Atmospheric Chemistry of Coating Systems.

Abstract : Understanding the atmospheric impact of Air Force operations is important for maintaining environmental compliance. A detailed description of emissions is important for derivation of operational atmospheric impact. The atmospheric assessment of current and future Air Force coating systems was conducted by identifying and quantifying the volatile organic compounds (VOC) emitted by the coating system. This information was then fed into an incremental reactivity calculation to determine the VOC's ozone forming potential. The summation of the VOC incremental reactivity times VOC concentration is used to determine an incremental reactivity for the coating. The coatings that contained m-xylene, o-xylene, ethyl benzene, and nitroethane had the largest incremental reactivities. The hydroxyl radical rate constant and proposed atmospheric reaction mechanism of ethyl 3-ethoxypropionate was also determined.