Tubular Flow Reactors With First-Order Kinetics

Interaction of Ethyl Alcohol Vapor with Sulfuric Acid Solutions

We investigated the uptake of ethyl alcohol (ethanol) vapor by sulfuric acid solutions over the range approximately 40 to approximately 80 wt % H2SO4 and temperatures of 193-273 K. Laboratory studies used a fast flow-tube reactor coupled to an electron-impact ionization mass spectrometer for detection of ethanol and reaction products. The uptake coefficients (gamma) were measured and found to vary from 0.019 to 0.072, depending upon the acid composition and temperature. At concentrations greater than approximately 70 wt % and in dilute solutions colder than 220 K, the gamma values approached approximately 0.07. We also determined the effective solubility constant of ethanol in approximately 40 wt % H2SO4 in the temperature range 203-223 K. The potential implications to the budget of ethanol in the global troposphere are briefly discussed.

Uptake of SO2 on HOBr−Ice Surfaces

The uptake of SO2 on HOBr-treated ice surfaces has been studied using a flow reactor coupled with a differentially pumped quadrupole mass spectrometer at 190-240 K. The initial uptake coefficient was determined as a function of HOBr surface coverage, theta(HOBr), on the ice. The uptake coefficients increase as the HOBr coverage increases. The uptake coefficient can be expressed as gamma(t) = k(h)theta(HOBr), where k(h) = 1.5 x 10(-19) molecules(-1) cm(-2) at 191 K and k(h) = 6.4 x 10(-21) molecules(-1) cm(-2) at 210 K and theta(HOBr) is in the range of 8 x 10(13) to 1.2 x 10(15) molecules cm(-2). The effects of temperature and film thickness on the uptake coefficients of SO2 by the HOBr-treated ice films were also studied. The activation energy E(a) of SO(2) on HOBr-ice surfaces is approximately -81 +/- 8 kJ/mol in the 190-215 K range. Kinetic results were interpreted in terms of the Eley-Rideal mechanism. This study suggests that the uptake of SO2 on ice/snow surfaces is enhanced by the presence of HOBr near the ice surface. The implication for atmospheric chemistry is that HOBr-ice surfaces may not provide a significant pathway to oxide S(IV) in the boundary layer due to both lower uptake coefficient and smaller HOBr surface coverage at T > 220 K.

Reactive Uptake of N2O5 by Aerosol Particles Containing Mixtures of Humic Acid and Ammonium Sulfate

The kinetics of reactive uptake of N2O5 on submicron aerosol particles containing humic acid and ammonium sulfate has been investigated as a function of relative humidity (RH) and aerosol composition using a laminar flow reactor coupled with a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) to characterize the aerosol. For single-component humic acid aerosol the uptake coefficient, gamma, was found to increase from 2 to 9 x 10(-4) over the range 25-75% RH. These values are 1-2 orders of magnitude below those typically observed for single-component sulfate aerosols (Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2003, 5, 3453-3463;(1) Atmos. Environ. 2000, 34, 2131-2159(2)). For the mixed aerosols, gamma was found to decrease with increasing humic acid mass fraction and increase with increasing RH. For aerosols containing only 6% humic acid by dry mass, a decrease in reactivity of more than a factor of 2 was observed compared with the case for single-component ammonium sulfate. The concentration of liquid water in the aerosol droplets was calculated using the aerosol inorganic model (for the ammonium sulfate component) and a new combined FTIR-DMA system (for the humic acid component). Analysis of the uptake coefficients using the water concentration data shows that the change in reactivity cannot be explained by the change in water content alone. We suggest that, due to its surfactant properties, the main effect of the humic acid is to reduce the mass accommodation coefficient for N2O5 at the aerosol particle surface. This has implications for the use of particle hygroscopicity data for predictions of the rate of N2O5 hydrolysis.

A kinetic study of the reactions FeO++ O, Fe+·N2+ O, Fe+·O2+ O and FeO++ CO: implications for sporadic E layers in the upper atmosphere

These gas-phase reactions were studied by pulsed laser ablation of an iron target to produce Fe(+) in a fast flow tube, with detection of the ions by quadrupole mass spectrometry. Fe(+).N(2) and Fe(+).O(2) were produced by injecting N(2) and O(2), respectively, into the flow tube. FeO(+) was produced from Fe(+) by addition of N(2)O, or by ligand-switching from Fe(+).N(2) following the addition of atomic O. The following rate coefficients were measured: k(FeO(+) + O --> Fe(+) + O(2), 186-294 K) = (3.2 +/- 1.5) x 10(-11); k(Fe(+).N(2) + O --> FeO(+)+ N(2), 294 K) = (4.6 +/- 2.5) x 10(-10); k(Fe(+).O(2) + O --> FeO(+) + O(2), 294 K) = (6.3 +/- 2.7) x 10(-11); and k(FeO(+) + CO --> Fe(+) + CO(2), 294 K) = (1.59 +/- 0.34) x 10(-10) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), where the quoted uncertainties are a combination of the 1sigma standard errors in the kinetic data and the systematic experimental errors. The surprisingly slow reaction between FeO(+) and O is examined using ab initio quantum calculations of the relevant potential energy surfaces. The importance of this reaction for controlling the lifetime of sporadic E layers is then demonstrated using a model of the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere.

