PRODUCTION OF SECONDARY ORGANIC AEROSOL FROM MULTIPHASE TERPENE PHOTOOXIDATION
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of this research is to improve our quantitative and mechanistic understanding of the mechanisms for production of secondary organic aerosol, an important type of air pollutant, from the atmospheric oxidation of α- and β-pinene. We aim to determine product yields for major gas phase OH- and O3-induced oxidation products with much smaller uncertainty bounds than have previously been reported, thereby improving the capability of air quality models that simulate aerosol production from BVOCs. We will study the oligomerization of aerosol phase species, and study the extent to which photochemistry in aerosols and in cloud water contributes to secondary organic aerosol production. A main hypothesis for this study is thus:
Aerosol can age both as a result of polymerization chemistry, but also
because of aerosol-phase photochemistry, and this processing influences
the distribution of species between the gas and aerosol phase.
The information produced from the linked laboratory and field studies will be used to develop improved computer model modules that describe secondary organic aerosol from these important terpenes.
Description:
This project involves a field and laboratory study of the production of aerosol from the atmospheric photooxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), specifically the terpenes α- and β-pinene, using a unique combination of approaches that rely on product analysis via mass spectrometry, aerosol measurement instruments, and desorption electrospray ionization methods.
Record Details:
Record Type:PROJECT(
ABSTRACT
)
Start Date:11/01/2007
Completion Date:10/31/2010
Record ID:
207914
Keywords:
PARTICULATE MATTER, AEROSOLS, BIOGENIC VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, PHOTOCHEMISTRY, COMMUNITY MULTISCALE AIR QUALITY MODEL (CMAQ), TERPENES, PINENE,
Related Organizations:
Role
:OWNER
Organization Name
:PURDUE UNIVERSITY - MAIN CAMPUS
Mailing Address
:Fiscal Planning 1076 Freehafer Hall
Citation
:West Lafayette
State
:IN
Zip Code
:47907
Project Information:
Approach
:The proposed objectives will be realized through a unique combination of laboratory photochemical reaction chamber studies and field measurements of the pinene reaction products and aerosol growth above forest environments. This project will rely on an extensive array of state of the art analytical and experimental resources, including an all-Teflon photochemical reaction chamber, a Proton Transfer Reaction Linear Ion Trap (PTRLIT) for product identification and quantitation, and the Purdue Airborne Laboratory for Atmospheric Research (ALAR) aircraft. The objectives will be pursued through 1. PTRLIT and GC/MS measurements of reactants and products during reaction chamber pinene/NOx irradiations, and pinene-O3 experiments; 2. analysis of aerosol-phase organics using the highly powerful Desorption-ElectroSpray-Ionization (DESI)-MS technique; 3. DESI-MS analysis of cloud water samples from above forest environments that are aged and irradiated in the laboratory; 4. Measurements of the oxidation products nopinone and pinonaldehyde, along with rates of aerosol growth in a Michigan forest environment, to investigate the fraction of SOA growth derived from α- and β-pinene in such environments.
Cost
:$333,397.00
Research Component
:Particulate Matter