AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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Oxidation Flow Reactors: Best Practices for Operation and Analysis, and Overview of Results from Ambient Studies
JOSE-LUIS JIMENEZ, Zhe Peng, Brett Palm, Weiwei Hu, Amber Ortega, Douglas Day, University of Colorado-Boulder
Abstract Number: 531 Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract Oxidation Flow Reactors (OFRs) including the PAM reactor are being rapidly adopted as atmospheric chemistry research tools, given their limited cost, flexibility, fast response time, and portability. Typically OH oxidation is pursued using low-pressure Hg lamps as UV light sources. Careful attention to the input conditions is needed to avoid chemical regimes that are not relevant to the atmosphere. Quantification of reactor output requires several calibrations and corrections. In this presentation we will discuss the different problems that can affect OFR chemistry, including OH suppression, hard UV photolysis, impact of undesired oxidants and chemical pathways etc. Strategies for avoiding these problems will be highlighted. Best practices for calibration and estimation of OH exposure and for quantification of secondary aerosol formation in the reactor will be discussed. Finally, the results from all published ambient OFR field studies to date for the quantification of Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) potential will be compared and summarized.