You are here:
PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIVITY OF PERCHLOROETHYLENE
Citation:
Dimitriades, B., B. Gay, Jr., R. Arnts, AND R. Seila. PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIVITY OF PERCHLOROETHYLENE. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/3-83/001 (NTIS PB83163014).
Description:
Perchloroethylene (PCE), a solvent used in dry cleaning, has been suspected of contributing significantly to photochemical ozone/oxidant (O3/Ox) problems in urban atmospheres. Past evidence, however, was neither complete nor consistent. To interpret more conclusively the past evidence, and further understand PCE's role in the O3/Ox problem, a smog chamber testing program was conducted. The program's objectives were: (a) to generate additional evidence on the mechanism of the PCE reaction in smog chamber atmospheres, and (b) to extrapolate the smog chamber findings regarding PCE reactivity to the real atmosphere. Results showed that (a) in smog chambers, PCE reacts and forms O3/Ox following a Cl-instigated photo-oxidation mechanism rather than the OH-initiated mechanism accepted in current smog chemistry and (b) in the real atmosphere neither the Cl-instigated nor the OH-instigated photooxidations of PCE can generate substantial concentrations of O3/Ox. In fact, PCE contributes less to the ambient O3/Ox problem than ethane.