scholarly journals Aqueous phase processing of secondary organic aerosols

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 21489-21532 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
T. Tritscher ◽  
A. P. Praplan ◽  
P. F. DeCarlo ◽  
B. Temime-Roussel ◽  
...  

Abstract. The aging of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) by photooxidation in the aqueous phase was experimentally investigated. To simulate multiphase processes, the following experiments were sequentially performed in a smog chamber and in an aqueous phase photoreactor: (1) Gas-phase photooxidation of three different volatile organic compounds (VOC): isoprene, α-pinene, and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene (TMB) in the presence of NOx, leading to the formation of SOA which was subjected to on-line physical and chemical analysis; (2) particle-to-liquid transfer of water soluble species of SOA using filter sampling and aqueous extraction; (3) aqueous-phase photooxidation of the obtained water extracts; and (4) nebulization of the solutions for a repetition of the on-line characterization. SOA concentrations in the chamber measured with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) were higher than 200 μg m−3, as the experiments were conducted under high initial concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and NOx. The aging of SOA through aqueous phase processing was investigated by measuring the physical and chemical properties of the particles online before and after processing using a high resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and a hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer (H-TDMA). It was shown that, after aqueous phase processing, the particles were significantly more hygroscopic, and contained more fragmentation ions at m/z = 44 and less ions at m/z = 43, thus showing a significant impact on SOA aging for the three different precursors. Additionally, the particles were analyzed with a thermal desorption atmospheric pressure ionization aerosol mass spectrometer (TD-API-AMS). Comparing the smog chamber SOA composition and non processed nebulized aqueous extracts with this technique revealed that sampling, extraction and/or nebulization did not significantly impact the chemical composition of SOA formed from isoprene and α-pinene, whereas it affected that formed from TMB. For the two first precursors, the aqueous phase chemical composition of SOA was further investigated using offline measurements, i.e. ion chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (IC-MS) and an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometer (APCI-MS) equipped with high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC-MS). These analyses showed that aqueous phase processing enhanced the formation of some compounds already present in the SOA, thus confirming the aging effect of aqueous phase processes. For isoprene experiments, additional new compounds, likely oligomers, were formed through aqueous phase photooxidation, and their possible origins are discussed.

2000 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 342-343
Author(s):  
H. Coe ◽  
P.I. Williams ◽  
M.W. Gallagher ◽  
K.N. Bower ◽  
T.W. Choularton ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5945-5957 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Heringa ◽  
P. F. DeCarlo ◽  
R. Chirico ◽  
T. Tritscher ◽  
J. Dommen ◽  
...  

Abstract. A series of photo-oxidation smog chamber experiments were performed to investigate the primary emissions and secondary aerosol formation from two different log wood burners and a residential pellet burner under different burning conditions: starting and flaming phase. Emissions were sampled from the chimney and injected into the smog chamber leading to primary organic aerosol (POA) concentrations comparable to ambient levels. The composition of the aerosol was measured by an Aerodyne high resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS) and black carbon (BC) instrumentation. The primary emissions were then exposed to xenon light to initiate photo-chemistry and subsequent secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production. After correcting for wall losses, the average increase in organic matter (OM) concentrations by SOA formation for the starting and flaming phase experiments with the two log wood burners was found to be a factor of 4.1±1.4 after five hours of aging. No SOA formation was observed for the stable burning phase of the pellet burner. The startup emissions of the pellet burner showed an increase in OM concentration by a factor of 3.3. Including the measured SOA formation potential, average emission factors of BC+POA+SOA, calculated from CO2 emission, were found to be in the range of 0.04 to 3.9 g/kg wood for the stable burning pellet burner and an old log wood burner during startup respectively. SOA contributed significantly to the ion C2H4O2+ at mass to charge ratio m/z 60, a commonly used marker for primary emissions of wood burning. This contribution at m/z 60 can overcompensate for the degradation of levoglucosan leading to an overestimation of the contribution of wood burning or biomass burning to the total OM. The primary organic emissions from the three different burners showed a wide range in O:C atomic ratio (0.19−0.60) for the starting and flaming conditions, which also increased during aging. Primary wood burning emissions have a rather low relative contribution at m/z 43 (f 43) to the total organic mass spectrum. The non-oxidized fragment C3H7+ has a considerable contribution at m/z 43 for the fresh OA with an increasing contribution of the oxygenated ion C2H3O+ during aging. After five hours of aging, the OA has a rather low C2H3O+ signal for a given CO2+ fraction, possibly indicating a higher ratio of acid to non-acid oxygenated compounds in wood burning OA compared to other oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA).


