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Class XI
Chemistry
Ch14: Environmental Chemistry

TOP Concepts:

1. Environmental pollution: It is the effect of undesirable changes in our

surroundings that have harmful effects on plants, animals and human beings.

2. Pollutant: A substance, which causes pollution, is known as pollutant.

3. Pollutants can be solid, liquid or gaseous substances present in greater

concentration than in natural abundance.

4. Pollutants can be natural or anthropogenic:

a. Natural pollutants: These are produced due to natural happenings like
volcano eruptions etc.
b. Anthropogenic pollutants: These are produced due to human activities.

5. Pollutants can be biodegradable or non – biodegradable:

a. Biodegradable pollutants: These are the pollutants which rapidly break
down by natural processes. Example: discarded vegetables
b. Non – biodegradable pollutants: These are the pollutants which are
slowly degradable, and remain in the environment in an unchanged form for
many decades. For example: DDT, plastic materials, heavy metals, many
chemicals, nuclear wastes etc

6. Environmental pollution is of three types:

a. Atmospheric pollution
i. Tropospheric pollution
ii. Stratospheric pollution
b. Water pollution
c. Soil and land pollution

7. Atmospheric pollution occurs when the concentration of a normal

component of the air or a new chemical substance added or formed in air
builds up to undesirable proportions causing harm to humans, other animals,
vegetation and materials.

8. Troposphere: The lowest region of atmosphere in which the human

beings along with other organisms live is called troposphere. It extends up to
the height of ~ 10 km from sea level.

9. Stratosphere: Above the troposphere, between 10 and 50 km above sea

level lies stratosphere.

10. Tropospheric pollution: Is because of two types of pollutants:

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a. Gaseous air pollutants: These are oxides of sulphur, nitrogen and

carbon, hydrogen sulphide, hydrocarbons, ozone and other oxidants.
b. Particulate pollutants: Particulate pollutants are the minute solid
particles or liquid droplets in air. These are present in vehicle emissions,
smoke particles from fires, dust particles and ash from industries. Examples
of particulate pollutants are dust, mist, fumes, smoke, smog etc.

11. Oxides of sulphur as pollutant:

Sources: Burning of fossil fuels containing sulphur
Harmful effects:
 Causes respiratory diseases e.g., asthma, bronchitis, emphysema in
human beings.
 Sulphur dioxide causes irritation to the eyes, resulting in tears and
redness.
 High concentration of sulphur dioxide leads to stiffness of flower buds
which eventually fall off from plants.

12. Oxides of nitrogen as pollutant:

Sources:
 At high altitudes when lightning strikes, dinitrogen and dioxygen
combine to form oxides of nitrogen.
 Burning of fossil fuel in an automobile engine, at high temperature,
dinitrogen and dioxygen combine to yield significant quantities of nitric
oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
1483K
N2 (g) + O2 (g)   2 NO (g)


2 NO (g) + O2 (g) → 2 NO2 (g)

Harmful effects:
 Damage the leaves of plants and retard the rate of photosynthesis
 Nitrogen dioxide is a lung irritant that can lead to an acute respiratory
disease in children
 It is toxic to living tissues also
 Nitrogen dioxide is also harmful to various textile fibres and metals

13. Hydrocarbons as pollutant:

Source: Incomplete combustion of fuel used in automobiles
Harmful effects:
 Hydrocarbons are carcinogenic, i.e., they cause cancer
 They harm plants by causing ageing, breakdown of tissues and
shedding of leaves, flowers and twigs

14. Oxides of carbon as pollutant:

a. Carbon monoxide:
Source:
 Incomplete combustion of carbon of coal, firewood, petrol, etc
 By automobile exhaust
Harmful effects:

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It is highly poisonous to living beings because of its ability to block the

delivery of oxygen to the organs and tissues. It binds to haemoglobin to form
carboxyhaemoglobin, which is about 300 times more stable than the
oxygen-haemoglobin complex. In blood, when the concentration of
carboxyhaemoglobin reaches about 3–4 per cent, the oxygen carrying
capacity of blood is greatly reduced. This oxygen deficiency, results into
headache, weak eyesight, nervousness and cardiovascular disorder.

b. Carbon dioxide:
Source:
 Respiration
 Burning of fossil fuels for energy
 By decomposition of limestone during the manufacture of cement
 By volcanic eruptions
 Deforestation
Harmful effects:
 Causes global warming

15. Green house effect: About 75 % of the solar energy reaching the earth
is absorbed by the earth’s surface, which increases its temperature. The rest
of the heat radiates back to the atmosphere. Some of the heat is trapped by
gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, chlorofluorocarbon
compounds (CFCs) and water vapour in the atmosphere. Thus, they add to
the heating of the atmosphere. This causes global warming.
This trapping of the sun’s heat near the earth’s surface and keeping it warm
is called natural greenhouse effect. It maintains the temperature and makes
the earth perfect for life.
If the amount of carbon dioxide crosses the delicate proportion of 0.03 per
cent, the natural greenhouse balance may get disturbed. This may lead to
global warming.

