Always Lost but Never Forgotten: Gas-Phase Wall Losses Are Important in All Teflon Environmental Chambers

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (20) ◽  
pp. 12890-12897
Author(s):  
Jordan E. Krechmer ◽  
Douglas A. Day ◽  
Jose L. Jimenez
Keyword(s):  
Gas Phase ◽  
Wall Losses ◽  
Environmental Chambers

scholarly journals Effect of oxidant concentration, exposure time, and seed particles on secondary organic aerosol chemical composition and yield

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 3063-3075 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. Lambe ◽  
P. S. Chhabra ◽  
T. B. Onasch ◽  
W. H. Brune ◽  
J. F. Hunter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Flow Reactor ◽  
Secondary Organic Aerosol ◽  
Organic Aerosol ◽  
Short Exposure ◽  
Heterogeneous Oxidation ◽  
Seed Particles ◽  
Aerosol Mass ◽  
Environmental Chambers

Abstract. We performed a systematic intercomparison study of the chemistry and yields of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) generated from OH oxidation of a common set of gas-phase precursors in a Potential Aerosol Mass (PAM) continuous flow reactor and several environmental chambers. In the flow reactor, SOA precursors were oxidized using OH concentrations ranging from 2.0 × 108 to 2.2 × 1010 molec cm−3 over exposure times of 100 s. In the environmental chambers, precursors were oxidized using OH concentrations ranging from 2 × 106 to 2 × 107 molec cm−3 over exposure times of several hours. The OH concentration in the chamber experiments is close to that found in the atmosphere, but the integrated OH exposure in the flow reactor can simulate atmospheric exposure times of multiple days compared to chamber exposure times of only a day or so. In most cases, for a specific SOA type the most-oxidized chamber SOA and the least-oxidized flow reactor SOA have similar mass spectra, oxygen-to-carbon and hydrogen-to-carbon ratios, and carbon oxidation states at integrated OH exposures between approximately 1 × 1011 and 2 × 1011 molec cm−3 s, or about 1–2 days of equivalent atmospheric oxidation. This observation suggests that in the range of available OH exposure overlap for the flow reactor and chambers, SOA elemental composition as measured by an aerosol mass spectrometer is similar whether the precursor is exposed to low OH concentrations over long exposure times or high OH concentrations over short exposure times. This similarity in turn suggests that both in the flow reactor and in chambers, SOA chemical composition at low OH exposure is governed primarily by gas-phase OH oxidation of the precursors rather than heterogeneous oxidation of the condensed particles. In general, SOA yields measured in the flow reactor are lower than measured in chambers for the range of equivalent OH exposures that can be measured in both the flow reactor and chambers. The influence of sulfate seed particles on isoprene SOA yield measurements was examined in the flow reactor. The studies show that seed particles increase the yield of SOA produced in flow reactors by a factor of 3 to 5 and may also account in part for higher SOA yields obtained in the chambers, where seed particles are routinely used.

scholarly journals Investigation of particle and vapor wall-loss effects on controlled wood-smoke smog-chamber experiments

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 15243-15288
Author(s):  
Q. Bian ◽  
A. A. May ◽  
S. M. Kreidenweis ◽  
J. R. Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Basis Set ◽  
Wood Smoke ◽  
Smog Chamber ◽  
Organic Mass ◽  
Final Particle ◽  
Wall Losses ◽  
Wall Loss ◽  
Smog Chambers

