NOaH

Introduction:

Annually, the United States releases 1,680 thousand metric tons per square
feet of sulfur dioxide. This is a large amount of sulfur dioxide that is released
into the air, and collectively, the nations of the world produce far more than
this amount. Not only does sulfur pose as a serious threat to the
environment, but nitrogen and carbon do as well, all of which are main
contributors to our degrading air quality. It is difficult to address the issue
because the problem occurs on a worldwide scale, and everyone has a part
in the issue. This raises potential political issues, because it could be difficult
for many nations to come together and come to a consensus on the issue of
the magnitude of greenhouse productions. There are a lot of sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen oxides being produced, but what exactly is the problem?Sulfur
dioxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides are released into the air in the
form of gas. Industrialization, particularly coal power plants, in the last few
decades have given way to the rise in these harmful gases. The majority of
the population in the world use energy in their everyday lifestyle. The power
plants that produces the much needed energy also produce the unneeded
toxic gases. Each of these gases oxidize and chemically change from
harmful gases to acid rain once released from the smokestack. Acid rain is a
growing problem because we, as humans, create too much of it. Acid rain is
dangerous because it causes environmental problems that damages crops,
forests, and soils, and acidifies lakes and streams. We propose to utilize laws
of both chemistry and physics in our design to address this issue. Rather
than attempt to fix the issue using limestone like current scrubbers, that are
gas specific and remove 98% of the specific gas, allowing tons of gas into the
environment.
Abstract:

We propose to neutralize the harmful gases being emitted from coal burning
power plants ; carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides, in a
process we call Scrubbing 2.0. In the atmosphere, these gases oxidize, and
then hydrate to form into what we know as acid rain. We plan to recreate this
process in our product by first, hydrating the gases so they then become
acids. However, the gases will then be condensed into liquids so that they
are able to be neutralized with a basic solution, sodium hydroxide. The acid
will drip into a chamber that contains the gaseous base, after this reaction
the precipitate, water and sodium sulfate, will be formed. The combined
mass of this newly neutralized acid, activates a sensor that in turn activates
a heat source, allowing the neutralized acid to escape into our air as water
vapor.This proposed solution is innovative because it expands on the
simplistic nature of conventional scrubbers. Current scrubbers tackle sulfur
oxides using limestone, but not all of the sulfur oxides are captured at once

or effectively. Our method is effective because we provide a solution to

capture all of the acid forming gases that are emitted from coal burning
power plants.

Purpose:Finding an effective way to neutralize a pollutant gas that leads to acid

rain.
Problem Statement:How do the reactants NaHSO3 (s) and HCl
H2SO3 (aq) after they have produced SO2 (g)?

(aq)

affect the pH of

Hypothesis:If NaHSO3 (s) and HCl (aq) are reacted together, they form SO2 (g) that will
make the acidic solution H2SO3 (aq) with a pH of about 5 because it is a weak acid.
Materials:
Solid Sodium Bisulfite NaHSO3 (26.015 grams)
Hydrochloric Acid HCl (50mL 2M)
pH indicator
2 Liters of Water
1 125mL Erlenmeyer Flask
Medium Sized Balloon
Scupula
Digital Beam Balance with 0.001 precision
Volumetric Pipette
Weighing Paper
1 80mL Beaker
1 Large Plastic Bin with a lid
Funnel
Rubber Band
Variables
Independent: SO2 Production
Dependent: pH of Resulting Acidic Solution
Controlled Variables:
1. Amount of water used
2. Amount of reactants used
3. Temperature of water
4. Time of gas collection
EXPERIMENT I
Procedure:
Using weighing paper and a scapula, measure 26.015 grams of Sodium Bisulfitite on
a digital beam balance, and dispense it into the 80mL beaker.

Using a volumetric pipette, measure 50ml of 2M of HCl solution.

Dispense the HCl solution from the volumetric pipette into the Erlenmeyer flask,
using a plastic funnel to assist.
Quickly pour the solid Sodium Bisulfite in the beaker into the Erlenmeyer flask and
seal the top with a balloon and wrap a rubber band around the mouth of the flask.
Pour the 2 Liters of water into the large plastic bin. Measure the pH of the water
and record into the data table.
Once 10 minutes has elapsed, carefully remove the balloon from the flask, ensuring
that no gas escapes.
Submerge the balloon into the bin of water, and release the gas into the water.
After 5 minutes, measure and record the pH of the resulting solution.

Formulaic Outline:
NaaSO3 (s) + HCl (aq) SO2 (s)
NaaSO3 (s): 26.015 grams
HCl (aq): 50 ml 2 M
SO2 (s): .1 mole
SO2 (g) + H2O (l) H2SO3 (aq)
SO2 (g): .1 mole
H2O (l): 2 Liters
H2SO3 (aq): .1 mole; .05 M

EXPERIMENT II
Problem Statement:How does reacting NaOH
solution when reacted with H2SO3 (aq)?