16. Green house: In a greenhouse, visible light passes through the

transparent glass and heats up the soil and the plants. The warm soil and
plants emit infrared radiations. Since glass is opaque to infrared (heat)
radiations, it partly reflects and partly absorbs these radiations. This
mechanism keeps the energy of the sun trapped in the greenhouse.

17. Global warming: An increase in the average temperature of the earth's

atmosphere (especially a sustained increase that causes climatic changes)
which may be caused by additional heat being trapped by greenhouse gases.

18. Acid rain: Normally rain water has a pH of 5.6 due to the presence of H +
ions formed by the reaction of rain water with carbon dioxide present in the
atmosphere.
H O(l)  CO (g)     H CO (aq)
2 2 2 3

 2
H2CO3 (aq)     2 H  CO3

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Source: Burning of fossil fuels (which contain sulphur and nitrogenous

matter) such as coal and oil in power stations and furnaces or petrol and
diesel in motor engines produce sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. SO2
and NO2 after oxidation and reaction with water are major contributors to
acid rain, because polluted air usually contains particulate matter that
catalyses the oxidation.
2 SO2 (g)  O2 (g)  2 H2O(l) 
 2H2SO 4 (aq)

4 NO2 (g)  O2 (g)  2 H2O(l) 

 4HNO 3 (aq)

Harmful effects:
 Harmful for agriculture, trees and plants as it dissolves and washes
away nutrients needed for their growth.
 Causes respiratory ailments in human beings and animals.
 Affects plant and animal life in aquatic ecosystem when acid rain falls
and flows as ground water to reach rivers, lakes etc.
 Corrodes water pipes resulting in the leaching of heavy metals such as
iron, lead and copper into the drinking water.
 Damages buildings and other structures made of stone or metal. The
Taj Mahal in India has been affected by acid rain.

19. Particulates in the atmosphere may be viable or non-viable:

a. Viable are minute living organisms that are dispersed in the

atmosphere. Example: bacteria, fungi, moulds, algae etc.
b. Non-viable particulates may be classified as:
i. Smoke particulates: consist of solid or mixture of solid and
liquid particles formed during combustion of organic matter.
Example: cigarette smoke, smoke from burning of fossil fuel,
garbage and dry leaves, oil smoke etc.
ii. Dust: composed of fine solid particles (over 1m in diameter),
produced during crushing, grinding and attribution of solid
materials. Sand from sand blasting, saw dust from wood works,
pulverized coal, cement and fly ash from factories, dust storms
etc., are some typical examples of this type of particulate
emission.
iii. Mists: Are produced by particles of spray liquids and by
condensation of vapours in air. Example: sulphuric acid mist and
herbicides and insecticides that miss their targets and travel
through air and form mists.
iv. Fumes: Are generally obtained by the condensation of
vapours during sublimation, distillation, boiling and several
other chemical reactions. Generally, organic solvents, metals
and metallic oxides form fume particles.

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20. Smog: Smoke is a mixture of smoke, dust particles and small drops of
fog.

21. Smog is of two types:

Classical Smog Photochemical Smog

1. It occurs in cool humid 1. It occurs in warm, dry and sunny
climate. climate.
2. It is a mixture of smoke, 2. Components of photochemical
fog & sulphur dioxide. smog result from the action of
sunlight on unsaturated
hydrocarbons & oxides of nitrogen
produced by automobiles &
factories.

3. It is also called reducing 3. It is also called oxidizing smog.

smog.

22. Formation of photochemical smog:

Burning of fossil fuels


Emission of a variety of pollutants (hydrocarbons and nitric oxide to
troposphere

At high levels, leads to


Chain reaction between pollutants and sunlight:
sunlight
2NO(g)  O2 (g)   2 NO2 (g)

sunlight
NO2 (g)   NO(g)  O(g)

O(g)  O2 (g)     O3 (g)

O3 (g)  NO(g) 

 NO2 (g)  O2 (g)

NO2 and O3 are strong oxidising agents and can react with the unburnt
hydrocarbons in the polluted air to produce chemicals such as formaldehyde,
acrolein and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN).

23. Effects of photochemical smog:

 Ozone and PAN act as powerful eye irritants.
 Ozone and nitric oxide irritate the nose and throat and their high
concentration causes headache, chest pain, and dryness of the throat,
cough and difficulty in breathing.

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 Photochemical smog leads to cracking of rubber and extensive damage

to plant life.
 It also causes corrosion of metals, stones, building materials, rubber
and painted surfaces.

24. Control of photochemical smog:

 Use of catalytic converters in automobiles, which prevent the release
of nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons to the atmosphere.
 Certain plants e.g., Pinus, Juniparus, Quercus, Pyrus and Vitis can
metabolise nitrogen oxide and therefore, their plantation could help in
this matter.

25. Stratospheric pollution is basically due to ozone layer depletion.

26. Formation of ozone in stratosphere:

UV
O2 (g)  O(g)  O(g)

UV
O(g)  O2 (g)     O3 (g)

27. Depletion of ozone layer:

Release of chlorofluorocarbon compounds (CFCs), also known as freons lead
to their mixing with the normal atmospheric gases and eventually reach the
stratosphere.
In stratosphere,
 
UV
CF2Cl2 (g)   Cl(g)  CF2Cl (g)

 
Cl(g)  O3 (g) 
 ClO(g)  O (g)

 
ClO(g)  O(g) 
 Cl(g)  O2 (g)
This way, the chlorine radicals are continuously regenerated and cause the
breakdown of ozone layer.

