ASSESSMENT

NAME: SANSKAR BHATT

th
CLASS: 11

SECTION: A

SUBJECT: Chemistry

TOPIC: Environmental Chemistry

TEACHER’S SIGN:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude
to my teachers as well as our principal who gave me
the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on
the topic Types of Environmental Pollution, which
also helped me in doing a lot of Research and i came to
know about so many new things I am really thankful to
them.
Secondly i would also like to than my parents and
friends who helped me a lot in finalizing this project
within the limited time frame.
INDEX
S.N TOPIC PG. NO
1. Environmental Chemistry 1-2
2. Air Pollution 3-8
3. Soil Pollution 9-12
4. Water Pollution 13-15
5. Industrial Waste 16-17
6. Green Chemistry 17-18
7. Bibliography 19
ENVIRONMENTALCHE
MISTRY
ᴥ What is Environment?

Environment may be defined as the sum of all physical,
chemical, biological and even social factors which constitute
the surroundings of human being.
The environment may broadly be considered to be
composed of the following segments:-
• Lithosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Atmosphere
• Biosphere

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
The environmental pollution is the unfavourable alteration of
our surroundings wholly or largely as a byproduct of man’s
actions, through direct or indirect effects of changes in
energy patterns, radiation levels,
Chemical and physical constitution and abundance of
organisms.

Pollution Any undesirable change in the physical,
chemical or biological nature of air, water and land which
directly or indirectly influences the life of man, animals, or
plants is called pollutions.
The environmental deterioration may be attributed mainly to
following three factors:
* Urbanisation
* Industrialisation
* Overpopulation


Pollutants The physical, chemical or biological agents
which, when released into the environment, adversely affect
the human interests are called pollutants.
Pollutants can be classified into the following two
categories :

• Non-degradable pollutants :The substances which either

do not degrade or degrade very slowly in natural
environment are termed as non-degradable pollutants. Eg-
polythene, lead salts, pesticides like D.D.T., etc.

• Biodegradable pollutants : The substances which readily

degrade in natural environment by microorganisms are
called biodegradable pollutants.
Eg- domestic wastes, sewage, plant leaves, etc.

The Environmental pollution can broadly be classified

into following three categories :
 
 AIR POLLUTION
 
 WATER POLLUTION
 
SOIL POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution refers to any physical, chemical or biological change in the
air. It is the contamination of air by harmful gases, dust and smoke which
affects the plants, animals, and humans drastically. There is a certain
percentage of gases present in the atmosphere. An increase or decrease in
the composition of these gases is harmful to survival. This imbalance in
the gaseous composition has resulted in an increase in earth’s temperature,
which is known as global warming.

Types of Air Pollutants

1)Primary Pollutant: The pollutants that directly cause air pollution
are known as primary pollutants. Sulphur-dioxide emitted from factories
is a primary pollutant.
2)Secondary Pollutant: The pollutants formed by the intermingling
and reaction of primary pollutants are known as secondary pollutants.
Smog, formed by the intermingling of smoke and fog, is a secondary
pollutant.
Cause of Air Pollutant
1.Burning of Fossil Fuels The combustion of fossil fuels emits a large
amount of sulphur dioxide. Carbon monoxide released by incomplete
combustion of fossil fuels also results in air pollution.
2. Automobiles The gases emitted from vehicles such as jeeps, trucks,
cars, buses, etc. pollute the environment. These are the major sources of
greenhouse gases and also result in diseases among individuals.
3. Agricultural Activities Ammonia is one of the most hazardous
gases emitted during agricultural activities. The insecticides, pesticides
and fertilizers emit harmful chemicals in the atmosphere and
contaminate it.
4. Factories and Industries Factories and industries are the main
source of carbon monoxide, organic compounds, hydrocarbons, and
chemicals. These are released into the air, degrading its quality.
Effects of Air Pollution
The hazardous effects of air pollution on the environment include:
Diseases
Air pollution has resulted in several respiratory disorders and heart
diseases among humans. The cases of lung cancer have increased in the
last few decades. Children living near polluted areas are more prone to
pneumonia and asthma. Many people die every year due to the direct or
indirect effects of air pollution.
Global Warming
Due to the emission of greenhouse gases, there is an imbalance in the
gaseous composition of the air. This has led to an increase in the
temperature of the earth. This increase in earth’s temperature is known
as global warming. This has resulted in the melting of glaciers and an
increase in sea levels. Many areas are submerged underwater.
Acid Rain
The burning of fossil fuels releases harmful gases such as nitrogen
oxides and sulphur oxides in the air. The water droplets combine
with these pollutants, become acidic, and fall as acid rain which
damages human, animal and plant life.
Ozone Layer Depletion
The release of chlorofluorocarbons, halons, and hydro
chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere is the major cause of depletion of
the ozone layer. The depleting ozone layer does not prevent the harmful
ultraviolet rays coming from the sun and causes skin diseases and eye
problems among individuals.

