Using proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry for online analysis of secondary organic aerosols

Proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is a useful tool in ambient trace gas analysis, especially for the analysis of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOC). Many OVOCs are produced during photooxidation of volatile organic compounds and contribute to both the gas phase and secondary organic aerosols (SOA). The inlet system of the PTR-MS instrument was modified to allow also for the measurement of the particulate phase of an aerosol with a high time resolution. The new inlet consists mainly of a denuder to strip off the gas phase, and a heater (120/150 degrees C) to vaporize the aerosol particles. This inlet system was tested with pinonic acid particles generated with a nebulizer and SOA particles formed during the photooxidation of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene and alpha-pinene with NO(x) in a smog chamber. The performance of this new technique is discussed and the partitioning coefficients for the oxidation products are estimated.

Characterisation of solvent extractable organic constituents in atmospheric particulate matter: an overview

In spite of accounting for 10-70% of the atmospheric aerosol mass, particulate-phase organic compounds are not well characterised, and many aspects of aerosol formation and evolution are still unknown. The growing awareness of the impact of particulate aerosols on climate, and the incompletely recognised but serious effects of anthropogenic constituents on air quality and human health, have conducted to several scientific studies. These investigations have provided information about the behaviour of atmospheric particulate matter and the description of the character of its carbonaceous content. The compilation of such results is important as they append to the emergent global-wide dataset of the organic composition of atmospheric aerosols. The contribution of the major emission sources to regional particulate pollution can be diagnosed by using specific molecular markers. This overview is mainly focused on results obtained with gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, since it is the analytical method of choice in elucidating the solvent-extractable organic compounds in atmospheric particulate matter. A synopsis of the selection of organic tracers and the application of geochemical parameters to the analysis of organic constituents as a tool for source apportionment is shown here. Besides the assessment of current knowledge, this paper also presents the identification of further areas of concern.

Alpha-pinene oxidation in the presence of seed aerosol: estimates of nucleation rates, growth rates, and yield

A recently developed inverse-modeling procedure has been applied to a case study of particle nucleation and growth following alpha-pinene and SO2 oxidation in a smog chamber. With the use of only the measured aerosol size distributions as input, the condensational growth rate is obtained by regression analysis of the general dynamic equation, taking into account coagulation and wall losses. The growth rate provides an indirect measure of the concentration of the condensing species, offset by their vapor pressures. Assuming a particle density of 1.0 g cm(-3), an aerosol yield of 7 +/- 1% is obtained for an initial alpha-pinene concentration of 14 ppbv and a final organic aerosol mass of 4 microg m3. Using the estimated vapor concentration, we show that the time-dependence of the yield is at least partly due to the time needed for condensation. Such a kinetic limitation to secondary organic aerosol formation may have implications for our understanding of gas-particle partitioning. The measured size distributions are also used to determine the empirical nucleation rate; it appears to be enhanced by the presence of organics.

Investigation of alpha-pinene + ozone secondary organic aerosol formation at low total aerosol mass

We present a method for measuring secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production at low total organic mass concentration (COA) using proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). PTR-MS provides high time resolution measurements of gas-phase organic species and, coupled with particle measurements, allows for the determination of aerosol yield in real time. This approach facilitates the measurement of aerosol production at low COA; in fact aerosol mass fractions can be measured during alpha-pinene consumption as opposed to only at the completion of gas-phase chemistry. The high time resolution data are consistent with both the partitioning theory of Pankow (Atmos. Environ. 1994, 28,185 and 189) and the previous experimental measurements. Experiments including the effect of UV illumination and NOx reveal additional features of alpha-pinene + ozone product photochemistry and volatility. The high time resolution data also elucidate aerosol production from alpha-pinene ozonolysis at COA < 10 microg m(-3) and show that extrapolations of current partitioning models to conditions of low COA significantly underestimate SOA production under dark, low-NOx conditions. However, extrapolations of current models overestimate SOA production under illuminated, higher-NOx conditions typical of polluted regional air masses.

High abundance of gaseous and particulate 4-oxopentanal in the forestal atmosphere

Atmospheric concentrations of 4-oxopentanal (4-OPA) in both gas and particulate phase were measured at the experimental forest, 200 km north of Sapporo, Japan, from August 13 to 15, 2001. 4-OPA was collected using an annular denuder sampling system and measured with a gas chromatography employing benzylhydroxyl oxime derivatization. Its gas phase concentrations ranged from 180 ng m(-3) (44 pptv) to 1570 ng m(-3) (384 pptv), whereas those in the particulate phase were from below the detection limit (25 ng m(-3)) to 207 ng m(-3). The particulate 4-OPA accounted for 28% (particle/(gas+particle)) of the total concentration as the maximum at 06:00 on August 15th (average: 10%). The particulate concentrations of 4-OPA were found to be comparable to those of pinonic acid, indicating that 4-OPA is also an important constituent of organic aerosols in the forestal atmosphere. Here, we report, for the first time, the concentrations of 4-OPA in both gas and particulate phase and its diurnal variations in the forestal atmosphere.