Acid rain: the impact of local sources

Technical Report · Mon Nov 24 04:00:00 EST 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6720374· OSTI ID:6720374

Spaite, P; Esposito, M P; Szabo, M F; Devitt, T W

It has been assumed that acid rain is predominantly a problem of long-range transport of pollutants from large fossil fuel combustion sources, namely coal-fired utilities. However, close examination of fuel use information and source emission characteristics in the Adirondacks, Florida, and California suggests that local oil burning and automotive sources may be major contributors to the occurrence of acid rain in these areas. This report describes the possible role of local combustion sources in the production of acid rain, discusses the implications of the findings, and their relevance to alternative control strategies for acid rain. Oil-fired boilers, especially the smaller commercial, industrial, and residential units, produce at least 3 to 10 times as much primary sulfate per unit of sulfur content as coal-fired units. Moreover, oil-fired units emit comparatively large quantities of catalytic compounds capable of rapidly converting still more sulfur oxide to sulfate in the atmosphere. Thus, in areas where large quantities of oil are burned, the direct impact from locally generated sulfates may equal or even exceed that produced by imported sulfates derived from distant coal-burning sources. Fuel consumption data show that large quantities of oil are being consumed in areas experiencing acid rain. Forty percent of the residual and 36 percent of the distillate oil burned in the United States is consumed in the eight-state area surrounding the Adirondacks. California is the next largest oil-consuming area and Florida is third. Nitric acid is responsible for about 30 percent of rainfall acidity in the Northeast and Florida, and for about 30 to 75 percent of the rainfall acidity in California.

• Research Organization: PEDCO-Environmental, Inc., Cincinnati, OH (USA); Spaite (Paul W.) Co., Cincinnati, OH (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC21-80MC14787
• OSTI ID: 6720374
• Report Number(s): DOE/METC/14787-103
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
520200 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACID RAIN
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
BOILERS
CALIFORNIA
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
CORRELATIONS
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DISTANCE
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FLORIDA
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL OILS
FUELS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
INORGANIC ACIDS
LIQUID FUELS
MASS TRANSFER
MID-ATLANTIC REGION
NEW YORK
NITRIC ACID
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
POLLUTION SOURCES
RAIN
SOUTHEAST REGION
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
SULFURIC ACID
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
WESTERN REGION