Particulate organic nitrates observed in an oil and natural gas production region during wintertime

Lee, L.; Wooldridge, P. J.; Degouw, J.; Brown, Steven S.; Bates, T. S.; Quinn, Patricia K.; Cohen, R. C.

doi:10.5194/acp-15-9313-2015

Cited by 19 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although little is known about the health impacts of pON, inhalation of nitrating reagents in aerosol is thought to be associated with various health risks such as the triggering of immune responses and promoting the genesis of allergies (Pöschl, 2005). Furthermore, pON can be highly functionalized, which has been observed in the events of new particle formation and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) growth (Ehn et al, 2014;Lee et al, 2016), with strong impacts on air quality and climate (Hallquist et al, 2009;Kanakidou et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A large contribution of anthropogenic organo-nitrates to secondary organic aerosol in the Alberta oil sands

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The oil sands industry in Alberta, Canada, represents a large anthropogenic source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Atmospheric emissions from oil sands operations are a complex mixture of gaseous and particulate pollutants. Their interaction can affect the formation and characteristics of SOA during plume dispersion, but their chemical evolution remains poorly understood. Oxidative processing of organic vapours in the presence of NOx can lead to particulate organo-nitrate (pON) formation, with important impacts on the SOA budgets, the nitrogen cycle and human health. We provide the first direct field evidence, from ground- and aircraft-based real-time aerosol mass spectrometry, that anthropogenic pON contributed up to half of SOA mass that was freshly produced within the emission plumes of oil sands facilities. Using a top-down emission-rate retrieval algorithm constrained by aircraft measurements, we estimate the production rate of pON in the oil sands region to be ∼15.5 t d−1. We demonstrate that pON formation occurs via photo-oxidation of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) in high-NOx environments, providing observational constraints to improve current SOA modelling frameworks. Our ambient observations are supported by laboratory photo-oxidation experiments of IVOCs from bitumen vapours under high-NOx conditions, which demonstrate that pON can account for 30 %–55 % of the observed SOA mass depending on the degree of photochemical ageing. The large contribution of pON to freshly formed anthropogenic SOA illustrates the central role of pON in SOA production from the oil and gas industry, with relevance for other urban and industrial regions with significant anthropogenic IVOC and NOx emissions.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A large contribution of anthropogenic organo-nitrates to secondary organic aerosol in the Alberta oil sands

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Low concentrations are found in remote regions and during the day. EURAD-IM simulations for Europe show an increase of SOA by 50 to 70 % when considering SOA formation by NO 3 oxidation with maximum ground-level concentrations of SOA from NO 3 oxidation in the range of 2 to 4 µg m −3 (Li et al, 2013;.…”

Section: Western United Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review response

Brown¹

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) by the nitrate radical (NO 3 ) represents one of the important interactions between anthropogenic emissions related to combustion and natural emissions from the biosphere. This interaction has been recognized for more than 3 decades, during which time a large body of research has emerged from laboratory, field, and modeling studies. NO 3 -BVOC reactions influence air quality, climate and visibility through regional and global budgets for reactive nitrogen (particularly organic nitrates), ozone, and organic aerosol. Despite its long history of research and the significance of this topic in atmospheric chemistry, a number of important uncertainties remain. These include an incomplete understanding of the rates, mechanisms, and organic aerosol yields for NO 3 -BVOC reactions, lack of constraints on the role of heterogeneous oxidative processes associated with the NO 3 radical, the difficulty of characterizing the spatial distributions of BVOC and NO 3 within the poorly mixed nocturnal atmosphere, and the challenge of constructing appropriate boundary layer schemes and non-photochemical mechanisms for use in state-of-the-art chemical transport and chemistry-climate models.This review is the result of a workshop of the same title held at the Georgia Institute of Technology in June 2015. The first half of the review summarizes the current literature on NO 3 -BVOC chemistry, with a particular focus on recent advances in instrumentation and models, and in organic nitrate and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation chemistry. Building on this current understanding, the second half of the review outlines impacts of NO 3 -BVOC chemistry on air quality and climate, and suggests critical research needs to better constrain this interaction to improve the predictive capabilities of atmospheric models. Isoprene Monoterpenes O 3 •NO 3 NO x Nitrates Aerosol Biogenic VOCs NO, NO 2 Air quality Climate Atmos.

