Characterization of a smog chamber for studying formation of gas-phase products and secondary organic aerosol

Qi Yuan, Zhuozhi Zhang, Meng Wang, Kin Fai Ho, Tao Wang, Shuncheng Lee (Corresponding Author)

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Smog chambers provide a potent approach to explore the secondary organic aerosol formation under varied conditions. This study describes the construction and characterization of a new smog chamber facility for studying the formation mechanisms of gas-phase products and secondary organic aerosol from the photooxidation of volatile organic compounds. The chamber is a 5.4 m3 Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) Teflon reactor with the potential to perform photooxidation experiments at controlled temperature and relative humidity. Detailed characterizations were conducted for evaluation of stability of environmental parameters, mixing time, background contamination, light intensity, and wall losses of gases and particles. The photolysis rate of NO2 (JNO2) ranged from (1.02−3.32) ×10−3 s−1, comparable to the average JNO2 in ambient environment. The wall loss rates for NO, NO2, and O3 were 0.47 × 10−4, 0.37 × 10−4, and 1.17 × 10−4 min−1, while wall loss of toluene was obsoletely found in a 6 hr test. The particle number wall loss rates are (0.01−2.46) ×10−3 min−1 for 40−350 nm with an average lifetime of more than one day. A series of toluene photooxidation experiments were carried out in absence of NOx under dry conditions. The results of the simulation experiments demonstrated that the chamber is well designed to simulate photolysis progress in the atmosphere.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)570-582
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Environmental Sciences (China)
Volume136
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024

Keywords

  • Chamber characterization
  • Chemical mechanism
  • Gas-phase oxidation
  • Smog chamber

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • General Environmental Science

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