AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Multiphase Chemistry of Biomass Burning Markers and Its Relevance in Cold Regions
VIKRAM PRATAP, Shunsuke Nakao, Clarkson University
Abstract Number: 410 Working Group: Aerosol Chemistry
Abstract There is considerable interest in multiphase chemistry of organic aerosol. It is certainly important to consider multiphase chemistry of organic markers to correctly account for their atmospheric decay and establish lifetime. This study builds upon previous works on decay of levoglucosan with the focus on low temperature conditions as wood burning is used as a major heating source in winter in north-eastern United States. The condensed phase chemistry may become essential to consider in low temperature conditions due to significantly lower volatility of organics. In this study, levoglucosan decay was theoretically considered with focus on relative importance of gas-phase and condensed phase reactions. The effect of temperature variation of diffusion rates, rate constants, and partitioning coefficients on the life time of levoglucosan is studied. Preliminary calculations suggest that volatility is the dominant parameter affecting lifetime of levoglucosan in well-mixed particles. The approach will be extended to discuss decay of other markers and secondary organic markers such as methylnitrocatechols.