What Is Nitrogen Dioxide? What Are the Health Effects? Nitrogen dioxide causes a range of harmful effects on the lungs, including: Increased inflammation of the airways; Worsened cough and wheezing; Reduced lung function; Increased asthma attacks; and Greater likelihood of emergency department and hospital admissions. EPA, Make a Donation Your tax-deductible donation funds lung disease and lung cancer research, new treatments, lung health education, and more.
Make a Donation. Sign Up for Email Updates Join over , people who receive the latest news about lung health, including COVID, research, air quality, inspiring stories and resources. Please enter a valid email address. Zip Code. A series of chemical reactions transform Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs into substances that combine with nitrogen dioxide to produce PAN Peroxyacytyl nitrate , yet another element in smog.
Nitrogen dioxide in the air also reacts with water vapor to form nitric acid, one of the types of acid in acid rain. Nitrogen dioxide concentration in unpolluted air is around 10 parts per billion ppb. In smog, the concentration rises twenty-fold to about ppb. Although nitrogen oxides have gained dubious distinction as pollutants, they are also used beneficially in some industrial processes. Nitric oxide is manufactured on a large scale, and is subsequently used to make nitric acid HNO 3.
To create nitric oxide for industrial uses, chemists combine ammonia NH 3 with oxygen O 2 , releasing water H 2 O as a byproduct. Please click here to see any active alerts. Nitrogen Dioxide NO 2 is one of a group of highly reactive gases known as oxides of nitrogen or nitrogen oxides NO x. Other nitrogen oxides include nitrous acid and nitric acid.
NO 2 is used as the indicator for the larger group of nitrogen oxides. NO 2 primarily gets in the air from the burning of fuel. NO 2 forms from emissions from cars, trucks and buses, power plants, and off-road equipment. How cool is that! At room temperature, nitrogen is a very inactive gas — a couch potato, you might say. But sparks can fly between these two. In the presence of lightning or a spark, nitrogen combines with oxygen to form several different oxides.
Nitrogen monoxide or nitric oxide NO and nitrogen dioxide NO 2 are the most abundant. NO x molecules have nitrogen and oxygen atoms in them. Nitrogen oxides are produced from the reaction of nitrogen and oxygen gases in the air during combustion, especially at high temperatures. At normal temperatures, oxygen and nitrogen gases do not react together.
Nitrogen oxides are produced naturally from a lightning strike. A bolt of lightning can reach temperatures of roughly 30, kelvins 53, degrees Fahrenheit. How many times does lighting strike the earth you might ask? In large cities, nitrogen oxides are produced from fuel combustion in mobile and stationary sources.
The combustion of gasoline in automobiles emit nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere mobile source. Stationary emissions come from coal fired power plants, electric power plant boilers. Natural sources: Mainly thunderstorms due to the extreme heat of lightning. Forest fire is another natural source. Biogenic: Agricultural fertilization and the use of nitrogen fixing plants through nitrogen fixation by microorganisms.
Although naturally produced nitrogen oxides outweigh man-made emissions, NOx from natural sources are typically found at altitudes higher than 5km.
Nitrogen oxides NO x react to form smog and acid rain. NO x reacts with ammonia, moisture and other compounds to form nitric acid vapour and related particles.
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