Browsing by Subject "Secondary Organic Aerosol"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Heterogeneous Reactions of Epoxides in Acidic Media(2012-02-14) Lal, VinitaEpoxides have been recently identified as one of the intermediate species in the gas phase oxidation of alkenes. This study investigates the reaction of isoprene oxide and alpha-pinene oxide with sulfuric acid to identify the potential of epoxides as important secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors. The reaction was explored using different methods to understand the factors governing the reaction rate and the types of products formed under different conditions. Uptake experiments of epoxides on sulfuric acid using Ion drift-Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry (ID-CIMS) showed an irreversible uptake of epoxides at room temperature resulting in the formation of less volatile products like diols, organosulfates and acetals. However, at lower temperatures, dehydration of diols and some rearrangement was the preferred reaction pathway resulting in the formation of higher volatility compounds like hydroxy-alkenes and aldehydes. The uptake coefficients of isoprene oxide and alpha-pinene oxide at room temperature using 96% wt acid were found to be 4x10^-2 and 0.8x10^-2, respectively. Spectroscopic study using Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared technique (ATR-FTIR) revealed that for both the epoxides, diols were the major identifiable products at low acid concentrations. At higher acid concentrations, acetal formation was observed in case of isoprene oxide, while organosulfate formation was seen for alpha-pinene oxide. No products were identified under neutral conditions due to slow reaction. Bulk studies using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy conducted at low acid concentrations showed the presence of 1,2- and 1,4-diols as the major products for isoprene oxide, similar to the results from the ATR-FTIR experiments. Additionally, aldehyde formation was also observed. For alpha-pinene oxide, organosulfate formation was observed in all NMR experiments, unlike ATR-FTIR results, where organosulfate formation was observed only at high acid concentrations. These observations can be attributed to the kinetic isotope effect (KIE) due to use of D2SO4/D2O in NMR experiments rather than H2SO4/H2O. The percent yield of organosulfate products was proportional to the amount of available acidic sulfate. The results from this study suggest that acid hydrolysis of epoxides can result in the formation of a wide range of products under different conditions, that can contribute to SOA growth. It proves that epoxides can be efficient SOA precursors for ambient conditions prevailing in an urban atmosphere.Item Observations of Secondary Organic Aerosol Production and Soot Aging under Atmospheric Conditions Using a Novel Environmental Aerosol Chamber(2012-02-14) Glen, CrystalSecondary organic aerosols (SOA) comprise a substantial fraction of the total global aerosol budget. While laboratory studies involving smog chambers have advanced our understanding of the formation mechanisms responsible for SOA, our knowledge of the processes leading to SOA production under ambient gaseous and particulate concentrations as well as the impact these aerosol types have on climate is poorly understood. Although the majority of atmospheric aerosols scatter radiation either directly or indirectly by serving as cloud condensation nuclei, soot is thought to have a significant warming effect through absorption. Like inorganic salts, soot may undergo atmospheric transformation through the vapor condensation of non-volatile gaseous species which will alter both its chemical and physical properties. Typical smog chamber studies investigating the formation and growth of SOA as well as the soot aging process are temporally limited by the initial gaseous concentrations injected into the chamber environment. Furthermore, data interpretation from such experiments is generally restricted to the singular gaseous species under investigation. This dissertation discusses the use of a new aerosol chamber designed to study the formation and growth of SOA and soot aging under atmospherically relevant conditions. The Ambient Aerosol Chamber for Evolution Studies (AACES) was deployed at three field sites where size and hygroscopic growth factor (HGF) of ammonium sulfate seed particles was monitored over time to examine the formation and growth of SOA. Similar studies investigating the soot aging process were also conducted in Houston, TX. It is shown that during the ambient growth of ammonium sulfate seed particles, as particle size increases, hygroscopic growth factors decrease considerably resulting in a significant organic mass fraction in the particle phase concluding an experiment. Observations of soot aging show an increase in measured size, HGF, mass and single scattering albedo. Ambient growth rate comparisons with chamber growth yielded similar trends verifying the use of AACES to study aerosol aging. Based on the results from this study, it is recommended that AACES be employed in future studies involving the production and growth of SOA and soot aging under ambient conditions in order to bridge the gaps in our current scientific knowledge.