Water vapor interaction with aerosol particles

As discussed in Section 6.5, water vapor and the heat released and absorbed by transitions of water between the vapor state and the liquid or solid state are strongly involved in atmospheric energy transfer. Condensed water vapor in the form of very small droplets is of considerable concern in atmospheric chemistry. The harmful effects of some air pollutants—for instance, the corrosion of metals by acid-forming gases—requires the presence of water, which may come from the atmosphere. Atmospheric water vapor has an important influence on pollution-induced fog formation under some circumstances. Water vapor interacting with pollutant particulate matter in the atmosphere may reduce visibility to undesirable levels through the formation of very small atmospheric aerosol particles. 

Interaction of Aerosol Particles with Water Vapor... 

Table 7.3 lists examples of common mineral aerosol particles in the Earth s troposphere based on estimates by Leinen et al. [64] and Claquin et al. [65]. The surfaces of these particles interact with water vapor and atmospheric gases (e.g., S02 and NOJ, and thus serve as cloud condensation nuclei, which can have dramatic effects on global temperatures [66]. 

Poschl, U., Letzel, T., et al. (2001) Interaction of ozone and water vapor with spark discharge soot aerosol particles coated with benzo[a]pyrene and H2O adsorption, benzo[a]pyrene degrada-... 

The kinetics of chemical interactions between fission product vapor and aerosols is mainly controlled by gas phase mass transport, by the kinetics of the chemical reaction, and by mass transport in the condensed phase. Another factor potentially influencing the kinetics of vapor deposition is that the heat liberated by condensation or by chemical reaction of vapor with aerosol must be disposed of. Because of their small masses, aerosol particles have only limited capacity for conducting away this heat, compared with the structures within the reactor coolant system. This problem may arise particularly in the deposition of water vapor onto aerosol particles which have been previously covered by hygroscopic or water-soluble compounds such as CsOH. 

Poschl, U., Letzel, T., Schauer, C., Niessner, R. Interaction of ozone and water vapor with spark discharge soot aerosol particles coated with benzo[a]pyrene O3 and H2O adsorption, benzofm] pyrene degradation, and atmospheric implications. J. Phys. Chem. A 105, 4029-4041 (2001) Prince, A.P., Wade, J.L., Grassian, V.H., Kleiber, K.D., Young, M.A. Heterogeneous reactions of soot aerosols with nitrogen dioxide and nitric acid atmospheric chamber and Knudsen cell smdies. Atmos. Environ. 36, 5729-5740 (2002)... 

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