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Chemical Properties of Combustion Aerosols: An Overview
Citation:
Hays, M. Chemical Properties of Combustion Aerosols: An Overview. EAC, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC, September 01 - 06, 2013.
Impact/Purpose:
Combustion aerosols are a major Agency focus owing to the climate impacts and health effects. This abstract describes an invited talk for the European Aerosol Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. The conference will be paid for in part by the Helmholtz Institute located in Munich, Germany.
Description:
A wide variety of pyrogenic and anthropogenic sources emit fine aerosols to the atmosphere. The physical and chemical properties of these aerosols are of interest due to their influence on climate, human health, and visibility. Aerosol chemical composition is remarkably complex. Combustion aerosols can comprise tens of thousands of organic compounds and fragments, refractory carbon, metals, cations, anions, salts, and other inorganic phases and substituents [Hays et al., 2004]. Aerosol organic matter normally contains semivolatile material that partitions between the gas-, liquid-, and particle-phases, a process controlled by dynamic equilibrium or interfacial mass transfer considerations. Volatile and semivolatile gas-phase organic matter can undergo photo-oxidation in the atmosphere, creating particle nuclei or growing particles further via condensation. This diverse chemistry and processing of combustion emissions aerosols produces distinct particle morphology and nanostructure that is heterogeneous, which in turn contributes to the optical properties, aerodynamic nature, and thus fate and transport of aerosols [Hays and VanderWal, 2007].