“Understanding Ozone Depletion”

Prepared by: Aqiuno, Mikhaella Melendrez, Jhoana Pengson, Crishia Mae

Introduction
The Ozone Layer protects all living organisms from excess and effects ultraviolet (UV) radiation,
including skin cancer and cataracts in humans and damaging effects on ecosystems. But ozone is
ceaselessly produced, destroyed and circulated in the Earth’s atmosphere by a few natural influences.
According to Molina and Rowland 1970 who first theorized that chlorine compounds manufactured as
refrigerants and aerosol propellants could destroy ozone in the Earth’s stratosphere, a theory confirmed in
1985 by a measured ozone loss over Antarctica. Stratospheric ozone levels significantly declined until the
mid-1990s with the largest rates of depletion near the poles and no noticeable depletion near the Equator.
And Scientists say the primary source of ozone destruction is chlorofluorocarbons, once commonly used
in refrigeration, air conditioning, foam-blowing equipment and industrial cleaning. Ozone depletion has
been most severe at the poles, with levels declining by as much as 40 percent on a seasonal basis, said
Weatherhead. But there’s also has been as much as a 10 percent seasonal decline at mid-latitudes, the
location of much of North America, South America and Europe. Scientists warn a return to significantly
higher atmospheric ozone levels may take up to 40 years. "Chemicals pumped into Earth's atmosphere
decades ago still are affecting ozone levels today," said Sherwood Roland of the University of California,
Irvine, who shared the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Paul Crutzen and Mario Molina for their
work in identifying the CFC threat to the ozone layer. "This problem was a long time in the making and
because of the persistence of these chlorine compounds, there is no short-term fix."
Based on the study of M.J Molina et.al (2016), the catalyst (CFC- chlorofluorocarbon O³ ozone
into O² oxygen) is accelerating and the reaction that has low activation energy and are not consumed in
the reaction so that they are dangerous for the Earth’s ozone layer. One molecule of it can destruct a
millions of ozone molecules. They say that the ozone decomposes without the presence of a catalyst and
relatively slow, the concentration of reactants is depending on the rate of decomposition of the ozone.
The rate of the decomposition of the ozone is given by rate = [O3]² all over [O2]³, as we can see
the concentration of O² is so large and that is the value of constant. Thus, the second-order reaction is
linearization and is given by 1 over [O3] versus the time relationship, where the slope of the line is the
rate at which O3 is destroyed.

Objectives
 To explain what is ozone depletion using the Principles of Kinetics.
 To show an overview how and why ozone depletion happens.
 To address possible solutions about ozone depletion.

What is ozone?
It is made in the atmosphere that the sun’s ray split oxygen molecules into single atoms. The
combine atoms nearby oxygen have form a three oxygen molecule, called OZONE. But ozone can be
destroyed even if it is made by sun’s ray split oxygen, because of the sunlight and the reactions involving
the natural compounds that contain nitrogen, hydrogen, and chlorine. Most of the earth’s ozone is
contained in the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere 10-40 km above the surface of the earth.
The amount of stratosphere is fairly constant when it sees globally. And it changes throughout the
year and form one place to another. Many of the world’s ozone is made over the Tropics, and is then
pushed by stratospheric winds over the rest of the planet.
 The ozone is typically thicker over the poles than over the equator for three reasons. First, there’s
a lack of sunlight during arctic winter to break it down. Second, it is seasonal weather systems and wind
patterns in the upper atmosphere push more ozone toward the poles in the poles in the wind. Third,
vertical structure of the atmosphere affects thickness.

How “Ozone depletion” happened?

It was discovered in 1970’s that chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) could make damages on ozone’s
stratosphere. Oxygen (O2) atoms from the sun that stroked on the stratosphere delocalizes (O 2 (g)  O(g)
+ O(g)) and bump in other oxygen (O(g) + O2  O3(g) forms ozone (O3) and it is known as “photolysis”.
These ozone molecules can also breakdown naturally by the sun or by other compounds like chlorine,
hydrogen, nitrogen, etc.
Unpolluted areas act as an area of stratosphere which composed of ozone that is in equilibrium.
These areas will have a balance quantity of undamaged and damaged ozone because of its constant
pressure and temperature which results a constant concentration of ozone molecules. On the other hand, a
polluted area that affects the pressure and temperature disturbs the equilibrium and can damage the ozone
which leads ozone depletion.
Severe ozone depletion can harm all the living organisms on earth because of the harmful
Ultraviolet Radiation (UV) from the sun.

Ozone’s recovery
The recovery of the ozone layer is a process beginning with a lessening in the rate of decline, followed
by a levelling off and an eventual increase in ozone driven by changes in the concentrations of ozone-
depleting substances. The analyses of ozone records and conclusions regarding recovery, in the short or
long term, are sensitive to many concurrent changes in the atmosphere. Because of high natural variability
in ozone levels, total column ozone fluctuates over timescales of a few years. These fluctuations can
obscure long-term changes and offer false indications of recovery. The separation of long-term changes in
ozone concentrations from natural variability is our current challenge. Even when ozone-depleting
substances are significantly diminished, other anthropogenic changes to the atmosphere will further
complicate the recovery process and may result in considerably altered ozone levels in the future. The
detection of a thickening of the ozone layer can only be evaluated if naturally occurring processes and
events are appropriately accounted for.

Result and Discussion

Human activities can result ozone depletion. Emission of Chlorofluorocarbons such bromine and
chlorine containing compounds, carbon, tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, etc. from factories, aircrafts,
ships, vehicles, and fossil fuel plants. During the combustion process of fossil fuel plants, it produces
airborne pollutants which can stay in earth’s atmosphere for 120 years and has been recognized that
chlorine can destroy the ozone in the stratosphere.

As the human population increases and urbanization blooms, the more electricity is needed to produce
which requires more combustion processes that will eventually produce more and more ozone pollutants.
These CFCs will be passed on stratosphere and will break down by the sun similar to the process of
producing ozone’s photolysis. This process will release free chlorine (Cl) which is an ozone destructive
gas and can replicate it selves by repeating the process:
Cl + O3 ClO + O2
ClO + O  Cl + O2
The free chlorine that was left after the photolysis could also interact with other ozone destructor gases
like bromine which can contribute to the ozone depletion rate and the reaction cycle in stratosphere.
Cl + O3 ClO + O2
ClO + O  Cl + O2
Br + O3  BrO + O2
ClO + BrO  BrO + ClO2
The abundance of this chlorine and bromine is believed to increase the rate of ozone loss because of the
coupling of these two gases.

It was clearly shown that the ozone depletion was due to the rapid increase of atmospheric burdens and
man-made chlorine and other emitted gases from earth’s surface that triggers the ozone’s development.

Conclusion
The researchers concluded that the ozone depletion is lead from a polluted area that affects the
pressure and temperature that disturbs the equilibrium and can damage ozone. Ozone depletion is due to
the rapid increase of atmospheric burdens and man-made chlorine and other emitted gases from earth’s
surfaces that triggers the ozone’s development.
We therefore conclude that humans should prevent earth from being polluted. Planting more
trees, segregating garbage and recycling materials are some solution to lessen ozone depletion. We can
also say that a further study is needed to address more solution and knowledge regarding ozone depletion.

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