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Published 1985 | Submitted
Journal Article Open

The dynamics of nitric acid production and the fate of nitrogen oxides

Abstract

A mathematical model is used to study the fate of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emissions and the reactions responsible for the formation of nitric acid (HNO_3). Model results indicate that the majority of the NO_x inserted into an air parcel in the Los Angeles basin is removed by dry deposition at the ground during the first 24 h of travel, and that HNO_3 is the largest single contributor to this deposition flux. A significant amount of the nitric acid is produced at night by N_2O_5 hydrolysis. Perturbation of the N_2O_5 hydrolysis rate constant within the chemical mechanism results in redistribution of the pathway by which HNO_3 is formed, but does not greatly affect the total amount of HNO_3 produced. Inclusion of NO_3-aerosol and N_2O_5-aerosol reactions does not affect the system greatly at collision efficiencies, α, of 0.001, but at α = 0.1 or α = 1.0, a great deal of nitric acid could be produced by heterogeneous chemical processes. Ability to account for the observed nitrate radical (NO_3) concentrations in the atmosphere provides a key test of the air quality modeling procedure. Predicted NO_3 concentrations compare well with those measured by Platt et al. (Geophys. Res. Lett.7, 89–92, 1980). Analysis shows that transport, deposition and emissions, as well as chemistry, are important in explaining the behavior of NO_3 in the atmosphere.

Additional Information

© 1985 Pergamon Press Ltd. First received 20 June 1984 and in final form 26 October 1984. This work was supported. in part, by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and by gifts to the Environmental Quality Laboratory. The California Air Resources Board supported AGR and recent calculations under Agreement A2-150-32.

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Created:
August 22, 2023
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October 17, 2023