Coal burning, sulfur dioxide from

In December 1952, thick fog rolled across many parts of the British Isles. In the Thames Valley, the fog mixed with smoke, soot and sulfur dioxide from coal-burning homes and factories, turning the air over London into a dense yellow mass. Due to a temperature inversion, the fog stayed put for several days, during which the city s hospitals filled to over-flowing. According to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, more than... 

Contrary to popular belief, acid rain is not a new phenomenon nor does it result solely from industrial pollution. Natural processes—volcanic eruptions and forest fires, for example—produce and release acid particles into the air, and the burning of foresf areas to clear land in Brazil, Africa, and other countries also contributes to acid rain however, the rise in manufacturing that began with the Industrial Revolution literally dwarfs all other contributions to the problem. The main culprits are emissions of sulfur dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, and nitrogen oxide, formed mostly from internal combustion engine emissions, which is readily transformed into nitrogen dioxide. These mix in the atmosphere to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid. 

In magnesium casting, sulfur dioxide is employed as an inert blanketing gas. Another foundry appHcation is as a rapid curing catalyst for furfuryl resins in cores. Surprisingly, in view of the many efforts to remove sulfur dioxide from flue gases, there are situations where sulfur dioxide is deHberately introduced. In power plants burning low sulfur coal and where particulate stack emissions are a problem, a controUed amount of sulfur dioxide injection improves particulate removal. 

Sulfur dioxide in the effluent gases from coal-burning electric power plants is one of the principal causes of acid rain. One method for reducing S02 emissions involves partial reduction of S02 to H2S, followed by catalytic conversion of the H2S and the remaining S02 to elemental sulfur ... 

Sulfur dioxide is formed whenever sulfur-containing fuels are combusted in air. Sulfur dioxide can lead to the formation of acid rain and is a controlled pollutant in most countries. U.S. 5,196,176, assigned to Paques B.V, describes a biological process for removing sulfur dioxide from a vent gas and converting it to elemental sulfur. Estimate the cost (in /kWh) of using the Paques process to treat the flue gas from a 1000 MW power station that burns Illinois Number 6 coal in pressurized fluidized bed combustors. 

When the calcium carbonate, CaC03, in limestone is heated to a high temperature, it decomposes into calcium oxide (called lime or quick lime) and carbon dioxide. Lime was used by tbe early Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians to make cement and is used today to make over 150 different chemicals. In another reaction, calcium oxide and water form calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2 (called slaked lime), used to remove the sulfur dioxide from smoke stacks above power plants burning bigb-sulflir coal. The equations for all these reactions are below. Determine the oxidation number for each atom in the equation and identify whether the reactions are redox reaction or not. For each redox reaction, identify what is oxidized and what is reduced. 

The annual production of sulfur dioxide from burning coal and fossil fuels, auto exhaust, and other sources is about 26 million tons. The equation for the reaction is... 

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a pollutant produced by burning high-sulfur coal. It is a major cause of acid rain. Natural zeolites are the most effective filters yet found for absorbing sulfur dioxide from waste gases. As efforts to improve air quafity continue, zeolites can be used to help purify the gases from power plants that burn high-sulfur coal from the Ohio River Valley and other regions. 

Where does acid rain come from Most of it is created when we burn fossil fuels, such as coal, to generate electricity. Coal is the product of decaying vegetation, and, since plants contain a variety of sulfur compounds, coal can have a significant sulfur content. When coal burns, sulfur converts to sulfur dioxide, which further reacts with oxygen in the atmosphere to form... 

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