(s)

affect the pH of the resulting

Hypothesis:If 8 grams of NaOH(s) is reacted with 50ml 2M H2SO3 (aq), then the
resulting pH of the solution will be 7 because the stoichiometric amounts were
balanced.
Materials:
Solid Sodium Hydroxide NaOH (8 grams)
Sulfurous Acid H2SO3 (.1 mole)
1 large bin with lid
pH indicator
Procedure:

Using a watch glass and a scapula, measure 8 grams of NaOH, and dispense it into
an 80ml graduated cylinder.
Quickly pour the NaOH into the large bin containing H 2SO3 from Experiment I and
cover with the lid.
After 5 minutes has elapsed, measure the pH of the resulting solution and record
into the data table.
If the pH of the resulting solution is not 7, add NaOH in .5 gram increments using
the same techniques described above until the solution reaches this pH.

Formulaic Outline:
H2SO3 (aq) + 2 NaOH (s) Na2SO3 (aq) + 2 H2O
H2SO3 (aq): .1 mole; .05 M
2 NaOH (s): .2 moles; 8 grams
Na2SO3 (aq): .1 mole; 12.604 grams
2 H2O (l): .2 moles; 3.604 grams

(l)

Data From Experiment II:

pH of Solution
Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

pH Water

7.2

7.3

pH Water and
Base

3.6

3.4

pH Acid and
Base

12

11.7

Observations:
The initial moment when the sodium bisulfite reacted with the
hydrochloric acid, the temperature of the solution formed was cold; very
cold. The overall reaction was endothermic meaning the energy needed to
break the bonds of the individual molecules was greater than the energy
needed to form bonds. The clear color of the hydrochloric acid also turned
to neon green once the sodium sulfite was added to the solution. The
production of the SO2 gas commenced immediately after adding the
sodium bisulfite, and some gas may have escaped before securing the
balloon around the Erlenmeyer flask. The gas filled the balloon quickly,
suggesting that the rate of reaction was fast. The overall mass of the
solution increased when the sodium bisulfite was added to. In the second
experiment, the solid sodium bisulfite was difficult to fully dissolve into
the acidic solution and took a few shakes of the bin for the solid to
dissolve in solution. Over the course of a few days, the once neon green

solution has turned clear, and appears to have the same viscosity as
water.
Analysis: In the first trial, we measured the PH of the distilled water,
distilled water and gaseous solution of sulfur dioxide, and the acid H 2SO3
after we titrated it with the base NaOH. The initial PH of the water in trial
1 was 8. After we created Sulfur dioxide gas by combining 8 grams of solid
sodium bisulfite and 50 ml of 2M of aqueous HCl to yield H 2SO3 (sulfuric
acid) and the salt NaCl. After the gas was collected in a balloon we
released it into 2L of distilled water. We then remeasured the PH with the
PH indicator and it read that the PH was 4. This is a strong acid. Following
this we added 8 grams of the base NaOH to the acidified solution and
tested the PH by using the PH indicator; the PH test indicated that the PH
of the now titrated solution was a PH of 8. Similar results can be said for
trial 2 and trial 3. In trial 2 the initial PH of the distilled water was 7.2,
neutral, after the water was acidified the PH dropped to 3.6, a strong
acid, we then titrated it with the base NaOH and the PH rose to 9, alkaline
a.k.a a basic solution. In our final trial, trial 3, the initial PH of the distilled
water was 7.3, neutral. When combined with gaseous sulfur dioxide the ph
dropped to 3.4, a strong acid, then when we titrated it with the base NaOH
and the PH rose to 11.7, alkaline.

Conclusion:
Reflecting on our data while keeping our hypothesis in mind we can conclude
that our data did not support our hypothesis that, If 8 grams of NaOH (s) is reacted
with 50 ml 2M H2SO3 (aq), then the resulting pH of the solution will be 7 because the
stoichiometric amounts were balanced.
While our data did not come out exactly as we had calculated our data
is not useless. Our numbers may not have matched up with our specific values in
our hypothesis for pH levels but it essentially did what we were hoping it would do.
This being that our NaOH solution would change the pH of the solution, which it did
do. As a result of this we now know that our theory worked. However we would like
to run more tests on more gases with our NaOH solution to see if our theory works
for multiple gases.
Moving forward it is important that we run these tests on the other harmful
gases that are produced from the coal burning power plants.
TBFbn
Are you sure? What if we dont fin- nvm the office could print it
do you have a table cloth at home? hm ok thank you!
yes positive were gonna be stayin after for 2 hours
idk where my mom keeps them we don't really use them ok see u tomorrow np

DATA
data table: pH of Solution
Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

pH Water

7.2

7.3

pH Water and
Base

3.6

3.4

pH Acid and
Base

12

11.7

graph: