Atmospheric aerosol formation by chemical reactions

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1975 · Int. J. Chem. Kinet.; (United States)

OSTI ID:7291289

Hidy, G M ^[1]; Burton, C S

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1. California Inst. of Tech., Pasadena

This paper is a review of several aspects of aerosol formation processes that occur in the earth's atmosphere. Important contributors to atmospheric aerosol chemistry are the sulfates, nitrates, and organic compounds, which are considered to be formed mainly by reactions of trace reactive gases in air. The phenomenology of the evolution of aerosols by such chemical processes is illustrated by recent observations taken in Los Angeles smog. The results of this program show the strong relationships between sulfate, nitrate, and organic carbon formation and gas phase processes of photochemical smog. Suspected mechanisms of secondary aerosol production are summarized, with consideration for both homogeneous and heterogeneous processes. These mechanisms are examined in the light of laboratory simulations and the knowledge of atmospheric behavior to deduce the potential importance of certain classes of reactions for explaining aerosol evolution. Such considerations illustrate well the complexities of gas-particle interactions in atmospheric chemistry.

• OSTI ID: 7291289
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Int. J. Chem. Kinet.; (United States) Journal Volume: 7:Suppl. 1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400500 -- Photochemistry
500100* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Basic Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
CHEMISTRY
COLLOIDS
DISPERSIONS
DOCUMENT TYPES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
KINETICS
NITRATES
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLES
PHOTOCHEMISTRY
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POLLUTION
REACTION KINETICS
REVIEWS
SMOG
SOLS
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SYNTHESIS