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•INTRODUCTION
•The term “Environment” literally means “surrounding”.
It comprises of the following four major components:
(1) Atmosphere, (2) Hydrosphere, (3) Lithosphere
and (4) Biosphere.
• “ENVIRONMENT CHEMISTRY” is a branch of science
which deals with the chemical phenomena occurring in
the environment, i.e., study of origin, transport,
reactions, effects and fates of chemical species in the
environment.

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•Environmental
Pollution
•“Environment pollution” is the effect of
undesirable changes in our surroundings that
have harmful effects on the plants, animals and
human beings. A substance, which causes
pollution , is known as “pollutant”. Pollutants
can be solid, liquid or gaseous substances
present in the greater concentration than in
natural abundance and are produced due to
human activities or due to natural happenings.
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ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
A human activity on the earth which adversely affect the quality of
the air and hence affects the life on the earth. It is also known as
“Atmospheric Pollution”
Atmospheric pollution is generally studied as Tropospheric
and Stratospheric pollution. Air pollution is defined as the
addition of undesirable materials into the atmosphere either due
to natural phenomena or due to human activities..

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•Tropospheric Pollution
•Tropospheric pollution occurs due to the presence of
undesirable solid or gaseous particles in the air. The
following are the major gaseous and particulate
pollutants present in the troposphere:
1.Gaseous air pollutants: These are oxides of sulphide,
hydrocarbons, ozone and other oxidants.
2.Particulate pollutants: These are dust, mist, fumes,
smoke, smog etc.

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1.Gaseous Air Pollutants
(a) Oxides of Sulphur
Oxides of sulphur are produced when sulphur
containing fossil fuel is burnt. The most common
species, sulphur dioxide, is a gas that is poisonous
to both animals and plants. It has been reported that
even a low concentration of sulphur dioxide causes
respiratory diseases. However, the presence of
particulate matter in polluted air catalyzes the
oxidation of sulphur dioxide to sulphur trioxide.
2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) → SO3 (g)
SO2 (g) + O3 (g) → SO3 (g) + O2 (g)
SO2 (g) + H2O2 (l) → H2SO4 (aq)
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(b) Oxides of Nitrogen (Nox)
Dinitrogen and dioxygen are the main constituents of
air. These gases don’t react with each other at a
normal temperature. At high altitudes when lightning
strikes, they combine to form oxides of nitrogen. NO2
is oxidized to nitrate ion. When fossil fuel is burnt,
dinitrogen and dioxygen combine to yield significant
quantities of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide
(NO2).
N2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2NO (g) [at 1483K]
2NO (g) + O2 (g) → 2NO2 (g)
NO (g) + O3 (g) → NO2 (g) + O2 (g)
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(c) Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons are composed of hydrogen and carbon
only and are formed by incomplete combustion of fuel
used in automobiles. Hydrocarbons are carcinogenic,
i.e., they cause cancer. They harm plants by causing
ageing, breakdown of tissues and shedding of leaves,
flowers and twigs.
(d) Oxides of Carbon
(i) Carbon monoxide: Carbon monoxide is one of the
most serious air pollutants. It is a colorless and
odorless gas, highly poisonous to living beings because
of its ability to block the delivery of oxygen to the organs
and tissues. It is mainly released by automobiles. It
binds to haemoglobin to form carbonhaemoglobin,
which is about 300 times more stable than the
oxygen-haemoglobin complex. This results in headache, 8
 weak eyesight, nervousness and cardiovascular
disorder.
(ii) Carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide is released into the
atmosphere by respiration, burning of fossil fuels for
energy, and by decomposition of limestone during the
manufacture of cement. Normally it is about 0.03% by
volume of the atmosphere. Green plants need carbon
dioxide for photosynthesis and they, in turn, emit
oxygen, thus maintaining the delicate balance. The
increase in mount of carbon dioxide in the air is mainly
responsible for global warming.

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 •Global Warming&
Greenhouse Effect
• About 75% of the solar energy reaching the earth is
absorbed by the earth’s surface, which increases its
temperature. The rest of the heat radiates back to
the atmosphere. Some of the heat is trapped by
gases like carbon dioxide, methane, ozone,
chlorofluorocarbon compounds (CFCs) and water
vapour in the atmosphere. Thus, they add to the
heating of the atmosphere. This causes “Global
Warming”.
• Just as the glass in a greenhouse holds the sun’s
heat near the earth’s surface and keeps it warm.
This is called natural greenhouse effect. 10
Causes of Global Warming
•Increase in concentration of carbon dioxide which is
emitted by automobiles, industries, etc,.
•Increase in concentration of methane which is emitted
when vegetation is burnt, paddy fields, coal mines etc,.
•Increase in concentrations of CFCs which is commonly
produced or emitted by refrigerators, A.C.s, etc,.

