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Air File Note
Air File Note
It warms the surface of earth through greenhouse effect (i.e. heat retention)
Composition of air
21%
Nitrogen
oxygen
The other gases mainly contain argon. Out of 1%, 0.04% is carbon dioxide.
It also contain small amount of other noble gases. In addition to this air
atmosphere also contain water vapour. Its amount will vary from place to
place.1% to 4% of the atmosphere will be water vapour.
It is needed for sustaining life. (Living things can only breathe 21% oxygen. If
they inhale pure oxygen it will be toxic)
It is used in chemical industries to make acids like nitric acid sulfuric acid
and some other compounds.
1
Nitrogen (It is an unreactive gas)
If oxygen in the atmosphere was not diluted by nitrogen the combustion and
rusting would have become much quicker.
2
krypton Used in lasers. Krypton lasers are used
by surgeons to treat
certain eye problems and
to remove birthmarks.
Xenon Light house bulbs It produce light which
can travel long distance.
So marine vehicles can
detect the land from far
away
Radon Cancer treatment It is radioactive
Air is filtered to remove dust, and then cooled in stages until it reaches –200°C.
At this temperature it is a liquid. We say that the air has been liquefied.
Here's what happens as the air liquefies:
water vapour condenses, and is removed using absorbent filters
carbon dioxide freezes at –79ºC, and is removed
oxygen liquefies at –183ºC
nitrogen liquefies at –196ºC
The liquid nitrogen and oxygen are then separated by fractional distillation.
Fractional distillation
The liquefied air is passed into the bottom of a
fractionating column. Just as in the columns used
to separate oil fractions, the column is warmer at
the bottom than it is at the top.
The liquid nitrogen boils at the bottom of the
column. Gaseous nitrogen rises to the top, where it
is piped off and stored. Liquid oxygen collects at the
bottom of the column. The boiling point of argon -
the noble gas that forms 0.9% of the air - is close to
the boiling point of oxygen, so a second fractionating
column is often used to separate the argon from the
oxygen.
3
Air pollution
Various human activities release many other gases into the atmosphere. Most
of these gases are harmful to the living organisms. These are classified as
pollutants
Examples:
Carbon dioxide
Source: Burning of fossil fuel in home, industries, automobile engines
Harmful effect: Since it is greenhouse gas higher percentage of CO2 will lead
to global warming.
Remedy
Carbon monoxide
Source: Incomplete combustion of carbon containing fuel in the automobile
engine
Inhalation of air containing 0.1% CO will lead to death. (It is a poisonous gas)
4
Note:
Remedy
Modify the automobile engine in such a way that it should produce less CO
Sulfur dioxide
Source: Burning of coal as a fuel in power stations (because coal contain
Waste gas from the chemical factories like steel industry, industries which
roast sulfide ore contain sulfur dioxide.
Harmful effect
Acid Rain
Remedy
The emission of sulfur dioxide in the waste gas can be reduced by passing
exhaust gas through ammonia or slurry of calcium hydroxide .This is called
desulfurisation, it converts sulfur dioxide into ammonium sulfate and calcium
sulfate respectively.
5
Oxides of nitrogen
Sources: engines of automobile, in atmosphere during thundering, when air is
heated in the furnace
N2 +O2 2NO
Harmful effects
It is toxic in nature
It cause acid rain (it produce nitric acid when it dissolve in rain water)
Remedy
Before releasing the factory waste gas into the atmosphere remove all the acidic
oxides with basic substance like slurry of CaO or ammonia
Lead compounds
Source: Exhaust of automobile engines, paints
To improve the efficiency of fuel earlier lead compounds were added to the
petrol. Lead compounds were also a component of paint. But since it can
damage the brain cells especially that of children usage of lead compounds are
banned
6
Chlorofluorocarbons
Sources: CFCs were using as a refrigerant, solvent, propellant in aerosol
containers.
It will not decompose easily. So from troposphere CFCs will reach in upper
atmosphere (stratosphere), where the ozone layer presents.
This chlorine free radical in turn converts huge number of ozone into oxygen
molecules.
Harmful effects:
It is a greenhouse gas. Hence it cause global warming
Remedy
Go for any alternative chemical which don’t have this side effects
Methane
Source: Natural gas production industries and petroleum industry
7
Harmful effect: It causes global warming since it is greenhouse gas.
Remedies
In industries upgrade the equipment used to produce, store, and transport oil
and gas. Hence it avoid leakage of methane
Catalytic converter
If we use leaded petrol catalytic converter will get spoiled, because lead can
poison the catalyst