Air Pollution

• Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)

  1. Produces carbon dioxide and water

  2. Releases energy
• Complete combustion


  When hydrocarbons burn with plenty of oxygen, producing only water and carbon dioxide
• Incomplete combustion


  When there is not enough oxygen, producing carbon monoxide and particulates (soot)
• Particulates


  • Can get stuck in lungs and damage them, leading to respiratory problems
  • Can form dark clouds or smog that reflects sunlight back into space, causing global dimming
• Carbon monoxide


  • Diffuses into blood and binds to hemoglobin, reducing oxygen transport around the body
  • Colorless and odourless, making it hard to detect
• Formation of sulfur dioxide


  Sulfur impurities in hydrocarbons get oxidized during burning
• Formation of nitrogen oxides


  Nitrogen and oxygen from air react at high temperatures, often in internal combustion engines
• Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides

  • Can damage lungs and cause respiratory problems when inhaled
  • Dissolve in clouds to form dilute sulfuric and nitric acid, causing acid rain that damages plants, buildings, and corrodes metals