Air Pollution Control

Following are the measures one should adopt, to control air pollution:
Avoid Using Vehicles
People should avoid using vehicles for shorter distances. Rather, they
should prefer public modes of transport to travel from one place to
another. This not only prevents pollution, but also conserves energy.
Energy Conservation
A large number of fossil fuels are burnt to generate electricity.
Therefore, do not forget to switch off the electrical appliances when not
in use. Thus, you can save the environment at the individual level. Use
of energy-efficient devices such CFLs also controls pollution to a
greater
Substitution of raw material
If the use of a particular raw material results in air pollution, then it
should be substituted by another purer grade raw material which
reduces the formation of pollutants.
Acid rain
We are aware that normally
rain water has a pH of 5.6
due to the presence of H+
ions formed by the reaction
of rain water with carbon
dioxide present in the
atmosphere. When the pH of
the rain water drops below
5.6, it is called acid rain.
Acid rain refers to the
ways in which acid from the atmosphere is deposited on the earth’s
surface. Oxides of nitrogen and sulphur which are acidic in nature can
be blown by wind along with solid particles in the atmosphere and
finally settle down either on the ground as dry deposition or in water,
fog and snow as wet deposition.Acid rain is a byproduct of a variety of
human activities that emit the oxides of sulphur and nitrogen in the
atmosphere. As mentioned earlier, burning of fossil fuels (which
contain sulphur and nitrogenous matter) such as coal and oil in power
stations and furnaces or petrol and diesel in motor engines produce
sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. SO2 and NO2 after oxidation and
reaction with water are major contributors to acid rain, because polluted
air usually contains particulate matter that catalyse the oxidation.
Ammonium salts are also formed and can be seen as an atmospheric
haze (aerosol of fine particles). Aerosol particles of oxides or
ammonium salts in rain drops result in wetdeposition. SO2 is also
absorbed directly on both solid and liquid ground surfaces and is thus
deposited as dry-deposition. 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 the drinking
water. Acid rain damages buildings and other structures made of stone
or metal. The Taj Mahal in India has been affected by acid rain.

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 a 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 of the photochemical smog
result from the action of sunlight on unsaturated hydrocarbons and
nitrogen oxides produced by automobiles and factories. Photochemical
smog has high concentration of oxidising agents and is, therefore, called
as oxidising smog. Formation of photochemical smog When fossil fuels
are burnt, a variety of pollutants are emitted into the earth’s troposphere.
Two of the pollutants that are emitted are hydrocarbons (unburnt fuels)
and nitric oxide (NO). When these pollutants build up to sufficiently high
levels, a chain reaction occurs from their interaction with sunlight in
which NO is converted into nitrogen dioxide (NO2). This NO2 in turn
absorbs energy from sunlight and breaks up into nitric oxide and free
oxygen atom NO2(g) NO(g) +
O(g) (i) Oxygen atoms are very reactive and combine with the O2 in air to
produce ozone. O(g) + O2 (g) O3 (g) (ii) The ozone formed in the above
reaction (ii) reacts rapidly with the NO(g) formed in the reactionto
regenerate NO2. NO2 is a brown gas and at sufficiently high levels can
contribute to haze.NO (g) + O3 (g) → NO2 (g) + O2
(g) (iii) Ozone is a toxic gas and both NO2 and O3 are strong oxidising
agents and can reactwith the unburnt hydrocarbons in the polluted air
to produce chemicals such as formaldehyde, acrolein and peroxyacetyl
nitrate (PAN).The common components of photochemical smog are
ozone, nitric oxide, acrolein, formaldehyde and peroxyacetyl nitrate
(PAN).Photochemical smog causes serious health problems. Both
ozone and PAN act as powerful eye irritants. Ozone and nitric oxide
irritate the nose and throat and their high concentration causes
headache, chest pain, dryness of the throat, cough and difficulty in
breathing. Photochemical smog leads to cracking of rubber and
extensive damage to plant life. It also causes corrosion of metals,
stones, building materials, rubber and painted rubber

How can photochemical smog be controlled ?

