Lecture 9

FSN22322T
Environmental Studies
Bangladesh Open University
B. Sc. (Hons) in Food Science and Nutrition Program
Abir Hossain
Assistant Professor
Lecture-8: Content
❑Fundamental of environmental
chemistry
✓ Classification of elements and
stoichiometry
✓ Climate change: causes and its impact on
environment
Fundamental of environmental
chemistry
Environmental Chemistry:
The field of chemistry deals with the study of reactions, sources,
transport, and effects, along with the fates of all the chemical species
present in the soil, water, and air environments, and the effects of
technology thereon.
Environmental chemistry of soil and rocks
▪The most abundant elements in typical soils and rocks are oxygen (47%),
silicon (28%), aluminum (8%), and iron (3–4%).
▪Virtually all the other stable elements are also present in soil and rocks,
and all of these can occur in a great variety of molecular forms and
minerals.
Classification of elements and
stoichiometry
The classification of elements used in the periodic tables includes:
actinides, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, halogens, lanthanides, transition
metals, post-transition metals, metalloids, reactive nonmetals, and noble gases.
Stoichiometry:
Stoichiometry as the calculation of products and reactants in a chemical
reaction. It is basically concerned with numbers.
▪Stoichiometry is an important concept in Chemistry that helps us use balanced
chemical equations to calculate amounts of reactants and products.
▪Here, we make use of ratios from the balanced equation. In general, all the
reactions that take place are dependent on one main factor, that is, how much
substance is present.
Climate change: causes and its impact
on environment
➢Green house effect
➢Ozone layer depletion
➢Acid rain
GREEN HOUSE
• Vegetables are produced in glass houses
in the cold countries such as North
America, Canada, North Europe, Siberia
etc.
• But the house is made as such, that the
sunlight has heat inside penetrating the
glass during daytime.
• The interesting matter is, the heat cannot
be reflected or come out completely.
• So, that whole room remains quite hot
even during tremendous cold.
• This house is called GREENHOUSE.
Mechanism:
✓ The shortwave radiation (high frequency) of sun the sun passes

through the glass & roof of the green house & heats the floor, plants
and everything else inside.
✓ The warmed objects pass back as long wave radiation or ray
(relatively low frequencies) the heat they have gained & as this tries
to escape, most of the heat is blocked by the glass.
✓ As a result, the heat inside builds up.
✓ Short wave solar radiations from the sun pass through the glass and
heat is absorbed by everything present in the house.
✓ Long wave heats are radiated back.
✓ Maximum heat is reflected by the glass & temperature rise.
✓ A small amount of heat escapes or omitted.
Green house effect & its mechanism
• Many of the gases like CO2, NOx, CFC, and HC are increasing
directly or indirectly in the atmosphere to make human life more
comfortable & happier.
• At a certain altitude on the earth the gases from a layer.
• The rays or energy from the sun comes to the earth penetrating the
layer.
• But this outgoing heat energy is being hindered by those gases just
like green house.
• For this reason, the earth gradually becomes hotter.
• CO2 is the main culprit among green houses gases for green house
effect and CFC has got high heat absorbing power.
Green house gases
Green house gases are those gases which can trap infrared radiation
given by the sun to produce green house effect leading to heating up
of the environment.
Green house gases Relative contribution
Carbon di-oxide 50%
Water vapor 2%
Methane 19%
Ozone 8%
Chlorofluorocarbon 17%
Nitrous oxide 4%
Adverse impacts of green house effect:
1.
✓ Most scientists believe that the
increase in global temperatures
will cause the polar ice caps
and glaciers to begin to melt.
✓ This will cause sea levels to
rise.
✓ In the past 100 years ocean
levels have already risen about
one foot.
Rising Sea Level
Adverse impacts of green house effect:
2. The rise and expansion of the sea would also allow storm
surges and hurricane waves to precede further inland, causing
more damage.
3. Temperature increases can also lead to changes in weather

patterns, precipitating more frequent and severe storms could
be enormous.
4. Many aquifers which provide our drinking water could

become contaminated with salt water, thus decreasing the
available supply.
More Severe Storms
Adverse effects of green house effect:
5. Weather patterns will definitely be changed by this process.

Some areas will become drier while others will become
wetter.
6. If too much drying occurs in areas, droughts could follow.
This could lead to more disasters.
Droughts
Adverse effects of green house effect:
7. The rise in temperature is occurring relatively quickly.
Many animal species cannot adapt to this sudden fluctuation.
It is possible that many species will become extinct because
of this stress.
8 . Diseases which are currently restricted to tropical

areas/polar areas, could spread to other areas as they become
warmer and more receptive to the agents which carry the
diseases.
Habitat Damage and Species
Extinction
Novel Diseases
Control of greenhouse effect
The following steps should be adopted to control the
green house effect:
❑ CO2 level can be decreased by drastic cut in the
combustion of fossil fuels in the highly developed &
industrialized countries.
❑ The developed countries should give sufficient
economic aid to the under developed countries to
generate solar energy on commercial level.
❑ Bio-gas is another alternative source of conventional
energy for domestic use.
❑ Increase in forestation will certainly reduce the CO2
level.
WHAT IS OZONE?
✓ O3
✓ A gas composed of three atoms of oxygen
✓ Nearly 90% of earth’s ozone is in the stratosphere
and referred to as the ozone layer.
✓ Ozone absorbs a band of ultraviolet radiation called
UVB.
OZONE LAYERS
OZONE DEPLETION
• Ozone layer depletion, is simply the wearing out
(reduction) of the amount of ozone in the
stratosphere.
• Industries that manufacture things like

insulating foams, solvents, soaps, cooling things
like Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, use
something called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
Depletion begins when CFC’s get into the stratosphere.
Ultra violet radiation from the sun breaks up these CFCs.
IMPACTS OF OZONE
DEPLETION
1) HARM TO HUMAN HEALTH:
(a) More skin cancers, sunburns and premature aging of the skin.
(b) More cataracts, blindness and other eye diseases.
2) ADVERSE IMPACTS ON AGRICULTURE:

(a) Plant growth, especially in seedlings, is harmed by more intense
UV radiation.
(b)Major crop species are particularly vulnerable to increased UV,
resulting in reduced growth, photosynthesis and flowering.
THANK YOU

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FSN22322T

✓ The shortwave radiation (high frequency) of sun the sun passes

3. Temperature increases can also lead to changes in weather

4. Many aquifers which provide our drinking water could

5. Weather patterns will definitely be changed by this process.

8 . Diseases which are currently restricted to tropical

• Industries that manufacture things like

2) ADVERSE IMPACTS ON AGRICULTURE:

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