Atmospheric degradation of volatile organic compounds

A model for the photochemistry of the global troposphere constrained by observed concentrations of H2O, O3, CO, CH4, NO, NO2, and HNO3 is presented. Data for NO and NO2 are insufficient to define the global distribution of these gases but are nonetheless useful in limiting several of the more uncertain parameters of the model. Concentrations of OH, HO2, H2O2, NO, NO2, NO3, N2O5, HNO2, HO2NO2, CH3O2, CH3OOH, CH2O, and CH3CCl3 are calculated as functions of altitude, latitude, and season. Results imply that the source for nitrogen oxides in the remote troposphere is geographically dispersed and surprisingly small, less than 107 tons N yr−1. Global sources for CO and CH4 are 1.5 × 109 tons C yr−1 and 4.5 × 108 tons C yr−1, respectively. Carbon monoxide is derived from combustion of fossil fuel (15%) and oxidation of atmospheric CH4 (25%), with the balance from burning of vegetation and oxidation of biospheric hydrocarbons. Production of CO in the northern hemisphere exceeds that in the southern hemisphere by about a factor of 2. Industrial and agricultural activities provide approximately half the global source of CO. Oxidation of CO and CH4 provides sources of tropospheric O3 similar in magnitude to loss by in situ photochemistry. Observations of CH3CCl3 could offer an important check of the tropospheric model and results shown here suggest that computed concentrations of OH should be reliable within a factor of 2. A more definitive test requires better definition of release rates for CH3CCl3 and improved measurements for its distribution in the atmosphere.

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Tropospheric chemistry: A global perspective

This overview compiles the actual knowledge of the biogenic emissions of some volatile organic compounds (VOCs), i.e., isoprene, terpenes, alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, esters, carbonyls, and acids. We discuss VOC biosynthesis, emission inventories, relations between emission and plant physiology as well as temperature and radiation, and ecophysiological functions. For isoprene and monoterpenes, an extended summary of standard emission factors, with data related to the plant genus and species, is included. The data compilation shows that we have quite a substantial knowledge of the emission of isoprene and monoterpenes, including emission rates, emission regulation, and biosynthesis. The situation is worse in the case of numerous other compounds (other VOCs or OVOCs) being emitted by the biosphere. This is reflected in the insufficient knowledge of emission rates and biological functions. Except for the terpenoids, only a limited number of studies of OVOCs are available; data are summarized for alkanes, alkenes, carbonyls, alcohols, acids, and esters. In addition to closing these gaps of knowledge, one of the major objectives for future VOC research is improving our knowledge of the fate of organic carbon in the atmosphere, ending up in oxidation products and/or as aerosol particles.

Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC): An Overview on Emission, Physiology and Ecology

. The last decade has seen tremendous advances in atmospheric aerosol particle research that is often performed in the context of climate and global change science. Biomass burning, one of the largest sources of accumulation mode particles globally, has been closely studied for its radiative, geochemical, and dynamic impacts. These studies have taken many forms including laboratory burns, in situ experiments, remote sensing, and modeling. While the differing perspectives of these studies have ultimately improved our qualitative understanding of biomass-burning issues, the varied nature of the work make inter-comparisons and resolutions of some specific issues difficult. In short, the literature base has become a milieu of small pieces of the biomass-burning puzzle. This manuscript, the second part of four, examines the properties of biomass-burning particle emissions. Here we review and discuss the literature concerning the measurement of smoke particle size, chemistry, thermodynamic properties, and emission factors. Where appropriate, critiques of measurement techniques are presented. We show that very large differences in measured particle properties have appeared in the literature, in particular with regards to particle carbon budgets. We investigate emissions uncertainties using scale analyses, which shows that while emission factors for grass and brush are relatively well known, very large uncertainties still exist in emission factors of boreal, temperate and some tropical forests. Based on an uncertainty analysis of the community data set of biomass burning measurements, we present simplified models for particle size and emission factors. We close this review paper with a discussion of the community experimental data, point to lapses in the data set, and prioritize future research topics.

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A review of biomass burning emissions part III: intensive optical properties of biomass burning particles

https://www.engr.colostate.edu/~marchese/combustion10/3.pdf

A Comprehensive Modeling Study of iso-Octane Oxidation

Pressure and temperature dependence of amino radical recombination rate constant

The phenoxy radical: UV spectrum and kinetics of gas-phase reactions with itself and with oxygen

The equilibrium CCl{sub 3} + O{sub 2} {r reversible} CCl{sub 3}O{sub 2} has been studied experimentally between 351 and 461 K, the temperature range in which it could be clearly observed and characterized. Equilibrium constants were measured as a function of temperature at two laboratories using different techniques and different experimental conditions. In both investigations, CCl{sub 3} was produced by pulsed UV photolysis, and CCl{sub 3} relaxation to equilibrium, in the presence of O{sub 2}, was monitored in time-resolved experiments, using either photoionization mass spectrometry or UV absorption spectrometry. The results indicate a considerable weakening of the CH{sub 3}-O{sub 2} bond caused by chlorine substitution on the CH{sub 3} group, from 32.4 kcal mol{sup {minus}1} (DH{degree}{sub 298}(CH{sub 3}-O{sub 2})) to 19.9 kcal mol{sup {minus}1} (DH{degree}{sub 298}(CCl{sub 3}-O{sub 2})).

Kinetics and thermochemistry of the equilibrium trichloromethyl radical + oxygen .dblarw. peroxotrichloromethane

The forward rate constant, k1, and the equilibrium constant, Kp, for the association reaction of the benzyl radical with oxygen have been determined. The rate constant k1 was measured as a function of temperature (between 298 and 398 K) and pressure (at 20 and 760 torr of N2) by two different techniques, argon-lamp flash photolysis and excimer-laser flash photolysis, both of which employed UV absorption spectroscopy (at 253 nm and 305 nm, respectively) to monitor the benzyl radical concentration. Over the range of conditions studied, we find that the reaction is independent of pressure and is almost independent of temperature, which is in accord with two early studies of the reaction but in apparent disagreement with more recent work. For our results in 760 torr of N2 and for 298 < T/K < 398, a linear least-squares fitting of the data yield the expression: k1 = (7.6 ± 2.4) × 10−13 exp[(190 ± 160)K/T] cm3 molecule−1 s−1. With the flash-photolysis technique, we determined Kp over the temperature range 398–525 K. Experimental values were analyzed alone and combined with theoretically determined entropy values of the benzyl and benzylperoxy radicals to determine the enthalpy of reaction: ΔH = (−91.4 ± 4) kJ mol−1. Previous work on the benzyl radical enthalpy of formation allows us to calculate ΔH°f 298 (Benzylperoxy) = (117 ± 6) kJ mol−1. In addition, we carried out an RRKM calculation of k1 using as constraints the thermodynamic information gained by the study of Kp. We find that all the studies of the association reaction are in good agreement once a fall-off effect is taken into account for the most recent work conducted at pressures near 1 torr of helium. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Robert Lesclaux

Papers

Pressure and temperature dependence of amino radical recombination rate constant

The phenoxy radical: UV spectrum and kinetics of gas-phase reactions with itself and with oxygen

Kinetics and thermochemistry of the equilibrium trichloromethyl radical + oxygen .dblarw. peroxotrichloromethane

Study of the kinetics and equilibrium of the benzyl‐radical association reaction with molecular oxygen

UV absorption spectra of HO2 and CH3O2 radicals and the kinetics of their mutual reactions at 298 K