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Chapter 2
CHEMISTRY AND THE ANTHROSPHERE: ENVIRONMENTAL
CHEMISTRY AND GREEN CHEMISTRY

Environmental Chemistry, 9th Edition

Stanley E. Manahan
Taylor and Francis/CRC Press
2010
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2.1 Environmental Chemistry
Environmental chemistry is the study of the sources,
reactions, transport, effects, and fates of chemical species
in the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the geosphere, and
the anthrosphere and the effects of human activities
thereon
See Figure 2.1 (next slide) for an illustration of this
definition as exemplified by pollutant sulfur dioxide
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Major Categories of Environmental Chemistry
• Aquatic Chemistry deals with chemical phenomena in the
hydrosphere
Biochemical processes are particularly important
• Atmospheric chemistry deals with chemical processes in the
atmosphere
Many of these are photochemical
• Geochemistry and soil chemistry
• Toxicological chemistry
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2.2 Matter and Cycles of Matter
Global geochemical cycles involving the five spheres of the
environment and various reservoirs such as
• Oceans • Sediments • Soil • Air
Variable fluxes of matter flow

Often a strong biotic component such as

• Atmospheric CO2 to biomass in the biosphere
• Biodegradation of organonitrogen compounds releasing N2

Biogeochemical cycles, often elemental cycles involving

• Carbon • Oxygen • Nitrogen • Sulfur • Phosphorus

• Many powered by solar energy

• Mediated by organisms
• Plants • Microorganisms
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Carbon Cycle 7
 • Key compounds in the carbon cycle include
carbon dioxide, methane and carbonate.
• Carbon is recycled through ecosystems via
photosynthesis, respiration, and fermentation of
organic molecules, limestone decomposition, and
methane production.
• Principle users of atmospheric CO2 are
photosynthetic autotrophs.
• Carbon is returned to the atmosphere as CO2
by respiration, fermentation, decomposition
of marine deposits, and burning fossil fuels.
• Methanogens reduce CO2 and give off
methane (CH4).
Nitrogen Cycle 9
• N2 gas is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere, 79% of air
volume.
• Involves several types of microbes
• 4 types of reactions:
– nitrogen fixation –atmospheric N2 gas is converted to
NH4 salts; nitrogen-fixing bacteria live free or in symbiotic
relationships with plants
– ammonification – bacteria decompose nitrogen-
containing organic compounds to ammonia
– nitrification – convert NH4+ to NO2- and NO3-
– denitrification – microbial conversion of various nitrogen
salts back to atmospheric N2
The Oxygen Cycle (Chapter 9, Figure 9.11) 11
The Phosphorus Cycle 12
• Chief inorganic reservoir of phosphate (PO4)
is phosphate rock.
• PO4 must be converted into a useable form
(PO4-3) by the action of acid; sulfuric acid is
naturally released by some bacteria.
• Organic phosphate is returned to soluble
phosphate by decomposers.
The Sulfur Cycle 14
• Sulfur originates from rocks, oceans, lakes and
swamps.
• Sulfur exists in the elemental form and as
hydrogen sulfide gas, sulfate, and thiosulfate.
• Plants and many microbes can assimilate only
SO4 and animals require an organic source –
amino acids: cystine, cysteine, and methionine.
• Bacteria convert environmental sulfurous
compounds into useful substrates.
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2.3 The Anthrosphere and Environmental Chemistry
Anthrosphere : That part of the environment made or modified by
humans and used for their activities

Impact of humans
• Early impact was low, but not insignificant
• Impact in last 200 years has been enormous
• The anthropocene in which human activities predominate in
determining Earth’s environment
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The anthrosphere is categorized by the ways in which
humans do things and includes
• Dwellings (housing)
• Structures used for manufacturing, commerce, education, other
• Utilities such as water, fuel, electricity distribution systems
• Transportation systems such as railroads
• Components used for food production, processing, distribution
• Machines of all kinds
• Communications structures and devices
• Structures and machines used for extractive industries
• Mining • Petroleum production
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Fig. 2.7 Key Components of the Anthrosphere
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2.4 Technology and the Anthrosphere
Technology refers to the ways in which humans do and make
things with materials and energy
• Metallurgy • Machines

