Can Chemical Bonds with Nitrogen and Nitric Oxide Mitigate Pollution?

[ninjaDUDE]

Is this a feasible experiment?

Preliminary Proposal:

Observing the Relative Strength of Chemical Bonds with Nitrogen and Nitric Oxide in Order to Determine the Ideal Compound or Element to Break and Form New Harmless Compounds as to Replace the Existing Pollutant - Nitric oxide

One of the main sources of pollution in the world today is the oxidation of exhaust gases. Many large cities have a photochemical smog which is in the air, giving it a brownish tint. This smog is produced from the exhaust released by cigarettes, automobiles, and power plants. When the nitric oxide is released, it bonds with oxygen thus forming nitrogen dioxide; however intense sunlight makes the compound decompose back into nitric oxide and simultaneously freeing an extremely reactive oxygen atom which may form highly toxic ozone. This project will investigate other possible reactants that would produce a more stable compound (relative to that of nitric oxide) that would be harmless in order to successfully remove its being a threat to the environment. If this is found to be possible then it may be practical to release large amounts of this substance into the air at the proper rate to compensate for the amount of pollutant already existing, and yet to come, into the air. To verify whether a certain element or compound is capable of this and which one is best, one would compare and contrast reaction rates of their bonding with nitrogen and breaking the bonds of a fixed amount of nitric oxide.

 

[ninjaDUDE]

oh, and hi mr. reeves in case you're checking this

 

[chemisttree]

It is soooo feasible that it has already been done.

 

[ninjaDUDE]

It is soooo feasible that it has already been done.

you sure?

 

[thE3nigma]

I think he was being sarcastic, but I could be wrong.

 

[uby]

this sounds similar to australia's approach to their bullfrog problem: release snakes to eat the bullfrogs! of course, snakes then become a problem requiring the release of mongoose (mongeese?), and so on and so forth ...

generally, releasing large amounts of foreign chemicals into the environment, even with the best of intentions, tends to have unintended consequences that are as bad or worse than the original problem.

perhaps a more feasible proposal would be to study which biochemical pathways already in nature can most effectively consume nitric oxide/ozone/other toxic pollutants and study the feasibility of growing large amounts of these plants (or microorganisms) in urban areas. as an example, one proposal being put forth is to designate large areas of land for the growth of bamboo to help absorb excess CO2 in the atmosphere - bamboo grows extremely rapidly, converts with very high efficiency CO2 in its photochemical cycle, and can grow in a huge variety of climates at minimal cost. the bamboo itself is useful as well!

 

[chemisttree]

you sure?

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TGF-4NSMMVV-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=28cf1cdf214fcc518066375e3d8f3c17"

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15608005"

http://www.allbusiness.com/energy-utilities/energy-environment-energy/11408944-1.html"

 

[ninjaDUDE]

thanks guys!

 

[Wellesley]

...as an example, one proposal being put forth is to designate large areas of land for the growth of bamboo to help absorb excess CO2 in the atmosphere - bamboo grows extremely rapidly, converts with very high efficiency CO2 in its photochemical cycle, and can grow in a huge variety of climates at minimal cost. the bamboo itself is useful as well!

The only problem with this is that bamboo is impossible to remove, once it has been planted. It grows better than weeds...literally. Look http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/chatham/ag/homehort/BambooControl.htm" , this guy said he's heard of bamboo breaking through a concrete driveway. I'd say that would be pretty hard to control in an urban environment, although having no privacy would no longer be a problem!