Why Does Acid Rain Affect Granite More Than Limestone

Or if there is more acid two hydrogen ions will.

Why does acid rain affect granite more than limestone.

Over time the acid rain will round the edges of statues and pit the flat surfaces of the rock. The chemicals fall to earth as acid rain. Acid rain is rain that has an excess of protons h present usually as a result of pollutants in the air. Another common reaction is the production of gypsum on the surface of the limestone that comes in contact with sulfuric acid.

One of the most noticeable effects of acid rain is on limestone blocks that are part of a building or statue. Sulphur dioxide a byproduct of industrial development and burning fossil fuels combines with nitrogen oxide an air pollutant created by car exhaust furnaces boilers and engines. Acid precipitation affects stone primarily in two ways. When sulfurous sulfuric and nitric acids in polluted air react with the calcite in marble and limestone the calcite dissolves.

In exposed areas of buildings and statues we see roughened surfaces removal of material and loss of carved details. Because surface waters are in equilibrium with atmospheric carbon dioxide there is a constant concentration of carbonic acid h2co3 in the water. Acid rain is created by air pollutants. How does acid precipitation affect marble and limestone buildings.

When sulfurous sulfuric and nitric acids in polluted air and rain react with the calcite in marble and limestone the calcite dissolves. Granite has little or no effect to acid rain whilst limestone is slowly eroded therefore granite lasts longer. Limestone is mostly made up of the mineral calcium carbonate caco3. This is not very soluble so rocks don t dissolve very quickly.

Acid rain is slowly destroying once resistant granite. Limestone is a rock that is composed of calcium carbonate caco3. Stone surface material may be lost all over or only in spots that are more reactive.