Kinetics of ClONO2 Reactive Uptake on Ice Surfaces at Temperatures of the Upper Troposphere

The reactive uptake kinetics of ClONO(2) on pure and doped water-ice surfaces have been studied using a coated wall flow tube reactor coupled to an electron impact mass spectrometer. Experiments have been conducted on frozen film ice surfaces in the temperature range 208-228 K with P((ClONO)(2)) < or = 10(-6) Torr. The uptake coefficient (gamma) of ClONO(2) on pure ice was time dependent with a maximum value of gamma(max) approximately 0.1. On HNO(3)-doped ice at 218 K the gamma(max) was 0.02. HOCl formation was detected in both experiments. On HCl-doped ice, uptake was gas-phase diffusion limited (gamma > 0.1) and gas-phase Cl(2) was formed. The uptake of HCl on ice continuously doped with HNO(3) was reversible such that there was no net uptake of HCl once the equilibrium surface coverage was established. The data were well described by a single site 2-species competitive Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The surface coverage of HCl on HNO(3)-doped ice was an order of magnitude lower than on bare ice for a given temperature and P(HCl). ClONO(2) uptake on this HCl/HNO(3)-doped ice was studied as a function of P(HCl). gamma(max) was no longer gas-phase diffusion limited and was found to be linearly dependent on the surface concentration of HCl. Under conditions of low HCl surface concentration, hydrolysis of ClONO(2) and reaction with HCl were competing such that both Cl(2) and HOCl were formed. A numerical model was used to simulate the experimental results and to aid in the parametrization of ClONO(2) reactivity on cirrus ice clouds in the upper troposphere.

N2O5 Reaction on Submicron Sea Salt Aerosol: Kinetics, Products, and the Effect of Surface Active Organics

The reaction of N(2)O(5) on sea salt aerosol is a sink for atmospheric nitrogen oxides and a source of the Cl radical. We present room-temperature measurements of the N(2)O(5) loss rate on submicron artificial seawater (ASW) aerosol, performed with an entrained aerosol flow tube coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer, as a function of aerosol phase (aqueous or partially crystalline), liquid water content, and size. We also present an analysis of the product growth kinetics showing that ClNO(2) is produced at a rate equal to N(2)O(5) loss, with an estimated lower limit yield of 50% at 50% relative humidity (RH). The reaction probability for N(2)O(5), gamma(N(2)(O)(5)), depends strongly on the particle phase, being 0.005 +/- 0.004 on partially crystalline ASW aerosol at 30% RH and 0.03 +/- 0.008 on aqueous ASW aerosol at 65% RH. At 50% RH, N(2)O(5) loss is relatively insensitive to particle size for radii greater than 100 nm, and gamma(N(2)(O)(5)) displays a statistically insignificant increase from 0.022 to approximately 0.03 for aqueous ASW aerosol over the RH range of 43-70%. We find that the presence of millimolar levels of hexanoic acid in the aerosol bulk decreases the gamma(N(2)(O)(5)) at 70% RH by a factor of 3-4 from approximately 0.025 to 0.008 +/- 0.004. This reduction is likely due to the partitioning of hexanoic acid to the gas-aerosol interface at a surface coverage that we estimate to be equivalent to a monolayer. This result is the first evidence that a monolayer coating of aqueous organic surfactant can slow the reactive uptake of atmospheric trace gases to aerosol.

Multiphase decomposition of novel oxygenated organics in aqueous and organic media

Prior to the massive use of new oxygenated solvents, data on their multiphase reactivity must be obtained to assess their environmental fate and impact on water and air quality. For this, the kinetics and mechanisms of the photochemical and photocatalytic degradation of selected oxygenated solvents by common tropospheric oxidants (such as OH and ozone) must be characterized. We studied the oxidation kinetics of new oxygenated solvents as pure organic liquids and in an aqueous medium by ozone and bythe OH radical, respectively. The studied chemicals are all unsaturated compounds, having none, one, or two ether groups. The results indicate that the OH reaction proceeds atthe diffusion limit by addition to the double bond. The reactive uptake coefficients associated with the reaction initiated by ozone are of the order of 10(-3). The reactions of compounds with two double bonds are very fast and probably occur at the surface. This kinetic information demonstrates that organic solvents in an organic medium or in an aqueous droplet will be oxidized rapidly by these oxidation reactions. These reactions, however, are not significant sinks for ozone and OH radicals.

