Coal Combustion and Acid Rain

The burning of coal in today's industrialized society is one of the reasons for what is known as Acid Rain.

To generate the energy needed in industrialized societies, vast amount of coal haves been burned. When coal burns, it gives off great quantities of heat energy and smoke. Smoke stocks such as this one, emits so much smoke into the atmosphere that gases in the smoke are changing the very nature of clouds, causing a corrosive form of precipitation known as Acid Rain. Sulfur Dioxide form burning fossil fuels and Nitrogen Oxides from automobile exhaust fumes react with the water vapor in the atmosphere, producing acidic vapors that mix with the clouds. When the wind blows, these acid bearing clouds maybe moved hundreds of kilometers away from the source of the pollutants. The Acid Rain that results is damaging to water, forest and soil resources. And, can corrode metals in the surfaces of buildings. One way to address the problems of acid rain is to stop burning high sulfur coal. Coal with less sulfur releases less sulfur dioxide. Another solution is to equip coal burning power plants with scrubber technology. Scrubbers are placed in the smoke stocks and force the sulfur laid and smoke over suspended alkali particles such as lime. The sulfur oxide reacts with these particles to form an ash that can be removed from the stock as slurry or powder. Scrubbers can removed up to 95% of sulfur oxides from smoke before it reaches the air.