American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 36th Annual Conference
October 16 - October 20, 2017
Raleigh Convention Center
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

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Design and Evaluation of a NOx Denuder with Cobalt Oxide Adsorbent

Blake Actkinson, Stone Yan, BENJAMIN SUMLIN, Christopher Oxford, Brent Williams, Rajan Chakrabarty, Washington University in St. Louis

     Abstract Number: 649
     Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods

Abstract
Nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, collectively known as NOx, play an important role in atmospheric chemistry. NOx is an atmospheric pollutant that has detrimental effects on human health, air quality, and visibility. When present in high levels, NOx inhibits the formation of OH radicals and ozone, key components of many atmospheric chemical cycles. Additionally, NOx emissions from combustion sources can interfere with aerosol absorption measurements at certain wavelengths. A denuder was designed and developed to remove NOx from aerosol flow streams with the objective of reducing gaseous interference during optical measurements. With dimensions of 2 ft. in length and total volume of 2.2 L, the denuder’s small size makes it ideal for conducting field and laboratory measurements. A mixture of fine firesand and chamotte particles known as GroG were coated with cobalt nitrate hexahydrate and oxidized to cobalt oxide at 300 ºC. Early experiments suggest successful removal of NO from sample streams; the denuder shows promise for enabling more accurate aerosol measurement.