Nuclei, condensation

The accepted configuration of naphthalene, ie, two fused benzene rings sharing two common carbon atoms in the ortho position, was estabUshed in 1869 and was based on its oxidation product, phthaUc acid (1). Based on its fused-ring configuration, naphthalene is the first member in a class of aromatic compounds with condensed nuclei. Naphthalene is a resonance hybrid ... 

When a liquid or solid substance is emitted to the air as particulate matter, its properties and effects may be changed. As a substance is broken up into smaller and smaller particles, more of its surface area is exposed to the air. Under these circumstances, the substance, whatever its chemical composition, tends to combine physically or chemically with other particles or gases in the atmosphere. The resulting combinations are frequently unpredictable. Very small aerosol particles (from 0.001 to 0.1 Im) can act as condensation nuclei to facilitate the condensation of water vapor, thus promoting the formation of fog and ground mist. Particles less than 2 or 3 [Lm in size (about half by weight of the particles suspended in urban air) can penetrate the mucous membrane and attract and convey harmful chemicals such as sulfur dioxide. In order to address the special concerns related to the effects of very fine, iuhalable particulates, EPA replaced its ambient air standards for total suspended particulates (TSP) with standards for particlute matter less than 10 [Lm in size (PM, ). 

Air polluhon 10 -lo- nuclei Condensation nuclei Microscope Suspended Dust-mist Fume-mist Diflir- . n ind - edimentatiun... 

Condensation scrubbing is a relatively recent development in wet scrubber technology. Most conventional scrubbers rely on the mechanisms of impaction and diffusion to achieve contact between the PM and liquid droplets. In a condensation scrubber, the PM act as condensation nuclei for the formation of droplets. Generally, condensation scrubbing depends on first establishing saturation conditions in the gas stream. Once saturation is achieved, steam is injected into the gas stream. The steam creates a condition of supersaturation and leads to condensation of water on the fine PM in the gas stream. The large condensed droplets are then removed by one of several conventional devices, such as a high efficiency mist eliminator. 

Condensation Nuclei the small nuclei or particles which gaseous constituents in the atmosphere (e.g., water vapor) collide and adhere. 

Only two possibilities exist for explaining the existence of cloud formation in the atmosphere. If there were no particles to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), water would condense into clouds at relative humidities (RH) of around 300%. That is, air can remain supersaturated below 300% with water vapor for long periods of fime. If this were to occur, condensation would occur on surface objects and the hydrologic cycle would be very different from what is observed. Thus, a second possibility must be the case particles are present in the air and act as CCN at much lower RH. These particles must be small enough to have small settling velocity, stay in the air for long periods of time and be lofted to the top of the troposphere by ordinary updrafts of cm/s velocity. Two further possibilities exist - the particles can either be water soluble or insoluble. In order to understand why it is likely that CCN are soluble, we examine the consequences of the effect of curvature on the saturation water pressure of water. 

If the reaction is between two gas-phase species, then this reaction could be a source of cloud condensation nuclei, or simply a means to neutralize an acidic aerosol. Although there are some questions concerning the measurement of atmospheric HNO3, (Lawson, 1988) most measurements indicate that gaseous HNO3 concentrations predominate over particle NOi". 

These particles can be a major fraction of the cloud condensation nuclei. 

McLaughlin, J.P., The Attachment of Radon Daughters to Condensation Nuclei, Proc. Royal Irish Academy 72, Sect. A., 51 (1972). 

The general characteristics of these ions have been reviewed by Bricard and Pradel (1966). The attachment of radon and thoron daughter ions to aerosols including condensation nuclei has been studied by a number of investigators (Raabe, 1968 McLaughlin, 1972 Porstendorfer and Mercer, 1979 and Busigin, et al., 1981), and will not be considered further in this paper. We turn now to some experimental results that bear directly on the characteristics of the radon daughter ions. 

The concentration of small ions in the atmosphere is determined by 1) the rate of ion-pair production by the cosmic rays and radioactive decay due to natural radioactive substances, 2) recombination with negative ions, 3) attachment to condensation nuclei, 4) precipitation scavenging, and 5) transport processes including convection, advection, eddy diffusion, sedimentation, and ion migration under the influence of electric fields. A detailed differential equation for the concentration of short-lived Rn-222 daughter ions including these terms as well as those pertaining to the rate of formation of the... 

The activity concentration of radon and of the free and aerosol attached radon daughters i/ere measured simultaneously. During these measurements the aerosol particle concentration i/as registered by means of a condensation nuclei counter (General Electric). 

The rooms without aerosol sources and low ventilation rate (v<0.3 hf1 ) had low aerosol concentrations (2 103 - 104 cm-3) due to the small influence of the higher aerosol concentrations outdoors (aerosols by traffic and combustions) (Table la). In this case the aerosol in the room air was aged by coagulation and plateout and had less condensation nuclei of smaller sizes (d<100 nm). Rooms with a moderate ventilation show higher particle concentrations ((1-5) 10 cm 3) (Table Ila). With aerosol sources in a room (Table III) the aerosol concentrations can increase to 5 105 particles/cm3. The relative error of the measured particle concentration is in the order of 15% primary determined by the uncertainties of the absolute calibrations of the condensation nuclei counter. 

Figure 4b shows unmistakably a growth mode occurring at SO2 concentration 10-20 ppm injected into the mainstream at the point where the CN were injected (Droullard et al, 1984). The condensation nuclei level, as measured continuously by a TSI counter, increased to about 4 X 105 cm 3 level during the time when measurements in figure 3b were taken. Note that at size 4.2nm the counter efficiency is only 8% (Agarwal and Sem, 1980). The value 4 X 105 is corrected for that. 

Ararwal, J.K. and G.J. Sem, Continuous Flow, Single-Particle-Counting Condensation Nuclei Counter, J. Aerosol Sci. 11 343-358 (1980). 

As previously mentioned, past studies used non-filtered air with unknown concentrations of trace gases at unknown relative humidities. Also, many of the studies used plastic aging chambers that may have introduced volatile monomers into the air. These unknown factors are important to determine in order to fully understand the nature of the ultrafine particle mode. According to the classical thermodynamic theory of ion cluster formation (Coghlan and Scott, 1983), the relative humidity and trace gases will affect the existence of condensation nuclei. Megaw and Wiffen (1961) observed an increase in nuclei formation with the presence of sulfur dioxide. 

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