost tip of the Indian
peninsula. Occasional rains with a pH of 4.8 have
been reported from Chembur in Mumbai and a pH
of 4.5 from Delhi. The more worrying trend is the
gradual acidification of the rain in India over the
last couple of decades the pH has decreased
from 7.0 to 6.1 in Delhi, and from 9.1 to 6.3 in
Agra.

Causes and impacts

Thermal power plants in India, which generally
use coal with relatively high sulphur content (0.5
per cent to three per cent), are the major source
of oxides of sulphur they release about 2,500
tons per year. Oxides of nitrogen are produced

during
high-temperature
combustion.
The
greatest source of nitrogen oxides is road
vehicles.India has been rather lucky to have
predominantly alkaline-rich soils. For example, in
the Thar Desert in the northwest of India, the
aerosols from coastal areas help reduce the
acidity to a considerable extent. Higher
temperatures prevalent in India also contribute
towards transforming the oxides of sulphur to
sulphates and oxides of nitrogen to nitrates. India
also does not have natural sources of sulphur
emission like volcanoes. These factors have kept
the acid rain in check so far. However, the
emissions from the increasing number of power
plants, industries, fossil-fuel burning and vehicles
have gradually begun to overcome the natural
checks. In 1990, none of the ecosystems in India
was threatened by acid rain. However, if steps
are not taken to control emissions, by the year
2020 about 85 per cent of the ecosystems will be
threatened by acid rain.

possible solution
Indias solutions are similar to that of many other
countries: the use of cleaner fuels, a gradual
switching to renewable energy and the use of
catalytic converters. In addition, a 66130
million-hectare wasteland should provide enough
ground for growing biomass and using renewable
sources of energy in a sustainable manner.

Conclusion
The causes and effects of acid rain are now
rather well understood. Fortunately, the effects

have been limited, and there is no evidence to

suggest that they will worsen in the next few
decades with present emissions. Coincidentally,
during the 1980s technologies for controlling the
emissions of the precursors of acid rain have
advanced rapidly. When fully implemented, these
will reduce the emissions from coalfired boilers to
such low levels that the effect on the
environment will be undetectable. The crash
effort to reduce emissions in the current bills
before Congress is estimated to cost on the order
of $100 billion over the next 20 years and will not
permanently solve the problem. An alternative
policy (RNSPS + 40), which consists of tightening
the New Source Performance Standards (to 0.1
pounds of SO2 per million BTU) to take full
advantage
of the new advanced technologies and setting a
reasonable age limit (40 years) beyond which old
pre-NSPS boilers must be shut down or
controlled, could eliminate the acid rain problem
at a net cost that is close to zero. All that is
required for this more optimal solution is a
moderate amount of wisdom and patience.

A Picture to describe Acid Rains Potential: