Adsorption and catalysis at the solid/sulfur dioxide interface in the atmosphere. An examination of statistical data

Abstract

From the official analytical data for sulfur dioxide and smoke in air pollution for one winter and one summer month covering residential and industrial areas in Great Britain, regression lines are computed. These reveal a large deficiency which is of very high significance of sulfur dioxide relative to smoke in winter compared with summer; the data show clearly that the deficiency is not due to the increase in domestic smoke in winter. Several reasons for the deficiency are examined semiquantitatively, and it is suggested that adsorption of sulfur dioxide occurs on solid particles followed by its catalytic oxidation by oxygen to sulfur trioxide. The amount of sulfur dioxide to be accounted for is far too high to be explained by simple adsorption on smoke particles. The catalysis may be due to traces of metals. The data also reveal that whatever may be the mechanism by which the sulfur dioxide is removed, it becomes less effective as the amount of smoke present increases, in all situations. It is suggested that a cause of this change might be the progressive covering of the very active surface of natural inorganic dust, possibly including meteoric dust, in the atmosphere by the less catalytically active smoke particles as their concentration rises.