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Acid Rain

The acid rain problem vividly demonstrates the need for new approaches to
environmental management. Rather than an aberration, acid rain is probably the
prototype of the new environmental problems that increasingly will confront the
nation.

-conservation Foundation (1984)


Assignment
Topic: Acid Rain Effects on Life
Submitted by: Tahira
Roll no. 38750
Submitted to: Dr. Farhat Jabeen
Subject Title: Advance in Aquatic Toxicology
Course ID: Zol-711
Credit Hour: (3-0)
Class: MPhil
Semester: 2nd
Session: 2018-2020
Department: Zoology

G.C.U.F
Acid Rain Effects on Life

Contents
Topic Page no.

1.Introduction……………………………………………………….1-2
2. Chemical reactions during acid rain formation…………………. 2-4
2.1 Acid reactions involving O3
2.2 Reactions involving Sulphur
2.3 Acid reactions involving nitrogen
3.Effects of Acid Rain…………………………………………….4-8
4. How do we reduce acid rain?...........................................................9
5. References…………………………………………………………10
Acid Rain
1.Introduction: Robert Angus Smith first used this term in 1872 to describe the acidic
nature of rain around industrial town of Manchester, U.K. in a paper entitled “The air and
rain beginning of chemical climatology”. Scientists often refer to “acid deposition” as a
more accurate term for acid rain. Along with the wet deposition there are also dry
depositions of acids, which can be transformed into salts in the soil and cause the same
environmental damage, as do the wet deposits. Dry deposition generally occurs close to
the point of emission. Wet deposition, however, may occur thousands of kilometers away
from the original source of emission.
There are several ways to interpret “Acid rain”.

 Acid rain is a broad term that describes several ways through which acid falls out
from the atmosphere. Acid rain includes acidic rain, fog, hail and snow.
 Pure rainwater is naturally slightly acidic, with pH of 5.6. The pH of normal
rainwater is also acidic; the reason is that water reacts to a slight extent with
atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce carbonic acid.
𝐂𝐎𝟐 + 𝐇𝟐 𝐎 → 𝐇𝟐 𝐂𝐎𝟑 (carbonic acid)
Small amount of nitric acid is also responsible for the acidity of normal rainwater,
which is produced by the oxidation of nitrogen in presence of water during lightning
storms.
𝟐𝑵𝟐 + 𝟓𝑶𝟐 + 𝟐𝑯𝟐 𝑶 → 𝟒𝑯𝑵𝑶𝟑 (𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑑)
Rainwater with a pH of less than 5.6 is characterized as acidic rain.
 Acid rain is a rain that is more acidic than normal.
 Acid rain is the presence of excessive acids such as H2SO4., HNO3 and H2CO3 in
rainwater. Generally, the pH of acid rain varies from 3 to 6. The major contributors
of acid rain are as follows.
 H2SO4 (60-70%)
 HNO3 (30-40%)
 while H2CO3 and HCl are the other components.

 Acid rain refers to the wet precipitation of pollutants SO2/SO3 and NO2/HNO3,
which have dissolved in cloud and rain droplets to form sulphuric and nitric acids.
However, the term has come to be more generally applied to include dry
precipitation of the gaseous pollutants and their gaseous and particulate derivatives.

Causes of acidification: These pollutants originate from human activities such as


combustion of burnable waste, fossil fuels in thermal power plants and automobiles. These
constituents interact with reactants present in the atmosphere and result into acid deposition
1) Primary causes: The primary causes of acid rain include the following
a) Sulphur dioxide: The natural sources of Sulphur pollutants are oceans and too
much smaller extent from volcanic eruptions. The man-made sources of SO2
emissions are the burning of coal and petroleum and various industrial processes
b) Oxides of nitrogen: The levels of NOx are small in comparison to SO2,
but its contribution in the production of acid rain is increasing. Main
natural sources of NOx include lightening, volcanic eruptions and
biological processes. Man-made sources are power stations, vehicle
exhausts and industrial emission.
c) Ozone

2.Chemical reactions during acid rain formation


The chemical reaction that results in the formation of acid rain involves
1) The interaction of SO2, NOx and O3.
2) When the pollutants become a part of the atmosphere, molecules of SO2 and NOx
are caught up in the prevailing winds, where they interact in the presence of sunlight
with vapors to form sulphuric acid and nitric acid mists.
3) These acids remain in vapor state under the prevalent high temperature conditions.
4) When the temperature falls, condensation takes the form of aerosol droplets, which
owing to the presence of unburnt carbon particles will be black, acidic and
carbonaceous in nature. This matter is called “acid smut”.
5) The presence of oxidizing agents and the characteristics of the reaction affects the
rate of acid generation.
2.1 Acid reactions involving O3:

Peroxyl radicals react with formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and form formic and acetic acids
and some other organic acids, contributing to 5-20% acidity in total acid rain load.
2.2 Reactions involving Sulphur: coal is especially rich in Sulphur. As coal is
burned, its component gets oxidized
𝑺 + 𝑶𝟐 → 𝑺𝑶𝟐
The oxidation of Sulphur to SO2 occurs directly in the flame; therefore, SO2 is discharged
to the atmosphere from the smoke stacks. As SO2 flowed with the wind , it is slowly
oxidized at ordinary temperature to 𝑆𝑂3−2

Oxidant property of atmosphere plays an important role in conversion of SO32- to SO4.


Sulphur dioxide oxidation is most common in clouds and especially in heavily polluted air
where compounds such as ammonia and O3 are in abundance. These catalysts help to
convert more SO2 into sulphuric acid.
𝑯𝟐 𝑶𝟐 + 𝑯𝑺𝑶𝟑 → 𝑯𝑺𝑶−
𝟒 + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶

2.3 Acid reactions involving nitrogen:

3.Effects of Acid Rain


1) Effects of Acid Rain: Lakes and streams
The ecological effects of acid rain are most clearly seen in the aquatic, or water,
environments, such as streams, lakes, and marshes.
 Acid rain flows to streams, lakes and marshes after falling on forest, fields, buildings
and roads.
 Acid rain also falls directly on aquatic habitats. Most lakes and streams have a pH
between 6 and 8, although some lakes are naturally acidic even without the effects
of acid rain, although some lakes are naturally acidic even without the effects of acid
rain.
 Acid rain primarily affects sensitive bodies of water, which are located in watersheds
whose soils have a limited ability to neutralize acidic compound also called buffering
capacity.
 Lakes and streams become acidic when the water itself and its surrounding soil
cannot buffer the acid rain enough to neutralize it.
 In areas where buffering capacity is low, acid rain also release aluminum from soils
into lakes and streams; aluminum is highly toxic to many species’ aquatic organisms.

Where does acid rain affect lakes and streams?


Many lakes and stream suffered from chronic acidity, a condition in which water has a
constant low pH level. According to a survey acid rain caused acidity in 75% of the acidic
lakes and about 50 percent of the acidic streams. In areas where soil buffering capacity is
poor there are more chances of affected by acid rain.
How Does Acid Rain Affect Fish and Other Aquatic Organism?
Acid rain causes bad effects that
 Harm or kill individual fish
 Reduced fish population numbers
 Completely eliminate fish species from a waterbody
 Decrease biodiversity
 As acid rain flows through soils in a watershed, aluminum is released from soils into
the lakes and streams located in that watershed. So, as pH in a lake or stream
decreases, aluminum levels increase, both are directly toxic to fish.
 In addition, low pH and increased aluminum levels cause chronic stress that may not
kill individual fish but leads to lower body weight and smaller size and makes fish
less able to compete for food and habitat.
 Some types of plants and animals are able to tolerate acidic waters. Others are acid
-sensitive and will be lost as the pH declines.
 Generally, the young of most species are more sensitive to environmental conditions
than adults.
 At pH 5, most fish eggs cannot hatch.
 At low pH levels, some adult fish die. Some acid lakes has no fish.
 The chart below shows that not all fish, shellfish, or the insects that eat can tolerate
the same amount of acid; for example, frogs can tolerate water that is more acidic
than trout.
 On aquatic life not only presence of acidic but also because of dissolved Al 3+ ion
precipitate as a gel on contact with the less acidic gills of the fish and hinder the
normal uptake of oxygen from the water; the fish eventually dies from suffocation.

How Does Acid Rain Affect Ecosystems?