Many techniques are used to control or reduce the formation of

photochemical smog. If we control the primary precursors of
photochemical smog, such as NO2 and hydrocarbons, the secondary
precursors such as ozone and PAN, the photochemical smog will
automatically be reduced. Usually catalytic converters are used in the
automobiles, which prevent the release of nitrogen oxide and
hydrocarbons to the atmosphere. Certain plants e.g., Pinus, Juniparus,
Quercus, Pyrus and Vitis can metabolise nitrogen oxide and therefore,
their plantation could help in this matter.
SOIL POLLUTION
Soil contamination or soil pollution as part
of land degradation is caused by the
presence of xenobiotics (human-made)
chemicals or other alteration in the natural
soil environment. It is typically caused by
industrial activity, agricultural chemicals or
improper disposal of waste. The most
common chemicals involvedare petroleum
hydrocarbons, po lynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons (such
as naphthalene and benzo(a)pyrene), solvents, pesticides, lead, and
other heavy metals. Contamination is correlated with the degree
of industrialization and intensity of chemical substance. The concern over
soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, from direct contact
with the contaminated soil, vapours from the contaminants, or from
secondary contamination of water supplies within and underlying the soil.
Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting cleanups are time-
consuming and expensive tasks, requiring extensive amounts of geology,
hydrology, chemistry, computer modelling skills, and GIS in
environmental contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of
industrial chemistry.
Soil contamination or soil pollution can occur either because of human
activities or because of natural processes. However, mostly it is due to
human activities. The soil contamination can occur due to the presence
of chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, ammonia,
petroleum hydrocarbons, lead, nitrate, mercury, naphthalene, etc in an
excess amount.
Moreover, the presence of excess chemicals will increase the alkalinity
or acidity of soil thus degrading the soil quality. This will in turn cause
soil erosion. This soil erosion refers to soil pollution.

Causes of Soil Pollution

 PESTICIDES-Before World War II, the chemical nicotine chemical
present in the tobacco plants was used as the pest controlling
substance in agricultural practices. However, DDT was found to be
extremely useful for malaria control and as pest control of many
insects during World War II. Therefore, it was used for controlling
many diseases Hence, post-war, people started using it as pest
control in agriculture for killing rodents, weeds, insects, etc and
avoiding the damages due to these pests. However, everyone
gradually the adverse effects of this chemical which led to the ban of
this chemical in many parts of the world including India. Moreover,
pests became resistance to DDT due to the chemicals regular use.
Hence this led to the introduction of other harmful chemicals such as
Aldrin and Dieldrin. Pesticides are synthetic toxic chemicals that
definitely kill different types of pests and insects causing damage to
agriculture but it has many ecological repercussions.They are
generally insoluble in water and non-biodegradable. Therefore, these
chemicals will not gradually decompose and keep on accumulating
in the soil. Therefore, the concentration of these chemicals will
increase when the transfer of these chemicals take place from lower
to higher trophic level via the food chain.


 HERBICIDES-Slowly, the industries began production of
herbicides like sodium arsenite (Na3AsO3), sodium chlorate
(NaClO3), etc. Herbicides can decompose in a span of few
months. However, even they affect the environment and are not
environmental friendly. Even though they are not as harmful as
organo-chlorides but most of the herbicides are toxic. They are
known to cause birth defects.

 DEFECTIVE METHODS OF AGRICULTURE-Poor

irrigation methods increase the soil salinity. Moreover, excess
watering, improper maintenance of canals
 and irrigation channels, lack of crop rotation and
intensive farming gradually decreases the quality of soil over
time and cause degradation of land.


 INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION-The incorrect way of chemical
waste disposal from different types of industries can cause
contamination of soil. Human activities like this have led to
 acidification of soil and contamination due to the disposal
of industrial waste, heavy metals, toxic chemicals, dumping oil
and fuel, etc.

