Modeling SOA production from the oxidation of intermediate volatility alkanes

Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA) production and ageing is a multigenerational oxidation process involving the formation of successive organic compounds with higher oxidation degree and lower vapour pressure. This process was investigated using the explicit oxidation model GECKO-A (Generator for Explicit Chemistry and Kinetics of Organics in the Atmosphere). Results for the C8-C24 n-alkane series show the expected trends, i.e. (i) SOA yield grows with the carbon backbone of the parent hydrocarbon, (ii) SOA yields decreases with the decreasing pre-existing organic aerosol concentration, (iii) the number of generations required to describe SOA production increases when the pre-existing organic aerosol concentration decreases. Most SOA contributors were found to be not oxidized enough to be categorized as highly oxygenated organic aerosols (OOA) but reduced enough to be categorized as hydrocarbon like organic aerosols (HOA). Branched alkanes are more prone to fragment in the early stage of the oxidation than their corresponding linear analogues. Fragmentation is expected to alter both the yield and the mean oxidation state of the SOA. Here, GECKO-A is applied to generate highly detailed oxidation schemes for various series of branched and cyclised alkanes. Branching and cyclisation effects on SOA yields and oxidation states will be examined.