Tremendous growth in technology in 1800s

• Steam power • Railroads • Telegraph

Since 1900
• Automobiles • Aircraft • Electronics • Petroleum use

Two major contributors to progress since 1900

• Electronics • Much improved materials
Computers are arguably making the greatest contribution to
progress now
Now the challenge is to reconcile progress with sustainability
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2.5 Infrastructure
Infrastructure consists of utilities, facilities, and systems used in
common by members of society and upon which they depend for
their normal activities
Infrastructure includes
• Transportation systems
• Energy generation and distribution
• Buildings
• Telecommunications systems
• Water supply and distribution
• Waste treatment and distribution systems
Infrastructure deterioration is a major problem
• Corroded bridge structural members
* Deteriorated water distribution systems
Infrastructure vulnerable to attack
• Vulnerability due to interconnectivity
• Cascading failures on complex networks
2.6 Components of the Anthrosphere That Influence the21
Environment
Dwellings and buildings
• Many very inefficient
• Location (dwellings far from workplace) often a problem
• Potential of improved building materials
• Computerized control of heating and cooling
Transportation
• Automotive transport very inefficient
• Urban area
• Potential of interconnected rail, subway, airport systems
• Telecommuter society (workers who do work at home)
Communications:
Acquisition, recording, computing, displaying, transmission of
information
• Huge advances made due to modern electronics
• Telematics with computer-based communications
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Food and Agriculture
• Enormous environmental influence
• Loss of farmland to urban area
• Loss of soil to erosion
• Practices such as low-land agriculture enhance sustainability

Manufacturing
• Large pollution potential
• Important to consider environmental impact at early stages
• Automation for repetitive tasks
• Robotics to simulate human activities
• Computer-aided design (CAD)
• Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
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2.7 Effects of the Anthrosphere on Earth (Fig 2.8)
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2.8 Integration of the Anthrosphere into the Total
Environment
Organisms modifying environment. Many effects on environment in last 200 years
• Alteration of geosphere • Alteration of hydrosphere such as water diversion
The Anthrosphere and Industrial Ecology :
Industrial ecology : is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. Industrial ecologists are often
concerned with the impacts that industrial activities have on the environment, with use of the planet's supply of natural
resources, and with problems of waste disposal. Industrial ecology is a young but growing multidisciplinary field of
research which combines aspects of engineering, economics, sociology, toxicology and the natural sciences.

• Industrial ecology is practiced when industrial enterprises interact in a mutually

advantageous manner to produce goods with minimum environmental impact and maximum
efficiency
• Industrial ecosystems in which industrial ecology is practiced
• Industrial metabolism for processing materials and energy in industrial ecosystems
Figure 2.9 Evolution of anthrosphere to more environmentally 25
compatible state
Industrial ecology is concerned with the shifting of industrial process from linear (open
loop) systems, in which resource and capital investments move through the system to
become waste, to a closed loop system where wastes can become inputs for new
processes.
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Green chemistry is the sustainable, safe, and non-polluting practice
of chemical science and manufacturing in a manner that consumes
minimum amounts of materials and energy while producing little or no
waste material
Twelve principles of green chemistry
1. Prevent wastes
2. Use all materials
3. Avoid hazardous substances
4. Minimize toxicity
5. Minimize auxiliary substances
6. Minimize energy consumption
7. Use renewables
8. In organic synthesis minimize protecting groups
9. Maximize reagent selectivity
10. Degradability of products released
11. Monitor and carefully control processes
12. Avoid extremes
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Green Synthetic Chemistry

Key concept of atom economy, the fraction of all reagents that go into
product

Risk Reduction
• Risk = F{hazard x exposure}
• Exposure reduction would be putting hazardous waste in a secure
chemical landfill
• Hazard reduction would be changing waste to a non-hazardous form
• Hazard reduction is much preferable
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Some Specific Aspects of Green Chemistry
1. Chemical transformations under mild conditions
2. Green catalysts
3. Solvent less processes
4. Less dangerous, less polluting solvents
5. Use supercritical fluids (carbon dioxide)
6. Intensify processes, such as with small-volume reactors
7. Use electrons as mass-less reagents for oxidation and reduction
8. Renewable feedstock
9. Design for degradability of products released to the environment
10. Use biodegradable polymers such as those synthesized biochemically
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Three undesirable characteristics of chemicals
1. Those that are persistent (resistant to environmental degradation).
2. Those that undergo bioaccumulation
3. Those that are toxic
Persistence/bioaccumulation/toxicity characteristics of common
chemicals (PBT)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency PBT Profiler on the
following website
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/sf/tools/pbtprofiler.htm