Strong spectral dependence of light absorption by organic carbon particles formed by propane combustion

We have measured the extinction and absorption cross sections of carbon particles emitted by a propane diffusion flame both in an aerosol chamber and on size-segregated samples deposited on optical windows. The absorption cross section, the single scattering albedo, and the Angstrom exponent show drastic dependencies both on the C/O ratio and on the particle size. This is interpretated as being due to the appearance of nucleation modes of smaller organic particles at higher C/O ratios, which were detected by SMPS measurements and partially by TEM analysis. The spectral range of the validity of the absorption power-law (Angstrom exponent) model is investigated by vacuum ultraviolet extinction measurements. These measurements give also indications for a preferentially aromatic nature of the OC component of the flame products.

[1]  T. Bond,et al.  Light Absorption by Carbonaceous Particles: An Investigative Review , 2006 .

[2]  M. Andreae,et al.  Measurement of Wavelength-Resolved Light Absorption by Aerosols Utilizing a UV-VIS Extinction Cell , 2005 .

[3]  Thomas W. Kirchstetter,et al.  Evidence that the spectral dependence of light absorption by aerosols is affected by organic carbon , 2004 .

[4]  D. Streets,et al.  A technology‐based global inventory of black and organic carbon emissions from combustion , 2004 .

[5]  D. Worsnop,et al.  Particle Morphology and Density Characterization by Combined Mobility and Aerodynamic Diameter Measurements. Part 2: Application to Combustion-Generated Soot Aerosols as a Function of Fuel Equivalence Ratio , 2004 .

[6]  A. Ciajolo,et al.  Aromatic structures of carbonaceous materials and soot inferred by spectroscopic analysis , 2004 .

[7]  H. Horvath,et al.  UV-VIS-NIR spectral optical properties of soot and soot-containing aerosols , 2003 .

[8]  M. Schnaiter,et al.  Absorption of light by soot particles: determination of the absorption coefficient by means of aethalometers , 2003 .

[9]  K. Naumann.  COSIMA—a computer program simulating the dynamics of fractal aerosols , 2003 .

[10]  J. Robertson.  Diamond-like amorphous carbon , 2002 .

[11]  T. Bond.  Spectral dependence of visible light absorption by carbonaceous particles emitted from coal combustion , 2001 .

[12]  Tami C. Bond,et al.  Calibration and Intercomparison of Filter-Based Measurements of Visible Light Absorption by Aerosols , 1999 .

[13]  Robert A. Fletcher,et al.  The evolution of soot precursor particles in a diffusion flame , 1998 .

[14]  Klaus-Heinrich Homann,et al.  Fullerenes and Soot Formation- New Pathways to Large Particles in Flames. , 1998, Angewandte Chemie.

[15]  R. Fletcher,et al.  Mass spectrometry of particles formed in a deuterated ethene diffusion flame. , 1998, Analytical chemistry.

[16]  R. L. Wal.  Soot precursor carbonization: Visualization using LIF and LII and comparison using bright and dark field TEM , 1998 .

[17]  R. Fletcher,et al.  Mass Spectrometry of Particles Formed in a Deuterated Ethene (C2D4) Diffusion Flame | NIST , 1998 .

[18]  E. Ulrich,et al.  The characterization of carbon species in particulate matter by successive thermal desorption , 1990 .