SCHOOL OF MATERIALS AND MINERAL RESOURCES ENGINEERING

EBS432/3
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY FOR ENGINEERING PRACTICE

“ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND

POLLUTION”
GROUP 1
1. AINUL AFEEQAH ATHIRAH ABDUL RAHIM 125795
2. KHONG LING XIN 125803
3. NUR AINA NAJEEHAH MOHD AAZNAN 123152
4. NUR IZAANI AKMA KAMARUDDIN 125824
5. ROZAIDA AHMAD ROMIL 125829
ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION

Acid Rain and Sulphur Pollution

Photochemical Smog

Global Warming – The Greenhouse Effect

Stratospheric Ozone Depletion – The Ozone-

destroying Potential of Chlorofluorocarbons
ACID RAIN AND SULPHUR
POLLUTION
 ACID RAIN AND SULPHUR
POLLUTION
Aquatic Environment
• Aquatic plants and animals need a pH
level of about 4.8 to survive.
• At pH levels below 5, most fish eggs
cannot hatch. Lower pH can also kill adult
fish.
• Acid rain runoff from catchment areas
into rivers and lakes has also reduced
biodiversity as rivers and lakes become
more acidic.
 ACID RAIN AND SULPHUR
POLLUTION
Forests
• It makes trees vulnerable to disease,
extreme weather, and insects by
destroying their leaves, damaging the
bark and arresting their growth.
 ACID RAIN AND SULPHUR
POLLUTION
Soil
• Higher soil pH, will damages or reverses
soil biological and chemical activities.
• Sensitive soil microorganisms that cannot
adapt to changes in pH are killed.
• Hydrogen ions of acid rain leach away
vital minerals and nutrients such as
calcium and magnesium
 ACID RAIN AND SULPHUR
POLLUTION
Vegetations Cover and
Plantation
• Damaged high-altitude forests and
vegetation cover since they are mostly
encircled by acidic fogs and clouds
• Stunted growth and even death of
some forests and vegetation cover.
 ACID RAIN AND SULPHUR
POLLUTION
Architecture and Buildings
• Acid rain on buildings, especially those
constructed with limestone, react with
the minerals and corrode them away
• This leaves the building weak and
susceptible to decay

Other Effects
• Weathering of buildings, corrosion of
metals, and peeling of paints on surfaces
 ACID RAIN AND SULPHUR
POLLUTION
Public Health
• Human health is not directly affected by
acid rain because acid rain water is too
dilute to cause serious health problems
• Dry depositions also known as gaseous
particulates in the air which in this case are
nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide can
cause serious health problems when
inhaled
• Intensified levels of acid depositions in dry
form in the air can cause lung and heart
problems such as bronchitis and asthma
PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG

Eye
Irritation

Visibility Vegetation
Reduction Damage
Effects of
Photochemical
Smog

Cracking of Fading
Rubber of Dyes
PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG

Eye Irritation
• Probably, the compounds responsible for
eye irritation are formaldehyde, acrolein,
PAN and peroxyl benzoyl nitrate.
Visibility Reduction
• This is perhaps the most commonly
observed effect of photochemical smog.
The aerosol particles causing the
photochemical smog contain compounds
of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen,
Sulphur, and halides.
PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG

Vegetation Damage
• The effects observed are silvering and
bronzing of underside of leaves followed
by collapse of cells, and necrosis. Growth
retardation has also been reported. The
three principal photooxidants are ozone,
nitrogen dioxide and PAN. This has
resulted in economic loss.
PHOTOCHEMICAL SMOG

Cracking of Rubber
• This is primarily due to the ozone
constituents of photochemical smog. An
important economic effect of smog is
deterioration of the side walls of
automobile tires. To overcome this
problem, an antiozonant is being used.

Fading of Dyes
• This is another important economic effect
of photochemical smog
 GLOBAL WARMING
(GREENHOUSE EFFECT)
• Global warming happens due to the inability of heat
to escape the atmosphere because trapped by
greenhouse gases.
• During the day, Earth’s surface is warmed up by the
Sun.
• At night, Earth’s surface cools and releasing the heat
to the air but some of the heat is trapped by the
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
 GLOBAL WARMING
(GREENHOUSE EFFECT)
Water
vapour