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ACID RAIN
• Normally rain water has a pH of 5.6 due to presence of
Hydrogen ions formed by reaction of rain water with
carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere.
H2O (l) + CO2 (g) ↔ H2CO3 (aq)
H2CO3 (aq) ↔ H+ (aq) + HCO3− (aq)
• When the pH of the rain water drops below 5.6, it is
called acid rain. Oxides of sulphur and nitrogen in the
atmosphere produces acid rain. Burning of fossil fuels
such as coal and oil in power stations or petrol and
diesel in motor engines produce SO2 and NO2 after
oxidation and reaction with water are major
contributors to acid rain.
• 2SO2 (g) + O2 (g) + H2O (l) → 2H2SO4 (aq)
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• 4NO2 (g) + O2 (g) + H2O (l) → 4HNO3 (aq)
• Results of Acid Rain
• Acid rain is harmful for agriculture, trees and plants
as it dissolves and washes away nutrients needed for
their growth. It causes respiratory ailments in
human beings and animals.
• When acid rain falls and flows as ground water to
reach rivers, lakes etc. it affects plants and animal
life in aquatic ecosystem. It corrodes water pipes
resulting in the leaching of heavy metals such as
iron, lead and copper into drinking water.

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2.PARTICULATE POLLUTANTS
• Particulates pollutants are the
minute solid particles or liquid
droplets in air. These are present in
vehicle emissions, smoke particles
from fires, dust particles and ash
from industries.

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(b) Dust
(c) Mists
(d) Fumes
The effect of particulate pollutants are largely
dependent on the particle size. Air borne particles
are dangerous for human health.

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•SMOG
•The word smog is derived from smoke and fog. This is
the most common example of air pollution that occurs
in many cities throughout the world. There are two types
of smog:
(a) Classical smog occurs in cool humid climate. It is the
mixture of smoke, fog and sulphur dioxide.
Chemically it is a reducing mixture and so it is also
called as reducing smog.
(b) Photochemical smog occurs in warm, dry and sunny
climate. The main components result from the action
of sunlight on unsaturated hydrocarbons and
nitrogen oxides produced by automobiles and
factories. 16
Photochemical smog has high
concentration of oxidizing agents and
is, therefore, called as oxidizing smog.

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•THE OZONE HOLE
• In 1980s atmospheric scientists in Antarctica
reported about the depletion of ozone layer. In
summer season, NO2 and methane react with
chlorine monoxide and chlorine atoms forming
chlorine sinks, preventing much ozone depletion. In
winter season a stratospheric cloud formed
providing surface on which chlorine nitrate gets
hydrolyzed to form hypochlorous acid which reacts
with hydrogen chloride to form molecular chlorine.

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Chemical Reactions in Ozone layer
Depletion:
CFCl3 + electromagnetic radiation → Cl· + ·CFCl2
The Cl and Br atoms can then destroy ozone
molecules through a variety of catalytic cycles. In
the simplest example of such a cycle a chlorine
atom reacts with an ozone molecule, taking an
oxygen atom with it (forming ClO) and leaving a
normal oxygen molecule. The chlorine monoxide
(i.e., the ClO) can react with a second molecule of
ozone (i.e., O3) to yield another chlorine atom and
two molecules of oxygen.

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The chemical shorthand for these gas-phase reactions is:
Cl· + O3 → ClO + O2
The chlorine atom changes an ozone molecule to
ordinary oxygen
ClO + O3 → Cl· + 2 O2
The ClO from the previous reaction destroys a second
ozone molecule and recreates the original chlorine atom,
which can repeat the first reaction and continue to
destroy ozone.

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EFFECTS OF DEPLETION OF OZONE LAYER
• With the depletion of ozone layer, more UV radiation
filters into the troposphere. UV radiations lead to
ageing of skin, cataract, sunburn, skin cancer,
killing of many phytoplanktons, damage to fish
productivity etc.
• The plant protein gets easily affected which leads to
the harmful mutation of cells. Increase in UV
radiations damages paints and fibres, causing them
to fade faster.

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•Water Pollution
•Water is essential for our life. Without water there
would be no life. Pollution of water originates from
human activities. Through different paths, pollution
reaches surface or ground water. Easily identified
source of pollution is called as point source. e.g..,
municipal and industrial discharge pipes where
pollutants enter the water-source.

