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Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid rain has a pH level lower than this and ranges from 4–5 on average. [ 1 ][ 2 ] The more acidic the acid ...
Freshwater acidification occurs when acidic inputs enter a body of fresh water through the weathering of rocks, invasion of acidifying gas (e.g. carbon dioxide), or by the reduction of acid anions, like sulfate and nitrate within a lake. [1] Freshwater acidification is primarily caused by sulfur oxides (SO x) and nitrogen oxides (NO x) entering ...
Sulfur trioxide (alternative spelling sulphur trioxide) is the chemical compound with the formula SO 3. It has been described as "unquestionably the most [economically] important sulfur oxide". [1] It is prepared on an industrial scale as a precursor to sulfuric acid. Sulfur trioxide exists in several forms: gaseous monomer, crystalline trimer ...
The Acid Rain Program is a market-based initiative taken by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to reduce overall atmospheric levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which cause acid rain. [1] The program is an implementation of emissions trading that primarily targets coal-burning power plants, allowing them to ...
The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biological and physical processes. Important processes in the nitrogen cycle include fixation ...
This break down is the main driver of acid mine drainage. Sub-surface mining often progresses below the water table, so water must be constantly pumped out of the mine in order to prevent flooding. When a mine is abandoned, the pumping ceases, and water floods the mine. This introduction of water is the initial step in most acid rock drainage ...
Sulfuric acid is rarely encountered naturally on Earth in anhydrous form, due to its great affinity for water. Dilute sulfuric acid is a constituent of acid rain, which is formed by atmospheric oxidation of sulfur dioxide in the presence of water – i.e. oxidation of sulfurous acid. When sulfur-containing fuels such as coal or oil are burned ...
Aluminum is harvested from gibbsite, boehmite, and diaspore which make up bauxite. [2] The aluminum cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which aluminum is moved through the environment by natural and anthropogenic processes. The biogeochemical cycle of aluminum is integral with silicon and phosphorus. For example, phosphates store aluminum that ...