Question

Name the chemicals which are used in refrigerators and air conditioners and damage the ozone layer when released in the air.

Answer 1

Ozone layer

• Ozone layer is found in the stratosphere, lying around 15 to 30 km above from the Earth's crust.
• Ozone layer protects the earth's surface from harmful UV rays of the sun.
• Ozone is formed through the interaction of solar ultraviolet radiation with molecular oxygen.

Chemicals that damages Ozone

• The chemicals used in refrigerators and air conditioners damages the ozone layer when released in the air, are CFCs or Chlorofluorocarbons.
• CFCs are made up of chlorine, fluorine and carbon elements.
• When ultraviolet light waves (UV) strike CFC molecules in the atmosphere, the carbon-chlorine bond breaks and a chlorine atom is produced.
• The chlorine atom then reacts with an ozone (O₃) molecule and breaks and damages the ozone layer.

CFCs damages ozone layer to a great extend.