Some Observations on Times to Equilibrium for Semivolatile Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

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Abstract

The relative time scales at which semivolatile gas and particle PAH approach equilibrium under both moderate and cool temperatures were investigated. Combustion particles were added directly from a diesel car and a wood stove to a 190 m^3 outdoor Teflon film chamber. The rate of migration of a gas-phase semivolatile PAH to combustion particles at a warm outdoor temperature was explored by volatilizing solid deuterated pyrene (d10-py) in a hot injector (200 °C) into the rural background air in the chamber atmosphere. After 2 h, diesel exhaust was added to the chamber. Results show an initial rapid migration of d10-py from the gas to the particle phase in an attempt to re-establish equilibrium. The relative closeness to equilibrium was monitored by calculating the equilibrium constant Kp overtime as measured by PAH_(part)/(PAH_(gas) x TSP). As gas-phase PAH concentrations changed in the chamber, due to wall losses, particle off-gassing occurred so that Kp was reasonably constant over time. Under cool outdoor conditions (-1 to -4 °C), PAH loss from the particle phase could not keep up with gas-phase PAH wall losses, and the system departed from equilibrium. Kinetic simulations suggested that tens of hours would be required to reestablish 90% of equilibrium concentrations for compounds like phenanthrene and pyrene once they had departed from equilibrium in the particle phase by 34 and 18%, respectively.

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