Aerosol–computational fluid dynamics modeling of ultrafine and black carbon particle emission, dilution, and growth near roadways

Abstract

Many studies have shown that on-road vehicle emissions are the dominant source of ultrafine particles (UFPs; diameter N) and particle number–size distribution (PSD) near a highway is investigated. The results demonstrate that (1) coagulation has a negligible effect on N and particle growth, (2) binary homogeneous nucleation (BHN) of H2SO4–H2O is likely responsible for elevated N closest to the road, and (3) N and particle growth are very sensitive to the condensation of semi-volatile organics (SVOCs), particle dry deposition, and the interaction between these processes. The results also indicate that, without the proper treatment of the atmospheric boundary layer (i.e., its wind profile and turbulence quantities), the nucleation rate would be underestimated by a factor of 5 in the vehicle wake region due to overestimated dilution. Therefore, introducing atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) conditions to activity-based emission models may potentially improve their performance in estimating UFP traffic emissions.