Abstract. Smog chambers are extensively used to study processes that drive gas and particle evolution in the atmosphere. A limitation of these experiments is that particles and gas-phase species may be lost to chamber walls on shorter timescales than the timescales of the atmospheric processes being studied in the chamber experiments. These particle and vapor wall losses have been investigated in recent studies of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, but they have not been systematically investigated in experiments of primary emissions from combustion. The semi-volatile nature of combustion emissions (e.g. from wood smoke) may complicate the behavior of particle and vapor wall deposition in the chamber over the course of the experiments due to the competition between gas/particle and gas/wall partitioning. Losses of vapors to the walls may impact particle evaporation in these experiments, and potential precursors for SOA formation from combustion may be lost to the walls, causing underestimates of aerosol yields. Here, we conduct simulations to determine how particle and gas-phase wall losses contributed to the observed evolution of the aerosol during experiments in the third Fire Lab At Missoula Experiment (FLAME III). We use the TwO-Moment Aerosol Sectional (TOMAS) microphysics algorithm coupled with the organic volatility basis set (VBS) and wall-loss formulations to examine the predicted extent of particle and vapor wall losses. We limit the scope of our study to the dark periods in the chamber before photo-oxidation to simplify the aerosol system for this initial study. Our model simulations suggest that over one third of the initial particle-phase organic mass (36%) was lost during the experiments, and roughly half of this particle organic mass loss was from direct particle wall loss (56% of the loss) with the remainder from evaporation of the particles driven by vapor losses to the walls (44% of the loss). We perform a series of sensitivity tests to understand uncertainties in our simulations. Uncertainty in the initial wood-smoke volatility distribution contributes 23% uncertainty to the final particle organic mass remaining in the chamber (relative to base-assumptions simulation). We show that the total mass loss may depend on the effective saturation concentration of vapor with respect to the walls as these values currently vary widely in the literature. The details of smoke dilution during the filling of smog chambers may influence the mass loss to the walls, and a dilution of ~ 25:1 during the experiments increased particle organic mass loss by 64% compared to a simulation where we assume the particles and vapors are initially in equilibrium in the chamber. Finally, we discuss how our findings may influence interpretations of emission factors and SOA production in wood-smoke smog-chamber experiments.

scholarly journals Comparison of secondary organic aerosol formed with an aerosol flow reactor and environmental reaction chambers: effect of oxidant concentration, exposure time and seed particles on chemical composition and yield

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 30575-30609 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. Lambe ◽  
P. S. Chhabra ◽  
T. B. Onasch ◽  
W. H. Brune ◽  
J. F. Hunter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Flow Reactor ◽  
Heterogeneous Oxidation ◽  
Flow Reactors ◽  
Seed Particles ◽  
Aerosol Mass ◽  
Reaction Chambers ◽  
Environmental Chambers ◽  
Intercomparison Study

Abstract. We performed a systematic intercomparison study of the chemistry and yields of SOA generated from OH oxidation of a common set of gas-phase precursors in a Potential Aerosol Mass (PAM) continuous flow reactor and several environmental chambers. In the flow reactor, SOA precursors were oxidized using OH concentrations ranging from 2.0×108 to 2.2&times1010 molec cm−3 over exposure times of 100 s. In the environmental chambers, precursors were oxidized using OH concentrations ranging from 2×106 to 2×107 molec cm−3 over exposure times of several hours. The OH concentration in the chamber experiments is close to that found in the atmosphere, but the integrated OH exposure in the flow reactor can simulate atmospheric exposure times of multiple days compared to chamber exposure times of only a day or so. A linear correlation analysis of the mass spectra (m=0.91–0.92, r2=0.93–0.94) and carbon oxidation state (m=1.1, r2=0.58) of SOA produced in the flow reactor and environmental chambers for OH exposures of approximately 1011 molec cm−3 s suggests that the composition of SOA produced in the flow reactor and chambers is the same within experimental accuracy as measured with an aerosol mass spectrometer. This similarity in turn suggests that both in the flow reactor and in chambers, SOA chemical composition at low OH exposure is governed primarily by gas-phase OH oxidation of the precursors, rather than heterogeneous oxidation of the condensed particles. In general, SOA yields measured in the flow reactor are lower than measured in chambers for the range of equivalent OH exposures that can be measured in both the flow reactor and chambers. The influence of sulfate seed particles on isoprene SOA yield measurements was examined in the flow reactor. The studies show that seed particles increase the yield of SOA produced in flow reactors by a factor of 3 to 5 and may also account in part for higher SOA yields obtained in the chambers, where seed particles are routinely used.

