main constituent of acid rains
Answers
- Sulfuric acid ( H2SO4 )
- nitric acid ( HNO3 )
- carbonic acid ( H2CO3 )
Sulfuric acid (
H 2 S O 4
), nitric acid (
H N O 3
), and carbonic acid (
H2 C O3
) are the major components of acid rain. These chemicals are released into the atmosphere naturally however prior to industrialization and the advent of factories and reliance on hydrocarbons (coal, gasoline, crude oil, et cetera) acid rain was a rare event. In recent decades acid rain has become an increasingly common event.
Acid Rain as the name suggests can be said to be the precipitation of acid in the form of rain in the simplest manner. When atmospheric pollutants like oxides of nitrogen and sulphur react with rainwater and come down with the rain, then this results in Acid Rain.
Acid rain is made up of highly acidic water droplets due to air emissions, most specifically the disproportionate levels of sulphur and nitrogen emitted by vehicles and manufacturing processes. Often called acid rain as this concept contains many types of acidic precipitation.
The acidic deposition takes place in two ways: wet, and dry. Wet deposition is any form of precipitation which removes acids from the atmosphere and places them on the surface of the earth. In the absence of precipitation, dry deposition of polluting particles and gases sticks to the ground through dust and smoke.The causes of acid rain are Sulphur and Nitrogen particles which get mixed with the wet components of rain. Sulphur and Nitrogen particles which get mixed with water are found in two ways either man-made i.e as the emissions are given out from industries or by natural causes like how a lightning strike in the atmosphere releases nitrogen ions and sulphur is released from volcanic eruptions.
According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, which considers him the “father of acid rain,” the word acid rain was invented in 1852 by Scottish chemist Robert Angus Smith. Smith decided on the word while studying rainwater chemistry near industrial towns in England and Scotland.
The regular clean rain we experience, even though it is not clean i.e water and carbon dioxide react together to form weak carbonic acid which essentially by itself is not extremely harmful. The reaction occurring is :
H2O (l) + CO2 (g) ⇌ H2CO3 (aq)
The pH value of regular rainwater is around 5.7, giving it an acidic nature. The oxides of nitrogen and sulphur are blown away by the wind along with the dust particles. They settle on the earth’s surface after coming down in the form of precipitation. Acid rain is essentially a by product of human activities which emit oxides of nitrogen and sulphur in the atmosphere. Example – the burning of fossil fuels, unethical waste emission disposal techniques.