CASE STUDY- 4

Q. How do catalytic converters reduce pollution

In the catalytic converter, there are two different types of catalyst at work, a reduction catalyst and
an oxidation catalyst
The reduction catalyst is the first stage of the catalytic converter. It uses platinum and rhodium to help
reduce the NOx emissions. When an NO or NO2 molecule contacts the catalyst, the catalyst rips the
nitrogen atom out of the molecule and holds on to it, freeing the oxygen in the form of O2. The nitrogen
atoms bond with other nitrogen atoms that are also stuck to the catalyst, forming N2. For example:

2NO => N2 + O2 or 2NO2 => N2 + 2O2

2NO => N2 + O2 or 2NO2 => N2 + 2O2

The oxidation catalyst is the second stage of the catalytic converter. It reduces the unburned
hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide by burning (oxidizing) them over a platinum and palladium catalyst.
This catalyst aids the reaction of the CO and hydrocarbons with the remaining oxygen in the exhaust gas.
For example:

2CO + O2 => 2CO2

The third stage of conversion is a control system that monitors the exhaust stream, and uses this
information to control the fuel injection system. There is an oxygen sensor mounted upstream of the
catalytic converter, meaning it is closer to the engine than the converter. This sensor tells the engine
computer how much oxygen is in the exhaust. The engine computer can increase or decrease the amount
of oxygen in the exhaust by adjusting the air-to-fuel ratio. This control scheme allows the engine computer
to make sure that the engine is running at close to the stoichiometric point, and also to make sure that
there is enough oxygen in the exhaust to allow the oxidization catalyst to burn the unburned hydrocarbons
and CO.

Q. What are the pollutants produced by a car engine, and what are the problems
created by each?
ANS. The main pollutants produced by cars engine are -
Nitrogen gas  Air is 78-percent nitrogen gas, and most of this passes right through the car engine
Carbon dioxide (CO2) - This is one product of combustion. The carbon in the fuel bonds with the
oxygen in the air.
Water vapor (H2O) - This is another product of combustion. The hydrogen in the fuel bonds with the
oxygen in the air.
These emissions are mostly benign, although carbon dioxide emissions are believed to contribute to
global warming. Because the combustion process is never perfect, some smaller amounts of more
harmful emissions are also produced in car engines.  Catalytic converters are designed to reduce all
three:

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas that is colorless and odorless.

Hydrocarbons or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a major component of smog produced

mostly from evaporated, unburned fuel.
Nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2, together called NOx) are a contributor to smog and acid rain, which also
causes irritation to human mucus membranes.

Q. What is photochemical smog, and what are the reactions by which primary
pollutants are converted into secondary pollutants in photochemical smog?
The components of photochemical smog were established during the 1950s. This type of air pollution is
formed through the reaction of solar radiation with airborne pollutants like nitrogen oxides and volatile
organic compounds. These compounds, which are called primary pollutants, are often introduced into the
atmosphere through automobile emissions and industrial processes. Ultraviolet light can split nitrogen
dioxide into nitric oxide and monatomic oxygen; this monatomic oxygen can then react with oxygen gas to
form ozone. Products like ozone, aldehydes, and peroxyacetyl nitrates are called secondary pollutants.
The mixture of these primary and secondary pollutants forms photochemical smog.
A primary pollutant is an air pollutant emitted directly from a source. A secondary pollutant is not directly
emitted as such, but forms when other pollutants (primary pollutants) react in the atmosphere. Examples
of a secondary pollutant include ozone, which is formed when hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides
(NOx) combine in the presence of sunlight; NO2, which is formed as NO combines with oxygen in the air;
and acid rain, which is formed when sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides react with water .
Q. How can the performance of catalytic converters be improved?
. One of its biggest shortcomings of catalytic converter is that it only works at a fairly high temperature.
When you start your car cold, the catalytic converter does almost nothing to reduce the pollution in your
exhaust.
One straightforward answer for this issue is to draw the exhaust system nearer to the motor. This implies
more sweltering fumes gases arrive at the converter and it warms up quicker, yet this may likewise
decrease the life of the converter by presenting it to very high temperatures. Most carmakers position the
converter under the front seat, far enough from the motor to hold the temperature down to levels that
won't hurt it. Preheating the exhaust system is a decent method to lessen outflows. The most
straightforward approach to preheat the converter is to utilize electric obstruction radiators. Tragically, the
12-volt electrical frameworks on most vehicles don't give enough vitality or capacity to warm the exhaust
system quick enough. A great many people would not trust that the exhaust system will warm up before
beginning their vehicle. Crossover autos that have enormous, high-voltage battery packs can give enough
capacity to warm up the exhaust system rapidly.
qqqqqqQ. How do petrol and diesel engines differ in this respect? How about
hybrid cars?
Exhaust systems in diesel motors don't fill in too in diminishing NOx. One reason is that diesel motors
run cooler than standard motors, and the converters work better as they heat up. A portion of the main
ecological auto specialists have thought of another framework that battles this. They infuse a urea
arrangement in the fumes pipe, before it gets to the converter, to vanish and blend in with the deplete and
make a substance response that will lessen NOx. Urea, otherwise called carbamide, is a natural
compound made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen. It's found in the pee of vertebrates and
creatures of land and water. Urea responds with NOx to deliver nitrogen and water fume, arranging in
excess of 90 percent of the nitrogen oxides in exhaust gases
Q. What is the connection between stratospheric ozone depletion and global
warming?
The stratospheric ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet (UV) radiation, preventing dangerous UV rays from
hitting Earth's surface and harming living organisms. UV rays cannot be seen or felt, but they are very
powerful and change the chemical structure of molecules
Perceptions show that as ozone depleting substances increment and result in warming in the lower air
(troposphere), a cooling is happening in the upper environment (stratosphere). To a great extent since
heat from Earth's surface that ordinarily would pass on through the troposphere and stratosphere, and in
the end departure to space, is currently being caught (or restricted to the troposphere). The expanding
temperatures at the Earth's surface and diminishing temperatures in higher pieces of the air can be
incompletely clarified utilizing the sweeping similarity. Carbon dioxide and other warmth catching gases
ascend into the climate and spread far and wide, similar to a sweeping wrapping Earth. This sweeping
warms the outside of the Earth and shields it from the virus air above it.

