How do CFCs destroy ozone molecules?
How do CFCs destroy ozone molecules?
Once in the atmosphere, CFCs drift slowly upward to the stratosphere, where they are broken up by ultraviolet radiation, releasing chlorine atoms, which are able to destroy ozone molecules.
What is destroyed by the CFCs?
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and halons destroy the earth’s protective ozone layer, which shields the earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV-B) rays generated from the sun. CFCs and HCFCs also warm the lower atmosphere of the earth, changing global climate.
What do CFCs break down in the atmosphere?
Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are a class of gases once widely used as refrigerants and propellants. Although they are both nontoxic and very useful, CFCs damage the ozone layer, the thin layer of Earth’s upper atmosphere that absorbs UV light from the sun.
What does the ozone layer absorbs?
The ozone layer is a thin part of the Earth’s atmosphere that absorbs almost all of the sun’s harmful ultraviolet light.
How ozone is destroyed?
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been identified as the main cause of the destruction to the ozone layer, but there are also compounds containing bromine, other halogen compounds and also nitrogen oxides which cause damage.
How ozone absorbs UV radiation?
Ozone absorbs the short wavelengths in the UVB band, blocking photochemical reactions in organic molecules. Reactive chlorine (Cl) released from CFCs catalyzes the breakdown of ozone to molecular oxygen, which does not absorb UVB radiation.
How is ozone layer being destroyed?
The main causes of ozone depletion and the ozone hole are manufactured chemicals, especially manufactured halocarbon refrigerants, solvents, propellants, and foam-blowing agents (chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), HCFCs, halons), referred to as ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
How CFCs deplete the ozone layer equation?
Cl + O3 = ClO + O2 When the molecule of chlorine monoxide (ClO) meets another molecule of oxygen (O) it breaks up, releasing chlorine (Cl), which can “destroy” another molecule of ozone (O3), creating the catalytic cycle of chlorine.
What molecules destroy the ozone layer?
As a result, a single chlorine or bromine atom can destroy many thousands of ozone molecules before it leaves the stratosphere. In this way, a small amount of reactive chlorine or bromine has a large impact on the ozone layer.
Do CFCs absorb UV radiation?
When a CFC molecule reaches the stratosphere, it eventually absorbs UV radiation, causing it to decompose and release its chlorine atoms.
What effect do CFCs have on ozone production and depletion?
Gaseous CFCs can deplete the ozone layer when they slowly rise into the stratosphere, are broken down by strong ultraviolet radiation, release chlorine atoms, and then react with ozone molecules.
Which destroys the ozone layer most?
The main ozone-depleting gases are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). The Montreal Protocol, which came into force in 1989, lists 56 CFCs and 34 HCFCs, and production of almost all of them is now completely banned.
