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    Development of a protocol for the auto-generation of explicit aqueous-phase oxidation schemes of organic compounds
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2019) Bräuer, Peter; Mouchel-Vallon, Camille; Tilgner, Andreas; Mutzel, Anke; Böge, Olaf; Rodigast, Maria; Poulain, Laurent; van Pinxteren, Dominik; Wolke, Ralf; Aumont, Bernard; Herrmann, Hartmut
    This paper presents a new CAPRAM-GECKOA protocol for mechanism auto-generation of aqueous-phase organic processes. For the development, kinetic data in the literature were reviewed and a database with 464 aqueousphase reactions of the hydroxyl radical with organic compounds and 130 nitrate radical reactions with organic compounds has been compiled and evaluated. Five different methods to predict aqueous-phase rate constants have been evaluated with the help of the kinetics database: gas-aqueous phase correlations, homologous series of various compound classes, radical reactivity comparisons, Evans-Polanyi-type correlations, and structure-activity relationships (SARs). The quality of these prediction methods was tested as well as their suitability for automated mechanism construction. Based on this evaluation, SARs form the basis of the new CAPRAM-GECKO-A protocol. Evans-Polanyi-type correlations have been advanced to consider all available H atoms in a molecule besides the H atoms with only the weakest bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs). The improved Evans- Polanyi-type correlations are used to predict rate constants for aqueous-phase NO3 and organic compounds reactions. Extensive tests have been performed on essential parameters and on highly uncertain parameters with limited experimental data. These sensitivity studies led to further improvements in the new CAPRAM-GECKO-A protocol but also showed current limitations. Biggest uncertainties were observed in uptake processes and the estimation of Henry's law coefficients as well as radical chemistry, in particular the degradation of alkoxy radicals. Previous estimation methods showed several deficits, which impacted particle growth. For further evaluation, a 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene oxidation experiment has been performed in the aerosol chamber "Leipziger Aerosolkammer" (LEAK) at high relative humidity conditions and compared to a multiphase mechanism using the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCMv3.2) in the gas phase and using a methylglyoxal oxidation scheme of about 600 reactions generated with the new CAPRAM-GECKO-A protocol in the aqueous phase. While it was difficult to evaluate single particle constituents due to concentrations close to the detection limits of the instruments applied, the model studies showed the importance of aqueous-phase chemistry in respect to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation and particle growth. The new protocol forms the basis for further CAPRAM mechanism development towards a new version 4.0. Moreover, it can be used as a supplementary tool for aerosol chambers to design and analyse experiments of chemical complexity and help to understand them on a molecular level. © 2019 Author(s).
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    Treatment of non-ideality in the SPACCIM multiphase model-Part 2: Impacts on the multiphase chemical processing in deliquesced aerosol particles
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2020) Jhony Rusumdar, Ahmad; Tilgner, Andreas; Wolke, Ralf; Herrmann, Hartmut
    Tropospheric deliquesced particles are characterised by concentrated non-ideal solutions ("aerosol liquid water" or ALW) that can affect the occurring multiphase chemistry. However, such non-ideal solution effects have generally not yet been considered in and investigated by current complex multiphase chemistry models in an adequate way. Therefore, the present study aims at accessing the impact of non-ideality on multiphase chemical processing in concentrated aqueous aerosols. Simulations with the multiphase chemistry model (SPACCIM-SpactMod) are performed under different environmental and microphysical conditions with and without a treatment of non-ideal solutions in order to assess its impact on aqueous-phase chemical processing. The present study shows that activity coefficients of inorganic ions are often below unity under 90% RH-deliquesced aerosol conditions and that most uncharged organic compounds exhibit activity coefficient values of around or even above unity. Due to this behaviour, model studies have revealed that the inclusion of non-ideality considerably affects the multiphase chemical processing of transition metal ions (TMIs), oxidants, and related chemical subsystems such as organic chemistry. In detail, both the chemical formation and oxidation rates of Fe(II) are substantially lowered by a factor of 2.8 in the non-ideal base case compared to the ideal case. The reduced Fe(II) processing in the non-ideal base case, including lowered chemical rates of the Fenton reaction (70 %), leads to a reduced processing of HOx=HOy under deliquesced aerosol conditions. Consequently, higher multiphase H2O2 concentrations (larger by a factor of 3.1) and lower aqueous-phase OH concentrations (lower by a factor of 4) are modelled during non-cloud periods. For H2O2, a comparison of the chemical reaction rates reveals that the most important sink, the reaction with HSO3 , contributes with a 40% higher rate in the non-ideal base case than in the ideal case, leading to more efficient sulfate formation. On the other hand, the chemical formation rates of the OH radical are about 50% lower in the non-ideal base case than in the ideal case, leading to lower degradation rates of organic aerosol components. Thus, considering non-ideality influences the chemical processing and the concentrations of organic compounds under deliquesced particle conditions in a compound-specific manner. For example, the reduced oxidation budget under deliquesced particle conditions leads to both increased and decreased concentration levels, e.g. of important C2=C3 carboxylic acids. For oxalic acid, the present study demonstrates that the non-ideality treatment enables more realistic predictions of high oxalate concentrations than observed under ambient highly polluted conditions. Furthermore, the simulations imply that lower humidity conditions, i.e. more concentrated solutions, might promote higher oxalic acid concentration levels in aqueous aerosols due to differently affected formation and degradation processes. © 2020 Copernicus GmbH. All rights reserved.