CFCs Gases Methane

associates
with
greenhouse
effects

Carbon Nitrous
dioxide oxide
 GLOBAL WARMING
(GREENHOUSE EFFECT)
Extreme
weather

Species Rising of
extinction Effects sea level
of global
warming

Excessive Loss of habitat of

flooding species
 STRATOSPHERIC OZONE
DEPLETION
• Ozone depletion caused by the release of
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting
substances (ODS), which were used widely as refrigerants,
insulating foams, and solvents to the stratosphere
• When CFCs reach the stratosphere, the UV radiation from
the sun causes them to break apart and release chlorine
atoms which react with ozone, starting chemical cycles of
ozone destruction that deplete the ozone layer.
• One chlorine atom can break apart more than 100,000
ozone molecules.
STRATOSPHERIC OZONE
DEPLETION
Skin
cancer

Pulmonary Eye
diseases damage
Effects of
ozone
depletion
Damage
Global to
warming immune
Aging system
and
irritation
of skin
 EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION

• Low quality & harmful air

- With particulates & airborne particles
- Harming respiratory system of mankind and other animals
• Depletion of stratospheric ozone layer
- Allowing more UV ray to enter the environment
• Acid rain
- Damaging infrastructure, acidify soil, harmful to skin
 EFFECTS OF WATER POLLUTION
• Harmful algae bloom (HAB)
- Lowering dissolved oxygen level in water, threatening
safety and health of aquatic lives
• Increasing treatment cost of water
- More chemical substances are associated in water source,
making the water more difficult to be treated
• Spreading of diseases through water
- Viruses, bacteria & protozoa from sewage infecting aquatic
organisms and bring them to consumers
 EFFECTS OF SOIL POLLUTION

• Infertility of soil
- Discharging sludge & chemicals in soil, acidify land
- Unable to grow plants and crops
• Landfills
- Leachate leaked to soil, polluting ground and
groundwater
 EFFECTS OF OTHER POLLUTION

• Noise pollution
- Damaging eardrum, unease emotional
• Thermal pollution
- More greenhouse gases, climate change
• Radioactive pollution
- Permanently destroying an area, mutation
• Light pollution
- Distraction of eyesight in night (especially for animals)
 COAL COMBUSTION
Coal
• A fossil fuel, formed largely by the partial
decomposition and ‘coalification’ of ancient
plants under high pressure of overburden at
elevated temperature during the course of
hundreds or millions of years.
• Coal is inhomogeneous and mainly
composed of combustible organic matter,
mineral matter, and moisture.
• For the purpose of combustion, coal is
classified as lignite, sub-bituminous,
bituminous, and anthracite
 COAL COMBUSTION

• Coal is an organic fuel. When heated, the organic matter of coal

is pyrolyzed, and then evolves as volatile. The remaining solid is a
mixture of carbon and mineral matter, which is referred to as
“char.”
• The combustion of coal is primarily the combustion of carbon as
well as the volatile matter. It is known that the principal
combustion process of coal involves three basic stages:
• The release of the volatile matter resulting from the heating of coal
• The burning of the released volatile matter
• The burning of the remaining char
COAL COMBUSTION
 EFFECTS OF ATMOSPHERIC SULPHUR
DIOXIDE AS THE SECOND SERIOUS TRACE
ELEMENT CONTAMINATION
• The combustion of pulverized coal in modern furnaces for power
production results in a variety of products.
• The organic matter is converted mainly to sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides,
carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water, which are the main
constituents of the flue gases. The mineral matter is decomposed to give
several mineral phases and aluminosilicate glassy material.
• Most trace elements in coal are usually associated with the fly ash
removed from the gases, some are associated with slag, and a small
amount reaches the atmosphere in fine fly ash particles. There are two
environmental effects:
• The disposal of the slag and retained fly ash
• The dispersion of some trace elements in the stack gases
SOX (SO2, SO32- & H2SO4) IMPACTS
ON ENVIRONMENT
Air
Pollution

Ecological Water
Problems Pollution

Public Land
Health Pollution

Acid Rain
SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING

Drive
smart and
Less
Replace Recycle,
the Light Reduce
Bulb and Reuse

Learn to Stop Open

Conserve Burning

Use non-
toxic Use Hybrid
Household Cars
Product
Plant a
Tree
 HOW TO REDUCE 𝑪𝑶𝟐 EMISSION

• fastest-growing energy resources in the world since

Wind 1990
• renewable source of energy

Power • reduced CO2 emission approximately by 115 million

metric tons, which equals the emission of 20 million
cars during the year

• Using light bulbs that use less energy and more efficient
Green heating and cooling systems helps in reducing the
amount of CO2 that is being emitted from the buildings
• reduces our dependency on fossil fuel for electricity
Buildings resulting in a reduction of greenhouse gases emission
THANK YOU