nitric acid

nitric acid

HNO₃, this is a corrosive, non-volatile, and inorganic acid. It is a strong acid (dissociates completely in aqueous solution) and is also an oxidizer. In the atmosphere it is formed by the conversion of nitrogen monoxide into nitrogen dioxide, and ultimately into nitric acid:

2NO + O₂ --> 2NO₂

3NO₂ + H₂O --> 2HNO₃ + NO

Nitrogen monoxide in this process most often come from (fossil fuel-based) combustion processes that use atmospheric air (containing 78. 1% N₂) which combines with atmospheric oxygen in those high temperature combustion process (see nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide entries below). Nitric acid is highly water soluble. This solubility with water allows easy removal of nitric acid from the troposphere by atmospheric precipitation. Commonly, this is referred to as acid rain or snow. Nitric acid has a relatively low concentration in the atmosphere but provides an important role in the production of sulfuric acid. It acts as a catalyst in the conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is usually formed within cloud droplets by oxidation of dissolved sulfur dioxide again most often released by fossil fuel combustion.

0 0

Improve it

Add an image

Part of Speech: noun
Synonym(s):
Blossary:
Industry/Domain: Chemistry; Weather
Category: Atmospheric chemistry
Educational Institution: Sam Houston State University
Product:
Acronym-Abbreviation:

Collect to Blossary

Other Languages:

Terms in the News

Billy Morgan

Sports; Snowboarding

The British snowboarder Billy Morgan has landed the sport’s first ever 1800 quadruple cork. The rider, who represented Great Britain in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, was in Livigno, Italy, when he achieved the man-oeuvre. It involves flipping four times, while body also spins with five complete rotations on a sideways or downward-facing axis. The trick ...

Marzieh Afkham

Broadcasting & receiving; News

Marzieh Afkham, who is the country’s first foreign ministry spokeswoman, will head a mission in east Asia, the state news agency reported. It is not clear to which country she will be posted as her appointment has yet to be announced officially. Afkham will only be the second female ambassador Iran has had. Under the last shah’s rule, Mehrangiz Dolatshahi, a ...

Weekly Packet

Language; Online services; Slang; Internet

Weekly Packet or "Paquete Semanal" as it is known in Cuba is a term used by Cubans to describe the information that is gathered from the internet outside of Cuba and saved onto hard drives to be transported into Cuba itself. Weekly Packets are then sold to Cuban's without internet access, allowing them to obtain information just days - and sometimes hours - after it ...

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

Banking; Investment banking

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution established to address the need in Asia for infrastructure development. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia needs $800 billion each year for roads, ports, power plants or other infrastructure projects before 2020. Originally proposed by China in 2013, a signing ...

Spartan

Online services; Internet

Spartan is the codename given to the new Microsoft Windows 10 browser that will replace Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer. The new browser will be built from the ground up and disregard any code from the IE platform. It has a new rendering engine that is built to be compatible with how the web is written today. The name Spartan is named after the ...