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•Causes of Water Pollution
(1)Pathogens: The most serious water pollutants are the
disease causing agents called pathogens include
bacteria and other organisms that enter water from
domestic sewage and animal excreta.
(2)Organic wastes: The other major water pollutant is
organic matter such as leaves, grass, trash etc.
Excessive phytoplankton's growth within water is also
a cause of water pollution.
• A large population of bacteria decomposes organic
matter present in water. They consume oxygen
dissolved in water. The amount of oxygen that water
can hold in the solution is limited. The concentration
of dissolved oxygen is very important for aquatic life.
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•If too much organic matter is added to water, all the
available oxygen is used up. This causes oxygen
dependent aquatic life to die. Thus amount of oxygen
required by the bacteria to break down organic matter
present in a certain volume of a sample of water is
called BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND (BOD).
(3) Chemical pollutants: As we know that water is an
excellent solvent, water soluble heavy metals such as
cadmium, mercury, nickel etc. constitute an
important class of pollutants. All these metals are
dangerous to humans because our body can’t
excrete them.
• The organic chemicals are another group of
substances that are found in polluted water.
Petroleum products pollute many sources of water.
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Soil pollution or soil contamination is
caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human
made) chemicals or other alterations in the
natural soil and environment..

Causes :

 Waste Dumping Pesticides and Insecticides

 Mining Urbanization

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STRATEGIES TO CONTROL
ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE :
The public is becoming increasingly aware
that the natural environment is fragile.
The recent reports by media have focused
on –
 Deaths and population declines of birds
and fish because of the large oil spills
 Deaths of whales along the coasts as a
result of pollutants and disease;
 Fish contaminated with polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs)
 Contamination of rivers and lakes by
dioxin and other pollutants that may
cause cancer and reproductive
disorders.
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An important strategy to
control environmental
damage is :

Waste
Management

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WASTE MANAGEMENT :
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or
disposal, managing and monitoring of waste materials. The
term usually relates to materials produced by human activity,
and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health,
the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is a distinct
practice from resource recovery which focuses on delaying the
rate of consumption of natural resources. The management of
wastes treats all materials as a single class whether solid,
liquid, gaseous or radioactive substances, and tried to reduce
the harmful environmental impacts of each through different
methods.

The two major concepts which are widely used for waste
management are :
 Waste Hierarchy
 Polluter Pays Principle 28
Methods Of Waste Management :
 LANDFILL
Disposing of waste in a landfill involves burying the
waste, and this remains a common practice in most
countries.
Landfills are often established in abandoned or
unused quarries, mining voids or borrow pits. A
properly designed and well-managed landfill can be
a hygienic and relatively inexpensive method of
disposing of waste materials. Older, poorly designed
or poorly managed landfills can create a number of
adverse environmental impacts such as wind-
blown litter, attraction of vermin, and generation of
liquid leachate.
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Design characteristics of a modern
landfill include methods to contain
leachate such as clay or plastic lining
material. Deposited waste is normally
compacted to increase its density and
stability, and covered to prevent
attracting vermin. Many landfills also
have landfill gas extraction systems
installed to extract the landfill gas. Gas is
pumped out of the landfill using
perforated pipes and flared off or burnt in
a gas engine to generate electricity.

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AVOIDANCE & REDUCTION METHODS :

An important method of waste management is the prevention of waste

material being created, also known as waste reduction.

Methods of avoidance include :

-Reuse of second-hand products
-Repairing broken items instead of buying new
-Designing products to be refillable or reusable (such as cotton instead of
plastic shopping bags)
-Encouraging consumers to avoid using disposable products (such as
disposable cutlery)
-Removing any food/liquid remains from cans
-Designing products that use less material to achieve the same purpose
(for example, light weighting of beverage cans)

Jute bags
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green chemistry
It means producing the chemicals of our daily
needs using such reactions and chemical
processes which neither use toxic chemicals
nor emit such chemicals into the atmosphere.

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•Green chemistry, also called sustainable
chemistry, is a philosophy of chemical
research and engineering that encourages
the design of products and processes that
minimize the use and generation of
hazardous substances. While environmental
chemistry is the chemistry of the natural
environment, and of pollutant chemicals in
nature, green chemistry seeks to reduce
and prevent pollution at its source.

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 GREEN CHEMISTRY IN DAY-TO-DAY LIFE :
Dry Cleaning Of Clothes:
Tetra chloroethene (Cl2C=CCl2) was earlier used as solvent for dry
cleaning. The compound contaminates the ground water and is
also a suspected carcinogen. The process using this compound is
now being replaced by a process, where liquefied carbon dioxide,
with a suitable detergent is used. Replacement of halogenated
solvent by liquid CO2 will result in less harm to ground water.

These days hydrogen peroxide(H2O2) is used for the purpose of

bleaching clothes in the process of laundry, which gives better
results and makes use of lesser amount of water.

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Bleaching of Paper:
Chlorine gas was used earlier for bleaching paper.
These days, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with suitable
catalyst, which promotes the bleaching action of
hydrogen peroxide, is used.
Synthesis Of Chemicals:
Ethanal(CH3CHO) is now commercially prepared by
one step oxidation of ethene in the presence of ionic
catalyst in aqueous medium with a yield of 90%.

Catalyst
CH2=CH2  O2 Pd(II)/Cu(II)[in water]
CH3CHO
(90%)
ethene ethanal
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 THANK YOU

For
Your Patience

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