Effects of Soil Pollutions

 INFERIOR CROP QUALITY-It can decrease the quality of the
crop. Regular use of chemical fertilizers, inorganic fertilizers,
pesticides will decrease the fertility of the soil at a rapid rate and
alter the structure of the soil. This will lead to decrease in soil quality
and poor quality of crops. Over the time the soil will become less
productive due to the accumulation of toxic chemicals in large
quantity.



 HUMAN HEALTH-It will increase the exposure to toxic and harmful
chemicals thus increasing health threats to people living nearby and on
the degraded land. Living, working or playing in the contaminated soil
can lead to respiratory diseases, skin diseases, and other diseases.
Moreover, it can cause other health problems
 ECOSYSTEM -Soil pollution can cause an imbalance of the
ecosystem of the soil. The soil is an important habitat and is the
house of different type of microorganisms, animals, reptiles,
mammals, birds, and insects. Thus, soil pollution can negatively
impact the lives of the living organisms and can result in the
gradual death of many organisms. It can cause health threats to
animals grazing in the contaminated soil or microorganisms
 residing in the soil.
 WATER RESOURCES ALSO GET CONTAMINATED

Prevention
 Excavate soil and take it to a disposal site away from ready
pathways for human or sensitive ecosystem contact. This
technique also applies to dredging of bay muds containing
 toxins.
 Thermal remediation by introduction of heat to raise
subsurface temperatures sufficiently high to volatize
chemical contaminants out of the soil for vapor extraction.
Technologies include ISTD, electrical resistance heating
 (ERH), and ET-DSP.
  Extraction of groundwater or soil vapor with an
active electromechanical system, with subsequent stripping of
the contaminants from the extract.
 Bioremediation, involving microbial digestion of certain
organic chemicals. Techniques used in bioremediation include
landfarming, biostimulation and bioaugmentating soil biota
 with commercially available microflora.
 Mycoremediation, or using fungus to metabolize
contaminants and accumulate heavy metals.

WATER
POLLUTION
Water pollution may be defined as
having changed normal physical,
chemical and biological properties of
water by the presence of foreign
materials.Polluted water is unfit for
domestic, industrial and agricultural use. It is harmful to animals,
plants and aquatic life. Easily identified source or place of water
pollution is called as point source, e.g. municipal and industrial
discharge pipes. Where the source of water pollution can not be
easily identified, they are called non-point source, e.g., acid rain,
drainage from streets, lawns, agricultural run off from animals,
crop-lands etc.

Sources/causes of Water Pollution

The main sources of water pollution are sewage and domestic
wastes, industrial effluents, siltation, radioactive discharges etc.
 Pathogens :The most serious water pollutants are the disease causing
agents called pathogens. Pathogens include bacteria and
other organisms that enter water from domestic sewage and
animal excreta. Human excreta contain bacteria such as
Escherichia coli and Streptococcus faecalis which cause
gastrointestinal diseases.
 Organic wastes :Leaves, grass, trash etc. are run off with water and
pollute water. Excessive phytoplankton growth within water is the
cause of pollution. These wastes are biodegradable. The large
population of bacteria decomposes organic matter present in water.
These bacteria consume oxygen dissolved in water and thus, the
amount of dissolved O2 is decreased.
Chemical Pollutants
 Inorganic and organic pollutants :Harmful compounds such as
aldehydes, ketones, phenols, cyanides, dyes etc are introduced in
water through industrial wastes. Petroleum products (oil) spill in
oceans and pollute it. Pesticides that drift down from sprays or
run off from lands pollute water.

 Eutrophication :The process in which nutrient enriched water
bodies support dense plant population, which kills animal life due
to lack of dissolved O2 in water and then it results in loss of
biodiversity is known as Eutrophication.

 Radioactive discharge :They enter into water from nuclear
reactors, dumped nuclear waste, nuclear tests etc. The radiations
emitted by radioactive elements are hazardous.

 Detergents : Many detergents available are biodegradable. The
bacteria responsible for degrading detergent feed on it and grow
rapidly. While doing so, the bacteria may use up all the oxygen
dissolved in water, thus killing aquatic life such as fish and plants.
Synthetic detergents contain some enzymes, perfumes and
bleaching agents. All these chemicals are non-biodegradable and
pollute water.
 Siltation :The soil or rock particles get mixed in water. The
growth and productivity of aquatic organisms is hindered.

