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  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2004  > February  >
In the Laboratory
A Simulation of the Interaction of Acid Rain with Soil Minerals
Amber L. Schilling, Kenneth R. Hess, Phyllis A. Leber, and Claude H. Yoder
Department of Chemistry, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA 17604-3003

Cover
February 2004
Vol. 81 No. 2
p. 246

Abstract
The environmental issue of acid rain is incorporated into a five-part laboratory project that employs quantitative analytical laboratory techniques, such as acid–base titrations and gravimetric analysis of aqueous cations. The student observes the effectiveness of soil at consuming excess acidity in rainwater and observes the mobilization of Al3+ and Ca2+ from these interactions. The first four parts of the project involve passing a sulfuric acid solution through a column containing aluminum hydroxide, limestone, montmorillonite clay, or synthetic zeolites (molecular sieves). After its passage through the column, the acid solution is analyzed by titration to determine the resulting acidity and by precipitation of the aqueous Al3+ or Ca2+ with 8-hydroxyquinoline. In the fifth part of the project, an aluminum sulfate solution is passed through a column containing molecular sieves to observe the absorption of Al3+ once it has been mobilized from minerals by acid rain. The five-part project can be treated as an individual student project to be completed during multiple consecutive lab sessions, or divided up as a group or class project that can be completed during one or two lab periods.
Supplement
Instructions for the students and notes for the instructor are available.
*  Contents JCE2004p0246W.doc (Microsoft Word)
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More Information
*  Citation
Schilling, Amber L.; Hess, Kenneth R.; Leber, Phyllis A.; Yoder, Claude H. J. Chem. Educ. 2004 81 246.
*  Keywords
Aluminum; Analytical Chemistry; Calcium; Clays / Clay Chemistry; Environmental Chemistry; General Chemistry; Green Chemistry; Laboratory Instruction; Quantitative Analysis
*  History
Created:
Last Updated:
January 5, 2004
February 25, 2005
  Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues > 2004  > February  > Page 246


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