| Title: | Aging of Volatile Organic Compounds in October 2017 Northern California Wildfire Plumes |
| Author(s): | Liang Y; Weber RJ; Misztal PK; Jen CN; Goldstein AH; |
| Address: | "Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States. Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, United States. Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United State. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1520-5851 (Electronic) 0013-936X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "In the western United States, the number and severity of large wildfires have been growing for decades. Biomass burning (BB) is a major source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the atmosphere both globally and regionally. Following emission, BB VOCs are oxidized while being transported downwind, producing ozone, secondary organic aerosols, and secondary hazardous VOCs. In this research, we measured VOCs using proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) in an urban area 55-65 km downwind of the October 2017 Northern California wildfires. Nonaromatic oxygenated compounds were the dominant component of BB VOCs measured. In the smoke plumes, the VOCs account for 70-75% of the total observed organic carbon, with the remainder being particulate matter (with a diameter of <2.5 mum, PM(2.5)). We show that the correlation of VOCs with furan (primary BB VOC) and maleic anhydride (secondary BB VOC) can indicate the origin of the VOCs. This was further confirmed by the diurnal variations of the VOCs and their concentration-weighted trajectories. Oxidation during transport consumed highly reactive compounds including benzenoids, furanoids, and terpenoids and produced more oxygenated VOCs. Furthermore, wildfire VOCs altered the ozone formation regime and raised the O(3) levels in the San Francisco Bay Area" |
| Keywords: | *Air Pollutants/analysis China Environmental Monitoring/methods *Ozone/analysis San Francisco *Volatile Organic Compounds *Wildfires atmospheric oxidation biomass burning hydroxyl radical reactivity ozone formation volatile organic compounds; |
| Notes: | "MedlineLiang, Yutong Weber, Robert J Misztal, Pawel K Jen, Coty N Goldstein, Allen H eng Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2022/01/18 Environ Sci Technol. 2022 Feb 1; 56(3):1557-1567. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c05684. Epub 2022 Jan 16" |