International Standards for Drinking Water

 Fluoride :Deficiency of fluoride ion in drinking water is harmful
 and causes disease such as tooth decay.
 Lead :Drinking water gets contaminated with lead when lead
 pipes are used for transportation of water.
 Sulphate :Excessive sulphate in drinking water causes laxative
 effect, otherwise at moderate levels it is harmless.
 Nitrate :Excess nitrate in drinking water can cause disease such as
methemoglobinemia (blue-baby syndrome).

Importance of Dissolved Oxygen in Water

 Consumption by Microorganism : Microorganism present in water
consume dissolved oxygen rapidly in the oxidation of organic matter
 of sewage.
 Bio-oxidation of nitrogenous material : The dissolved oxygen also
gets consumed during bio-oxidation of the nitrogenous material.
 Chemical or biochemical oxidation of chemical reducing agents :
The chemical reducing agents present in water also consume
dissolved oxygen during their oxidation.

Industrial Waste
One of the most devastating
effects of industrial waste is
water pollution. For most
industrial processes, heavy
amount of water is used which
comes in contact with harmful
chemicals. These chemicals are
usually metals or radioactive
material. This heavily effects
the environment because most of waste ends up in oceans, lakes,
or rivers. As a result, water becomes polluted posing as health
hazard to everyone. Farmers rely on this water but if the water is
polluted, then crops that are produced can become polluted. These
affect the health of society because if industrial companies can't
clean up their waste, this begins to affect the life of humans but
also animals. Sea creature’s health is affected because their lives
become endangered by this polluted water. Water pollution can
have devastating effects on the human body with the main ones
being infections from bacteria, parasites, and chemicalsThe threat
of embalming fluids contaminating the water supply has prompted
some cities to decrease the size of planned large cemeteries. With
our aging population there is no doubt that embalming fluids will
increasingly be a source of water pollution unless something
changes. "Diseases that human can be exposed from drinking
unsafe.
Causes of Industrial Waste

 Lack of policies to control pollution:Lack of effective policies and

poor enforcement drive allowed many industries to bypass laws
made by the pollution control board, which resulted in mass-scale
 pollution that affected the lives of manypeople.
 Unplanned Industrial Growth:In most industrial townships,
unplanned growth took place wherein those companies flouted
rules and norms and polluted the environment with both air and
 water pollution.
 Inefficient Waste Disposal:Water pollution and soil pollution are
often caused directly due to inefficiency in the disposal of waste.
Long term exposure to polluted air and water causes chronic health
problems, making the issue of industrial pollution into a severe one.
It also lowers the air quality in surrounding areas, which causes
many respiratory disorders.

GREEN CHEMISTRY
We know that increasing population, has increased the use of fossil fuels
and increasing number of industries and vehicles are polluting our
environment to an alarming extent. The increase in pollution adversely
affects the health of humans and other living organisms. It is believed that
the advancement and modernization of our society is inducing certain
types of cancers for our future. These pollutants are being added in air, in
water, in our food supply and in soil. As we know because of agriculture
revolution i.e. by developing improved methods of farming, irrigation,
improving the quality of seeds, and by using fertilizers and Pesticides
India became self-sufficient in production of food since late 20th century.
But excessive use of
fertilizers and pesticides and over exploitation of soil has resulted into
deterioration of air, water and soil. With the growing awareness of the
environmental pollution, the international community is under
increasing pressure to find methods to save our lives from the
increasing pollution. So should we stop using the technology for
advancement? NO. Instead we should search for alternative process or
technologies which helps in reduction of pollution of our environment.
The scientists are searching new alternatives which do not cause
environmental pollution. This new approach is called Green Chemistry
which was introduced in early 1990s. It means zero discharge of toxic,
persistent substances, into the environment guaranteed by the fact that
they are never produced. Green chemistry may be defined as a strategy
to design chemical processes and products that reduces oreliminates the
use and generation of hazardous substances.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-
effects-of-industrial-pollution.php
https://lwvc.org/position/environmental-
protection-and-pollution-control
https://www.wikipedia.org/
Chemistry class 11-Nootan Publication