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Article
Simultaneous measurements of formaldehyde and nitrous acid in dews and gas phase in the atmosphere of Santiago, Chile
USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications
  • Maria A. Rubio
  • G. Villena
  • Yasin F. Elshorbany, University of South Florida St. Petersburg
  • J. Kleffmann
  • R. Kurtenbach
  • P. Wiesen
SelectedWorks Author Profiles:

Yasin F. Elshorbany

Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
Abstract

The amounts of formaldehyde and nitrous acid (HONO) in gas phase and dews of Santiago de Chile were simultaneously measured. Formaldehyde concentrations values in the liquid phase (dews) correlate fairly well with those in the gaseous phase and are even higher than those expected from gas-dew equilibrium. On the other hand, nitrite concentrations in dews were considerably smaller (ca. 15 times) than those expected from the gas-phase concentrations. This under-saturation is attributed to diffusion limitations due to the relatively large HONO solubility. In agreement with this, under-saturation increases with the rate of dew formation and the pH of the collected waters, factors that should increase the rate of gas to liquid HONO transfer required to reach equilibrium.

Publisher
Elsevier
Citation Information
Rubio, M. A., Lissi, E., Villena, G., Elshorbany, Y. F., Kleffmann, J., Kurtenbach, R., & Wiesen, P. (2009). Simultaneous measurements of formaldehyde and nitrous acid in dews and gas phase in the atmosphere of Santiago, Chile. Atmospheric Environment, 43(38), 6106–6109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.09.017