CHEMILUMINESCENCE MEASUREMENT OF REACTIVITY WEIGHTED ETHYLENE-EQUIVALENT HYDROCARBONS

A reactive hydrocarbon analyzer (RHA), based on the chemiluminescent reaction of hydrocarbons with oxygen atoms, is used to provide a rapid indication of reactivity weighted hydrocarbon mass in automobile exhaust. Samples are reported by their ethylene-equivalent concentration--the concentration of ethylene which would give the same mass-reactivity product as the exhaust hydrocarbon mixture. These are compared to ethylene-equivalent concentrations obtained by the much more cumbersome procedure of weighting the individual sample hydrocarbons, determined by gas chromatography (GC), by their respective relative short-term photochemical reactivities, summing these results, and equating them to ethylene. Procedures are also described to eliminate a negative interference to the RHA method resultant from H2O quenching of the chemiluminescence emitter. The RHA and GC ethylene-equivalent concentrations correlate within 5%. (Copyright (c) 1977 by the American Chemical Society.)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Prepared in cooperation with AeroChem Research Labs., Inc., Princeton, N.J. Pub. in Environmental Science and Technology, v11 n6 p597-601 Jun 77.
• Corporate Authors:

  Environmental Protection Agency

  Environmental Sciences Research Laboratory
  Research Triangle Pk, NC  United States 

  Aerochem Research Laboratories, Incorporated

  P.O. Box 12
  Princeton, NJ  United States  08540
• Authors:
  • Black, F M
  • High, L E
  • Fontijn, A
• Publication Date: 1977-1-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 6 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air pollution; Chemical reactivity; Chemiluminescence; Concentration (Chemistry); Design; Ethylenes; Exhaust gases; Gas chromatography; Gas detectors; Hydrocarbons; Measuring instruments; Performance evaluations
• Uncontrolled Terms: Concentration; Design criteria
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00175784
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: EPA-600-J-77-080
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 28 1978 12:00AM