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Primary Air Pollutants: Sulfur Oxides (So)

Air is composed primarily of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases. Air pollution occurs when harmful substances exceed limits and negatively impact the environment. Pollutants exist in solid, liquid, and gas forms, including sulfur and nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, chlorofluorocarbons, and ammonia. Major sources are fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, and agriculture. Outdoor air pollution caused over 4 million deaths globally in 2016, with most in Asia due to factors like particulate matter exposure.

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Shubhankar Gupta
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94 views

Primary Air Pollutants: Sulfur Oxides (So)

Air is composed primarily of nitrogen, oxygen, and other gases. Air pollution occurs when harmful substances exceed limits and negatively impact the environment. Pollutants exist in solid, liquid, and gas forms, including sulfur and nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, chlorofluorocarbons, and ammonia. Major sources are fossil fuel combustion, industrial processes, and agriculture. Outdoor air pollution caused over 4 million deaths globally in 2016, with most in Asia due to factors like particulate matter exposure.

Uploaded by

Shubhankar Gupta
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction

The significance and importance of air can be judged from the fact that we can survive for about
5 weeks without food, 5 days without water but without air we cannot survive for even 5 min. Air
is such an essential necessity that its pollution has received worldwide attention.

Ambient air is a composition of various gases i.e. 78% nitrogen, 21.9% oxygen, 0.03%carbon
dioxide and inert gases like krypton neon helium as well as helium and methane. Air pollution is
an atmospheric condition in which polluting constituents are there in high enough concrete ions
above their prescribed limit to produce impact which are harmful to different receptor like flora,
fauna, material etc.

Nature & Origin


Air Pollutants are artificial and natural contaminants which are responsible for alteration of
atmospheric condition. The pollutants are classified on basis of their physical state, origin of key
chemical elements. The pollutants exist in all three states of matter solid, gases and liquid.
Liquid and solid pollutants are designated as particulates such as dust smoke fumes, fly ash
exist in solid state whereas mist fog and spray occur in liquid state. Oxides of sulfur, carbon,
nitrogen, hydrocarbon, ozone exist in gaseous phase.

Primary Air Pollutants

 Sulfur oxides (Sox) – known as sulfur dioxide, a chemical compound with the formula SO2.
SO2 is produced in various industrial processes and also by volcanoes. Petroleum and coal
often contain sulfur compounds, and their combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Oxidation of
SO2 in the presence of a catalyst such as NO2 generates H2SO4 which causes acid rain.
This is a cause of concern over the environmental impact of the use of these fossil fuels as
power sources.
 Nitrogen oxides (NOx) - Nitrogen oxides, also called nitrogen dioxide, are released from
high temperature combustion, and are also produced during thunderstorms by electric
discharge. They can be seen as a brown haze dome above or a plume downwind of cities. It
is one of several nitrogen oxides. One of the most prominent air pollutants, the gas is
reddish-brown in color and has a characteristic sharp, biting odor.

 Carbon monoxide (CO) - CO is a toxic, colorless, odorless, non-irritating gas. It is a


produced by incomplete combustion of fuel such as coal, wood and natural gas. Exhaust
manifold of Vehicle is a major source of carbon monoxide.

 Particulate Matter - Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter (PM),


atmospheric particulate matter, or fine particles, are minute particles of liquid or solid
suspended in a gas. In contrast, aerosol refers to combined particles and gas. Some
particulates occur naturally, originating from dust storm volcanoes, grassland and forest
fires, living vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities involving burning of fossil fuels in
vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also generate significant amounts of
aerosols. Averaged worldwide, anthropogenic aerosols—those made by human activities—
currently account for nearly 10% of our atmosphere. Increasing levels of fine particles in the
air results in health hazards such as lung cancer, heart disease and altered lung function.
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – these are harmful to the ozone layer; emitted from
products are currently banned from use. CFC’s are released from aerosol spray, air
conditioners, refrigerators etc. CFC's when released into the air rises to stratosphere where
they come in contact with other gases and exploits the ozone layer. This allows harmful UV
rays to reach the earth's surface which can lead to fatal diseases like skin cancer, damage
to eye and can even cause damage to plants.

 Ammonia (NH3) – Produced majorly from agricultural processes. It is normally known as a


gas with a characteristic pungent odor. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional
needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to foodstuffs and fertilizers.
Ammonia, either indirectly or directly, is also a building block for the synthesis of many
pharmaceuticals. Although in wide use, ammonia is hazardous as well as caustic. In the
atmosphere, ammonia reacts with oxides of sulfur and nitrogen to form secondary particles.

Magnitude of Damage Cost

It is estimated that outdoor air pollution caused 4.2 million deaths in 2016 globally compared
to 3.4 million in 1990. The below chart gives details on the number of deaths by region.
Overall, we see that the majority of pollution-related fatality is in Asia - South, Southeast and
East Asia alone responsible for nearly 3 million in 2016.
Pollution-related disease can be attributed to several different forms of exposure. The three key
sources of pollution deaths are from ambient outdoor particulate matter (PM) pollution, indoor
burning of solid fuels (household pollution) and exposure to ambient outdoor ozone (O3), and
ambient outdoor particulate matter (PM) pollution. Minute particles with a diameter of less than
2.5µm which can penetrate into the lungs, impacting respiratory health- it’s worth having a brief
look at how death rates from all three sources have changed through time

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