Chemical Elements In The Environment

How large is the natural variation in concentration of the various elements in different media? How do the oft-cited "World average concentrations" in different media compare with actual analytical data? How low a detection limit do I need to attain if I want to analyse for an element in soils, sediments, water or plants? All these questions and many more can be answered by using this unique reference book. It collates data on the most important properties and uses of all naturally occurring chemical elements. It combines these with data obtained from actual analyses of different sample media (soil, stream sediment, stream water, ground water, plants, human body fluids). This combination of facts and actual data makes this book suitable for learning and teaching applied geochemistry as well.

The basics of environmental chemistry and a toolbox for solving problems Elements of Environmental Chemistry uses real-world examples to help readers master the quantitative aspects of environmental chemistry. Complex environmental issues are presented in simple terms to help readers grasp the basics and solve relevant problems. Topics covered include: steady- and non-steady-state modeling, chemical kinetics, stratospheric ozone, photochemical smog, the greenhouse effect, carbonate equilibria, the application of partition coefficients, pesticides, and toxic metals. Numerous sample problems help readers apply their skills. An interactive textbook for students, this is also a great refresher course for practitioners. A solutions manual is available for Academic Adopters. Please click the solutions manual link on the top left side of this page to request the manual.

A practical approach to environmental chemistry, Elements of Environmental Chemistry, 3rd Edition provides readers with the fundamentals of environmental chemistry and a toolbox for putting them into practice. This is a concise, accessible, and hands-on volume designed for students and professionals working in the chemical and environmental sciences. The 3rd Edition has been completely revised and rearranged. The first chapter on tool skills has been expanded to include thermodynamic considerations and measurement issues. The former chapter on the partitioning of organic compounds has been expanded to cover the fates of organic compounds, with an emphasis on developing the reader's chemical intuition for predicting a chemical's fate based on structure. The material on lead, mercury, pesticides, PCBs, dioxins, and flame retardants has been expanded and combined into the last chapter and supplemented with more references to the literature. The problem sets have been extended and now include over 130 problems, some of which can be solved using Excel.

This volume discusses major areas of primary concern for the understanding of the complexity associated with ecological trace element research. These include sources and fates of trace elements; analytical techniques; and the distribution of trace elements in biota and soil and sediment reservoirs. Case studies, field work and laboratory studies intensively discussed in this volume are useful to enhance our knowledge about processes related to the biological response of trace metal stress under realistic environmental conditions.

This beautifully written book is a study of the physical relationship between the inanimate environment and living organisms. It describes how the evolution of both has been interactive and interdependent; the authors show that this can be explained in terms of the properties of the chemical elements and their compounds. The book discusses the physical and chemical balances between the animate and inanimate worlds, with kinetic and thermodynamic principles given to support this analysis. These principles are applied to both organic and inorganic chemical systems to provide a basis for understanding the evolution of life in terms of the interaction of both types of chemistry within ever more complex organizations. The book concludes with an examination of an intriguing problem: the long-term consequences of our manufacture and exploitation of chemicals. This intervention may be altering the symbiotic relationship between life and the environment, an issue of great concern to ecologists and biologists as well as those who study chemistry.

Considerable recent research has focused on the topic of chemical speciation in the environment. It is increasingly realised that the distribution, mobility and biological availability of chemical elements depend not simply on their concentrations but, critically, on the forms in which they occur in natural systems. Continuing developments in analytical chemistry have made speciation practicable even where analytes are present at trace levels (as is often the case in natural samples). In the second edition of this book, the expertise of scientists involved in chemical speciation in various fields have been brought together to provide an overview of the current status of speciation science and indicate how the field may develop in the future.

Chemistry of the Environment provides a basic level of chemical knowledge on the principles of environmental chemistry and a general understanding of environmental problems. Organized into 17 chapters, this book is developed from the notes for a course in “Chemistry of the Environment for juniors, seniors, and graduate students in Science and Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The opening chapters of this book discuss the problems related to waste disposal and energy production and the principles of atmospheric circulation and photochemical reactions, with an emphasis on the effects of human activities on the atmosphere and climate. Considerable chapters are devoted to various industries, including petroleum chlorinated hydrocarbons, pesticides, heavy metals, and nuclear chemistry, and the contributions of these industries to environmental problems. General topics on both natural and technological processes that impinge on the environment are explored. Other chapters discuss the principles of atmospheric photochemistry and the natural and artificial photochemical processes occurring in the biosphere. This book also examines the chemistry of some of the most important elements and how they relate to the properties of the environment and to biological effects. The concluding chapter provides insights into the nature, as well as the sources and the hazards of ionizing radiation in the environment, with particular emphasis on naturally occurring and artificial nuclear sources of ionizing radiation. This book is of great benefit to environmental chemists and researchers, biochemists, and elementary organic chemists.