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Atmospheric reactions of methylcyclohexanes with Cl atoms and OH radicals: determination of rate coefficients and degradation products

  • Atmospheric Pollutants in a Changing Environment
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Abstract

As the result of biogenic and anthropogenic activities, large quantities of chemical compounds are emitted into the troposphere. Alkanes, in general, and cycloalkanes are an important chemical class of hydrocarbons found in diesel, jet and gasoline, vehicle exhaust emissions, and ambient air in urban areas. In general, the primary atmospheric fate of organic compounds in the gas phase is the reaction with hydroxyl radicals (OH). The oxidation by Cl atoms has gained importance in the study of atmospheric reactions because they may exert some influence in the boundary layer, particularly in marine and coastal environments, and in the Arctic troposphere. The aim of this paper is to study of the atmospheric reactivity of methylcylohexanes with Cl atoms and OH radicals under atmospheric conditions (in air at room temperature and pressure). Relative kinetic techniques have been used to determine the rate coefficients for the reaction of Cl atoms and OH radicals with methylcyclohexane, cis-1,4-dimethylcyclohexane, trans-1,4-dimethylcyclohexane, and 1,3,5-trimethylcyclohexane at 298 ± 2 K and 720 ± 5 Torr of air by Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in two atmospheric simulation chambers. The products formed in the reaction under atmospheric conditions were investigated using a 200-L Teflon bag and employing the technique of solid-phase microextraction coupled to a GC-MS. The rate coefficients obtained for the reaction of Cl atoms with the studied compounds are the following ones (in units of 10−10 cm3 molecule−1 s−1): (3.11 ± 0.16), (2.89 ± 0.16), (2.89 ± 0.26), and (2.61 ± 0.42), respectively. For the reactions with OH radicals the determined rate coefficients are (in units of 10−11 cm3 molecule−1 s−1): (1.18 ± 0.12), (1.49 ± 0.16), (1.41 ± 0.15), and (1.77 ± 0.23), respectively. The reported error is twice the standard deviation. A detailed mechanism for ring-retaining product channels is proposed to justify the observed reaction products. The global tropospheric lifetimes estimated from the reported OH- and Cl-rate coefficients show that the main removal path for the investigated methylcyclohexanes is the reaction with OH radicals. But in marine environments, after sunrise, Cl reactions become more important in the tropospheric degradation. Thus, the estimated lifetimes range from 16 to 24 h for the reactions of the OH radical (calculated with [OH] = 106 atoms cm-3) and around 7–8 h in the reactions with Cl atoms in marine environments (calculated with [Cl] = 1.3 × 105 atoms cm-3). The reaction of Cl atoms and OH radicals and methylcylohexanes can proceed by H abstraction from the different positions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (Projects CGL2007-61835 and CGL2010-19066) and the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (Projects PAI-05-062 and PCI08-0123-0381) for the financial support of this research work. A. A. Ceacero-Vega wishes to thank the first institution for providing him a grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Sciences and Technologies, University of Castilla–La Mancha, Avda. Camilo José Cela s/n, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Bernabé Ballesteros, Antonio A. Ceacero-Vega, Elena Jiménez & José Albaladejo

  2. Research Institute on Combustion and Atmospheric Pollution, University of Castilla–La Mancha, Camino de Moledores s/n, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain

    Bernabé Ballesteros, Elena Jiménez & José Albaladejo

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  1. Bernabé Ballesteros
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  2. Antonio A. Ceacero-Vega
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  3. Elena Jiménez
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  4. José Albaladejo
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Correspondence to José Albaladejo.

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Ballesteros, B., Ceacero-Vega, A.A., Jiménez, E. et al. Atmospheric reactions of methylcyclohexanes with Cl atoms and OH radicals: determination of rate coefficients and degradation products. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 4806–4819 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2901-0

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