Environmental Pollution

Pollutants
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Tropospheric Pollution Oxides of sulphur
Oxides of Nitrogen
Hydrocarbons
Oxides of carbon

Environmental Chemistry

Global warming
Greenhouse effects
Acid rain
Particulate Pollutants
Smog
Water Pollution
Stratospheric Pollution
Chemical Pollutants
International Standard of
Drinking Water
Strategies to Control
Environmental Problems
 Environmental
Chemistry
It is the branch of science that deals with the chemical
changes in the environment. It includes our surroundings
as air, water, soil, forest etc.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
It is the effect of undesirable changes in our
surroundings that have harmful effects on plants,
animals and human beings.
Pollutants
A substance, which causes pollution, is known as
pollutant. Itcan be solid, liquid or gaseous
substances. Present in higher concentration, it can be
produced due to human activities or natural
happenings.

Troposphere

The lowest region of atmosphere, in which

the human beings along with other organisms live, is
called troposphere.

It extends to the height of about 10 km from the sea

level. It contains air, water vapours, clouds etc. The
pollution in this region is caused by some poisonous
gases, smoke fumes, smog etc.
 Stratoshpere
It extends from height of 10 to 50 km above the sea level.
Ozone and some other gaseous substances present in this
region are responsible for the pollution.

Tropospheric Pollution

Pollution in this region is caused by the presence of undesirable

gaseous particles like oxides of sulphur, nitrogen and carbon,
hydrocarbons along with solid particles like dust, mist,
fumes, smoke etc.

OXIDES OF SULPHUR

These are produced when coal containing sulphur is burnt.

S(s)+O2(g) ------------> SO2(g)

It is also during volcanic eruptions.

Harmful effects

(i) It is poisonous to both animals and plants.

(ii) A very high concentration of 502 may cause respiratory

diseases e.g., asthma, bronchitis, emphysema in human
beings.

(iii) It causes irritation to the eyes,resulting in tears and

redness.

(iv) Its high concentration leads to the stiffness of flower

buds.

(v)Particulate matter present in the air can catalyse the

formation of sulphur trioxide from sulphur dioxide.

Oxides of Nitrogen

Main oxides of nitrogen are

nitric oxide- (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Major Sources:

(i) Lightning discharge results in the combination of N2

and 02 to form NO.

(ii) Combustion of gasoline in automobilies, burning of

hydrocarbons and coal etc..
Harmful effects
Nitric oxide itself is not harmful to human beings, but it is very
unstable and changes to nitrogen dioxide which is toxic in
nature.

These effects are as follows:

(i) It reacts with Ozone (03) present in the atmosphere and

thus decrease the density of Ozone.

(ii) It affects the respiratory system. and damages the lungs.

(ii) Higher concentrations of NO2 damage the leaves of plants

and retard. the rate of photosynthesis.

(iv) It causes cracks in rubber.

(v) Nitrogen dioxide is also harmful to various textile fibres and

metals.

HYDROCARBONS

Incomplete combustion of fossil fuel in industry and thermal

power plants and the exhaust of automobiles release
hydrocarbons into the atmosphere- constantly causing pollution
Harmful effects

(1) They cause cancer.

(ii) Methane is one of the greenhouse gases.

(iii) They harm plants in various ways like breakdown of tissues,

shedding of leaves
etc.

Oxides of carbon

Carbon dioxide
0.03% CO2 is present in air by Volume.

Major Sources:

(i) By burning of fossil fuels.

(ii) By the decomposition of limestone. during the manufacture
of cement.
(iii) Emitted during volcanic eruptions.
(iv) CO2 is released into the atmosphere by respiration.

Harmful effects

Deforestation and burning of fossil fuel

increases the CO2 level which is mainly
responsible for global warming.
Carbon monoxide

Carbon Monoxide is a colourless and odourless gas.

Major Sources:

(i) Released by the automobile exhaust.

(ii) Incomplete combustion of coal, fire wood, petrol etc.

(iii) By the dissociation of CO2 at high température.

Harmful effects
(i) It binds to haemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin
which is more stable than oxygen-haemoglobin complex. Its
concentration in blood when reaches to 3-4%, the oxygen
carrying capacity of
blood is greatly reduced. The oxygen deficiency, results into
headache, weak eyesight, nervousness etc.

(ii) It has harmful effects on plants when its concentration is

(100' more).

GLOBAL WARMING AND GREENHOUSE EFFECTS

Some gases like carbondioxide, methane, ozone, water

vapours, CFCs have the capacity to trap some of the heat
radiations that are released from the earth or from sun. These
gases are known as greenhouse gases and the effect is
called greenhouse effect. This leads to global warming
Consequences of globalwarming

(i) It leads to melting of polar ice caps and flooding of low

lying areas all over the earth.

