Environmental Concerns of Nitration

When speaking of organic chemistry, nitration is introduced as a class of chemical reactions that introduces a nitro compound into an organic compound. The process of nitration after its introduction into an organic compound creates acidic vapours which prove to be hazardous to our environment.

Given that nitration is used for the creation of explosives, it is, however, of much significance to the industrial world as a chemical intermediary and precursory.

The term ‘nitration’ is also often used incorrectly in the reaction process of forming nitrate esters forming between nitric acid and alcohol derivatives. What makes the usage of the term nitration incorrect is the resulting structure. 

Environmental Concerns 

Environmental problems which are caused by the process of nitration, keeping the obvious explosive properties aside are of key importance if we want to improve the quality of life our offsprings would have to tolerate. 

These environmental problems occur because of the formation of acidic vapours which largely come from nitric acid and sulphuric acid. These vapours are formed from the excessive use of an agent which carries the nitration reaction to completion.

Another such threat while performing nitration reactions is the potential for forming Volatile Organic Compounds. Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs are not only harmful to our environment, but also to our health.

Volatile Organic Compounds are known to affect our lungs. If consumed, VOCs can cause breathing problems. Irritation in eyes, throat and nose. If ingested they can cause nausea, and damage our central nervous system and other organs as well.

In the field of water pollutants, the nitration process of the aromatic feedstock acts as a huge water pollutant. Aromatic Nitration has been an integral part of industrial chemical engineering. Nitro-aromatic products are widely used in the manufacture of synthetic dyestuffs and other chemicals. They are also used in making explosives, pharmaceutical products, intermediaries and a variety of solvents.

Treating these Environmental Hazards

The aromatic feedstocks which come into formation after the process of nitration where one agent reacts heavily on the other thus replacing its organic compound by itself produce large amounts of waste mixed with acid in the water which then requires various treatments such as neutralisation, disposal and distillation and reuse. 

Distillation is a process that involves the conversion of a liquid into vapour which is then condensed back to its liquid form with the aim of removing impurities it contains.

The various products and bi-products produced by the process of nitration are often slow to biodegrade (provided they are biodegradable). They are also very hazardous in nature, this may bring in the need for additional treatments in order to bring the toxicity level down.

The methods of extraction may be required to remove the waste collected in the water bodies. Some of the extraction techniques that can be used are:

• Maceration
• Percolation
• Decoction
• Reflux Extraction
• Pressurised Liquid Extraction

These methods help purify water from the nitrous waste and acidic compounds it amalgamates within itself after the dreadful process of nitration. 

Precautions For Safety

The nitration process involves the nitro group compounds (one or multi) to replace the Hydrogen atoms in an organic compound. The by-products of these reactions are therefore not possible to avoid. This is because of the high temperatures of the reaction and the high oxidising environment.

As a safety measure, nitration reactions can take place with aliphatic compounds. Aliphatic compounds are compounds of the organic class. These compounds form nonaromatic structures by a connection through single, double or triple bonds. These compounds, therefore, produce fewer nitroparaffin derivatives.

Conclusion

The process of nitration is the replacement of an organic compound with one or more nitro compounds. Reactions which take place by nitration often produce an acidic vapour or acidic waste which then gets mixed with water. Henceforth, these reactions are extremely harmful to our environment. 

However, these nitration processes are of great significance for the industrial world. These processes not only help in producing explosives but also come in use as intermediaries or precursors.

Therefore, it is very difficult to eliminate these processes entirely. The acidic waste and vapours are therefore treated in water treatment plants across the globe. This is done with the objective of making water usable again and thus conserving an essential commodity of our environment.