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    Photochemical Smog - Energy Education

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    Ahyat Muhyinsyah
    Photochemical smog forms when nitrogen oxides from vehicle and power plant emissions react with sunlight. It appears as a brown haze most prominent in warm, populated cities during mornings and afternoons. Automobiles are the largest contributor by producing nitrogen oxides. On hot days, more smog forms as emissions react in the air. Photochemical smog contains oxidants like ozone and particulate matter that irritate eyes and lungs and damage the environment. It reduces air quality worldwide as urban populations grow.

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    Photochemical Smog - Energy Education

    Uploaded by

    Ahyat Muhyinsyah
    257 views2 pages
    Photochemical smog forms when nitrogen oxides from vehicle and power plant emissions react with sunlight. It appears as a brown haze most prominent in warm, populated cities during mornings and afternoons. Automobiles are the largest contributor by producing nitrogen oxides. On hot days, more smog forms as emissions react in the air. Photochemical smog contains oxidants like ozone and particulate matter that irritate eyes and lungs and damage the environment. It reduces air quality worldwide as urban populations grow.

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    Photochemical Smog

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    Photochemical smog forms when nitrogen oxides from vehicle and power plant emissions react with sunlight. It appears as a brown haze most prominent in warm, populated cities during mornings and afternoons. Automobiles are the largest contributor by producing nitrogen oxides. On hot days, more smog forms as emissions react in the air. Photochemical smog contains oxidants like ozone and particulate matter that irritate eyes and lungs and damage the environment. It reduces air quality worldwide as urban populations grow.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    257 views2 pages

    Photochemical Smog - Energy Education

    Uploaded by

    Ahyat Muhyinsyah
    Photochemical smog forms when nitrogen oxides from vehicle and power plant emissions react with sunlight. It appears as a brown haze most prominent in warm, populated cities during mornings and afternoons. Automobiles are the largest contributor by producing nitrogen oxides. On hot days, more smog forms as emissions react in the air. Photochemical smog contains oxidants like ozone and particulate matter that irritate eyes and lungs and damage the environment. It reduces air quality worldwide as urban populations grow.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 2

    Photochemical smog

    Photochemical smog is a type of smog produced when ultraviolet light


    from the sun reacts with nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere. It is visible as
    a brown haze, and is most prominent during the morning and afternoon,
    especially in densely populated, warm cities.[2] Cities that experience this
    smog daily include Los Angeles, Sydney, Mexico City, Beijing, and many
    more.

    Formation
    Photochemical smog forms from a complex process, however the source
    of it is quite apparent. The largest contributor is automobiles, while coalfired power plants and some other power plants also produce the
    necessary pollutants to facilitate its production. Due to its abundance in
    areas of warmer temperatures, photochemical smog is most common in

    Figure 1. Photochemical smog over Shanghai.[1]

    the summer.[3]
    It forms in the morning when a tremendous number people are driving their vehicles to work. Nitrogen oxides produced in the
    car engine are introduced into the atmosphere, which may combine with water to form nitric acid or react with sunlight to
    produce singular oxygen atoms, which then combine with molecular oxygen to produce ozone.[2] The nitric acid may
    precipitate to the Earth resulting in acid rain, or remain in the smog. Due to the direct production of it by vehicles, the smog
    forms over cities where many people may encounter its adverse health effects.
    Hotter days mean more photochemical smog, especially in the densely populated cities such as those mentioned above. As
    more and more urban populations arise around the globe, this problem is only expected to increase.[4]

    Composition
    Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels, along with being naturally
    emitted from things such as volcanos and forest fires (it is the immense concentration of these pollutants within cities that is
    of the most concern however, as natural emissions tend to spread out over larger areas). When exposed to ultraviolet radiation,
    NO2 goes through a complex series of reactions with hydrocarbons to produce the components of photochemical smog -- a
    mixture of ozone, nitric acid, aldehydes, peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs) and other secondary pollutants.[4]
    NO2, ozone and PANs are called photochemical oxidants because they can react with and oxidize certain compounds in the
    atmosphere or within a person's lungs that are not normally oxidized. Even small traces of these chemicals can affect the
    respiratory tract of humans and animals, and damage crops and trees.[4]

    Figure 2. Photochemical smog formation; sunlight reacts with NO2 which then interacts with other molecules in the air to form smog.[5]

    Effects
    Photochemical smog has many adverse effects. When combined with hydrocarbons, the chemicals contained within it form
    molecules that cause eye irritation. Radicals in the air interfere with the nitrogen cycle by preventing the destruction of ground
    level ozone. Other effects include reduced visibility and respiratory ailments.[3]
    Ground level ozone is also produced which has various effects on the human body. For more information, visit the ozone
    page.

    References
    1. Wikimedia Commons [Online], Available:
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Shanghaiairpollutionsunset.jpg
    2. B. Everett, G. Boyle, S. Peake and J. Ramage, "," in "Penalties: Assessing the Environmental and Health Impacts of
    Energy Use," in Energy Systems and Sustainability, 2nd ed., Oxford, UK: Oxford, 2013, ch.13, pp.543
    3. R. A. Hinrichs and M. Kleinbach, "Nitrogen oxides, photochemical smog and ozone," in Energy: Its Use and the
    Environment, 5th ed. Toronto, Ont. Canada: Brooks/Cole, 2013, ch.8, sec.C, pp.250-252
    4. G. Tyler Miller, Jr. and D. Hackett, "Photochemical and Industrial Smog," in Living in the Environment, 2nd ed. USA:
    Nelson , 2011, ch.20, sec.3, pp.465-471
    5. Adapted from Living In The Environment. See Reference 4.
    Retrieved from "http://energyeducation.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Photochemical_smog&oldid=1434"

    Authors and Editors


    Jordan Hanania, Kailyn Stenhouse, Jason Donev

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