(ii) Global rise in temperature increases the incidence of

infectious diseases like dengue, malaria, yellow fever,
sleeping, sickness etc.

ACID RAIN

When the pH of the rain water drops below 5.6,

it is known as acid rain.

Normal rain is slightly acidic due to dissolution

of atmospheric carbon dioxide in water.

CO2 +H20 ----- > H2CO3

H2CO3 ------> H+ HC03

Harmful effects

(i) It has harmful effects on trees and plants as it

dissolves and washes away nutrients needed for their
growth.

(ii) It has very bad effect on aquatic. ecosystem.

(iii) Acid rain damages buildings and other structures

made of stone or metal. Taj Mahal in India has been
affected by acid rain.
PARTICULATE POLLUTANTS

Viable Particulates: They are minute living organisms that are

dispersed in the atmosphere.

Example :-Bacteria, Fungi Moulds,algae etc.

Non Viable Particulates:

(i) Smoke: It is the mixture of solid and liquid particles formed

during combustion
of organic matter.

Example: Cigarette smoke, smoke from burning of fossil fuel.

(ii)Dust: Composed of fine solid particles (over 2gm in

diameter).
It is produced during crushing, grinding and attribution of
solid particles.

(iii) Mist: These are produced due to the spray of liquids like
herbicides and pesticides over the plants. They travel
through air and form mist.

(iv) Fumes: They are generally released to the atmosphere by

the metallurgical operations and also by several chemical
reactions.
Harmful Effects of Particulate Pollutants

(i) Fine particles less than 5 microns penetrate into the

lungs. Inhalation of such particles can lead to serious lung
diseases including lung cancer.

(ii) Suspended particles of bigger size can hinder the sun

rays from reaching the earth surface. This can lower the
temperature of earth and make the weather foggy.

SMOG

This is the common form of air pollution which is combination of

smoke and fog.

Smog exists in two types:

(i) Classical Smog: Occurs in cool humid climate. It contains

smoke, fog and sulphur dioxide. It is also called as reducing
smog.

(ii) Photochemical Smog: This type of result from the action of

sunlight on smog unsaturated hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides
released by the vehicles and industries. It has high
concentration of oxidising agents and is there fore, called as
oxidising smog.
Harmful effects of photochemical smog
(i) It can cause cough, bronchitis, irritation of respiratory system
etc.

- To control this type of pollution the engines of the

automobiles are fitted with catalytic converters to check the
release of both oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons in the
atmosphere.

Some plants like Vitis, Pinus, Juniparus, Quercus, Pyrus can

metabolise nitrogen oxide and therefore, their plantation can be
done.

STRATOSPHERIC POLLUTION
Formation of Ozone: Ozone in the stratosphere is produced by
UV radiations. When UV radiations act on dioxygen (02)
molecules, Ozone is produced.

Ozone is thermodynamically unstable and decomposes to

molecular oxygen. Thus there exists an equilibrium between
production and decomposition of Ozone molecules.

Depletion of Ozone layer

Ozone blanket in the upper atmosphere prevent the harmful UV
radiations from reaching earth.

But in recent years, there have been reports of depletion of this

layer due to presence of certain chemicals in the stratosphere.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), nitrogen oxides, chloride, CCl4

etc. are the chemicals responsible for depletion.
(CFC) dissociate in the presence of light gives chlorine free
radicals which catalyse the conversion of ozone into oxygen.
Effects of the depletion of Ozone layer

(i) This leads to many diseases like skin cancer, sunburn,

ageing of skin, cataract etc.

(ii) UV radiations can kill many phytoplanktons, damage the

fish productivity.

(iii) It can decrease moisture content of the soil by

increasing the evaporation of
surface water.

(iv) UV radiations can damage paints and fibres, causing

them to fade faster.

WATER POLLUTION

Presence of undesirable materials in water which is harmful

for the human beings and plants is known as water pollution.
Normal properties of the water can be changed by the
presence of these foreign materials.
Causes of Water Pollution
(i) Pathogens: Pathogens are the bacteria and the other
organisms that enter water from domestic sewage and animal
excreta.
Human excreta contain bacteria such. as Escherichia coli and
Streptococcus faecalis. It causes gastrointestinal diseases.

(ii) Organic Wastes: Organic matter such as leaves, grass, trash

etc. can pollute water.

- Excessive growth of phytoplankton within water also pollute

water.

