Ozone Holes – Page 457 Global Warming – Page 649 Acid Rain – Page 481
Acid Rain Caused by acid SO2
SO 2 Comes From Volcanic gases Forest fires Bacteria Industrial processes Fossil fuel combustion
Amounts released 30 million tons of SO 2 released by U.S. yearly 15 –30 million tons released by Mt Pinatubo
Coal is a major source of SO 2 Eastern coal is high sulfer & higher BTU’s Western coal is low sulfer & lower BTU’s Must burn more west coal to get same energy as East So which is better???
Acid Rain Chemistry
Problems with Acid Rain Lowers the pH of rivers and lakes this kills, fish animals and plants Dissolves metals, marble and limestone
Scrubber Chemistry If CaCO 3 is placed in the smoke stack, much of the SO 2 is removed