Mechanisms of reactivity of benzo(A)pyrene and other PAH inferred from field measurements
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Authors
Colleges, School and Institutes
External organisations
- Department of Environmental Sciences / Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, PO Box 80203, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
- Busan Metropolitan City Institute of Health and Environment, Busan, 616-110, Republic of Korea
- Environment Research Institute; Shandong University; Jinan Shandong China
Abstract
Semi-volatile polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) partition between the vapour and condensed phases, both of which undergo oxidation. However, the relative contributions of oxidation in the vapour and condensed phases remain controversial. This is particularly important in respect of benzo(a)pyrene, which is responsible for a substantial proportion of the carcinogenic risk associated with airborne PAHs and is used as a marker for the PAH mixture in air quality standards. There is substantial evidence from field measurements that B(a)P is less reactive in the atmosphere than low molecular weight PAHs, but many uncertainties remain regarding the rate and determinants of its atmospheric decay. Using novel methodology, changes in the ratios of PAHs during atmospheric transport are used to infer the concentrations of OH and NO3 radicals responsible for the gas phase oxidation of low molecular weight PAHs. These are then used to examine the reactivity of B(a)P during atmospheric transport, and it is concluded that the loss of B(a)P can plausibly be described by the vapour phase reaction with the OH radical. These results offer an alternative mechanism to some others involving heterogeneous chemistry proposed in the literature.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1214-1220 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Atmospheric Pollution Research |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 6 |
Early online date | 24 May 2018 |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2018 |
Keywords
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzo(a)pyrene, atmospheric reactivity, semi-volatile compounds