A Significant Role for Nitrate and Peroxide Groups on Indoor Secondary Organic Aerosol

TY - JOUR

T1 - A Significant Role for Nitrate and Peroxide Groups on Indoor Secondary Organic Aerosol

AU - Carslaw, Nicola

AU - Mota, Tiago

AU - Jenkin, Michael

AU - Barley, Mark

AU - McFiggans, Gordon

PY - 2012/9/4

Y1 - 2012/9/4

N2 - This paper reports indoor secondary organic aerosol, SOA, composition based on the results from an improved model for indoor air chemistry. The model uses a detailed chemical mechanism that is near-explicit to describe the gas-phase degradation of relevant indoor VOC species. In addition, gas-to-particle partitioning is included for oxygenated products formed from the degradation of limonene, the most ubiquitous terpenoid species in the indoor environment. The detail inherent in the chemical mechanism permits the indoor SOA composition to be reported in greater detail than currently possible using experimental techniques. For typical indoor conditions in the suburban UK, SOA concentrations are 1 μg m–3 and dominated by nitrated material (85%), with smaller contributions from peroxide (12%), carbonyl (3%), and acidic (1%) material. During cleaning activities, SOA concentrations can reach 20 μg m–3 with the composition dominated by peroxide material (73%), with a smaller contribution from nitrated material (21%). The relative importance of these different moieties depends crucially (in order) on the outdoor concentration of O3, the deposition rates employed and the scaling factor value applied to the partitioning coefficient. There are currently few studies that report observation of aerosol composition indoors, and most of these have been carried out under conditions that are not directly relevant. This study highlights the need to investigate SOA composition in real indoor environments. Further, there is a need to measure deposition rates for key indoor air species on relevant indoor surfaces and to reduce the uncertainties that still exist in gas-to-particle phase parametrization for both indoor and outdoor air chemistry models.

AB - This paper reports indoor secondary organic aerosol, SOA, composition based on the results from an improved model for indoor air chemistry. The model uses a detailed chemical mechanism that is near-explicit to describe the gas-phase degradation of relevant indoor VOC species. In addition, gas-to-particle partitioning is included for oxygenated products formed from the degradation of limonene, the most ubiquitous terpenoid species in the indoor environment. The detail inherent in the chemical mechanism permits the indoor SOA composition to be reported in greater detail than currently possible using experimental techniques. For typical indoor conditions in the suburban UK, SOA concentrations are 1 μg m–3 and dominated by nitrated material (85%), with smaller contributions from peroxide (12%), carbonyl (3%), and acidic (1%) material. During cleaning activities, SOA concentrations can reach 20 μg m–3 with the composition dominated by peroxide material (73%), with a smaller contribution from nitrated material (21%). The relative importance of these different moieties depends crucially (in order) on the outdoor concentration of O3, the deposition rates employed and the scaling factor value applied to the partitioning coefficient. There are currently few studies that report observation of aerosol composition indoors, and most of these have been carried out under conditions that are not directly relevant. This study highlights the need to investigate SOA composition in real indoor environments. Further, there is a need to measure deposition rates for key indoor air species on relevant indoor surfaces and to reduce the uncertainties that still exist in gas-to-particle phase parametrization for both indoor and outdoor air chemistry models.

KW - Indoor secondary organic aerosol

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84865778530&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1021/es301350x

DO - 10.1021/es301350x

M3 - Article

SN - 0013-936X

VL - 46

SP - 9290

EP - 9298

JO - Environmental Science and Technology

JF - Environmental Science and Technology

IS - 17

ER -