Author(s):  
L. Zhao ◽  
C. Yang

Abstract. The chemical composition of aerosols was investigated using regular environmental air quality observation, a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SPAMS 0515) and an ambient ion monitor (URG 9000D) in Xiamen in 2018. The results showed that the annual average mass concentrations of PM2.5 was 22 μm/m3, and concentrations of water-soluble inorganic ions was 9.94 μm/m3 which accounted for 45.2% of PM2.5. SO42−, NO3− and NH4+ were main components of secondary reactions which contributed more than 77 percent of water-soluble inorganic ion concentration. As a coastal city, Cl− and Na+ contributed 13.9 percent of water-soluble inorganic ion concentration. Based on single particle aerosol mass spectrometer analysing, mobile sources emission was the most important sources of particle matter which contributed over 30%.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6101-6116 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Z. Nordin ◽  
A. C. Eriksson ◽  
P. Roldin ◽  
P. T. Nilsson ◽  
J. E. Carlsson ◽  
...  

Abstract. Gasoline vehicles have recently been pointed out as potentially the main source of anthropogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in megacities. However, there is a lack of laboratory studies to systematically investigate SOA formation in real-world exhaust. In this study, SOA formation from pure aromatic precursors, idling and cold start gasoline exhaust from three passenger vehicles (EURO2–EURO4) were investigated with photo-oxidation experiments in a 6 m3 smog chamber. The experiments were carried out down to atmospherically relevant organic aerosol mass concentrations. The characterization instruments included a high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer and a proton transfer mass spectrometer. It was found that gasoline exhaust readily forms SOA with a signature aerosol mass spectrum similar to the oxidized organic aerosol that commonly dominates the organic aerosol mass spectra downwind of urban areas. After a cumulative OH exposure of ~5 × 106 cm−3 h, the formed SOA was 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than the primary OA emissions. The SOA mass spectrum from a relevant mixture of traditional light aromatic precursors gave f43 (mass fraction at m/z = 43), approximately two times higher than to the gasoline SOA. However O : C and H : C ratios were similar for the two cases. Classical C6–C9 light aromatic precursors were responsible for up to 60% of the formed SOA, which is significantly higher than for diesel exhaust. Important candidates for additional precursors are higher-order aromatic compounds such as C10 and C11 light aromatics, naphthalene and methyl-naphthalenes. We conclude that approaches using only light aromatic precursors give an incomplete picture of the magnitude of SOA formation and the SOA composition from gasoline exhaust.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Giordano ◽  
Lars E. Kalnajs ◽  
Anita Avery ◽  
J. Douglas Goetz ◽  
Sean M. Davis ◽  
...  

Abstract. Understanding the sources and evolution of aerosols is crucial for constraining the impacts that aerosols have on a global scale. An unanswered question in atmospheric science is the source and evolution of the Antarctic aerosol population. Previous work over the continent has primarily utilized low temporal resolution aerosol filters to answer questions about the chemical composition of Antarctic aerosols. Bulk aerosol sampling has been useful in identifying seasonal cycles in the aerosol populations, especially in populations that have been attributed to Southern Ocean phytoplankton emissions. However, real-time, high-resolution chemical composition data are necessary to identify the mechanisms and exact timing of changes in the Antarctic aerosol. The recent 2ODIAC (2-Season Ozone Depletion and Interaction with Aerosols Campaign) field campaign saw the first ever deployment of a real-time, high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer (SP-AMS – soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer – or AMS) to the continent. Data obtained from the AMS, and a suite of other aerosol, gas-phase, and meteorological instruments, are presented here. In particular, this paper focuses on the aerosol population over coastal Antarctica and the evolution of that population in austral spring. Results indicate that there exists a sulfate mode in Antarctica that is externally mixed with a mass mode vacuum aerodynamic diameter of 250 nm. Springtime increases in sulfate aerosol are observed and attributed to biogenic sources, in agreement with previous research identifying phytoplankton activity as the source of the aerosol. Furthermore, the total Antarctic aerosol population is shown to undergo three distinct phases during the winter to summer transition. The first phase is dominated by highly aged sulfate particles comprising the majority of the aerosol mass at low wind speed. The second phase, previously unidentified, is the generation of a sub-250 nm aerosol population of unknown composition. The second phase appears as a transitional phase during the extended polar sunrise. The third phase is marked by an increased importance of biogenically derived sulfate to the total aerosol population (photolysis of dimethyl sulfate and methanesulfonic acid (DMS and MSA)). The increased importance of MSA is identified both through the direct, real-time measurement of aerosol MSA and through the use of positive matrix factorization on the sulfur-containing ions in the high-resolution mass-spectral data. Given the importance of sub-250 nm particles, the aforementioned second phase suggests that early austral spring is the season where new particle formation mechanisms are likely to have the largest contribution to the aerosol population in Antarctica.


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