scholarly journals Effects of gas–wall partitioning in Teflon tubing and instrumentation on time-resolved measurements of gas-phase organic compounds

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4687-4696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demetrios Pagonis ◽  
Jordan E. Krechmer ◽  
Joost de Gouw ◽  
Jose L. Jimenez ◽  
Paul J. Ziemann
Keyword(s):  
Gas Phase ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Proton Transfer Reaction ◽  
Fast Response ◽  
Step Function ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Delay Times ◽  
Environmental Chambers ◽  
Teflon Tubing ◽  
Rapid Transients

Abstract. Recent studies have demonstrated that organic compounds can partition from the gas phase to the walls in Teflon environmental chambers and that the process can be modeled as absorptive partitioning. Here these studies were extended to investigate gas–wall partitioning of organic compounds in Teflon tubing and inside a proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) used to monitor compound concentrations. Rapid partitioning of C8–C14 2-ketones and C11–C16 1-alkenes was observed for compounds with saturation concentrations (c∗) in the range of 3 × 104 to 1 × 107 µg m−3, causing delays in instrument response to step-function changes in the concentration of compounds being measured. These delays vary proportionally with tubing length and diameter and inversely with flow rate and c∗. The gas–wall partitioning process that occurs in tubing is similar to what occurs in a gas chromatography column, and the measured delay times (analogous to retention times) were accurately described using a linear chromatography model where the walls were treated as an equivalent absorbing mass that is consistent with values determined for Teflon environmental chambers. The effect of PTR-MS surfaces on delay times was also quantified and incorporated into the model. The model predicts delays of an hour or more for semivolatile compounds measured under commonly employed conditions. These results and the model can enable better quantitative design of sampling systems, in particular when fast response is needed, such as for rapid transients, aircraft, or eddy covariance measurements. They may also allow estimation of c∗ values for unidentified organic compounds detected by mass spectrometry and could be employed to introduce differences in time series of compounds for use with factor analysis methods. Best practices are suggested for sampling organic compounds through Teflon tubing.

scholarly journals Evaluating the impact of new observational constraints on P-S/IVOC emissions, multi-generation oxidation, and chamber wall losses on SOA modeling for Los Angeles, CA

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (15) ◽  
pp. 9237-9259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prettiny K. Ma ◽  
Yunliang Zhao ◽  
Allen L. Robinson ◽  
David R. Worton ◽  
Allen H. Goldstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Flow Reactor ◽  
Particle Phase ◽  
Voc Oxidation ◽  
Wall Losses ◽  
Aging Mechanisms ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Model Measurement

Abstract. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is an important contributor to fine particulate matter (PM) mass in polluted regions, and its modeling remains poorly constrained. A box model is developed that uses recently published literature parameterizations and data sets to better constrain and evaluate the formation pathways and precursors of urban SOA during the CalNex 2010 campaign in Los Angeles. When using the measurements of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) reported in Zhao et al. (2014) and of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) reported in Worton et al. (2014) the model is biased high at longer photochemical ages, whereas at shorter photochemical ages it is biased low, if the yields for VOC oxidation are not updated. The parameterizations using an updated version of the yields, which takes into account the effect of gas-phase wall losses in environmental chambers, show model–measurement agreement at longer photochemical ages, even though some low bias at short photochemical ages still remains. Furthermore, the fossil and non-fossil carbon split of urban SOA simulated by the model is consistent with measurements at the Pasadena ground site. Multi-generation oxidation mechanisms are often employed in SOA models to increase the SOA yields derived from environmental chamber experiments in order to obtain better model–measurement agreement. However, there are many uncertainties associated with these aging mechanisms. Thus, SOA formation in the model is compared to data from an oxidation flow reactor (OFR) in order to constrain SOA formation at longer photochemical ages than observed in urban air. The model predicts similar SOA mass at short to moderate photochemical ages when the aging mechanisms or the updated version of the yields for VOC oxidation are implemented. The latter case has SOA formation rates that are more consistent with observations from the OFR though. Aging mechanisms may still play an important role in SOA chemistry, but the additional mass formed by functionalization reactions during aging would need to be offset by gas-phase fragmentation of SVOCs. All the model cases evaluated in this work show a large majority of the urban SOA (70–83 %) at Pasadena coming from the oxidation of primary SVOCs (P-SVOCs) and primary IVOCs (P-IVOCs). The importance of these two types of precursors is further supported by analyzing the percentage of SOA formed at long photochemical ages (1.5 days) as a function of the precursor rate constant. The P-SVOCs and P-IVOCs have rate constants that are similar to highly reactive VOCs that have been previously found to strongly correlate with SOA formation potential measured by the OFR. Finally, the volatility distribution of the total organic mass (gas and particle phase) in the model is compared against measurements. The total SVOC mass simulated is similar to the measurements, but there are important differences in the measured and modeled volatility distributions. A likely reason for the difference is the lack of particle-phase reactions in the model that can oligomerize and/or continue to oxidize organic compounds even after they partition to the particle phase.

