Project Number: 16-031

Research

Title: Condensed Chemical Mechanisms for Ozone and Particulate Matter incorporating the latest in Isoprene chemistry

Institution(s) Represented: University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill - William Vizuete

Lead PI: William Vizuete

AQRP Project Manager: Elena McDonald-Buller

TCEQ Project Liaison: Jim Price

Awarded Amount: $225,000.00

Abstract

Isoprene, the most emitted non-methane hydrocarbon on the planet, is known to influence ozone (O3) formation in Houston, Texas. Eastern Texas and northern Louisiana feature some of the largest biogenic emission sources of isoprene in the United States. It is also now known that the photochemical oxidation of isoprene, when mixed with anthropogenic emissions from urban areas like those found in Houston, can produce significant yields of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) through acid-catalyzed multiphase chemistry of isoprene epoxydiols (IEPOX) that leads to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. Next-generation regulatory models in Houston will attempt to capture this recent discovery even though there exists great uncertainty in both gas-phase isoprene oxidation and SOA formation chemistry. This work will produce a fully updated condensed gas-phase mechanism based on SAPRC-07 and PM formation parameters suitable for use in a regulatory air quality model. The updated parameters will be evaluated against an archive of UNC smog chamber experiments, including new isoprene SOA experiments that investigate the effect of organic coatings/mixtures on the acid-catalyzed multiphase chemistry of IEPOX.

Our previously funded Air Quality Research Program (AQRP) work has directly derived the multiphase kinetics of IEPOX only on pure inorganic aerosols. In the atmosphere, however, IEPOX will more likely encounter mixed particles containing both pre-existing organics and acidic sulfate. As a result, there is a need to constrain the impact of pre-existing organics within acidic sulfate aerosol on the kinetics of IEPOX multiphase chemistry. We will also produce a regulatory air quality modeling episode focused on Houston to test these new updates in a simulated urban environment. This work directly addresses the stated priority area of improving the understanding of O3 and PM formation and the interaction with PM precursors. Further, the regulatory air quality modeling system developed by this work can begin to address the stated priority of quantifying the impacts of uncertainty due to the treatment of atmospheric chemical processes by condensed models.

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Research

Research

FY 2016 - 2017

Project Number: 16-031