C1 AIR QUALITY
- Created by: mhamaia21
- Created on: 21-01-15 19:15
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- C1 AIR QUALITY
- The Atmosphere
- 78%nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon and other noble gases, small amounts of water vapour carbon dioxide and other gases.
- Stage 1 - Volcanic activity added carbon dioxide and water vapour.
- Stage 2 - Eath cooled, water vapour condensed to form oceans.
- Stage 3 - Simple photosynthetic organisms evolved, adding oxygen and removing carbon dioxide.
- Stage 4 - Some carbon dioxide was removed by dissolving into oceans and thus forming sedimentary rocks and fossil fuels.
- Pollutants in the Air
- Carbon dioxide, harmful to environment, green house gas traps heat
- Nitrogen oxides, harmful to environment and humans, cause acid rain and breathing problems, worsen asthma
- Sulfur dioxide, harmful to environment causes acid rain
- Particulates, harmful to environment and humans, dirty, worsen lung infections and asthma if inhaled
- Carbon monoxide, harmful to humans, prevents blood carrying oxygen, fatal
- Can harm indirectly too, acid rain makes rivers acidic, affecting food chains and natural resources.
- Pollutants are measured by concentration, these must be repeated as it may change depending on traffic and weather.
- Combustion
- When a fuel reacts with oxygen and energy is released, oxidation reaction.
- Complete combustion occurs when there is enough oxygen for fuel to burn completely.
- Petrol, diesel and fuel oil are mostly hydrocarbons
- Incomplete combustion occurs when fuel is burned with not enough oxygen present.
- Occurs in car engines, as coal contains sulfur, sulfur dioxide is also released.
- Formation of NOx gases
- High temperatures in car engine causes nitrogen in atmosphere to react with oxygen.
- The nitrogen monoxide is then oxidised to produces nitrogen dioxide
- High temperatures in car engine causes nitrogen in atmosphere to react with oxygen.
- Effects of pollutants
- Particulate carbon is deposited on buildings making them dirty.
- Carbon dioxide is removed by photosynthesis, and dissolved in rain and sea water to react with other chemicals.
- Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, contributes to global warming.
- Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide react with water to produce acid rain, damaging trees, corroding metal, changing pH of rivers causing organisms to die.
- Burning sulfur in oxygen and dissolving gas in water forms a strongly acidic solution.
- Reducing power station pollution
- Use less electricity
- Remove sulfur and toxic chemicals from gas, coal and oil prior burning
- Use renewable sources, solar, wind and hydroelectric energy
- Wet scrubbing flue gases with sea water or calcium oxide spray to remove sulfur dioxide.
- Reducing car pollution
- Use low sulfur fuel in modern fuel efficient cars.
- Legal limits for exhaust emissions, MOT
- Public transport instead.
- Catalytic converters
- Electric cars from biofuels, but they take up a lot of farm land.
- The Atmosphere
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