Together, biological organisms and environment in which they live are called ecosystem.
The plants and animals living within an ecosystem are highly independent. For example,
frogs may tolerate relatively high levels of acidity, but if they eat insects like the mayfly,
they may be affected because part of their food supply may disappear. Because of the
connections between the many fish, plants, and other organisms living in an aquatic
ecosystem, changes in pH or aluminum levels affect biodiversity as well. Thus, as lakes
and streams become more acidic, the numbers and types of fish and other aquatic plants
and animals that live in these waters decrease.
Effects of Acid Rain: Forests: Acid rain causes
 slower growth, injury, or death of forests.
 Acid rain causes stress as air pollutants, insects, disease, drought, or very cold
weather that also harm trees and plants.
 When there is raining, rain water washes the leaves and falls on the forest floor.
Some water flows on the ground and runs into a stream, river, or lakes, and some of
the water soaked into the soil. That soil may neutralize some or all of the acidity of
the acid rainwater. This ability is called buffering capacity, and without it, soils
becomes more acidic.
 Difference in soil buffering capacity are important reason why some areas that
receive acid rain show a lot of damage, while other areas that receive about the same
amount of acid rain do not appear to be harmed at all.
 The ability of forest soils to resist, or buffer, acidity depends on the thickness and
composition of the soil.
 Needed nutrients, such as K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ ions, are leached from the soil by acid,
often being replaced by toxic Al3+ ions. Usually acidic soil damages fine root hairs
and destroys beneficial microorganisms.
How Acid Rain Harms Trees
Acid rain does not usually kill trees directly. Instead, it is more likely
 To weakens trees by damaging their leaves.
 Limiting the nutrients available to them.
 Exposing them to toxic substances slowly released from the soil such as aluminum.
 Acidic water dissolves the nutrients and helpful minerals in the soil and then washes
them away before trees and other plants can use them to grow.
 However, trees can damage by acid rain even if the soil is well buffered. Forests in
high mountain regions often are exposed to greater amounts of acid than forests
because they tend to be surrounded by acidic clouds and fog that are more acidic
than rainfall. When leaves are frequently bathed in this fog, essential nutrients in
their leaves and needles are washed away. This loss of nutrients in their foliage
makes trees more susceptible to damage by other environmental factors, particularly
cold winter weather.
How Acid Rain Affects Other Plants
Acid rain can harm other plants in the same way it harms trees. Although damage by other
air pollutants such as ground level ozone, food crops are not usually seriously affected
because farmer frequently add fertilizers to the soil to replace nutrients that have washed
away. They may also add crushed limestone to the soil. Limestone is an alkaline material
and increase the ability of the soil to act as buffer against acidity.
 The studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of simulated acid rain (SAR) at
early plant growth on some morpho chemical characters of two varieties of Mash
and concluded that acid rain effects including number of leaves, shoot: root ratio,
water contents of shoot and Potassium ion concentration.
 The effect of acid rain on bean plants showed that the treated plants number of
pollens grain and also amount of fertile pollen grains were decreased in each anther
significantly.
 In another study it was found that there is a direct effect of acid rain on leaf
photosynthesis rate. There is a positive effect on the rate above pH 5 and a negative
effect below that pH.
Effects of Acid Rain: Visibility Reduction
 Sulphates and nitrates that form in the atmosphere from sulfur dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxides (NOX) emission contribute to the difficulty to see as far as ones can
see.
 Sulfur particles account for 50 to 70 percent of the visibility reduction.
Effects of Acid Rain: Human Health
The harm to people from acid rain is not direct.
 The pollutants that cause acid rain sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides also damage
human health. These gases interact in the atmosphere to form fine sulfate and nitrate
particles that can transport long distances by winds and inhaled deep into people’s
lungs.
 Elevated levels of fine particles and increased illness and premature death from heart
and lung disorders, such as asthma and bronchitis, lung inflammation and
emphysema, dry coughs, headaches and throat irritations.
 Leeching of toxins from the soil by acid rain can be absorbed by plants and animals.
When consumed these toxins it affects human’s life severely, which cause brain
damage, kidney problems and Alzheimer's disease have been linked to people who
eat meat of "toxic" animals/plants by these pollutants.
How Do We Reduce Acid Rain?
There are several ways to reduce acid deposition, ranging from societal changes to
individual action.
1) Understand Acid Depositions Causes and Effects: To solve the acid rain problem,
people need to understand how rain cause damage to the environment.
2) Clean up Smokestacks and Exhaust Pipes: Coal accounts for most sulfur dioxide
(SO2) emissions and a large portion of NOx emission. Sulfur is present in coal, so
coal must be washed using device called scrubbers.
3) Use Alternative Energy Sources: Electricity is also producing from nuclear power,
hydropower, wing energy, geothermal energy and solar energy besides fossil fuels.
So that emission of toxic gases can be prevented.
4) Restore a Damaged Environment: Limestone can be added to acidic lakes to
cancel out the acidity effects.
5) Take Action as individuals: Each individual can also reduce their contribution to
the problem and become part of the solution by understanding to the problem to
conserve the energy.
References:
1. Acid rain: overview and abstracts by carter n. lane chapter no. 1 page no. 1 to 19.
2. Principles of environmental chemistry by james girard chapter 7 page no 216-220.
3. Acid rain by louise petheram
4. The acid rain controversy by james l. regens, robert w. rycroft chapter 1 the
emergence of the acid rain controversy
5. Engineering chemistry for diploma by ranjan kumar mohapatra chapter 12
atmosphere page no. 181
6. Effects of acid rain on forest processes edited by douglas l. godbold, aloys
hüttermann chapter no,5-page no. 163
7. Acid rain: a review of the phenomenon in the eec and europe by environmental
resources limited
8. Anita Singh and Madhoolika Agrawal, review paper “Acid rain and its ecological
consequences” Journal of Environmental Biology (January 2008)
9. Wondyfraw M.” Mechanisms and Effects of Acid Rain on Environment” ournal of
Earth Science & Climatic Change (2014) DOI: 10.4172/2157-7617.1000204
10.Dan Dong, Enzai Du, Zhengzhong Sun, Xuetong Zeng, Wim de Vries “Non-linear
direct effects of acid rain on leaf photosynthetic rate of terrestrial plants”
Environmental pollution (2017)
11. Abdolkarin Chehregani, Behrouz E. Malayeri, Farideh Kavianpour and Hosein Lari
Yazdi “Effect of acid rain on the development, structure and viability of pollen
grains in bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris) Pakistan journal of biological sciences
(2006)
12.Muhammad asif imran, shoaib hussain, mumtaz hussain, muhammad nawaz ch. and
akbar ali meo “effect of simulated acid rain (sar) on some morphochemical aspects
of mash (vigna mungo l.)” Pakistan jounal botany (2014)

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