Exam 1- EVNS

Key Concepts
o Layering
o Layering of lake water as it warms in summer can prevent
dispersion of effluents from tributaries, causing increased
concentration of pollutants near the shore.
o Acidity
o Capacity factor
o Alkalinity
o Tells us how quickly H+ can dissociate, while basicity tells us
how strong something is
o Refers to intensity while basicity refers to strength
o Alkalinity of a compound can be 100x more concentrated than
the basicity of another
o Intensity factor; capacity to accept H+ ions
o Speciation
o Idea that compounds can exist in multiple forms. For example,
there is elemental oxygen, CO2, O2, etc. depending on where the
compound is located (i.e. different spheres) and what else it
interacts with in that environment
o Property of an element or a compound to behave differently
based on what solvent in which it is dissolved.CO2 can exist as a
gaseous state or a solid state. It’s properties and effects depend in
the specific chemical speciation.
o Chelating Agents
o Chelation is a special case of complexation in which a ligand
bonds in town or more places to a metal ion. A chelating agent
has more than one atom that may be boneded to a central metal
ion at one time to form a ring structure.
o EDTA- less biodegradable than EDDS; was used in detergents
but has since been banned; natural source of a chelating agent. It
is biodegradable and has been used as an extractant for
phytoremediation.

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 o EDDS- has the same effectiveness as EDTA but is more
biodegradable (it is it’s alternate)
o Ligand
o The species that binds with a metal ion CN-
o Polyphosphates
o A chain of multiple phosphates. When used for water treatment,
they sequester calcium ions in a soluble or suspended form. The
effect is to reduce the equilibrium concentration of the Ca+ ion
and prevent the precipitation of calcium carbonate in installations
such as water pipes and boilers. When water is softened properly
with it, calcium does not form precipitates with soaps or interact
detrimentally with detergents.
o THMs
o Trihalogenmethane (THM) are undesirable byproducts that are
formed by the chlorination process of water decontamination and
purification. They can react with naturally occurring organic
compounds in drinking water to produce harmful chemicals.
o Suspected carcinogen; could be formed in the presence of humic
substances during the chlorination of water. The humic
substances produces THMs by reaction with chlorine. The
formation of THMs can be reduced by removing as much of the
humic material as possible prior to chlorination.
o BOD
o Biochemical oxygen demand
o Used as a way to calculate how much oxygen is needed in a
given environment
o Measurement of the oxygen needed by organisms in an
environment to the amount of oxygen available.
o Can be used to gauge the effectiveness of wastewater treatment
plants.
o DO
o Dissolved oxygen which tells use how much oxygen is dissolved
in a water column
o Measurement of the dissolved oxygen in the environment. DO>5
is considered healthy for marine life.
o Henry’s Law
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 o Measure of how much gas can be dissolved into a liquid. It is a
relationship of the partial pressure of the gas to the surface of the
liquid.
o H=Cair/Cwater; how you calculate the solubility of gases in water.
The solubility of a gas in a liquid is proportional to the partial
pressure of that gay in contact with the liquid.
o Kd
o Measurement of a substance’s ability to move between layers of
material. The lower the Kd is of a chemical species, the more
easily it can move, which increases its environmental threat. Ka is
a measurement of a specie’s affinity toward other chemicals
which it comes into contact.

From Glossary
o Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
o The amount of oxygen present in the water column.
o Erosions
o Wearing away of rock or soil by the gradual detachment of soil or
rock fragments by water, wind, ice, or other mechanical,
chemical, or biological forces.
o Estuary
o A coastal water resource where fresh water from rivers mixes
with salt water from the ocean.
o Eutrophic
o Usually refers to a nutrient enriched, highly productive body of
water.
o Eutrophication
o Process by which a body of water has a drastic increases of
nutrients added, usually results in the production and
decomposition of minerals
o Caused by excess productivity Decay of excess biomass;
consumption of oxygen
o Ground Water
o The water that occurs beneath the Earth’s surface between
saturated soil and rock that supplies wells and springs

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 o Loading
o Influx of pollutants to a particular water body
o Mineralization
o The conversion of humus and soil organic matter into inorganic
by microbial breakdown
o Neurotoxin
o Poisonous compound that acts on the nervous system
o Nitrate
o A form of nitrogen, which is readily available to both aquatic and
terrestrial plants as a nutrient
o Nitrification
o The oxidation of ammonia to nitrate and nitrite, yielding energy
for decomposing organisms.
o Ppm
o Parts per million
o Ppb
o Parts per billion
o Ppt
o Parts per thousand
o ppT
o parts per trillion
o Turbidity
o Measure of the amount of light intercepted by a given volume of
water due to the presence of suspended and dissolved matter and
microscopic biota. Increasing the turbidity of the water decreases
the amount of light that penetrates the water column. High levels
of turbidity are harmful to aquatic life.
o Watershed
o Area of land from which rainfall drains into a single point.
Watersheds are also sometimes referred to as drainage basins or
drainage areas.