28. Ozone hole over Antarctica:

In summer season, nitrogen dioxide and methane react with chlorine
monoxide and chlorine atoms forming chlorine sinks, preventing much ozone
depletion.

ClO(g)  NO2 (g) 
 ClONO (g)

 
Cl(g)  CH4 (g) 
 CH3 (g)  HCl (g)

In winter, special type of clouds called polar stratospheric clouds are formed
over Antarctica. These polar stratospheric clouds provide surface on which
chlorine nitrate formed gets hydrolysed to form hypochlorous acid.

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ClONO2 (g)  H2O(g) 

 HOCl(g)  HNO3 (g)
It also reacts with hydrogen chloride produced to give molecular chlorine.
ClONO2 (g)  HCl(g)   Cl2 (g)  HNO3 (g)
When sunlight returns to the Antarctica in the spring, the sun’s warmth
breaks up the clouds and HOCl and Cl2 are photolysed by sunlight.
 
h
HOCl(g)   OH(g)  Cl(g)


h
Cl2 (g)   2 Cl(g)
The chlorine radicals thus formed, initiate the chain reaction for ozone
depletion.

29. Effects of depletion of the ozone layer:

With the depletion of ozone layer, more UV radiation filters into troposphere.
UV radiations lead to:
 Ageing of skin, cataract, sunburn and skin cancer etc in human beings
 Killing of many phytoplanktons
 Damage to fish productivity
 Affect the plant proteins which lead to the harmful mutation of cells
 Increases the evaporation of surface water through the stomata of the
leaves and decreases the moisture content of the soil
 Increase in UV radiations damage paints and fibres, causing them to
fade faster

30. Water pollution:

Major water Sources Harmful effects

pollutants
Pathogens (Micro- Domestic sewage Cause gastrointestinal
organisms) diseases.
Organic wastes Domestic sewage, Lead to decrease in
(leaves, grass, trash) animal excreta and concentration of dissolved
waste, decaying oxygen in water and lead
animals and plants, to death of aquatic life
discharge from food
processing factories
Plant nutrients Chemical fertilizers

Toxic heavy metals Industries and Can damage kidneys,

(cadmium, mercury, chemical factories central nervous system,
nickel) liver etc
Sediments Erosion of soil by
agriculture and strip
mining

Pesticides Chemicals used for Lead to eutrophication

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(insecticides, killing insects, fungi

herbicides , and weeds
fungicides)
Radioactive Mining of uranium
substances containing minerals

Heat Water used for

cooling in industries

31. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD): The amount of oxygen required

by bacteria to break down the organic matter present in a certain volume of
a sample of water is called BOD.

32. Eutrophication: The process in which nutrient enriched water bodies

support a dense plant population, which kills animal life by depriving it of
oxygen and results in subsequent loss of biodiversity, is known as
eutrophication.

33. Some constituents of drinking water:

Constituent Maximum Harmful effects of

concentration higher concentration

Fluoride 1 ppm or 1 mg dm–3 Causes brown mottling

of teeth
Lead 50 ppb Can damage kidney,
liver, reproductive
system etc
Sulphate 500 ppm Causes laxative effect
Nitrate 50 ppm Causes disease such as
methemoglobinemia
(‘blue baby’ syndrome)

Metals

Fe 0.2 ppm

Al 0.05 ppm

Mn 0.2 ppm
Cu 3.0 ppm

Zn 5.0 ppm
Cd 0.005 ppm

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34. Pesticides: They are basically synthetic toxic chemicals with ecological
repercussions.

35. Herbicides: They are used to kill weeds or undesirable vegetation.

Example: sodium chlorate (NaClO3), sodium arsinite (Na3AsO3)

36. Strategies to control environmental pollution:

a. Water management
 Segregate the water as biodegradable and non- biodegradable waste:
 Biodegradable waste:
 Generated by cotton mills, food processing units, paper
mills, and textile factories.
 Management: are deposited in landfills and are converted
into compost
 Non – biodegradable water:
 Generated by thermal power plants which produce fly
ash; integrated iron and steel plants which produce
blast furnace slag and steel melting slag
 Management:
- Recycling
-Toxic wastes are usually destroyed by controlled
incineration
c. Green chemistry: Green chemistry is a strategy to design chemical
processes and products that reduces or eliminates the use and
generation of hazardous substances. The chemical reactions should be
such that the reactants are fully converted into useful environmental
friendly products by using an environment friendly medium so that
there would be no chemical pollutants introduced in the environment.

37. Green chemistry in daily life:

Purpose Earlier Now

Dry cleaning of Tetrachloroethene Liquefied carbon dioxide,
clothes (Cl2C=CCl2) which with a suitable detergent
contaminates the ground
water
Bleaching of Chlorine gas Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)
paper with suitable catalyst

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