scholarly journals Investigation of particle and vapor wall-loss effects on controlled wood-smoke smog-chamber experiments

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (19) ◽  
pp. 11027-11045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Bian ◽  
A. A. May ◽  
S. M. Kreidenweis ◽  
J. R. Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Basis Set ◽  
Wood Smoke ◽  
Smog Chamber ◽  
Organic Mass ◽  
Final Particle ◽  
Wall Losses ◽  
Wall Loss ◽  
Smog Chambers

Abstract. Smog chambers are extensively used to study processes that drive gas and particle evolution in the atmosphere. A limitation of these experiments is that particles and gas-phase species may be lost to chamber walls on shorter timescales than the timescales of the atmospheric processes being studied in the chamber experiments. These particle and vapor wall losses have been investigated in recent studies of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, but they have not been systematically investigated in experiments of primary emissions from combustion. The semi-volatile nature of combustion emissions (e.g. from wood smoke) may complicate the behavior of particle and vapor wall deposition in the chamber over the course of the experiments due to the competition between gas/particle and gas/wall partitioning. Losses of vapors to the walls may impact particle evaporation in these experiments, and potential precursors for SOA formation from combustion may be lost to the walls, causing underestimations of aerosol yields. Here, we conduct simulations to determine how particle and gas-phase wall losses contributed to the observed evolution of the aerosol during experiments in the third Fire Lab At Missoula Experiment (FLAME III). We use the TwO-Moment Aerosol Sectional (TOMAS) microphysics algorithm coupled with the organic volatility basis set (VBS) and wall-loss formulations to examine the predicted extent of particle and vapor wall losses. We limit the scope of our study to the dark periods in the chamber before photo-oxidation to simplify the aerosol system for this initial study. Our model simulations suggest that over one-third of the initial particle-phase organic mass (41 %) was lost during the experiments, and over half of this particle-organic mass loss was from direct particle wall loss (65 % of the loss) with the remainder from evaporation of the particles driven by vapor losses to the walls (35 % of the loss). We perform a series of sensitivity tests to understand uncertainties in our simulations. Uncertainty in the initial wood-smoke volatility distribution contributes 18 % uncertainty to the final particle-organic mass remaining in the chamber (relative to base-assumption simulation). We show that the total mass loss may depend on the effective saturation concentration of vapor with respect to the walls as these values currently vary widely in the literature. The details of smoke dilution during the filling of smog chambers may influence the mass loss to the walls, and a dilution of ~ 25:1 during the experiments increased particle-organic mass loss by 33 % compared to a simulation where we assume the particles and vapors are initially in equilibrium in the chamber. Finally, we discuss how our findings may influence interpretations of emission factors and SOA production in wood-smoke smog-chamber experiments.

scholarly journals Effects of Gas-Wall Partitioning in Teflon Tubing and Instrumentation on Time-Resolved Measurements of Gas-Phase Organic Compounds

