What are the mechanisms involved in the production of acid rain from atmospheric nitrogen?

Question

What are the mechanisms involved in the production of acid rain from atmospheric nitrogen?

Answer 1

NO2 is not what causes acid rain . Most of the gasoline has a small amount of sulfa compound in it and when it is burned ,it causes SO2 and the SO2 is what supports acid rain and in nature it is neutralized quickly by dissolving the base part of the soil.

Answer 2

Lightening during thunderstorms lets the nitrogen combine with oxygen to form various oxides (eg NO2)  these dissolve in the rain to produce nitrous and nitric acids.

This is wonderful as it contributed much of the early fertility to this world and allowed the plants to thrive.

Answer 3

The heat of combustion recombines N2 & O2 that comprise 78% & 21% of our atmosphere respectively...

N2 + O2 + heat ==> 2NO (g)

Note how no pollutants are needed to make NO.  Any combustion, even clean combustion with substances like methane, result in NO being created.  

In the presence of UV light (from the sun) NO converts to NO2...

2NO + UV light ==> NO2 (g)  (+ N2)

NO & NO2 are known collectively as "NOx".  Rain can "wash out" some of this NO2...

H2O (rain) + NO2 ==> HNO3 (nitric acid)

This is how nitric acid rain is made, which tends to occur in an "oxidyzing atmosphere" where there are more ozone air pollution problems in areas with heavy inversion layers like Los Angeles.  Back east, they instead tend to have more sulfuric acid rain.