Photochemical reactivities of common solvents: comparison between urban and regional domains

Solvents are one of the most abundant sources of anthropogenic VOCs in the atmosphere, and can comprise a large number of organic compounds having different impacts on the rate and amount of ozone formation. A three-dimensional photochemical air quality model has been used to study the relative impacts of eight solvents, acetone, ethane, ethanol, isobutane, m-xylene, tertiary butyl acetate (TBA), para-chlorobenzotrifluoride (PCBTF) and benzotrifluoride (BTF) in three very different domains: Los Angeles, an urban area with high ozone and NOx levels; the Swiss Plateau, a more regional domain with much lower ozone and NOx levels: and Mexico City, a very high VOC urban area with high ozone levels. The results show that there can be a wide range of VOC reactivities under variable environmental conditions. Variability also exists between metrics, which are used to quantify reactivity. In most cases, halogenated aromatics were the least reactive and isobutane and m-xylene the most. The results here, finding that normalized reactivities are less variable than the absolute reactivity, support the applicability of relative VOC reactivity scales for use in air quality management.