Newly Observed Particles Scrub Our Filthy Air
16th January 2012
Reactions by the cleaning agents, known as Criegee intermediates, are also emitting a by-product that forms solar radiation-reflecting clouds that could help cool Earth and reduce the effects of global warming.
The Criegee biradicals were first hypothesised in the 1950s by German chemist Rudolf Criegee, but only now have they been recreated in a lab and directly measured for the first time. Specifically, the scientists took formaldehyde oxide – a species of Creigee intermediate – and observed it reacting with sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.
These dioxides are said to initiate climate change in our atmosphere, yet it’s now understood they are removed from the troposphere by helpful Criegee biradicals – described as pivotal atmospheric reactants. The reaction also spews sulphate and nitrate into the atmosphere, creating aerosol droplets that seed planet-cooling clouds.
January 16th, 2012 at 13:47
Next question: Can they be commercially produced?