Hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere

Axelrod HD, Cary JH, Bonelli JE, et al. 1969. Fluorescence determination of sub-parts per billion hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere. Anal Chem 43 1856-1858. 

NSF. 1976. Behavior of hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere and its effects on vegetation. Report to the National Science Foundation, Research Applied to National Needs, Washington, DC, by Thompson RC, California University, Statewide Air Pollution Research Center, Riverside, CA. Report no. NSF/RA-760398. NTIS publication no. PB-262733. 

TABLE 4.5. Odor and Human Health-Related Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide in the Atmosphere (U.S. National Research Council, 1979 ASCE, 1989). 

Most of the hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere—approximately 90%— comes from natural sources through nonspecific and anaerobic bacterial reduction of sulfates and sulfur-containing organic compounds (ATSDR 1999). These sources include stagnant or polluted waters and manure or coal pits with low... 

Sulfur dioxide, a poisonous gas, is made by burning sulfur in air. Volcanic activity, the combustion of fuels contaminated with sulfur, and the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide are the major sources of SO2 in the atmosphere. The chemical equation for the oxidation of hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere is ... 

Slatt, B. J., Natusch, D. F. S., Prospero, J. M. and Savoie, D. L., 1978 Hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere in the northern equatorial Atlantic Ocean and its relation to the global sulphur cycle. Atmospheric Environment 12, 981-991. 

Hydrogen sulfide could have been implicated in several mass extinctions that have occurred in the Earth s past. In particular, a buildup of hydrogen sulfide in the atmosphere may have caused the Permian-Triassic extinction event 252 million years ago. 

Hydrogen sulfide in the air is oxidized at a relatively slow rate by molecular oxygen (02) but at a much faster rate by hydroxide (OH) radicals, forming the sulfhydryl radical and ultimately sulfur dioxide or sulfate compounds (Hill 1973 NSF 1976). Sulfur dioxide and sulfates are eventually removed from the atmosphere through absorption by plants and soils or through precipitation (Hill 1973). 

The occurrence of hydrogen sulfide in the sewer atmosphere is an important example for illustrating odor problems and other negative effects associated with sulfide that will be further dealt with in Section 6.2.6. According to Table 4.1, HB2S = 563 atm (mole fraction)-1, and H2S, therefore, observes the... 

Hydrogen sulfide in the reaction atmosphere has been reported to accelerate liquefaction directly, in addition to controlling the extent of sulfiding of iron, Ni-Mo, and Co-Mo catalysts (39, 40). 

Saltzman, E. S., and Cooper, D. J., Shipboard measurements of atmospheric dimethylsulfide and hydrogen sulfide in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, J. Atmos. Chem., 7, 191-209, 1988. 

A trace amount of hydrogen sulfide in contaminated atmospheres causes the observed tarnish of silver and may also cause tarnish of copper. The tarnish films are composed of Ag2S and a mixture of CU2S + CuS + CU2O, respectively. 

Hydrogen chloride released dissolves in water during condensation in the crude oil distillation column overhead or in the condenser, which cause corrosion of materials at these locations. The action of hydrochloric acid is favored and accelerated by the presence of hydrogen sulfide which results in the decomposition of sulfur-containing hydrocarbons this forces the refiner to inject a basic material like ammonia at the point where water condenses in the atmospheric distillation column. 

Sulfurization of unsaturated compounds and meicaptans is normally carried out at atmospheric pressure, in a mild or stainless steel, batch-reaction vessel equipped with an overhead condenser, nitrogen atmosphere, an agitator, heating media capable of 120—215°C temperatures and a scmbber (typically caustic bleach or diethanolamine) capable of handling hydrogen sulfide. If the reaction iavolves the use of H2S as a reactant or the olefin or mercaptan is a low boiling material, a stainless steel pressurized vessel is recommended. 

Forests can act as sources of some of the trace gases in the atmosphere, such as hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide, NO, and NH3. Forests have been identified as emitters of terpene hydrocarbons. In 1960, Went (10) estimated that hydrocarbon releases to the atmosphere were on the order of 108 tons per year. Later work by Rasmussen (11) suggested that the release of terpenes from forest systems is 2 x 10 tons of reactive materials per year on a global basis. This is several times the anthropogenic input. Yet, it is important to remember that forest emissions are much more widely dispersed and less concentrated than anthropogenic emissions. Table 8-2 shows terpene emissions from different types of forest systems in the United States. 

Hydrogen sulfide is released primarily as a gas and will spread in the air. However, in some instances, it may be released in the liquid waste of an industrial facility. When hydrogen sulfide is released as a gas, it may form sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid in the atmosphere. Sulfur dioxide can be further broken down and is a major contributor to acid rain. Hydrogen sulfide is estimated to remain in the atmosphere for an average of 18 hours. You will find more about what happens to hydrogen sulfide when it enters the environment in Chapters 4 and 5. 

Although hydrogen sulfide does not react photochemically, it may be transformed to sulfur dioxide and sulfate by nonphotochemical oxidation reactions in the atmosphere. Its atmospheric residence time is typically less than 1 day (Hill 1973), but may be as high as 42 days in winter (Bottenheim and Strausz 1980). 

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