The expanded groupings of warmth catching gases make the sweeping awkwardly thicker. Enveloped
now by a thicker cover, Earth's surface heats up, warms the sweeping itself, and traps more warmth in
the lower air. The sweeping likewise keeps heat from moving from the lower climate to the stratosphere,
chilling off the stratosphere thus. As it were, heat-catching gases add to making the cooling conditions in
the air that lead to ozone consumption. Ozone harming substances retain heat at generally low elevations
and warm the surface- - yet they have the contrary impact in higher heights since they keep heat from
rising. In a cooler stratosphere, ozone misfortune makes a cooling impact that outcomes in further ozone
exhaustion. UV radiation discharges heat into the stratosphere when it responds with ozone. With less
ozone there is less warmth discharged, intensifying the cooling in the lower stratosphere, and improving
the arrangement of ozone-draining polar stratospheric mists, particularly close to the South Pole.
Q How would you design a domestic drinking water purifier?
I can make a domestic drinking water purifier with the help of some charcoal, natural sand, plastic bottle
and two plastic containers.
First I will take some charcoal and put it in plastic bottle and some natural sand over it and again put
some charcoal over it ,this will work as my filter and then I will put in between the containers such that the
water will pass through it so when I will put my contaminated water it will pass through my filter and I will
get purified water.
This is how one can make a homemade water purifier.

Q What are the reactions by which chlorofluorocarbons lead to stratospheric

ozone depletion and global warming?
Ozone can be destroyed by a number of free radical catalysts; the most important are the hydroxyl
radical (OH·), nitric oxide radical (NO·), chlorine radical (Cl·) and bromine radical (Br·). The dot is a
notation to indicate that each species has an unpaired electron and is thus extremely reactive. All of these
have both natural and man-made sources; at the present time, most of the OH· and NO· in the
stratosphere is naturally occurring, but human activity has drastically increased the levels of chlorine and
bromine. These elements are found in stable organic compounds, especially chlorofluorocarbons, which
can travel to the stratosphere without being destroyed in the troposphere due to their low reactivity. Once
in the stratosphere, the Cl and Br atoms are released from the parent compounds by the action of
ultraviolet light, e.g.
CFCl+ electromagnetic radiation → Cl· + ·CFCl2
Ozone is a highly reactive molecule that easily reduces to the more stable oxygen form with the
assistance of a catalyst. Cl and Br atoms destroy ozone molecules through a variety of catalytic cycles. In
the simplest example of such a cycle,[9] a chlorine atom reacts with an ozone molecule (O
3), taking an oxygen atom to form chlorine monoxide (ClO) and leaving an oxygen molecule (O

2). The ClO can react with a second molecule of ozone, releasing the chlorine atom and yielding two
molecules of oxygen. The chemical shorthand for these gas-phase reactions is:

 Cl· + O3 → ClO + O2

A chlorine atom removes an oxygen atom from an ozone molecule to make a ClO molecule
 ClO + O3 → Cl· + 2 O2

This ClO can also remove an oxygen atom from another ozone molecule; the chlorine is free to
repeat this two-step cycle
The overall effect is a decrease in the amount of ozone, though the rate of these processes can be
decreased by the effects of null cycles. More complicated mechanisms have also been discovered that
lead to ozone destruction in the lower stratosphere.