Reactive Uptake of O3 by Multicomponent and Multiphase Mixtures Containing Oleic Acid

The heterogeneous reaction of O3 with lauric acid/oleic acid (LA/OA) mixtures and myristic acid/oleic acid (MA/OA) mixtures were studied as a function of composition, physical state, and microstructure at 298 K. Lauric acid and myristic acid are both alkanoic acids, whereas oleic acid is an alkenoic acid. Additionally, we investigated the uptake of O3 by multicomponent mixtures that closely represent the composition of meat-cooking aerosols. These measurements were performed with a rotating-wall flow-tube reactor coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer. The reactive uptake coefficients (gamma) of O3 on liquid LA/OA and MA/OA solutions range from 4 x 10(-4) to 7.2 x 10(-4). The gamma values measured for solid-liquid LA/OA and MA/OA mixtures (which consist of solid LA or solid MA in equilibrium with a liquid) range from 2 x 10(-5) to 1.7 x 10(-4). These experiments show that only 7% solid by mass in the solid-liquid mixture can decrease gamma by an order of magnitude compared to the liquid mixtures. The gamma values for solid-liquid mixtures that closely represent the composition of meat-cooking aerosols range from 1.6 x 10(-5) to 6.9 x 10(-5). We found that gamma of solid-liquid mixtures depends on the microstructure of the mixtures, which in turn depends on the method of preparing the films. Furthermore, experiments employing solid-liquid mixtures show an increase in gamma with increasing film age. This can be explained either by the formation of a nonequilibrium phase followed by its relaxation to the stable phase or by Ostwald's ripening, which refers to a change in the solid microstructure due to a tendency to minimize the total surface free energy of the solid. We used the obtained gamma values to estimate OA lifetimes for polluted atmospheric conditions. For liquid solutions, the lifetimes were on the order of a few minutes. The lifetimes derived for solid-liquid mixtures are up to 75 min, significantly longer than for liquid solutions. Our study emphasizes the effect of the physical state and microstructure of multicomponent mixtures on the heterogeneous chemistry.

Heterogeneous Reactions of HX + HONO and I2on Ice Surfaces: Kinetics and Linear Correlations

Reaction probabilities of gaseous nitrous acid, HONO, with HCl, HBr, and HI treated ice surfaces have been investigated in a fast flow-tube reactor coupled with a differentially pumped quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) at 191 K. The reaction probability increases with the HX surface coverage, and the rate is the highest for the HONO reaction on the HI-treated ice surface. Relative rate constants are correlated to the nucleophilic parameter, according to the linear free-energy relationship for this series of heterogeneous reactions on ice surfaces. The correlation was also extended to HOCl + HX(ad) reactions on the ice surface, and it can be used to treat other heterogeneous atmospheric and catalytic reactions. The reaction products ClNO and BrNO were determined by the QMS. INO was found to rapidly convert to I2 on surfaces, and I2 was observed from the reaction of HONO + HI. The uptake coefficient of I2 on the HI-treated ice surface is higher than that for I2 on the water-ice surface.

Uptake of gas-phase nitric acid to ice at low partial pressures: evidence for unsaturated surface coverage

The adsorption of gas-phase nitric acid onto water-ice surfaces at temperatures between 200 and 239 K has been studied over short time scales using a coated-wall flow tube coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer. The nitric acid partial pressures used were between 10(-8) hPa and 10(-6) hPa, making this the first systematic study under partial pressure conditions present in the upper troposphere. Whereas previous findings using this technique have shown that the surface coverages are saturated at 2 to 3 x 10(14) molecules cm(-2) (referenced to the geometric surface area of the ice film) when partial pressures are larger than about 10(-7) hPa, the principal finding from this study is that the surface coverages are in the unsaturated regime at lower partial pressures. A conventional Langmuir adsorption isotherm describes the uptake in a quantitative manner while dissociative Langmuir isotherms that have been used in the past to model this process do not. The unsaturated surface coverages are strongly temperature dependent, in agreement with a number of field measurements of the nitric acid (or NOy) component of cirrus cloud particles. These laboratory results match those in the field better than do those measured at significantly higher partial pressures but, nevertheless, they still indicate somewhat greater uptake, particularly at higher temperatures.