Introductory Concepts.- to Environmental Chemistry.- Chemistry Fundamentals, Part A.- Chemistry Fundamentals, Part B.- The Chemistry of Natural Environmental Processes.- The Chemistry of Processes in the Atmosphere.- The Chemistry of Processes in the Lithosphere.- The Chemistry of Processes in the Hydrosphere.- Natural Biochemical Processes and Organisms in the Biosphere.- Effects, Treatment and Prevention of Pollution.- Effects of Pollutants on the Chemistry of the Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, and Lithosphere.- Effects of Pollutants on the Biosphere: Biodegradability, Toxicity, and Risks.- Physicochemical and Physical Treatment of Pollutants and Wastes.- Biological Treatment of Pollutants and Wastes.- The Minimization and Prevention of Pollution Green Chemistry.

Environmental Chemistry: Fundamentals

Increased use of electric vehicles has been proposed as a means of reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions It is therefore reasonable to compare emissions associated with generating the electricity used by electric vehicles with the emissions associated with internal-combustion vehicles, including hybrid-electric vehicles The student exercises in this activity will permit students to understand the trade-offs involved in making a choice of vehicles When emissions from electrical generation are taken into account, electric vehicles that obtain power in most US states do have lower emissions than gasoline-powered vehicles, but in some states the heavy use of fossil fuels for electric generation causes electric vehicles to do no better than gasoline-powered hybrid vehicles In a few states, electric vehicle emissions are worse than those from comparable hybrid vehicles

A Comparison of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Electric Vehicles to Emissions from Internal Combustion Vehicles

In this experiment, students build a spectrometer to explore infrared radiation and greenhouse gases in an inquiry-based investigation to introduce climate science in a general chemistry lab course. The lab is based on the exploration of the thermal effects of molecular absorption of infrared radiation by greenhouse and non-greenhouse gases. A novel feature of the experiment has students building an infrared spectrometer, using a hot plate as an IR source, a sample compartment employing a plastic cuvette holder with open sides (to standardize the path length), and a low-cost infrared thermometer. Students, working in groups, (1) explore a PhET simulation; (2) design a set of experiments in response to a scientific question, “comparing the absorption of infrared light in the presence and absence of each different sample of gas, are there any significant differences that can be observed experimentally?”; (3) reflect on climate science and their experimental results by visiting the American Chemical Society ...

A Simple, Student-Built Spectrometer To Explore Infrared Radiation and Greenhouse Gases

The Aquatic Chemistry Spreadsheet was produced to help students work through the activities of producing a graph of a titration curve, a distribution diagram, and buffer intensity as a function of pH. These activities help students better understand acid–base equilibrium by exploring the relationship between pKa/pKb, pH, ionization fractions, and buffer intensity.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ed080p1351.2

An Aquatic Chemistry Spreadsheet for General Chemistry Classes

An experimental system for detecting infrared absorption using the photoacoustic (PA) effect is described. It is aimed for use at high-school level to illustrate the difference in infrared (IR) absorption among the gases contained in the atmosphere in connection with the greenhouse effect. The experimental system can be built with readily available components and is suitable for small-group experiments. The PA signal from a greenhouse gas (GHG), such as CO2, H2O, and CH4, can be detected down to a concentration of 0.1%. Since the basic theory of the PA effect in gases due to IR absorption is straightforward, the experiments with this PA system are accessible to students. It can be shown that there is a significant difference in IR absorption between GHGs and the major components of the atmosphere, N2, O2, and Ar, which helps students understand that the minor components, that is, the GHGs, determine the IR absorptivity of the atmosphere.

Photoacoustic Experimental System To Confirm Infrared Absorption Due to Greenhouse Gases.

A quantitative experiment which illustrates the absorption by carbon dioxide of infrared light radiated from the earth is described. The experiment is based on a model derived from Beer's Law; the experiment shows that, theoretically, 99% of infrared light in the range from 2390 to 2275 cm-1 radiated from the earth is absorbed in the lowest 25 m of the atmosphere. The experiment should be useful for quantitatively describing the "greenhouse effect".

Hashim A. Yousif

Papers

Co2 absorption of ir radiated by the earth