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High levels of ammonia do not raise fine particle pH sufficiently to yield nitrogen oxide-dominated sulfate production
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Abstract High levels of ammonia (NH3) have been suggested to elevate ambient particle pH levels to near neutral acidity (pH = 7), a condition that promotes rapid SO2 oxidation by NO2 to form aerosol sulfate concentration consistent with “London fog” levels. This postulation is tested using aerosol data from representative sites around the world to conduct a thorough thermodynamic analysis of aerosol pH and its sensitivity to NH3 levels. We find that particle pH, regardless of ammonia levels, is always acidic even for the unusually high NH3 levels found in Beijing (pH = 4.5) and Xi’an (pH = 5), locations where sulfate production from NO x is proposed. Therefore, major sulfate oxidation through a NO2-mediated pathway is not likely in China, or any other region of the world (e.g., US, Mediterranean) where the aerosol is consistently more acidic. The limited alkalinity from the carbonate buffer in dust and seasalt can provide the only likely set of conditions where NO2-mediated oxidation of SO2 outcompetes with other well-established pathways. The mildly acidic levels associated with excessive amounts of ammonia can promote high rates of SO2 oxidation through transition metal chemistry, this may be an alternative important aerosol chemical contributor to the extreme pollution events.
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More recent studies suggest that wintertime urban China fine aerosol particles have a pH range of 3.0-5.0 despite high gaseous NH3.
“However, more recent studies suggest that wintertime fi ne aerosol particles in urban China have a pH range of 3.0 -5.0, despite the very high levels of gaseous NH3 (Guo et al., 2017; Liu et al., 2017).”
From Local Arctic Air Pollution: A Neglected but Serious Problem (2018) · cites this paper as Guo et al., 2017
The Results (page unavailable) predict Beijing wintertime PM1 pH around 4 despite high NH3, supporting the claim’s central point. But they also predict pH 5.4 for Xi’an PM2.5 under clean conditions and do not establish 3.0 as the lower bound, so the stated 3.0–5.0 range is not fully supported. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIf ambient aerosol pH is in the range 3.0-5.0, the pathway of aqueous SO2 oxidation by NO2 is unlikely to be effective.
“If pH of ambient aerosol particles is indeed in the range of 3.0 -5.0, the pathway of aqueous oxidation of SO2 by NO2 is unlikely to be effective (Guo et al., 2017).”
From Local Arctic Air Pollution: A Neglected but Serious Problem (2018) · cites this paper as Guo et al., 2017
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Local Arctic Air Pollution: A Neglected but Serious Problem
Schmale, J., Arnold, S. R., Law, K. S., Thorp, T., Anenberg, S., Simpson, W. R., Mao, J., & Pratt, K. A. (2018) · Earth's Future · doi:10.1029/2018ef000952 · Cited by 221
“0, despite the very high levels of gaseous NH3 (Guo et al., 2017; Liu et al., 2017).”
BackgroundInfluential
Metadata
- Authors
- Guo, H., Weber, R. J., & Nenes, A.
- Affiliations
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- Corresponding author
- Weber, Rodney J.
- Nenes, Athanasios
- Venue
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2017-09-21
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 12109-12109
- ISSN
- 2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5608889
- OpenAlex
- W2756356287
- Cited by
- 268
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 57 · 2020: 41 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 17.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1360730)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric aerosols and clouds
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Industrial Gas Emission Control
- Keywords
- ammonia, aerosol pH, sulfate formation, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide oxidation, London fog, aerosol chemistry, transition metal chemistry, carbonate buffer, sea salt, dust, extreme pollution events, Beijing, Xi'an
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