Download THERE`S SOMETHING IN THE WATER!

THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE
WATER!
H2SO4, actually.
The Pollutants in Acid Rain
Acid rain is any rain with a pH lower than 5.6
The principal pollutant become H2SO4 and HNO3
Sulfur Oxides: From combustion of coal and
industrial processes. In the atmosphere, converts to
. Heavy metal pollutants and solid particles catalyze
the reaction, which lead to the creation of acids in
the presence of moisture.
S+O2  SO2
2SO2  O2  2SO3
SO2  H 2O  H 2SO3
SO2  H 2O  H 2SO4
Pollutants, continued
Nitrogen Oxides: Produced by combustion,
lightning, and plants and soil. Nitrogen
dioxide itself is dangerous, but can also be
converted to nitric acid in the presence of
moisture or hydroxyl free radicals.
N O heat 2NO
2 2
2NOO 2NO
2
2
4NO 2H OO 3HNO
2
2
2
3
NO OH  HNO
2
3
The Environmental Effects
The rain can raise the acidity of lakes and streams.

Those lakes that are on minerals (e.g. limestone) that can react
with the acid may be buffered, though this effect has only limited
power.
Clays containing poisonous minerals and compounds (such as
mercury and cyanide) may be released into the water as an
effect of the increased solvent power of the water.


The release is not only bad for the lake, of course: released
aluminum can strip tree roots of nutrients and damage them.
Fish that swallow mercury of aluminum, may be poisoned, as well
as poison humans who eat them—aluminum for Alzheimer’s;
mercury for run of the mill insanity.
Acid Rain and Monuments
Acid rain is notorious for
destroying great marble
monuments, as shown.
This is done by
converting insoluble
rock to soluble sulfates
CaCO3+H2SO4
H2O+CO2+CaSO4
CaSO4 is soluble, and
washes away.
Why we’re running out
Only a tiny fraction of the available water on earth is
drinkable (fresh) and available for consumption
Water used by humans becomes impure
Rain water is not currently capable of replenishing
aquifers.
Water is not equally available all over the world.
(Arabia comes to mind.)
Due both to industrialization and poor treatment
facilities, much of the fresh water in the world is
contaminated or polluted. (Think Mexico.)
Rising population (Think India and China.)
How to Save your water
Dams (caveat emptor—this can prevent
necessary water from getting down stream.)
Shower heads, smaller toilets, direct reuse of
water for drinking purposes from sewage
(this is actually a common process in the
more arid regions of the world and in closed
environments, e.g. the Space Shuttle)
Just conserve it, dude!

Note that we are in no way actively promoting sponge baths.
Prevention
Major sources of acid rain producing
chemicals include, but are not limited
to:

Smoke stacks emitting sulfur oxides
 Can be reduced dramatically by scrubbers

Cars without proper converters
 Make sure your car passes its emissions test

Lightning
 Build a fantastically tall conducting tower so
that the charge can dissipate.
Clean-Up
Liming the water

This is a process of dumping chemicals that will react with
the acid (lime, for instance) to neutralize the acidity and
bring the lake back up to more neutral levels.
Arsenic troubles

MIT is currently working on finding a bacterium that will
convert the highly poisonous arsenite to less troublesome
arsenate, or alternately one that creates a sludge that can
be easily removed. (Elderberry wine’s a favorite.)
There’s plenty, if you can get it.
Reverse Osmosis

This is a form of
desalination that pressurizes
water, thereby forcing it
through a semi-permeable
membrane. The upside is
that it’s cheap and energyefficient; the downside is
that, so far, the membranes
have proven finicky and
short-lived, often not more
than 3 years, though this is
expected to improve.
Salt
water
Fresh
water
Distillation

This is the age-old process of evaporating water to separate out
the impurities, then collecting the condensation and purifying
that again. It has the advantage of being highly dependable, but
it is very, very costly as far as required energy goes.
Ion Exchange

This is the process of two ions of like charges crossing across a
membrane of opposing charge—ions with charges like those on
the membrane are blocked—which is driven by an imbalance of
charge, arising from concentration or electric current. It also has
the added benefit of being cheaper than almost any other
method on the market, but it is also more sensitive to
chemicals, such as chlorine, in the water.