Environmental Issues in Chemical Perspective

By Thomas G. Spiro & William M. Stigliani

Hardcover : 9780873954273, 374 pages, June 1980

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Table of contents

Preface

Part I. ENERGY

1. Introduction

2. Natural Energy Flows

3. Carbon Cycle
Origins of Fossil Fuels
Petroleum and natural gas
Coal

4. Human Energy Consumption
Exponential Growth and Decay; Resource Exhaustion

5. Petroleum
Oil Refining
Estimation of Petroleum Reserves

6. Survey of Alternative Energy Sources

7. Coal
Coal Conversion

8. Nuclear Fission
Naturally Occuring Radioisotopes

9. Nuclear Power
Pressurized light water reactor
Breeder reactor

10. Weapons Proliferation
Fission Chain Reaction
Isotope Separation
Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing

11. Radioactivity
Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation
Radioactive Waste Disposal

12. Fusion Power
Fusion Reactors; Unresolved Problems

13. Solar Energy
Emission and Absorption of Radiation
The Photovoltaic Cell
Photoassisted Electrolysis

14. Energy Storage

15. Thermal Storage
Power Plants; Thermal Efficiencies

16. Energy Consumptions and Conservation
Heat Pumps; Heat Quality

17. Summary
Problem Set
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading

Part II: ATMOSPHERE

1. Earth's Radiation Balance
Atmospheric Particles
Sources and Sinks
Cloud formation
Light scattering and absorption

2. Greenhouse Effect
Infrared Absorption and the Greenhouse Effect

3. Atmospheric Structure
Ultraviolet Absorption by Ozone

4. Ozone Chemistry
Steady-State Calculation of Ozone Distribution

5. Nitrogen Oxides
Nitrogen Oxide Effect on the Ozone Steady-State
Stratospheric Nitrogen Cycle

6. Chlorofluoromethanes

7. Oxide Chemistry
Oxygen Reactivity
Electronic structure
Free radicals; combustion
Transition metals; respiration
Thermodynamics and Equilibrium
Free energy
Ozone
Nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide
The effect of temperature; enthalpy

8. Air Pollution
Carbon monoxide
Nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons
Tropospheric Chemistry

9. Automotive Emissions

10. Sulfur Dioxide

11. Primary Particles

12. Summary
Problem Set
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading

PART III: HYDROSPHERE

1. Water Resources
Properties of Water and Aqueous Solutions
Hydrogen bonding
Nonpolar solutes; clathrates
Polar and ionic solutes

2. Acidity
Acids and Bases
The pH scale
Conjugate acids and bases
Buffers
Acid-base mixtures

3. Hardness
Two-Phase Interactions
Solubility; calcium carbonate
Ion exchange; clays
Ocean chemistry and the size of the carbon dioxide sink
Amphiphilic solutes; surfactants, lipids, and proteins

4. Eutrophication
Bioactivity of Lakes

5. The Oceans

6. Sewage Treatment
Domestic sewage treatment
Industrial wastewater treatment

7. Drinking Water Supplies

8. Agricultural Pollution

9. Summary
Problem Set
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading

PART IV: BIOSPHERE

1. Nitrogen and Food Production
Bioenergenetics
ATP, the energy currency
Photosynthesis
Respiration
Nitrogen Cycle Enzymes
Nitrogenase
Nitrification
Denitrification

2. Nutrition
Diet Components; Vitamins

3. Insecticides
Membranes and Receptors
Transport
Membrane function
Na+-K+ pump
Neurochemistry
Ion conductance
Neurotransmitters
Other neurotransmitters; opiates

4. Inadvertent Contamination by Toxic Organic Chemicals
Hormone Function
Environmental Decomposition of Toxic Organic Chemicals

5. Contamination by Toxic Metals
Lead
Mercury
Cadmium

6. Cancer
Genetic Mechanisms and Chemical Carcinogenesis
DNA replication and protein synthesis
Mutations
Repair mechanisms
Regulation
Chemical carcinogenesis
Carcinogen testing

7. Conclusion
Problem Set
Notes
Suggestions for Further Reading

Appendix
Index

Description

An in-depth presentation of the chemistry required to evaluate the choices we must make regarding our environment, this study has four parts: energy, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. Each part is followed by problem sets that require the application of chemical principles to such issues as dwindling natural gas and petroleum resources; fission and fusion as energy sources; CO2 build-up and the greenhouse effect; automobile emission control; acid rain; eutrophication of lakes; lead, mercury, and cadmium poisoning; and environmental links to cancer. An answer manual for the problems is included.

Social, political, and economic concerns are also covered. The authors show how chemists and non-chemist decision-makers can take account of each other's perspectives.

Thomas G. Spiro is professor of chemistry at Princeton University. William M. Stigliani is research associate at the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center of the State University of New York at Albany.