How does Sulphur

Dioxide Affect the

Environment?
M5 Chemistry

Karthikeyan Rajay Ganesh

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF MOSHI Criterion D
 1 How does Sulphur Dioxide Affect the Environment?

How does Sulphur Dioxide Affect the

Environment?
Sulphur dioxide is a gas that consists of sulphur and two oxygens. Its chemical
formula is: SO2. Sulphur dioxide is commonly formed when hydrocarbon fuels
burn. Most hydrocarbons contain sulphur, so when it is combusted, oxygen is
added to the sulphur and therefore a release of sulphur dioxide. Sulphur is
colourless gas that is soluble in water when combusted. It is poisonous to
organisms that breathe it in and has a strong odour. Sulphur dioxide is formed
naturally in volcanoes and is also formed as a waste gas when materials
containing sulphur are combusted. It is considered as a pollutant and poses a
threat to our environment.
Sulphur dioxide gets into the air by combustion of fossil fuels in power plants
and industrial factories. The main high-emitting source is the combustion of
coal. Other sources of Sulphur dioxide are industrial processes such as
extracting metal from ore, vehicles such as ships which combust fuels with high
sulphur contents. A natural source of sulphur dioxide is emissions of it in
volcanoes.
The main environmental effect of sulphur dioxide is the cause of acid rain.
First, the sulphur dioxide is emitted through burnt fossil fuels. This sulphur
dioxide gas, rises to the atmosphere where it oxidises with atmospheric
oxygen. The oxidisation forms a sulphate ion. The sulphate ions combine with
the hydrogen atoms in the air to make H2SO4 which has a pH level around 4.0
which is acidic. This is known as acid rain. The oxidisation mostly takes places
where there are other pollutants in the air such as ammonia and O3 or ozone.
Ozone and ammonia compounds catalyse the process and make acid rain occur
faster.
Destroying and affecting parts of the environment in a bad way can affect the
ecosystem of that given environment. In an ecosystem, plants and animals are
connected in a way that if any species are affected, the effects of it will ripple
through the given environment’s ecosystem. Acid rain effects can be found in
aquatic ecosystems, for example: rivers, lakes, marshes etc. When acid rain
flows through the water, it absorbs or captures aluminium content in the soil
and starts flowing it around the body of water. High aluminium content in

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 2 How does Sulphur Dioxide Affect the Environment?

water is not good for plants and fish as it goes against their normal mineral
content in their environment. Severe amounts of aluminium can cause death
of aquatic life.
Another effect on aquatic life is the acid levels in the
water. Some aquatic organisms can tolerate acidic
waters to some extent. The acidic levels of which
aquatic organisms can tolerate are shown in the
picture on the right. As mentioned before, acid rain
is around the pH of 4. This means that organisms
above Salamanders will die. Below that, the Perch
and Frogs will survive since they can adapt to these
levels of acidity. Young organisms are more sensitive
to changes in the environment when compared to
adults. At the pH level of 5, many eggs of fish cannot
hatch. Frogs can survive at a pH level of 4 but their
main food source are Mayflies. This comes to the
point where there is an ecological effect: Mayflies
die because of low pH levels which results in no food
source for the Frogs. Thus resulting in reduced
population of frogs. This may also have other
ecological effects on the aquatic environment.
Other than reducing the physical structure of trees and plants, acid rain also
absorbs and removes minerals and nutrients from the soil which are needed
for plants and trees to grow. At higher altitudes, clouds of sulphuric acid
remove nutrients from leaves of trees which leave them with brown leaves
which are dead. This leads the trees to absorb less sunlight, which makes them
weak and unable to withstand lower temperatures in high altitudes. In general,
acid rain destroys plants and trees. It also affects agricultural crops.
Diplomatic agreements that are made to prevent extreme emissions of sulphur
dioxide are the Clean Air Act which controlled the amount produced by each
industrial factory, Implemented National Fuel Quality Standards which control
the amount of sulphur in fuels used in vehicles and industries. Using
alternative fuels is in agreement with different nations but many governments
don’t use it as much as fossil fuels because it doesn’t burn as efficient as other
alternative fuels.

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 3 How does Sulphur Dioxide Affect the Environment?

The image below shows how sulphur dioxide is removed from waste gases
formed in industries. The waste gases created are treated with powdered
limestone or limestone slurry, which removes the sulphur content in the waste
gas and turns it into clean gas. The limestone with the sulphur creates calcium
sulphate which can be used in other products. And the clean gas is returned to
the chimney for more combustion and electric generation. This only prevents

sulphur dioxide from entering the atmosphere in large amounts but the other
gases released are still harmful the environment. There are other methods as
the one given above where the sulphuric acid is removed or when the sulphur
is removed from the fuel. These are methods like Seawater Scrubbing where
the sulphuric acid is neutralised by the alkaline in seawater.
To conclude, Sulphur dioxide is a natural emitted gas and also am artificially
produced one. It is most commonly formed by the combustion of coal and
many other fossil fuels. This is because some fossil fuels are hydrocarbons that
contain sulphur. When these hydrocarbons are combusted, they form sulphur
dioxide. Sulphur dioxide is the cause of acid rain because when it rises to the
atmosphere, it joins with the hydrogen and H2SO4 which is acid rain. Acid rain
is harmful to the environment since it causes plants and trees to degrade in
amounts to a point where it cannot grow. It also affects aquatic wildlife by
increasing Aluminium content and lowering pH levels. Many methods are
taken to prevent Sulphur Dioxide release but these are expensive and tedious.
Therefore, Sulphur Dioxide will always exist and pose a threat to our
environment.

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 4 How does Sulphur Dioxide Affect the Environment?

References

US EPA. (2017). Effects of Acid Rain | US EPA. [online] Available at:

https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/effects-acid-rain [Accessed 5 Feb. 2018].

Www2.gsu.edu. (n.d.). Causes of Acid Rain. [online] Available at:

http://www2.gsu.edu/~mstnrhx/EnviroBio%20Projects/AcidRain/causes.html [Accessed 5 Feb.
2018].

Department of the Environment and Energy. (2005). Sulfur dioxide (SO2). [online] Available at:
http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/publications/factsheet-sulfur-dioxide-so2 [Accessed 5
Feb. 2018].

Bbc.co.uk. (2014). BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Sulfur dioxide. [online] Available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa_pre_2011/rocks/fuelsrev5.shtml [Accessed
5 Feb. 2018].