Acid rain is when certain types of acid mix with rainwater (or snow and fog) to cause it to have a
pH under 5.5. It happens when acidic gases like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide which are caused
by burning fossil fuels (cars, factories, powerplants…) are released into the Earth’s atmosphere,
where they then combine / react with water and oxygen to produce sulfuric and nitric acid. The
solutions are moved due to wind. Acid rain them falls on the ground, and effects the ecosystems
on Earth. For instance, it can cause water to become toxic to aquatic animals but can also affect
plants as it damages trees' leaves, ruining the nutrients
in the soil and so on.
Scrubbers are machines that can help solve acid rain before it even starts. Since acid rain forms
due to air pollution, scrubbers clean the air and rid it from acidic gases like SO2 and NOx using a
certain liquid (or sometimes solid). There are various types of scrubbers like wet and dry scrubbers,
but they all mainly work in the same way. They just differ as they each use different materials to
filter the air since one uses a solid, and the other uses a liquid. These scrubbers are attached at the
end of a contraption like the end of a coal burning machine. The bottom of the scrubber is filled
with a liquid called an alkaline slurry which is a solution made up of lime / limestone and water
which is contained in a tank, is sucked in through some pumps to an area that has spray nozzles.
The polluted air enters the scrubber using a duct. The slurry is sprayed across tray that has holes,
and the polluted air goes through those holes, and the water absorbs the sulfur dioxide found in the
polluted air, but then the limestone will neutralize the sulfur dioxide. The slurry will drop into its
tank, and finally, the air goes into a filter to ensure that it gets rid of any slurry that is left in it and
the now clean air is finally released. This prosses would be considered neutralization as the
limestone neutralized the sulfur dioxide. Neutralization is when a right amount of an acid and base
mix together to get a neutral pH, and since sulfur dioxide is acidic, and limestone is basic, they
neutralize to get a pH of 7 (or a pH close to 7) and get clean air.
Scrubber location
in a factory

The use of scrubbers beneficial to the environment in many different ways. First of all, it’s a simple
way to help rid the air of any pollutants and helps the issue of air pollution. Second of all, when
the scrubbers are used and they clean air, it will overall increase the quality of the air we are
breathing, and it could lower health risks. And finally, which is the main point of using scrubbers,
it will reduce the rates acid rain. If the air is clean, and there is less air pollution, it is less likely
for acid rain to happen. And if there isnt acid rain, it will benefit the enviroment even more as the
different organisms on Earth will be safe, trees and plants will be able to grow properly and
healthy, and our economy won’t be affected.
Although there are advantages to using scrubbers, there are also disadvantages. Using the
scrubbers doesn’t really impact the enviroment negatively, so there are just some general
disadvantages of using them. For instance, the waste that is created after scrubbing is difficult to
dispose of as it is hazardous. They have to be disposed of very carefully to ensure that no one is
injured by them. Moreover, you usually can’t reuse the alkaline solution used in the scrubber.
In conclusion, acid rain is negatively affecting our environment as it effects the organisms on
Earth. And despite the disadvantages, I think that using scrubbers is a reasonable solution to help
prevent acid rain. We will be able to solve these disadvantages as in the future, scientists can find
solutions to be used in the scrubbers that arnt single use. As well as to take extra safety precautions
to ensure that waste is disposed properly and safely.
MLA Citation:
https://www.howstuffworks.com/about-author.htm. “How Acid Rain Works.” HowStuffWorks, 5
Aug. 2007, science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/atmospheric/acidrain.htm.
“OH, the Rain Is Acid | SiOWfa12: Science in Our World.” Sites.psu.edu,
sites.psu.edu/siowfa12/2012/09/18/oh-the-rain-is-acid/. Accessed 19 Dec. 2022.
“Scrubbers Selection Guide | Engineering360.” Www.globalspec.com,
www.globalspec.com/learnmore/manufacturing_process_equipment/air_quality/scrubber
s.
“Scrubber - Energy Education.” Energyeducation.ca,
energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Scrubber#:~:text=By%20removing%20acidic%20gases
%20from.
“Dry Scrubber - Energy Education.” Energyeducation.ca, 2018,
energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Dry_scrubber.
saVRee 3D. “How Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) Works.” YouTube, 4 Jan. 2020,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz1CRpy9_4s. Accessed 7 Oct. 2020.