The Importance of Water

o Throughout history, the quality and quantity of water available to
humans have been vitals factors in determining their well being. Whole

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 civilizations have disappeared because of water shortages resulting
from climate change. Even in temperate climates, fluctuations in
precipitation can cause problems. Devastating droughts and destructive
floods are problems in many places in the world.

Exogenic and Endogenic

o Exogenic- things taking place on Earth’s surface (things involved in the
Atmosphere and Biosphere). Involves an aspect of the geosphere with
one other aspect of the atmosphere, anthrosphere, hydrosphere, or
biosphere. Nitrogen Cycle. Occur largely on Earth’s surface and
usually have an atmospheric component.
o Endogenic- refers to things taking place under Earth (earthquakes, rock
formation, etc.). Completely within the geosphere. Rock cycle
(igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic). Predominantly involve
subsurface rocks of various kinds.

Risk and Hazard

o Risk is a measurable quantity to illustrate something and can be
reduced. Hazard refers to an object’s quality of being. For example,
toxins are a hazard to humans but there is only a risk involved if a
person interacts with toxins. Risk is a function of hazard and exposure.
o Two major aspects of risk: the hazard presented by a product or process
and the exposure of humans or other targets to that hazard
o Risk can be reduced by a reduction of hazard, a reduction of exposure,
and various combinations of both.

Temperature and Solubility of 02

o The graph is a chart which shows the ability of oxygen to dissolve into
water with increasing temperature. As the temperature of water
increases, the solubility of O2 decreases.

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Basicity v. Alkalinity

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pE and pH
o pE is the measure of how many electrons are free in a solution. It is a
measure of the activation energy required for a process to go through.
pE is similar to pH in the way it is calculated and it’s properties.

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Definition of Environmental Chemistry

o The branch of chemical science that deals with the production,
transport, reactions, effects, and fates of chemical species in the water,
air, terrestrial and biological environments and the effects of human
activities thereon
o Pollutant sulfuric acid by the oxidation of sulfur dioxide generated
during the combustion of coal
o The pollutant sulfur dioxide is generated during the combustion
of sulfur in coal, transported to the atmosphere with flue gas, and
oxidized by chemical and photochemical processes to sulfuric
acid. Sulfuric acid, in turn, falls as acidic precipitation, where it
my have detrimental effects such as toxic effects on trees and
other plants. Eventually, sulfuric acid is carried by stream runoff
to a lake or ocean where its ultimate fate is to be stored in
solution in the water or precipitated as solid sulfates
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Atmosphere, Anthrosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere, Geosphere
o Anthrosphere- incorporation of things that humans have either made or
changed. This is the realm of “technology”
o All spheres are interconnected. Any pollutants excreted by warehouses
we have built can effect the biosphere.
o Atmosphere- a thin protective blanket that nurtures life on Earth and
protects it from the hostile environment of outer space by absorbing
energy and damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun and by
moderating the Earth’s temperature to within a range conducive to life
o Hydrosphere- contains the Earth’s water, a vitally important substance
in all parts of the environment
o Geosphere- consists of solid earth, including soil, which supports most
plant life. Composed of solid, iron-rich inner core, a molten outer core,
mantle, and the crust
o Biosphere- living organisms and the aspects of the environment, all
living entities
o Anthroshpere- the ways in which humans do and make things with
materials and energy
o The close relationships among air, water, and earth environments with
each other and with living systems, as well as the tie-in with technology
(the anthrosphere)

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Lake Stratification

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Predominant Species formed by CO2 dissolved in H20
o Dependent on pH
o Figure
o Graph depicts that a dominant species dissolved in water changes with
the changes in pH. For example, at neutral pH, HCO3 is the dominant
species in dissolved water.
o Demonstrates the fraction of CO2, HCO3, and CO3, complex in water.
As pH is less than 6, CO2 will be the dominant species. As pH rises,
this changes. Due to an increase in [H+] in the system, HCO3 will be
the dominant species from pH 6-10. With further increase of pH 10-14,
CO3 will become the dominant species.
o What’s up goes down and comes back up, what’s down comes up and
back down.
o One of the components of the atmosphere can speciation and break
because it can be active as different forms at different pHs.
o Low pH equilibrium shift to the left, hydrogen groups are shifting back
and forth as CO2 dissolves.
o If you didn’t have CO2 going back to HCO3 we wouldn’t have CO2
going into photosynthesis, which helps us.
o We take CO2 out of the atmosphere and but it in a primary producer as
a plant so we can use it for photosynthesis and then it comes back to us.
o Because CO2 can move in different pHs we can have life on this planet

