The Synergistic Role of Sulfuric Acid, Bases, and Oxidized Organics Governing New‐Particle Formation in Beijing

Relatively high concentrations of preexisting particles, acting as a condensation sink (CS) of gaseous precursors, have been thought to suppress the occurrence of new particle formation (NPF) in urban environments, yet NPF still occurs frequently. Here, we aim to understand the factors promoting and inhibiting NPF events in urban Beijing by combining one-year-long measurements of particle number size distributions and PM 2.5 chemical composition. Our results show that indeed the CS is an important factor controlling the occurrence of NPF events, with its chemical composition affecting the efficiency of the background particles in removing gaseous H 2 SO 4 (effectiveness of the CS) driving NPF. During our observation period, the CS was found to be more effective for ammonium nitrate-rich (NH 4 NO 3 -rich) fine particles. On non-NPF event days, particles acting as CS contained a larger fraction of NH 4 NO 3 compared to NPF event days under comparable CS levels. In particular, in the CS range from 0.02 to 0.03 s –1 , the nitrate fraction was 17% on NPF event days and 26% on non-NPF event days. Overall, our results highlight the importance of considering the chemical composition of preexisting particles when estimating the CS and their role in inhibiting NPF events, especially in urban environments.

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“… 31 Detailed information about the sampling site and instruments’ operation is available in previous studies. 11 , 18 , 32 , 33 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Aerosol Chemical Composition on Condensation Sink Efficiency and New Particle Formation in Beijing

Cai

Zheng

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.

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“…However, observations in some heavily polluted megacities like Shanghai and Beijing have also revealed intensive new particle formation (NPF) events (Chu et al., 2019; Deng et al., 2020; Yao et al., 2018; Yue et al., 2009). The colocation of sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) and amines in the polluted urban boundary layer was identified as one of the most important driving factors to promote the formation and growth of new particles under the condition of high number concentration of preexisting particles (Xiao et al., 2021; Yan et al., 2021). In the absence of agricultural activities, it is a puzzle as to why abundant amines are still present in urban atmospheres.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonagricultural Emissions Dominate Urban Atmospheric Amines as Revealed by Mobile Measurements

Chang

Wang

Gao

et al. 2022

Geophysical Research Letters

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As the derivatives of ammonia (NH 3 ), gaseous amines are a class of organic vapors containing a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair, where one or more hydrogen atoms are substituted by organic functional groups, for example, an alkyl or aryl group (Qiu & Zhang, 2013). Since ambient concentration of amines (typically in the range of ppt) is 1-3 orders of magnitude lower than that of ammonia (NH 3 ;Kuhn et al., 2011), this poses a significant analytical challenge for environmental monitoring (Szulejko & Kim, 2014), resulting in scarce information on the occurrence of amines in the atmosphere. For a long time, agriculture is considered as the dominant source for both ammonia (NH 3 ) and amines (Ge et al., 2011a). For example, the concentration of amines with low molecular weight (e.g., monomethylamine or MMA, dimethylamine or DMA, and trimethylamine or TMA) can reach as high as several hundreds of ppm in the vicinity of concentrated animal feeding operations . Additionally, amines can be emitted from various natural (such as ocean organisms [Altieri et al., 2016], protein degradation [Lidbury et al., 2017], and wildfire burning [Ito et al., 2015]) and anthropogenic (such as automobiles [Cadle & Mulawa, 1980], industries [Yao et al., 2016], CO 2 sequestration process [Yamada, 2021], and treatment of sewage and waste [Chang et al., 2021]) sources.Currently, there are 24 carcinogenic amines banned by global legislatures for use in industrial production (e.g., textile dyeing) (Lee & Wexler, 2013). Moreover, amines have much stronger basicity than NH 3 and are more likely

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“…After nucleation, the growth of these newly formed particles is governed by the condensation of low volatility vapors, which is also called gas-particle partitioning [ 75 , 76 ]. The condensation of H 2 SO 4 and its clusters leads to the enhanced growth rate of newly formed particles [ 77 , 78 ]. In addition, chamber experiments conducted in the Julich Plant Atmosphere Chamber showed that highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) with low volatility can also contribute to the growth of newly formed particles [ 64 ].…”

Section: Main Research Topics and Achievementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of smog chambers in atmospheric process studies

Chu

Chen

et al. 2021

National Science Review

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The smog chamber experimental systems, which have been widely used in laboratory simulation for studying atmospheric processes, are comprehensively reviewed in this paper. The components, development history, main research topics, and main achievements of smog chambers are introduced. The typical smog chambers in the world, including their volumes, wall materials, light sources, and features, are summarized and compared. The key factors of smog chambers and their influences on the simulation of the atmospheric environment are discussed, including wall loss, wall emission, and background pollutants. The features of next-generation smog chambers and their application prospect in future studies of the atmospheric environment are also outlined in this paper.

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The Synergistic Role of Sulfuric Acid, Bases, and Oxidized Organics Governing New‐Particle Formation in Beijing

Cited by 63 publications

References 95 publications

Influence of Aerosol Chemical Composition on Condensation Sink Efficiency and New Particle Formation in Beijing

Influence of Aerosol Chemical Composition on Condensation Sink Efficiency and New Particle Formation in Beijing

Nonagricultural Emissions Dominate Urban Atmospheric Amines as Revealed by Mobile Measurements

Application of smog chambers in atmospheric process studies

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