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demetrios Pagonis ◽  
Jordan E. Krechmer ◽  
Joost de Gouw ◽  
Jose L. Jimenez ◽  
Paul J. Ziemann
Keyword(s):  
Gas Phase ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Proton Transfer Reaction ◽  
Fast Response ◽  
Step Function ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Delay Times ◽  
Environmental Chambers ◽  
Teflon Tubing ◽  
Rapid Transients

Abstract. Recent studies have demonstrated that organic compounds can partition from the gas phase to the walls in Teflon environmental chambers, and that the process can be modeled as absorptive partitioning. Here these studies were extended to investigate gas-wall partitioning of organic compounds in Teflon tubing and inside a proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) used to monitor compound concentrations. Rapid partitioning of C8–C14 2-ketones and C11–C16 1-alkenes was observed for compounds with saturation concentrations (c*) in the range of 3 × 104 to 1 × 107 μg m−3, causing delays in instrument response to step-function changes in the concentration of compounds being measured. These delays vary proportionally with tubing length and diameter and inversely with flow rate and c*. The gas-wall partitioning process that occurs in tubing is similar to what occurs in a gas chromatography column, and the measured delay times (analogous to retention times) were accurately described using a linear chromatography model where the walls were treated as an equivalent absorbing mass that is consistent with values determined for Teflon environmental chambers. The effect of PTR-MS surfaces on delay times was also quantified and incorporated into the model. The model predicts delays of an hour or more for semivolatile compounds measured under commonly employed conditions. These results and the model can enable better quantitative design of sampling systems, in particular when fast response is needed, such as for rapid transients, aircraft, or eddy covariance measurements. They may also allow estimation of c* values for unidentified organic compounds detected by mass spectrometry, and could be employed to introduce differences in time series of compounds for use with factor analysis methods. Best practices are suggested for sampling organic compounds through Teflon tubing.

Residual Gas Reactions in the Electron Microscope: I. Qualitative Observations on the Water Gas Reaction

1968 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 292-293
Author(s):  
Richard E. Hartman ◽  
Roberta S. Hartman ◽  
Peter L. Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Electron Beam ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Absolute Temperature ◽  
Residual Gas ◽  
Gas Reactions ◽  
Image Position ◽  
The Right ◽  
Water Gas ◽  
Thinning Rate

The action of water and the electron beam on organic specimens in the electron microscope results in the removal of oxidizable material (primarily hydrogen and carbon) by reactions similar to the water gas reaction .which has the form:The energy required to force the reaction to the right is supplied by the interaction of the electron beam with the specimen.The mass of water striking the specimen is given by:where u = gH2O/cm2 sec, PH2O = partial pressure of water in Torr, & T = absolute temperature of the gas phase. If it is assumed that mass is removed from the specimen by a reaction approximated by (1) and that the specimen is uniformly thinned by the reaction, then the thinning rate in A/ min iswhere x = thickness of the specimen in A, t = time in minutes, & E = efficiency (the fraction of the water striking the specimen which reacts with it).

Side-entry differentially pumped environmental chamber for the AE1-EM7 HVEM

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 888-889
Author(s):  
D. Barnard ◽  
D. Rexford ◽  
W.F. Tivol ◽  
J.N. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
High Voltage ◽  
Environmental Chamber ◽  
Normal Operating ◽  
Voltage Electron ◽  
High Voltage Electron Microscope ◽  
High Voltage Electron ◽  
Environmental Chambers

A side-entry differentially pumped environmental chamber (SEDPEC) has been designed and constructed for the AEI-EM7 high-voltage electron microscope (HVEM). The SEDPEC has been tested in the same way as previous chambers for the HVEM. In contrast to the lengthy procedures necessary to install previous environmental chambers in the HVEM, the SEDPEC can be installed in about one half hour. Thus a user can install the SEDPEC, use it for a day and return the HVEM to normal operating status without causing delays for other HVEM users. This is particularly important for our facility, which is supported as a national biotechnology resource by the NIH.

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