Environmental Chemistry, CHE281 Fall 2001

1
Environmental Chemistry, CHE281 Fall 2001

• Lecture 1
• Course Introduction
• Dr. Ted Dominick

2
Definition of Environmental Chemistry

• The study of sources, reactions, transport, and
  fate of chemical entities in the air, water and
  soil environments, as well their effects on human
  health and the natural environment.
• Stanley Manahan

3
Some Natural Environmental Cycles

• Hydrological Cycle
• Carbon Dioxide Cycle
• Nitrogen Cycle
• Phosphorus Cycle
• Chapman Cycle

4
Spheres of Environmental Chemistry

• Atmosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Lithosphere
• Biosphere
• Environmental issues frequently cut across
• these divisions.

5
Interdisciplinary Nature of Environmental
Chemistry

• Environmental Chemistry can involve use of
  knowledge from several fields of chemistry
• Inorganic, Organic, Physical, Analytical
  Chemistry
• It can also involve other areas from other
  scientific disciplines.
• Biology and Toxicology

6
Interdisciplinary Nature of Environmental
Chemistry

• Inorganic Chemistry
• Adsorption of chemicals by soils sediments.
• Organic Chemistry
• Mechanisms of degradation of pesticides

7
Interdisciplinary Nature of Environmental
Chemistry

• Physical Chemistry
• Kinetics of transformation and degradation of
  environmental chemicals
• Analytical Chemistry
• Detecting the presence of environmental
  contaminants, especially at low concentrations

8
Interdisciplinary Nature of Environmental
Chemistry

• Biology
• Effects of discharges on aquatic ecosystem
  structure
• Toxicology
• Effects of environmental chemicals on
  human health

9
Interdisciplinary Nature of Environmental
Chemistry

• Which of the above areas has influenced the scope
  of Environmental Chemistry the most?
• Analytical Chemistry

10
Societal Roles of Environmental Chemistry

• Management of Industrial Emissions
• Protection of Workers Health
• Protection of the Natural Environment
• Testing and Evaluating New Chemicals

11
Environmental Problems Covered by CHE281

• Atmosphere
• 1. Ozone Depletion in
• stratosphere. (Ch. 2 Baird)
• www.cup.edu
• 2. Air Pollution in Troposphere.
• (Ch. 3 Baird)
• www.yahoo.edu

12
Environmental Problems Covered by CHE281

• Hydrosphere
• 1. Acid Rain
• www.
• 2. Acidified Waters
• 3. Acid Mine Drainage(AMD)
• (Ch 8 Baird)
• 4. Purification of Polluted Water
• (Ch 9 Baird)

13
Environmental Problems Covered by CHE281

• Lithosphere Soils and Sediments
• 1. Hazardous Wastes
• www.
• 2. Heavy metals
• (Ch 7 Baird)
• 3. Use of Pesticides (Ch 6 Baird)
• www.

14
Environmental Problems Covered by CHE281

• Biosphere Plants and Animals
• 1. Toxic Chemicals in Food
• Chain. (Emphasis on Heavy
• Metals Toxic Organics)
• (Ch 6 Baird)
• 2. Accumulation and Fate of
• Organochlorines in Biological
• Systems.

15
Environmental Problems Covered by CHE281

• Environmental Costs of Human Energy Consumption
  (Ch 5 Baird)
• 1. Oil Spills
• 2. Scarring of Land by Mining
• 3. Air Water Pollution
• 4. Threat of Global Warming
• (Ch 4 Baird)
• 5. Radioactive Waste Storage

16
Approaches to Prevention of Pollution

• End-of-the-Pipe
• Capture toxic byproducts and put into a
  more benign form
• Green Chemistry
• Reformulation of synthetic routes so that
  toxic byproducts are not produced

17
More About Green Chemistry

• ACS has published a book
• Real World Cases in Green Chemistry by Mike
  Cann
• WWW.ACS.ORG
• Presidential Green Chemistry Award
• Awarded to Dr. Terry Collins of CMU in 1997