The transformation of nitrogen oxides in the polluted troposphere

Abstract
The transformation of nitrogen oxide was investigated using an explicit chemical reaction mechanism developed for use in tropospheric photochemical models. Through box-model simulations, the mechanism was first used to study the formation of organic nitrate species in an urban setting for a range of hydrocarbon to NOx ratios. Next, several changes to the basic mechanism were incorporated to study their effect on organic nitrate formation. The results show organic nitrates are present and their amounts depend on the ratio of hydrocarbons to NOx. At high HC/NOx ratios, as much as 24% of the nitrogen emitted into an urban area may be transformed to organic nitrates. Experimental evidence on the yields and rates of some reactions is scarce. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0889.1988.tb00111.x