CO2, CH4 : Greenhouse gases?
SOx, NOx : Acid Rain?
H2S: Rotten egg smell?
These gases are a few of the various gaseous emissions from a chemical industry. But, are these really bad? They are totally so not green, right? Not really. If you can recall, green is a relative word, it is site-specific. Areas that are majorly covered by trees and plants can actually benefit from acid rains. So, does that means we move industries to these areas? I don’t think that is a good idea either but if we talk about transport as a source of pollution in such areas, we can say it isn’t a brilliant idea to concentrate on this to make it greener. It may well be better to make it greener in cities where acid rains can cause problems. Growing forests (young) absorb more CO2 than matured forests. My professor said that buses travelling through Sahyadri (aka Western Ghats) do not need Euro4 diesel, the forests need sulfur, unlike Mumbai which is densely populated.
More recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura Oil Refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives. The pollution has been turning the Taj Mahal yellow. To help control the pollution, the Indian government has set up the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), a 10,400-square-kilometre (4,000 sq mi) area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place.
Did you know? There are no sulphur mines in India. India imports sulphur. Did you also know? You would need special lubricants if you totally remove sulphur from diesel. Why? Because even though sulphur is not a lubricant by itself, it can combine with the nickel content in many metal alloys to form a low melting point eutectic alloy that can increase lubricity.
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Thanks to Prof. V. V. Mahajani for his enlightening lectures!
Last Edited: January 13 2018
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