Uptake of formaldehyde by sulfuric acid solutions: Impact on stratospheric ozone

Journal Article · Fri Feb 19 23:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/92JD02386· OSTI ID:6711468

Tolbert, M A; Pfaff, J ^[1]; Jayaweera, I ^[2]; Prather, M J ^[3]

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1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder (United States)
2. SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (United States)
3. Univ. of California, Irvine (United States)

Chemical reactions on sulfuric acid aerosols have recently been shown to play an important role in stratospheric chemistry. In particular, these reactions push odd-nitrogen compounds into HNO[sub 3] and thereby enhance the chlorine-catalyzed destruction of ozone. It has been suggested that the authors current set of heterogeneous reactions may be incomplete. Indeed they show that formaldehyde, CH[sub 2]O, is rapidly and irreversibly taken up by stirred sulfuric acid solutions (60 to 75 wt % H[sub 2]SO[sub 4] at [minus]40[degrees] to [minus]65[degrees]C) with uptake coefficients as large as [gamma] = 0.08. If similar upake occurs under stratospheric pressures of CH[sub 2]O (that is, 1,000 times lower than used in the present study), then the removal of CH[sub 2]O from the gas phase can take away a significant source of odd hydrogen in the mid- and high-latitude lower stratosphere. The authors show here that with the inclusion of this reaction, concentrations of OH and HO[sub 2] are reduced by as much as 4% under background levels of aerosols and more than 15% under elevated (volcanic) conditions. Further, the accumulation of CH[sub 2]O in stratospheric aerosols over a season may alter the composition and reactivity of these sulfuric acid-water mixtures. 31 refs., 4 figs.

• OSTI ID: 6711468
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 98:D2; ISSN JGREA2; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
ADSORPTION
AEROSOLS
ALDEHYDES
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELEMENTS
FORMALDEHYDE
HYDROGEN
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
LEVELS
MIXTURES
NONMETALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OZONE
REACTIVITY
REMOVAL
SOLS
SOLUTIONS
SORPTION
STRATOSPHERE
SULFURIC ACID