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Calcium in Water
o Of the captions found in most freshwater systems, calcium generally
has the highest concentration
o Minerals are the primary source such as:
o Gypsum
o Domite
o Calcium and a few other minerals accounts for water hardness
o Temporary hardness is due to the presence of calcium and bicarbonate
ions in water and may be eliminated by boiling the water
o The equilibrium between dissolved carbon dioxide and calcium
carbonate minerals is important in determining several natural water
chemistry parameters such as alkalinity, pH, and dissolved calcium
concentration

What’s your favorite cycle?

o Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorous, Sulfur
o Phosporous Cycle
o Phosphorus is the limiting nutrient in ecosystems
o There are no common stable gaseous forms of phosphorus, so the
phosphorus cycle is endogenic

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 o In the geosphere, phosphorus is held largely in poor soluble minerals,
such as hydroxyapatite, a calcium salt, deposits which constitute the
major reservoir of environmental phosphate
o Soluble phosphorus from phosphate minerals and other sources such as
fertilizer us taken up by plants and incorporated into nucleic acids that
make up genetic material of organisms
o Mineralization of biomass by microbial decay returns phosphorus to the
salt solution from which it may precipitate as mineral matter

What are the 12 principles of Green Chemistry?

1) Minimize or eliminate the need for waste cleanup by emphasizing
waste prevention.
2) To the extent possible, all materials involved in making a product
should be incorporated into it. This rule involves the key concept of
atom economy discussed below.
3) Avoid the use and generation of hazardous substances that may harm
humans or the environment.
4) Design and use chemical products that have minimum toxicity.
5) Minimize or eliminate the use of auxiliary substances that do not
become part of the final product. Solvents are examples of such
substances that should be avoided if possible.
6) Minimize energy consumption.
7) Use renewable raw materials instead of depletable feedstocks. For
example, biomass raw material, which can be produced renewably by
plants, is preferable to petroleum, of which there is a finite supply.
8) In organic synthesis, the use of protecting groups should be avoided
because the materials used in such groups do not become part of the
final product.
9) Reagents should be chosen for maximum selectivity of function.
10) Products that will be released to the environment or discarded as
wastes should break down rapidly to innocuous materials. An excellent
example of this is the replacement of non-degradable alkylbenzene
sulfonate (ABS) detergent surfactants with biodegradable linear alkyl
sulfonate (LAS) surfactants in the 1960s.
11) Manufacturing processes should be monitored and controlled in-
process and in real time with appropriate computerized systems.

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 12) Processes and materials that are likely to cause extreme
temperatures or pressures or unforeseen incidents such as explosions,
runaway reactions, and fires should be avoided

Humic Substances and their role in Water Chemistry

o The most important class of complexing agents that occur naturally are
humic substances
o The are degradation-resistant materials formed during the
decomposition of vegetation that occur as deposits in soil, marsh
sediments, peat, coal, lignite, or in almost any location where large
quantities of vegetation have decayed.
o If a material containing humic substances is extracted with strong base
and the resulting solution is acidified the products are a material that
precipitates from the acidified extract called humic acid
o Humic acid is insoluble and affects water quality through exchange of
species, such as captions or organic materials, with water
o The binding of metal ions by humic substances is one of the most
important environmental qualities of humic substances
o Humic substances are biodegradation-resistant residues remaining from
the biodegradation of plant biomass

What is the Basel Convention?

o Treaty signed by all countries. It prevents countries from dumping toxic
substances in third world countries. It was held in Switzerland and was
opened for signing in 1989, and entered into action in 1992. It was
cheaper to ship toxics to other countries and dispose of them there
rather than correctly treat and dispose of them in their home country.
The US has signed, but not ratified, the Basil Convention.

Equilibrium Constant
o The equilibrium constant for a redox reaction involving n electrons is
given in terms of pE by the following

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The Nernst Equation

o It is used in a physiological context to calculate the cell potential across
a membrane. It is also used in redox reactions.
o Used to account for the effect of different activities upon electrode
potential

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