Troposphere alcohols

Snider, J.R. and Dawson, G.A. Tropospheric light alcohols, carbonyls, and acetonitrile concentrations in the southwestern United States and Henry s law data, /. Geophys. Res., D Atmos., 90(D2) 3797-3805, 1985. 

There are over 70 alcohols in the atmosphere as a result of biogenic and anthropogenic emissions [67]. For example methanol and ethanol [68-70] have been used as fuels additives to reduce automobile emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons [71], in particular ethanol has been used in Brazil as a fuel for over 20 years [72]. 1-Propanol is widely used as a solvent in the manufacturing of different electronic components. The high volatility of these compounds causes their relative abundance in the troposphere and makes it relevant to determine their degradation pathways. During daytime the major loss process for alcohols is their reaction with OH radicals [68]. Accordingly, several experimental [69,70,73-84] and theoretical [85-88] kinetic studies of alcohols -F OH reactions have been performed. 

PROBABLE FATE photolysis direct photolysis in water expected to be slow oxidation photooxidation in the troposphere is probably the predominant fate process hydrolysis slow hydrolysis to 3-cloroallyl alcohol occurs, may be important process, first order hydrolytic half-life 5.5 days-11.3 days volatilization volatilization to the atmosphere should be a major transport process biological processes biodegradation is possible evaporation from water 25°C of 1 ppm solution is 50% after 31 min., and 90% after 98 min about 95% ends up in air the rest ends up in water... 

This chapter contains kinetic and mechanistic information on the reactions of OH, NO3, O3, and Cl with saturated-, unsaturated-, halogenated-, and aromatic-alcohols, and alkyl hydroperoxides. The reactions of OH radicals with saturated alcohols presented here are based on the recent review by Calvert et al. (2008) with relevant updates. Rate coefficients are combined with the tropospheric concentrations of OH, NO3, and O3 to estimate atmospheric lifetimes of these compounds. 

If this limited sample of spectra of hydroxynitrates is representative of other fi-nitro-substituted alcohols, then the photodecomposition of these species within the troposphere is expected to be unimportant, since there is little or no overlap of the absorption region with that of the actinic flux available within the troposphere. 

Ballesteros, B., A. Garzon, E. Jimenez, A. Notario, J. Albaladejo (2007), Relative and absolute kinetic studies of 2-butanol and related alcohols with tropospheric Cl atoms, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 9, 1210-1218. 

Pfrang, C., M.T. Baeza-Romero, B. Cabanas, C.E. Canosa-Mas, F. Villanueva, and R.P. Wayne (2007), Night-time tropospheric chemistry of the unsaturated alcohols (Z)-pent-2-en-l-ol and pent-l-en-3-ol Kinetic studies of reactions of NO3 and N2O5 with stress-induced plant emissions, Afmos. Environ., 41, 1652-1662. 

Yarwood, G, S. KembaU-Cook, M. Keinath, R.L. Waterland, S.H. Koizeniowski, R.C. Buck, M.H. Russell, and S.T. Washbnrn (2007), High-resolution atmospheric modeling of flu-orotelomer alcohols and perflnorocarboxylic acids in the North American troposphere. Environ. Sci. Technol, 41, 5756-5762. 

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