Aerosol chamber and modelling studies on the reaction of soot aerosols with ozone
- Institut fuer Meterologie und Klimaforschung, Karlsruhe (Germany)
Heterogeneous processes in atmospheric aerosols are known to play important roles in the chemical transformation of air pollutants. Especially irregularly shaped aerosol particles like soot have large surface areas to interact with trace gases. The overall efficiency of those processes depends on various parameters like the particle shape, the chemical surface conditions, the surface reaction mechanisms and the gas transport processes to and from the surface. The shape and surface of soot particles are transformed due to their heterogeneous chemical activity. Therefore, the surface reaction efficiency of atmospheric soot particles also depends on their age and history. The scope of this work is to investigate the ozone depletion potential of soot particles at typical atmospheric conditions. The experiments are carried out in a cylindrical aerosol vessel with a volume of 3.7 m{sup 3}. The soot aerosol is produced with a sparc generator and introduced into the aerosol vessel together with the ozone. The variation of the number concentration, the mass concentration and the size distribution of the soot aerosol within the aerosol vessel is measured and electron micrographs are taken to obtain information on the particle morphology. The ozone concentration is continuously monitored by UV-absorption. The experimental data are compared with model results to analyze the physical and chemical processes in the aerosol system in more detail. The aerosol model developed at our institute is based on the concept of fractal geometry and calculates the dynamic behaviour of irregularly shaped aerosols. More recently, the model was extended to describe the interaction of the aerosol particles with gases. This paper summarizes first results of the experimental and modelling work. The possible impact on tropospheric chemistry will be discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 166567
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9510126--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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