Acidic Environment

Nitrogen dioxide is formed when lightning strikes (Cotton, 2013). When lightning strikes, the heat causes nitrogen and oxygen to react to form NO, which cools and forms NO2 (Cotton, 2013). It can also be formed by internal combustion engines, power stations, heaters, and gas stoves (Cotton, 2013). Humans are responsible for a large amount of NO2 emissions. If you look at a map of NO2 concentrations, the highest levels will be in large cities with lots of people and cars. NO2 has both a local and global effect. It helps create smog that can be dangerous for people to be around in a city. It also acts as a greenhouse gas that can be harmful to the atmosphere and affect the whole world. It is being studied to see the effects on humans and the

Nitrogen oxides are released into the air from motor vehicle exhaust or the burning of coal, oil, diesel fuel, and natural gas, especially from electric power plants. They are also released during industrial processes such as

When the oxygen supply is poor and the fuel is not fully combusted, residue carbon and carbon monoxide is produced instead of carbon dioxide (BBC.co.uk, 2011). The generalised equation for incomplete combustion is shown in figure 3.

NO2 is too naturally released, major natural events such as bushfires could dramatically increase NO2 concentration in the atmosphere, this could affect the ability to reliably measure NOx form industrial sources

oxide are the gases that form the acid rain. When these gases mix with moisture

Nitrous Oxide. Nitrous Oxide emissions have increased by 20%, from 270 ppbv during the pre-industrial period to approximately 316 ppbv in the year 2000 (IPCC, 2001; NOAA/ ESRL, 2015b). Although the total N2O emissions are much lower than CO2; N2O has an atomic lifetime of 114 years and a GWP value of 298, therefore, it is approximately 300 times more powerful at trapping heat in the atmosphere and increasing the GHE when compared to CO2 (EPA, 2015). The main sources of anthropogenic N2O emissions includes; agricultural soils (nitrogen-fixing crops and forages), fertilizers (synthetic and manure), feces deposition from livestock, fossil fuel combustion (predominantly mobile combustion), nylon and nitric acid production, waste water treatment, and waste incineration and biomass burning (EPA, 2015).

The combustion of the hydrocarbons and organic molecules found in fuels is a chemical reaction that primarily involves the oxidation of carbon and hydrogen in various compounds to release heat and produce water and carbon dioxide. When the environment lacks sufficient oxygen, rendering oxygen as the limiting reagent in the reaction, incomplete combustion would occur. This involves the production of other chemicals such as carbon monoxide and solid carbon in addition to water and carbon dioxide. The general chemical equations for the incomplete and complete combustion of hydrocarbons are as follows:

Nitric oxide (NO) is a free radical found in our atmosphere, it is colorless, odorless, nonflammable, liquid soluble, and oxidises to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) when mixed with oxygen. Nitrogen dioxide when inhaled is a harsh respiratory irritant that can cause a fatal form of pulmonary edema and tissue hypoxia. NO is produced by combustion of fossil fuels by power plants, released by automobile engines, found in tobacco smoke and made naturally from lightning in thunder storms. NO is found in concentrations between 10 and 500 parts per billion but can exceed 1.5 parts per million in heavily polluted areas.

acid oxide + water Oxyacid SO3 + H2O H2SO4 H2SO4 - sulfuric acid , NaNO3 - nitric acid Salts = They are formed by the combination of the hydroxides with the acids. hydroxide + acid salt + water NaOH * HCl NaCl + H2O CaCl2 calcium bromide, AlBr3 aluminum bromide

oxide are the gases that form the acid rain. When these gases mix with moisture

Nitric oxide is another oxide in the atmosphere that is formed when nitrogen and oxygen react due to high temperatures of lightning: N2 (g) + O2 (g) 2NO (g). Other sources of nitric oxide from industrial sources include the combustion of fossil fuels both in cars and in power stations. The nitrogen in the air reacts with oxygen in the hot engines. Another oxide that occurs in the atmosphere is nitrogen dioxide which is produced after nitric oxide is produced by lightning and reacts with the oxygen in the air: (2NO (g) + O2 (g) NO2 (g)), it is also released in large volumes in the atmosphere by power stations. Nitrous oxide is an oxide that occurs on root nodules of legume

Water pollution that alters a plant’s surrounding pH level, such as acid rain, can harm or kill the plant. Acid rain forms because of atmospheric sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, which can happen with volcanic activity, burning fossil fuels as well as exhaust from buses, trucks and cars. These compounds interact with common atmospheric chemicals, such as hydrogen and oxygen, to form sulfuric and nitric acids in the air. These acids return to earth through precipitation, such as rain or snow. Once acid rain reaches the ground, it flows into waterways that carry its acidic compounds into bodies of water. Acid rain that collects in aquatic environments lowers water

Sulfuric acid formation in the air emanates from pollutants released in the atmosphere especially, from manufacturing industries (Hewayde, Nehdi, Allouche & Nakhla, 2007). When the gas, (sulfur dioxide) is released into the air, it combines with oxygen to form another gas (sulfur trioxide, SO3), which reacts with water to form sulfuric acid (Revie, Uhlig & Wiley, 2011). The reaction is indicated below;

SO2 & NOX gases turn in to particles that can be inhaled deep into peoples’ lungs. Acid rain can harm people indirectly. This happens when people eat fish caught in affected lakes or rivers. When we breathe in air pollution, these very fine particulates can easily enter our body, where they can cause breathing problems, and over time even cause cancer. Water we drink from taps can be contaminated by acid rain, which can damage the brain.

Ground level ozone (O3) formed from NOx and VOCs. Ozone (O3) is a key constituent of the troposphere (it is also an important constituent of certain regions of the stratosphere commonly known as the Ozone layer). Photochemical and chemical reactions involving it drive many of the chemical processes that occur in the atmosphere by day and by night. At abnormally high concentrations brought about by human activities (largely the combustion of fossil fuel), it is a pollutant, and a constituent of smog.