-Large numbers of bacteria in water can consume oxygen

dissolved in water by decomposing organic matter present in
water.

-If the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water is below 6

Ppm the growth of fish gets inhibited. If too much of organic
matter is
added to water, all the available oxygen is used up. This can
cause the death of the aquatic life.

• BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand)

It is defined as the amount of oxygen required by bacteria for

the breakdown of the organic matter present in a certain volume
of a sample of water.
The amount of BOD in water is a measure of the amount of
organic material in the
water. Clean water has BOD value of less than 5 ppm.
Highly polluted water could have a BOD value of 17 ppm or
more.
CHEMICAL POLLUTANTS

(i) Industrial Wastes: Chemical reactions carried in the

industrial units also pollute- water to a great extent. For
example, lead, mercury, nickel, cobalt etc. These chemicals
give very bad effect to the groundwater and waterbodies
are polluted due to the chemical reactions-
known as leaching. Organic chemicals like petroleum
products-also pollute many sources of water.

e.g., major oil spills in oceans.

(ii) Pesticides: These are i • mostly chlorinated

hydrocarbons, organophosphates and metallic salts etc.

They dissolve in water to small extent and pollute it. Since

all the pesticides are toxic in nature, they are injurious to
both plants and animals.

(ii) Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS).These are the

chemical compounds used as fluids in transformers and
capacitors.

These are released in atmosphere as rapours. They mix with

rain water and thus contaminate the water. Eutrophication:
The process in which algae like organisms reduce
dissolved oxygen in water is called as eutrophication. It is
harmful for aquatic life.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD OF DRINKING WATER

Fluoride: Concentration of fluoride up to l ppm or 1 mg dm-3, is

not harmful for human beings if it is used as drinking water.

The F ions make the enamel on teeth much harder by converting

hydroxyapatite [3Ca3(PO4)2 Ca(OH)2] the enamel on the
surface of the teeth, into much harder fluorapatite, [3Ca3(PO4)2.
CaF2].

Concentration of F above 2 ppm causes. brown mottling of

teeth. Excess of fluoride is harmful to bones also.

Lead: Upper limit concentration of lead in drinking water is about

50
Lead can damage kidney, lever,reproductive system etc.

Sulphate: At moderate level it is harmless but excess is harmful.

Nitrate: The maximum limit of nitrate. should be 50 ppm. Excess

nitrate in drinking water can cause diseases such as me
themoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome).

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD): Water is treated with K2Cr207

in acidic medium to oxidise polluting substance-
which cannot be oxidised. by microbial oxidation. The remaining
is determined. by back titration with suitable reducing agent.
SOIL POLLUTION
Sources
Pesticides: It can be classified as:
(i) Insecticide: The most common. insecticides are
chlorinated hydrocarbons like DDT, BHC etc.
As they are not much soluble in water, they stay in the soil
for long time. They are absorbed by the soil and
contaminate root crops like radish, carrot etc.

(ii) Herbicides: These are the compounds- used to control

weeds, namely, sodium chlorate (NaClO3) and sodium
arsenite- (Na3As03) are commonly used herbicides but
arsenic compounds, being toxic are no longer preferred.

Fungicides: Organo-mercury compounds are the most

common fungicides. Its dissociation in soil produces
mercury which is highly toxic and harmful for the crops.

INDUSTRIAL WASTES

It has seen that most of the industrial wastes are

thrown into water or dumped into the soil. These industrial
wastes contain huge amounts of toxic chemicals which
are mostly non-bidegradable.

For example :- metal processing industries, mining

cement, glass industries, petroleum industry etc., fertilizer
industry produce gypsum. The disposal of non-
biodegradable industrial solid waste is not done by
suitable methods and cause many serious problems.
STRATEGIES TO CONTROL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM

(i) The improper disposal of wastes is one of the major causes

of environmental degradation. The
management of wastes is very important.

(ii) All domestic wastes should be properly collected and

disposed.

GREEN CHEMISTRY

Green Chemistry is a way of thinking and is about utilising the

knowledge and principles of chemistry that would control
the increasing environmental pollution.

Green chemistry in day-to-day life:

(1) Dry-Cleaning of clothes and laundary: Replacement of

halogenated solvent like (CC14) by liquid CO2 which is less
harmful to groundwater.
Hydrogen peroxide (H202) is used for the purpose of
bleaching clothes.

(ii) Bleaching of Paper: In place of chlorine H202 is used for

the bleaching
of paper.

(iii) Synthesis of Chemicals: Ethahal (CH3CHO) is prepared by

step oxidation of ethene.

Environmental pollution: It is the effect of undesirable

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