What is environmental chemistry? What are the applications?

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Environmental chemistry 

  • Environmental is the scientific study of the biochemical and chemical phenomena that occur in natural places. 

  • It is a study that is more than air, water, soil, and CHEMICALS. 

  • This field uses various techniques of genetics, biology, maths, hydrology, etc.

  • Environmental chemists are responsible for finding how the unpolluted environment functions and finding ways of sustainable development that do not harm the environment.

  • It also contains aspects of analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, organic chemistry, and inorganic chemistry as well as more diverse areas, such as epidemiology, public health, biochemistry, and toxicology.



What is environmental chemistry used for?

Environmental chemists study how chemicals enter and affect the air, water, and soil. These chemists often focus on issues related to environmental and human health. Many environmental and human health. Many environmental chemists collect water and soil samples from outdoor ecosystems and analyze them in a lab environment. 


Why is environmental chemistry important?

Environmental chemistry is not only important to humans and the environment but is also crucial for business and the economy. It helps in finding methods and techniques to speed up the chemical reactions using small amounts of reactants to deliver the same results and the same price as the product.   


What is involved in environmental chemistry?

Environmental chemistry is an interdisciplinary science that includes atmospheric, aquatic, and soil chemistry, as well as heavily relying on analytical chemistry and being related to environmental and other areas of science.


What is the focus of environmental chemistry?

Environmental chemistry focuses on the chemical processes influencing the composition and chemical specification of natural systems (air, water, and soil), the chemical fate and mobility of contaminants in the environment, and chemical processes that affect the toxicity of contaminants.



Applications of Environmental chemistry:

There are so many applications of environmental chemistry, some applications are as given below:

  • Environmental chemistry is used in the method of protection of groundwater which is polluted by soil, dust, and waste particles.

  • It is useful for the protection of surface water from contaminants through the process of sedimentation, bacteriology, and radiation.

  • The quality of soil is protected by the methods of environmental chemicals such as by the use of indicators like ecotoxicological chemicals.

  •  It is applied in Waste Management and Cleaner Production.

  • Environmental chemistry studies the risk factors of all the chemicals in-depth to get a solution for the safety purpose of the environment.

  • It is applied in the study of new products and their effects on the environment.


What is Contaminants:

Contamination of the environment takes place when there are unwanted chemical substances present in the atmosphere. In fact, environmental chemistry mainly deals with the study of these unwanted substances and their effects.

Some contaminants of the environment are mention below.
  • Small contaminants: Small contaminants are those metal particles that can be easily measured and controlled. These particulates contaminants can be monitored by the process of abrasion, fatigue, and silt.
  • Chemical contaminants: These are the pollutants that are produced by the process of chemical reactions. They  contaminate the water, soil, and those are arsenic, nitrate, manganese atom, iron, etc
  • Gaseous contaminants: This type of pollution occurs through pollution of the gaseous atmosphere by the components such as sulfur, chlorine, bromine, etc.

Contaminants in the environment:

  • Petrochemical Hydrocarbon 

  • Pesticides

  • Soaps and Detergent

  • Metals in the environment

  • Synthetic polymers: Plastics, Elastomers, and synthetic fibers.

  • Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)



Toxic chemicals in the environment:

chemical waste


The chemicals present in the environment are toxic as well as non-toxic in nature. The toxic chemicals that are discharged by industries into the air, water,  and soil get into the human food chain from the environment. Once these chemicals enter the biological system, they perturb the natural biochemical processes causing adverse effects.


Toxic chemicals are huge in number; however, the toxicity levels of many compounds are still unknown. Many metals that are known to cause environmental hazards are essential dietary traced metals required for the normal growth and development of animals and human beings. These elements are Al, Sb, As, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cu, Ce, In, Pb, Hg, Mo, Ag, Te, Ti, Sn, W, U, and Z. For instance As, Pb, and Cd-which are well known toxic metals-are required in the trace quantities for the growth of animals.    


Air pollutants:



Air is composed of around 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon, and 0.3% carbon dioxide. Air pollution refers to the presence of any substance in the air at a concentration that is enough to produce an undesirable effect on humans animals, vegetation, or materials. Air pollutants can be solids, liquids, or gasses, and can have local, regional, and global impacts.   

Carbon monoxide:



It is one of the most serious air pollutants, poisonous in nature, and 96.5% as heavy as air. Since CO is an odorless gas, its presence in the air is not detectable during breathing. The main source of carbon monoxide in the air is automobile exhaust. CO constitutes 80% of all automobile exhausts. Other sources of CO include combustion processes such as stoves, open fire, furnaces, power plants, factories, cold mines, and smoke. Its naturals sources are various plants and animals. Plants produce about 15 to 20 tonnes of CO per year.

Particulates:




Particulates are naturally found in the atmosphere in the form of dust, soot, sand, smoke, pollen, and ash. combustion is fossil fuel as emits particulates. Solids and liquids-phase materials in the atmosphere are variously referred to as particulates matter, particulates, particles. Organic particles can be emitted directly as soot from combustion processes or can be formed when large hydrocarbon molecules react with oxidants in the atmosphere and form chemicals that condence into particles.

  






 

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