Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from Biomass Burning Intermediates: Phenol and Methoxyphenols

Kathryn E. Kautzman (1), LINDSAY D. YEE (1), Puneet S. Chhabra (1), Christine L. Loza (1), Man Nin Chan (1), Scott P. Hersey (1), Arthur W.H. Chan (1), Paul O. Wennberg (1), Richard C. Flagan (1), John H. Seinfeld (1)

(1) California Institute of Technology

     Abstract Number: 190
     Last modified: April 28, 2010

Abstract
This work investigates the aerosol-forming potential of three major gas-phase emissions from biomass burning sources: phenol, guaiacol (2-methoxyphenol), and syringol (2,6 dimethoxyphenol). Experiments were conducted in the Caltech atmospheric chambers under high-NOx and low-NOx conditions using HONO and H2O2 as oxidant sources, respectively. Aerosol yields of 25% to 60% are observed, with the low-NOx case generally rendering higher yields than the high-NOx case. Under low-NOx conditions, aerosol growth is rapid and linear with the hydrocarbon decay, consistent with the formation of essentially non-volatile products. This work explores gas and aerosol-phase products from the guaiacol system to provide insight into the chemical mechanisms responsible for SOA formation.