Aqueous chemistry in the clouds of Venus

<p>Droplet chemistry in the clouds of Venus may play a role in regulating the depletion of sulfur dioxide and water vapor in and above the clouds. The specific nature of this chemistry is unknown. In this talk, I present three different scenarios for aqueous chemistry in the cloud droplets:</p><ul><li>Hydroxide salts</li> <li>Reduced sulfites</li> <li>Iron sulfates</li> </ul><p>I will discuss the effects of these three different aqueous chemistries, some of which may be accessible via remote observation. The iron sulfate chemistry in particular provides a candidate for the unknown UV absorber.</p>

Numerical analysis of sulfur dioxide absorption in water droplets

Mass transfer between the phases is a cornerstone of many technological processes and presents a topic whose understanding and modelling is of high importance. For instance, absorption of gases in liquid droplets is an underlying phenomenon for the desulfurization of flue gases in wet scrubbers. Wet scrubbing is an efficient cleaning method where the liquid is sprayed in a stream of rising gases, removing pollutants due to the concentration difference between the gas phase and droplets. A model for absorption in water droplets has been developed to describe the complex physical and chemical interactions during the exposure to flue gases. The main factors affecting the absorption are the mass transfer of pollutants through the gas–droplet interface and the aqueous phase chemistry in a droplet. The mass transfer coefficient, which has been modeled with several approaches, is the most significant parameter regulating the absorption dynamic into the droplet, while the in-droplet chemistry controls the maximum quantity of dissolved pollutants. Dissociation of sulfur dioxide and the chemical reactions in seawater have been described by the equilibrium reactions. Afterward, the influence of the mass transfer coefficient has been investigated, and the model has been validated against the literature data on a single droplet scale. Obtained results are comparable with the experimental measurements and indicate the applicability of the model for the design and development of industrial scrubbers.

On the preservation of non-covalent protein complexes during electrospray ionization

The application range of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for the quantitative determination of stoichiometries and binding constants for non-covalent protein complexes is broadly discussed. The underlying fundamental question is whether or not the original molecular equilibrium can be preserved during the ionization process and be revealed by subsequent mass spectrometry analysis. Here, we take a new look at this question by discussing recent studies in droplet chemistry. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Quantitative mass spectrometry’.