The ScienceNewswise — Tiny particles in the air play an important role in our climate, air quality, and health. A recent study sheds light on a complex competition between plant-derived gases. These gases emitted by trees and other plants compete to coat and change particles from fossil fuel combustion. The scientists found that other plant-derived chemicals significantly impede the transformation of the plant-derived gas isoprene into a coating for sulfate particles.
The Impact
Scientists could use the information from this collaborative study to improve the accuracy of models used to predict the effect of atmospheric particles on climate and air quality.
Summary
Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are air pollutants implicated in serious health problems such as lung and heart disease. They are produced through a complex interaction among sunlight; volatile organic compounds from trees, plants, cars, or industrial emissions; and other atmospheric organic chemicals. Aside from methane, the most abundant hydrocarbon released into the atmosphere is isoprene—a volatile organic compound emitted by oak, poplar, eucalyptus, and other trees. In many regions of the United States, a major contributor to SOA formation is a complex reaction between isoprene byproducts called isoprene epoxydiols (IEPOX) and acidic sulfate aerosols generated by the combustion of fossil fuels. However, before this study, researchers did not know whether the reaction occurs on the particles’ surfaces or inside the particles. Moreover, past studies investigated this reaction using pure sulfate particles rather than realistic atmospheric sulfate particles, which are usually coated with other organic chemicals. To investigate these complex processes, a team of researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Aarhus University; University of California, Berkeley; and Imre Consulting used a unique single particle mass spectrometer, known as SPLAT II, at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory. They started by studying the IEPOX uptake by pure sulfate particles. The team showed, for the first time, that the IEPOX reaction with uncoated sulfate particles is volume controlled, leading to a situation in which all particles have the same amount of IEPOX-derived products. In another set of experiments, the team examined how the formation of IEPOX-derived SOA is affected when sulfate particles are coated with atmospherically relevant organic chemicals such as α-pinene SOA—mainly produced from pine tree emissions. These studies show reactions between IEPOX and sulfate particles strongly depend on how much coating material is present. The rate of IEPOX uptake by coated sulfate particles compared with pure sulfate particles is significantly reduced even at very low coating concentrations. Higher concentrations completely stopped the reaction, eliminating SOA formation. Notably, unlike for the pure sulfate case, the coatings yield small particles with less IEPOX-derived SOA than larger ones. Scientists could incorporate these findings into models to enable more accurate representations of the most abundant particles in the atmosphere and to simulate their effect on climate and air quality.
Funding
This work was supported by U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research and Basic Energy Sciences programs, including support of the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, an Office of Science user facility. This work was also funded in part by the National Science Foundation, Carlsberg Foundation, Centre of Excellence Cryosphere-Atmosphere Interactions in a Changing Arctic Climate funded by NordForsk, and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Environmental Chemistry.
Publications
M. Riva, D.M. Bell, A.M. Kaldal Hansen, G.T. Drozd, Z. Zhang, A. Gold, D. Imre, J.D. Durratt, M. Glasiu, and A. Zelenyuk, “Effect of organic coatings, humidity, and aerosol acidity on multiphase chemistry of isoprene epoxydiols.” Environmental Science and Technology 50(11), 5580–5588(2016). [DOI:10.1021/acs.est.5b06050]
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