You are here:
OXYGEN-18 STUDY OF SO2 OXIDATION IN RAINWATER BY PEROXIDES
Citation:
Holt, B. AND R. Kumar. OXYGEN-18 STUDY OF SO2 OXIDATION IN RAINWATER BY PEROXIDES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/3-86/035.
Description:
A new analytical method was developed for the determination of oxygen isotope ratios in peroxides in rainwater. In the method, rainwater samples were quantitatively degassed of dissolved air by a combined treatment of evacuation, ultrasonic agitation, and helium sparging (VUS), followed by a permanganate oxidation of the dissolved peroxide to O2. The O2 was then quantitatively removed from the rainwater by the VUS treatment and converted to CO2 for mass spectrometric analysis. Using the method, 14 rainwater samples collected at four sites were analyzed to determine the fraction of the sulfate in the samples that was produced as a result of the aqueous-phase reaction of dissolved SO2 with hydrogen peroxide.