HR: 1340h
AN: A33D-1554    [Abstracts]
TI: Determination of formaldehyde mixing ratios in polluted air with PTR-MS: Laboratory experiments and field measurements
AU: * Inomata, S
EM: ino@nies.go.jp
AF: National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8506, Japan
AU: Tanimoto, H
EM: tanimoto@nies.go.jp
AF: National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8506, Japan
AU: Kameyama, S
EM: kameyama.sohiko@nies.go.jp
AF: National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8506, Japan
AU: Kameyama, S
EM: kameyama.sohiko@nies.go.jp
AF: JSPS Research Fellow, Shiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-8471, Japan
AU: Tsunogai, U
EM: urumu@mail.sci.hokudai.ac.jp
AF: Hokkaido University, Kita 10 Noshi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan
AU: Irie, H
EM: irie@jamstec.go.jp
AF: Frontier Research Center for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 3173-25, Showa-machi, Yokohama, 236-0001, Japan
AU: Kanaya, Y
EM: yugo@jamstec.go.jp
AF: Frontier Research Center for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 3173-25, Showa-machi, Yokohama, 236-0001, Japan
AU: Wang, Z
EM: zifa.wang@mail.iap.ac.cn
AF: LAPC/NZC, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 10029, China
AB: Formaldehyde (HCHO), the most abundant carbonyl compound in the atmosphere, is generated as an intermediate product in the oxidation of nonmethane hydrocarbons. Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) has the capability to detect HCHO from ion signals at m/z 31 with high time-resolution. However, the detection sensitivity is low compared to other detectable species, and is considerably affected by humidity, due to back reactions between protonated HCHO and water vapor prior to analysis. We performed a laboratory calibration of HCHO by PTR-MS and examined the detection sensitivity and humidity dependence at various field strengths. Subsequently, we deployed the PTR-MS instrument in a field campaign at Mount Tai in China in June 2006 to measure HCHO in various meteorological and photochemical conditions; we also conducted intercomparison measurements by Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS). Correction of interference in the m/z 31 signals by fragments from proton transfer reactions with methyl hydroperoxide, methanol, and ethanol greatly improves agreement between the two methods, giving the correlation [HCHO]_MAX-DOAS = (0.99 ± 0.16) [HCHO]_PTR-MS + (0.02 ± 0.38), where error limits represent 95% confidence levels.
DE: 0345 Pollution: urban and regional (0305, 0478, 4251)
DE: 0365 Troposphere: composition and chemistry
DE: 0368 Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry
DE: 0394 Instruments and techniques
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting