E. Dinar

Aerosol Formation from Plant Emissions: The Jülich Plant Chamber Experiments

We have performed measurements of particle formation and growth in a setup consisting of a plant and a reaction chamber, using live plants as well as an α-pinene source. The nucleation rates observed varied between 0.04 and 260 cm �3 s �1 , while the growth rates were 10-30 nm/h. We found that the formation and growth rates of particles increased with increasing amounts of carbon emitted by the plants, but there was significant variation between the plants. We have also modeled the formation of the aerosol using a continuously stirred tank reactor concept, and found that the basic physics and chemistry of the chamber are captured well.