Question 37: What are the by-products of fertiliser industries? How do they affect the environment?
Answer:
Mainly the by- products of the fertilizer industries are- oxides of nitrogen and oxides of sulphur. Apart from these carbon monoxides, carbon dioxide are the by - products of the fertilizer industry. They cause very harmful effects to the environment.
Oxides of nitrogen:- These include nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
Nitrogen monoxide lowers the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood and Nitrogen dioxide when reacting with water, it forms highly corrosive nitric acid (HNO3). Nitrogen dioxide can cause irritation in eyes, nose, bronchial tubes and lungs. Oxides of nitrogen damage the plants also, cause defoliation and necrosis (death of the part of the tissue or the organs) and when NOx reacts with hydrocarbons they form peroxyacyl nitrate, are responsible for photochemical smog. Nitrates are also responsible for the eutrophication.
Oxides of Sulphur:- These include sulphur dioxide (SO2) and sulphur trioxide (SO3)
By the burning of fossil fuels they form hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Sulphur oxides are harmful to the plants and animals as well as the buildings etc. they can cause respiratory diseases in human beings like asthma, bronchitis. When sulphur trioxide reacts with water they form sulphurous acid (H2SO3) and sulphuric acid (H2SO4), which are the main cause of the acid rain and this destroys the crops and the buildings (eg. Taj mahal).
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