show abstract

“…Extensive field investigations demonstrate the significant formation of pON via nocturnal NO3 radical chemistry of biogenic VOCs on a global scale (Kiendler-Scharr et al, 20 2016;Ng et al, 2017). Daytime production of pON has also been observed in urban and forested regions (Farmer et al, 2010;Kiendler-Scharr et al, 2016;Lee et al, 2016;Lee et al, 2015b) but the potential role of anthropogenic VOCs in pON formation remains largely unexplored. Until recently, a field study Atmos.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Discussion started: 11 January 2019 c Author(s) 2019. CC BY 4.0 License. demonstrated that oil and natural gas drilling operations were associated with alkane-derived pON production (Lee et al, 2015b). Heavier saturated alkanes were more important contributors to pON formation from OH radical oxidation during the daytime, whereas pON from lighter biogenic VOCs dominated nighttime production due to NO3 and N2O5 chemistry (Lee et al, 2015b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CC BY 4.0 License. demonstrated that oil and natural gas drilling operations were associated with alkane-derived pON production (Lee et al, 2015b). Heavier saturated alkanes were more important contributors to pON formation from OH radical oxidation during the daytime, whereas pON from lighter biogenic VOCs dominated nighttime production due to NO3 and N2O5 chemistry (Lee et al, 2015b). Despite advances in our understanding of pON, there remains limited direct field observations that (1) evaluate the significance 5 of daytime formation of anthropogenic pON, (2) constrain the contribution of pON to anthropogenic SOA in chemical transport models, and (3) identify the major anthropogenic pON precursors in urban environments and regions that are heavily influenced by large-scale industrial and urban emissions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Large Contribution of Anthropogenic Organo-Nitrates to Secondary Organic Aerosol in the Alberta Oil Sands

Lee¹,

Adam²,

Liggio³

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The oil sands industry in Alberta, Canada represents a large anthropogenic source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Atmospheric emissions from oil sands operations are a complex mixture of gaseous and particulate pollutants. Their interaction can affect the formation and characteristics of SOA during plume dispersion, but their chemical evolution remains poorly understood. Oxidative processing of organic vapours in the presence of NOx can lead to particulate organo-nitrate (pON) formation, with important impacts for the SOA budgets, the nitrogen cycle and human health. We provide the first direct field evidence, from ground and aircraft-based real-time aerosol mass spectrometry, that anthropogenic pON contributed up to half of SOA mass that was freshly produced within the emission plumes of oil sands facilities. Using a top-down emission rate retrieval algorithm constrained by aircraft measurements, we estimate the production rate of pON in the oil sands region to be ~&#8201;15.5 tonnes/day. We demonstrate that pON formation occurs via photooxidation of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) in high NOx environments, providing observational constraints to improve current SOA modelling frameworks. Our ambient observations are supported by laboratory photooxidation experiments of IVOCs from bitumen vapours under high NOx conditions, which demonstrate that pON can account for 30&#8211;55&#8201;% of the observed SOA mass depending on the degree of photochemical aging. The large contribution of pON to freshly formed anthropogenic SOA illustrates the central role of pON in SOA production from the oil and gas industry, with relevance for other urban and industrial regions with significant IVOC and NOx emissions.

show abstract

Particulate organic nitrates observed in an oil and natural gas production region during wintertime

Cited by 19 publications

References 51 publications

A large contribution of anthropogenic organo-nitrates to secondary organic aerosol in the Alberta oil sands

A large contribution of anthropogenic organo-nitrates to secondary organic aerosol in the Alberta oil sands

Review response

A Large Contribution of Anthropogenic Organo-Nitrates to Secondary Organic Aerosol in the Alberta Oil Sands

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About